Simone Butler's Blog, page 17

It was a beautiful autumn morning in 1996 at Mike Reynolds’ headquarters outside Taos, New Mexico.  I dipped my hands into the rich, brown mud and set a dollop atop a low wall.…

“We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart.…

Recently, a friend and I visited Old Town here in San Diego to seek Zoltar’s counsel. He had disappeared from his former location, so a manhunt was required. But at last we found him, in the foyer of the Alamo restaurant.…

Born with a cleft lip and eyes of two different colors, seven-year-old Madden Humphreys often came home in tears after bullies at his school called him “ugly” and even worse names.…

One stormy day, a distraught man walked far out onto a jetty, as high waves crashed around him. In deep despair, he thought how all he had to do was take one step forward, and his troubles would be over.…

Lately I’ve been giving a lot of things away. Inspired by Marie Kondo’s philosophy of blessing and releasing items that no longer spark joy, I’ve dug deep into cabinets and closets and let go of many items – everything from Mom’s old punchbowl set and Dad’s tools, to some lovely jewelry and clothes that just aren’t “me” anymore (but have delighted friends who took them home).…

In her inspiring, irreverent book You are a Badass, Jen Sincero tells the story of a memorable hike in the Utah badlands. The writer and her friends stumbled across a modern-day Tarzan in his late thirties who lived in a cave and sustained himself on deer and squirrels he caught with a home-made bow and arrow.…

The United States has become a battleground. Like Yankees and Confederates in the Civil War, we find ourselves on opposite sides of the fence, unable or unwilling to bridge the gap.…

Few would dispute that positive thoughts make us happier, and negative thoughts bring us down. So it would make sense that visualizing a positive future would help us create it. And to some extent, it does.…

Perhaps you’ve heard the Cherokee tale in which an old man was teaching his grandson about life. “A terrible fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is between two wolves.…