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Simple Wisdom – Because Life Can Be Complicated

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  • Creativity,  Life Challenges

    Journaling as a Path

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    woman journaling to-do list and goals

    Journaling can be a wonderful path to increased inner health, a way to be heard, a way to forgiveness for yourself and others, or a road out of…

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    Ardis Mayo
  • Dekker,  Life Challenges

    Wisdom from Dekker in Autumn

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    Dekker, service dog posing on granite slab

    As I, Dekker the observer, lie with my nose near the door and my paws outstretched like a proper gentleman, I can tell… something is changing. The air…

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    Ardis Mayo
  • Aging,  Life Challenges

    Memory as Both Gift and Grief

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    older man listening to bring comfort, memory

    Have you ever tried to recall a story only to find the edges blurred, the details slipping away? You can almost see the scene, almost hear the voices,…

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    Ardis Mayo
  • Spiritual Growth

    Walking away from religion

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    Walking away from faith isn’t failure—it can be wisdom. Explore how aging brings authenticity, freedom, and new ways of finding the sacred.

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    Ardis Mayo
  • Spiritual Growth

    Finding Sacred in Everyday Life

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    man who knows how to live fully lifts his arms to the sunset

    What if we’ve been looking for the sacred in everyday life in all the wrong places? We’re often taught to expect holiness in stained glass and silence, in…

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    Ardis Mayo
  • Dekker,  Life Challenges

    Wisdom from Dekker

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    Dekker, the dog who has a lot of wisdom

    When the Days Are Slow and the Heart Is Full, As I, Dekker the ever-faithful, stretch out beside my person’s feet (finally!), I must tell you something: she...

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    Ardis Mayo
  • Aging

    The Music of Rest

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    Dekker sleeps on organ pedals, rest

    Where is the rest in your life? Not the vacation kind. Not sleep, exactly. But rest as a rhythm. As part of the music of your days.

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    Ardis Mayo
  • Aging

    WHERE GRACE HIDES

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    An old lady wears a colorful red and yellow striped sobrero, perhaps to celebrate aging. Grace

    What does grace look like when our bodies betray us? It’s an uncomfortable question—one we often avoid. We speak of grace as if it always arrives clean and…

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    Ardis Mayo
  • Aging,  Life Challenges

    ALL LIFE HAS MEANING

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    a man walks a labrynth, perhaps he is looking to feed a hungry soul. Ardis Mayo, meaning of life

    All Life Has Meaning. First in a 5-part series. from The Reflective Pen Manifesto. Suppose for a moment that all of life—not just the “good parts”—had meaning.

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    Ardis Mayo
  • Aging,  Life Challenges

    When Everyone Is Dying

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    dog with his chin on the floor feeling grief and loss and question the purpose of living. facing an obstacle with no solution.everyone is dying

    What do we do when everyone seems to be dying? Lately, that question has followed me from week to week. I’ve been to six funerals in the past…

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    Ardis Mayo
  • Dekker

    Wisdom from Dekker

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    Dekker the Service Dog waits by a fog with mist

    As I, Dekker the Service Dog, settle in with my nose tucked under one paw and the other stretched out just far enough to feel the cool tile,…

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    Ardis Mayo
  • Aging,  Life Challenges

    A Reflection on Aging

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    A dachshund using willpower to carry a stick much bigger than he is

    There was a time—long ago—when carrying groceries wasn’t even part of the conversation. At 26, I was learning to carry something far heavier: a diagnosis.

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    Ardis Mayo
  • Aging,  Creativity

    The Story We Carry and the Ones We Let Go

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    story memories have weight

    The Story We Carry and the Ones We Let Go - What If Memories Had Weight?Not the kind you can step on a scale and measure—but something else.…

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    Ardis Mayo
  • Life Challenges

    The Beauty of Boredom-Embracing Slow Days as Spiritual Space

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    man waiting in reflective practice, doubt and prayer - boredom

    What if boredom isn’t a problem to solve—but an invitation? We’re taught early on that boredom means something’s wrong. We should be doing more, moving faster, staying busy.…

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    Ardis Mayo
  • Dekker

    Wisdom from Dekker: What Our Pets Leave Behind (and What They Don’t)

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    Dekker, the dog who has a lot of wisdom

    Wisdom from Dekker: What Our Pets Leave Behind (and What They Don’t) As I, known by all as Dekker, lie in my favorite sunspot by the window, I…

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    Ardis Mayo
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Recent posts

  • woman journaling to-do list and goalsJournaling as a Path
    Creativity, Life Challenges
  • Dekker, service dog posing on granite slabWisdom from Dekker in Autumn
    Dekker, Life Challenges
  • older man listening to bring comfort, memoryMemory as Both Gift and Grief
    Aging, Life Challenges
  • Walking away from religion
    Spiritual Growth
  • man who knows how to live fully lifts his arms to the sunsetFinding Sacred in Everyday Life
    Spiritual Growth

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