Archives
My 2021 travel plans
Posted on December 31, 2020 45 Comments
“Look for the little hints of magic glittering at the corners of your life.”–Martha Beck As a grounded travel writer, I’ve had to use my imagination this year. Instead of exploring new countries, I’ve traipsed through my little town’s 54 parks. Instead of elephants on the savannahs of Africa, I’ve oohed, I’ve aahed over giant […]
I want to give money away: Now taking pitches for the 2021 award of the Taz Grout 222 Foundation
Posted on October 23, 2020 14 Comments
“If you have love in your heart, then your very life will bring about a transformation of society.”—Krishnamurti It’s that time of year, my friends, when I take pitches for the 222 Foundation I started to honor my magical daughter, Tasman McKay Grout, who died in 2018 from a cerebral aneurysm. As I’ve written before, […]
Why it’s time to widen the aperture
Posted on October 7, 2020 70 Comments
“Arrive curious, without the armor of certainty. Live the life that chooses you, new with every breath, every blink of your astonished eyes.”—Rebecca del Rio Tomorrow is Tasman’s birthday. She would have been 27. I strongly believe she came to me 27 years ago as an act of great love. I was a 37-year-old singleton […]
Rely on the mystical
Posted on May 22, 2020 29 Comments
“Our minds and bodies have been laboring for decades to serve the demands, fears and neuroses of the illusory, finite self.”—Rupert Spira Happy Friday, my friends! Just wanted to share a couple quick things. The above quote by Rupert Spira, a brilliant ceramics artist from Great Britain, pretty much sums up the human condition. Rather […]
Sit. Feast on your life.
Posted on April 24, 2020 19 Comments
“If we seek beauty, it will spill into our lives.”—Mary Pipher So the title of this post “Sit. Feast on your life” came, not from a self-help book, but from my daughter Taz’s bedroom wall. Being an artist myself, I allowed her to decorate her room however she chose. She drew a three-foot, eerily-accurate octopus […]
The BIG reset
Posted on April 6, 2020 566 Comments
“If you’re thinking, ‘but my life is upside down,’ don’t worry. How do you know down is not better than up?—Shams of Tabriz We used to have lions and tigers and bears (Oh my!) to frighten us on our journey through life. Now we’ve got a little device no bigger than a deck of cards. […]
Uplifting the Planet, One Dance at a Time
Posted on April 2, 2020 75 Comments
“Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance–Martha Graham Two days ago, I woke up discouraged and lethargic. The crazy uncle in my head was concocting a major soap opera. Act I: Woe is Me, starring Pam Grout. Act II: We’re all going to die. And then, during the commercial break, […]
222 Forever: Celebrating Taz with 3 New Projects
Posted on February 22, 2020 23 Comments
“Let us not look for you only in memory. You would want us to find you in presence, beside us when beauty brightens, when kindness glows and music echoes eternal tones.”– John O’Donohue Yes, my friends, it’s here. The auspicious date for announcing the 2020 recipients of Taz Grout’s 222 Foundation. Every year, to honor […]
What Brad Pitt taught me about forgiveness
Posted on January 24, 2020 25 Comments
“We made the world we’re living in and we have to make it over.”–James Baldwin So my new book about A Course in Miracles debuts in exactly four days. So while I’d love to tell you about my travels, my upcoming speaking gigs, the 100 applicants for this year’s 222 Foundation award, I figure I […]
Relinquish your map of the universe
Posted on January 9, 2020 11 Comments
“Put all your knowledge and assumptions aside and start fresh.”–Jed McKenna Although my new book doesn’t start with the above epigraph, it could. It’s the perfect summary of what the Course in Miracles teaches. Start fresh. Let go of past beliefs. Release the ridiculous idea that just because something happened yesterday, it’s bound to happen […]
