A calling

There is a groove to life coaching. Sitting across a table watching someone have a lightbulb moment. Hearing the dawn of realization through a phone line. Giving a dream wings. Giving a life renewed purpose.

Today I revel in this.

Non-Labor Day

A three-day weekend looms. I love that. I'm thinking about a "no plan" approach. See what comes up. Live in the moment. Good weather or bad, go with it. Walks. Lolling coffee sessions with friends. Naps. Writing. Therapeutic house cleaning.

Feels just right.

Those oldies

Seinfeld classic moment:

George is living with his parents. They're at the dinner table.

"What do you need all that ketchup for?" his father shouts.

"I bought this ketchup just so I could have as much as I want," George retorts.

A ridiculous conversation about bras ensues.

This is why I so often eschew current TV offerings for the "oldies." Pure brilliance in minutiae.

Peace

Patience and peace. Smiles and peace. Validation and peace.

Love and peace.

Legacy supreme

Follow your dream.
-- Aaron Spelling

Window on the world

You wouldn't think something as simple as moving an air conditioner from one window to another could make a whole apartment feel more open and airy, but it's true. With a little help from Windex.

I was having a new air conditioner put in and I decided as the old one came out that it might be nice to have that window free. So I asked Diego, the handyman, for his opinion. He agreed and then made it happen.

Now the window over my desk is clear and unobstructed. One thing led to another and I started cleaning out the whole desk area. It is neat and fabulous. I love to usher out the old to make room for the new.

There is plenty of room for more writing and more clients. What a rush.

Sustenance

Two new life coaching clients this week. One more fabulous than the next. Accomplished, smart, ambitious women. Big career goals. Change is afoot.

This feeds me.

Almost fall

Here's how I know I'm ready to break out the fall clothes. I took six pairs of shoes and/or boots to a shoemaker this week. A nice polish, some new lifts and it's all good. Denim mules, patent leather flats et al.

I love this time of year, closing summer and bringing in fall. The weather, the clothes. It's new and fresh.

And there's a fabulous new bag in my future.

World news

I have always found a steadiness in CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour. Her report called "In The Footsteps of bin Laden" is fascinating. What a stark reminder of what we knew and didn't take seriously enough.

It is a kind of sinister beyond my comprehension.

Peace

Every so often in life something stuns us so profoundly that it forces us to look at ourselves very closely.

Today I was forced to examine my actions and intentions in a very specific situation.

I am at peace about what is at my core.

Forecast

I've been very 'in sync' with the horoscopes in the New York Post lately. Gives me a kick. Today's really speaks to the life coach in me:

CAPRICORN
The more others try to tell you that what you want most out of life is just a dream the more you must persuade yourself that they are wrong. All things are possible and with Saturn, your ruler, strong in your chart at the moment there is every reason to believe that your dream can be turned into a reality.

Nada

Call it Sunday a la Seinfeld.

A day about nothing.

Sometimes that just works.

Family fix

Sometimes you just need to be with people who know you and love you no matter what.

You just do.

That's all.

Style

I excitedly went shopping to buy my 3-year-old niece clothes for her birthday. I was quickly jolted into the reality that I would have many more choices if I wanted to contribute to making her a spoiled, over-indulged brat. It was nearly impossible to find an item of clothing that didn't say "Princess" or "I always get my way." One after another. Ad nauseum.

What kind of girls are we raising in this generation? Can't an aunt find a nice sweatsuit or a denim jacket that's not weighed down by embellishments? And how much do I sound like my mother right now? Yikes.

In an unrelated but somehow connected (in my mind) moment today, I read this quote in a pullout section of O magazine:

Isaac Mizrahi once told me that a lady never, ever wears pantyhose. Even if it's snowing and twenty degrees outside. -- Candace Bushnell

I dig Isaac. I dig the quote. I take solace in the fact that my mother would hate it.

Good work

Sometimes between my coaching practice and my book-in-progress, I drive myself pretty hard. I can be quite the taskmaster. It's been a bit overwhelming lately, so I decided to spend two weeks without my usual massive to-do lists and just do what comes naturally.

Well, it's been a few days and I've found that what comes naturally to me is meaningful work. But it's been a more thoughtful kind than usual, a result of giving myself time to ruminate, brainstorm and just be.

What has come out of it so far is clarity around the ending of my book and some fresh insights around marketing my business.

Not too shabby.

What if

This week's New York magazine is very compelling. The cover asks, "What if 9/11 never happened?" Then inside there are different writers' versions of an alternative history.

In another section, there are closeup photos of some artifacts recovered from the ruins of the World Trade Center. One shot is of a jewelry box with pearls that had been in a safety deposit box at Chase. The pearls look like little dark gray and brown metal pellets. Fascinating. Creepy.

Then comes an article called "Survivors' Circle -- Eight who were there meet and compare lives." It's a very interesting discussion format piece. A few highlights:

"I was very angry for a couple of months," says one survivor. "What made me really angry was the therapists: They were like, 'Oh try to go back and do what you normally do.' Well, I normally went to the World Trade Center and went to work! I was like, 'No, I can't go back.'"

When people say to you, 'You're here for a reason,' there's a pressure," says another survivor. "You're like, 'What the hell is it?'"

Imagine that.

Excerpt

Here's what happens when a man finds a lens that makes every choice in his life clearer: Will it make my wife proud? Here's what happens when a boy raised to win more Grand Slam tournaments than anyone else on earth ends up with not even half as many as the woman in his own bed, and he's so damn grateful for it that at night he writes on a chalkboard in their kitchen the things he noticed and admired about her that day.

-- Gary Smith in Sports Illustrated talking about Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf

Mr. Smith

About a month ago, my brother says, "You've got to read Gary Smith in the current Sports Illustrated." Back in the days when I was a subscriber, I used to savor Smith's articles. He's a stunning talent who takes his reader on a journey in every story.

So I didn't need my arm twisted to heed my brother's suggestion. But my attempts to land an issue were unsuccessful, so it was just today that I read my brother's copy of the July 17th Sports Illustrated.

Well worth the wait!

It is the story of Andre Agassi, which I went into with a bit of knowledge but not a whole lot. It is an amazing story of finding oneself, with threads of love, altruism and glory woven through it. There is an overbearing father, an over-the-top wild streak, a failed marriage. But to my liking, ultimately there is a man who figures out his place in the world with a wonderful partner at his side.

Mr. Smith does it again.

A few thoughts

Terrorists making it their life's work to kill Americans.

Documentaries reminding us of the horror and destruction of September 11th.

A movie about the World Trade Center in major movie theatres.

Non-stop coverage of a foiled plot designed to blow up planes.

Under gorgeous skies today, the beautiful Manhattan skyline.

After nearly five years, a still glaring empty space at the tip of Manhattan island.

The splendid Empire State Building seeming more precious and vulnerable than ever.

There is hope and there is resignation.

We keep living because we must.

Restroom chatter

Overheard in a restaurant ladies room tonight as women in stalls on both sides of mine talked:

"They're giving her a party. I'm lucky if my in-laws give me anything."

"Yeah, I heard they also handed her $500 and told her to go buy a pocketbook." (This was said by a woman in a decidedly Brooklyn accent, an older woman, as is evidenced by the use of the word 'pocketbook').

"She has nothing to complain about."

"I know."

"Bob's mother barely acknowledges me. But then, I don't give much to anyone either."

Well, duh.

Friends

A fun, fun night. Good people. Delicious food. Animated conversation.

Spending time with old friends is such a reminder of good times, what's possible, what's already been accomplished, who we are.

I feel enriched.

Plot

What an edgy day. What a markedly different world we live in.

The lesson is live well.

Good night

Another gorgeous night. An orange moon over Manhattan.

Some iced coffee. A conversation about Paulo Coehlo.

All good.

Postcards

I walked to the grocery store. This requires heading east toward the Hudson River and the Manhattan skyline. It was dusk. It was gorgeous. So clear sans humidity.

After picking up my grocery items, I snuck a peak back. It had become dark. Now the white-lit Empire State Building was set against a denim-blue backdrop. Stunning.

This is why I live here.

Character

I was inspired today to create a character in my book. It will be his sole desire to put a smile on my main character's face, for that will give him extreme pleasure.

Sounds dreamy.

Precious good

I see good in people. Yet I find I consistently attract people into my life who don't. People I like and respect, but they either prefer to dwell in the negative or assume the worst about others way too quickly for my comfort. It's so bothersome.

Ironically, I see the good in them and prefer to dwell on that. That is probably why, on some level, they are in my life.

I will say that sometimes I think I have too much of a pollyanna perspective. This is one of the things people who love me believe, too. They don't say it, but I know they think it. Nancy thinks everyone has potential. Nancy thinks everyone has a chance for a meaningful life. Isn't that precious?

It is to me.

It is to me.

It is me.

Nail me

Is it possible to excommunicate someone from the Catholic Church who doesn't even consider herself Catholic? And what do these power-hungry "holy" men think that means to anyone but an 80-year-old at this point?

Yes, I'm talking about Madonna. Found a little tidbit on Matt Drudge's famous news compilation saying it's so. The Vatican is ticked about the crucifixion scene in her concert, which will be hitting Rome this weekend. They want to toss her out of the club.

Ha. Why should she change the format of her show because she's playing near the Vatican? SHE'S NOT CATHOLIC. She's making a point. She expressing. Big deal. Ignore her if you don't like it.

Mamma mia. If only we had this much hoopla when the priests were getting caught molesting CHILDREN. Never mind that the man who glorified crucifixion and suffering in a film, Mr. Super Catholic, is potentially going to mow down someone with his drunken self. And, if he's really having a good day in his eyes, it will be someone Jewish. But he's got a gold card membership, right?

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh. Heaven can wait.

Literary entertainment

Went to see "Harry, Carrie and Garp" at Radio City tonight. Man, it was good.

Stephen King, introduced by Tim Robbins (I forgot that Shawshank Redemption was King's handiwork), read a cool story about a pie-eating contest. John Irving, introduced by Stanley Tucci, was absolutely delightful reading from A Prayer for Owen Meany. Honestly, he was so funny I was wiping away tears. And then J.K. Rowling, introduced by Kathy Bates, read a passage from one of the Harry Potter books. She is so darned likable. Graceful with some underlying bawdiness.

I went to the event with a fellow writer. Afterward, we realized we were both struck by John Irving's revelation that he writes the last line of his novels first. He knows exactly how the story will end. Hmmmmm. And then he works back through the story and it can take a few years to write. So intriguing to us, the writing process of such an accomplished writer.

Lots of heartening, inspiring themes emerged throughout the night. More thoughts to come.

Easy as 1-2-3

Eight days running. Three pages a day on my book, including one incredible jam session on a 14-minute PATH ride. That's 24 pages total for those keeping score.

Bless Julia Cameron.