by Susan Mattern | Jul 5, 2019 | Finding Purpose in Life, Human Connection, Values
I belong to Toastmasters, a great organization, and I remember an international speech a few years ago where the speaker stood on stage holding a white piece of paper. In the middle of the paper was a red mark. The first thing you saw was the red. It stood out. You...
by Susan Mattern | | 70th Birthday, Aging, Birthdays, Finding Purpose in Life, Life, Old-Life Crisis, Turning Seventy
I’m very ambivalent about turning seventy this month. On the one hand, I’m glad I’m still around for my 70th birthday. On the other hand, seventy is really OLD! I managed to pretend I was still middle-aged for a long time. I ignored my first AARP...
by Susan Mattern | Jul 3, 2018 | Finding Purpose in Life, Gardens, Second Chances, Starting Over
I love gardens. I wish mine looked like the “Secret Garden” in the movie, with its climbing roses, vines and daffodils, but I’ve come to appreciate the succulents and bougainvillea of Southern California. The thing I like best about gardens is that...
by Susan Mattern | Jun 11, 2018 | Atheist, Finding Purpose in Life, Surviving Trauma
I had been a Catholic my whole life, and a nun for six of those years. It wasn’t until a mountain lion attacked my 5-year-old daughter, standing next to me in a stream, and almost killed her, that I wondered for the first time whether there was really a God....
