This blog follows a monthly formula.
First week – bringing more love to ourselves.
Second week – bringing more love to family and friends.
Third week – bringing more love to our workplaces.
Fourth week – bringing more love to our communities and planet.
Let’s start loving.
Reflections
December and winter have arrived. On Thanksgiving, it was a balmy low-70s F on the Central Coast of California. Just a few days later, December 1st in the Bay Area brought a sudden transition to turn on the heater and bundle up. Even the dog is wearing jackets on her walks now.
While I prefer the longer, warmer days of summer, I appreciate the coziness of winter. It is the perfect time to reflect back on the year gone by and prepare for the year ahead. I have two favorite personal traditions to do just this. ... read more
December 11
Coming soon
Coming Soon
December 18
Coming soon
Coming soon
December 23
Coming soon
Coming soon
November 6
Travel Anywhere
This week, I did something that brought back vivid memories from my childhood. I visited one of my local Public Libraries. I was immediately greeted by the sound of children and young people chittering and laughing. A little bit of shushing as well.
I inherited, learned, or both, my love of reading from my grandmother. I’m told that when Gram’s own children were little, she would wake very early to have an hour to herself to read before the three pairs of little eyes opened. ... read more
Don't Stop Believin'
I've always hated running. Yes, hated. I wish that I loved it because it's an exercise you can do just about anywhere – just bring your sneakers. It turns out that I needed inspiration from a friend. Thanks to @BeckyCurran, I now run regularly and ran my second 5K last weekend.
Friends are a great source of encouragement, and it goes both ways. Becky had back surgery that required a lengthy recovery - essentially learning to walk again. When Becky asked me to join her for the Bionic 5K, there was no way I would refuse. ... read more
Fair and Fearless Feedback
With more than three decades of human resources work behind me, I often reflect on what I would have done differently in those early years given what I now know about fairness, inclusion, and bias. There is one process in particular that I would revamp first.
If you are working in a company, odds are, you have an email in your inbox right now about performance reviews. ... read more
Give and Let Go
Many years ago, the city of San Francisco was trying to curb “panhandling” and address homelessness. They asked residents not to give money to individuals who asked for it. Instead, there were little reference sheets you were supposed to get somewhere (seriously?) and give to folks instead. It was the classic: "How do you know what they will do with the money? What if the person buys drugs, not food?" ... read more
Close to my heart
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. This topic is near and dear to my heart, pun intended.
A little over 7 years ago, I woke up one morning and a little voice in my head said, "Remember, you have to call the doctor." I had felt the lump at some time before – I don't remember when. I must not have been in the headspace to deal with it at that moment. When the time was right, my body reminded me to take action. ... read more
Pink Sisters
Officially, I have one sibling—a wonderful, caring brother. I didn't grow up wishing for a sister, yet now I have many—my Pink Sisters.
Last week I shared about first learning I had breast cancer. Mine was caught early, and my care did not require the intensity it does for many. Initially, I believed that, other than a ride home after surgery, I could take care of myself.
Luckily, fate intervened. ,,, read more
Benevolent Exclusion
Throughout most of my career, I was taught in leadership and team building workshops to assume positive intent of leaders and colleagues, even when their actions had negative consequences. Typically missing was how to pause before taking an action to consider all the potential impacts of even the most positive intent.
I now call this benevolent exclusion. ... read more
Ribbons in the Sky
October is awash in Pink Ribbons. This might lead us to think that we’re on top of it with research, treatment, and patient support. Yet there is still so much more to do, and many community organizations are quietly helping every day.
Earlier this month, I shared a little about my experience attending a support group for newly diagnosed breast cancer patients. Let me tell you a bit more about the healing work of the Cancer Support Community (CSC) San Francisco Bay Area. ... read more
October 30 - bonus!
996 or 991 !
This fifth bonus week topic may not seem related to Breast Cancer Awareness, but indeed it is.
Have you heard all the chatter about 9-9-6? Not 6-7, 996. I'm old enough to remember the "lunch is for wimps" quote from the movie Wall Street in the 80s. I took bizarre pride in working long days and weekends. Admittedly, sometimes it helped me in my career growth. Being a workaholic worked, until it didn’t. ... read more
Take it Outside
Over the last four months, we covered the GEMS (Gratitude, Exercise, Meditation, Sleep) practice to bring more love to ourselves. What we do matters. Where we do it also matters. Taking it outside and into nature amps up the Gratitude and Exercise practices.. ... read more
Lessons from Mom
Many of you are aware that my mother is Japanese from Japan. While I will always be gaijin (foreigner), there is a home feel here – I’m among my peeps.
Growing up with a Japanese mom, she instilled many Japanese cultural tidbits that I didn't appreciate as a child, and now fully value as an adult. Honoring those lessons is one of the ways I demonstrate my love for Mom. ... read more
Dollars and Sense
If you know me, you know I am an inclusion zealot. Last week, I was asked about the outlook for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in light of the recent changes in perspective of the current US administration. ... read more
Team Spirit
I've been to more baseball games this year than I ever have in one season. Two Martinez Sturgeon games. Two Oakland Ballers (Pioneer League champions!!!) games. Two Tokyo Giants games.
I'm not a big sports fan. I do love the spirit of the teams and the crowd. I love that we can cheer for our own team and do so with deep respect for our opponents. There is a sense of community among the fans. We have many differences, and we share a common love for our team that brings us together. ... read more
GEMS - Sleep
GEMS is the foundation of self-love for me. In May, June, and July, I introduced the first three elements of my GEMS practice – Gratitude, Exercise, and Meditation. This month, we focus on the S – Sleep.
Who has a cat(s)? If you do, one of the admirable qualities of cats is how they luxuriate in sleep. ... read more
Can't Change, Can Change
You can’t change the people around you. But you can change the people around you.
This post from The Language Nerds puzzled me for a moment and then made me smile.
I wasted a lot of time and effort in my younger years trying to change the people around me. If only they would listen to my logic and reason. If only they opened themselves up to new ideas. If only I stressed my point of view more passionately. ... read more
Living Values
For most of my career, companies have recognized the importance of being intentional about what they stand for and publicly espousing their values as part of their strategy to attract and retain customers. You see corporate values listed on websites, career pages, and annual reports.
Y'all know that my passion and expertise are building fairness and inclusion in organizations to create belonging, fuel innovation, and drive business results. Last week, I was confronted with the harsh reality of having my own values challenged. .... read more
The Banned Book Club
Today I went into a brick and mortar bookstore. I love that there are tables with themes to spark interest – beach reads, historical fiction, folk horror – and now, Banned Books. Until this year, banned book sections were not a “thing” in bookstores, the library, or online. Now they are. ... read more
GEMS - Meditation
GEMS is the foundation of self-love for me. In May and June, I introduced the first two elements of my GEMS practice – Gratitude and Exercise. This month, we focus on the M – meditation.
Wow! I just opened my Headspace guided meditation app to see how long I’ve been a member – since 2015! I'd love to say that I have meditated every day for the past 10 years, but alas, the numbers reveal the gap. .... read more
Faith
Yesterday I woke up with a bit of dread. One of the time blocks on my calendar said "Write the LoveMUG blog," and I had absolutely no idea what to write about this week. Usually, by the time I finish my morning routine, inspiration arrives – nothing. Perhaps an idea will surface while I'm out for a jog with the dog – nothing. Maybe an AI agent will help – nothing.
Then I glanced down at the corner of my desk – Faith. ... read more
Working FT - Flexibility and Trust
When I started working three decades ago, you would never see references to "flexible hours" because one either worked the day shift, swing shift, or night shift. We didn't have the tools we have now to work from anywhere, at any time, for many jobs. ... read more
Leave it a little bit better
Today I sold my gently used vacuum. Before the buyer arrived, I emptied the dirt chamber and gave the whole device a once-over with a dust cloth. Why go to the trouble of cleaning a cleaning tool? I was selling it dirt cheap (pun intended); would it matter to the buyer? It mattered to me because it would matter to me. That little bit of extra care shows respect and kindness.
On a larger scale, earlier this week, I closed the sale of my previous home of 20+ years. ... read more
Find your E - motion
The first week of the month, we focus on how we bring more love to ourselves. Last month, I introduced the first element of my GEMS practice. GEMS is the foundation of self-love for me.
As I developed habits to improve my physical and mental health, over a few years, I found a formula that works for me to maintain physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. I started tracking my habits and then realized they created the acronym GEMS – Gratitude, Exercise, Meditation, Sleep. Last month, I wrote about Gratitude. This month, we focus on the E – exercise.... read more
The Work not the words
Last week, I presented on the current state of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work at the Women10x Energy Summit in Calgary. (Thank you @iSAW, @WPC Energy Canada, and @WPC Energy for your dedication to gender equality!).
My talk followed a briefing on public sentiment, which included a social media scan. The scan revealed that the dialogue on DEI spiked in January 2025 (no surprise if you live in the US), and the sentiment of comments was 47 negative to 1 positive. Yes, you read that correctly, 47:1! ... read more
GEMS - Begin with gratitude
Whenever folks ask, “How are you?” it takes me a moment to answer. For years, like many folks, I would answer with “I’m well” or “Doing OK” or “Hanging in there.” I answered without really thinking about it.
Sometimes I was actually doing great, sometimes I wasn’t doing well at all. ... read more
Are you listening?
I’m working on learning Japanese. That little owl from the app starts tweeting insistently until I complete my daily lesson. A few chapters in, I was happy to see that “filler” words are part of the lessons. Ano (umm), eeto (err), maa (well…). I wondered if Duolingo would teach the 'listening words,' and they started appearing in my lessons this week! Sou desho (Is that so?), Sou desu ne (That’s right.), Honto (Really?)
In Japanese culture, the listener must demonstrate to the speaker that they are genuinely listening. ... read more
Integrated Inclusion
Last month, I shared about finding an old performance review from 1997 that included personal information that we consider inappropriate and would likely be unlawful today. It's not that the laws were updated; rather, we better understand how subtle signals hit our brains, leading to unequal treatment.
If you’ve been alive in the United States during the last 10 years, you’ve heard the terms unconscious bias and systemic bias. ... read more
$hopping messages
I've written before that if you want to see what is important to you, look at your calendar and your bank statement. This week, let's take a closer look at that bank statement - where we spend and what we buy.
Last week, I picked out a specific T-shirt to wear shopping. ... read more
Abundance
A couple of weeks ago, I was blessed to be able to hear Radhanath Swami speak in person in San Francisco. He is a renowned and humble spiritual leader and is the teacher one of my yoga teachers.
Radhanath Swami told the story of a child taking a piece of food out of their own mouth to give to him (an amusing adult hazard to accept such a gift). Children express their love and compassion without boundaries. Sadly, at some point in life, most of us lose touch with that ability to give freely from the heart. ... read more
Finding myself, finding my people
Earlier this week, a special friend reached out to see if I could get together. Funny how when you try to plan months in advance, things fall through, but often on short notice, the universe aligns to bring people together. Such a blessed and rejuvenating time!
I wanted to be part of the "cool" crowd when I was younger. Everyone did. I was part of the geek squad. ... read more
Blood or bonds?
Last week, I watched the Oscar-winning animated movie Flow. While there are many life lessons in the movie, the one that struck me was all about chosen family. Shared experience, selflessness, and care can move us from being strangers (even enemies) to friends to family. In the movie, a scrappy cat, dog, capybara, ring-tailed lemur, and secretarybird navigate survival after a flood, and their bonds become stronger than blood.
In some of my circles, folks use the term 'chosen family.' ... read more
Learning from the past to build a fair future
This week, I was decluttering and came across a performance review from 1997. While the comments about my performance were fun to see again, the form itself struck me the most. Astounding was the “Personal History” section at the top. Much of what we take for granted in the workplace today has only recently changed. ... read more
Pick up the pickle
One critical concept from my college economics classes particularly struck and stuck with me – the concept of a public good. When everyone “owns” something, few take ownership. Taking care of the earth falls into this category.
How can one of us make a difference to help our huge home?
Fast forward a few years, from college economics classes to working for Hilton Hotels. ... read more
Rest to be your best
When I was starting my career, Bon Jovi released a very popular song “I’ll Sleep when I’m Dead.” Sing the chorus with me,
Until I'm six feet under, baby, I don't need a bed
Gonna live while I'm alive, I'll sleep when I'm dead
'Til they roll me over, and lay my bones to rest
Gonna live while I'm alive, I'll sleep when I'm dead
While the song is about living fully, it was also the perfect rock anthem for someone prone to overwork. For me it was the work hard, play hard era. I got by on 5-6 hours of sleep and vacations that were about cramming in as much as possible. ... read more
Finding your people
Three years ago I RSVP’d faster to an invitation than I ever had in my life. My friend was celebrating her birthday in Hawaii and invited several friends and family members to be part of the festivities.
There was just one detail that had me hesitate, for just a second. I’d be sharing a room, and likely a bed, with someone I’d never met before. In my younger days this would likely have been enough for me to pass. ... read more
All of me, why not take all of me
When I first entered the workforce in the early 90’s, it was still the era of “leave your personal life at the door." I don't know about you, but my entire body and brain are always with me. While I can tuck bits away for a little while, I can’t leave parts of my life or identity behind; they are always in the background.
Thankfully, the “leave it at the door” era has ended. ... read more
One does what one can
Last month, the community focus week reflected on the story of the child confronted with hundreds of beached starfish. This week, I heard an old parable for the first time, and I'm compelled to share it with others – The War Horse and the Sparrow. Thank you to Anne Lamott for sharing this parable in her latest book, Somehow.
It goes something like this,
A grand war horse was galloping along when she came upon a small sparrow in the middle of the road. The sparrow was on its back, with its legs pointed firmly up to the sky. ... read more
My brain needs a diet
Many of us make resolutions to work on our health at the beginning of the year. Most often, this is about exercise and diet. This is absolutely part of bringing more love to ourselves by feeding our bodies with healthy food and movement. ...
My diet challenge is not food. Diet goes beyond what we eat and drink with our mouths and stomachs. ... read more
Use a stamp, send a hug
My great-grandmother should have owned stock in Hallmark. She was legendary for always sending cards for every occasion. You knew she had been shopping when half of the little sleeves for cards at the local shop were empty.
I even received a birthday card several months after she passed away. Paranormal activity? ... read more
Love language at work
The research is clear and I’m not going to repeat it here. When people of ALL backgrounds feel valued, included, and that they belong in a group, they are happier and do better work. They contribute more ideas, they participate, they collaborate. EVERYONE benefits from this increase in engagement. Inclusion works – it’s not politics, it’s just common sense.
It takes work to make inclusion work. Conscious inclusion is a skill to learn and hone. ... read more
Focus on your starfish
You’ve likely heard the story of a child tossing starfish stranded on the drying sand by the tide back into the ocean. Seeing hundreds of starfish, an adult tells the child, “This is hopeless, you can’t make a difference.” While tossing another starfish into the protective embrace of the surf, the child responds, “I made a difference to that one.”
Climate change, food insecurity, poverty, disease, addiction. The list goes on, and it can be overwhelming. How can just one of us possibly make a difference? ... read more
Taking care of yourself first
I have a challenge with the term self-love. Although it has made a profound difference in the level of joy in my own life, all too often, I hear the term tossed around lightly and associated with superficial, commercial actions.
Here is my purely personal point of view... read more
I just called to say I Love You
“I just called to say I love you.” Sing it along with me. I love this Stevie Wonder song.
Maybe it strikes a chord with me because I grew up in a family where we didn't say I Love You very often, and the thought of just calling to say I Love You seemed really foreign to me. ... read more
Let's get curious
Love at work? Aren’t there laws against that! Indeed, while many folks I know met their spouses at work, that’s not what I’m talking about today.
Love takes many forms. The root of my middle name – Ai – translates not to romantic love but deep, all-encompassing love. A recognition that at our core, we are all unique divine beings who are deserving of love simply for who we are. I can love another human even if I don’t agree with their words or actions. ... read more
Make your treasure matter
We are all at risk when the most vulnerable among our communities are attacked. We may think it doesn't apply to us if we're not in that group. Yet exposure to vitriol, hate, and erasure is like invisible poison gas - it permeates our being, creeps into our brain, and slowly infects our soul and spirit. Even more insidious, it may happen so slowly that we don't know it's happening until it is too late.... read more