Lisa notes

A scroll of compassion

By LisaNotes May 14, 2026 Compassion 3 Comments

We still had an hour before we could hear the Dalai Lama speak, so we entered the white tent outside Regions Field in Birmingham, Alabama, to kill some time.

It turned out to be a bazaar of Tibetan artwork.

We watched the incredible patience of the sand artists as they worked.

We listened to another monk explain the meaning of the mandala.

We wandered around the tables and took in the beautiful pieces of art and the collection of words for sale.

It was a feast for the eyes.

And then I spotted this . . . something for my heart.

At the time, Compassion was my One Word of the Year. It was what brought us to Birmingham this day to listen to the Dalai Lama, one of the world’s passionate contenders for compassion.

So I knew I had to take this scroll home as a tangible reminder of the year.

And as a reminder that when we seek to give compassion, we are often given compassion.

I share the words from this scroll here with you.

My year with compassion was a wonderful journey that continues to stick with me, long after the calendar turned to a new year.

Thanks to all who leave comments. Your compassionate words teach me more than you know. May you in turn receive your own gifts of compassion, individually wrapped just for you.

What unexpected gift of compassion have you received lately? Please share.

Read more:

What the Dalai Lama Taught Me About Responsibility, Kindness, and Connection
In honor of the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday on July 5, 2025, a personal reflection on his timeless messages.
5 Things I Learned from the Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama’s name kept surfacing as I researched “compassion.” So when he came to Birmingham, I had to go. Here are 5 things I learned.

revised from the archives

6 Standout Books I Recommend This Month

By LisaNotes May 5, 2026 Books I Recommend 16 Comments

“A word after a word after a word is power.”
— Margaret Atwood

My books this month were great for both stretching my imagination (like, Remarkably Bright Creatures) and reflecting on our humanity (like, How to Feel Loved).

Here are the four nonfiction and two fiction books I just finished that I recommend.

[See previously recommended books here]

NONFICTION

1. Braving the Truth
Essential Essays for Reckoning with and Reimagining Faith
by Rachel Held Evans

Even though we lost Rachel too soon on May 4, 2019, her words and messages live on. Her friend Sarah Bessey compiled some of Rachel’s writings into this book, adding in several current essays from Rachel’s friends and family. It’s a powerful and beautiful collection of ideas about wrestling with faith and doubt and humanity.

2. The Unfolding: Poems
by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

Just wow. I’m not really a poetry reader (just a wannabe), but Rosemerry’s poems are short enough yet full to overflowing to keep me captivated. They remind me to notice more of the sacredness found in our ordinary moments.

3. How to Feel Loved
The Five Mindsets That Get You More of What Matters Most
by Sonja Lyubomirsky

This title caught my eye because we usually see books about how to be more loving, but this one was how to be more loved. Or to recognize and be aware of it anyway. Often we’re more loved than we even realize.

The five shifts to feel loved are adopting a sharing mindset, listening-to-learn mindset, radical-curiosity mindset, open-heart mindset, and multiplicity mindset.

4. Nations Apart
How Clashing Regional Cultures Shattered America
by Colin Woodard

This felt like a long book, but I think it’s because it was SO full of data. It was mind-blowing to me to see how America is divided so deeply along regional roots from the beginning of our country’s founding. We may intuitively know this, but to see it spelled out chapter after chapter through so many examples was quite startling.

If you care about this type of cultural analysis through history to better understand what’s going on in America now, this is a great book to sit with.

FICTION

5. Remarkably Bright Creatures
by Shelby Van Pelt

This novel is a breath of fresh air. It’s a tender (and surprising!) story about people finding their way in this world despite loneliness and life’s hardships. And it involves an octopus as a main character! A movie adaptation is set to release on Netflix this month.

6. Last Chance Live!
by Helena Haywoode Henry

On the other extreme, this novel shows a darker side of humanity. But also a tender side. I read it for a book club. And the author is going to join us when we meet this month! I’m so curious to hear why she wrote this book.

The premise: Ten death row inmates between the ages of 18-21 volunteer to compete for America’s votes in a reality TV show. The winner wins everything—total freedom and exoneration of all crimes. But the nine losers? They lose all rights to appeal their sentences and are executed within days of getting kicked off the show.

The contestants form bonds with each other, but still have to compete with each other to save their own lives. It’s a harrowing story that I hope would never happen in real life.

WHAT I’M READING NOW

A Thousand Ways to Die
The True Cost of Violence on Black Life in America
by Trymaine Lee
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain
Give and Take
A Revolutionary Approach to Success
by Adam M. Grant
I Belong to Me
A Survivor’s Guide to Recovery and Hope after Religious Trauma
by Tia Levings
Big Time
A Simple Path to Time Abundance
by Laura Vanderkam
That’s Not How You Wash a Squirrel
by David Thorne

A Closing Reflection

Taken together, books like these remind us to stay curious and to keep connecting with each other.

What’s a good book you’re recommending this month? I’d love to hear in the comments.

I’m sharing at these linkups

On the Blog – April 2026

By LisaNotes April 30, 2026 Archives No Comments

Here are brief summaries and links to posts on the blog, Lisa notes, from April 2026.

Sharing 4 Somethings from April 2026 (4/29)
A reflective April 2026 recap featuring four meaningful moments—family, seasonal joys, friendship, and small mindset shifts.
This Month’s Wordy Invitation: Write a Poem or Blessing (4/26)
Here’s an invitation to reflect on your One Word by writing a simple poem or blessing—even if you don’t have a word of the year.
Feeling Off? Try These 6 Small Physical Shifts for a Reset (4/21)
These tiny shifts can gently improve your mood, energy, and focus—no big changes required.
Let Go of Being Right – When Being Right Is Wrong (and Dangerous) (4/14)
When is being right, wrong? Here are 3 dangers to being right and how to let go of them.
Whatever Happens, We’ll Handle It (4/9)
We’ll never be abandoned without resources of some sort. Depend on that. Whatever happens, we’ll handle it.
The Stories We Listen To: 6 (and 1/2) Books That Invite You to Pay Attention (4/3)
A roundup of 6 (and 1/2) powerful books about storytelling, awareness, and the importance of paying attention to life’s deeper messages.

See previous months’ archives here

Sharing 4 Somethings from April 2026

By LisaNotes April 29, 2026 Life updates 13 Comments

Some months go by faster than others—not because of big events per se, but because small, steady moments just stack up. April was one of those months for me.

Here are four things I’ve been noticing, savoring, and making room for lately. Each month I share favorite somethings from Jenn’s four categories.

I also share my previous month’s One Second Everyday video.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

1. Something I Loved

LEARNING TEE-BALL

Our little grandson continues to explore extracurricular activities, and this spring it’s tee-ball. It’s been an educational experience for this grandmother, who knows nothing about the game for this young age.

I’ve had such fun watching him and the other boys and girls figure it all out in real time—how to be part of a team while also navigating the very real distractions of childhood.

There’s dirt to play in, airplanes to watch overhead, and the occasional pull to just fall down on the ground or wrestle with a teammate . . . all the while also learning how to catch balls and run bases.

It’s equal parts chaos and charm, and I’m loving every minute I get to watch.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

2. Something Sustaining Me

SAVORING THE BERRIES

I love strawberry season.

With the gallons I bought, I’ve been making all the things. Last weekend was strawberry shortcake. This week we made several batches of strawberry jam, followed by a strawberry pie. My favorite strawberry cake is still to come.

And in between all of that, I’ve been eating plenty of berries straight from the bowl.

It’s been a steady culinary delight (and might also explain my occasional tummy ache the past few days, lol).

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

3. Something Carrying Me Forward

SHOWING UP FOR EACH OTHER

Over the past two months, I’ve been spending more time with a dear friend. After having a serious skin cancer removed, she’s needed help getting to and from doctor’s appointments.

As I expected, what started as simply offering her a ride has turned into treasured time catching up. Our weekly visits have felt like old times.

My friend is one of those people who brightens a room the moment she walks in—friendly and full of compliments to friends and strangers alike.

Being around her again has been a gift I didn’t realize I was in need of.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

4. Something I’m Making Space For

SURPRISE OR NO SURPRISE?

Jigsaw puzzles have always been a stress-reliever for me—they’re my guilty pleasure. This latest puzzle though, loaned to me by a friend, has been a challenge.

It’s a Mystery Puzzle by Odd Pieces.

Odd Pieces Mystery Jigsaw Puzzle – Snack Attack

The trickiest part?

The image on the box doesn’t exactly match the finished puzzle. It’s close, but not the same. The box shows a “before” scene of a school day, while the completed puzzle reveals a mystery that happens 15 seconds later as the “after” scene.

I struggled with it, moving so slowly for a while that I was almost ready to give up. Then I decided I could break the rules and work from the “after” image.

It made all the difference!

Once I could see what it was supposed to look like, it moved along quickly—and the fun came back. Sometimes a shift in perspective is all it takes to move forward again.

What’s something you enjoyed in April?

Share your thoughts in the comments.

I’m linking at these blog parties

This Month’s Wordy Invitation: Write a Poem or Blessing
{One Word 2026 April Linkup}

By LisaNotes April 26, 2026 One Word Community, Shift: One Word 2026 8 Comments

Maybe you chose a specific One Word for the year. Or maybe you didn’t.

Either way, here’s a way to reconnect with something that feels meaningful to you right now. It need not be permanent.

For the new few weeks, try this :
Play with your One Word (or any word that is capturing your attention) by creating more words around it.

Write a Poem

You don’t have to be a poet (I’m not) to write a poem. It can be small and simple. Or not.

You might:

Write a 3-line haiku
Create an acrostic using your word
Jot down a few lines of free verse
Try blackout poetry with a page from a book or magazine

Or, if writing feels like too much, find a poem that already exists and notice how your word shows up in it. Is there any word or phrase you’d like to change?

Here are a few of my playful creations with my One Word Shift:

FREE VERSE

SHIFT

While we weren’t looking
After the lean winter
The tree swells fat again

Our gaze turns round to see
The brown skinny limb
Now muscled up green and full

Without our endorsement
With none of our guidance
The leaves create the perfect shift

BLACKOUT POEM

I revisited my first blog post on Shift from New Year’s Day and printed it out. Then crossed out words to make a blackout poem from it.

You can read it easier here:

I open cold.
Practice noticing deeper breaths.
Looking for differences
stirred on the lungs, heart, brain.
Traveling on ordinary changes
affects my world,
speeding or slowing.
Important shifts
align underneath
the direction freely designed
Plans accommodate growth.
Certainty changes.
Stay grateful for
shifts.

Write a Prayer or Blessing

If poetry feels intimidating, try a prayer or blessing instead.

Think of it as a gentle offering to yourself or someone else.

It could be:

A hope for your day
An offering of support
A line of gratitude
A phrase to carry with you

It can be one sentence. Or maybe a paragraph. Maybe you’ll write it down or maybe you just keep it in your head.

You might even take a favorite quote, scripture, or passage and weave your word into it.

Here’s the blessing I wrote for you:

A BLESSING FOR LIFE

May your turns swing smooth,
May your winds sway slight,
May your path spin forward,
And may your love shift deep.

Share What You Discover

However you choose to engage with a word this month, I’d love to hear about it. You can leave a comment below or add your own blog link here through Sunday, May 10.

Looking ahead: our One Word linkup for May opens Tuesday, May 26.

Question for you:
What word have you been hearing lately?

If you’d like to receive our monthly One Word emails and ideas for 2026, join here.

- Get more One Word ideas here

Link Up About Your One Word

Feeling Off? Try These 6 Small Physical Shifts for a Reset

By LisaNotes April 21, 2026 Shift: One Word 2026 22 Comments

We all have moments when we feel a little off and can’t quite explain why.

Maybe you’re a bit tired. Or a little anxious. Or you just can’t quite get motivated to start the thing you meant to do.

Lately, I’ve been noticing how our bodies are always shifting—quietly, subtly—without us having to think about it. Like the small adjustments we make when we’ve been sitting in one place too long. Or our breathing slowing down as we start to fall asleep.

Our bodies are always working to bring us back into balance—even without our conscious help.

But there are also shifts we can choose.

They don’t have to be big, dramatic changes. Just small, almost invisible ones. The kind you can do anywhere, anytime. The kind that won’t necessarily fix anything—but are still powerful enough to gently nudge your day in a better direction.

Here are six of my favorite physical shifts for a mental reset:

1. Soften your face

Pause for a second and notice your face. Is your jaw tight? Brow furrowed? Eyes strained?
Loosen it all. Unclench your jaw. Smooth your forehead. Close your eyes. Maybe even let a small smile show up, just for a few seconds.

Sometimes releasing tension on the outside creates a little more ease on the inside too.

2. Drink a glass of water

You don’t have to wait until you’re thirsty to benefit from a drink of water.

It’s such a simple thing, but it’s easy to forget. When your body is hydrated, everything works a little better—including your ability to think clearly.

3. Step outside for a minute

Fresh air has a way of resetting things. Maybe you’ve noticed how a crying baby often gets quiet when you walk them outside.

It doesn’t have to be a long walk or a hike through the woods. Just stepping outside for a minute or two—feeling the air, noticing the light—can shift something small inside you.

4. Drop your shoulders

I don’t usually notice my shoulders until I do—and I realize how tense they are. Let your shoulders fall. Roll them back. Sit or stand a little taller.

It’s a subtle shift, but it can send a signal to the rest of your body: you’re allowed to ease up and lift your heart to the sky.

5. Take a couple deep breaths

When my grandmother was nearing the end of her life, I noticed her breaths became so shallow. Watching her breathe made me want to take deeper breaths myself.

Try it now. Slow down for a couple full inhales and long exhales.

Sometimes that’s enough to remind you to appreciate what’s still working, still moving.

6. Stretch your body

Reach your arms overhead. Roll your neck. Stand up if you’ve been sitting.
Stretching is a quiet way of noticing: I’ve been contracted. And then responding: I can expand a little now.

Not just physically—but mentally too. Our minds often follow where our bodies lead.

“Make the ordinary come alive…The extraordinary will take care of itself.”
—William Martin

None of these shifts will solve your problems or change the world.

But stepping out of autopilot—even briefly—might change you a little in this moment.
It might remind you that you do have some say in how you move through your day.