I'm Rachel. Happy to meet you!

When I was a junior in college, I rented a large house with three other women. In the dining room was a full size arcade machine of the video game Gravitar. Full sized. Can you imagine? But here’s the thing – None of us ever even tried it. Months later my boyfriend visited and he wanted to...

When was the last time you felt joy? I think of joy as happiness with carbonation added. Joy feels effervescent, bubbly. It reminds me of this scene from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Grandpa Joe & Charlie drink Wonka’s Fizzy Lifting Drink. Grandpa Joe, cantankerous from the...

Photo: Jonathan Knepper Snow day! Remember the feeling of being a kid on a snowy morning, finding out that school was canceled? Pure joy – the utter surprise of something wonderful and unexpected. Have you felt that way recently? Me neither. And the snow in Milwaukee this week made me...

My clients often assume they’re the problem. I want to exercise regularly but I’m so undisciplined.” I’m so unfocused at work; I’m just lazy.” I don’t try to change their thoughts about themselves; I just ask new questions. One of my favorites is: What else could it be, if you were not...

Happy Sunday! Sometimes I want to do something nice for a friend. A text is too small, flowers too impersonal. Maybe I think of sending a card that shares the feelings of my heart. But all the cards are too ordinary. And then – you know what happens – I do nothing. Has this ever happened to...

Happy Sunday! Embrace discomfort. This was one of the takeaways of Moonage Daydream, the new film about David Bowie. I watched it yesterday, during a rest day (thank you for your flexibility in receiving this love note on a Sunday). Moonage Daydream highlights David Bowie's artistic...

The Golden Girls Rose: Can I ask a dumb question? Dorothy: Better than anyone I know. There are no dumb questions. I have a teacher's heart and I believe this completely (even for you, Rose Nylund!). Any question, sincerely asked, opens a space for curiosity and growth. But sometimes our brain...

The Princess Bride (1987) Have you seen The Princess Bride? If you haven't, INCONCEIVABLE! This is the word that Vizzini says all the time, the one he may or may not know the meaning of. We use a lot of words without fully knowing what they mean. Some are ten-dollar words we've read but never...