à la carte spirit by ilona fried
ilona fried
A Recipe for Life: Zero Expectations + Zero Judgments + Endless Curiosity
I am in Florence, Massachusetts, a small town once home to a silk mill, named after the Italian city. As an experiment in rural living, I’m renting the lower part of a secluded home surrounded by woods, with no other residence in sight. The mailbox is a five minute walk down a narrow, winding driveway. … Continue reading
Musings on My Zen Haircut
I am sporting a lousy haircut. The roots of this sad salon saga begin at a swimming pool, or perhaps in a previous life. Who knows? In late August my local YMCA closed its pool for major repairs for three weeks. Because I swim almost daily to continue to thaw my frozen shoulder, I couldn’t … Continue reading
Want to Go Far? Don’t Push. Play!
“How far did you get?” The young woman asking me this question worked at a pop-up boat rental operation in Western Massachusetts. I had just rented a kayak for an hour, my first time in such a watercraft. I had been wanting to try kayaking for a while, yet whenever the impulse arose, the long-ago … Continue reading
An Apology to Oatmeal
For much of my life I didn’t want to go near oatmeal, the Birkenstocks of food: good for you but an aesthetic disaster. Dull of hue and bland of taste, what was there to love? Oatmeal conjured thoughts of gruel, served to Oliver and his fellow orphans in Dickensian England, or porridge, something thick that … Continue reading
Missed Connections: When a Dream Portends Reality
In a world where talk is cheap and fast, to feel listened to is a precious gift. That is why I have practiced reflective listening for several years via Living Compassion. It’s created a structured program, with clear and precise guidelines for how to participate. Each quarter it assigns reflective listening “buddies”. Last night I … Continue reading
à la carte spirit by ilona fried 
Recent comments