Take Back Your Life!

Oh, Toto, Come Back!

March 28, 2011 by Giulietta Nardone

A little dog wrenched my heart yesterday.

I was driving down the Massachusetts Turnpike lost in highway driving thought when a car about 200 feet in front of me swerved wildly, cut over two lanes and screeched to a halt in the breakdown lane.

Seconds later I knew why. (more…)

Invoking the Muses

March 21, 2011 by Giulietta Nardone

The way I see it, every day you write a little more of your life’s autobiography. You hold the invisible pen that writes the scenes that link together to form your life odyssey. That vision reminds me of a quote by one my of favorite writers, Jorge Luis Borges:

“A man sets out to draw the world. As the years go by, he peoples a space with images of provinces, kingdoms, mountains, bays, ships, islands, fishes, rooms, instruments, stars, horses, and individuals. A short time before he dies, he discovers that the patient labyrinth of lines traces the lineaments of his own face.” (more…)

Three Ways to Stop Sleepwalking Through Your Life

March 16, 2011 by Giulietta Nardone

Hey rebels,

I spent all of my twenties and much of my thirties sleepwalking through my life. Obediently placing my shoes in the impressions of the shoes that preceded me. Never questioning where the hell I was going.

Didn’t realize I was on autopilot until a new colleague assumed the desk behind me at my then research job. At one point after professing my boredom, she said, “read The Women Who Run With The Wolves.”

Her prose slapped me into an awakened state. The first one I’d been in since a child, when I constantly roamed my world with senses open and engaged. (more…)

I, Valentino, Meow About Fear

March 9, 2011 by Giulietta Nardone

Valentino, my cat, has been after me to do a guest post on Take Back Your Life. He’s one of the most fearless creatures I know. Thought you might enjoy his life philosophy. Please welcome him.

Hello humans!

Finally, Giulietta lets me speak. Now I can stop meowing into her ear 24/7.

Here’s my approach to life: I want to have a good time. We cats live way shorter life spans than most humans do so I don’t have a lot of time to waste on things I don’t care about. (more…)

Every downside has an upside, I think …

March 2, 2011 by Giulietta Nardone

Hello friends,

I awoke to an odd telephone call this morning.

An old, rarely used email account had been hijacked by some folks with too much time on their hands. They had sent an email to all my contacts pretending to be me. They told everyone I’d been robbed at gunpoint in England and my family needed 1,600 pounds sterling ($2,600 in US dollars) to pay off our hotel bill and purchase airline tickets to get home. (more…)