Photographing a juvenile Cormorant on Anna Maria Island in Florida.

Wakeful, curious wonder is the lens of my life.

I've spent over 40 years learning with others, preschool through adult, as a Montessori, parent, and art educator.

I devote most of my time studying and practicing meditation. I like to meditate with others, especially children.

My Montessori teaching practice is best described as subordinating teaching to learning, something I learned from Caleb Gattegno while studying with Janice Mattina at Center Montessori School. Gattegno said that the role of teachers is to engender awareness in their students. That rings a bell in my heart.

In 2000 I co-founded a neighborhood conservation group (Adena Brook Community, Columbus, Ohio) inspired by Margaret Wheatley’s caring conversation principles. With others, I worked regularly for eight years to learn about and transform a ravine ecosystem and park (declared lost by a state conservationist) to its native habitat. I recommend trying this.

An event that has been my greatest teacher is the unexpected passing of my son in 2006.  His leaving taught me so much about loss, connection, and feeling. With the support of meditation, I gained a deeper understanding of the transformative aspect of difficulties. I learned to use the healing power of grief to build and dedicate to him rainwater, butterfly, and organic vegetable garden projects. Most of these projects were created with students.

The love and listener of my life is Terry Barrett. My heart melts when I'm part of conversations he fosters with groups of people using contemporary art and personal life experiences to better understand the human condition and connect with others.

I count being a mom and stepmom, and a grandma to nine fun, kind, energetic, and alert super beings as the best thing that's ever happened to me. I sometimes write whimsical books for them.

Amazing as it seems, an incurable cancer diagnosis in 2011 woke me up to living life in an immeasurably beneficial way. Call it a meditation marvel, but I think I'm cured.

I am especially grateful to Pema Chödron, Viktor Frankl, Thich Nhat Hanh, Khenpo Kunga, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, Mary Oliver, Tim Olmsted, Maria Popova, Carl Rogers, and Fred Rogers for their teachings and writings.

Susan