Ann Elizabeth Grace, Author

Hi, all! I have a book signing coming up, and would love for you to stop by if you’re in the area. At some point during the day I’ll give a talk about my book, Confusion to Clarity: The Twentysomething’s Guide to Finding Your Calling.

Here are the details:

Hope to see you there!

Since the recent move, I’ve been exploring various spiritual communities in our area. This exploration led my husband and me to attend a Unitarian Universalist service last weekend. The hour was lovely, complete with a Buddhist Tonglen meditation, hearty banjo music, and contemplative moments to ringing bells.

The minister also gave a captivating talk. She spoke of her lifelong journey of coming to know God. In childhood, like many of us, she associated God with a deity who alternately rewarded the good and punished the bad. She also pleaded with him to fulfill her youthful desires. Couldn’t he please make the cute boy in middle school like her back?

As she became an adult, this view of God struck her as silly. She tossed it out. She also disdained other people who believed in God. How could they swallow such nonsense? Because her view of God had not evolved since childhood, she assumed theirs hadn’t either. This was a false assumption.  Read more…

I just watched a fascinating documentary called Forks Over Knives. I recommend it to anyone who'd like to learn more about the connection between food and health. The film presents a compelling look at the benefits of eating a plant-based diet, free of animal products.

Even before watching the film, I’ve flirted with the idea of becoming vegan. Plant-based foods make me go weak in the knees with their rich colors, textures, and flavors. But in reality, dairy and I still maintain a strong love affair as well. I consider myself a practical vegetarian. I rarely eat meat or seafood, but allow room for flexibility. For example, I occasionally eat dishes prepared with chicken broth. And a couple of months ago I ordered “veggie tuna” at a deli, thinking it was some type of faux tuna. When I dug in, I quickly discovered it was the real thing, only with some celery sprinkled in. No worries. I savored every bite.

I'm not qualified to make dietary recommendations to others, and am not trying to do so. All I know is that I've personally experienced food to be wonderful medicine for ailments of all kinds. If you're interested, check out the documentary!

Gentle hum of crickets
Spontaneous birdsong
Frisky squirrel skittering by
New fall breeze grazing my arm
Steaming lemon ginger tea
Crisp purple grapes
Afternoon sunlight streaming through the window
Fresh air filling my lungs
Stillness of mind
A day just like today
A moment just like this one
 

“Trust yourself, and you will know how to live.”

–Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Among my greatest joys of living in Beijing has been the opportunity to volunteer for a terrific organization: United Foundation for Children’s Health. UFCH improves healthcare access for orphans and impoverished children in China. The love and resilience of the kids, along with the devotion of the caregivers, doctors, and UFCH team, are truly inspiring.

Below is an excerpt from the website:

In China today there are an estimated 820,000 orphans. Many of these children are abandoned at birth once their parents discover they suffer from a congenital defect. Although many of these defects are treatable, often the lack of information and/or high medical costs result in abandonment. These children will be sent to live in orphanages that do not receive funds to cover the cost of these needed surgeries.

The average orphanage receives roughly $30 a month per child to cover food, shelter, clothing, caregivers’ salary and medical costs. Life-saving surgeries just cannot be afforded. According to the China adoption guidelines, only children who have received their needed surgeries may be put up for adoption. Most of these children will never have the opportunity for the medical care they so desperately need and will have no hope of finding a family.

UFCH is an organization of caring people committed to doing our very best to improve access to healthcare for these children. After being in this field for nine years, we can definitively say that receiving the needed medical care not only saves that child’s life, but also gives her a real chance at a future.

If you'd like to learn more, visit www.unitedfoundation.org

A few days ago I was a guest on Talkbox, a talk show on Beijing radio’s bilingual station AM774. Chloe (the host), Holly (the cohost), and I covered a lot of ground…from the struggles facing Chinese and American 20somethings, to finding your calling, to Forest Gump!

Click here to listen: May 19th Talkbox Radio Show

**When you visit the web page, look to the box on the right side. Scroll through the shows and click on the May 19th, 2011 episode titled “Confusion to Clarity.” Just let me know if you have any trouble tuning in.

On Monday, I gave a presentation called Overcoming the Quarterlife Crisis. The quarterlife crisis is the period of time in our 20s, and often 30s, during which we feel lost, confused, and overwhelmed by the question: “What do you want to do with your life?” We may look around at our peers and feel that we just don’t measure up. Perhaps you are in the midst of your own struggles, or know someone who is.

I take seriously the emotional stress of the quarterlife crisis, especially after having lived through it myself. I also know its powerfully transformative effects. The transformation occurs when we are willing to be patient with the process, dig deeply within ourselves for answers, and make step-by-step choices based on our true desires.

The workshop was, for me, uplifting. I learned a great deal from the participants and felt deeply inspired by their open minds and hearts. For a sample of the evening, see below for 10 tips I discussed for getting through this challenging life phase.  Read more…

Last night, my husband and I were reading before bed. I noticed him set down Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now and sink deep into concentration. The passages had visibly affected him.

“Penny for your thoughts?” I asked.

“I’m thinking about quieting my mind,” he said.

A pause. Then his oxymoron clicked, and we started to laugh. Thinking about quieting the mind. How relatable! The busy nature of mind is such that we often spend more time trying to tame it than actually doing so. 

I know this from personal experience. I’ve been meditating daily for a decade yet still find myself swept down the wild rapids of thought. But practice does help. Meditation is like exercise. The more you do it, the more natural it gets. Read more…

The other morning, I awoke feeling uneasy. I’d just emerged from a dream in which I was taunted for being less successful than someone else. The “taunters” reveled in comparing me negatively to others. I kept trying to escape by darting to a bright, childlike playland, but couldn’t get away.

Upon reflection, I saw that each aspect of my dream represented a part of myself. The person more accomplished than me symbolized an idealized image of success. The taunters were my choir of inner critics who push me to improve through harsh assessments. (Yep, still a recovering perfectionist!) The playland was the safe haven I seek—where I’m free to be myself, no upgrades needed.

Writing Confusion to Clarity taught me that I'm not the only 20something who occasionally compares myself to others. Far from it. Read more…