ron stempkowski

The Quiet Gift of Being Seen

Posted on December 18, 2025December 18, 2025 by Ron Stempkowski

While I was outside with Hudson yesterday, one of my neighbors was out with her dog, Ripley. Hudson and Ripley like to “talk” and play without regard for the fence between them. As I turne... Read More

The Gift of Unplugging

Posted on December 17, 2025December 18, 2025 by Ron Stempkowski

The holidays can be loud. Not always in the obvious ways. Sometimes it’s the noise of schedules and obligations and travel plans and inboxes that refuse to quiet down just because the calendar says ... Read More

Permission to Pause

Posted on December 16, 2025December 16, 2025 by Ron Stempkowski

Here’s the thing about the holidays that no one really says out loud. They give us permission to pause. Not the kind of pause that comes from burnout or hitting a wall. The gentler kind. The intenti... Read More

Resilience Isn’t a Personality Trait. It’s a Practice.

Posted on December 11, 2025December 11, 2025 by Ron Stempkowski

People talk about resilience like it’s some inner superpower you either have or you don’t. I’ve never bought that. Most of the changes that shaped me didn’t arrive with a cape. They showed up ... Read More

Celebrating 15 Years of Showing Up

Posted on December 7, 2025December 7, 2025 by Ron Stempkowski

Fifteen years. I had to sit with that number for a minute. I started this blog in a very different version of my life, long before I knew how much the words would hold, or how many times they’d help... Read More

The Universal Struggle of Leaving a Cozy Bed (Especially When Hudson’s In It)

Posted on December 2, 2025December 2, 2025 by Ron Stempkowski

Some mornings, getting out of bed feels heroic. And then there are mornings like today—when Hudson is stretched beside me in full golden-retriever splendor, making the idea of standing upright seem ... Read More

When the Landscape Shifts Overnight

Posted on November 29, 2025November 29, 2025 by Ron Stempkowski

It’s snowing today. The kind of steady, quiet snow that doesn’t announce itself with drama. One minute, the world is the same familiar gray; the next, it’s wearing a brand-new coat like it g... Read More

The Quiet Gratitude That Stays

Posted on November 28, 2025November 27, 2025 by Ron Stempkowski

the leftovers are stacked in the fridge that makes space for the good stuff to surface. Not the performative kind of gratitude, but the real, lived-in kind—the moments that catch you off guard and r... Read More

It’s Okay if Gratitude Doesn’t Feel Natural Right Now

Posted on November 26, 2025November 26, 2025 by Ron Stempkowski

Some days, gratitude feels easy. Other days, it feels like trying to read fine print in the dark. And if you’re in one of those darker stretches right now, I want to say something simple: there’s ... Read More

Grief Taught Me to See Differently

Posted on November 25, 2025November 25, 2025 by Ron Stempkowski

There was a time when the word gratitude felt impossible. People love to offer it up as a cure-all—look for the silver lining, focus on the good, find the lesson. But when you’re living inside rea... Read More

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