Maria’s Sunday Paper: A New Year’s Eve Message

On this New Year’s Eve, we here at The Sunday Paper want to take a moment to say thank you for being in community with us this year. Each week, Maria shares her “I’ve Been Thinking” essays, as well as news and views from others who are moving humanity forward, with the h...

Maria’s Sunday Paper: What Christmas Eve Means to Me

Christmas Eve is powerful. At least it is for me. Hearing the music at my church on this day moves me. It’s stirring and beautiful. I love to see so many families there together, dressed in their Christmas best. The parable of the holy family —searching for a place to give birth and...

Maria’s Sunday Paper: What I’m Hoping to Do More of This Holiday Season

This week, I’ve been thinking, feeling, watching, listening, and taking stock of my life. It’s been hard not to do this, as I’ve spent time unpacking all of the items that I packed up while preparing to evacuate from the wildfires. I’ve been taking stock not just of the “stu...

Kindness Is Not a Seasonal Brand

As I was listening to the radio the other morning, someone on-air said, “Isn’t this the time of year when we are all supposed to be nice to each other. It’s the holiday season and we should all be kind to one another, right?” This sentiment struck me as disruptive on many levels, es...

10 Ways To Have Yourself a Merry Little Holiday

It’s that time of year again: the modern miracle known as The Holidays, when into the dark little months of late November and December, we squeeze Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, New Years Eve, and a myriad of other celebrations, from ancient Solstice rituals to the more contemp...

It’s Time For a Kindness Revolution

A much better writer than I could ever hope to be, Zora Neale Hurston once said, “There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” What of the years that do both? What of the months, the days that do both? We stand today in a world filled with questions, and many people will ...

10 Ways To Give Back to Architects of Change

If you've been inspired by the Architects of Change Maria has interviewed this year, then may we encourage you to consider them when making your charitable giving this holiday season. We've certainly met some extraordinary individuals this year who have devoted their lives to moving humanity...

The Sound of a Happy House: When Your Kids Come Home for the Holidays

There’s something about the barely discernible hush of a house when your family is under one roof, asleep in their beds. It’s somewhere between a whisper and a sigh, and it’s just this side of silence — that ever-so-soft sound a home makes late at night when the kids are tucked in an...

Tips For Managing Your Holiday Stress Levels

The holiday season is upon us, which has many people’s stress levels on high alert. For some of you, just the thought of traveling or being around family can ­bring on those deep breaths of anxiety. Please kindly allow me to be blunt: family parties and the holiday hustle can, indeed, ...

Maria’s Sunday Paper: Nothing Like a Wildfire to Get Your Priorities in Check…

What a week it has been. Wednesday, I awoke to the smell of smoke inside my home. I rushed to my back door and found that smoke filled the air outside as well. Immediately, I knew something was wrong. I turned on the news and saw that wildfires were raging out of control just a few ...