THE SUNDAY PAPER
“I’VE BEEN THINKING”
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LATEST EDITIONS
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: Deep in the Great Smoky Mountains…
"Those who tell the stories rule the world." — Hopi American Indian proverb I love striking up conversations with people from all walks of life, especially those who have walked down paths I know nothing about. I try to have these conversations as often as I can,...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: What a Beautiful Life
"My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor and some style." — Maya Angelou My friend Clay wrote me the other day to tell me about a book he’s reading. It’s called Seven Ages of Paris, and in...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: Less Is More
"I have spent my whole life judging the distance between American reality and the American dream." — Bruce Springsteen The other night, I was having dinner with a friend when she said something that really struck me. She said: “I just want less. Less stuff. Less to...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: What’s Your Reaction?
"Reaction: a boat which is going against the current, but which does not prevent the river from flowing on." — Victor Hugo My entire life, I’ve always been that person who says to the doctor, “I’m not allergic to anything.” I’ve also been that person who reads the...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: Make Yourself a Light
"Make of yourself a light." — said the Buddha, before he died. The picture above is a space in my yard where I go when I need to center myself. It is my sanctuary. It is where I come when I feel overwhelmed. It is where I sit when I can’t figure out what I think...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: Feeling Blessed
"To be awake is to be alive." — Henry David Thoreau There are some days when thinking gives way to feeling. This is one of those days for me. Today, I am getting out of my head and into my heart. Why? Because my heart feels full. I feel grateful. I feel hopeful. I...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: There’s No Place Like Home
"The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned." — Maya Angelou It was early evening when it happened. I was walking back to my car after a boxing session (yup, I box!), when I turned the corner and encountered a...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: It’s Time to Have Some Fun
"Have fun is my message. Be silly. You're allowed to be silly. There's nothing wrong with it." — Jimmy Fallon A few days ago, a friend said to me, “Maria, you have got to start going out more! You have got to start having more fun!” Her words landed like a thud...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: Finding the “Why” in Your Life
"We begin to find and become ourselves when we notice how we are already found, already truly, entirely, wildly, messily, marvelously who we were born to be.” — Anne Lamott Earlier this week, I had dinner with my friends Martha and Ro. They used to live just a short...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: A Mother’s Day Message
"Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.” — Barbara Kingsolver I love Mother’s Day because I just love, love, love being a mother. It’s such an honor to bring a child into this world. It’s such a humbling experience to try to get it “right”...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: The Joy of Connection
"When the world is complicated, the simple gift of friendship is in all our hands.” — Maria I’m so happy May is upon us because it’s a month that feels like spring. It feels light. It feels joyful. It feels full of possibility. Everywhere you look, you can see nature...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: What Are You Great At?
"It is the ability to choose which makes us human.” — Madeleine L'Engleakes The other night at my Sunday dinner, my friend Chelsea asked me if I had read the book "Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less" by Greg McKeown. When I told her no, she said: "If...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: An Easter Sunday Message For You
"Salvation is the root. The resurrection is the fruit.” — Bishop T.D. Jakes Happy Easter! Happy Easter! Happy Easter! Just writing those words makes me smile. Easter is all about rising and resurrection, as I mentioned last week. That makes me smile this morning as...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: The Power to Rise Again
"We may stumble and fall, but shall rise again; it should be enough if we did not run away from the battle.” — Mahatma Gandhi Today marks the beginning of Holy Week. As a child, I used to love going to church on Palm Sunday and trying to turn my palm into a crucifix...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: Let’s Be Ambassadors of Reconciliation
"The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” — Rumi The other day, the priest at my church said something that caught my attention. He spoke about becoming what he called an “Ambassador of Reconciliation.” “Are there individuals you have chosen to walk away...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: What Happens When You Protect Your Values
"Where you see wrong or inequality or injustice, speak out, because this is your country. This is your democracy. Make it. Protect it. Pass it on.” — Thurgood Marshall After my daughter watched the documentary Finding Neverland the other night, she wrote me a note...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: This Is What Strong Leadership Looks Like
"One's life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, indignation and compassion.” — Simone de Beauvoir In my time in Abu Dhabi for the Special Olympics World Games, I was struck by a few things. 1) How vast the...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: Let’s Show the World a Different Way
"Isn't it amazing that we are all made in God's image, and yet there is so much diversity among his people?” — Desmond Tutu Sometimes you are lucky enough to take a trip at just the right moment... I have been in Abu Dhabi this week for the Special Olympics World...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: It’s Getting Better…
"Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.” — Chinese Proverbour fears.” Last week, I wrote that things are going to get better. This week, there were several examples that I was right! For one, there was a huge breakthrough in the global...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: What Can We Do Without?
"May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.” — Nelson Mandela When I read that ratings were up for this year's Academy Awards—the “no-host Oscars,” as they've been called—I have to admit that I wasn't surprised. It also got me thinking. If the Oscars can...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: How to Stay Focused On the Light
"We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light a candle that can guide us through the darkness to a safe and sane future.” — John F. Kennedy How does one stay in the know, without getting lost in the noise? This is a topic I touched upon in my essay last week,...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: Turn Off the Noise. Turn Up the Hope.
"Happiness depends more upon the internal flame of a person's own mind than on the externals of the world.” — George Washington National emergency! National emergency! National emergency! After the news broke, the TV pundits started chattering nonstop about the...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: The Power of Love to Move Us Forward
"The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.” — Victor Hugo I have to say, there were more than a few times last week when I thought, “What is happening in our world?” The way Jeff...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: A Reflection on this Historic Moment
"All the possibilities of your human destiny are asleep in your soul. You are here to realize and honor these possibilities.” — John O'Donohue The other morning, I picked up a copy of my local newspaper and simply stopped and stared at the front page. Right there...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: The Power of the Pause
"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” — Winston Churchill Back in 2012, I gave a commencement speech called “The Power of the Pause" in which I spoke about the value of pausing before one reacts,...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: What Is It You Plan To Do?
"When it's all over, I want to say: all my life I was a bride married to amazement.” — Mary Oliver The other day, I was talking to a friend about the people who have most impacted our lives. She shared with me a moving encounter she recently had with a stranger and...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: Tag, You’re It
"Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this.” — Henry David Thoreau This week, I’ve been thinking a lot about the different speeches that have been on TV these last few days. Yes,...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: Your Adventure Awaits
"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go." — T.S. Eliot On the first day of 2019, I sat down and meditated on how blessed I am to get this chance at a new year of life. I focused on my intention to embrace the year ahead as one big...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: A Reflection As We Approach the New Year
"For last year's words belong to last year's language. And next year's words await another voice." — T.S. Eliot Another year is upon us. Isn't it amazing? It feels like just yesterday that I was embarking on 2018 and preparing to launch I've Been Thinking... into the...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: A Reflection on My Family’s Holiday Tradition
"Christmas is a holiday that we celebrate not as individuals nor as a nation, but as a human family." — Ronald Reagan Every year, just a few days before Christmas, my family and I sit down in our home with a minister friend and focus on the true meaning of the season....
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: What Is It Like to Be You Right Now?
"The spiritual path is not a solo endeavor. In fact, the very notion of a self who is trying to free her/himself is a delusion. We are in it together and the company of spiritual friends helps us realize our interconnectedness." — Tara Brach Last week, as I was...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: Honoring A Life Well-Lived
"Every man's life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another." — Ernest Hemingway There are some weeks when I wait until the very end to write my “I’ve Been Thinking…” essay for The Sunday Paper....
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: A Moment of Decision
"The unending paradox is that we do learn through pain." — Madeleine L'Engle There I was last Sunday, sitting on my porch reading, when I came across a fascinating and inspiring article in the newspaper. (My porch is my favorite spot to sit, think, read, reflect,...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: The Spirit of the Season
"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see." — Mark Twain And so it begins… The holiday madness. The holiday rush. Everywhere you look, you see ads for this and that. Must buys. Must haves. Must gets. I, for one, find it all to be...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: The Power of Coming Together
"Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver." — Barbara De Angelis The other day, I woke up to a text from my friend Matthew DiGirolamo. Matthew and I worked together for many...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: Getting Your Internal House in Order
"In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you." — Deepak Chopra As I watched the news unfold on Thursday about the mass shooting in Thousand Oaks, here in California, a woman on the treadmill next to me at the gym said, “You know, you can’t go...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: The Gift of a New Beginning
“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” - Eleanor Roosevelt Guess what Tuesday is? Yep, it’s Election Day. But it’s also my birthday! Yippee! Every year as my...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: The Power of Acceptance
"Accept—then act. Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it ... This will miraculously transform your whole life." — Eckhart Tolle When my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, I heard the words, but...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: The Power of You
When you doubt your power, you give power to your doubt." — Honore de Balzac My friend Martha said something to me the other day that stopped me cold. “I have an idea for you,” she said. Having no idea what her idea could possibly be, I said, “Go for it. Tell me.”...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: Healing Our Nation Starts From Within
"If there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in the person. If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the house. If there is harmony in the house, there will be order in the nation. If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: Where There Is Anger, There Is Hope
"The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life." — Jane Addams I know many of you are waking up feeling enraged, angry, frustrated and disillusioned this morning. Meanwhile,...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: Where Do We Go From Here?
"The ego seeks to divide and separate. The spirit seeks to unify and heal." — Pema Chodron I had been looking forward to this past week for months. My youngest son turned 21 on Thursday, and months ago, I made plans to fly out to see him in Michigan and celebrate....
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: Learning to Find Your Voice
“The moment a woman comes home to herself, the moment she knows that she has become a person of influence, an artist of her life, a sculptor of her universe, a person with rights and responsibilities who is respected and recognized, the resurrection of the world...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: Making the Most of Right Here, Right Now
"Time is really the only capital that any human being has, and the only thing he can't afford to lose." - Thomas Edison This week, I’ve been thinking about how many of us spend our present lives stuck in the future. “When I make this much money, I’ll finally do x, y...
Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: Why We Should Make Time for Wonder
"Wisdom begins in wonder." — Socrates Dear Friend (a.k.a., you, the Sunday Paper reader), How have you been? I’ve missed you over these past few weeks. Even though I spent August taking a spiritual break, I found myself missing our weekly connection. I must confess,...
Maria’s Sunday Paper: The Importance of a Spiritual Break
A few weekends ago, I went to visit my brother Bobby and his family in Wyoming. He left LA about two years ago, and at the time, his departure really hit me hard. I liked having him as a neighbor and so close by. But my essay today isn’t really about why he moved or...
Maria’s Sunday Paper: The Power of Inclusion
Before this week even started, I knew that I wanted to write my essay this Sunday about inclusion and unity. I knew that I wanted to write about pushing for change. About staying the course. About the power that one voice and one idea can have in making a difference....
Maria’s Sunday Paper: The Power of Relationships
Love. It’s that four-letter word that makes our world go ‘round. Artists sing about love. Writers write about love. Painters paint about love. Protestors take to the streets carrying placards that plead for more love. And, every once in a while, a political leader...
Maria’s Sunday Paper: The Power of Community
The other day, my brother Timothy spoke to a packed stadium as he opened the Special Olympics USA Games in Seattle. As he talked about “taking a stand for inclusion,” everyone in the stadium rose to their feet. Tears filled their eyes. Hearts burst with inspiration. A...
Maria’s Sunday Paper: What I’m Thinking Ahead of This Fourth of July
The other morning when I sat down to meditate, my mind was bouncing all over the place and I struggled to access a place of calm. One second, I was thinking about my children. The next, I was thinking about the children who have been separated from their parents at...
Maria’s Sunday Paper: Now Is the Time to Find Your Voice. Now Is the Time to Care.
I’ve changed this column numerous times over the past few days. Why? Because words matter, and I wanted to convey a message this week that is hopeful, yet still has just the right amount of indignation to it. After all, this is a moment that requires some indignation....
Maria’s Sunday Paper: Making Memories That Last a Lifetime
I’ve been thinking about how to make each and every day matter. How to make each and every day memorable and meaningful. If the last week or so has taught us anything, it’s that people are super fragile. All of us are, at one point or another. It’s hard to know what’s...
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Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: Deep in the Great Smoky Mountains…
"Those who tell the stories rule the world." — Hopi American Indian proverb I love striking up conversations with people from all walks of life, especially those who have walked down paths I know nothing about. I try to have these conversations as often as I can,...
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