Recently, two people told me that they’re finally going to start taking care of themselves this year. They had let themselves get run down and run over after decades of thinking that self-care was selfish. I applauded their efforts to…
When it’s NOT the most wonderful time of the year: strategies for sanity
Look around you. Does everyone else seem joyful, festive, and full of holiday spirit? Everyone, it seems, but you. Perhaps someone important is missing from your life and you’re drowning in deep sorrow. Perhaps you’re absolutely miserable. The truth is…
Will Your Future Self Thank You?
A miracle has occurred in my life. After many years of eschewing rigorous exercise, I am now involved in a sport. I’m celebrating three months of regular participation in the high intensity, constantly varied, functional sport known as Crossfit. Believe…
What Door is Opening for You?
September is a mixed bag for me. On the one hand, it heralds the end of those especially sweet long summer days. The season’s playfulness starts to ebb away with the longer, cooler nights of September. On the other hand,…
When Life Dishes Out the Unexpected – and it Always Does
Once upon a time there was a land where the people expected to find love, prosperity, and happiness . . . always. They expected good luck and good fortune and were bitterly disappointed when the unexpected occurred. The problem was…
Are You A River or A Lake?
Life, like a river, can at times be rushing, wild, and swift. You can have days, years, even decades that resemble the high intensity energy of a river. Yet, life can also be like a lake — calm, spacious, and…
Life after Death
Saying goodbye last year to my sweet furry friend, Hickory, was heartbreaking. My constant companion of 15 years, he was with me as I raised and launched my children. He followed me as I lived with one husband and then…
Requiem
Requiem . . . Latin for “rest.” It comforts me to imagine a resting place of heavenly peace for all those whom we have loved and lost; a place where they are granted a peace so sublime that there is…
Be Curious, Not Furious
Curiosity may have killed the cat but it will do wonders for your relationship. The next time your partner, colleague, teenager, parent, or annoying friend does something that triggers your anger, stop . . . breathe . . . and…
Healthy Grieving
Because loss is a natural part of living, so too is grief a natural process that we need to understand. Most of us will be on that path sooner or later. Knowing some of the elements of healthy grieving sheds…