“The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction, not a destination.” ~Carl Rogers
I had just gotten settled into my hospital bed after two hours of preparation. I had 32 electrodes taped to my bandage-wrapped skull, plugged into a machine that monitored my brainwaves, with just enough room to go from the bed to the bathroom.… Read More
“Dwelling on the negative simply contributes to its power.” ~Shirley MacLaine
I love her to death, but it’s draining to talk to her.
Every time I call this friend of mine, I know what I’m in for: a half-hour rant about everything that’s difficult, miserable, or unfair.
Sometimes she focuses on the people she feels have wronged her, and other times she explores the general hopelessness of life.… Read More
“All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today.” ~Proverb
For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to contribute to the world somehow. I’ve always dreamed of starting a charity organization. I bet that, just like me, you walk around with some sort of wish in your heart to change the world in some way, but you might not do anything about it.… Read More
“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.” ~Unknown
Maybe someone hurt you physically or emotionally. Maybe you’ve survived something else traumatic—a natural disaster, a fire, an armed robbery. Or maybe you’ve just come out of a trying situation, and though you know you’ll eventually recover, you still feel pain that seems unbearable.… Read More
“The secret of joy is the mastery of pain” ~Anais Nin
I come from a family of runners. They run from pain, emotions, and uncomfortable feelings.
My mom was 17 when she moved to Texas to get away from her overbearing mother. She couldn’t deal with the pain of never being enough for her parents or herself.… Read More
“Nothing reduces the odds against you like ignoring them.” ~Robert Brault
Do you ever wake up feeling like you’re battling yourself?
What’s worse is waking up in that battle and feeling like you’ve already lost before you’ve even started the day.
But think about that for a second: isn’t living this way crazy?… Read More
“Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow. It only saps today of its joy.” ~Leo Buscaglia
They say the greatest joy in life is to be able to live your passion every day, and I only had to look to my teens to remember that what I had always enjoyed doing most—working out.… Read More
“Every problem has a gift for you in its hands.” ~Richard Bach
There are times when nothing seems to move in the right direction. It is either stuck or goes from chaos to confusion. Days follow nights as pages on the calendar turn into months, but you remain at the same place.… Read More
“Happiness is that state of consciousness which proceeds from the achievement of one’s values.” ~Ayn Rand
For too many years, I played the part of the perfect little southern girl: I kept my mouth shut and my opinions to myself. I dressed properly, including panty hose, slips, and girdles. I didn’t laugh too loudly in public. … Read More
“Happiness is really a deep inner satisfaction and approval” ~Francis Wiltshire
At the start of the year many of us make resolutions about what we want to give up, what we need to let go—from quitting smoking (did that 20+ years ago), to cutting back on alcohol (a work in progress), to cutting back on not-so-healthy foods (also in progress), to letting go of past “demons.”
There’s a lot to be gained by letting go of past pain, by breaking bad habits.… Read More
“In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.” ~Brother David Steindl-Rast
In the summer of 1993, my father was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.
He was only 58. Still just a kid.
To say the least, this was a devastating development.… Read More
“Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.” ~Dalai Lama
I’m betting you’ve heard the advice to “follow your bliss.” While I find there to be much value in those words, I submit that this mindset can become a trap.
It’s not the bliss I have an issue with.… Read More
“We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.” ~Dalai Lama
What comes after peace? Have you ever stopped to think about this?
We spend so much of our time and energy working to attain both inner and global peace, but have we ever stopped to think about what this really means?… Read More
“Beauty is how you feel inside, and it reflects in your eyes. It is not something physical.” ~Sophia Loren
Even though I got Joey McIntyre from The New Kids on the Block to sign my scoliosis back brace in the sixth grade, I still felt ugly wearing it.
I didn’t realize the irony back then, but in retrospect it seems a little funny I grew crooked considering I convinced myself I was wilting in my sister’s shadow.… Read More
“If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” ~Oprah Winfrey
I live in an old house.
It is 212 years old this year, to be exact.
We’ve added onto it over the years so it presents itself as more youthful than its age. The old bones remain, though, as well as many of the quirks.… Read More
“The future is always beginning now.” ~Mark Strand
Do you ever feel like there’s something missing in your life? It feels like you’re always waiting for something to arrive. You want the future to come, because it’s better there.
But that’s all wrong.
The future is an illusion. It’s just a concept in your head.… Read More
“Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love.” ~Rumi
You know what it is; you’ve always known. Maybe it’s been just a shadow in the fog, or it’s crystal clear in amazing Technicolor before your eyes. Either way, it’s there, sometimes stinging you with a numb sense of denial, sometimes scratching at your skin like a bad case of poison sumac.… Read More
“Don’t worry about what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ~Howard Thurman
When I was eight years old I saw a news report on a war. A wounded woman was crying on a stretcher, and soldiers were carrying guns running around her.… Read More
“Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace.” ~Buddha
Life is short. Time spent feeling angry or resentful about things that happened or didn’t happen is time squandered.
What’s that? You think those feelings motivate you and help you get things done? Hogwash! If you’re honest with yourself, you realize getting things done isn’t the end goal.… Read More
“Happiness held is the seed. Happiness shared is the flower.” ~John Harrigan
Last week my brother, sister, and brother-in-law visited me, just after my sister’s honeymoon. I’d been on the east coast the week prior, serving as my sister’s Maid of Honor.
On one of our two big day trips, we went to Disneyland—somewhere my boyfriend and I go frequently.… Read More
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