“Humbleness, forgiveness, clarity and love are the dynamics of freedom. They are the foundations of authentic power.” ~Gary Zukav
It was a little after 9:00 PM when my mother’s next-door neighbor called upset, hysterical even. Within seconds of hearing her voice, I knew something wasn’t right.
I was getting one of those calls that everyone dreads.… Read More
“At any given moment, you have the power to say: This is not how the story is going to end.” ~ Christine Mason Miller
Sometimes you do or say things you regret. If you’ve experienced this recently, you might be struggling to forgive yourself, especially if your actions hurt someone you love.… Read More
“The more you love your decisions, the less you need others to love them.” ~Unknown
I got on that twelve-hour flight thinking I was ready. Yet during the travel from my house to the airport to Belgium, my feelings were suspiciously neutral.
I neither hated where I was nor felt strong emotional attachment.… Read More
“Don’t miss all the beautiful colors of the rainbow looking for that pot of gold.” ~Unknown
It’s frustrating, isn’t it?
Stumbling through life without a clear sense of direction. Wondering day after day if it’s ever going to get better.
After all, perpetual joy and a meaningful life are only for the rich and famous.… Read More
“When you judge another, you do not define them. You define yourself.” ~Wayne Dyer
I’ve always been judgmental. I will judge someone else’s buying habits, looks, grammar, or political beliefs and get some perverse pleasure in it. It’s very painful for me to admit that.
You see, I strive to be kind and compassionate toward myself and toward others.… Read More
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ~Maya Angelou
We all want to be around people who make us feel lighter and happy. We love seeing and interacting with people who brighten our days.… Read More
“There is only one cause of unhappiness: the false beliefs you have in your head, beliefs so widespread, so commonly held, that it never occurs to you to question them.” ~Anthony de Mello
Do you believe in soul mates?
I did. I also believed that the only way to be blissfully happy was to be with mine.… Read More
“People want to be creatively satisfied, and having fun is such an important part of that.” ~John Lasseter
I stopped having fun when my mother was diagnosed with dementia.
I didn’t have time for fun because I had to spend every spare moment thinking about Mom, wondering how I could help her, talking to my dad, wondering how I could help him, and worrying about the future, including fretting over whether I, too, was losing my mind.… Read More
“Happiness is enjoying the moment for what it is, not what it could be or should be.” ~Unknown
Many of us have been there…
The alarm goes off. In anger, we strike the wretched machine in hopes of getting a few more precious minutes of beauty sleep.
It’s Monday again. The weekend is over and it will be another five days—120 hours, 7,200 minutes, 432,000 seconds—until we throw up our hands again in triumph and say, “Thank goodness it’s Friday!”
We’ve often committed ourselves to the lie that Monday must be terrible.… Read More
In my high school yearbook’s class prophecy, it was predicted that I would one day write and star in a one-woman show about my life called “Stress.”
I was chronically frazzled—in a constant state of panic about everything I had to do and had already done but may not have done well enough.… Read More
“There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other wings.” ~Johann Wolfang von Goethe
In 2010 two major life events marked my life forever: my father lost his battle with melanoma and I become a mother.
Both events came unexpectedly.… Read More
“Every experience, good or bad, is a priceless collector’s item.” ~Isaac Marion
Last year was a thrilling one for my sweet boys, ages eight and eleven. Thanks to birthdays, Diwali, and Christmas, they were fortunate enough to receive most of the things they’d been begging for throughout the year.
As we sat on our couch on New Year’s day, I asked them what their best memories were from 2014.… Read More
“We can let circumstances rule us, or we can take charge and rule our lives from within.” ~Earl Nightingale
Last Christmas, I was jobless.
With piling bills and debts, I was trying to switch from a freelancer to a full-time employee. I had been job hunting for weeks, with zero results.… Read More
“It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward.” ~Proverb
You wouldn’t believe it now, but in my college days I did my fair share of crash diets.
The craziest was the one where I tried (and failed) to eat nothing but oranges for nine days.… Read More
“I now see how owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do.” ~Brené Brown
When it comes to taking on a creative endeavor—or even just putting ourselves out there in ways large and small—one of the (many) ways we get ourselves stuck is by saying we don’t have anything new to offer.… Read More
“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” ~E.E. Cummings
For a long time, I felt disconnected from my life. I’d spent most of it on autopilot, either regretting the past or dreaming about the future.
I regretted being too afraid to read an essay at the monthly open mic near me for all those years.… Read More
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