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Why I Was Addicted to Attention, Lies, and Drama

By in Blog, love & relationships

I’ve done a lot of things for attention that I’m not proud of. I’ve created drama. I’ve bragged. I’ve exaggerated. I’ve hurt people. I’ve hurt myself. I’ve lied and lied and lied.

No one wants to be labeled as an “attention seeker.” When people say, “She’s just doing it for attention,” they don’t mean it as a compliment. I knew this. And I knew that people said these things about me.

And still, I couldn’t stop.

I spend a lot of time around animals, especially cats. It’s easy to see which ones have experienced starvation. They have constant anxiety about …

A Beautiful Heart Will Bring More Joy into Your Life

By in Fun & Inspiring

How Creativity Heals Us and Why It’s a Gift to the World

By in Blog, happiness & fun, mindfulness & peace

“Creativity is the way I share my soul with the world.” ~Brené Brown

I wrote a poem today for the woman I love(d).

Just a few weeks ago, I fully believed she was the one I’d be with forever. Love forever. My heart was open so deep and wide to her. We talked about marriage and living together in the woods, making art, and being a family.

Then things got tough. We talked, we tried, we read books, jetted our intention out into the universe. But we just couldn’t keep it together.

There was so much pain. But also …

Making the Hurt Visible: How I Stopped Hating the Man and Learned to Listen to Myself

By in Blog, change & challenges, mindfulness & peace

“Ignoring isn’t the same as ignorance, you have to work at it.” ~Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale

We’ve just passed the year anniversary of an event that has greatly changed our country. The shock of the election results last year sent waves of powerful emotions rippling through our nation.

Personally, I felt the effects as intense and immediate grief. It was as though I had just lost my dearest companion.

I had days of shock, despair, feelings of intense cold with physical shaking and episodes of vomiting and nausea, followed by weeks of sleepless nights, spontaneous sweating, nightmares …

Limited Edition Tiny Buddha “Be the Change” Shirts

By in Blog, change & challenges, happiness & fun, mindfulness & peace

Hi friends! Earlier this week I sent an email about the limited edition “Be the Change” shirts, which will be available until November 20th.

For those of you who missed that email, here’s a quick recap:

I launched this campaign both to time with the holidays and also to fund a series of mini documentaries I plan to film early next year.

These mini docs will feature inspiring people who are making a positive difference through unique, creative paths. I plan to film these in the spring, in partnership with my co-producer, Ehren Prudhel, and share them …

The Best Apology Is Changed Behavior

By in Fun & Inspiring

A Cheap, Easy Way to Show People You Care

By in Fun & Inspiring

Leave the Past in the Past: What Matters Most Is Who You Are Now

By in Blog, change & challenges, letting go

“Focus on what matters and let go of what doesn’t.” ~Unknown

When I was in rehab for alcohol addiction, one of the most difficult things for any of us to overcome was the fact that we thought we were beyond redemption.

Why? Because during the depths of our addiction, we had done some things we weren’t too proud of. Unhealthy behaviors that included drinking while driving, calling in sick when we weren’t because we were too hung over to go to work, or neglecting our children for the lure of spending the evening with a bottle of wine instead. …

I Am Blessed to Have All That I Need

By in Fun & Inspiring

If YoU Have the Power to Make Someone Smile, Do It

By in Fun & Inspiring

Seeing Rejection As Redirection: What We Gain When We Lose

By in Blog, change & challenges

“Every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being re-directed to something better.” ~Steve Maraboli

Rejection hurts. Whether it is from family, friends, co-workers, or a new company, when we experience rejection it hits us right in the heart—the control center to our emotions.

We may wonder, what is wrong with me? We might begin pulling ourselves apart with self-criticism. However, rejection also has a way of teaching us, redirecting us, and ultimately making our lives better.

I have learned to look at rejection differently these past couple of years. Actually, many of …

Removing Someone from My Life Means I Respect Myself

By in Fun & Inspiring

Today I Will Not Stress

By in Fun & Inspiring

Sometimes Your Circle Decreases In Size but Increases in Value

By in Fun & Inspiring

Why We Often React in Ways We Regret (and How to Stop)

By in Blog, change & challenges, mindfulness & peace

“By practicing self-awareness and pausing before reacting, we can help create a world with less pain and more love.” ~Lori Deschene

It happens to the best of us. We find ourselves in a challenging situation or stressful environment and we get overcome—by an emotion, an impulse—and we act in a way that makes things worse.

It might be exploding at our spouse in response to a simple request. Or freezing during a difficult meeting at work. For me, this often happens when I receive negative feedback or constructive criticism. Something “takes us over” and we act in a way that …

You Don’t Need Everyone’s Approval to Be Happy

By in Fun & Inspiring

We All Make Mistakes, So Let’s Try to Remember the Good

By in Blog, love & relationships

Julius Caesar has long been my favorite work of William Shakespeare. I am drawn to the political intrigue, the betrayal, the powerful words of Marc Antony.

One line from the play has always remained lodged in my mind:

“The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.”

The line often pops into my head when I feel unjustly persecuted or blamed. Shakespeare understood hundreds of years ago that human nature causes us to feel self-centered and unjustly targeted.

While I recognize I am not now nor was I ever a perfect mother, I …

I’m a Deeply Feeling Person in a Messy World

By in Fun & Inspiring

Helping One Person May Not Change the World

By in Fun & Inspiring

3 Tools to Help You Calm Your Mind and Let Go of Anxiety

By in Blog, change & challenges, letting go, mindfulness & peace

“I vow to let go of all worries and anxiety in order to be light and free.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh 

I’ve struggled with anxiety throughout my life. A difficult childhood and my highly sensitive personality meant I grew into an anxious kid—there was just too much pain and emotional overwhelm for my young brain to handle.

My anxiety most often manifested as perfectionism and people pleasing, so from the outside everything seemed great. I excelled in school and I was a good kid who did as she was told. But there was a war inside me.

I felt broken, …