Having a Home and a Family Is a Blessing
5 Simple but Powerful Practices for a Happier, More Present Life
“There is nothing else than now. There is neither yesterday, certainly, nor is there any tomorrow. How old must you be before you know that?” ~Ernest Hemingway
It was a Wednesday afternoon, just like any other. I’d spent the last three hours bent over my laptop at a coffee shop, trying to nail down the revisions to a research report that was already three days late.
I’d been distracted all afternoon, checking my e-mail every five minutes for news about a proposal I’d submitted a few weeks earlier. When I’d found nothing to satisfy me in my inbox, I’d stumble …
How I Changed My Life by Remembering Who I Was Before the Pain
“If nothing ever changed, there’d be no butterflies.” ~Unknown
For a skinny, curly haired five-year-old girl, life was magical.
Buried in books and living in my imagination, I was constantly scribbling stories and dreaming of far away places. My inquisitive mind and persistent curiosity led me further than I ever thought possible. I was a little girl with big dreams, in a world where nothing seemed impossible, where life was bliss.
Then school started.
It wasn’t easy. In fact, at times it was horrifying. And not academically, no, I enjoyed it very much. But being different and not trying to …
Awaken Your Creative Side: Interview with Melissa Dinwiddie and Book Giveaway
UPDATE: The winners for this giveaway are Alba and Nette Jordan.
Like most of us, I spent much of my childhood creating, making everything from finger paintings and friendship bracelets to leaf collages and Lego castles.
I also spent weeks rehearsing for community theater performances and hours writing poems and stories, with no thought of whether I could make money off any of it.
I created because it was fun and fulfilling, and that alone was enough.
Then, like many of us, I got caught up adulting and began spending far more time working and worrying than imagining and playing.…
Surviving Loss: You Always Have Choice
“I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.” ~Stephen Covey
One ordinary night after an ordinary day of work and family, I went to bed a mother, wife, teacher, writer-person.
I remember falling asleep between sentences exchanged with my husband after an evening spent with just the two of us on our patio, something we rarely seemed to find the time to do in our busy lives. We promised each other that we’d make a concerted effort to have more of these “dates.”
The next morning, on what was supposed to be another …
The Key to Peace: Let Go of What “Should” Be and Accept What Is
“Peace is the result of retraining your mind to process life as it is, rather than as you think it should be.” ~Wayne Dyer
Many of my friends are getting married and engaged, and when I compare myself to them I feel that I’ve somehow fallen behind. I scroll through my social media accounts and feel that my life is not as exciting or meaningful as theirs.
This belief of inferiority moves me out of the present moment and into a turbulent stream of fear that I won’t live up to what I perceive others have lived up to, …
Though I run this site, it is not mine. It's ours. It's not about me. It's about us. Your stories and your wisdom are just as meaningful as mine.