The World Would Be a Happier, More Peaceful Place If…
5 Reasons to Embrace Alone Time & Take Yourself on an Artist Date
“It is only in solitude that I ever find my own core.” ~Anne Morrow Lindbergh
When was the last time you took yourself on a date?
Not just you and a friend, or you and your partner, or you and your kid(s). Just you, yourself, and you.
I’m not talking about staying home with a good book, or taking a bubble bath (though I’m a huge fan of bubble baths), or watching a movie by yourself on your couch.
I’m talking about venturing into the world alone to do something fun and outside of your ordinary routine—something that supplies fresh …
The Art of Being Happily Single
“Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security.” ~John Allen Paulos
Over the past ten years, I always had a man by my side. I was always in a relationship.
I was in a relationship for eight years before my ex and I got engaged, then broke it off because of the distance—my ex’s reason. Not long after that I got into a two-year relationship with a man who loved, yet cheated on me. It was a messy breakup.
So after ten years in relationships, I found myself …
100 Reasons to be Grateful Today
“Gratitude is a currency that we can mint for ourselves, and spend without fear of bankruptcy.” ~Fred De Witt Van Amburgh
I began my gratitude practice at a time when I desperately needed help seeing the good in my life.
Several failed relationships and a broken heart had left me blind to the incredible gifts the Universe had given me, and I was rutted in depression for three years. I couldn’t seem to focus on anything besides what I had lost. Happiness seemed like a cosmic joke.
The more I focused on what I wasn’t grateful for, like the love …
Is Your Life Really as Perfect as It Looks on Facebook?
“Most men would rather deny a hard truth than face it.” ~George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones
So would most women.
This is the way we have encountered life so far. Better to show the world just the socially acceptable and shove the rest under the rug. That’s where the hard truths go.
But we all know the trouble with the rug. Stuff builds up under the rug and eventually you land on your face. Hard truths don’t go away.
Social media is exacerbating the historical tendency to present only the pretty, so we’re justifiably, and understandably, really scared …
The Good News About Feeling Bad (And How to Get Through It)
“To honor and accept one’s shadow is a profound spiritual discipline. It’s whole-making and thus holy and the most important experience of a lifetime.” ~Robert Johnson
There’s nothing worse than having a bad day (or week or years…)
Or when emotions take over and carry us away.
Or when our relationships bring challenges.
Or when we endure great loss.
Or when we wish that just once when things started getting good, they stayed that way.
But difficult times are really offerings that show us what no longer serves us. And once they’re cleared, they no longer have power over …
Calmness Is Contagious, Even If You’re Faking It
“Peace of mind is not the absence of conflict from life, but the ability to cope with it.” ~Unknown
We had just reached cruising altitude, and my friend and I were settling in for the eight-hour flight from Tokyo to Honolulu. Exhausted after spending the day in the airport, we were excited to finally be in the air with beaches awaiting us at our destination.
Jered and I were on an adventure around the world flying with standby tickets to any destination that had open seats. Even though we had been trying to get a seat to Bangkok, then Sydney, …
21 Easy Ways to Create a Calm Mind (Without Meditating)
“Learn to calm down the winds of your mind, and you will enjoy great inner peace.” ~Remez Sasson
While juggling a full-time job and my writing, I found it easy to lose track of the days. Weekends ceased to exist, and my life ebbed and flowed between working and writing, the two constantly blurring into one another.
I dragged myself from day to day without a moment’s rest in between. When I did rest, I’d feel guilty for taking a break from working on my dreams, and it didn’t take long for the guilt to turn into frustration.
I wondered …
3 Ways to Cultivate Gratitude and Boost Your Happiness
“Gratitude can turn common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” ~William Arthur Ward
Living in India for more than two years now has been an eye opening experience for me, as I’ve realized how I used to take so many things for granted. While growing up and living in my home country (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in Europe, I was lacking gratitude for all the blessings that surrounded me.
While sitting in our penthouse apartment in the New Delhi suburbs, in an air-conditioned room, still feeling the need to chill with a cool …
How Complaining Rewires Your Brain for Negativity (And How to Stop)
“Spending today complaining about yesterday won’t make tomorrow any better.” ~Unknown
When I was about sixteen or so, one of my parent’s friends got into some trouble with the law. When we’d visit him he’d often shake his head from side to side and mumble, my life is in the toilet.
He said it many times, for many years, even when things seemed to have gotten better for him.
My life is in the toilet was his mantra.
At the time I thought it was funny, so I adopted it for myself, until one day I started to believe it. …
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