We Can Handle Life’s Upheavals
5 Ways to Show Your Love to Others (and Yourself)
“Love isn’t everything. It’s the only thing.” ~Steven Hayes
Things go wrong in life. Distress and confusion can take root, sometimes leading to harsh self-criticism, depression, or anxiety.
We sense that love heals, and it does.
I once visited an orphanage for abandoned infants, and every toddler who I carried clung tightly to me. I can still feel their little arms clasping me desperately.
We crave love as we crave oxygen.
But what is love?
Is it something you wait for?
What if love is more than a feeling?
What if your choices and actions can bring the spirit …
How to Move from Grief to Relief After Losing a Loved One
“When a person is born we rejoice, and when they’re married we jubilate, but when they die we try to pretend nothing has happened.” ~Margaret Mead
It was five years ago this month that my father passed away from cancer. About four months before his death, his oncologist gave him a bleak diagnosis, telling him to get his affairs in order because he could die at any time.
Our entire family was dumbstruck. Here was a man who appeared to be strong and generally healthy.
He was a youthful sixty-eight years old. Just months into his retirement after a long …
How to Boost Your Resilience So Nothing Can Keep You Down
“No matter how much falls on us, we keep plowing ahead. That’s the only way to keep the roads clear” ~Greg Kincaid
How is it that some people can breeze through physical and emotional pain, whereas others wince at the mere thought of it?
Is it their genes? Their individual circumstances? Their support network?
Or is it a certain strength of character, something each and every one of us can develop with the right tools and training?
Two years ago I found myself needing to answer these questions.
I was sitting in a cafe in East London, wiping the tears …
When Things Go Wrong: 5 Tips for Navigating Your “Why Me” Moments
“Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.” ~C.S. Lewis
Have you ever been cruising down the highway of life only to unexpectedly hit a major pothole that completely threw you off? Maybe you lost a job, ended a relationship, or were betrayed by a friend.
It’s easy to wonder “why did this happen to me?” and stay buried in the pothole. It’s up to us to break free and regain our cruising speed on our life journey. Easier said than done, right?…
How to Create Happiness in Zero Easy Steps
“To experience peace does not mean that your life is always blissful. It means that you are capable of tapping into a blissful state of mind amidst the normal chaos of a hectic life.” ~Jill Bolte Taylor
I was fifteen when I first noticed that I was depressed. That was also when I became seriously interested in happiness.
How can I get my hands on it? Where does it come from? Why does it seem so natural to some people?
I wrestled with those questions for quite a while.
Fast forward to ten years later and things look a …
8 Meditation Mistakes to Avoid if You Want to Feel Calm and Peaceful
“Three things you cannot recover in life: the word after it’s said, the moment after it’s missed, and the time after it’s gone.” ~Unknown
Do you meditate?
I do. I come from a Buddhist family, and meditation is like an heirloom to me.
I didn’t start meditating until I was an adult. But when I did, I meditated diligently. From forming a meditation habit to getting the latest meditation app, I’ve done it all.
And one day I got a little worried.
I didn’t feel much difference. I didn’t feel calm and peaceful like I was supposed to feel.…
7 Decluttering Tips: How to Release Your Attachment to Your Stuff
“To change skins, evolve into new cycles, I feel one has to learn to discard. If one changes internally, one should not continue to live with the same objects. They reflect one’s mind and the psyche of yesterday. I throw away what has no dynamic, living use.” ~Anais Nin
I’m attempting to fit my life into ten large boxes (and one red suitcase).
As I enter a new phase in my life I’ve decided that now is the time to reduce the stuff that has been sitting in my storage unit while I’ve been house sitting and declutter my world…
More Information is Not the Answer; More Action Is
“Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do.” ~Bruce Lee
We live in a world where information is literally at our fingertips, twenty-four hours a day, every day. As wonderful as this can be, it can also lead to a number of challenges.
With so much information available to us it can be difficult to know which way is up.
The more we read, the more confused we become.
One source makes a logical argument for one way to do something. Then we read a completely opposing view that is backed by another logical …
You Don’t Have to be Shaken Up to Wake Up
“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” ~Andy Warhol
I’m in my late thirties now, but I remember getting my first car like it was yesterday.
Even though I would have loved a shiny new car, my dad had suggested I go for a reliable junk box instead. Since I had been known to take out a few mailboxes and was somewhat of a menace on the road, I begrudgingly agreed.
Dad had a friend who worked on cars, and I proudly purchased my first clunker for $1000.
The catalyst for wanting my …
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