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Finding Our Inner Child and Having More Fun in Life

By in Blog, happiness & fun

Happy Kids

“A healthy attitude is contagious but don’t wait to catch it from others. Be a carrier.” ~Tom Stoppard

Just the other day, I was at my daughter’s school to watch her participate in a spelling bee. As the kids came into the room, I took notice of their manner and their faces.

They looked excited, frightened, and some, decidedly uninterested. The teacher led them over to their area and promptly told them to sit on the floor, in two straight lines, and no talking please. They complied.

Some kids pushed at the others to “move over!” Some held …

To This Day: An Inspiring Video About Pain, Loneliness, and Beauty

By in Fun & Inspiring

If you’ve ever been bullied, if you’ve ever felt ugly, if you’ve ever felt lonely, or unworthy, or unlovable, then you and I can relate. We are graduating members from the class of “we made it.” And like me, you may find this video powerful, moving, and beautiful.

If You Want to Be Peaceful

By in Fun & Inspiring

If You Want to Be Peaceful

Source: NotSalmon.com

Letting Go of Yesterday and Using the Gift of the Present

By in Blog, mindfulness & peace

Be Present

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift. That’s why we call it the present.” ~Alice Morse Earle

Did you make a mistake yesterday? Or did something bad happen to you a few weeks ago? Are you still dwelling on it, doing all you can to move on? Then this post is for you.

Why? Because I want you to know that you’re not alone.

Just like you, my past wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns. No one in this world has a past that is sparkling clean and error-free. We’ve all made mistakes. That’s …

How to Strengthen Relationships by Releasing Fear and Control

By in Blog, love & relationships

“To cure jealousy is to see it for what it is: a dissatisfaction with self.” ~Joan Didion

When I was a young man I had an issue with relationships. Looking back now, it is easy to see that I had low self-esteem, though I could not see it at the time. Because of my low self-image and my neediness, many relationships that could have had a decent chance went by the way side.

I developed a low-level anxiety about how much any girlfriend cared for me, which, in turn, became outright jealousy and resulted in controlling behavior.

I would …

I Am

By in Fun & Inspiring

I Am

Source: Spirit Pond

Flawed People

By in Fun & Inspiring

Flawed People

Source: Live Life Happy

Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen

By in Fun & Inspiring

This one’s an oldie—which feels bizarre to write in reference to the nineties, since I graduated from high school then—but it’s a good one, nonetheless.

The words come from an essay written by Mary Schmich, a columnist with the Chicago Tribune, who believes that “inside every adult lurks a graduation speaker dying to get out.”

If, like me, you’re seeing this for the first time, you may also appreciate the powerful nuggets of wisdom in here—even if, like me, you feel it’s been forever since you tossed your cap into the air.

How Gratitude Can Calm Your Nerves and Make You More Effective

By in Blog, change & challenges, mindfulness & peace

Calm

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” ~Cicero

Being grateful or practicing gratitude has many benefits, including improving our health, relationships, careers, sleep, and self-esteem, to name just a few.

In recent years, these benefits have been confirmed in scientific studies showing how the brain is “rewired” by continuous grateful thoughts.

However, I recently discovered (and experienced) another significant, and I believe mainly overlooked, benefit of being grateful—in the somewhat unusual setting of a major seniors championship tennis tournament I played in Palm Springs this past January. I learned that:

Practicing

…

Living an Exciting Life When You Fear Leaving Your Comfort Zone

By in Blog, change & challenges, meaning & passion

On top of the world

“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching.” ~Unknown 

What if you realized on evening of December 31st, that the past 365 days were the best yet? Imagine a single year in which you scared yourself into your deepest fears and faced more challenges than you ever had from all the previous years combined?

Moving forward, how would you feel about one-upping that year? Overwhelmed? Anxious? Scattered? Yeah, me too.

This was the question that I asked myself on the last evening of 2013 that left me thinking back on distant memories, …

Top 5 Regrets of the Dying

By in Fun & Inspiring

Top Regrets of the Dying

Source

Why Your Problems Are Not Nearly as Permanent as They Seem

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

Liberated

“When we…go back into the past and rake up all the troubles we’ve had, we end up reeling and staggering through life. Stability and peace of mind come by living in the moment.” ~Pam Vredevelt

There is a way in which we tend to view issues in our lives that makes it seem like the issue is a big, scary monster that chases us around everywhere we go.

We have commitment issues. Or we are bad with money. Or we have an eating disorder, we drink too much, or we follow-through too seldom.

We view ourselves and our lives …

How to Redefine Yourself by Letting Go of the Past

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

Freedom

“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” ~Maya Angelou

When I was eight years old, my mom had her first mental breakdown. The illusion of a typical suburban family shattered as the household descended into chaos. When the counselors and child protective services stepped in, I knew: I was undeniably different.

When you’re a child, family life is the classroom through which you learn how the world works. Once my mom was hospitalized, I realized how very different my lessons were.

Mortified, I retreated into a …

By Being Yourself

By in Fun & Inspiring

By Being Yourself

Source

How Self-Acceptance Enables Us to Connect with Others and the Moment

By in Blog, mindfulness & peace

Be

“By accepting yourself and being fully what you are, your presence can make others happy.” ~Jane Roberts

I recently received one of the nicest compliments from a co-worker.

As nice as it was to hear someone validate all of the hard work I do and recognize my passionate desire to use music as a way empower people, I found that the compliment was just one, all-too-brief moment in a day dominated by schedules, meetings, and not nearly enough time for me to enjoy what was happening around me.

I should have felt great, but I was so distracted by my …

4 Toxic Habits That Can Control Our Lives and Keep Us Unhappy

By in Blog, change & challenges, healthy habits

“We first make our habits, then our habits make us.” ~Charles C. Noble

Until recently, I firmly believed that a classic set of toxic habits consisted of nail biting, smoking cigarettes, and abusing alcohol and drugs.

I completely forgot that there are some behavior patterns that can do equally bad damage to our vital and creative energy, claiming control over our lives and holding us back.

Ignorance is bliss, someone once said. I overstayed my welcome in that state of mind more than once. I thought my bad habits were actually making my life easier, and following the path to …

If You’re Making Mistakes

By in Fun & Inspiring

If Youre Making Mistakes

Source: Story by Modcloth

Nothing Is Impossible: Amazing Ping Pong Player with No Arms

By in Fun & Inspiring

Growing up, I always admired my grandfather, who lost both of his legs to an infection and yet still maintained a positive outlook and a sense of possibility.

He taught me, and many others, that a defeatist attitude is a far worse disability than any physical handicap, and that there’s very little we can’t accomplish if we believe in ourselves and work hard.

Ibrahim Hamato, also a double amputee, is living proof. In this short video, he shares a little about his passion for ping pong, which he’s managed to play—and play exceptionally well—without hands or arms.

Trusting Yourself to Make Decisions Instead of Always Seeking Advice

By in Blog, change & challenges

“To thine own self be true.” ~William Shakespeare

No one knows the real you but you. Sometimes it is true that we don’t know ourselves. That’s because we’ve lost ourselves, or maybe because we never knew ourselves to begin with.

I grew up a long time ago on a hill on Bentley road in Puyallup, Washington. I was a very quiet, shy, and reserved little girl. Today, I am a forty-two-year-old woman. I am still introverted, but I am learning to be more assertive.

As a co-dependent people pleaser, I grew up with a lot of self-doubt and …

How to Be Okay When You Have More Questions Than Answers

By in Blog, mindfulness & peace

Orange Sky

“Sometimes questions are more important than answers.” ~Nancy Willard

I love the color orange. It makes me think of a beautiful ripe papaya, the calming shade of a monk’s robe, and the tapered candles my grandfather held in his hands to pray.

I don’t know if it’s simply this or the prayer chants that rose from temples along the rural Lao countryside, but when I think on these things from my childhood, I feel peace.

Do we romanticize our past? Do we sandpaper out the rough, dark spaces in our memories and label them “the good ‘ole days?” Is …