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3 Tips to Help You Stop Saying Things You Regret

By in Blog, change & challenges, love & relationships

Woman with hand over her mouth

“If you propose to speak, always ask yourself, is it true, is it necessary, is it kind.” ~Buddha

I initially saw this quote and, in true ego-first fashion, thought of my kids: this’ll be perfect for them. I’ll put it up in the kitchen as a regular reminder to stop pestering each other.

But then, something a bit deeper poked me gently. Riiight, just for the kids, is it? You’ve got this mastered, then. I guess my true self is not afraid to use sarcasm when it needs to.

My true self was right (as it always is). When …

Looking on the Bright Side

By in Fun & Inspiring

No One Every Injured Their Eye Sight

Source: Posifitly Beautiful

What Helped Me Forgive Myself and Honor My Needs

By in Blog, letting go, love & relationships, mindfulness & peace

“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and realize that prisoner was you.” ~Lewis B. Smedes

Have you ever tried to forgive someone who hurt you, and despite your best efforts, it was just too hard? So you beat yourself up because you were not able to forgive, and the pain was still there?

I spent years trying to forgive others.

I tried to forgive a family member for abusing me as a child.

I tried to forgive my primary school teacher of seven years for constantly hammering that even though I was a straight-A student, I wasn’t …

Overcoming the Fear of Being Judged for Your Mistakes

By in Blog, change & challenges, letting go

Sad Woman

“Live your life for you not for anyone else. Don’t let the fear of being judged, rejected, or disliked stop you from being yourself.” ~Sonya Parker

For years I struggled with a nagging feeling of guilt. This was not for actual things I did, but just a feeling that anytime something went wrong in my life, it was somehow my fault.

I came from a religious family of eleven kids. My dear mom, bless her heart, occasionally punished us all because she just didn’t have the time in her busy day to find the perpetrator.

My older brother, the perpetrator …

How to Know When It’s Time to Give Up

By in Blog, love & relationships, work fulfillment

Tired Man

“The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.” ~Anna Quindlen

Growing up, I refused to go to bed until I fit the last piece of my jigsaw puzzle. That’s when I first understood that it could be difficult to give up, but I didn’t think my perseverance was a problem.

Soon after, however, I realized that blind persistence could turn into an exhausting and useless quest.

When something unjust happened to me or to someone I loved, I worked relentlessly to “make things right.” In many …

Moving On Isn’t Failure: 5 Lessons On Changing Paths

By in Blog, meaning & passion

Changing Paths

“Letting go isn’t the end of the world. It’s the beginning of a new life.” ~Unknown

Ever since I was young, I have been intensely driven and very goal-focused. I have never been the type to flip-flop and I have never been the type to start something I do not intend to finish.

Recently, I was faced with the incredibly difficult decision to leave the career path I had committed myself to. In the process, I learned quite a lot about my definition of “failure” and what happens when we allow ourselves to move on.

About three months after …

51 Ways to Feel Happy in 5 Minutes

By in Blog, happiness & fun

“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” ~Buddha

For the longest time I lived in the future.

I had a grand list of all the big things I wanted to do…

Build a multinational company, become a philanthropist, go on long vacations all over the world with my wife, have a big house with a lovely garden…the list goes on!

It’s great to be ambitious, I still believe that.

However, the more I made plans and worked toward my ambitions, the more I reinforced a concept within …

The Happiest Little Dancer in the Subway

By in Fun & Inspiring

This video totally made my morning! And close to five million other people’s….

If You Want to Feel Rich…

By in Fun & Inspiring

If You Want to Feel Rich

Source: Inspirational Quotes to Live and Learn

Give Yourself Loving Care

By in Fun & Inspiring

Give-Yourself-Loving-Care

A Message for Those Who Feel Lost and Are Looking for Answers

By in Blog, happiness & fun, meaning & passion

“Wherever you go, there you are.” ~Jon Kabat-Zinn

On June 24th I got in a cab at the corner of 72nd and Broadway headed to JFK, hauling two huge suitcases full of medications, bug spray, sunscreen, gluten-free foods, a bug tent (really), and cheap cotton clothing.

I checked in, made my way to the gate, and embarked on a twenty-four-hour flight to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Months of confusion and identity crisis brought me here.

Almost a full year ago, after returning from performing with a national tour that ended up being a lot less fun than …

Letting Go and Enjoying Annoying Situations

By in Blog

Woman in a Waiting Room

“Never forget: This very moment, we can change our lives. There never was a moment, and never will be, when we are without the power to alter our destiny.” ~Steven Pressfield

This week I had the pleasure of waiting in a queue. Now, that is not normally something that I would be able to say, as I’m not the most patient woman.

The queue was for the immigration department in Chiang Mai, Thailand—a busy place full of people who were stressed because they were unsure about where to get a number for their place in the queue, unsure if they …

Being Happy

By in Fun & Inspiring

Being Happy

Source: Very Best Quotes

Would You Help a Freezing Child?

By in Fun & Inspiring

Do you believe people care and look out for others? These people certainly did. They unknowingly participated in a social experiment to see who would stop to help a freezing child. If you’re anything like me, this will warm your heart.

Being Grateful for the Ordinary: The Life We Have Is Enough

By in Blog, happiness & fun

Woman with Hands Raised

“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?” ~Unknown

From time to time during my schooling years I’d be asked to identify my role models. I always chose someone who’d changed the world in a big way—Martin Luther King Jnr, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi.

I never looked within my own life for role models. I had lovely parents and great teachers, and still, I was always looking well beyond what was right in front of me. I was always striving for something more, out there, beyond my own …

You Are Not Your Thoughts and Feelings, and They Don’t Have to Bring You Down

By in Blog, change & challenges, mindfulness & peace

Woman in Tree Pose

“Give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. ” ~Reinhold Niebuhr

Think about the future! Don’t do something you’ll regret! You need to plan for tomorrow! I wish I hadn’t done that! Will things ever work out? Why did they do that? Will I ever find happiness? Why has life made me the way I am? What’s wrong with me?

Around and around it went inside my mind, a never-ending internal conversation full of questions and uncertainties—the not knowing driving me insane …

How to Get Through Hard Times by Throwing Yourself into a Hobby

By in Blog, change & challenges

“Almost everything comes from nothing.” ~Henri F. Amiel

There are uncountable ways to deal with difficult times in life. Some people turn to prayer or meditation, others open their hearts in therapy or to friends, and many choose to hide from the pain by eating their weight in chocolate or purchasing expensive bags; to each their own. I have a different approach: crafting.

When I’ve gone through difficult times in life—depression, unemployment, relationship problems—I have often turned to craft projects. For a long time, I didn’t think much about it, but eventually I realized how much it has honestly …

Rekindle Your Joy by Harnessing the Power of Play

By in Blog, happiness & fun

Kids Playing

“It is a happy talent to know how to play.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

It was one of those weeks that felt like I was dragging my feet through mud. Everything seemed like an effort and nothing seemed to be flowing.

I was caught up in conflicts from the past—a miscommunication with my boyfriend, which resulted in hurt feelings on both sides, and a professional crisis that plunged me into fear and self-doubt.

In an attempt to calm my mind and become more present, I meditated and chanted mantras, but the tape of negative self-talk continued to play in my head. …

Leap of Faith

By in Fun & Inspiring

Leap of Faith

We Are All People Who Need People

By in Blog, love & relationships

Man Behind Curtain

“But first be a person who needs people. People who need people are the luckiest people in the world.” ~Bob Merrill, lyricist, Barbra Streisand, artist

Act 1: Babs and Me

Barbra Streisand and I could be twins.

For starters, we were born on the same day.

Sure, she got here a couple of decades earlier, but except the part where she’s a rich, famous, writer-director-actress married to James Brolin, and oh, that singing thing, we could have been separated at birth.

We both have blue eyes and chemically enhanced blonde hair. We speak the same language; in Brooklyn or Philly, …