You’re Richer Than You Think
Source: Power of Positivity
Posts tagged with “family”
Be Fully Present with Your Loved Ones While You Have the Chance
“Before someone’s tomorrow has been taken away, cherish those you love, appreciate them today.” ~Michelle C. Ustaszeski
One day after being on a spiritual path for many years, I stood in my art studio, happy to be creating a new painting. Content in my life, I was married to a great guy and raising two young boys that brought me so much joy.
My life was perfect. Well, not exactly, but I definitely had moments of thinking it was, and this happened to be one of those moments.
I had come a long way. Gone were the …
A Simple Way to Really See Each Other and Be Seen
“Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It’s a relationship between equals.” ~Pema Chodron
Growing up, my family ate dinner together nearly every night. It was a given. My mom also created a tradition called “go around the table,” in which everyone in my family would take turns sharing the details of our day.
I often think back on this memory with awe at the impact this simple yet profound activity has had on my life.
While I do not yet have a family, I have introduced “go around the table” to friends at dinner parties …
Breaking Free from Your Family’s Expectations
“Stop worrying about pleasing others so much. Do more of what makes you happy.” ~Unknown
There comes a time in everyone’s life when you break away from your family. Right? We are all familiar with this. It happens when you turn eighteen, go off to college, and move out the house—and out of the state or country for some.
This is the expectation of society on the whole. Then what keeps us so bound to our families that we sometimes feel paralyzed, afraid of making the “wrong” decisions for our career, relationships, or simply how we choose to live?
Despite …
Family Isn’t Always Forever: When It’s Time to Say Goodbye
“Friends are the family we choose for ourselves.” ~Edna Buchanan
A few years ago I ended all contact with my parents, and I have not seen or spoken to them since then.
The truth is I am actually okay with that. Initially, I thought I was going to lose my mind. I had been brought up to believe that family comes first. Children should respect and take care of their parents. Family should—and will—always be there for each other.
Those beliefs were based on love, and I cherished them.
I wanted so much to feel that connection—that unconditional love those …
The Secret to Getting Along With Your Parents
“My experience is that the teachers we need most are the people we’re living with right now.” ~Byron Katie
Nothing hurts like being misunderstood, and there is no place that this feeling runs rampant quite like it does with family.
I used to think I was the only one.
For years after I moved out, each visit back home would be preceded by careful, specific preparation. I would try to brace myself for whatever would be coming my way.
I would spend the entire two-hour bus ride turning all of the possible criticisms and probable arguments over and over in …
Love What’s Right Before You Instead of Hating What’s Missing
“I have learned that to be with those I like is enough.” ~Walt Whitman
I take stuff for granted. I suspect you take stuff for granted.
It’s almost as if it can’t be helped. When things—family, friends, health, amenities, or money—occupy a place in our lives for years, we naturally begin to view them as commonplace; we assume they’ll forever be, just as they’ve always been.
Yet this mindset—this “Oh, of course that’s there; that’s always been there” perspective—often seems to prevent us from realizing how much it would mean to us if that something wasn’t there anymore.…
Making Changes When the People Around You Resist Your Plan
“The greatest step toward a life of simplicity is to learn to let go.” ~Steve Maraboli
So I took the plunge. I stated out loud that I wanted to simplify my life.
I wanted to have a life where what I did for a living and how I lived were more in balance with the person I am and aspired to be. The waterfall effect of that verbal declaration catapulted my life into a stratosphere of change that I am still learning to just “go with.”
Three weeks after that declaration, I got “downsized” at work. Okay, I thought, the …
Finding What We’re Missing: Our Lives Are Already Complete
“Each day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.” ~Basho
What does family mean? Is it the people whose genes you share? Is it the people that you grew up with? Is it the people who love you unconditionally in spite of your faults and flaws?
Family for me has been an evolving idea. I was adopted from Seoul, Korea when I was four months old. After a few months in an orphanage, family started off simply as the people I grew up with.
Raised in South Central Pennsylvania with a Caucasian family in an area …
Recovering from a Difficult Childhood: How to Reclaim Yourself
“Our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world as being able to remake ourselves.” ~Mahatma Gandhi
Recently, I had one of those flashes of insight that burn away the illusions I learned as a child in a dysfunctional family and help me see myself in a new light. I saw through an invisible belief that I’ve held for a very long time—the belief that I am not in control of my life.
Standing in line in the grocery store and twiddling my thumbs, my monkey mind ran through the list of what I could be …
Being Grateful for the Imperfect Present
“If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” ~Oprah Winfrey
I live in an old house.
It is 212 years old this year, to be exact.
We’ve added onto it over the years so it presents itself as more youthful than its age. The old bones remain, though, as well as many of the quirks. Those “quirks” give it character, right? It’s much like my emerging crow’s feet give my face character.
That’s the positive spin on crow’s feet, at least.
We have uneven floors, to the point where most of our furniture is …
A Simple Choice to Celebrate What Matters
“There are exactly as many special occasions in life as we choose to celebrate.” ~Robert Brault
A few years ago it happened, and it couldn’t have come at a better moment.
At the time I was involved in a monthly get together with my cousins. We were a group of eight cousins getting together to talk about family and life in general.
It had started off when my sister was going through a nasty divorce, and one of the cousins came up with the idea of getting together to celebrate my sister’s birthday to bring some cheer into her life.…
Book Review & Giveaway: You Cannot Be Serious (Tips for Balance)
Update: The winners for this giveaway have already been chosen:
- Laurie from Cuddle Hugs
- Cyndi from So Much More Than a Mom
I have the utmost respect for mothers.
Their daily lives require an aptitude for all the qualities that make us good people: love, kindness, patience, generosity, and, perhaps most importantly, a sense of balance. If anyone knows chaos, it’s a mom.
With this in mind, I was thrilled to read Elizabeth Lyons’ book You Cannot Be Serious and 32 Other Rules That Sustain a (Mostly) Balanced Mom.
Make no mistake: I don’t have any children. Or friends …
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. 
