Posts tagged with “wisdom”

Overcoming Disappointment in Work, Love, and Life (Book Giveaway)
Update – The winners for this giveaway are:
- simpleshoes
- twylapopcorn
When life doesn’t meet our expectations, it can devastate our sense of security, threaten our self-esteem, and leave us feeling lost, scared, and out of control. I know—I’ve been there quite a few times before.
Like the time I moved across the country to live with a man I’d met online just a month prior, only to recognize nine months later that we were two broken people who were toxic together.
Or the time I got involved with a multi-level marketing company, thinking I’d be a huge success, only to …

Gifts from a Terrible Disease: A Message for Anyone Who’s Slowly Losing a Loved One
“Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don’t fight them. Just find a new way to stand.” ~Oprah Winfrey
Alzheimer’s crept into our lives about five years ago. It’s like a vine growing alongside a house, slowly taking over the space that was once free. But in this case, the vine is slowly creeping over my mum’s brain.
There are so many horrific statistics attached to this disease: Worldwide, nearly forty-four million people currently have Alzheimer’s or a related dementia; one in nine Americans over sixty-five has Alzheimer’s disease; unless a cure is …

How Life Becomes More Beautiful When We Stop Anticipating the Worst
“Few of us ever live in the present. We are forever anticipating what is to come or remembering what has gone.” ~Louis L’Amour
These days I live in the city, but I spent my childhood in a rural English village. It was quaint and quiet and rather lovely—the sort of place you’re desperate to leave when you’re young and full of fire, but begin to hanker for when you get a little older.
Back then, to get to the local school, I had to walk down a long, winding country lane, which had rolling fields on both sides. For half …

How to Stop Taking Things for Granted and Feel Blessed
“I count my blessings every day, quite honestly, because I take nothing for granted.” ~Mario Andretti
You know that feeling.
When you feel bad about yourself for not being grateful enough. Maybe not often, but surely sometimes.
You are busy working hard, trying to make things work. Busy at life.
But then you see a nine-year-old painting a picture holding a brush with his toes. He has no hands.
And it hits you: You’re so busy trying to make your life better, you forget that it is already beautiful. You feel guilty for not being happy enough.
How I
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Natural Beauty Is Accepting Yourself, Just as You Are
“When you are balanced and when you listen and attend to the needs of your body, mind, and spirit, your natural beauty comes out.” ~Christy Turlington
It wasn’t until I stopped wearing makeup that I realized the hypocrisy in every “natural beauty” ad. Be natural, wear a mask, they say. Unleash your confidence by hiding your flaws, they say.
If only it were so simple.
My struggle with body image began at age five. That was the first time I threw up to make myself feel thin.
I began to heal four years ago after I almost killed myself. All …

Loving Yourself When You’re Too Fat, Too Skinny, Too Tall, or Too Short
“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” ~Henry David Thoreau
Living in NYC, I have seen some crazy and outrageous things. So, I shouldn’t have been surprised to see an ad in the subway that read, “Overcome Your Bikini Fears. Breast Augmentation Made In NY: $3,900,” or another ad from the same plastic surgery office that showed a picture of a woman looking sad, holding a pair of small tangerines in front of her breasts, and the same woman looking happy holding grapefruits, with the same caption, “Breast Augmentation Made in NY: $3,900.”
Still, I …