An Honest Dialogue

January 14th, 2013
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After a loss, people often feel that they have no resources.
They feel they have no one to talk to about the extreme pain they are feeling.
A little over two years ago, I launched Cry, Laugh, Heal as a place where people could go to read and discuss grieving and say to themselves, “I’m not alone.  Someone else gets it.”
Because in the end, no one ever wants to feel alone.
autumn light
Since starting the blog I have written about grief and about the crucial process of trying to put the pieces of your life back together after the death … Read More

Cooking for Children With Cancer

January 11th, 2013
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Danielle Cook Navidi (in apron) Photo Courtesy of Georgetown University Hospital If you ever doubted that one person can make a difference, then please meet Danielle Cook Navidi. Navidi is a loving mother totally committed to the idea that she could cook healthy food for her then 11-year-old son, Fabien Navidi-Kasmai, diagnosed and receiving treatment for Stage III Hodgkin’s lymphoma.  His taste buds were shot, he couldn’t digest his favorite foods and sadly, he would go for days without eating. Navidi reminds me of many mothers I know who are steadfast in their beliefs about what can help their children… Read More

“Loved You First” Cover – Owen Danoff

January 10th, 2013
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Music can change my mood in an instant! If you are anything like me, you probably have songs in your iPod that you listen to only when you exercise and those songs are probably different from music that you play when you want to relax or just chill. I think from the moment we are born we are sensitive to sounds and how those sounds make us feel. Listening to music can be therapeutic and soothing; truly a stressbuster.  I believe that music can truly heal your soul.  Or it can get your creatives juices going and help to push… Read More

January Baby

January 9th, 2013
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I am a January Baby and yesterday was my birthday. I am happy to have a birthday (Elvis and I were born on the same day!) but I wish I had been born at a different time of the year. By the time my birthday arrives, people are usually burnt out from the holidays.  Throughout the years, I have found that friends and family are either on a diet in January or they had spent too much money on Christmas so they are back on a budget in January.  Sometimes I have received gifts in Christmas wrapping paper and sometimes… Read More

Mental Relaxation

January 8th, 2013
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Planes, trains, cars and boats are not always at the ready to take us to dreamy destinations. Work, finances and other life responsibilities sometimes get in the way of traveling even though everyone needs take occasional breaks from their surroundings, especially if life is particularly stressful or painful. You can’t always take a vacation even if you really need or want one. But you can read a book. I saw this wonderful saying from Dr. Suess (posted above) on one of my favorite websites, The Silver Pen (www.thesilverpen.com) and was reminded of the magical healing power of reading and books.… Read More

Dealing With “The Blues”

January 7th, 2013
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  Covered Bridge in West Cornwall, CT  By Thomas Schoeller I keep a folder of story ideas and I was search through it yesterday for timely stuff that I thought could help all of us in our different emotional journeys through our blessed lives.  Some of the ideas in my folder are things I have heard in conversations or on the radio or TV and other ideas are pieces of papers I clipped from newspapers and magazines. I came across the following bit of wisdom from The Washington Post’s Marguerite Kelly.  Kelly writes a popular and long-running advice column called… Read More

Hillary Clinton

January 4th, 2013
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Photo Courtesy of People.com Hillary Clinton is a workhorse.  I would guess that she gets more accomplished in an hour as Secretary of State than I do in one day. An incredibly savvy woman who has served this country as First Lady and as a member of the US Senate, she is also fearless about putting her beliefs into action and that’s one of the reasons why she is the most admired woman in the world according to a December 2012 Gallup  poll.  In fact, this marks the 11th year in a row that Hillary has held the number one… Read More

Have A Little Happiness

January 3rd, 2013
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At this time of year, it is easy to find self-help advice almost everywhere we look: online, television, magazines, books. It’s the beginning of a new year and it’s traditionally a time to take stock of what we’ve done in the year gone by and think about what we want to improve about ourselves in the new year.   As we put up new calendars and turn a fresh page, we evaluate how we would like to go forward and perhaps we even have a new plan of action. Most people are hopeful that the bad habits that they practiced in… Read More

It’s A New Day

January 2nd, 2013
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Photo By Jonny Valiant I’m not making any resolutions for 2013. I feel when I do make resolutions that I’m setting myself up to feel bad if I don’t stay true to the resolution, no matter what it is. Instead, my goal is to try and treat each day as if it were a “new year” and do my best.  I expect that sometimes I will achieve my best in those twenty-four hours and sometimes I will not come even close. But the next day will be a new day and an opportunity to try once again to put myself… Read More