New Year Resilient You

December 31st, 2018
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beach candle

If it is dark outside when I wake up, I will light a candle, close my eyes and slowly gather my thoughts before the day gets away from me.

There is something about the quiet of the morning that I cherish.  The day is still fresh and lighting a candle in the dark fills me with hope.

It fills me with the notion that today is full of possibilities and I can feel whole and valued.

It reinforces the idea that yesterday is past and today is a fresh start.

It is uplifting to feel the warmth and light from … Read More

Buh Bye 2017!

December 31st, 2017
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Today, the last day of 2017, tends to be a day when most of us mentally review events that happened to us during the past year and I’ve concluded, that for me, 2017 was a year of feeling it all. 2017 took me on a most bumpy and unexpected ride and I must say I am happy to say Buh Bye to one rollercoaster of a year. From the beginning of January to the end of December, 2017 was 12 months of experiencing pretty much every emotion that there is to feel as a human being.  This unpredictability of course… Read More

Last Minute Gifts of Comfort & Joy

December 22nd, 2017
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It’s the Friday before Christmas and it’s a good bet that you may have finished buying gifts for everyone on your list. But there’s still time to think about buying one more gift. This year you may want to put a special twist on your usual gift giving by buying a present for a loved one or friend who has died. On the face of it, the idea may sound a little strange not really. I saw this wonderful idea recently tweeted by Grief Compass in a series called the 12 Holidays of Grief and thought I would share it… Read More

Healthy Selfishness

May 31st, 2016
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How was your Memorial Day weekend?  Having that extra day was the best! I hope it was relaxing and the holiday weekend went pretty much the way you had planned it. Before I continue with thoughts about Memorial Day weekend, let me say I am feeling bad about being away from Cry Laugh Heal recently and not posting as often as I would prefer.  I have not forgotten AT ALL about you or the ongoing dialogue we’ve started about working through our grief feelings while also trying to create new lives after the death of a loved one. However, I… Read More

Happy Valentine’s Day

February 14th, 2014
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Happy Valentine’s Day!! Falling in love and being loved is just so oh-la-la isn’t it? May your heart expand today with the joy of being with your Valentine or having great memories of a special Valentine who may no longer be with you. I’m sending this song out today to Valentines around the globe:… Read More

Way To Go

November 8th, 2013
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It’s Fabulous, Fantastic, Friday and I know you are as happy about this as I am! By the end of the work week, everyone needs a nice pat on the back. Try saying one nice thing, one kind thing to someone you know or even a stranger  and see what happens…………… JOY!!!… Read More

A Pope of Hope

September 23rd, 2013
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From Southern Maryland to Northern Virginia, everywhere I went this past weekend people were talking about Pope Francis and his  recent groundbreaking remarks about the state of the Catholic Church. Pope Francis, you are a healing breath of fresh air and you arrived on the global scene just when we needed to listen your joyous and merciful outlook on life!! It was amazing to me that people spontaneously brought it up in conversation no matter what else was previously being talked about.  I find religion is sometimes discussed at social events but not very often.  And in Washington, DC, rarely… Read More

Your Dad Is Here

June 16th, 2013
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I see my husband in my son in small ways:  the way he rolls up his long sleeved shirts, the set of his jaw when he is annoyed or determined to do something he really wants to accomplish and the way he plays chicken with his car’s gas tank and won’t fill it up until it is almost empty. When I see those traits it is bittersweet: they make me laugh and but they also make me feel a little sad and wistful.    “He is still with us,” I think to myself.  My husband had a very strong personality so… Read More

Forgiveness

April 5th, 2013
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Someone close to me is emotionally stuck on certain negative events that happened in her life decades ago.  She talks about them in great detail and tells others how she felt when these things happened to her.  Listening over and over again to her retelling of these events doesn’t seem to help her move forward and get past what happened. It’s as though she has a list in her head and she mentally checks these things off every day to remind herself that someone did something wrong to her.  It is sad and frustrating to watch someone concentrate on the… Read More