Vulnerability

January 31st, 2014
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Something To Think About. . . . .

“Vulnerability is not about winning, and it’s not about losing.
It’s about having the courage to show up and be seen.”
                                           ~ Brene Brown

Nate Berkus Moves Forward

November 25th, 2013
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When I share stories on this blog about my travels with grief over the past several years, I do so in the hopes that it will help others cope with their losses.  Grief can be isolating even though I believe most people want to connect with others and especially those who have been where they are when they experience a loss.I think everyone wants to feel that someone, anyone gets what’s going on with them; especially at this time of the year. One of the ways I found a connection was through reading.  In the beginning of grieving the loss… Read More

Crying & Healing

July 8th, 2013
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This post is for anyone, and in particular someone who is close to me, who is currently going through an anxious time in their life and is unsure how it will turn out. Anxiety may be dogging you and causing sleepless nights, loss of appetite, an increase in appetite, a need to abuse alcohol or drugs (please don’t!!!!), crankiness or sadness and crying.  As in crying constantly.  Like every day.  At any time. This person close to me was talking recently about how crying really does make her feel better but she’s also aware that it doesn’t make others around… Read More

Lean In To Laughter

April 25th, 2013
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One of my brothers has a wacky way of making a joke exactly when it’s needed. His timing and dry delivery are impeccable!  Just when the situation is starting to get either too serious or is totally out of hand, I can always depend on my brother to throw an exclamation point into the conversation.   It’s not an easy thing to do.  There’s a fine line between funny and unfunny and once you cross over into unfunny, it’s hard to undo and recover your mojo. I’ve delivered some whoppers that have crashed on delivery but I don’t try to… Read More

Compassion at 12th Street Irish Pub

October 16th, 2012
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A Bar at the Folies Bergere By Edouard Manet Besides their obvious job of making drinks, bartenders also do something even more important: a lot of listening. Many times when people go to a bar, they are looking for someone to talk to, someone who will listen to their troubles and sympathize with what has happened to them. In our fast-paced world, finding someone who will sit and absorb our words is helpful and comforting.  Listening is a powerful thing.  It’s all about the human connection. Someone is pouring out their problems to you and in the telling of the… Read More

Working Through Emotional Pain

September 19th, 2012
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Sunrise off the coast of Ireland At one time, I thought that if you ignored something unpleasant it would go away or solve itself on it’s own. And sometimes that actually does happen: people move away, they change jobs or people decide to transfer their children to another school. But for the big emotional stuff — grieving, divorce, abuse, illness — I find you have to face it and slowly work through the painful issues to get to the other side of it and eventually heal your inner self.  I have found that if you ignore the emotional pain from… Read More