Posts Tagged: problems

Commiting To Heal

March 18th, 2014
Posted By:

When committing yourself to begin healing, you are taking an important step.  You are in effect looking around yourself and saying that today’s situation isn’t working well for you and you are choosing to change.
I have found that it’s a decision that can make you feel two contradictory emotions at the same time. On the one hand, you are feeling brave to decide to open yourself up to change but on the other hand, the act of opening yourself up to something new is scary and nerve wracking because it’s unpredictable.
We all react differently to the loss of … Read More

A Listening Binge

February 12th, 2014
Posted By:

For the past several weeks, I have been on a listening binge and it feels healing. There are a number of family members and friends who are going through various kinds of difficult personal situations and, in trying to be helpful, I have been listening to what they tell me they want to talk about, in particular what it feels like to be in their crisis, what they really wish they could do to solve it and how frustrating it is to have the situation go on and on. Listening may seem as though it is a passive activity but… Read More

It’s All In Your Attitude

March 6th, 2013
Posted By:

Hi Dear Friends! Yesterday I went for my annual eye exam and of course the doctor dilated my eyes.  I now have to use eye drops three to four times a day.  One is a prescription drop and the other is an over-the-counter brand.  I am just getting used to this new routine and I am finding that it’s a lot of drops to have rolling down my face.  Better get some water-proof mascara right? Needless to say, computer time has been temporarily shortened but today I still wanted to post some thoughts about healing and managing life’s wacky stresses.… Read More

Compassion at 12th Street Irish Pub

October 16th, 2012
Posted By:

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

Looking For Serenity

April 16th, 2012
Posted By:

Resilience is having the ability to bend with change and when I am working on building emotional resilience within myself, I am reminded of Reinhold Niebuhr’s famous serenity prayer: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference. I have found it best to start in small ways.  Almost every day, I try to examine what has happened and why.  Not in an overly analytical way, but in a way that makes me more aware of my responses and behaviors.  One way… Read More