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

Happy New 2013!!

January 1st, 2013
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Happy New Year to you and yours! I hope you are not feeling too hung over today from the fun you had last night and may your first day of the new year be a harmonious one. My New Year’s Eve last night was a low key one for me: an early dinner with family and then home to try and stay awake to watch the ball drop in New York’s Times Square.  I ended up falling asleep on the family room couch way before midnight (no surprise there) but then woke up at midnight because the neighbors were setting… Read More

Buddy The Elf

December 31st, 2012
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A baby boy crawls into Santa’s satchel of presents and travels back with him to the North Pole….. So begins the wonderful story of “Elf,” a classic Christmas movie which captures the spirit of innocence and hope.  If you’ve never see “Elf,” I highly recommend it. With a new year right around the corner, there is no reason for us to abandon the uplifting feeling of the holidays just because Christmas and Hanukkah are over. Comedian Will Ferrell as Buddy the Elf I have watched “Elf” many times when it it isn’t even close to the holiday season just because… Read More

A Merry Christmas Message

December 25th, 2012
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Merry Christmas Dear Readers, May you and your loved ones have a very Merry Christmas! The holiday season may remind you of a special person who is no longer with you, just as I am reminded of my husband who died nine years ago.  Our lives have been forever changed and so have we. But there is always hope for a renewed future; a future that we can purposely rebuild so that we may move forward.  You are not alone. We bring our loved ones with us as we slowly figure out our new lives and as we do, we… Read More

Do Not Look Away

December 23rd, 2012
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Courtesy of CNN.com     Hold a hand. give a hug.  Open your heart. We cannot not be afraid to offer comfort and empathy.  I know it’s difficult to step outside of yourself and reach out to others in pain. To find a way to comfort and empathize with someone in pain requires a certain amount of introspection; an ability to put the brakes on your own needs and try to put yourself in the other person’s place.  Compassion requires you to stop thinking about yourself and imagine what another person is feeling while dealing with a life crisis or… Read More

Let Your Light Shine

December 20th, 2012
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Today is twenty four hours of new time.  Time you didn’t have yesterday and time you won’t have tomorrow. Today is a day for you to shine.  In the words of South African President Nelson Mandela (please read below), “We are powerful beyond measure.” Today is a day to discover something new about yourself.  A day to show what you are about. It’s your day. . . Find your power! Find Your Power Our Deepest Fear From Nelson Mandela’s 1994 inaugural speech Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest is that we are powerful beyond measure.… Read More

Seaching for Serenity

December 17th, 2012
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As we try to find a way to deal with the tragic stories in the news about the Newtown, Connecticut shootings, let us try to find a way to take a break from the pain. A new work week begins and Christmas is close just a week away.  The juxtaposition of the Newtown stories, the social media dialogue; television and newspapers stories covering gun control, the state of mental health and parenting issues in the United States against the backdrop of Christmas decorations and music is jarring.I find myself turning off the television and only reading parts of stories because… Read More

Sentimental Christmas Stockings

December 13th, 2012
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Stockings Belonging to Daddy, Mommy & R ” . . . And the stockings were hung by the chimney with care;  In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there. . .”From “Twas The Night Before Christmas” By Clement Clarke Moore These  are our sentimental Christmas stockings, hung on our fireplace every year, in hopes that Santa Claus will think we have been good and fill them with lots of treats. I know they are a bit on the tacky side but they represent a lot of good feelings and great memories. They don’t match each other or the living… Read More

Being All In

December 12th, 2012
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This holiday season, I am appreciating the endless decorations of bows, bells and evergreens, listening to the traditional Christmas music that seems to be playing everywhere and trying to find wonderful presents for those that I love. I’ve been to a few Christmas parties and also donated to schools and other groups who are dependent upon help from others so that they may continue their community work that is so crucial to helping men, women and children who are homeless and without a place to go for regular shelter and meals. I am trying to give of myself and think… Read More