Posts Tagged: strength

Traveling in Hope

February 23rd, 2015
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Wow! What a weekend! Here in Washington, DC, we received 6 to 8 inches of steady snow on Saturday but then by Sunday the temperatures rose up to the 40’s!  As my neighbor and I were out shoveling the slushy mesh, we both remarked that it was warm enough to take off our coats.

Today the temperatures are dropping back down again to February coldness so it just goes to show that you never know what Mother Nature is going to bring to us in terms of weather!  I also have that same kind of uncertain feeling about this upcoming … Read More

Torch By Cheryl Strayed

February 20th, 2015
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As soon as I finished reading Wild, Cheryl Strayed’s fantastic New York Times best-selling memoir (http://crylaughheal.com/wild-by-cheryl-strayed/), I wanted to read more of Stayed’s work. I enjoyed seeing Wild the movie and thought it should have received more attention in terms of nominations but what I really wanted was to read more of Strayed’s honest and direct thoughts about the gritty aspects of life and loss, what happens to us through our friendships and who and how we love. I wanted to read more of the her words, and the way she chooses to put them together.  I truly have never… Read More

Creating An Oasis of Calm

February 16th, 2015
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When I read the above sign, I knew I was in the right place. Isn’t it just great? I love the simplicity and comfort of this message and the fact that it was posted on a black bench in the lobby of a local yoga studio where I took my first lesson over the weekend made the idea behind the message even better. I was in a new place about to begin a new experience but felt immediately welcomed. Taking off my shoes became the first step to creating a calming place for myself.  As I pulled my boots off… Read More

A Plucky Poem of Resilience

February 11th, 2015
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// When I open my personal email early in the morning, one of my favorite things to see is an email from my son.  I don’t get them as much I did when he was in college because now I receive more text messages.  But still, receiving an email from him always makes me smile. The email that I write about today arrived over the weekend and in it my son wrote that a friend of his had seen the poem featured below and wanted to pass it along to me so that I could post it on Cry Laugh… Read More

A Stranger’s Human Thoughts

February 9th, 2015
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You never know what you are going to hear when you are getting your hair done. I was going about my usual weekend routine when a man reminded me that we as humans have more in common than we acknowledge.  Each of us are in different places and different phases, but most of us are trying to make sense of our lives, past and present, and each of us has something we are trying to work out and heal within ourselves. Grief, for all of its raw pain and turmoil, does teach us things about life.  I don’t mean for… Read More

Testing One Two Three

January 29th, 2015
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If you never take the opportunity to challenge yourself, then you might not really be sure of what you are capable of accomplishing in your precious life. Yesterday I was reading through some materials about resilience and I found the inspiring quote below. It blew me away when I first read it.  What a powerful thought!! I am going to tuck this wonderful thought into my brain and bring it out the next time I find myself facing a daunting task (probably today!!). More importantly, this thought is also for anyone who is facing a trying time.  Please let this… Read More

Reward Yourself

January 26th, 2015
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When I find myself in times of worry or stress, I often handle it by giving myself rewards. I focus on the stressful or worrisome tasks that I have to deal with and then in the back of my mind I tell myself that when I’m done with whatever it is for the time being, I will do something that will make me feel better about life. For me, rewards are sometimes a critical part of managing the darker sides of life.  Rewards give me a boost and make me feel as though I can carry on.  It can be… Read More

Mastering One Mighty Wall

January 16th, 2015
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Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson, the two men who courageously completed the historic climb up El Capitan in Yosemite National Park in California on Wednesday, were the topic of animated conversation yesterday in my office. People were wondering how they did it (can you believe it?), what kind of stamina it took to finish the climb (Dude you would have to be in incredible shape right?) and what your fingers would look like at the end of the climb (Totally bloody!).  This topic then lead people to talk about other people who practice extreme sports including some guy who wears… Read More

Permission To Feel

January 14th, 2015
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There are times when I read something that clarifies an issue for me or it helps me connect the dots of information I have spread about in my brain and when this happens I want to share it for the information might also be a great resource for you too! In this case, it is an incredibly insightful piece that I read in this past Sunday’s New York Times.  It is written by Patrick O’Malley, a psychotherapist from Fort Worth, Texas, and his opinion piece addresses why people tend to grieve the way they think others want them to grieve,… Read More