Worrying vs Caring

August 7th, 2012
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In our post 9/11 world, I think a lot of us operate as though the other shoe is going to drop on top of us anytime.
It’s not healthy for my body or my mind and when I find myself in that anxious mode, I try to put the brakes on the fear, the anxiety or whatever you want to call it, because walking around in a constant state of worry doesn’t accomplish anything.

You can’t worry about a situation because you can’t control it.  But you do have power over yourself to thin positively and you can try to … Read More

Life Can Be A Beach

August 5th, 2012
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Today I choose to be positive and constructive. What does that mean? It means I am going to adopt and hang on to a beach mentality for as long as I can.  Every day at the beach I pack up my things and go and find a treasured spot to hang out.  Sometimes my friends are there first and sometimes I get there first.  But we stake out our spot in the warm and welcoming sand and the day just slowly rolls out and evolves.  We talk about nothing in particular, we read for awhile, we test out the ocean… Read More

Looking For Serenity

April 16th, 2012
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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

Calgon, Take Me Away

April 5th, 2012
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The world around us can be dynamic and sometimes intense. If channeled in a positive direction, being around people who are intense and dynamic or situations that are dynamic and intense can be a good thing; even a great thing.  It can be the fuel that gets the creative juices started and sometimes can bring about breakthroughs or solutions in otherwise stuck situations. But if you are already feeling overloaded or overwhelmed by being the single parent (either widowed or divorced) who works full-time, takes care of the house, the children and the finances, then maybe for your own sake… Read More

Animal Adoration

October 1st, 2011
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This story addresses children and pets but I think it also pertains to adults…Love the pictures! Animal Attraction Why kids adore animals and what they can learn from all creatures, great and small By Gail F. Melson Ph.D From Parent & Child Magazine A whirling 4 year old comes to a screeching halt, transfixed by the fish swimming lazily around an aquarium in the pediatrician’s waiting room. A 6 year old, home from school, showers the family dog with hugs and kisses before saying hi to Mom. A 10 year old chooses her gerbil, Misty, as the subject of her… Read More

Stress-O-Rama

September 16th, 2011
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Courtesy of Ben & Jerry’s A million things are jumbling around in my brain today and I am trying to follow my own advice about being what a good friend of mine calls “a little stressy”: Breathe Eat Well Exercise Get Sleep Rest Take it step-by-step Break the work into 10 minute increments Breathe Righttttttttttt…..What I really want to do is eat a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream or a whole bag of Ruffles potato chips.  Now that would really do the trick!!… Read More

Be Careful Out There

September 7th, 2011
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A good friend of mine recently introduced me to Gospel Star Marvin Sapp and his daily spiritual insights called “Marvin’s Motivational Moment.”  Family, jobs, personal interests and personal predicaments.  The combination of all these factors leads to us living in a rushed and complex world that can easily be stressful and overwhelming.  That gives us all the more reason to stake out personal time to evaluate what’s happening and regroup; to take stock of what’s happening to us, and I mean REALLY happening to us, instead of making our usual schedules of endless commitments and appointments as our top priority.… Read More

Change, Changed & Changing

May 28th, 2011
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Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. — Author James Baldwin Isn’t it tiresome being a one-person team?  Don’t you wish that sometimes you could delegate all of your errands and responsibilities to someone else?  Please, please don’t make me……. I would love to be irresponsible; not permanently, but just for a short amount of time.  I would love to take a break from the constant decision making and problem solving; to get in the car and drive somewhere and escape for a bit. Please join me if you feel,… Read More

Home Sweet Home — Options For Housing Alternatives

April 23rd, 2011
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For some reason, people think that becoming a widow and moving to a new place to live go hand-in-hand.  I’m not quite sure why this is, but it’s one of the most common questions asked of a newly widowed person.  In fact, someone once joked that maybe real estate agents and funeral directors network off the same list of people. I guess the questions, “When are you moving?” or “When are you selling your house?” are asked so often because people may be nervous about what to say around you so they end up blurting out questions like these.  Or… Read More