wholeness—complete and harmonious unity; a synergy of body, mind and spirit How often do you actually experience a sense of wholeness? Or, is that never part of your reality because you feel like a piece of you is missing—that you aren’t able to complete the puzzle because you’re somehow incomplete? The concept of “feeling whole” won’t […]
In the 1993 movie Groundhog Day the main character is a weatherman named Phil who gets caught in a blizzard that he didn’t accurately predict. He becomes stuck in a time warp, reliving the same day over and over until he gets it “right”. There’s a lot of literature about the underlying significance of this […]
Whenever I wasn’t with clients yesterday, I was outside pressure washing our deck. This is an annual ritual—one that’s made even more necessary because of my beloved locust tree (“The Tree”). The Tree is very messy. Each spring, seedpods fall creating a lot of residual muck to get rid of. But, in spite of the […]
Grace One morning, without even “trying”, I found myself in a place of grace. The feeling was palpable although nothing looked different. It was experienced rather than seen. (Sometimes, we humans don’t believe something’s real unless we can see it and touch it.) At first, this incipient energy created only a subtle shift in the […]
Editing—a fundamentally necessary process to get to the heart of the matter; to revise or expunge or correct When you watch a movie or read a book—or a post like this—it’s likely been edited. Without editing, there may be typos, grammar issues, inconsistencies, and the absence of a through-line (the common thread that ties it […]
There are lines (sometimes very fine) between embracing fully, accepting, settling and giving up. Today, let’s talk about giving up. It’s easy to imagine abandoning hope when you: feel scared or vulnerable, hide in the shadows, don’t have the support of those who are “supposed” to love you, are victimized or minimized or give up […]
Have you ever looked at another person and thought, “wow, I wish I could do that”, or “it would be awesome to look that amazing?”, or “his life seems perfect!”? I know I have. In my humanness, I have lapses of gratitude, and go to a place where I think that I’m not as fortunate as someone […]
In early 2016, I wrote a letter to my then ten-year-old granddaughter with ten specific thoughts. It was a spur-of-the-moment sharing, hand-written on simple lined “school” paper with holes in the margin, around which I drew little flowers. She asked me to hang onto it for her and I took it out, and reread it, […]
When we look at each other, what are we seeing? Are we really even looking? Or, are we rushing through life so fast that we don’t even pay attention to who we pass because the “where we’re running to” and “what we need to do” blinds us to all else? Do we really see each other at all? Am […]
Last week we talked about environmental wellness. This week let’s move on to how choices we make impact our emotional, social and spiritual wellness. Eight Areas of Wellness 1. physical wellness 2. occupational wellness 3. financial wellness 4. intellectual wellness 5. environmental wellness 6. emotional wellness—taking care of yourself from a “feeling” perspective; living as stress […]
We often think of wellness as getting annual physicals, exercising, eating right and getting a good night’s sleep. It encompasses a lot more than that, however! The integration of the different areas of wellness is what allows you to achieve your full potential. Eight Areas of Wellness 1. physical wellness—our bodies need for physical activity, healthy […]
Ubuntu is the South African concept of lifting others up, affirming their value, and being genuinely joyful that their lives are good. It means “humanity”—being aware that we are part of a bigger picture; knowing that we all suffer when others are oppressed. We are not isolated but, rather, joined in our humanness. It does not […]
Good Morning Beautiful Friend. How are you my Precious Daughter? You are so Creative! You’re a Worthless Loser. You are such a Clumsy Jerk! How can you be so Stupid and Ugly? You did a Wonderful job! How can you always be so Generous? You’re a Valuable team member. You were an unwanted Mistake. Why are you so Useless? Get lost you Freak! Your […]
Part 1 I woke up this, first day of spring, morning from a bad dream. Thankfully it wasn’t a full-blown nightmare—I have those too. This dream was about being in a terrible accident and waking up paralyzed; my mobility forever at the mercy of a wheelchair; my way of life abruptly halted. In the dream, I was frantic, […]
Priority definition: that one thing which takes precedence over all else; what we give foremost, and special, attention to. We’ve lost the idea of having a priority in life. Even the plural— priorities—refers to two to four things, not the dozen (or hundred) we have on our “this is what I must do” lists. If you […]
When did we wrap our arms around a culture that defines us, often almost entirely, by what we own? Can stuff really buy happiness? There’s psychological support that, for many people, there is immediate gratification that takes place when we acquire something. But then, the new becomes old very quickly. Dissatisfaction sets in, and the […]
The bright day turned suddenly, with total abandon, handing her reins over to the sky; moving from bright to dark in just a few moments. As rain crashed against windows, lights flickered then went off, thunder rolled, and temperatures plummeted 20°. Tumultuous, screaming nature dances without restraint, reminding me of a human displaying every emotion in one day: […]
Three is a powerful number. The Greeks had The Three Graces—beauty, mirth and elegance. In Christianity, three is The Trinity—the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And, from a numerology perspective, three is connected to inspiration, kindness, compassion, energy, and joy. In my reading, I come across a lot of “threes”: beginning/middle/end heaven/earth/waters past/present/future examination/elimination/re-creation thought/word/deed […]
How often do we give ourselves permission to “be”— to walk past the “to do” list, to ignore the insistent demands of technology, to take the time to be fully with others, or ourselves or God, to be okay, to simply be? One day, when I had no scheduled client appointments, I chose to let the […]
We often have a myopic view of the world, which limits us from “seeing” outside our own—frequently very limited—life. This narrow perspective leads to behavior that can be anything from inconsiderate to downright mean. We get so caught up in our reality that we don’t “see” how we sometimes behave. I truly believe that “nice” is underrated. I also believe […]
awareness As I back the car out of the garage, the thermometer moves down to 28°. I’m aware that as winter progresses I adapt to the cold. What would have been shocking in the middle of July is now simply part of the ebb and flow of the season. I get used to it. It […]
January 16, 2017 a note to God: Hi God, It’s a New Year. The last one flew by faster than the previous ten, and much faster than the twenty before that. The first thirty—well, they seemed to meander slowly; like a lazy river taking its time, enjoying the scenery. I know, that as we have more […]
In the quest for peace full living, we have to embrace all of life—not just the parts that are amazing or delightful or make us happy. For some of us that awareness can be a tough pill to swallow. For a long time I believed that if I just shoved the bad away—then buried it […]
Tomorrow is election day in The United States of America. You’d have to be living a pretty reclusive life to be unaware of all the fear, anger and hatred being hurled across political lines (and social media, community meetings and, dinner tables). This election has not brought out the best in many citizens of our […]
Many people—who have never spent a day behind bars—live in self-imposed prisons where they intend to serve out life sentences. Sometimes that’s because they’ve committed a heinous crime and, although not “found out”, they know what they’ve done and choose lifetime penitence. Some have been imprisoned by the words of others, when they’ve been told that […]
peace full home®—intentional living 