One morning, I woke up long before the sun was rising. I walked into the bathroom, closed the door and flipped the light switch. Nothing happened. Then I realized there were no lights anywhere. The programmed lights outside weren’t on. The little light on the electric toothbrush wasn’t flashing. Hmmmm….no instant gratification light going on here this morning. […]
Tag Archives: joy
When I was in my late twenties, I was the assistant controller in a successful company. One day, the owner shared this with me: “There are givers and takers in this world. My wife is a giver. I am a taker. And, you, Kay, are a giver.” I recall the words clearly because they were […]
Each day as I get out of bed I say, “Thank You God”. (Many of you already know that.) Then, in my more aware moments, I tack on some of the perfunctory—superficial, easy—“thank you items”: the sunshine, my health, my family, etcetera. Those aren’t insincere “thank yous”; it’s just that they’re so darned easy to […]
A while ago, I was at a seminar with a group of women I didn’t know. One of them immigrated to The United States several years earlier. She said that her “English isn’t good enough“, and that she feels “defeated and less than”. She wasn’t finding other women who wanted to build a relationship with […]
I woke up this morning acutely aware of the amazing freedom and abundance I have. I could choose to lie in my bed as long as I want on this work-free morning, get up and brush my teeth with clean water running through a faucet in one of my bathrooms (while in a third of our […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
It was a quiet house this past weekend and on Saturday evening, my daughter, Erin came up so we could watch a movie together. It was a real tearjerker with an outcome we didn’t immediately anticipate. At the end we were both sobbing; a moment shared as we looked at reality through a different lens. […]
Where do you find joy? Why does joy often seem so elusive? What is joy? “Joy” and “happiness” are not the same. Happiness is a response to something. We experience feeling happy when we’re having fun, spending time with people who make us smile, watching a funny movie, taking a vacation in a place we love, or even completing […]
“Love people and use things, not love things and use people.” I’m not sure who first coined this but, sadly, it can’t be said enough. Organization, and the lack of clutter, are an integral part of a calm, joyful home—or organization. It’s tough to get to Peace if you’re surrounded by chaos. That chaos can be created […]
My Mom died in 2009. I miss her daily. We loved each other and were very close, and I’m aware that isn’t the reality in many families. She was diagnosed with colon cancer, and two weeks later, she was gone. Not gone exactly, but no longer on this earth plane. I was distraught when she […]
If you’re like many people I know, you may often feel as if you’re running through life. When you complete your day’s activities—whether that’s employment, caring for others, volunteerism, or spending time with family and friends—wouldn’t it be nice to walk through the door into your home (or stop doing the “work” part of your […]
peace full home®—intentional living 