In my last article, I talked about how negative thought patterns create ruts in our brains that cause us to automatically “go there” when triggered. I then showed how to rewire our brains and take control of those thoughts. In Part Two, I’m going to take you one step further and show you how practicing gratitude actually creates joy.
Read MoreMy sister is a trauma specialist and I’ve learned a lot from her that helps me to be more compassionate and less judgmental. One of the things she’s taught me is how our brains develop ruts—deep fissures of memory when something traumatic occurs. She says that when this happens it is nearly impossible for someone on their own to get out of those deep ditches and create new healthy paths.
Read MoreSpringtime is one of my most favorite times of the year because of flowers. I don’t have a favorite flower. I love all things that flower—trees, shrubs, annuals, perennials—you name it. If it flowers, I love it.
The Project
For the past month, I’ve been working in the garden. A neighbor down the street offered mulch if we’d come to get it from her driveway. Free mulch? Yes!! But that meant we had to first prepare the beds by removing weeds and cutting back the plants bitten by the cold … and then wheelbarrow loads of mulch from her house six houses away to our home. What a job.
After the project was done, I sat on my porch with my iced tea and thought about that familiar saying, “April showers bring May flowers.” The bed looked so pretty with the new mulch, but my azaleas, hydrangeas, orchids, and gardenias weren’t blooming yet. That would take time, plus warmer temperatures, rain, and longer days.
Read MoreMy new (well, continuing) aspirational goal is to achieve serenity. If not actual serenity, at least a modicum of equanimity. You see, the stress of life seems to be ratcheting up and, more than ever, I feel compelled to resist being drawn into the angst that appears to be the theme of our culture’s current existence.
I have analyzed how attempts to experience joy often get thwarted and I arrived at three things that --- at least for me --- are the main culprits: Disorganization, the Need For Control, and IMPATIENCE.
Read MoreI am a complete sucker for a fresh start and the new year is like bread from heaven to me. However, I don't even need it to be January 1st for hope to rise up and to say that “THIS IS OUR YEAR!"
Read MoreMore than a few years ago, a close friend recognized that I was not very accomplished at celebrating myself. I didn’t even know how to plan ahead for how to celebrate my birthday. Now you may be great at that … but there are many people who aren’t. So here’s what my friend did…
Read MoreHas life seemed to drag? Has 2022 got you struggling and feeling sluggish? Are you ready to escape all those nagging things that are gumming up your journey? Want to have a sleek 2023? Me, too!
Read MoreMy mystifying reality: I’m a mid-west gal who grew up surrounded by cornfields and dwelling with the Barcalounger people in their wood-paneled “rec rooms” a/k/a basements. How? Even as a child I always felt I was a fuchsia blossom exiled to a vast beige wasteland. These are not my people. However, thanks to a library annex that opened in our small hamlet, and a sympathetic librarian who informed me that I was not required to adhere to reading books for my grade level, I became an insatiable reader and enthusiastic learner. I wanted to know about lots of things, and I especially loved books about other cultures and how folks in far away places lived. My imagination soared.
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