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Be Light
A long December and there’s reason to believe that this year will be better than the last. — Counting Crows, A Long December It’s been a crazy month. December almost always is. Like a blanket of fresh snow, we overlay a winter wonderland a top of our already filled to the brim, year-end lives. I have a love/hate relationship with this month. Everything is wrapped in red and green, trimmed in peppermint sticks, and served with warm chocolate. I cherish the extra warmth and good cheer; enjoy the special foods we prepare; and am awed by the solitude of winter in the Midwest. I struggle with unrealistic expectations of myself and others.…
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Don’t Yuck My Yum
As much as we strive to be unaffected by the opinions of others, most people do care what other people think. We are social creatures, and mutual acceptance is an integral part of society. As it happens, we are everybody else’s other people. Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, we have power in the lives of those around us. Our friends, coworkers, and family all care to greater or lesser degrees what we think. If you are still balking at this idea, consider the power of social media to influence. An entire industry has grown up around the ability of social media (i.e., our opinions) to influence others. Shares and…
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Keeping Peace
Things have been tricky lately. Certainties seem uncertain. A bit like freshman Algebra, it feels like life has more variables than constants. Not knowing what Santa will bring you is one thing–the uncertainty of a future delight. But future mysteries in our jobs, relationships, and even the global community are different. Uncertainty in areas of our lives in which we’re more heavily invested can really disturb our peace of mind. Over the next few days, I’m going to share about peace of mind in two parts. First, in honor of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, two ways to think plus two ways to act when faced with challenges in our relationships (including sharing meals with your parents and extended…
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YOLO
In the last few decades, the idea that “you can have it all” has grown in popularity for both women and men. Successful career…check. Amazing family…check. Community involvement…check. Multiple degrees…check. Travel the world. Write a book. Start an organic farming co-op. Foster rescue animals. Knit homemade Christmas gifts…check, check, check! But is accurate to say we can have it all? We all have to make choices. Instead of “you can have it all” perhaps we should be saying “anything’s possible”. Except, even then, there are limits…limits to our personal discipline and time, and then there’s that pesky need for sleep. So perhaps a truer statement would be “you can have it all…just not at the same time”.…
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What If?
What if everything in this life has happened exactly as it was supposed to? What if all the injustices (perceived or real), the missed opportunities, the almosts, the not quites, the coulda woulda shouldas disappeared? And all that remained was life…exactly as it is in the present moment. No regrets. No remorse. No worry about the future. What if the yardstick by which we measured life never came up short? What if our lives were laid before us like a hand of cards? Not to be judged as winning or losing but rather to be played…joyfully…thoughtfully…with great gusto! How would your day be different if it were free from regret, worry, and doubt?…
