Relaxation

“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” ~Willie Nelson You know you’re not living the life of your dreams when you’re doing mundane things like brushing your teeth, doing laundry, getting dressed, or preparing a meal, and your constant thoughts are “Oh, we need more toothpaste or laundry detergent, but we

“You don’t have to rebuild a relationship with everyone you have forgiven.” ~Unknown “Forgive” and “forcefully” are not two words I have ever joined together before. My idea of forgiveness involved kind and gentle meekness. Goodness. Altruism. Compassion. But never forcefulness. Well, not until I waded through the choppy waters of forgiveness after I had

“Being cut off from our own natural self-compassion is one of the greatest impairments we can suffer.” ~Gabor Mate It was late at night, and I couldn’t sleep. I could almost hear the thudding of fear that was exploding in my chest. I tried to identify the singular cause of the fear, but it didn’t

“Allow yourself to be proud of yourself and all the progress you’ve made. Especially the progress no one else can see.” ~Unknown I watched my then-four-month-old daughter wiggle around on the floor on her belly, arms flailed out to the side in her pink-footed pajamas, giggling hysterically. Her brother, four years old at the time,

“My life transformed when I stopped caring what people in the stands thought.” ~Brené Brown One afternoon, I had coffee with a friend who told me that she and her family all have a garden campfire every Friday night and toast marshmallows. It sounded so rustically idyllic compared to our normal frozen pizza and movie

Hi friend! As we approach the New Year, I imagine many of you, like me, are thinking about what you’d like to do differently in 2024—or who and how you want to be in the year ahead. Though we likely all have varied goals, I can say with total confidence it all starts with the

“It’s a gift to exist, and with existence comes suffering. There’s no escaping that, but if you are grateful for your life, then you must be grateful for all of it.” ~Stephen Colbert Life is not a war; you do not conquer it, nor do you overcome it. You simply accept that suffering is an inevitable

“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” ~Sharon Salzberg When was the last time you looked at your reflection and extended love to yourself? Before I discovered the life-changing power of self-love, I had not extended love to myself for years. This is the story of how

“Traumatized people chronically feel unsafe inside their bodies: The past is alive in the form of gnawing interior discomfort. Their bodies are constantly bombarded by visceral warning signs, and, in an attempt to control these processes, they often become expert at ignoring their gut feelings and in numbing awareness of what is played out inside.

“Maybe it’s time for the fighter to be fought for, the holder to be held, and the lover to be loved.” ~Unknown There’s this cheesy saying I heard once—“Dog, when spelled backwards, is god.” As a companion to my dog, I can honestly say this is truer than you might ever imagine it to be.