Be Bigger Than Fear
To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose one’s self. Soren Kierkegaard Sad to say, many of us choose playing it safe over living fully. Spencer Johnson, M.D., addresses this condition and offers a solution in a delightful little book, Who Moved My Cheese? The story’s setting takes place […]
Freedom is Creating a Fabulous Elephant!
“It takes one a long time to become young.” –Pablo Picasso I remember hearing about an 8-year-old girl who painted a picture of a fabulous elephant. What made her elephant earn the distinction of being fabulous? She used a wide array of colors. Unfortunately, her teacher was stricken with an adult brain and was […]
No Limits
There are those among us who put things in clear focus even when not intending to. I cross paths occasionally with a woman confined to a wheelchair. Several years ago, she lost the use of her legs due to a car accident. I chuckle over that word “confined” when I describe her because nothing could […]
Architects of our Destiny
Typically, when it comes to New Year’s resolutions we think along the lines of changing our physical appearance by going on a diet or getting involved in an exercise program. We may focus on breaking a bad habit or resolve to accomplish a project we’ve been putting off. The commitment to make any of these […]
Escape Your Jungle
Self-compassion . . . how do we get there? In my most recent post, I suggested that the key to this nirvana is disbelieving our conditioned self-concept, which is comprised of innumerable verbal and nonverbal messages we’ve absorbed over our lifetime. Years ago, I worked with Donna, a woman with depression. She saw herself as inferior, […]
Let’s Lighten Up . . . on Ourselves
Perfection is elusive. Maybe there’s a reason for that. Perhaps . . . life is merely about building muscles. If that’s the case, we need to ease up on ourselves. Could it be that this classroom we call life is one gigantic planetary fitness center? I tend to think so. 🙂 We shouldn’t use past […]
You Create Your World
So You Create Your thoughts are setting the stage for things to come. As you think, so you create. If you believe your dreams are attainable, so you create. If you anticipate failure, so you create. If you imagine being smiled at tomorrow, so you create. If you predict rejection, so you create. If you […]
July 4th for Your Spirit
“The deeper human nature needs to breathe the precious air of liberty.” —Dalai Lama We’re hard-wired to seek freedom, according to Muriel James. In her book, Perspectives in Transactional Analysis, she writes: The urge to be free is closely related to the urge to live. Freedom is the first struggle for life. It starts […]
Fishing with My Little Brother
Everyone knows dads come in all shapes and sizes . . . but they also come in assorted forms. Lots of children are fortunate enough to have a man—who isn’t their biological father—step into that role. They may either supplement what Dad is doing or, perhaps, fill in the gap where Dad is literally […]
Choose to Bloom
Spring. The sun. The warm air. Life blooming. With the awakening earth, my soul is refreshed. Like the flowers that push through the hard ground, I too am now open to possibility. No one chooses how I bloom but me! —Kim Thompson I just love that poem! How does it speak to […]