Remember and Honor

Did you know that one of the top five regrets of those dying is "I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends?" There are many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. None of us is here forever, as we all know. Yet it is common for anyone in a busy lifestyle to let friendships slip. I know that as I get older, the list of the friends and family that I miss keeps getting longer. In the past month alone, many who have been on my prayer

One of the things I enjoy doing in my spare time is putting together jigsaw puzzles. While challenging, there can be frustrating times when none of the pieces seem to fit together. I used to sit there determined to work through the frustration, often to no avail. That is until I found a much better solution ... just walking away from it, even if only for a short time. This ends up being a good solution for anything in life that makes us feel stuck -- problems we have to solve

Have you ever noticed that the things that break your heart can give you clarity? The things that break your heart have a tendency to open up your eyes, and give you a new perspective on life, on people, on heartbreak and healing. Whether we like it or not, heartbreaks make us see things for what they really are, not how we want to see them. They show the whole truth which is often freeing. We never run out of the things that break your heart ... they are ongoing. People chan

Have you ever been with a group of people, and there is one person in that group who has something to say about every comment that anyone else in the group has made? Or have you been with a person who continuously talks and never asks anything about you? Okay, these examples may be one extreme of the talk-listen spectrum, but how much is too much talking versus too much listening? There is a saying that we have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we

We live in an increasingly noisy world. The constant drone of traffic, household appliances, leaf blowers, television and sounds in public places is difficult to escape. Yet doing so could be essential to our well-being: the power of silence is scientifically proven to be a great source of strength. Remember Billy Joel who over the years produced numerous top 40 hits? I heard him describe in an interview how before going on stage, he would always escape for 10-15 minutes of q

A dear friend who is an avid reader, recently gifted me with one of her "favorite books." When someone reads as much as she does, you can be sure I was curious to see what makes her top picks list. Two Old Women is an Alaskan legend of betrayal, courage and survival. The book is a retelling of an old folktale about how during a harsh winter, a tribe abandoned two old women, knowing they would surely die. Filled with resentment and sadness, the women decided that if they wer

What do any of us really know about the shoes in which we have never walked? We do not know what we do not know. There is no way we could. Yet you hear people all the time speaking authoritatively about situations that they have never experienced. As a white, mature woman, I can speak about the things I personally have experienced: growing up in a small town, going to a women's college, workplace discrimination, divorce and re-marriage, raising sons, etc. But I have no credib

We all know at least one "woe is me" person - someone has done me wrong kind of person who dwells on their past troubles caused by others. They tell the same story over and over, as if the ending is going to change. I like to coach this kind of behavior for two reasons. One, dwelling on the past is the biggest roadblock from moving forward; and two, we all have so much to be grateful for. I came upon this quote from Charles Dickens that summarizes it so well: Reflect upon you

If you are anything like me, you have gone to the grocery store to pick up a few things, figuring you did not need a cart or basket. By the time you get down a few aisles, those things are feeling heavier and heavier. Whatever it is, groceries or a glass of water, the longer we hold them, the more strained our arms become, and the only way to feel relief is by putting the glass or the groceries down. The worries of life are just the same. If you think about a problem you have