“Be the person who breaks the cycle. If you were judged, choose understanding. If you were rejected, choose acceptance. If you were shamed, choose compassion. Be the person you needed when you were hurting, not the person who hurt you. Vow to be better than what broke you – to heal instead of becoming bitter…
Category: Live Better
Good day, good life
“Name three good things that happened to you so far today.” I saw a video today that suggested that turning your mood in a more positive direction is as easy as 1-2-3. She interviewed a series of people and asked them to rate how their day was going on a scale of 1-5 — 1…
Good question
“What’s something most people don’t understand?” Today I got a notification on my phone saying that I had an unusual jump in traffic on my blog. This made me smile a bit, but it also made me super curious. “Traffic” has never been important to me when it comes to writing here. This is mostly…
Many happy returns
“There are exactly as many special occasions in life as we choose to celebrate.” Today is National Flower Day! Personally, I think flowers should be celebrated every day, but I’ll take any excuse to make a floral run. Wouldn’t it be great if we could create a day for all of our favorite things? I…
Everyone
“Be brave because you are a child of God. Be kind because everyone else is too.” I’ve noticed something about myself lately that bothers me a lot. I have a really bad habit of assigning character traits to people based on a single behavior that I’ve witnessed – especially people that I don’t know well…
Many Thanks
“Do not complain about growing old. It is a privilege denied to many.” – Mark Twain I’m on the cusp of a new trip around the sun. Age has definitely brought about some changes – especially in recent years. A few new wrinkles…a few new pounds…a few new aches and pains…weird sleeping patterns. Sometimes it’s kind of…
Stand here. Or here.
Same result either way.
Valentine’s Day
“The greatest thing we can do is to let people know they are loved.” – Fred Rogers The other day I read a Facebook friend’s post about how much he “hates Valentine’s Day.” He argues that it puts pressure on people in relationships to create the perfect romantic experience, while it draws into focus the…
As long as we’re here
“You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry, don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.” = Walter Hagen Both of my fur-boys seem to enjoy stopping to smell the flowers. And it always reminds me to pause in appreciation. We are given so many tiny opportunities to savor, if…
13 Necessary Virtues
Today I stumbled upon something kinda neat on LinkedIn. It was a more extensive post than what I’m including now, but below are the 13 Necessary Virtues according to Benjamin Franklin in The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Some pretty lofty standards for moral living, but I also thought it was timeless food for thought and effective…
For today
If you know me or are even a little familiar with this blog, you know I’m a look-for-the-bright-side kind of girl. Make gratitude lists. Always find the positive in every situation. Choose the good. And so on. It’s taken me many years to develop this lens and I’ve worked very hard to build the glass-half-full…
Imperfections and grace
“You are imperfect, you are wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging. Imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we are all in this together.” – Brene Brown Lawd have mercy, I have been SO aware of my imperfections lately. And for whatever reason, I’ve been thinking about it a…
Visible
“As the world fights to figure everything out, I’ll be holding doors for strangers, letting people cut in front of me in traffic, Saying good morning, keeping babies entertained in grocery lines, stopping to talk to someone who is lonely, being patient with sales clerks, smiling at passersby. Why? Because I will not stand idly…
Nothing
Today I’ve done nothing. After the frenzy of Christmas preparations and baking/decorating dozens upon dozens of cookies (a few samples below) – not to mention managing a load of work stress, today I’ve done absolutely nothing. Or to put it another way: 1.) I rested. 2.) I chose not to make plans. 3.) I recovered…
Minions and Memories
“The truth is, not everyone can change the entire world, and not everyone needs too. All we can do is give as much love in our lives as possible, treat ourselves kindly, and leave the world a more positive place than we entered it. That is all I can ask of myself, and I try…
Perspective
I spotted this sculpture at a local museum over the weekend and my thoughts keep wandering back to him. This first photo was my surprise and delight. The large block figure was so unexpected as I pulled into the parking lot. And the accompanying sign with the title of the piece was even more unexpected…
Whisper
“Almost everything you think and do is a subtle reflection of what you believe about yourself. Thus, it’s not what you broadcast to everyone else that determines the trajectory of your life; it’s what you whisper to yourself behind closed doors that has the greatest power and influence.” – @marcandangel
Lessons from Leaves
This year I’ve been noticing a lot of leaves that appear to have been tie-dyed instead of simply transitioning to a solid shade. I love how unique this makes each leaf. Even ones from the same tree can look and transition in totally different ways. (This one reminded me of a stoplight.) (If I’m not…
Five
“The person you will be in five years depends largely on the information you feed your mind today. Be picky about the books you read, the people you spend time with and the conversations you engage in.” – Ruben Chavez [slightly long post alert] The number five seems to be popping up a bit for…
Thirty-One
“We’ve been infected with the idea that love is an emotion only felt between two people. But love is universal. An energy. A contagious force. A gift. To offer money to a homeless person is to love. To save a worm from the sun is love. To smile at a stranger is love. To be…
This and that
“It is the small joys and little pleasures that the greatest of our days are built.” – Mary Anne Radmacher Day thirty actually had a number of small joys – something I don’t always say about a Monday. But today was kinda fun for a myriad of simple reasons. Anyway, just a very nice day….
Shared joy
“A dog wags his tail with his heart.” – Martin Buxbaum Day twenty-five‘s surprising delight happened on our way home from the park. The top was down and Finn was in his car seat (looking into every car window we passed) as we pulled up next to an SUV at a stoplight. When we came…
Of gardens and gratitude
I noticed this evening that the days are definitely getting markedly shorter and it made me just the tiniest bit anxious. The loss of daylight can sometimes contribute to seasonal blues and I’m really not ready for it. So I thought I would share tip (abbreviated – click on the link for full text) from…
hey there, friends 