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The heart of the matter
“When you love someone, you love the whole person as he or she is, and not as you would like them to be.” ~Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina Most of us idealized love when we were young. If we were raised on fairy tales, for instance, we imagined marrying the perfect partner and living happily ever after. At the same time, we also held our friends and family members to impossibly high standards, and were disappointed when they didn’t behave like the best friends or families portrayed on TV sitcoms. As we mature, we discover that real love isn’t always picture-perfect; sometimes it gets as messy or as complicated as real…
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“What to Remember when Waking”
“To become human is to become visible, while carrying what is hidden as a gift to others. To remember the other world in this world is to live in your true inheritance. You are not a troubled guest on this earth, you are not an accident amidst other accidents, you were invited from another and greater night than the one from which you have just emerged.” ~Devid Whyte, excerpted from “What to Remember when Waking” It’s been a while since I’ve shared poetry on this blog. This month, I’ve been rereading and savoring the work of Anglo-Irish poet David Whyte. He’s one of the contemporary poets I turn to when…
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Does magical thinking really work?
“I find that the harder I work, the more good fortune I seem to have.” ~Thomas Jefferson It’s so easy to blame “fate” (or a traumatic past) for the way things turn out for us. Year ago, I met a woman who avoided taking responsibility for herself, always waiting for “The Universe” to provide what she needed. She often used phrases such as, “If it’s meant to be, it will happen,” and usually failed to get what she needed. Magical thinking can be lots of fun, and yes, sometimes circumstances are beyond our control. But waiting for fate or unseen forces to intervene won’t accomplish the steps needed to help…
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Spoil yourself
“Self-care is about putting yourself first in a world that romanticizes overwork and overextension, a difficult thing to learn if you are used to people-pleasing. It’s about crafting healing routines as rituals for better health.” ~Maria Delblassie Here’s something to think about as Valentine’s Day approaches … You won’t have the energy to fully love and care for others until you’ve learned to love and care for yourself. When you look at it that way, you realize that self-care isn’t selfish. This is especially important for parents of young children as well as caregivers of elderly parents. (Been there, done both.) Self-care means taking time out for a nap or…
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Strength and temptation
“Strength is the capacity to break a Hershey bar into four pieces with your bare hands — and then eat just one of the pieces.” ~Judith Viorst, author In any endeavor, success depends on discipline — otherwise defined as inner strength, as today’s quote suggests. If you want to build muscle, you must stick with your daily exercise plan. If you want to get published, you have to keep writing and submitting your work. If you want to kick a bad habit, you must be diligent about changing your routine. Personal discipline is hard. Temptation is everywhere. Oh, how easy it is to give up or get lazy — to…
