Change and challenge
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Who’s in the driver’s seat?
“I don’t want to be a passenger in my own life.” ~Diane Ackerman I love driving on the expressway, especially on beautiful summer days. When I’m heading north, for instance, I often recall my childhood vacations. My father always drove on those trips; Mom was a passenger and I had the back seat to myself. I loved watching the landscape change as we escaped the cities and suburbs. Metaphorically speaking, it’s often easier to let someone else do the driving. Sometimes we just want to sit back, roll down the windows, and enjoy the ride. And there’s nothing wrong with that — unless we’re always dodging responsibility or letting someone…
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Vacation
“It is always our own self that we find at the end of the journey. The sooner we face that self, the better.” ~Ella Maillart, travel writer Summer is synonymous with vacations. For most of us, to go on a vacation means to “vacate” our place of residence and change our routines. We travel to find adventure or excitement; to escape our problems; or to experience something different. We might look for something new to learn. Or we might retreat quietly for rest and reflection. In doing so, we learn more about ourselves — what matters to us; what we want from life. I think the best vacations send us…
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If you did it, you own it
“You can learn great things from your mistakes when you aren’t busy denying them.” ~Marc Chernoff, Marc & Angel Hack Life At some point, we all mess up. Humans make spelling errors, burn the dinner, neglect to return phone calls, forget birthdays, miss deadlines, and turn the wrong way on one-way streets. Sometimes we send embarrassing text messages to the wrong people. Oops. Sometimes we say or do things that hurt other people’s feelings. Nobody leaves this world flawless and error-free. Yet we all know a few folks who refuse to admit their mistakes. And then there are the ones who manage to screw up a good apology with a…
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How to fix things
“Make every effort to change things you do not like. If you cannot make a change, change the way you have been thinking. You might find a new solution.” ~Maya Angelou Self-improvement involves effort as well as introspection. But when something is broken beyond repair, or a bad situation seems totally out of control, the best thing I can do is adjust my attitude. I can change how many calories I consume in a day, for instance, but I can’t change the weather report. Likewise, I can’t change the rude behavior of strangers, but I can make a bigger effort to practice courtesy and kindness wherever I go. I’ve wasted a…
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Frugal February: Less is the new more
“Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.” ~ Epictetus, Stoic philosopher I spent part of last week purging my closets. Like many women I know, I own too much clothing. My latest pile of discards contained some nearly new, barely worn items — a fact that tugged on my conscience as I folded and packed it all into black garbage bags. The shame I felt for being so wasteful (and extravagant) was only partly erased by the knowledge that my unwanted clothes will be donated to a charity. I’m on a roll now. Having successfully completed the Dry January challenge, I want to keep clearing…
