Change

  • Aging well,  Change,  Personal growth

    Still looking through an old lens?

    “If you don’t allow yourself to learn and grow from the experience — from what was said, done, and felt — you will always look at your life through the same old lens.” ~Marc and Angel Chernoff, Marc & Angel Hack Life Sometimes we keep repeating the same mistakes while expecting different results. Or maybe we’re sinking so deeply in a rut that we can’t figure out why old patterns of behavior and outdated opinions or preferences aren’t working for us anymore. We like to think we’re “loyal” or consistent, but sometimes we’re just … stubborn. This can apply to everything from redecorating the kitchen to mending relationships. The older…

  • Arts & crafts,  Autumn,  Change,  Motivation,  Nature,  Personal growth

    Creative cycles

    “For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone. The shell cracks. Its insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn’t understand growth, it would look like complete destruction.” ~Cynthia Occelli Nature often reminds us that growth and creativity are preceded by change — or “complete destruction” — especially in the fall. Here in the Midwest, some of our trees are just starting to drop their leaves and seeds, and soon will stage a brilliant color show before shedding completely. Likewise, the best way through a creative road block is to remove something that’s getting in the way. Sometimes I have to “undo” a…

  • Aging well,  Change,  Fred Rogers

    Beginnings

    “Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.” ~Fred Rogers Earlier this week I drove past a row of maples that were just beginning to show blushes of red. At that moment, the reality of summer’s end struck a melancholy chord on my heartstrings. As much as I love fall, it also signals the end of carefree summer days — and I can’t help but think of autumn as a metaphor for aging. Several people I know have lost loved ones over the past year, which only adds another somber note to my reflections. How many seasons do any of us…

  • Aging well,  caring for elderly parents,  Change

    A new way to go on

    “It is impossible to go on as you were before, so you must go on as you never have.” ~Cheryl Strayed Whether we’re talking about a death, a major illness, a job loss, relocation, divorce, retirement, or any other major change, we have to find a new way “to go on,” as author Cheryl Strayed reminds us. During the last years of my widowed mother’s life, I had to manage everything from her medical appointments to her daily routines while she suffered a memory loss disease. Our lifelong roles as mother and daughter were thrown into reverse. For a long time, I struggled emotionally with the profound shift in our…

  • Change,  Health & wellbeing,  Holidays

    Post-holiday musings

    “Today is the day the post-holiday blues usually drop in for their annual visit. After any strenuous exertion, especially one that’s lasted several weeks, there’s a natural letdown in energy and enthusiasm.” ~Sarah Ban Breathnach, Simple Abundance Like clockwork, holiday letdown almost always follows a festive series of events — no matter which winter holiday we celebrate. At the beginning of December, our energy runs high as we plan for parties and concerts, decorate our homes, and create special memories for loved ones. Our usual routines and responsibilities — even our worries — are temporarily suspended. Then the holiday arrives … and then it’s over … in a minute! We…