Giving up anxiety as a way of life; cultivating calm

Giving up anxiety as a way of life; cultivating calm

In the midst of chaos When the wind is howling, I hear The ancient song Of ones who went before And know that peace will come ~Susan Stauter It’s election day and coincidently the day I was scheduled to write about Brene Brown’s next guidepost—cultivating calm and stillness. Whatever your politics, I have a feeling…

Do you ever feel guilty for being happy?

Do you ever feel guilty for being happy?

Hope and despondency, pleasure and pain, Are mingled together in sun-shine and rain. -Abraham Lincoln About three months ago, I blogged about the vulnerability of embracing joy due to the fear that it will be more painful later when things inevitably go wrong. I believe we all agreed 🙂 that practicing joy and gratitude actually…

Grace under pressure

Grace under pressure

Recently I solicited blog post ideas from you. In response, I received a request to explain how I am able to remain calm and rational in the face of stress and craziness. First of all, thank you, Jessi, for believing I am calm and rational. Feel free to skip to the next paragraph to avoid disillusionment….

Cultivating creativity

Cultivating creativity

It’s the day after Labor Day, and therefore, the unofficial beginning of my favorite season—autumn! I love the cool mornings and evenings, the beautiful fall leaves, and all things pumpkin! I loved autumn, the one season of the year that God seemed to have put there just for the beauty of it. ~Lee Maynard While…

What’s that you say? Learning to listen to my gut.

What’s that you say? Learning to listen to my gut.

It’s been almost a month since I wrote about intuition. In that time, I have been working on strengthening mine. As you may recall, one of the suggested exercises was to put your question out there; then be quiet, listen, and trust your gut. I thought I’d start with something small like, “What is my…

Mother knows best: lessons I’ve learned from my mother

Mother knows best: lessons I’ve learned from my mother

I come from a long line of smart, courageous, funny, loving women—none more so than my mother. So when I think about what I want to be when I “grow up,” I naturally look to her. She’s taught me many lessons through her example. Today, I share three of the most important. 1. Open your…

Cultivating joy

Cultivating joy

“Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.” ― Leo Buscaglia The other day, as Larry and I drove past the hospital in our neighborhood, I commented to him that it’s been a long time since he’s been there. Then I quickly added, “Knock on wood” and rapped my…

I didn’t count on this

I didn’t count on this

When I was young and naive—and 50 was ancient—if someone had told me I’d still be figuring out who I was and what I wanted to do with my life at the ripe old age of 54, I would have been shocked and probably devastated. I mean, for most of us, 50 is well past…

Race recap: Bear Lake Half-marathon

Race recap: Bear Lake Half-marathon

I did it! I ran the Bear Lake Half-marathon last Saturday—and I can still walk today, so mission accomplished. It was actually a great race, perfect weather, beautiful (peaceful) scenery, and a satisfactory (though not particularly fast) finish time. But first, let’s rewind to Thursday and the beginning of the trip. Larry, my daughter Ashley,…

Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites

It’s Friday, and you know what that means–Friday Favorites! Thank you Connie for teaching me the joys of light microwave popcorn with olive oil. Tastes better than butter and it’s better for you! Win-win.     Thank you Midway Utah for having such a great trail to run, even if it’s all hills. This is…