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Put yourself out there
“Imagine living life so carefully that there are no signs you lived at all.” ~Raven Leilani I once met a woman who arranged her life to avoid appearing “wrong.” She never displayed artwork or family photos on the white walls of her immaculate home. She dressed appropriately in a style that never made a statement. Polite and reserved, she rarely revealed an opinion or a passion. I was always on my guard around her. Life can be so much richer — and a lot more fun — when we are willing to take creative chances, make mistakes, and put ourselves out there. So, go ahead: write, paint, dance, sew, decorate,…
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Daybooks
“You are exactly where you need to be. This is the perfect day to start your life again.” ~Brianna Wiest, The Pivot Year This month, I revisited the old-fashioned ritual of reading a daybook entry every morning. It’s a wonderful way to start a new year — and it helps keep me grounded, positive, and motivated. Not to be confused with journals or diaries, daybooks originated in the late 1500s as books for recording daily events or accounting transactions. Over time, daybooks evolved into curated collections of short spiritual musings, magazine clippings, inspirational quotes, and other bits of wisdom. In recent years, daybooks such as Sarah Ban Breathnach’s Simple Abundance and…
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Within our reach
“Happiness, not in another place but this place. Not for another hour, but this hour.” ~Walt Whitman How are things going? If you’re working on New Year’s resolutions, it’s easy to lose sight of the good things within your reach right now. Goals inspire motivation, but they also keep us hyper-focused on the future. For instance, we might convince ourselves that we won’t be happy until we drop another 10 pounds, write a novel, find the perfect job, clean the basement, or remodel the kitchen. Today’s quote suggests that happiness is attainable in the present moment. Right here, right now. What have you enjoyed so far this year? ~CL ***…
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Novel escapes
“Reading is a discount ticket to everywhere.” ~Mary Schmich, journalist Next week, my neighborhood book club will meet to nominate and vote on our reading selections for the year. We’ll choose from a variety of novels, classics, and nonfiction titles suggested by members of the group. So I’ve spent the past couple of weeks taking a deep dive into several books, then narrowing down the best ones to nominate. Reading has been a wonderful escape on these chilly winter afternoons. As today’s quote reminds me, reading opens a door to new worlds and ideas — just as touring a foreign country introduces the tourist to different scenery and culture. Likewise,…
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Seek the life force
“There is a force within that gives you life. Seek that. Ignore those who make you fearful and sad.” ~Rumi Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re hyper-aware of the chaos in our country and the rest of the world. Even if you don’t follow at least one (reputable) news source, your social media accounts are probably keeping you on edge and fueling your anger or anxiety. While I’d love to start the new year with renewed optimism, it’s hard not to feel uneasy, exhausted, and worried about the future. But we can’t rebuild what’s broken or recover from a national crisis without believing that something better is entirely possible. It helps…
