• Gratitude,  Holidays

    Happy Thanksgiving

    “We must find the time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.” ~John F. Kennedy Unlike our highly commercialized Christmas season, Thanksgiving doesn’t demand as much from us. It doesn’t require spending loads of cash or credit on gifts and decorations, nor does it push us to party through January 1st. Regardless of our religious beliefs or church affiliation, Thanksgiving only asks that we sit down together at a table — one day out of the year — and express our appreciation. Too often, we’re so focused on our worries that we take our advantages and opportunities for granted. Or we forget to acknowledge…

  • Events & news

    Reclaim your power

    “No matter how powerless the world makes you feel, you always have power inside you, through your attitude and through your actions.” ~ Mel Robbins, author of The Let Them Theory We’ve all encountered situations in which someone has tried to bully or control us. But as author Mel Robbins explains, reclaiming our personal power requires knowing the difference between things we can control and things that aren’t in our power to change. We can control our own responses to the negative behavior of others, even though we can’t always change their behavior. We can control how and where we devote our energy — and with whom. We can withdraw…

  • Autumn,  Gratitude,  Holidays

    Your harvest, your life

    “The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” ~Oprah Winfrey Late autumn inspires us to take stock of what we’ve planted or accomplished. The season of Thanksgiving — not just the holiday itself — underscores a simple choice we always have: We can celebrate all the good things we’ve reaped and experienced, or dwell on the difficulties we’ve encountered. A positive mindset is the natural outgrowth of appreciation. It’s part of the harvest we reap when we count everything that enriches our lives, large and small. Many Americans will spend this weekend shopping for food to share at their Thanksgiving tables. Some…

  • Events & news

    Take your time

    “Never be in a hurry. Do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.” ~Saint Francis de Sales I wrote several newspaper articles a week when I was a young mom. Working from home, I also shopped for groceries, drove the carpool, conducted phone interviews, processed the laundry, played with my son after school, and cooked family meals. I don’t know where I found the energy to do so much — but I was often in a rush and more stressed than I realized at the time. Those years flew past like geese heading south…

  • Change and challenge,  Community spirit

    Small changes

    “Few of us will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.” ~John F. Kennedy Sometimes I’m completely stalled by the idea that it would take a huge effort to make a change in this troubled, turbulent world of ours. It’s much easier to sit in front of the TV or my computer while I criticize politicians or complain about everything else that’s gone wrong. But as today’s quote reminds us, each of us has a sphere of influence in our own…

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