Mindful Living

New Years! 2010 here we come. I have given up on resolutions a long time ago, BUT I do like the newness of January 1st and all the possibilities that the coming year can bring. I like starting fresh. I hope that this year my compassion for myself and others continues to grow, that I am gentle with self and others. I’m ready for some new adventures this year both in personal and work life. I will be going to Colombia in January and Costa Rica in April- I like travel because it stretches me to see things differently and teaches me patience (which I am in short supply)! In my work arena, I am opening my own clinic Kettle Moraine Counseling in March, and although I am nervous, I am so ready to expand my skills and develop a client centered clinic and continue to work with some fabulous people! I feel so blessed to do the work that I do and to witness people’s healing. I hope that 2010 brings you joy and freshness! All things do pass, both the good and bad times, so try and be as pr...

Taking a leap- going into the unknown. Fear is a teacher, but do not allow it to be your master. If you listen carefully enough to fear, you will probably hear how you are not good enough, smart enough, successful enough- you are not important enough. It's not true! But listen to that voice because it tells you where you need to be tender with yourself, gentle and soothing. The fear lets you know about unhealed parts that need some attention. Take care of the fear, and then JUST DO IT ! No regrets.

It seems that this time of year brings out a lot of different feelings for so many of us. Excitement, apathy, worry, love, inpatience, etc. One thing I find that many of us experience is that we have high expectations of what the holiday season will be- the family connections, gifts, meals, church, and then many of our expectations are not met, and we feel disappointed. If we had great holidays growing up, we try to recreate them as adults, and if we didn't have great holidays growing up, we want to have them now! Growing up a in large family, we had a lot of food, presents and company on the holidays. It was a fun and magical time. Then, when my own family moved out of state and I had to create holiday atmosphere, it definitely wasn't what I had experienced as a child and I remember feeling so dissapointed! I felt bad that my children wouldn't have the same type of holidays that I had as a child. So, we "checked out" of Christmas for a few years (going to F...

My very athletic son is having some serious knee surgeries. He has missed two years of high school sports and may miss his last season also. He has been taking it fairly well. It has been so hard to see him in emotional and physical pain. I had to work with myself to see the "silver lining" in this. First off, he should (!) have his knee issues resolved and should (!) be able to live a very active life into his adulthood. Second, it's taught him that life can throw you curveballs, and it's up to us how we respond to it. My hope is that he becomes more resilient from this experience- I know I have. As parents we naturally want to keep our children from pain and dissappointments. Ah, but they learn and grow so much from those difficult situations! Adaptation and resiliency are two very positive things that can come from adversities. If you look for it, you will find it.