Last week I received a gift. As with every gift, the meaning of the gift is comprised of the giver, the gift, and the context of the gift. In each department…this gift is profound: The Giver: I received this from D*. M, D’s wife, attended The Daring Way ™ intensive in March. She loved it. …
A letter to my silent sons
Dear boys, 21 years ago today you were born. For most moms, that would mean a cheerful greeting of “Happy Birthday” to her boys…and times 2 for twins. 🙂 For this mom, it means visiting your grave. It’s still so sad for me to know that the day of your births was also the …
The Reward of Kindness–Joy
Apparently, money can buy happiness. Research has proven it. But it means spending money in different ways than you might expect. Research was done where college aged folks were given money ($5 or $20) to spend on themselves. While they appreciated having some funds to purchase a treat, or pay a bill and, at the …
Father-ishness
Today is a day we honour fathers in our lives…”Father’s Day”…and folks all over the city are having brunches, breakfasts of dried out cold toast or limp waffles, and BarBQ’s. The value of fathers in a child’s life cannot be overestimated. Having a father to affirm your personhood, to celebrate who you are, to remind …
Connection–why we’re here
It’s the connection that heals This is one of my favorite topics in the world…I counsel people in light of it, I teach it in workshops and sermons and university classes, and to the best of my imperfect ability, I live it. I stumbled across Dr. Brene Brown’s work several years ago, and am so …
Hump Day Nudge: Connections
We are created for connection. We are wired to belong to each other…and when that happens, something magical occurs. And when connection occur in unlikely ways and unlikely places, well, that just has me smile. I. Love. This. Video.
The mother and father of courage
In World War 2, the Germans bombed London with the idea that the terror the bombing produced would bring England to it’s knees. With the entire city paralyzed with fear with the fear of another bombing, the Germans would be able to overtake the country with ease…or so was the thought. With the population of …
Engagement at Work
Work? Do you like it? According to American research (and I’m not sure Canada would be far different on this one), only 30% of employees find themselves engaged at work. Yikes! “For most of us…work is a depleting, dispiriting experience.” Schwartz and Porath Two ways in which I connect with this: 1. I remember …
Walking with the Pain of Infertility
This week is National Infertility Awareness Week in Canada. Infertility is a special sort of pain… …and it’s often minimized and misunderstood. When a parent has a child who dies, there is a funeral, and public mourning, and a collective grief that surrounds the family. We know as a community that the death of a …
Being OK not being OK
I posted this on Facebook a few days ago… I loved this quote because it reminds me of Kristin Neff’s work on self compassion…Self compassion includes these components, and this poster picks up particularly on the last one: Self kindness: “When I mess up, do I talk to myself like I talk to someone I …