Adversity, setbacks, and even trauma may actually be necessary for people to be successful and fulfilled. Psychology Today June 2009 p. 67 I had a rare quiet lunch at home today and enjoyed some leisurely reading…and I found myself drawn to finish an article in Psychology Today that I had started months ago but …
Hungering for Beauty
I forgot how much beauty restores the soul. I’ve just returned from spending several days with friends on the West Coast. I feel like my heart has been defibrillated by the sights, sounds and smells of beauty that is on the coast and has woken up restored and refreshed. I have energy and enthusiasm for …
When Hanging On is Impossible…but Happens
The bottom tree in this photo are growing out of the side of a cliff. This is a close up of the bottom of those trees: I realize I’m not an excellent photographer, so it may be difficult to see that the bottom of the trees literally curve into the side of the cliff…there is …
Success with Sushi
“Backward chaining” and “Just right challenge” are words I hear regularly at the School of Occupational Therapy, where another year of teaching starts shortly. As Occupational Therapists, we use both of these principles all the time as we help people work on physical, emotional and cognitive deficits through purposeful activity. “Backward chaining” is a concept …
Manitoba Marathon: Thank-you letter
An open letter to those involved in the Manitoba Marathon: To the organizers of the 2009 Manitoba Marathon: WOW! This is FUN!! There must be details to look after on this event that most of us would never dream of. I look forward to the energy of the start line–thousands of people gathered together …
Quiet as a Church Moose?
The Manitoba Moose lost yesterday–in Game 6 of the Calder Cup Final. They came out “flat footed” as the hockey writers would say, and were down 3 goals really quickly. The Moose scored the only goals of the second period, but had some good chances. In the third period, with a couple of minutes left, …
A Gentle Kindness
I was picking up some supper today at The Greek Market on Corydon. Once I had my yummy lemon potatoes, veggies and phyllo wrapped delights, he asked me, “Is that all?” I looked around and decided to throw in a couple of freshly baked crispy-on-the-outside-but-soft-on-the-inside rolls, explaining that I was going to see a friend …
New Year Lows…and Highs
I was out running the other day when I met a friend who is a minister in a local church. I asked him how his Christmas was, and he said that while he had enjoyed it, it had been stressful as well because of the number of parishioners had been struggling over the holidays. Others …
Making Life Good
They came!! Just before Christmas, the flashlights arrived. They are cute, but powerfully bright–with the logo and the website printed on the side. I’m not really into gimmicks–I have no business pens and don’t hand out calendars, but when I saw this flashlight, it was something I thought would be good for our practice to …
The courage to try, to do what you can
“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.” Edmund Burke I was at a Christmas concert tonight…a junior high concert–early adolescence when awkwardness reigns, and voices are changing, feet outsize the rest of their body, and generally grace and poise are in short supply. But the …