Brave Heart, Brave Soul. She who is brave is free.

  There are times in life when nothing goes right. I mean absolutely nothing! For one reason or another everything is out of sync. We might know why, or none of it makes sense at all.  Confusion usually follows. Sadness and depression typically creep in at some point. Anxiety is a given and anger eventually makes its rounds too. So, what comes next? How do we turn things right side up once they’ve flipped upside down?  I have no idea, to be perfectly honest with you.. There’s no magic answer or trick to it. Sometimes you’ve just gotta go through hell and keep going till you reach the other side. It’s not a simple answer. It's simply the truth.   Why do I say this? Well, because I’ve spent a lot of time there myself recently. Let me just say it now, it's not fun. Nothing about being out of sync is amusing or a beer and skittles moment. It's downright miserable and uncomfortable really. When life gets all knotted up and the worms are out of the can, things can get...

  I’m an optimist. Always have been, and always will be. It’s just who I am. I like to see the good in people and situations. I try to look past the negative. Not that I don't have moments of doubt and skepticism or hesitation. I do. I’m a realist too. I understand that not everything is going to come up roses. However, just because I have moments of confusion or uncertainty doesn’t mean I lose hope. I always have hope.  Some folks ask how I keep a smile on my face, especially when I’m at my lowest. I’ll be real with you here. I may be an optimist, but I’ve learned how to hide my pain and smile through it. Sometimes it’s easier to smile rather than explain. Chronic illness has taken a lot from me. Especially in the past 3 years. Surgeries, loss and grief have taken their toll. Estrangement has broken me. And yes, I feel every pin and needle prick drawing more and more energy from me every day. Still, I smile. Why? Because I have hope that whatever the outcome, I’ll find peace ...

  “I think as you grow older your Christmas list gets shorter, because the things you want can’t be bought.”  ~Unknown    I’ve always loved the winter season, especially during Christmas time. As a little girl I’d bounce around the house with joy and curiosity watching my mom decorate. Hanging stockings, stringing lights around the tree all while listening to Christmas music fill the house. I’d dance in delight with the smell of cookies coming from the kitchen and the perfectly wrapped gifts piling up under the tree.  I remember waiting eagerly for each and every Christmas special. Everything felt magical. My excitement and enthusiasm built until Christmas day finally arrived.  As children, this time of year is wondrous and many times mesmerizing too. But as we become adults, Christmas can become complicated, burdensome even. It’s not that the magic is gone. We’re simply aware of life’s complexities. We carry stress and anxiety and at times feel more awkwar...

“Accept that everyone will disappoint you at some point in life. Be OK with that. Know that you will disappoint everyone eventually. Be ready to forgive quickly, heal and let go” ~ Buky Ojelabi I haven’t written for a while. Oh I've meant to, wanted to but just couldn’t no matter how hard I tried. Then today something unexpected happened. As I was listening to my favorite Disney playlist, the lyrics from Toy Story’s “When She Loved Me’ moved me. I don’t know what it was or why it was in those moments I felt it, but I did. Emotion overwhelmed me. Unspoken, pent up thoughts stirred. Life breathed  back into my pen. Suddenly words were bubbled up and out of me. My thoughts were once again words on paper.  Let’s face it, since March life has been turned upside down, kicked sideways, turned backwards,  upwards, slightly right  side up and before being tossed upside down all over again. We’ve been shut in, isolated and removed from life as we’ve always known it. Masks are ...

Have you ever noticed we tend to live life just inside the city limits of worry? We inevitably bypass the country road detour of serene, calm and still choosing instead to floor the apprehension peddle before idling at the intersection of pain and panic heading on to the highway of uneasy.  We have even been known to turn down the side streets of distraught and concern, drive over the Bridge of Fright, while traveling to the worrisome, nervous city hall of Worry-Ville just to be sure our license for Alarm, Fear, Fright, Dread, Dismay, Hysteria and Anxiety have not expired!  The peaceful outskirts of town always seem within reach but never quite within walking distance.  We sit, lie on the grass, look through magazines dreaming of what life could be away from the anxious, vexed life we feel we have. How fabulous it would be if we could live inside our day dreams, what if we could move to the auspicious, cheery suburbs, putting in a pool of serenity, a gar...