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

“We cannot selectively numb emotions. When we numb the painful emotions, we also numb the positive emotions.” ~ Brene Brown Let’s be honest, Christmas can be difficult. Gathering with family can be both rewarding and trying. Finding the perfect gift only to find it’s the wrong size or color can be downright frustrating. And if you’re struggling financially, gifts under the tree can feel elusive at best. Throw in different personalities, tastes and opinions and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.  Face it, the holiday season can be complicated if not exhausting and overstimulating.  For most folks it’s the most wonderful, magical time of the year but for others, it can be the toughest. Christmastime is a mixture of comfort and cheer, and heartbreak and hardship. And as much as we want it to be nothing but merry and bright, this time of year can turn gloomy and dark quickly. I suppose it all depends on which side the coin lands on. And without our consent, Sadnes...

“Happiness is not a checklist. A dream job, a fast car, a good home, even love, mean nothing at all if you have not yet found a way to feel full and content in your one mind and heart.” ~ Beau Taplin Let me first begin with this...  I usually don’t have a plan most of the time. My imagination, however, always has one. Combine this with my old pal weirdness and most days I’m off and running. See, I’m one of those old souls. I’m a little odd honestly but I’ve never minded the label. Life’s been tough. I won’t deny it. And yet somehow, I still carry a happy heart in spite of the struggle. I’m most definitely an only child, there’s no way around that. My imagination and curiosity can attest to this. I’ve never been lonely though. As for my life experiences? Well each one's fashioned me into the writer I am today. I’m happy I’m me. And I wouldn’t want it any other way.  Turning 45 has me calling my childhood to mind. It seems so long ago some days. Others it f...

Part 3 Finishing up our chat on emotions there's no doubt life is difficult. Let's be honest. Maybe your day or even your year has been anything but serine or relaxed.  Maybe you want to shout and scream and throw yourself on the ground. But let me encourage you; Joy can still keep you balanced. Even Fear from Inside Out blurts out after a bad day, “"All right! We did not die today, I call that an unqualified success!" We’ve all been there right?  In fact I can say with confidence our family has been all over the emotional chart. I think this is why Inside Out became a quick favorite, as it struck an emotional cord. Listening into Riley’s emotions I can almost hear what must go on inside my kiddo’s heads at times. “Joy: Oh c'mon, it could be worse... Joy: Oh c'mon, it could be worse... Disgust: Yeah, Joy. We could be lying on the dirty floor. In a bag. Joy: Okay, I admit it, we had a rough start. But think of all the good things that... ...

Part 2 Taking a look at Inside Out and our emotions once again, I wonder how many times we end up feeling just like Riley, "But everything looks different now." After a traumatic event, life just isn't the same anymore is it? We're all mixed up inside trying to figure out up from down. Not as easy as 1,2,3 anymore huh? We just need a good cry right? Sometimes we need to feel the sadness, to express our Fear, to let Disgust have her “ew” moment. Maybe ‘Anger’ just needs to blow off some steam.  As Sadness often says, “I'm too sad to walk. Just give me a few...hours.” It happens and it’s necessary to be honest. We just need to keep everything in balance, to be careful with our emotions so they don't over run headquarters. I guess what I’m trying to say in my awkward way ; maybe it’s time to slow down and think about who’s running things upstairs.  When we’re up against an emotional wall there's probably a few questions we need to be asking  ou...

Part 1 Have you seen Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out? I know it’s a kids film right? Or is it? Truthfully, it’s actually an incredible film taking it’s viewer through our emotions and how they work. It’s one of my family’s favorite movies. My boys at 19 and 17 will pop the Blue Ray in and ask us to watch it with them on any given weekend.  Maybe that’s because they can relate to the film. Of course the hockey helps but given their experiences the last couple years they’ve had their own emotional journey, there and back again. Joshua and Micah not only understand but feel the truth of Riley’s journey. They’ve felt it all from hurt, sadness, anger and yes happiness and joy. Within the movie Inside Out there are five Islands. These 'Islands of Personality' consist of Family, Friendship, Hockey and Imagination but Goofball Island is probably my favorite. These are honestly the closest to our family’s personal “Islands” of personality as you can get. Just like in the movie, ...