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Thursday - March 28, 2024
 

“Dying A Fabulous Death . . . Is That Possible?”

September 15th, 2006

Think about the reasons you\’re glad to be alive. Those everyday things that you may even take for granted: being able to walk, talk, see, hear, cook, garden, drive a car, dance at parties, eat a terrific meal and laugh with friends. And then think about what it would be like to start losing most of those abilities. Jim\’s mother has lived nearly 91 years, and up until the past year she has enjoyed almost all of the abilities we just listed (though she never learned to drive a car and her hearing and vision were starting to diminish). Up until a year ago Matka (Polish for mother)... Read More

Making the Most of “Mistakes”

August 1st, 2006

It\’s so easy to feel embarrassed and humiliated by the dumb stuff we all do. You\’ve no doubt tried to hide the evidence that would expose you. And every one of us has lied to cover up our mishaps. But what about turning moments that might be thought of as mistakes into part of your intimate family history? The other day Judith decided she would make lamb stew. But she didn\’t have any flour to thicken her concoction. So she thought by mashing up some of the cooked potatoes and putting that into the mix it would do the job. Well, it didn\’t. So what she ended up with was... Read More

Suffering From Negative Head-Talk?

July 1st, 2006

Nearly everyone does battle with that pesky voice of self-judgment and sabotaging put-downs that chatters away in our heads. And, in response to a recent teleseminar we gave titled “The Fear of Being Fabulous” we received a request from a participant who said: “I would love to hear how you remove the head talk that keeps you from being fabulous. I can get so far and then I\’m stopped by my head talk.” Here\’s our answer . . . First, you\’ll know it\’s Head-Talk by the repetitive, nagging attack on who you are. Your self-respect and self-esteem can end up in the... Read More

Intimacy at First Sight?

June 1st, 2006

No doubt, you\’ve heard it said that love can happen in an instant. You see a stranger across a crowded room and, whammo, your heart flutters, temperature rises, your stomach is suddenly popping and fizzing, and what feels like destiny is taking you for a ride. How awesomely sweet. You hadn\’t planned for it, hadn\’t even expected it, but there it is. Love at first sight. Wow! The truth is that some relationships which begin in that swept-away surge last a lifetime. And in some of those, two people remain enchanted with each other, lovers and friends to the end. But it\’s... Read More

The Blessing of Being Different

March 1st, 2006

We didn\’t get married eighteen years ago. Jim had been married twice before and this was Judith\’s first walk down the aisle. While we loved each other in ways we couldn\’t even explain, we also knew that our differences were a major challenge. Each of us is opinionated, head strong, known to get defensive, and more often than we\’d like to have admitted back when we were first married, downright stubborn. So our irritation and anger at each other over the big and little differences that cropped up most every day had to be dealt with or we would be one of those couples... Read More

Enjoy Real Intimacy, Not Just Hearts and Flowers

February 1st, 2006

The season of high romance is here! Yet Valentine\’s Day can turn into the most dangerous day of the year for love and romance. Because none of us receive formal training or preparation for how to date effectively or how to create a passionate long-lasting marriage, the full burden of our desire for an intense, satisfying love and passionate, swept away romance tends to fall on Valentine\’s Day, with Cupid, The Florist, and The Candy Maker trying to fill the bill. However, when fantasies of perfect romance, perfect gifts, perfect love-making collide with not-so-perfect reality, love... Read More

Dream Big, Dream With Love

January 1st, 2006

The celebration of the new year is the oldest of all continuing holidays. It was observed 4000 years ago by the ancient Babylonians and has continued, with only minor interruptions, into modern times. Anything with a history that long and enduring clearly has deep significance for the human psyche. Perhaps it\’s simply a celebration of being alive, having made it through another circle of the sun. But for many of us there is also the recognition of death and rebirth, a letting go of what has been and surrendering to what is yet to be. Philosophers make the distinction between “being”–that... Read More

The Gift of Receiving

December 1st, 2005

You\’re busy checking off the items on your to-do list. Most of the gifts have been wrapped. And the holiday cards made it to the post office this morning. Oh, but you forgot about your daughter\’s teacher! And what to take to the Smith\’s annual Christmas Eve get together? And then the cookies for the school carnival and you used the last of the sugar in yesterday\’s brownies for the church fund raiser. Then just at the same time that you are trying to figure out what to wear to the office party, what should occur? Your two tiny elves run into your bedroom loaded down with... Read More

Gratitude Becomes You

November 1st, 2005

Yes, it\’s that time again, when giant turkeys and homemade pies entice us to stay at the table longer than we otherwise might. With Thanksgiving as our national day of gratitude, we typically celebrate it with wonderful home cooked meals. We gobble them up, ask for seconds, and then return for left overs before we\’re finally ready to call it a day. But what about the rest of your life? How well do you gobble up the gifts that are given to you? How well do you show your gratitude then? Because no matter the challenges, there are still so many, many gifts that life bestows, not just... Read More

The Magic of Differences

October 1st, 2005

Can love succeed based on the differences between two people instead of just what they have in common? Definitely! In fact, the only way we truly feel loved is through the trust we build knowing that our spouse or partner loves us for the real person that we are, distinctly different from them. You see, no matter how much two people have in common — religion, politics, race, financial status, whatever — when they enter into a relationship they soon discover the many ways they are different from one another. Everyone knows that. But most of us don\’t know what to do with the differences.... Read More