Self Care

You matter.
You are important.
You work hard all the time.
You are always caring for others.

You try so hard.
You do the best you can.
You want to treat others well.
You’re not sure you’re doing enough.

Take a moment.
Take a deep breath.
Take an inventory of yourself.
How do you feel underneath it all?

What would you do? What would you say?
How would you be kind? How would you care?
What does someone need who feels the way you do?

You matter, too.
You are important, too.
It’s okay for you to take a break.
It’s okay to take care of yourself.

March 16, 2023March 16, 2023

Gratitude Is a Choice

Every day, every moment, I make choices.
Every day, every moment, I choose between options.
Every day, every moment, I have the option to choose gratitude.

When I wake up in the morning, I can choose to be grateful.
I have a choice to say, “Thank You,” either aloud or in my heart.
I have a choice to think of all I have to be grateful for.

When I choose to be grateful,
I am not oblivious to problems.
When I choose to be grateful,
I am not ignoring pain and suffering.
My inclination is to see what is wrong.
My opportunity is to see what is good.

When I choose to be grateful, I recognize
life is a precious, tender gift.
When I choose to be grateful, I recognize
the human body and health are to be valued and protected.
When I choose to be grateful, I recognize
other people, and human connection, are part of who we are.
When I choose to be grateful, I recognize
I have a place in this world, and you have a place in this world.

When I choose to be grateful, I recognize
the natural world is fascinating and awe-inspiring.
When I choose to be grateful, I recognize
I am healed by being under an open sky,
sunrise and sunset, the moon and the stars.
When I choose to be grateful, I recognize
I am healed by being near grass, trees, flowers,
plants, creatures, and natural formations of many kinds.
When I choose to be grateful, I recognize
I am healed by seeing the beauty of a mountain,
an ocean, a desert, and still and moving water.

Life is not without pain, suffering, loss, and grief.
Life is also not without a world of good that is all around.

I have more good than I realize.
I am hopeful when I choose to hope.
I am loved when I choose love for myself and others.
I am accepted when I choose compassion for myself and others.
I am forgiven when I choose forgiveness for myself and others.
I am joyful when I choose to practice gratitude.

Gratitude is a choice.

March 15, 2023March 15, 2023

Human Connection

We are more alike than we realize. We are human. We are beings. We are creatures made for connection. We thrive when we love, and we are loved. We grow when we are in relationship with others.

We forget all of this. We focus on how we imagine we are different. We don’t even take the time to listen to each other. We want to be right. How can we all be right? How can each of us believe we know truth, and we believe the ‘other’ has no truth? What if we are looking at the same thing, and we are seeing it from different angles?

Do we not all love our families? Parents, do you not love your children? Children, do you not love your parents? Are there not parents and children all over the world? How do we imagine we have nothing in common?

Listening to each other, with attention, with curiosity, with acceptance, is one way we can bridge this artificial gap we have created. We are human. We are more alike than we are different.

As we learn to love ourselves, and accept ourselves, we can learn to love each other. As we learn to love each other, and accept each other, we can learn to love ourselves.

March 14, 2023March 15, 2023

The Time is Now

One of the biggest mistakes I make is thinking I have more time.

Realistically, all I am guaranteed is this moment.
I don’t have yesterday. I may not have tomorrow.

My challenge is to be mindful in this moment, aware, fully alive.
My challenge is also to believe in the future, and take action now.

The choices I made in the past are part of where I am today.
The choices I make today will be part of where I am tomorrow.

I choose to live now with gratitude and joy.
I choose to to let go of things I cannot change.
I choose to look forward with hope, and make good choices each day.

March 14, 2023March 16, 2023

Coaching

When you talk with a coach,
you are talking with someone
who will listen to you carefully.

When you talk with a coach,
you will hear wise words spilling out
from your own mouth.

When you talk with a coach,
you will choose what to talk about.
You will decide what you want to focus on.

When you talk with a coach,
you have the opportunity to recognize
you already have answers inside you.

When you talk with a coach,
you focus on what you want to change or do.
You choose what steps to take, how big, and how many.

When you talk with a coach,
you have the opportunity to feel seen and heard.
You have the opportunity to discover your own wisdom.

March 14, 2023

Life Lessons

Every moment is an opportunity to learn
if my mind is open and my heart is willing.

March 14, 2023March 14, 2023

Surviving When You Feel Like You Can’t Go On

HOPE IS THE VOICE THAT MEETS YOU IN THE STORM, and says,
“THERE IS MORE THAN WHAT YOU CAN SEE RIGHT NOW.”

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Definition from OxfordLanguages
sur·vive
/sərˈvīv/
verb
verb: survive; 3rd person present: survives; past tense: survived; past participle: survived; gerund or present participle: surviving

continue to live or exist, especially in spite of danger or hardship.
“against all odds the child survived”

Similar:
remain alive

live
sustain oneself
cling to life
pull through
get through
hold on
hold out
make it
keep body and soul together
continue
remain
last
persist
endure
live on
persevere
abide
go on
keep on
carry on
stay around
linger
be extant
exist
be

continue to live or exist in spite of (an accident or ordeal).
“he has survived several assassination attempts”
remain alive after the death of (a particular person).
“he was survived by his wife and six children”