We all need to keep honing our personalities if we want to take charge of our lives, move our ideals and hopes ahead, fight for our dreams and live our lives around our personal purpose. Our ideal life is not something we “find,” it is something we “create.” The business of being a person is […]
age
Tides
We all know that people react differently to the same things on different days. One day what we say doesn’t bother anyone; our mistakes don’t bother others. Then other days, it seems like we inadvertently trigger an apocalypse. The flip side as to our reactions to others is the same as well: Somedays we find […]
Numbers Behind the Scenes
A few months ago, an up and coming photographer Richard Kissi reached out to me. He wanted to add “diversity” to his portfolio. I asked him exactly what he meant by that, because prior to our conversation, I never used the word “diverse” to describe me. He said he’d researched me and wanted to feature […]
Time to Shine
Life is a constant self-improvement test whereby we steadily grow into the best version of ourselves. With this as my personal meaning of life, there’s plenty to keep me categorically busy: emotionally, physically, intellectually and spiritually. If we each identified daily tests of endurance — not just those that we design, but included those that […]
Bucking Up
It takes lots of courage to do what you want. Whether its something as simple as getting a new haircut or changing to a new job or moving. Sometimes we don’t make the moves we want because we’re too guilt-ridden. It’s easy to become too concerned about what others might think or if they’d approve […]
Envy No One
In my early twenties, in a conversation with a wise friend who is 20 years my senior, I started whining about the life I didn’t have. When I finished, she patiently pointed out that envy and jealously weren’t my most attractive traits. Then she said: If everyone in the world had to put their troubles […]
Seek the Silver Lining
When life gets tangled up and messy, we need to seek our personal silver lining. It’s an ongoing mental exercise to continually seek the the positive when its seems like we’re mired in negativity around us. But, if we start to change the way we look at people or situations, things we are looking at […]
Maintain Inner Peace in a World of Turmoil
Nobody can give us inner peace. It would be nice if we could buy it by going on a retreat or vacation, but this is not a reality. While we might enjoy a peaceful vacation with no arguments in a beautiful peaceful setting— this doesn’t mean that we experienced peace in our mind. It’s hard […]
Rethink What You Think Matters
Some things do matter. Illness and Death are big matters. Having an income matters and it’s very stressful when money seems to be flowing in the wrong direction. But other than these, not much else really matters. What you said or neglected to; how you acted or didn’t; what your wore; that expression on someone […]
Shake it Off…
Staying angry is not healthy. It won’t help you or anyone around you live longer. Anger raises cortisol, adrenaline, epinephrine and insulin –which hardens arteries and hurts our cardiovascular & heart health. Anger wrinkles our faces. When I’m not feeling angry–or the minute I realize I am–I try to imagine the distorted […]