What do YOU need at this moment?

Welcome! Wander with me.....

We take care of everyone else, don't we? Women, especially, seem to be programmed to "do" for others, and in the process we lose ourselves along the way. We take kids to art lessons, dance class, LegoLand, and often yearn to try some of those things ourselves. 

But we most often don't follow through. And in the process we wither inside and die, slowly, one day, one tick of the clock at a time.

The adage is true: If we don't take care of ourselves, how can we possibly take care of anyone else effectively? We can offer nothing if we become.....nothing.

Do something for you today. Just for you. Make no excuses, offer no explanations. Honor yourself.

Excerpt from Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy, by Sarah Ban Breathnach

Psychic garbage collectors of the dramatic

Let's sit a minute.

If you are a social media buff, you know it takes all kinds: enthusiastic fans, families seeking their kin, artists, photographers, writers (I know a few of those!), and others seeking community in some way that is meaningful to them.

Some even profess to a desire to eliminate "drama" from their lives, yet they seem to continually mire themselves in its sticky mess, the "psychic garbage collectors" of the problems and feelings of those around them.

If you want drama out of your life, stop being dramatic! Yes, it IS that simple.

From The Woman's Book of Soul by Sue Patton Thoele

Lost in the future......stuck in the past

Welcome to the Garden! Sit a moment......

Where is your mind right now? Thinking about what you have to do when you arrive at work? Or rehashing something painful in your past?

Many of us aren't really here most of the time. We lose this moment because we're too busy lost in the future--a future that may never happen--or stuck in the past.

I noticed this especially when I was teaching. It was astounding to me how many people spent their entire existence pining for summer, or spring break, or the next planning day. They even counted them down: "Only 4 more days until our holiday break!" or "How are we going to get through the next 2 weeks until school is out for the summer?"

Consequently, their lives became a matter of waiting for future minutes while the ones they had RIGHT NOW were never lived at all.

Excerpt from "The Woman's Book of Soul" by Sue Patton Thoele

Welcome to the Garden!

After several years of writing Aged to Perfection: A Woman over 60 Who is Willing to Talk about It, it's time to move on! And what better place than a beautiful garden, filled with delicate blooms, where we can sit for a few minutes each day and chat?

Every morning, my coffee steaming at my right hand, I ease into my day by reading from a variety of inspirational material that motivates, calms, or inspires me. Sometimes all three.

I will share here what resonates with me each day, in the hope that it will do the same for you. Feel free to share your own inspiration with the rest of us in the comment section below.

Welcome to the Garden!