Tagged With "gratitude"

Self-care strategies work. In my book, “Goodbye Anxiety, Hello Freedom”, I share 35 different strategies, as one-size- doesn’t -fit-all! Today, I’ve got 5 simple tips to share that will help you relax and find your emotional balance. The #1 Most Important Thing to Add to Your Self-Care Routine Limit how much media you consume and how often. I’ve said this for years and now it is absolutely critical. Checking the latest news over and over again is like taking a jackhammer to our nervous...

This month many of us are heading into a holiday season whether it be Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah or another notable day. It is traditionally a time when we get together with family and friends, open our hearts, and put our absolute best foot forward in hospitality and grace. The pandemic has changed the physicality of our lives but not the meaning and intention that lies beneath this very special season. The origin of the word season comes from the Latin word ‘satio’, meaning ‘sowing’ and...

As we are all living under the mandate of social distancing we find almost everyone struggling with the ethos of our current stressful environment. As human beings, we were created to connect with one another. Our brains have mirror neurons that help us socialize and communicate by reading the expressions of others. The famous evolutionist Charles Darwin concluded that it would be those who were most ‘sympathetic’ to each other, in other words generous, altruistic, and compassionate, that...

Scarlett, JT, and Jesse

By March, I sometimes feel as if I am marching through winter. It has been cold long enough that the novelty of snow boots and mittens has worn off. Sledding, skiing, and skating have been fun but navigating the ice from the house to the barn for my daily farm chores gets wearing. March marks one long year of quarantining and social distancing, and it’s still an altered way of life we are required to continue. I noticed, however, that the purple and yellow crocuses have already bloomed in my...

Very nice, thank you Scarlett.

Thanks for presenting this perspective on our place in the universe.

Those who struggle with ACE’s have a tendency to focus on the negative as a means of self-protection. We fear opening our hearts because of the brutality we experienced in early childhood when our hearts were already open. It takes a tremendous amount of inner work to free our energy from continuing to produce the false barrier of protection, which constitutes our barrier to experiencing all of the love and joy and support that we long for. In this article I offer an alternative view that...

I have a micro- minute or two of joy every day. When I wake up in the morning I thank the universe that it is differentiating between day and night. I thank that my eyes opened to see, and my limbs managed to get up, that my ears picked up the bird sons and my lips are giving praise. This is an ancient tradition I practice, a tradition that recognized the value of practicing gratitude and passed it on through its teachings for over 3000 years. I am glad that many more people are discovering...

A global pandemic. Social unrest. A contentious election year. Is it possible to be grateful in this environment? YES! Actually, the stressors actually make it even more imperative! Our ultimate goal as humans, for our children and ourselves, is to flourish. Gratitude is the number one way to shift our focus from negative to positive and facilitate growth in our lives. It sounds simple, and it is, but it’s not always easy. How can we be grateful when it seems like everything is falling apart...

Could saying “thank you” help you to live longer? For many decades, behavioral cardiology studied only the impact of so-called “negative traits”—such as stress, depression , and anxiety—on people with cardiovascular disease. The field got its start in the late 1950s with the work of cardiologists Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman , who found that “Type A” behavior—characterized by hostility, time urgency, and competitiveness—doubled the risk of coronary heart disease. Over the next five...

This is sure good news for all of us, but in the context of this group, it’s especially useful to anyone hoping to combat the possible long-term effects of ACEs/trauma on cardiovascular health (and just wanting to heal). My concern for ACEs/trauma survivors (or anyone, really) is that sometimes cultivating gratitude can come at the cost of fully acknowledging and processing traumas. There can be a sense guilt just for admitting to oneself — not to mention others — that some very bad things...

For an "alternative" view on gratitude, check this out: "Gratitude Lists Are B.S. — It Was an 'Ingratitude' List That Saved Me" by Liz Brown http://www.goodhousekeeping.co...ude-lists-dont-work/

Laura: Please feel free to share these articles as a post so more people will see them. I LOVE the ingratitude list and your comment. To me, it reads like a blog post and I LOVE your voice. It's clear, curious and honest. I LOVE gratitude lists. Now, after my 40's, but while knee-deep in healing I wanted to punch anyone who said something that felt like, "Turn that frown upside down" because it felt minimizing. It didn't just feel minimizing, sometimes it was, as in denial. Plus, all the...

Your analogy of baking a cake is spot on (speaking of reading like a blog post )-- the desired ingredients will vary from baker to baker and from cake to cake, but without all the essentials, we're just not going to end up with a cake and we have to admit that and then do something about it or go cakeless .... which would be a shame. Let me reiterate -- I am all for gratitude lists and for an "attitude of gratitude". My husband and I still have a gratitude list still on our laptop desktop...

Thanks for raising the question, Laura. I too believe in the power of being grateful (Read 'The Book of Joy' for some words of wisdom about this from the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu) BUT I absolutely agree that sometimes it feels to me that gratitude can be used as a simple answer to address painful, difficult situations. I really do not believe those that have done the work about gratitude intend this (nor the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu - their chapters include things like 'Nothing...

Great question that provokes much thought, Laura. I agree; too much gratitude could invalidate the seriousness and necessity for addressing difficult situations. And like Cissy said, self-care is awesome, but it doesn't quite work for someone who currently has self-hate. It's so important to accept both gratitude and ingratitude, happy and angry, easy-going and difficult. Life is about all of these and more. So although the overall goal is something positive, we must recognize and accept...

What is Possible? By Scarlett Lewis I love reading stories about victory! It seems we all have had something in our lives to overcome, to some degree, and learning and growing from the struggle can benefit others. Courage and perseverance are two of the most powerful ways that can be taught to get through and grow from difficulties, and sometimes the best way is by example. However, one thing is for certain -- we need each other. It has been fascinating to me to witness how we rise to the...

What a wonderful article, I have no idea what you have had to personally go through to get where you are today, but I am grateful you posted this, for me, for us. Thank you Scarlett

Adversity can be a powerful word especially when you are a Trauma Counsellor aware of ACEs. This revolutionary study on the impact of our Adverse Childhood Experiences has provided us with so many answers as to why we are the way we are. At least it did for me and the people I work with every day. It has also raised many important questions. One being, how can one build resilience through past adversities? How did I do it? Having done the ACE test and getting a maximum score of 10 on it, I...

You might be standing in a room with hundred-dollar bills blowing everywhere, but if you can’t catch any, or even notice them, you won’t have any extra money in your pocket. Gratitude works the same way. If you don’t even notice the opportunity to feel gratitude or know how to catch it, then you can’t hold much appreciation for it and your life won’t be altered in any positive way. We all need something positive to hang onto, to build hope and motivation moving forward. That’s why I want to...

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not but rejoices for what he has.” ~Greek philosopher, Epictetus It is that time of year in which the leaves are changing color, the days are getting shorter, and as we prepare for family meals and holidays, we witness a lot more folks talking about what they are thankful for. The days leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday lend themselves to a shift in our focus onto what we appreciate in our lives, and we notice folks...

February is a special month – it’s Choose Love Awareness Month! It’s time to celebrate love and focus on our ability to choose love in our lives! For 28 days the Choose Love Movement shares daily action tips on ways you can bring more ‘Nurturing Healing Love’ to yourself and others all month long and beyond. We also share how you can live a Choose Love lifestyle by incorporating the Choose Love Formula into your daily life: Courage + Gratitude + Forgiveness + Compassion-in-Action = Choosing...

Gratitude is proven highly beneficial as a daily practice, not just something we save for the holidays. Learn a couple of easy ways to practice gratitude, and find out how to get personalized support to heal from ACEs and live the stress-free life you deserve.

Gratitude is proven highly beneficial as a daily practice, not just something we save for the holidays. Learn a couple of easy ways to practice gratitude, and find out how to get personalized support to heal from ACEs and live the stress-free life you deserve.

HAHAHAHA!! Saw the Florida post! Lynn Sharpe Underwood I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. -- Maya Angelou

Three burdensome happens learned in trying to cope with adverse childhood experiences can be changed. Efforts to drop and replace these troubling habits can be extremely liberating.