My Mom, Mary, is one of the most young at heart, curious people I know.
She’s a hard worker, always walking the walk and living her Christian faith. She’s a behind the scenes miracle worker, handling logistics and organizing things, and somehow always managing to avoid the spotlight or public eye.
Mary was born and raised in a first generation Italian-American, conservative Catholic home, in 1950’s Baltimore.
Her childhood was spent in a middle class suburban neighborhood known for being white — in fact the neighborhood covenant prevented homeowners from selling to Black families. Her parents evidently weren’t aware of this because she remembers her parents saying, “I’m not sure why, but for some reason colored people don’t move here.” They were happy about this, concerned that their home value would decrease and the neighborhood would “go down”. While her parents had generous hearts and treated Black people kindly, there was always an understanding that being white was somehow better. …
My Dad and I have a pretty solid relationship now, but it hasn’t always been that way. As I was growing up we did not see eye to eye on anything, it seemed.
I was a wild child, rebellious, pushing the status quo and social norms everywhere I could. Dad grew up with Southern sensibilities and is quite conservative. Let’s just say I never really fit his ideas of a ‘little lady’.
The older I get, the more I understand my Dad.
John was born and raised in Orlando, however for most of his childhood, when school was out of session for the summer he was on his grandparents’ farm in South Carolina. On the farm, some of the help were ‘negros’ which his family ‘treated well’ but they weren’t usually allowed in the house. As a child, his family had a ‘colored maid’. …
I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder at age 11, the most common impact for me being infrequent spells of depression.
FYI, about 7% of the US (that 17 million + people) deals with frequent depression and just under 3% have been diagnosed with a form of Bipolar. So this is pretty common among my compatriots.
In my teens and early 20’s I experienced debilitating, life altering encounters with depression. I have been on and off medication most of my life. …
The name I was given is different than the name I prefer to be called in adulthood.
That’s right, I have renamed myself.
In my opinion, someone self-selecting the word that represents their identity in conversation isn’t that weird, however most people don’t do it, so let’s unpack the concept a bit.
As a fan of word studies and really digging into concepts that intrigue me, I’ve been chewing on this question for a few years now: What is in a name?
It surprised me to discover that many people don’t give much thought to their name, especially if it’s simple and hasn’t been a focal point in their life. …
I’ve been exploring a new conversation recently:
What is your relationship to Being Busy?
Is it something you strive for? Feel proud of? Feel like you can’t escape? Wish for? Our world has become so dynamic and quick paced that it seems everyone is always Busy all the time.
Correction, it seems like “successful” people are always Busy all the time.
Where are you going with all of your Busy? What’s your end game?
What’s really important to you? Is it your career, relationships, spirituality, family, money, fame, winning that debate on social media (yeah, I see you), your health?
Let’s set aside for a moment that most people haven’t even define what “successful” looks like in their life. Truly “successful” people invest time in things that are most important to them. …
I’m just going to come out and say it…
Sometimes, in some ways, the holidays are hard.
Sure it’s a time for family, faith, community and giving. They can be warm and cozy, for sure.
It’s also a time of trying to keep everyone happy, consumerism, freaking cold weather and chaos.
There are so many holidays this time of year it can be a mine field knowing what to say to strangers.
Oh, and then there’s the business impact. If you’re in retail it’s crazy busy, if you’re not it’s annoyingly slow. Either way there’s workplace stress and drama.
And then there’s the new year. Culturally we equate a new year with new beginnings, goal setting and resolutions. Making it a time to reflect on the past year and while that can lead to celebration and acknowledgement of accomplishments, it can just as easily lead to o overwhelm, frustration and judgement. …
You know that voice in your head that’s going all the time?
You may think of it as your thoughts, though for some of us it feels more like a sentient being bossing us around. For some, it often turns into a big bully that you can’t escape from.
I typically refer to these various inner voices as The Monkeys and they have a massive impact on your life, your health, your actions. …
How do you quantify the value of your time?
Most people place a higher value on the time and energy they invest at work than what they invest in the rest of their life. It makes sense, we tend to look at the ROI (Return On Investment) of our time. The energy you invest at work has a clear ROI as it is balanced out by a paycheck.
Take a look at the other things that you invest time in. They may not come with a tangible, financial ROI, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t benefits and a form of energetic balance. When you invest time with your family there is an ROI of love, affection, affinity, support and connection. When you invest time in your spirituality there is an ROI of deeper connection and understanding of the Universe/God. …
Once you have ‘defined the relationship’ the next big milestones is “the L bomb”.
There can be a lot of stress and apprehension about who will say I love you first, what are the circumstances, will the other say it back etc. It tends to be significant.
My challenge with the term I love you is that it is completely subjective, as demonstrated by Merriam Webster Dictionary:
love ləv / verb : to feel a deep romantic or sexual attachment to (someone).
Okay, but what is feel…do you physically ache when you think of how strong your feelings are for me? …
For someone who is a Type A personality, faith, trust, and intuition can be really challenging concepts to wrap your mind around.
As an Intuitive Strategist my specialty is seeing the big picture, taking it all into account and identifying a path to get a result — all very left-brained, ego-based logical activities. I believe effective strategy (the ability to define a vision and goals to make it a reality) also requires the use of intuition which is a right-brained, soul-based activity.
Being in touch with your intuition requires being in touch with your higher Self and knowing how to listen. …
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