Adventures in Life and Thought

  Stitch until your heart is content What is Slow Stitching? Slow stitching is a form of hand embroidery or needlework that emphasizes the process of creating rather than completing the finished product. It is characterized by a slower, more contemplative approach, and often involves using simple, natural materials such as linen, cotton, and wool. Slow stitching can include techniques such as hand quilting, sashiko, and kantha, and can incorporate elements of mindfulness and meditation. Some people find it to be a form of stress-relief and self-care, and a way to be present in the moment. How does that happen? 10 Ways Slow Stitching May Improve Mental Health... Read the full article on my Medium Blog here 

To be honest, older people are more concerned about this problem than younger people, mainly because the negative attitudes that the younger generation display toward them have adverse consequences for the older generation. Let’s look at this topic in a little more detail. Faulty Assumptions Younger People Have About Older People Older people are out of touch with current technology and trends. This can lead to younger people treating older people with condescension or not valuing their input or ideas. Possible Remedy:  Older people can try to stay up to date with technology and current events to combat this assumption. Older people are not physically or mentally capable. This can lead to younger people not considering older people for activities or tasks that require physical or mental effort. Possible Remedy:  Older people can try to stay active and continue learning new things to challenge this assumption. Older people are grumpy or negative. This can lead to younger people avoiding

  Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you. ~Anne Lamott Finding, maintaining, and keeping our physical, mental, and emotional balance during times of stress and anxiety is as tricky as finding a perfectly secluded beach on which we can relax and recharge our frayed minds and hearts. But before we get to the part about managing our stress, let’s first identify the likely sources of our stress. Origins of Stress Life, at the best of times, has its own set of stresses. However, when those stresses are compounded by situations beyond our ability to foresee or control, the pressure rises in our lives. Are you affected by any of these? Financial crisis Death of a loved one School pressures Caregiving responsibilities Strained relationships Moving Loss of job Pandemic Natural disasters or severe weather Political upheaval Social unrest Mental health Health crisis and healthcare Buying or selling a home Family concerns Marriage Divorce Toxic relation

Let me begin by saying that I’m so ordinary that you’d never notice me even if I were the only one perched on a shelf. And what I’ve learned about maintaining a contented and happy life may only apply to me. But I’m hoping that you might find something that levels up your ability to find the same thing. What Happens When We Constantly Keep Our Heads Down When we look down, we can only see the step we just took and one yet to be taken. That’s an extremely limited view of our life’s potential and one that could never achieve the excitement and joy that we all want to experience. So, metaphorically, we can all lift our heads and let life surprise us by the results we achieve. An Example Of The Cause And Effect Of This Principle In My Life. Sometimes we tend to attribute most of the troublesome aspects of life to circumstances. But lifting our heads and taking a broader view might convince us otherwise. I’m not saying that circumstance doesn’t play its part — it does. But if circumstances

  Everybody wants to change something. It’s either themselves, someone else, or the world in general. CHANGE… It’s the catalyst to success or disaster. Which is most often your result? In this series, we’re going to practice thinking. Don’t run away! I promise this will be both brief and painless — I hope. We'll take just one thought or question to meditate on for a few days. Will it make a profound difference in your life? Maybe, or maybe not. You’re unique, so I can’t answer for you. But it will give you something to think about. Here we go.  Why did you get up this morning? No, don’t laugh. I’m serious. Why did you get up this morning? If you can’t answer this question in-depth, don’t expect to accomplish much, certainly not success. It’s time to THINK…

  After much reading on the subject, this is my bottom line definition of the responsibilities of a Life Coach. Someone who will help you design a personal strategy to achieve specific life-enhancing goals and skills while working alongside you to achieve those things. Now I’m more than certain that a grandma is your best option. Being a great-grandma myself, I can speak from experience!   Let's Make Some Comparisons Professional Life Coaches:  are careful not to be opinionated. They ask a lot of deep questions and strive to help their clients arrive at their best version of themselves, forming their own set of answers. Grandmas take the opposite approach:  and for good reason. They already know you’re challenged when it comes to Q&A sessions. They’ve heard the ‘I don’t know' answer too many times to fall for that strategy again. Grandmas know that if you had the ability to reason just the tiniest bit, you wouldn’t be in your current mess. Nor would you be grabbing for supp

Everything Minus Love = Nothing Humans crave, dream about, obsess over, search for, and pray for love. Can you think of any meaningful relationships that don’t require some form of love to be successful? I can’t. If love is that important, then it’s reasonable to think that it affects our perspective, attitudes, mental health, spirituality, and happiness. In fact, we’d probably all agree that it belongs under the category of ‘necessity’. Love comes in many forms. We humans most often think in terms of romantic love. While that is undoubtedly one of my favorites, it’s not the ONLY type of love that’s important to our happiness. Along with brotherly love and love of family, there is another form of love that balances all others. It’s a love based on the highest moral principle. What are the characteristics of this higher form of love? When we display this type of love we unselfishly put the needs of others ahead of our own even if those ‘others’ or strangers to us. It is founded on the p

                                                 Purrrrr..."Who asked that stupid question?" I think most of us at some time in our lives have slammed a door out of frustration or anger. I know I'm guilty. It's not something I do now, and I'm not sure why I've done it in the past, except that it was a way to make sure that those around me knew I was upset.  But thinking back on the action, it was really a reaction to my own uncontrolled emotions. And to address the question as to what it accomplished, it would be easier to tell you what it DIDN'T accomplish. It didn't make those around me care more about my feelings. It didn't improve the situation at hand. It didn't make me a better person. It didn't get me what I wanted. It didn't show how mature I was or thought I was. It didn't punish anyone but myself. It didn't make me feel like I had won anything of value. The bottom line is that door slamming is something we do to expres

  Collage by Lynda