Ten Thoughts to Help You Avoid Discouragement .

"Judge no one, and disappointment and forgiveness won't be an issue. No one can let you down if you're not leaning on them. People can't hurt you unless you allow them to." This is number 9 from the article below. Good thoughts for all of us. See the rest of them here: Ten Thoughts to Help You Avoid Discouragement .

Treasure your relationships

Relationships are often difficult. Whether it's a friendship, a marriage, a partnership, a dating relationship or parenting, they each one require a lot of effort if they are to be healthy and loving. Here is a brief essay to remind us how to make them work well. See it here: Treasure your relationships

How to Love Your Crazy Life

Sometimes life goes haywire for all of us. Too many schedules. Not enough sleep. Wrong diet. Kids out of control. More expenses than income. On and on it goes. Here are some practical thoughts on how to take a deep breath and make it all sort of seem to work. Read them here: Your Crazy Life

A Simple Life Motto

“Do what you can.  Where you are.  With what you have.” ~ President Theodore Roosevelt

Boost Your Mood Naturally

All of us from time to time get a little down, worn out, frazzled. Life is often carried on at a hectic pace. Financial woes, family conflicts, work irritations, health issues, all contribute to days when we feel drained of energy and good feelings. Here are some easy tips to help boost our moods and enjoy each day a little more. See them here: Health.com

Secrets to a Stress-Free, Happy, Healthy Family

Happy healthy families don't just fall out of the sky. We have to create them. It takes work, commitment, humor, creativity, devotion, love, and much more. Here are some practical ideas to help you keep your family together while the kids are young and later on as well. See them here: Health.com

What is Family?

"What is family? They were the people who claimed you. In good, in bad, in parts or in whole, they were the ones who showed up, who stayed in there, regardless. It wasn't just about blood relations or shared chromosomes, but something wider, bigger. We had many families over time. Our family of origin, the family we created, and the groups you moved through while all of this was happening: friends, lovers, sometimes even strangers. None of them perfect, and we couldn't expect them to be. You can't make any one person your world. The trick was to take what each could give you and build your world from it." ~ From the novel, Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

Chose to live. Really live.

     On February 5, 1982, Steven Callahan was 800 miles west of the Canary Islands in his boat, the "Napoleon Solo."  
     In a matter of moments his boat was capsized and sinking in a fierce storm.  When the waters settled, Callahan, 30 years old at the time, was alone in a leaky raft.  With only a few resources at hand he collected rainwater for drinking and pieced together a crude spear for fishing.  He ate barnacles and now and then small birds he captured.  In order to keep his mind active he made notes of his experience.  He did yoga when he was able even though he was terribly weak.
     For seventy-six days he drifted in the ocean.  Then on April 21 he was discovered by the crew of a boat off the coast of Guadeloupe.  He is the only person to have survived alone more than a month at sea.
     He described his ordeal in his book, Seventy-six Days Lost at Sea.  
     Although an experienced seaman, Callahan says he survived because he made a choice.  He was determined to stay alive and to endure whatever was necessary in order to be rescued.  He chose to struggle.  He chose to not give up.  He chose to live however he could.
     We all face similar, if not as dramatic, choices every day.  They may have to do with our marriage or a relationship we are in.  They may be about a healthy lifestyle or the courage to start a new career.  They may be about friends or family or coworker conflicts.  They may be about dreams or hobbies or wishes unfulfilled.
     The choices we make ultimately decide the lives we live.  As the French philosopher Camus said, "Life is the sum of all your choices."
     Choose to live, really live.
© 2011 Timothy Moody

Are You Willing to Do This for One Day?

Are you willing to stoop down and consider the needs and the desires of little children; to remember the weakness and loneliness of people who are growing old; to stop asking how much your friends love you and ask yourself whether you love them enough; to bear in mind the things that other people have to bear on their hearts; to try to understand what those who live in the same house with you really want, without waiting for them to tell you; to trim your lamp so that it will give more light and less smoke, and to carry it in front of you so that your shadow will fall behind you; to make a grave for your ugly thoughts and a garden for your kindly feelings, with the gate open - are you willing to do these things for even a day? 

—Caroline Kennedy, Author/Attorney

Beat the Top Summer Health Hazards

Although we are well into summer activities, here are some practical tips to help you make this summer a fun and healthy one. See the information here: Health.com

A Poem of a Father by Mary Oliver

A Visitor

My father, for example,
who was young once
and blue-eyed,
returns
on the darkest of nights
to the porch and knocks
wildly at the door,
and if I answer
I must be prepared
for his waxy face,
for his lower lip
swollen with bitterness.
And so, for a long time,
I did not answer,
but slept fitfully
between his hours of rapping.
But finally there came the night
when I rose out of my sheets
and stumbled down the hall.
The door fell open

and I knew I was saved
and could bear him,
pathetic and hollow,
with even the least of his dreams
frozen inside him,
and the meanness gone.
And I greeted him and asked him
into the house,
and lit the lamp,
and looked into his blank eyes
in which at last
I saw what a child must love,
I saw what love might have done
had we loved in time.

from Dream Work (1986). © Mary Oliver.

5 Tips for Staying Active With Kids and Family

If you have children at home or help take care of grandchildren, here are some great ideas to help keep all of you active, together! See the article here: Health.com

Try These 7 Tricks for Instant Calm

Feeling overwhelmed? Ready to pull your hair out? Wound up by all of the nagging little irritations of the day? We all have times of stress: the repeated pressures of work; the endless responsibilities of parenting; the periodic strain of marriage or a relationship; and just the usual pace of life. Here are some easy ways to help provide quick relief from any or all of those stress producers. See the article here: Health.com

How to Live the Dream

We all want a healthy, productive, well balanced, fun, meaningful life. It doesn't come free. We have to do certain things to create a good life. Here are some simple tips to help you achieve some of the things you may be looking for in life. See the article here: Health.com

Feeling Negative? Tips for Fighting It

It is so easy to just move into each day full of negative, tiring thoughts about all that is facing us--work, family, duties, chores, kids activities, and so forth. Here are some simple but effective tips to help you stay more upbeat and ready for each day. Read the article here: Get Really Inspired - Health.com

Why Daughters Often Idealize Their Fathers

Do daughters tend to idealize their fathers while seeing all the flaws and weaknesses of their mothers? Psychology professor Dr. Peggy Drexler says they do and offers interesting reasons why. Hear a fascinating brief audio clip from her new book, "Our Fathers, Ourselves" here: VF Daily VF Daily: vanityfair.com

Secrets to a Stress-Free, Happy, Healthy Family

Many families today are running in circles, especially if you have young children still at home, involved in countless activities. Today's home structure is often so disorganized it causes enormous stress on all of the family members. Here are some tips to help you better manage family stress: Secrets to a Stress-Free, Happy, Healthy Family - Health.com

My Grandson

Austin

There are times

When special angels gather around

And gently hover over someone they love

Someone having trouble in their life

Or someone just needing to know they are safe

When you arrived

They saw the struggles that you faced

And all the fears that filled our hearts for you

And so they came to spread their wings across your bed

And guard you with their care

In the shadow of their wings

Stand others there to touch your face

And kiss your hands with tenderness

And hold you in their arms of so much love

And on beyond all of them

The angels sweet and Mom and Dad

Are others too somewhere near looking out for you

Keeping watch day and night

To never leave you by yourself

They have names you do not know

And in their lifetimes they never saw you here

But where they are they see you now

And how they huddle close to where you rest

And whisper to each other the beauty that they see in you

They are Daddy’s grandparents and Mommy’s too

And an uncle here and an aunt there

And others who cherished your family across the years

And now they cherish you and give you love

And send you healing from their hearts

Golden, full of grace, and so good

© 2011 Timothy Moody

(Written for my grandson Austin Moody, born February 18, 2011, a Down syndrome baby who struggled with respiratory issues but is doing fine now.  He is beautiful!)