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Yesterday was All-Soul's Sunday in the Anglican tradition, and for me, an opportunity to take my dad's sage advice; focus on the marvelous in life. Traditionally it is a day to remember the people who have entered the larger life and to reflect on how their lives affected ours. It was no surprise th

#metoo This week, we (Amy and Rhea) were witness to our social media newsfeeds completely populated with #metoo. And we added our own #metoo to the list along with our daughters, friends, family members, colleagues, acquaintances, teachers, students, clients, pastors, leaders, mentors, strangers. Me

Skill #5: Watch Your Language   I recently ran across a saying: Sticks and stones may break your bones but words can shatter souls. We know language matters—it shapes thoughts and beliefs. We are all familiar with the impact of verbal abuse on children, partners, students, friends, employees. W

Skill #4: Edit Your Life's Story Many of us are afraid of our life's story, or at least a part of it. Why is this? Perhaps because we fear what others will think. Worse yet, we are afraid of our own life's story and what we think or feel. We fear being reminded of the ups and downs of it. The sheer

Skill #3: Calm It Down Telling someone to “calm down!” actually never works—even when you say it to yourself. In fact, it makes a bigger mess. This marvelous skill, Calm It Down , is an invitation to take charge of what happens in your body when you need to manage a fear. We all have times in which

Skill #2: Practice Self Compassion   There are many roles that I have in life: friend, wife, mother, sister, aunt, volunteer, therapist. In each of these roles I intentionally practice loyalty and compassion. Practicing self - compassion , however, has taken me decades to learn. Why is self-com

Skill #1: Challenge Your Thoughts Fear. We all have it. I don't know about you, but my fears can take on a life of their own. How to manage those messy thoughts is a marvelous skill. Without practicing it, my highly imaginative mind can fill in any blank with some worst-case-scenario and hit the acc

Hypocrite. None of us want this label ascribed to us. This word is slung around pejoratively to insult people who don't follow their own best advice. We all are experts at giving advice, aren't we? Telling others what to do might make us feel important and needed. If we are lucky, sometimes that adv

Happy Labor Day, Friends. This is a re-post of a skill that seems especially pertinent this time of year. Next week we will be back with new posts. Can't wait to be back with you.   BIG CONFESSION . I totally blew this skill just this week. I did not practice what I am getting ready to preach a

We are spending a weekend doing what we do best: working a bunch, laughing a lot, building relationships, eating good food and drinking good wine, walking, talking, and because we are in a cottage on a lake, swimming, floating, and kayaking. Here's a shout out to our Airbnb hosts Jenn and Bob who ar