Who doesn't need a few chuckles first thing in the morning? Here are a few funny quotes for us to enjoy: "The hardest years in life are those between ten and seventy.' - Helen Hayes  "I really don't think I need buns of steel. I'd be happy with buns of cinnamon." - Ellen DeGeneres "Before you marry a person, you should first make them use a computer with slow Internet to see who they really are." - Will Ferrell "Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone."

As we grow, we form core beliefs, habits, ways of thinking and being. Sometimes those can help us; they line up with our goals and fit nicely with our personalities and temperament, or they might get in the way, causing us to feel stuck in our attempt to move forward. When we have been doing something for a long time, it begins to feel as though it is a part of us. Take the example of comparing ourselves to others - that might be a natural tendency as we are a relationship s

I came across this poetic writing by Rania Naim: "For a long time, I held on to everything to make sure it didn't end. To make sure I didn't say goodbye. To avoid another failure. To stop letting my friends and family down. But I learned to look at endings inversely. I learned that endings don't always mean failures, goodbyes or deaths. I learned that endings can sometimes open new doors for better beginnings and close old doors that weren't going to lead us anywhere in the f

This one can be tough. Even on our best of days, if we walk away from an interchange, or get a message that is hard to decipher, we can easily lean into feeling insulted. We can immediately default into a thought pattern that affects our self-worth and plants doubt in who we are. Learning to not take things personally is a skill that can help us look at personal situations objectively. Here are 3 tips that we can practice: Ask yourself the question, "Is this really about me?"

Love comes in many forms; it is far-reaching, encompassing, it crosses time and space. Love has the ability to heal, to bring joy, to protect. Love brings with it mercy, compassion and grace.  Today let us celebrate love: "Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love." - Mother Teresa "Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." -Lao Tzu "Love is but the discovery of ourselves in others,

We often recognize that we are harder on ourselves than we are on other people. But what are the side effects of self-criticism? When our internal dialogue towards ourselves tends to be more negative than positive, it can produce the following: we feed the blues. Negative thinking, whether to ourselves or about others, will feed depression and apathy. we feed our insecurities. The things we don't feel confident about will stay that way with negative self-talk. we reinforce ou

We can all struggle with acceptance at times. Perhaps we don't understand why something happened as it did, perhaps we feel the sting of betrayal, perhaps something we wish would change isn't, or perhaps the reality of the situation is one we just don't want to face. In any case, acceptance is always going to be a part of our growth and movement forward. Two key components of acceptance include: Acknowledgement. How does the old saying go? You can't change what you don't ac

Worrying about something can often monopolize our thoughts, wreak havoc on our emotions, and rob us of our energy. 'Worst-case-scenario' worrying will quickly bring us from a place where logic might have had a say to the "worst outcome possible, which will be devastating."  Sound familiar? I think that everyone can say that worriers or not, we have all landed there a few times. I was recently with a client who talked about the things in her past that she was proud of having

Sometimes we are faced with an issue or a situation that has us stuck in terms of a response. We may have an immediate emotional reaction to what has happened, but we want to handle it in such as way as to reinforce the position of "I am important and so are you."  A co-worker keeps undermining you, a friend perpetually cancels on your planned dates, your partner said something to you that angered you or hurt your feelings. There is a part of you that wants to "keep the peac

Being single isn't always easy. We can lean into it when we need to, learn to be content on our own, and create a satisfying life for ourselves by building our time and experiences with meaning. We are; however, a relationship species and we tend to appreciate the attachment that comes with a long term relationship - and so we navigate the dating world. We need to use our confidence ("I know what I bring to the table and will expect no less"), and our instincts ("Goes days w

Putting on my 'dance music' play list is a must when I clean the house; 'Jazz' when I am cooking in the kitchen, and 'Good Mood Music' when on a road trip. We can all attest to the powerful effect that music has on us - it can uplift us when we are feeling blue, it can accompany us through our daily tasks, it has the ability to relax us. In a recent article entitled "Music takes 13 minutes to ‘release sadness’ and 9 to make you happy, according to new study" by Helena Asprou

We all know that 'bickering couple;' people who tend to be in some form of conflict pretty regularly. Is it a habit that has just developed over time? And how do we know if the relationship is conflict driven? We all have some form of conflict in relationships; we navigate through trying to make things equitable, there are times when we need to express how something may be bothering us, sometimes we want our partner to understand our needs. Any time we bring up something tha

I came across this poem by William Martin: Do not ask your children to strive for extraordinary lives. Such striving may seem admirable, but it is the way of foolishness. Help them instead to find the wonder and the marvel of an ordinary life. Show them the joy of tasting tomatoes, apples and pears. Show them how to cry when pets and people die. Show them the infinite pleasure in the touch of a hand. And make the ordinary come alive for them. The extraordinary will take care

I read this poem the other day and it reminded me about the power that a smile has: He didn't know her but she smiled, and he needed that today and he smiled back and she walked past and carried on their way. And he walked on and he kept pace and other people passed his way and he smiled and they smiled back and they needed that today. And they walked on and he walked on and other people passed their ways  and they smiled and they smiled back and others walked towards and the

I recently heard the saying "Feelings are time travellers," and I resonated with how true that statement is. It explains how, when just by thinking about sitting on the sandy shores of Ogunquit Beach in Maine, I can feel a sense of peace within. It also clearly explains my instant reaction of tears when the first few notes of "The Prayer" by Celine Dion comes on the radio, as it is a song I deeply associate to my mom. Feelings, when triggered, have the ability to bring us ba

In our last post in this series, we look at Receiving Gifts; the final love language in Dr. Gary Chapman's 5 Love Languages . In receiving gifts, we express or receive love in tangible ways that include small gestures of giving. It really is about thoughtfulness; we feel loved when we know that our partner was thinking about us and went out of their way to show us. Receiving gifts can include something that you mentioned you wanted, to a spontaneous purchase (such as your fa

Today we look at another one of Dr. Gary Chapman's 5 love languages - Physical Touch. Not hard to see how physical touch can be high up on the priority list for people when it comes to expressing and receiving love. The value of human touch to feeling connected is essential to every relationship, but for some people, the non-verbal expression of love ranks high up on their list of love languages. It is often interesting to explore how we were in terms of this love language

In our series on The 5 Love Languages by Dr. Gary Chapman , we continue with Words of Affirmation. When we feel touched by words of affection and compliments that express appreciation, we tend to connect with words of affirmation as a love language. Words can bring about powerful messages and images; perhaps hearing "I love you" is an important part of your daily needs, compliments on your appearance, words of gratitude and appreciation, love notes or texts sent that express

Yesterday we began a series featuring Dr. Gary Chapman 's theory on the 5 Love Languages . We started by exploring the love language of quality time; today we look at Acts of Service. Acts of service is about what we do for our partner; it is about the demonstration of love . If acts of service is a way that you know that you are loved, it will include things perhaps such as coming home to a warm cooked meal, being taken care of when you have had a long day, a chore done tha

Dr. Gary Chapman, in his best selling book entitled "The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts," writes about how to use love languages to keep your relationship healthy. Chapman's theory is that each of us generally sees ourselves in one of the 5 love languages - quality time, acts of service, physical touch, words of affirmation and receiving gifts - and that we primarily give love to our partner in the way we wish to receive it. It is important, Chapman notes,