Here we are - on the cusp of a new year. I would say that most people are probably pretty happy to bid 2021 goodbye - the pandemic owned this one for most of us. As I remarked in yesterday's post however, there is always much to be thankful for. This week between Christmas and New Year's is often one of reflection. We have moved on from the hustle and bustle of Christmas, enjoyed the magic once more that surrounds the holiday, and have moved into being a bit more reflective

It is almost hard to believe that title. I fully intended to travel this past year as I was sure that things would return to normal. When I bought my Christmas themed mask in 2020, I didn't think I would be wearing it again this year. And we are entering 2022 much in the same way as we did last year - with uncertainty, restrictions in place, and not knowing when this pandemic will ease its hold. And yet I still have much to be grateful for. Every day I walk in the woods; the

From my family to yours, I wish you peace on this day. May you feel blessed; may you have moments of joy, may you feel content and full. May you feel the magic of Christmas. May you find comfort and warmth in your family and friends. May you feel love. Kris, xo Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@eleonoralbasi

On this Christmas Eve of 2021, here are some thoughts to remind us of our blessings. Despite this having been a difficult year, we still have much to be thankful for: “Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.” - Hamilton Wright Mabie "Christmas is most truly Christmas when we celebrate it by giving the light of love to those who need it most." ―Ruth Carter Stapleton "Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry

I love this quote by Leo F. Buscaglia: “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” ― Leo F. Buscaglia We don't always know how our acts of kindness can affect someone. Christmas is to remember those who are less fortunate, to pray for those who spend the holiday alone. It is also a time to be grateful for all of our blessing

Christmas time can bring us many things to be thankful for - the lead up to the holidays; however, can be a time when we put ourselves on the back burner. Building on yesterday's post, here are some holiday self-care tips that we can incorporate into the Christmas season: Find some time in the evening to cozy in on the couch and watch a favourite Christmas movie. Take a drive to enjoy holiday lights. Give yourself permission to say no if you begin to feel the need to simply r

This is crunch time for Christmas; with a little over a week to go, it is time for last minute gift buying, wrapping, meal planning. It is the hustle and bustle of the holidays, the pressure to have it all perfect. Christmas can be an overwhelming celebration for some, and a lonely holiday for others. As in any time in our lives when things feel a little too frenetic, we can recognize the need to pause and consciously slow things down. If we commit to doing this on a daily b

What lovely words from American novelist Anne Lamott: "You will lose someone you can’t live without, and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. And you come through. It’s like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly—that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp."

As I take my walks in the morning, I have seen a shift. Porches lose their summer patio furniture and bagged leaves sit at the curb waiting for pick up. The sun rises later and sets earlier, and for many, it is the season of gray days. But then we woke up to our first dusting of snow. Looking out at our first snow of the season brings me back to an instant excited feeling; one that I can remember fondly from childhood, a feeling that beckoned us outside. I also notice a cozy

This time of year often brings the grey days of fall and we can find ourselves in the house, feeling a bit blue. Recognizing that we might need a cozy self-care day, here are a few ideas: Cuddle up on the couch with blankets, loved ones, popcorn and a feel-good movie. Bake a favourite recipe; focusing on comfort food. Write a letter to someone - the old fashioned way. Have a home spa day - candles, a warm bath, pedicure. Enjoy a warm drink while sitting down to read a book. V

We can all fall into the cognitive trap of an internal voice that is often too critical. It is more often than not that we will be harder on ourselves than we would on others and we can easily afford others compassion while disregarding the need for it ourselves. In a recent podcast episode in Oprah's Super Soul Conversations; Iyanla: Finding Yourself and the One You Want , we listen to the wisdom of Iyanla Vanzant. Iyanla, in her no-nonsense and hilarious way of delivering

One word that always comes to mind in the midst of the Fall season is cozy . The warm fall days with a slight chill in the air, the cooler evenings, the vibrant colours. Although self-care is something to aspire to every day, all year round, as we immerse ourselves into the beauty of this season, here are some specific Fall self-care ideas: - Go through your summer wardrobe. If you didn't wear it, donate it to charity. - Write down some things about this season that you are g

I came across a quote from Desmond Tutu which goes: "We need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they're falling in." - Desmond Tutu There is a fine line between living in your past and learning from it. When people come to therapy, they almost always do with some emphasis on wanting to understand something - and the answer is always found, at least in part, by going back. Back to the story of childhood, back to how relationsh

I had the richest of conversations with a young woman who had recently come out to her family. Although telling her parents and siblings she was gay went fairly smoothly, she spoke about an experience shortly afterwards that occurred to which she was unsure of how to respond. She noted that she had been at a social gathering at her parents home and an acquaintance of her parents, in the process of small talk, asked her if she had a boyfriend. Although she answered truthfully

September is World Alzheimer's Month. A time when we can recognize and appreciate both those struggling to manage with Alzheimer's and those who care for them. Because Alzheimer's disease causes brain cells to degenerate, it slows down cognition; it will inevitably also cause behaviour changes in our loved ones. Here are some tips for caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's: Keep things simple . Say or do one thing at a time; very often what gets lost in dementia is the stri

Stories are an important way for us to understand ourselves. We will find wisdom in the story of our own life, in other's lives, or in the fictional stories that we choose to read. I have just finished reading "This Tender Land" by William Kent Krueger - a coming of age story for a young man named Odie O'Banion who journeys with three other orphans during the Depression to find family. This passage came towards the end of the story and is well worth considering: " There is a

Our next self-reflection question in this category is: "What is my purpose?" Always a loaded question and one that brings many people to therapy. Sometimes it comes from a point in crisis; when we begin to ponder existentially why we are here. Sometimes it comes into our thoughts as we often encounter this question in the books we read or the shows we watch. It can be a frustrating question when we can't link passion with purpose, or a futile question when people around us ap

Ever do something impulsively you later regret? Act out of fear or anger and then wonder "Why did I (or didn't I) do that?" The answer might be in something called the empathy gap - a space where fast paced, intense emotion trumps our ability to receive information from our logical brain. In a podcast episode of The Hidden Brain: You 2.0: In the Heat of the Moment , host Shankar Vedantam dives into this fascinating topic. He uses science to help explain hot and cold states -

It has been 26 years since my grandparents died. They passed away within 3 months of each other and they were the first people in my life to pass away that I was close to and loved dearly. May of this year marked 9 years that we said goodbye to my father, and this November, it will be 3 years that I exist without my mom. Sometimes that is so hard to believe and yet there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about her; my grief for her is profound. I smile when I am rem

Sometimes I wonder: "If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?" Although it is not lost to me that part of my response to this question comes from aging, maturity and gained experience, I would still say that given the chance to tell my younger self a piece of advice, it would most likely be "Be true to yourself." I can look back and see that I didn't always do that. Sometimes it was knowing that something felt off, yet I stayed in the safety