We have a choice each and every day.
I choose to feel blessed.
I choose to feel grateful.
I choose to be thankful.
I choose to be content.
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Wishing everyone a truly beautiful day.
💙
A Beautiful Today
Mind Over Body: Catarina’s Path to Health
By Catarina Rodrigues, Featured Health Story
Three and a half years ago, I was diagnosed with a hiatal hernia. A hiatal hernia is what happens when the upper portion of your stomach slides up into your chest because there is an opening (a “hiatus”) in your diaphragm. This causes the person to experience severe acid reflux and discomfort, among other symptoms. When my doctor explained this to me, as—you may imagine—it all sounded quite frightening. He told me that this was essentially an incurable condition and that surgery was not recommended at my age.
Continue reading “Mind Over Body: Catarina’s Path to Health”
A New Day
I give thanks for arriving
Safely in a new dawn,
For the gift of eyes
To see the world,
The gift of mind
To feel at home
In my life,
The waves of possibility
Breaking on the shore of dawn,
The harvest of the past
That awaits my hunger,
And all the furtherings
This new day will bring.
-John O’Donohue
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I am thankful for today…for today is a new day.
Wishing you a blessed one.
💙
To Be Human
“If you start living for the smallest reasons,
that’s when you know you’re really living.
The smell of rain after a thunderstorm,
the shades of pavements when it’s autumn,
the mediocre midnights and the color of the sunsets,
the warmth of oven when baking Christmas cookies,
the thickness of paper when flipping through magazine pages,
the smell of new books and new clothes and new things.
When you start looking at things,
really really looking,
you’ll start living.
Because then you’ll understand how it is to really be a human…
in this world full of people.”
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May we recognize the treasure within the little things.
Wishing you a beautiful day.
💙
A Jewel Within
A pearl is a beautiful thing
that is produced by an injured life.
It is the tear that results
from the injury of the oyster.
The treasure of our being in this world
is also produced by an injured life.
If we had not been wounded,
if we had not been injured,
…then we will not produce the pearl.
-Stephan Hoeller
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May this echo within our being through the uncertain days.
Wishing everyone a safe and tranquil week.
Grief: Healing Through Poetry
By Barbara Leonhard, Featured Contributor
[Part 2 – Alzheimer’s: Grieving the Loss of My Mother]
I processed grief over Mom’s struggle with Alzheimer’s through poetry writing. The fact that caregivers—such as myself and many other poets—can relieve grief through poetry supports my belief that poetry is both the memoir of and the medicine for the soul. Poetry is a means to storytelling, witnessing the human condition in a personal way. What am I thinking, praying, hoping for? How am I hurting? What has happened to me? How can I understand it? How can I share it? Who will witness my pain?
Poetry provides a creative outlet for the release of pain, for healing. It explores the soul. Reading the poems of others who have gone through similar experiences as mine is reassuring because I realize that I am not alone. I could also share my experiences of loss and grief.
You Are Appreciated
Tendered is this touch that
saves and soothes, comforts and mends–
strength sustained by the pulse of
a heart constrained by its own calling,
the candle within softened by flame,
its waxen tributary a remembrance to
the joys and sorrows, gains and losses
…moments treasured in the care for mankind.
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A few lines from Healer…in recognition of the efforts of all the nurses, techs, and everyday caregivers out there.
Thank you for being you.
💙
Let Kindness Shine Today
I shall pass through this world but once.
Any good therefore that I can do or
any kindness that I can show
to any human being,
let me do it now.
Let me not defer or neglect it,
for I shall not pass this way again.
-Étienne de Grellet
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May we be a candle in the night…
especially through the dimmer days.
💙
The Beauty That Remains
“At such moments I don’t think about all the misery,
but about the beauty that still remains.”
-Anne Frank
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Wishing you all a beautiful weekend. 💙
The Little Things
Normal day,
let me be aware
of the treasure you are.
Let me learn from you,
love you,
bless you
before you depart.
Let me not pass you by in quest
of some rare and perfect tomorrow.
Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so.
-Mary Jean Irion
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May we never forget the treasure that exists before us.
Not Depressed: The Story of a Girl
By Yamini Rana
Twenty months ago, I was diagnosed with clinical depression.
It was the beginning of June 2018. I was on a family road trip. At that time, it had been five months since I had moved away from home, to a well-known center for those preparing for prestigious high-end government exams…
The Best Medicine
Gratitude is the best medicine.
It heals your mind,
your body,
and your spirit.
And attracts more things to be grateful for.
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…and I am grateful for each and every one of you. 💜
Just a Smile
“It was only a sunny smile,
and little it cost in the giving,
but like morning light
it scattered the night
and made the day
worth living.”
-F. Scott Fitzgerald
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What makes you smile?
A Promise for Today
“Waking up this morning,
I smile.
Twenty-four brand new hours are before me.
I vow
to live fully
in each moment
and to look at all beings
with eyes of compassion.”
-Thich Nhat Hanh
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May we treasure each new day, and may your day be beautiful. 💜
A Simple Act of Kindness
“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 Buscaglia
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May we each let our compassion be a candle in the night. 💙
You Are Loved 💙
“We can’t heal the world today.
But we can begin
with a voice of compassion,
a heart of love,
an act of kindness.”
– Mary Davis
♦
Wishing you all a wonderful week. 💙
What Are You Grateful For?
When you start each day with a grateful heart, light illuminates from within.
♦
I am thankful for so much, but at the same time…for not enough. Even in the darkest of nights, there is beauty to be appreciated. Today, I want to appreciate more.
What are you grateful for?
Let Us Treasure Today
“One song can spark a moment,
One flower can wake the dream,
One tree can start a forest,
One bird can herald spring.
One step must start each journey,
One word must start each prayer,
One hope will raise our spirits,
One touch can show you care.
One voice can speak with wisdom,
One heart can know what’s true,
One life can make the difference…
You see…it’s up to you.”
– Anon
Let us make every moment count. 💙
How Do You Live Life?
“My mission in life is not merely to survive,
but to thrive;
and to do so with some passion,
some compassion,
some humor,
and some style.”
–Maya Angelou
Let us all aim to thrive today. 💙
Words That Inspire: What’s Yours? 🌼
“If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.”
♦
This is one of my favorite poems from Emily Dickinson. These words—among others—have helped guide my heart and hand in the care for those suffering.
Do you have a favorite quote or mantra that you live by? It can be heartfelt, witty, or profound. Let’s inspire each other with some positive words today.
Love,
Phoebe 💙
What’s YOUR Message?
If you could send one message of encouragement to the world, what would yours be?
♦
Everyone suffers. However, what I have learned as a caregiver is that humans have a remarkable ability to hide their personal sufferings. At any one time, I may be suffering—but you wouldn’t know. At any one time, the blogger leaving the comment before yours may be struggling—but how would you know?
We live in a world where it’s become so easy to connect with one another. So if you could share a few positive words right now to someone you didn’t know who is currently undergoing hardships, what would you say?
Remember—the comments you leave are for each other as much as they are for me. So if something you read resonates with you, let that blogger know. Feel free to converse with each other and make new connections…even outside of the formal Meet & Greet.
Let’s aim to affect someone in a deeply positive way today.
Love,
Phoebe 💙
What’s Your Inspiration? 💚
What is it that gets you out of bed every morning?
What keeps you pressing on day after day, despite the hardships?
What inspires you…and why?
♦
One of the great things about being a part of a blogging community is the ability to encourage and help one another from afar…despite geographical distance or personal differences. Many times, my heart is warmed just by reading what you share in the comments, and I believe others are too.
Your words matter. So share with us about what inspires you. You never know whose heart you will touch.
Love,
Phoebe 💙
