This is one of my favorite moments in the old ‘Little House on the Prairie’ TV series that starred Melissa Gilbert and Michael Landon. It used to be my very favorite show and I still keep a warm place in my heart for it. I associate watching this show over the years with such fond memories. There’s a point in one episode where Laura says these words when her heart is full. It’s a sweet moment. This biblical idea speaks to how I see my own life. I am full of wonder and awe for the life around me now. I am grateful for the good that has shown up in my life. Has there been frustration and difficulty? Absolutely, but it hasn’t overwhelmed the goodness and that, my friends, I think is the goal of the balancing act of life. The life around me full of love, peace, generosity, wisdom, laughter, affection, and calm contentment. It is a wonderful thing. I cherish it...

My wish for your new year is that it is full of discovery, love, and kindness. My hope for you is that you will stand strong for yourself and what you value not backing down to appease those who try to game you out of yourself. My hope for you is that you will travel – whether in the physical world or in your mind to places that fill you with the best kinds of growth, adventure, and peace. I hope gratitude for the goodness around you is an easy place to land as you find ways to share that with others. By 12 months from now – I hope you find you did not set yourself aside or, worse yet, lose yourself along the way. My wish for your new year is to find the best life has to offer you in the ways that feed your soul. Have a wonderful new year.

Am I an energetic eager entrepreneur or a loyal long-time consistent employee? Am I an idealist or pragmatist? Am I a woman who reveres tradition or sheds it to reinvent at every opportunity? Am I a woman who teaches my kids to follow rules or how to think for themselves instead? Am I a woman who is follow rules or makes up rules as I go along? Am I a woman who is brave and courageous or afraid? Am I a competent leader or a capable team member? Am I playful or serious? Am I all business made-up of directives and strong execution or am I entirely free-spirited wanderlust? Am I a woman who married for a lifetime with heart-honoring intent or a woman who went rogue and became single again to live as a whole person? Am I a woman victimized many times in life leaving me feeling at a loss sometimes or am I a woman triumphant over difficulties many times leaving me stronger and with more...

This is one of two quotes that popped up within a couple minutes of each other on my phone today from different apps that spray me with inspiration. The other one is: Never stop challenging yourself. The day you do, you’re falling behind. Sometimes little reminders are exactly the glue that helps a discombobulating moment make sense. There have been periods of time when I’ve been in a constant state of learning – just couldn’t absorb enough new information – making connections in the air, and making things happen left and right. There are have also been times where I took a break. I always considered it getting off at the rest area for a breather. We live in a time that shows us regularly the rest area is not the break it used to be – as things shift and change so fast. That doesn’t mean, however, that we don’t need the breather. It just...

It means having fun. It means conscientiousness and generosity. It means trust of self before others and others when they earn it. It means eliminating toxicity from your life – attitudes, words, experiences, people. It means being kindly assertive – knowing you are worthy of holding space in the world. It means knowing your perspective matters just as everyone else’s perspective matters, too. It means being true to self, not true to everyone else to the detriment of your own value system. It means openness to change – in you and others. It means taking care of yourself in ways that mean most to you – whether it’s your heart, time, body, soul, physical space around you… It means approaching the world in curiosity without feeling threatened by every last opinion that doesn’t reflect the exact facts of your own. It’s about living in a...

I’ve been part of disaster relief in Taylorville, IL for the last week. This community had the most significant damage in severe storms after The National Weather Service says 30 tornadoes were recorded moving through the state Saturday, December 1, 2018. We plodded through damaged areas where more than 500 homes were impacted – 100 majorly damaged or destroyed. We walked up to this home and heard what seemed like impossible generosity when someone appeared in the opening where the roof is missing and called down to ask if we needed a sandwich – that they had food to share. Wow.

When I was a teenager – a book called The Book of Questions came out as I was graduating from high school. I purchased one and something changed in me. It woke up the philosophical and psychological caverns in me – which I continue to consider passion interests decades later. The author Gregory Stock Ph.D – has no idea how much he impacted my life. My love of living in the questions carries over today online – not just on this blog. I spend quite a bit of time perusing Quora. You know how some people can’t enough Youtube or niche blogs? I’m a Quora person. I love learning, growing, and expanding personal awareness of myself and others, not to mention our collective experience on this planet together. I follow about 1800 topics and absorb information regularly when I’m not in resting pose – calm, peaceful, and serenely – you...