Empowerment

Facing adversity is a part of life...sorry, that was sort of a DUH statement. It is in times of trial that we really see what we're made of. All of the bugs come out of the woodwork so to speak. And some of them can be big and ugly. I want you to think about how you handle hard events and emotional trial.

Ah, those wonderful - and cursed - emotions, earning the right to compete with the most thrilling and frightening of roller-coasters. I'm not talking about the extremes that would land you a bi-polar diagnosis, no, just the ordinary ones that take you from one day to the next; the ones that may, on occasion, make you question your sanity but are benign...for the most part.

"The great blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach; but we shut our eyes, and like people in the dark, we fall foul upon the very thing we search for, without finding it." ˜Seneca (7 B.C. - 65 A.D.)

As I was "introspecting" myself, I really wanted to get in touch with what motivates me to keep going, to press through difficulties, to see the finish line...if there is one. The question is really an easy one for me to answer on some levels, but for the deeper issues, it's not quite as simple.

IntrospectiveSunday This is an interesting (almost disturbing) question that I just had to ask.  While in prayer/meditation last night, I actually asked if I could …

I've been thinking a lot about courage and confidence lately, so much so that it's having a positive effect on me and the way I'm dealing with new situations. You know that I really do act on the things that I talk about here...don't you?

I guess this self-focus is really just another way of getting to know the real you. It's a good way to get to the bottom of any destructive behavior that might be popping up.

There aren't too many women out there who could say that they didn't need something, whether it be clothes, kitchen utensils, a man, a job, a car; it's human nature to expand their list of possessions.

IntrospectiveSunday Allow me to finish that question:  Am I all that I’m supposed to be?  Probably not…I don’t think any of us are. What we …

Women know better than anyone what it feels like to carry around a big, heavy purse for any length of time. And if you're like me, such a bag is usually necessary to bring along all the things I need for my children and my own indulgences. Though physically we can handle extra weight (for awhile), we are not meant to carry around emotional baggage. What am I talking about? You know....really, you do. That job crisis you had last year; the fight you had with your husband; the breast cancer scare from three years ago; the rejection from sixth grade...

Today's world bombards us with pictures of the perfect life. Most of which are not even fair to be promoted as ideals - illusions at best.

A woman's day is filled with opportunities. We give, receive, love, hate; we choose in which direction our lives go; we seek truth or we settle for less. It's up to us to find true joy and fulfillment.

This week has been one of soul-searching and self-examination...no, not the breast kind. I've been seeking to understand myself in a greater way- the inside person who drives the bus, so to speak. It's not all glory and gum drops you see. It's been a tough journey of realizing that I have a ton of work to do.

Do you remember falling off your bike and skinning your knee as a child? Boy, did that hurt. I would run home crying, expecting that my mom would fix me up with peroxide and a bandaid. With the mom-love-laced patch up job, I'd run right back out the door for some backyard frolicking.

Your cruising along on the highway; suddenly, you realize that you left your laptop on the kitchen table. "You, dumb ass!" slips from your lips and you veer off at the next exit to retrieve the Power Point presentation that would surely land you favor (even a promotion) at work.