Tag Archives: mental health
Be with yourself
“Children especially need solitude. Solitude is the precondition for having a conversation with yourself. This capacity to be with yourself and discover yourself is the bedrock of development.” — Sherry Turkle Much has been written about the changes technology is bringing to the way we relate to each other. Does it connect us more closely, …
Wake up fresh
“The best cure for a disastrous day is to go to bed early and wake up fresh in the morning and start over.” — Garrison Keillor I totally agree with Keillor about this. The problem is, a disastrous day usually leaves me frustrated, agitated, angry or in some other state not conducive to a good …
Our conscious choice
“Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we shall tend.” — Sarah Ban Breathnach Every day I wake up with a mixture of thoughts, some pleasant and some not. There are always things I look forward to doing that day, and …
Outwardly and inwardly
“To live fully, outwardly and inwardly, not to ignore the external reality for the sake of the inner life, or the reverse, that’s quite a task.” — Etty Hillesum Of all the frustrations I feel about time constraints, perhaps none is greater than wishing I had the time to stay in closer touch with so …
A form of fatigue
“Sadness is almost never anything but a form of fatigue.”― André Gide This is the sort of quote that provokes a bit of skepticism in me, until I think about it closely. To verify that it’s true, or at least mostly true, I need look no farther than members of my own family – and …
Sunshine, food and medicine
“Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine to the mind.” — Luther Burbank As a person who tends to be cheap frugal, spending money on fresh flowers is something that doesn’t come easily for me. But the benefits of having them around more than make up for …
Imaginary walking
“One kind of walking which I do not recall seeing mentioned anywhere in the literature of the subject is imaginary walking.” ― Edwin V. Mitchell This post is for Bindu, who took me on an imaginary walk via her blog almost a year ago. A couple of weeks ago when Matt and I had been …
The strength of the sole
“When you have worn out your shoes, the strength of the sole leather has passed into the fibre of your body.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson Lately I’ve not been able to walk as much as usual, and when I do walk, I notice there’s a difference to my typical rhythms and behaviors. I’ve been walking …
Made better
“No day is so bad that it can’t be made better with a nap.” — Carrie Snow It always amazed me how Jeff would never, ever want to nap. While he was taking his first course of chemotherapy this past winter, he took more naps in a few weeks than he had taken in the …
Time for finding
“When we are trapped in seeking, nothing is enough. Everything we have mocks us; we see only what is missing, and all that is already here seems pale and unsatisfying. In Sabbath time we bless what is there for being. The time for seeking is over; the time for finding has begun.” — Wayne Muller …
Pay attention
“Choice of attention, to pay attention to this and ignore that, is to the inner life what choice of action is to the outer.” – W. H. Auden Auden captures a truth here that has always been evident to me, yet remains elusive in the ongoing rush of life. When one is distractible or detail-oriented, …
Walk and be happy
“The sum of the whole is this: walk and be happy; walk and be healthy. The best way to lengthen out our days is to walk steadily and with a purpose.” — Charles Dickens When I think about it, I’m surprised that this quote came from Charles Dickens. It sounds more like something we’d hear …
Designed by nature
“The marvelous pharmacy that was designed by nature and placed into our being by the universal architect produces most of the medicines we need.” — Norman Cousins One of the first things I did after Jeff got his stage IV cancer diagnosis was request that he read a book first published in 1979: Anatomy of an …
Resolved in the morning
“It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it.” — John Steinbeck If you’re an insomniac, a night owl, or both (as I am) you have probably done a good bit of work and/or worry in the late hours …
A walk will do more good
“A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world.” — Paul Dudley White My own experience bears out the truth of Dr. White’s observation. I can’t say enough about how much walking helps me. It clears my over-stimulated brain, lifts my …
To all of you
“I want to say to all of you that are reading this right now: You are not allowed to lose hope, because maybe a miracle will happen. DO NOT LOSE HOPE.” — Malka Chana Roth We interrupt these re-runs to bring you a new real time post. I started this blog seven and a half …
The garden of your mind
“You can grow ideas in the garden of your mind.” — Fred Rogers As springtime approaches, there’s no better time to tend to the garden of your mind. Let’s make our minds into beautiful gardens to enjoy every day! We can cultivate the soil by feeding it healthy images and words. We can watch out …
Be with yourself
“Children especially need solitude. Solitude is the precondition for having a conversation with yourself. This capacity to be with yourself and discover yourself is the bedrock of development.” — Sherry Turkle Much has been written about the changes technology is bringing to the way we relate to each other. Does it connect us more closely, …
Wake up fresh
“The best cure for a disastrous day is to go to bed early and wake up fresh in the morning and start over.” — Garrison Keillor I totally agree with Keillor about this. The problem is, a disastrous day usually leaves me frustrated, agitated, angry or in some other state not conducive to a good …
Our conscious choice
“Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we shall tend.” — Sarah Ban Breathnach Every day I wake up with a mixture of thoughts, some pleasant and some not. There are always things I look forward to doing that day, and …
Outwardly and inwardly
“To live fully, outwardly and inwardly, not to ignore the external reality for the sake of the inner life, or the reverse, that’s quite a task.” — Etty Hillesum Of all the frustrations I feel about time constraints, perhaps none is greater than wishing I had the time to stay in closer touch with so …
A form of fatigue
“Sadness is almost never anything but a form of fatigue.”― André Gide This is the sort of quote that provokes a bit of skepticism in me, until I think about it closely. To verify that it’s true, or at least mostly true, I need look no farther than members of my own family – and …
Sunshine, food and medicine
“Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine to the mind.” — Luther Burbank As a person who tends to be cheap frugal, spending money on fresh flowers is something that doesn’t come easily for me. But the benefits of having them around more than make up for …
Imaginary walking
“One kind of walking which I do not recall seeing mentioned anywhere in the literature of the subject is imaginary walking.” ― Edwin V. Mitchell This post is for Bindu, who took me on an imaginary walk via her blog almost a year ago. A couple of weeks ago when Matt and I had been …
The strength of the sole
“When you have worn out your shoes, the strength of the sole leather has passed into the fibre of your body.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson Lately I’ve not been able to walk as much as usual, and when I do walk, I notice there’s a difference to my typical rhythms and behaviors. I’ve been walking …
Defeat Despair 