On the Bright Side

The old adage about one door closing and another opening proved true. After my rejection from graduate school, I started looking in other directions for ways to continue my quest for growth. I stumbled upon a fellowship opportunity to study at Oxford this summer in England and **spoiler alert ** I got it! My inner critic reached for her bull horn, but changed gears and merely whispered instead, maybe just don’t announce this pipe dream... let the chips fall where they may, but GO FOR IT! I have to say I’ve become pretty adept at redirecting the negative talk. Go for it was about to be followed up by you probably won’t get it anyway and, like a New Age Ninja, I swiftly cut that thought off at the pass. The funny thing was how I did it. I’d been sitting at the park with my dog. It’s become a favorite meditation practice for me, practice being the operative word because stopping the inner chatter in this head is like herding cats. The battle between my positive side and my negative s...

I always loved the intention of Thanksgiving as a holiday. A day dedicated to gratitude for the many bounties we are blessed to receive in this great country of ours. What a beautiful concept. We have our ups and downs, but relatively speaking it is difficult to argue that Americans have a lot to be grateful for. And while the history teacher in me cannot ignore that native Americans would rightfully put forth an opposing view here, the spirit of the day was inspired during a brief harmonious time when the newcomers and the natives shared similar goals. Fast forwarding to modern times, taking time out to appreciate what we have still seems like an honorable practice. Additionally, Thanksgiving now kicks off one of the most consumer driven seasons known to man. So as we’re ingesting more food than we were ever meant to in one sitting, let us give thanks and perhaps try to look inside to see what it is we really want for ourselves and for others in the upcoming holiday season. From t...