“The meaning of things lies not in the things themselves, but in our attitude towards them.”  – Antoine de Saint Exupéry Have you noticed how a shift in attitude can make a difference in our lives?  During dinner with a friend earlier this week, how our attitude can impact our relationships came up.  Our specific [...]

“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.”- Khalil Gibran When you are the parent of a struggling teen, there is suffering/pain.  Whether it’s your teen that is suffering, your spouse, your other children, yourself, etc. all are impacted in some form or another.   Know that out [...]

“Burdens are the foundation of ease and bitter things the forerunners of pleasure.”  Rumi As parents of struggling teens, the weight on our shoulders sometimes feels overwhelming.  At least, at times it felt like that to me.  So when I heard this quote in today’s podcast by Marianne Williamson‘s on Oprah.com, I was intrigued.  To quote [...]

“Giving thanks for abundance is sweeter than the abundance itself.” – Rumi No matter where your family is this week, I hope you take the time to reflect and give thanks for what it is that you do have.

“Your children are not your children.  They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.  They came through you but not from you and though they are with you yet they belong not to you.” – Kahlil Gibran I read Kahlil Gibran’s book The Prophet many years ago and was touched by the [...]

“If the only prayer you say your entire life is ‘thank you’ that would suffice.” – Meister Eckhart When your family is struggling, sometimes we forget what we have to be thankful for.  I would like to suggest that it may be even more important to reflect on what we have than what we don’t [...]

“We confuse attachment with love.  Attachment is concerned with my needs, my happiness, while love is an unselfish attitude, concerned with the needs and happiness of others…A relationship free of unrealistic grasping is free of disappointment, conflict, jealousy, and other problems, and is fertile ground for the growth of love and wisdom.”  – Kathleen McDonald, [...]

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail.” – Nelson Mandela What an inspirational role model Nelson Mandela is!   In my experience, life is not a straight path – there are times we  get everything perfectly right the first time and then there are other times [...]

“Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.” – Leo Buscaglia For a myriad of reasons in my family worry became ingrained as a way of being.  With the passage of years, I found that always worrying about what could be kept me from enjoying precious moments with those [...]

“No man is ever innocent when his opponent is the judge.” – Marcus Annaeus Lucanus When communicating with our loved ones, we sometimes find ourselves accused of things that we are surprised by (i.e. you were never around).  One approach that may be helpful is that instead of getting defensive (an almost instinctive response), you [...]