Tag Archives: gratitude

Avoiding Holiday Family Meltdowns

With the holidays just around the corner – Chanukah begins next week, Christmas and Kwanzaa the week after – are you planning to spend some time celebrating with relatives? Now is the time to take a look at your family dynamics and plan ahead to avoid a meltdown during your get together. Often present-day arguments reflect childhood conflicts over power, competition or favoritism. In today’s environment, politics, too, can cause a serious disruption in family harmony. If your family has a history of dwelling on unfinished business or expressions of … Continue reading

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Gratitude List

This time of year, we are all busy making lists – grocery shopping lists, gift lists, to-do lists, invitation lists, holiday card lists, New Year’s Resolution lists. I would like to propose that we take some time to make another kind of list – a Gratitude List. Particularly because we are celebrating Thanksgiving this week, we have the opportunity to consider what we are individually thankful for. Kindergarteners are asked to think about thankfulness, why not grownups? I’ve begun making my own Gratitude List and I’d like to share it … Continue reading

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ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

Social media have often drawn criticism – for their penchant to foster narcissism, time wasting, even bullying – but this past month we’ve seen the generosity, compassion and creativity they can generate. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has gone viral on the Internet, attracting a wide range of celebrities, athletes, professionals, students, business people, politicians, and ordinary folks – all dumping a bucket of ice water on their heads. People have made donations to The ALS Association, challenging others to do so as well. In July alone, more than $100 … Continue reading

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5 Practical Tips to Reduce Stress

Stress is the body’s response to any stimulus that taxes our personal resources. It can appear, suddenly and unannounced, through a variety of symptoms: Physiologically as headaches or an upset stomach Emotionally by feeling frustrated or overwhelmed Cognitively from memory loss or trouble concentrating Behaviorally with changes in eating or sleep patterns State of mind affects our wellbeing, and we’re all searching for some serenity in this frenetic world. Vacations ease tension, but they’re just too few and far between. So why not take a head trip as your relaxation … Continue reading

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