Whether amongst friends or strangers, authentically sharing your feelings creates a bond that lessens fear and isolation. Identifying with and sharing your successes and struggles with an empathetic group makes life a little sweeter. (Less scary, too!)
When you quiet your brain you stop that voice in the back of your head from popping up at the worst of times, you allow your 21st century mind to open up and take the lead.
Books on happiness are almost as popular as ones about teenage vampires in love. Yet, for those of us with small children, it's hard to find time to read an entire book (or rinse shampoo out of our hair).
There are all sorts of little things that can come up throughout the day that we might be afraid of -- sometimes just unconsciously -- and the stress from those little frights can build up.
Nora celebrated life to an insatiable degree, yet without any of the manic energy one associates with people who have "insatiable appetites" for life. She had a calm and elegant way of savoring every moment.
As I considered my relationship with giving, I realized the issue is not with giving too much but with receiving too little, a common problem in our society.
We go through changes every day, whether they are minor or major. We do not necessarily have to be optimists to see the good in every situation, nor pessimists to feel betrayed and lose hope.
If you are so attached to someone that you feel you can't live without that person, try learning to give to yourself and others what it is you want from this person. Your job is to become the person to yourself that you want the other person to be.
If you act with love and use that as your compass, regardless of the challenge you may be facing, however dark, deep and painful it may be, eventually love will circle back. It may have a funny way of navigating back to you, but it eventually does.
As hard as it is to hear, each and every one of us is exactly where we are supposed to be in our lives at any moment. As we grow, evolve, and live, we go through so much -- and the tapestry of our lives is never just about happy or sad.
Last month, I had the deep pleasure of speaking with award-winning women's marketing expert and now playwright, author and actor Mary Lou Quinlan about her new book, play and programs called The God Box Project.
We can each discover what lives freely, both inside and outside. We can recognize what is at peace, regardless of particular circumstances. We can find ourselves in all.
For many of us, unuseful fight-or-flight or desire responses distract us or disrupt our attention -- or even affect our behavior -- numerous times throughout the day, during business meetings, lunch, while we're trying to fall asleep, or talk to a friend.
We often harm others when we act out of anger, but we always harm ourselves. Suppressing anger can cause psychological problems, but eliminating the causes of anger always results in psychological and spiritual health.
How do we combat feelings of loneliness? Some turn to technology, which is ever-connecting us. But sometimes that's not enough. And sometimes, technology can make us feel even more lonely. We may be connected online, but offline may be different.
Making the most of each moment requires that we show up for it as our fully awakened, aware selves. It requires that we not be attached to how the moment unfolds or the outcome, but be a willing participant in the here and now, meeting the moment as it is.