Panic attack at 1am

Posted on July 12, 2012 by balancinggal

Huh? What? I am awake – why am I awake?

My right arm is tingling and numb – am I having a heart attack or was I just laying on it funny? Which arm is it that you have to worry about? I should download WebMD so I don’t look stupid if I have to call someone. Continue reading →

A letter to the Passive Aggressive

Posted on July 11, 2012 by balancinggal

Dear Passive Aggressive:

I would like to formally file a complaint. You will note I am stating directly that at present I am unhappy with you. Let me be clear: I think your communication skills are ineffective at best, and are a giant drain on my mental processing capacity to boot. Continue reading →

Unemployed is not a dirty word: the importance of empathy

Posted on July 10, 2012 by balancinggal

Résumé

Résumé (Photo credit: Michael Paul Escanuelas)

Stuck under a sleeping baby last night with no access to the remote control, I was forced unwittingly to watch a documentary on unemployment. I don’t know what channel it was on or its title , but it was horribly depressing. Watching people try to smile as they discussed how long they had been out of a job, how they were trying to manage their money, and how they were trying to get through made my heart race and my gut clench like I’d been punched. Continue reading →

Coping with clutter

Posted on July 8, 2012 by balancinggal

Let me start with a disclaimer: I am probably the least qualified person I know to speak of a tidy, clutter-free house so if you were hoping for those kinds of tips you are out of luck. Continue reading →

“What Went Well?”

Three little words. Three very simple words. And they have become a part of my vocabulary over the past month.

I know about Gratitude lists; I have kept gratitude journals, I have gone through phases of writing things down. I have trouble sticking to it. But one little app – and a 5 year old daughter who listened to it with me while I was picking her up from school one day – has made some real inroads in our daily interactions and communication in my family.

The App in the ITunes App Store is called “The Gratitude Habit: a Happiness Workshop.” It is short. It is real. and it basically shows the power of three little words – and a way to use them. The app is free to download, and they ask a small contribution if you found value in it. I will post a picture here so you know what it looks like when you see it.

Every day when I pick my daughter up at school, it is a game with us to ask “What are your 3 things that went well?” We do it again at the dinner table when I then have her ask her father what went well in HIS day, and we end up repeating our own.

There is a power in not only saying out loud something that went well, but in sharing it with someone else. It is a sharing of positive energy. It is a kind of prayer for me. I become grateful not only for the good that happened to me, but for the good that happened with my daughter and husband. And that power can change you. It grounds you. It shines a light through the dark.

I would recommend the application to anyone, especially anyone struggling with a dark time, depression, or just a lack of contentment in their lives. The concepts are simple, but the possibilities are endless.

So I ask you – What went well today? What are your three things?

“What Went Well…

Believing Gal 0:-)

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