“My Plate is full”

You know that old saying: “I’ve got a lot on my plate?” I know it all too well. There are days I feel as though my whole life has been one full plate after another. It’s frustrating but as I believe, the Universe is trying to teach me something about myself.

I feel as though it asks me: “Why do you have so much on your plate? What choices did you make that piled your plate with things you didn’t want? Why aren’t you clearing your plate?”

Smart questions that force you to face difficult answers. And the only answer is this: “You allowed it.”

Today I sit with a plate that feels as though it’s overflowing and I’m trying to figure out how to clear it. 

Have you ever felt that way? Have you wondered why life is handing you one difficult situation after another? 

If you have, then the only answer is to look within yourself and at the choices you have made. Did those choices fill your plate? Are your actions bringing you one difficult situation after another?

The only answer I have is to stay calm and stay positive. Think about all those things on your plate and scrape off the situations that aren’t yours. After that take a look at what’s left and come up with a plan to scrape off the rest.

Life isn’t always easy and solving our own “full plates” can be difficult, but I promise you this, it’s worth your time to clear it.

Here’s to “full plates becoming empty.” Here’s to seeing the positive in what seems so negative at this moment. 

And here’s to you. 

You got this, and so do I!

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

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“Dreamers”

“Dreamers are the ones who can change the world.”

I’m a dreamer and I’ll never stop trying to make this world a better place. Dreamers have an idea, a belief that enables them to do what it takes to change the life of another or the world itself.

Dreamers believe that they can make a difference. Dreamers have an idea that they believe can take shape in this world. Dreamers have a gift, a strength that will enable them to do whatever it takes to put it into place.

Dreamers are realists with faith that everything is possible.

I’m a dreamer and I believe that everything is possible, even when it seems like it isn’t.

Dreamers are realists with faith.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“The Right Person”

Sometimes all it takes is one person to help you find the inspiration and motivation that you’re looking for. And I had just that experience during my crazy week!

Every so often a follower reaches out to me to chat. I met this amazing young woman a few years ago by phone. She’s a young, sweet, and inspiring person and I was extremely grateful that she reached out to me last week. Here I am, the positive writer, the “love and light girl” getting some much needed help out of my own funk from this girl. 

We spoke for quite some time and I listened to her adventures, hearing the excitement and love of her life in her voice. She was excited! She was driven and focused! She was and is brave! She took a leap of faith and changed her direction, moving all the way to the desert in Mexico. I could feel her happiness and her excitement.

I told her that I was feeling out of balance living here and about leaving my job. She reminded me that perhaps this was a push for me to finish my new book, that perhaps that will turn out to be my big adventure when it’s published.

And she was so right.

When we hung up the phone I felt so much better, more motivated and definitely inspired by her adventure. Thank you, Ania, for supporting me all these years and for helping me remember what I’m here for.

Sometimes it takes one person to inspire and motivate you.

Sometimes it takes one person to help you see the light.

Sometimes people drop into our life for a reason.

And she was definitely the reason that day.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Feeling Uncomfortable”

I’m no stranger to feeling “uncomfortable,” especially in the last nine months. I was uncomfortable leaving my job at the Jersey Shore and moving to Delaware for the summer. After that I was uncomfortable when I left Delaware to move to Florida by myself. And now I find myself uncomfortable again. I left the job that I had here for the last two months. It was a difficult decision but one that was right for me. The job took a toll on my body and even more on me mentally. Within two months I was spent. My body was tired and my mind was exhausted. I miss the girls I worked with and the customers that brightened my day each morning, but being treated unfairly just wasn’t working for me anymore. 

I cannot put myself in a position to feel taken advantage of and to be treated disrespectfully. No one should. And I had had enough.

It was a rough few days last week coming off of that job but I managed to put myself in 100% self care mode, allowing myself the time I needed to get over the negative feelings from the job. It took a bit of time but I kept telling myself: “Go easy on yourself. You did the right thing for YOU!”

I believe that when YOU close a door that needs to be closed, the Universe will open many more. 

I have a few people in my life that feel like I made the wrong decision and have continually brought it up to me all week.  Sometimes people who are unhappy in their own lives take it out on those that have a life or mindset that they want, but don’t have. I understand that people project their unhappiness onto others and it’s hard for someone like me to keep remembering that, but I am, with the help of a few good people that support me with lots of love. They are the ones I need to keep close.

None of us should feel bad about making a decision that is in our best interest and we have to stay strong to those that try to make us feel that way.

No matter what you or I are going through, we have to believe in ourselves and our ability to do what’s best for us. Forget the opinions of anyone else.

I believe in you.

And I want you to believe in yourself.

And together we can.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Love”

We’re all looking for love and I believe in love. I am a hopeless romantic and believe that love can be all that we dream of, all that we hope for, all that we wish for. When it’s with the right person, it’s amazing.

What is love to me? Love is wanting someone so much that it hurts when you’re not together. Love is sharing your most intimate wishes and dreams. Love is being able to be vulnerable to express your feelings without judgment. Love is disagreements without hurtful arguing. Love is 100% honesty, no matter what. Love is respect. Love is knowing who the other person is and never hurting them for being who they are. Love is joy, love is happiness, love is everything.

Love isn’t complicated, it’s people who make it that way.

Love doesn’t always have to be easy, but it should never be hard.

Love shouldn’t take work, but it should take effort.

No matter how many failed relationships I’ve had or how many people have hurt me, I will always believe in love.

I have to believe in it because without that belief, there’s no hope in thinking that it’s possible.

Everything is based on love.

Love is the basis of all things.

Love can change a life, change a person and could most definitely change the world.

What is love to you?

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Home Is Where Your Heart Travels To”

I’m feeling unusually happy today. It could be that it’s because I have two days off from work, or that I’m letting go of things that no longer serve me. It could be that I’ve accepted that some things will never change and that the only thing I can change is “me!” And I’m working on that.

I’ve been in Florida for four months now and am finally getting used to it. I’m in a beautiful house which is somewhat of a blank canvas at the moment. I have the basics of furniture but haven’t put up anything on the walls or decorated very much. Some may ask why I haven’t done that yet, and I’ll tell you why: I wanted to give myself time to get to know the house and to see who I would become here. I guess you could also add an almost Category 5 hurricane when I got here!

It’s time, though. The house and I have gotten to know each other very well and I’m excited to see how it all looks when I get down to turning it into a home! It’s time for me to understand that this is “home” now. It was a difficult transition from the Jersey Shore to here but this is my reality and I’m finally accepting that.

“Home is where the heart is” but the hard part is that it’s just MY heart here. My heart is scattered around the country with the ones I love the most and it’s been tough getting used to not having those “hearts” with me. I know that life is filled with changes and moving here on my own was my hardest change of all, but I believe with all my heart that this is where I’m meant to be.

So, on this chilly night in Florida, my house and I are spending a quiet night at home together with my thoughts spread out throughout the country to those that I love and miss.

Home may be where the heart is but while my heart is here alone with me, it’s learned to travel the distance to be with the ones I love the most. They are forever in my heart and always in my thoughts. I’m beginning to believe that “home is where your heart travels to, not where it’s living.”

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Vulnerability”

We all want to feel important to the people who are important to us. We want to know that we’re a priority, not a convenience. We want to know that the relationship means as much to them as it does to us.

It doesn’t always work that way.

We are all different and what’s important to the people we care about may not be important to us. It’s crucial that in any relationship you have to communicate. You have to be vulnerable with your feelings and not be judged for them. You have to listen and understand that the other person may feel differently than you.

And that’s what makes life interesting. We’re different and if we weren’t, life would be boring. We have to accept the people in our life for WHO they are, not what you want them to be.

You learn from the differences of others. You may learn a different perspective, or different way of thinking, and you may even learn more about yourself.

I know that disagreements happen but I also know that through communication comes a deeper understanding about the nature of the disagreement. You have to be vulnerable to communicate with others, especially those that you are closest to, and that honest vulnerability should never be judged.

I think it’s a gift when someone in my life is vulnerable to me. It means they trust their feelings with me and know that they won’t be judged or told that they’re wrong.

And when disagreements come up in your relationship, friendships or family, remember this: “Say what you mean, mean what you say, but don’t be mean when you say it.”

Kindness, compassion and understanding go a long way.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Go Easy On Yourself”

“Go easy on yourself, darling. You’re in something new.” ~S.C. Lourie

I saw this quote and wanted to share it with you. It definitely resonated with me today.

Everything for me in Florida is new. It’s a new house, a new job, a new town, a new state, new roads to get used to, new way to live by myself and that’s just to name a few.

But how do you live with all the “new” when you still have a big piece of yourself invested in a piece of the “old?”

A big piece of my heart is still attached to something important back home. I can’t change that, it’s a reality, but how do you incorporate that important piece of the “old” into the “new?”

I’m struggling with that a bit today and trying to understand how to do it and do it well.

But for now, I’m going to go easy on myself. I’m in something new.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Random Moments”

I love watching people. I love watching their interactions and their expressions. Today at work I saw some pretty awesome stuff.

I saw a couple holding hands over coffee. I saw a couple cracking jokes and laughing with each other. I saw a table of friends talking about their troubles and their good times over breakfast.

You know, it’s moments like these that I smile and think how lucky I am to have witnessed such random, beautiful moments.

The moments are simple, uncomplicated and honest, yet it’s moments like these that I think to myself: “This is what life is all about.”

It’s the day to day routine that can bring the most joy to those involved in it and to those witnessing it.

And today I was blessed to see joy, to see laughter and most of all, to see love.

Keep your eyes open, my loves. You never know what life has to show you.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“A Florida Cold Snap!”

There’s a million things that I should have been doing today but didn’t. I still have unpacking to do, paperwork to get through and a book to finish editing, yet it was one of those cool, baby blue sky days in Florida. Most days here are beautiful but today was a bit different. We’ve gotten a “cold snap” as they say here, but what it really is is a morning that starts out at 53 degrees with an afternoon high of 78. Yes, that’s a Florida cold snap! Heat on in the morning and the A/C back on by dinner. 

And I love it.

So I decided to embrace this spectacular day of beautiful weather. I sat on my lanai enjoying the cool breeze and the warm sunshine, chatting with the neighbors who walk by now and then. My brain kept telling me to get things done but my soul was telling me that I was doing exactly what I needed to get done: nothing. And as I truly believe, it’s those moments when we think we’re doing “nothing” that we’re actually doing “everything.”

We’re stopping to smell the roses. We’re embracing the wonder of a beautiful day. We’re basking in the breeze and warm sunshine. We’re allowing our mind to slow down. We’re taking care of our mind, body and soul.

“Dolce Far Niente: The Sweetness of Doing Nothing.”

And today I enjoyed just that.

And I’m grateful for it.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~