Author: Anne Dennish

“You Can’t Put The Genie Back In The Bottle”

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“You can’t put the genie back in the bottle.” It’s a line from the movie “The Intern” with Anne Hathaway and Robert DeNiro. That line hit home with me as I watched the movie and it made me cry, and the tears fell like a waterfall.I think I cried because that one line signifies so much in my own life right now. You can’t put a genie back into a bottle, just like you can’t go back in time and change hurtful words or behavior. You can’t undo what’s already been done.

But what you can do is move forward. You can’t erase what’s already happened but you can move forward from it. You can change yourself and you can change your situation. You can change your perspective and you can change your reaction. You can learn from it and decide not to repeat the pattern.

And you can become a better person. No, you can’t put the genie back in the bottle and you can’t go back in life and change what’s already been done.You can only change yourself and where you go from here.

And I think that’s a good thing.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Life Is A Series Of Choices”

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Sometimes we keep going over and over in our heads about what went wrong and how did we get to where we are now. Last night I had this very conversation and I said that there’s no use in wondering about how we got here but there is use in deciding where we go from here. I’m really starting to feel more comfortable with this adventure I’m on. I feel as though my mind is thinking more clearly than it has in months and that I have more answers than I have questions. I feel like I’m breathing for the first time in a long time.

I realized that I was living “in” a life, rather than “living life.” There’s a difference. We find ourselves living in a life that we’re comfortable with yet I’ve since learned that we all deserve so much more. We deserve to be “living a life” that we want, that brings us joy and that we’re grateful for. People lose sight of all those good things when they’re just going through the motions of “living in a life.” It happens when we become comfortable and take things for granted.

I’m not wondering anymore about how I got here, I’m focused on where I go from here. I know for sure that I want to live life to its fullest, embracing each and every day, surrounding myself with people who lift me up rather than those that bring me down, and move forward without fear, but with faith that everything will be okay. I’m learning that what happened last week has no place in what’s happening this week. I’m learning that there are some things in life I will never understand. And I’m learning that the more I select my thoughts into being positive ones, the better I feel.

I was in a state of complete joy last night over my oldest getting engaged and I loved that feeling. And I reminded myself yet again that I am in control of how I feel.

Life is a series of choices and each of us are in control of our own.

Just my thoughts for today.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Don’t Lose Yourself”

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We’re never too old to learn something about ourselves and during this past week I learned something so valuable about myself that is life changing and will definitely help me in living my best life even more.

I always talk about “fear,” and that nothing good can come from it. I talk about standing in your truth and using your voice in a kind, respectful way to express it. I talk about how to understand any fear you may be facing and how to get past it.

Yet during this last week I realized that I had been carrying a “fear” which I wasn’t even aware of. Sometimes a situation happens in your life that brings a life lesson to you, that gives you an opportunity to see something in yourself that you hadn’t been able to see before.

I see it now and I want to share it with all of you.

I love and value the people in my life and I would never want to lose them, and that’s a human and normal way to feel. Yet I also realized that in not wanting to lose them I’ve become “fearful” of losing them. I finally saw that I wasn’t standing in my truth as much as I should have or saying what I needed to say to them because I didn’t want to anger or hurt them because if I did that, they’d leave my life. And that is so not the way to be with anyone in your life: friend, family member, partner or spouse. I realized that this was a fear that should never have been part of who I am because in the end, anyone who would leave my life because of who I am and what I say didn’t really value me at all. And that is the truth. And it’s my truth now. And I’m working on releasing that fear that was buried within me for much of my life.

We’re all humans who, at times, don’t even understand why we act the way we do or feel the way we do, yet once we address these underlying issues of our own and understand the “why” behind them, we release them…and we grow into our best sense of self. And we begin the journey of healing, of recovery and the road to truly “living our best life.”

“Don’t be afraid of losing someone by standing in your truth. Be afraid of losing yourself if you don’t.” AD

It’s a good thing.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Feeling Lost”

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I’m grateful for all of you that follow me and you must know by now that I share a lot about my personal life with you, and I do so because I know that I’m not the only one going through a difficult time. Some of you may be going through a similar situation as well and by sharing my truth I hope that it helps you. said that I’ll let you know what’s going on with me. I’m feeling lost. The life I knew a few weeks ago no longer exists and I don’t know where I belong, how to feel or what to do next. I remind myself of a time when I wrote about this very thing and said that “it’s during those moments that we feel lost that we are actually finding ourselves.” And I have to believe that.

I feel uncomfortable, anxious, scared and lost. Life took a sudden turn overnight for me and I’m left with wondering what’s next. Where do I go? How am I supposed to feel? What do I do now? And I have to go back to my belief in that “everything happens for a reason.” Life has shaken me to my core and it’s up to me to figure it out and do what I need to do to move forward. None of this is easy, but I believe that in the end I’ll be in the exact place that I need to be in. I’m feeling more lost than I ever have but I know that this is a time to find myself more than I ever have, to grow into the person I’m meant to be and to move forward without fear. Life is changing and it’s changing quicker than I had imagined.

Some of it’s painful but I’m willing to trust and take that leap of faith to see where life is going to take me. It’s been a crazy year for all of us but I have to believe that we’re all going to be okay. And we’re going to come out of this better and stronger than ever. Just my thoughts for today.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Three Sides To Every Story”

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My mother always said that “there’s three sides to every story, yours, mine and the truth.” And she’s right. There are three sides to each of our stories and I’ve learned from experience to believe the story that lies in the middle of your version and mine: “the truth.”

Sometimes we get so caught up in the emotions that are swirling around in our minds that we lose sight of the truth. We tell our story to whoever will listen, hoping that they’ll be on “our” side, not “their” side. We’re hoping for confirmation that we aren’t guilty of anything, that the other person is. And we’re hoping that telling others our version will make it the truth. It doesn’t.

The real truth lies out there in the middle. It’s one thing to tell your story to friends and family for support, which would be the right reason. It’s another thing to tell it for sympathy and to talk badly of the other person, which is the wrong reason. There’s enough hurt swirling around. You don’t need the opinions of others to keep it going. After all, they’re not living in your “truth,” they’re just hearing it from you.

Everyone has their own “version” of their situation, but when you get to the real heart of the matter, when you take your own accountability and when you forgive yourself and the other person, then you will have found the right version: the truth. It’s not always easy to face the truth, but it’s an important piece of healing and moving forward in your life. No one knows your “truth” but you. Be careful who you share it with.J ust my thoughts…Have a wonderful day.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Healing A Broken Heart”

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Anger is one of the most dangerous emotions to feel. It pushes people into doing things that they wouldn’t normally do and the repercussions of those actions can be brutal. And the damage it can cause to another human being is oftentimes hurtful beyond repair, the effects lasting a lifetime. There’s no value in anger, only in forgiveness.

Forgiveness is a gift to yourself. That is why forgiveness is so very important. Forgiveness doesn’t mean that it is “okay” for someone to hurt you, or that you forgot what they did, it means that you’ve forgiven the person in order to let go of your anger. Heartache and hurt feelings take time to heal, but anger? You can get rid of it as quickly as you felt it…with forgiveness. Time does heal all wounds, and so does love, compassion, understanding, empathy and a willingness to take accountability for your part in all of it.

And time does heal all wounds more quickly when you have found forgiveness in your heart. Nothing heals a broken heart more than a heart that can forgive. And I know that to be true. Just my thoughts…

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“If You Can’t Be Kind, Be Quiet”

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Just my thoughts on kindness. No one has the right to be unkind to another human being. Imagine what the world would be like if we were all kind to one another? It would be awesome!

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Life And Love Is About Forgiveness!

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Human behavior always amazes me, especially when hearts are broken or bruised. I’ve had quite a few broken hearts in my life. When I was younger and immature my first thought would have been to “pay them back.” Let’s face it, that’s what most teenagers do. Yet as I grew older I learned that a pay back isn’t the solution for a broken heart. It’s not the solution to anything. Broken and bruised hearts happen for so many reasons, yet as I always say, if your heart feels any pain then remind yourself that your heart still works. We can’t feel brokenness if we can’t feel love. I’ve learned that when someone breaks my heart there is no easy fix, and no pay back or spiteful behavior will help ease the pain. In fact, the more you act out in vindictiveness or spite towards someone who hurt you, the more you’ll stay in your own pain. You’ll never move forward and you’ll never heal. And don’t we all want to heal from something that has hurt us? I will tell you in no uncertain terms that hurting someone that hurt you isn’t the answer and will never serve you well. Talk to the person who hurt you, express your feelings, and listen to their reasons as to why they had done something to hurt you. Not everyone hurts another human being on purpose. I know I don’t. Sometimes it’s inevitable that we hurt the ones we love, not because we stopped loving them, but because we began to love ourselves in a way that they couldn’t or wouldn’t.

“The heart has a mind of its own” and when that heart has been hurt by someone they love, the mind seems to take over with no reason or rhyme. A heart that truly knows love will never lose sight of how precious it is. The heart knows how it feels and every so often the mind gets involved to help it through the pain. We all have gone through a broken heart at one time or another, but I beg of you, don’t allow your pain to hurt someone back. Nothing good will ever come out of negative emotions. Feel the pain, deal with the “why,” and heal from it. The pain of a broken heart won’t last forever, but your spiteful actions towards them will. And that’s my thoughts for tonight. If you’re feeling hurt, feel it, but don’t feel the need to inflict intentional pain on another human being. In the end, what goes around comes around. It always does. Life and love is about “forgiveness.” And that’s the only way to heal.

Wishing you love and light,

~AnneDennish~

“It’s What You Bring To The World”

/ Anne Dennish

Each of us is born with a gift. It’s a talent, an awareness, a knowledge or a compassion which offers us the chance to make a difference in the world.

So many people wait their entire lives for the world to bring to them what they want and desire, yet the world will bring you nothing if you’re not bringing anything to the world.

Embrace the gifts you were born with. Show and share your greatness with the world and you’ll begin to see what the world has to offer you.

The truth is this: “It’s not about what the world brings to you, it’s about what YOU bring to the world.” 

And during these difficult times it’s even more important to bring all the positive thoughts and actions that we can to the world and the people in it.

Our world is going through a difficult time at the moment and now, more than ever, it’s so more important that we all join together to bring all the positive thoughts and actions that we can to the world and the people in it.

Let the world see how awesome you are and share that with everyone!

It’s a good thing!

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

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“And Then There Are The Other Heroes”

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There are many heroes out in the world today keeping us safe, taking care of us and trying to keep life going, yet I believe there is another hero we don’t give credit to and that’s our children.

The definition of a “hero” is: a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.

And I admire my children, your children and the youth of the world who are living through these uncertain times right along with us. They are heroes as well.

They’re quarantined home just like the rest of us, they can’t see their friends or family, they can’t go to school and for some, there will be no senior class trip or high school/college graduation. Imagine what they’re feeling and thinking. Imagine how WE would feel at that age.

I look at my 18 and 22 year old in amazement. I’m empathetic and can feel what they’re feeling and think to myself that I would have gone crazy at that age being stuck in the house with my parents and siblings! It truly would have driven me out of my mind. Yet here they are, just like the rest of us: quarantined.

None of us have ever seen something like this in our lifetime and I hope that we never do again, but here are our children. They’re young with an entire lifetime ahead of them and look at their lives now. They’re quarantined just like the rest of us, but the difference is we had that life and freedom at a young age and right now they don’t. As adults we can sit here in quarantine and wonder what life will be like after it’s over. They are just beginning their lives, thinking about what they want to be when they grow up, or where they want to live. They’re looking and planning towards a future that is uncertain. Imagine all those thoughts that go through their minds. I imagine them when I see that look of boredom on their faces, or the sadness over not seeing their friends. I imagine them when I talk to my kids who live across the country and can hear the sadness in their voices or a tone of disappointment knowing that the life they started on their own is all changed. All of them were laid off from the jobs that they loved because of the quarantine. They all comply with the orders that we’ve been given, including wearing gloves, masks and social distancing. I have to say, it breaks my heart to see pictures of my kids wearing masks. 

I love my five children with all that I am and when this quarantine starts to get to me or they start to drive me crazy I remind myself of how it must feel for them. Suddenly, it doesn’t feel so bad for me and I understand about their bad days because I remember all the fun and freedom I lived through as a teenager, the times that they can’t right now.

My kids are handling it better than I would have expected. They’re constantly watching out for me because I’m “high risk” and there are days they put my well-being above their own. They’re making the best of this quarantine and doing what they can to laugh, smile and have fun together…and they even include me!

I have to believe that they’ll come through this stronger and with an even deeper gratitude for freedom and life than they had already had.

There are many people out there that are “heroes,” and I count my kids among them.

Here’s to my five kids, your kids, and the youth of the world: “Thank you for handling this as well as you are. I know it’s not easy, but thank you for doing what needs to be done. You are my hero!”

In the end, we’re all heroes for staying home and saving lives by doing so.

Hang in there…you’ve got this!

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~your_custom_beautiful_quotes_here (1)