Author: Anne Dennish

“A New Day, A New Chance”

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“Every new day is a chance to do it better than the day before.”

~Anne Dennish~

So what are you going to do different TODAY than you did YESTERDAY? Think about it for a minute…

What was your day like yesterday? Was it happy, did you encounter some problems, were you in a good mood? Now, once you’ve thought about that question, think about the “why.”

I had an exciting adventure yesterday morning as Sutton Thomas and I were interviewed on 94.3 The Point radio. It was a beautiful morning on the Asbury Park boardwalk, and thept perfect way to start a Friday morning at the Jersey Shore.

Yet as the day wore on, and the humidity rose to almost 100%, I found myself in a position to have to handle some issues, which I would rather have not had to handle…but I did.

While I was a bit apprehensive to face these issues head on, I’m glad that I did. A problem or two was solved, I felt relieved, and I moved on. I let it go…

So, what will I do differently today than I did yesterday?

I’ll put the “care and feeding” of myself first, because when I do that, I’m much better at handling anything that should arise during the day, and that happiness I feel from doing that will spill onto those around me.

I’ll remember that it’s not my place, or my job, to handle someone else’s problems; all I can do is support them through it.

And I’m going to let it all go and begin this day as I do every new day…as an exciting new adventure!

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

new day

 

“What’s YOUR Life Purpose?”

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Do you know what your life purpose is? Do you ever wonder what it is you’re meant to do with your time on this planet? I do…and throughout all my “adventures” in this lifetime so far, I believe I finally know what my “life purpose” is, and with each new day that I’m blessed to wake up to, I try and hold true to that purpose.

I’ve been through difficult times throughout my life, as well as some truly amazing and beautiful times. I’ve lived through breast cancer and two divorces, through financial freedom and difficulty, through children leaving the nest and moving across the country. I’ve said good-bye to loved ones, and welcomed in new ones. And I’ve viewed each of those as an adventure, a lesson to learn, another way of learning why I’m here.

So, what is my “life purpose?” It’s as simple as it is complex: it’s to make a difference inpurpose someone’s life, to a community, and to hopefully change the world, or at least a small piece of it.

In my book, “Waking Up,” I share many of my adventures, and not all of them are happy ones, yet in my stories, I’ve shared how I’ve gotten through them and how to view them more as “lessons,” not “tragedies.” Life is all about your perspective, and sometimes it takes but one person to make you see another side of a situation, to let you know you’re not alone, and to help you make sense of it all.

I don’t mind life handing me what it has so far, including breast cancer, I just want it to be for a reason. I’ll handle anything life throws my way, as long as I can learn from it and use those lessons to help someone else.

If I can touch even one person, then I will most assuredly know that I’m on the right path of my life purpose. If I can make someone feel better, let them know they’re not alone, help them heal their heart, or soothe their soul, then that’s enough for me!

Think about what your “life purpose” is, because the truth is, we’re all here for a reason!

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

your move

“Relationships Are Like The Ocean”

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the sea

Every relationship we’re in is like the ocean; some days rough, some days angry, some days gentle and smooth. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a friendship, marriage, life partner or even a job. What matters is that we have to understand that these relationships are similar to the waves in the ocean, and we must choose to weather the storm or jump ship.

My love always says that every wave carries a story, and I believe every relationship does as well. We are ALL a story that’s always changing, just like the ocean. Yet as humans, when the seas get rough we’re ready to get out of the water and back onto the safety of the shore. And why is this? Why do we feel the need to leave a relationship when it gets rough?

Yes, there are some relationships that aren’t meant to last, and when we learn the lesson from it it’s best to wish it love and light and then drop it. And no, that doesn’t mean we jumped ship, it means we’ve moved onto another part of the ocean.

Then there are the relationships worth weathering the storm; the ones’ with a sharedstorm history or a love like we’ve never known before. These are the ones that you have to grab a life preserver and hang on until the sea get’s calm. With each “angry” wave there’s a lesson and a story, and when we understand it and learn from it, the “gentle” waves begin, and the relationship strengthens.

And that’s why I believe that our relationships in life are like the ocean: always changing, always different, yet always constantly in motion.

Yes, I’m a true Jersey girl, and the ocean has always been my place of peace and serenity. Every wave I sit and watch carries a story and message I need to hear, and I can tell you it has never disappointed me yet.

Close your eyes and listen to the voice of the sea; hear the stories and messages it needs to tell you. And when you open your eyes, the world will look and feel different, because YOU do.

Life isn’t meant to be “smooth sailing” all the time; it’s those rough seas that allow us to see who we truly are and just how strong we are, and when you can do that, you’ll know which relationships are worth “weathering the storm.”

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Don’t Die Before You Try”

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It hurts me to hear people talk negatively about their lives and about just “giving up.” It’s as if the situation that life has handed them just isn’t worth the fight, the struggle, or the time to learn the lesson.

Sadly, I’ve heard a lot of this lately and it makes me a bit angry as well. We all have things to go through, and what makes one person’s journey any less than someone else’s? As my uncle used to say: I never say “why me,” I always say “why not me?” And I guess that’s where my way of thinking comes in.

I’ve gone through many, many difficult situations in my life, as well as breast cancer, and truth be told, I never thought “why me.” I knew that it was a situation life chose to hand me to learn from, and with those lessons I decided to share them with others.

In my author bio on my book, “Waking Up,” I say: “I don’t mind what life hands me as long as I learn something from it and can help to make a difference to someone else.” And that’s how I live each day of my life.

It’s not always easy to stay positive, yet it’s a gift of “choice” we’re given to choose to be don't die before you trythat way.

It frustrates me to see people who give up so easily, whether it’s a life situation or cancer… it’s as if they’ve “died before they tried.”

Live each day of your life to the fullest, no matter what difficult situation life hands you. Embrace your challenges with grace and dignity…have faith and believe that you are stronger than the difficulties of the challenges you face.

And when you feel as if you can’t find the strength, let the strength find you. Trust me… it always does!

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

Finding Your “Inspiration”

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rainbow

How do you get “inspired?”

Most people think “inspiration” is just for creative people, such as writers, musicians, or artists. Yet we all wake up in the morning knowing what we have to do that day, whether it’s going to work, taking care of your children, or getting your “to do” list accomplished.

And all those things take some “inspiration.” You need to get yourself in the mindset of doing what needs to be done, and while most people don’t see that as “inspiration,” I do. Some of you may be thinking “how do you get inspired to go to work, or get motivated to do all the things on your to do list?” You may be thinking “where’s the inspiration there?”

Well, I’m here to tell you it IS there…it’s all in your perspective. As a writer I need to be “inspired” to write and create, yet I also need that same inspiration to help me get my other responsibilities done.

“Inspiration” is calming and peaceful, and it’s also exciting; it’s our soul taking a passion and turning it into a reality; it’s our mind making something mundane seem rewarding; and it’s our heart learning to love all that we do.

As I sat under my “magic tree” this morning having my coffee, I was inspired to write this post; I was inspired to organize my day into one of getting things done; and I was inspired to let go of the things that no longer serve me, and focus on the things that do!

My wish for you is to find “inspiration” in every thing you do; to change your perspective on the mundane into one of accomplishment; and to love yourself enough to find your “inspiration.”

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

magic tree 3

“Making A Miracle For Matthew”

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It’s been awhile since I’ve written in my column,”Need for Speed” for Wall Stadium, yet life get’s busy and we find ourselves moving along in different directions. That holds true for bn1me. I’ve been promoting my new book, “Waking Up: Lessons Learned Through My Adventures With Life and Breast Cancer.” It’s filled with motivational stories of love and hope, stories of relationships and life changes, as well as my personal breast cancer journal.

But I didn’t stop at just publishing a book; it has turned into so much more than that, and my true desire of helping others has presented me with an incredible opportunity to do just that.

It wasn’t my intention to write song lyrics, yet it happened, along with meeting and joining eric brennnnnnnncreative forces with an extremely talented musician, Sutton Thomas. So on July 1st, our “Waking Up” CD of songs that I wrote the lyrics for, and he wrote and recorded the music for, will be launched and available to the public. But the journey doesn’t stop here…

Together, Sutton and I have become “The Collaboration of Hope Tour: A Journey of Music, Motivation and Miracles.” We share the same belief:

“that it’s time to make a difference, and we can make a difference together.”

And now is the time…

One of our Wall Stadium Family members needs our help, and they need it now. Eric ericBrennan, the announcer at the track, has reached out through friends and social media that his 2 year old nephew, Matthew, has been diagnosed with a rare liver cancer. This sweet baby has started a long road of chemotherapy and radiation, which I know from personal experience, can be difficult.

Eric and his family need our prayers and our support, and Sutton Thomas and I have stepped in to help.

On July 28th, Bar Anticipation in Lake Como,NJ, has allowed Sutton and I to perform from 5-9 pm, and along with our own performance, they have graciously allowed us the chance to have a fundraiser for Matthew. Tickets will be $20, and includes dinner and drink specials as well. I will be posting the specifics as we know more of them on my page, as well as in my column for Wall Stadium.

The Wall Stadium Family was there for me during my journey with breast cancer, and we need to be there for Eric and his family as Matthew begins his journey.

I believe that one person can make a difference, yet I know that all of us together can make a miracle.

“Let’s make a miracle for Matthew.”

Mark your calendars for July 28th from 5-9. Spend an evening with Sutton Thomas and I as we perform a night of music and motivation, and your support will be the “miracle.”

Tickets will be sold in advance on http://www.intervalmediagroup.com, where you can also visit the “Collaboration of Hope” store for my book, our newly released CD, and t-shirts.

You can also support the “Collaboration of Hope” tour by “liking” the following Facebook pages:

http://www.facebook.com/annedennish

http://www.facebook.com/collaborationofhope

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

thumbnail_Book-CD

“Dear Children”

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If you want to see time pass quickly, become a parent. Nothing speeds up time more than watching your child grow into an adult, and suddenly, you’re left with a profound timeunderstanding of how precious time really is. And if you are a parent, you know exactly what I mean.

In my book, “Waking Up,” I wrote a story called “A Letter To My Children,” and together with Sutton Thomas, we wrote a song called “Dear Children.” Here’s just a small excerpt from the story:

“Life changed from that exact moment that you took your first breath, and with that breath, I held mine. I held my breath out of excitement of a new baby placed in my arms and out of fear as to all the responsibilities that were now a part of my life, from that day forward.

You, my children, were all my dreams come true, yet with each one of you came the nightmare of hoping that you’d always be okay, that you’d never get hurt, that your life would be without any feelings of low self-esteem, or anger, or sadness that I had ever felt. I could teach you how to protect yourselves, but I wouldn’t be able to stop the outside world from coming in.

The love of parent never dies, not with time, not with distance, not with death; the love of a parent grows stronger with each passing day; with each new milestone you reach and each heartache you encounter. Your mistakes and mine becomes lessons for us, and with each mistake, together we become better and stronger for it.

You, my child, are forever and always within and around my heart.”

Time and our children are precious…embrace them both.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

dear children 3

“A Broken Heart”

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“A broken heart is proof that it still works.” ~Anne Dennish~

Ah, the broken heart…we’ve all had one at one time or another in our life, and it’s never easy to get through.

But you can get through…if you choose to.

Life is what happens when we’re not paying attention, and what that means is that we’ve recite-1rs96tblost sight of the blessings in our life, and in some way, taken them for granted, always believing that if they’re there in the first place, they’ll never be taken away. And that’s how a broken heart happens: we weren’t paying attention.

Broken hearts are our greatest teachers, yet there’s a few things you have to understand to realize that.

Let’s be honest, broken hearts happen because of “love.” They happen when something suddenly rocks our world, and what we believed to be true suddenly looks very different….but maybe it isn’t different. Maybe it’s the same as it always was; we just didn’t take the time to see it.

We’re all human and we all make mistakes, but if you want to start to heal a broken heart you must throw away the “list of wrongs” and write the “list of rights.” Sure, when you’re heart is broken you feel betrayed, angry, hurt, even confrontational; all valid feelings yet negative emotions only bring negative reactions. So, when the the dust settles from these emotions, and you can put them aside, the real healing begins.

“Forgiving” is the hardest thing in the world to do; “loving” is the easiest. Yet, by forgiving, we release our anger and negativity; it doesn’t excuse someone’s behavior, but it allows us to move forward with clear eyes and an open heart.

My worst broken heart was my greatest teacher; I could sit here and go on and on that he treated me badly, hurt my feelings, disrespected me, and so on and so forth. And I used to wonder why someone could treat me badly, or break my heart; I didn’t feel like I deserved it. But here’s the truth:

I didn’t deserve it; I allowed it.

Hearts are broken from miscommunication, biting our tongue and not standing in our truth. I learned that the hard way; I should have used my voice, stood in my truth, and set clear boundaries of what I would allow and what I wouldn’t.

I know to do that now.

Time-to-change-myBroken hearts happen for many reasons, yet when you can put the hurt and blame aside, that’s when the reality comes in and the healing can start. When you take your own accountability in the brokenness, you heal, you become stronger, and you learn something about yourself…and with that, you’re given the gift of changing yourself.

I can promise you that your broken heart will mend; and it will mend stronger…but you have to do the work and LET IT!

“Broken hearts are the reality of what we lost sight of.” ~Anne Dennish~

Life as we know it can change with a broken heart, but why not let it change for the better? Look at the positive in a hurtful situation; something wasn’t working, the Universe whacked you with a 2×4 to wake you up, and now you’ve been given a chance to learn and change.

I believe that there’s always something good to be found in the storm; it will take time to see, but it’s there. The choice to see it is up to you. And sometimes, just sometimes, maybe it’s the “storm before the calm.”

Life’s an adventure with ups and downs; how you handle it and move forward is your gift of choice…choose wisely!

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

recite-1oe1bq1

“Standing In Your Truth”

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“Standing in your truth…” it’s not for the weak of heart.

I learn more and more ever day that standing in my truth isn’t always the easiest thing to do. Sometimes you gain friends and sometimes you lose them, yet the Universe will always see that things happen as they should.

“Standing in your truth” requires you to be honest with yourself; to know who you are, say what you feel, and accept all that you are. We’re all a “work in progress,” learning lessons through experiences and situations, and it’s all those lessons that teach us to be a better person; to understand why we react as we do; to allow us the vision to see where change may be needed.

Your “voice” is the most powerful tool you’ve been gifted when “standing in your truth.” It’s your voice that holds the words of your truth; that expresses the tone of your feelings; and it’s that voice that can change the world.

Truth isn’t negative or mean, hurtful or vindictive; truth is the loyalty of honesty to yourself and others.

Yes, there are times that your truth can hurt another person, but in the end, the truth is who you are, and their truth reveals who they are as well.

This is how we learn about people and ourselves. This is how we know when it’s time to let someone go. This is how we see the true colors of people and situations…and a concept as simple as “truth” is our gift, our teacher.

We’ve all been hurt by someone at times throughout our life, yet that pain taught us valuable lessons that made us a better and stronger person. I would much rather be hurt with the truth than deceived by a lie.

The Universe has taught me a few tough lessons in the last two days, and while I’m still a bit upset by them, I feel a peace at knowing that this new change is for my Highest Good, and I have to believe that it is for the other person involved. My choice is to learn from it; their choice is to learn or live in anger.

I’ve never seen anything good happen with negative emotions or behaviors. We attract what we put out there.

“Stand in your truth” with strength, kindness and compassion, because anything less will bring nothing more to you.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

Stand-in-your-truth-with

The Strength of Knowing “Who” You Are

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There’s a story in my book, “Waking Up” entitled “Beautiful Boy.” It’s about my son who chose to tell me on the night of his high school graduation that he was bisexual. I wasn’t upset, I wasn’t shocked, and I wasn’t judgmental…I was proud of him for knowing “who” is at such a young age. I know people that are in their 40’s and 50’s that still don’t know who they are…they only know “what” they are, and there’s a big difference between the two.

Yes, my son is bisexual, and I know many people who are gay, and you know what? I don’t noah graduationsee that as a “what,” like so many others do…I don’t see it as anything more than that’s “who” they are.

What happened in Orlando was a tragedy, and what almost happened in California is a tragedy as well. It breaks my heart that anyone could be that hateful to another human being…and it worries me for my son.

He’s a young man with the kindest soul, the biggest heart, and the intelligence to be concerned and proactive toward saving the environment and animals. Anyone that knows him tells me that they’ve never met such a sweet kid, and I’m blessed to call him my son.

So why a hatred so deep that the only answer is to hurt them? Well, my belief is that it’s someone’s fear of the unknown…the unknown of knowing this community, and perhaps the unknown of not knowing “who” they are. Perhaps the fear is of the strength of these men and women who know “who” they are, that stand proud of it, and that embrace their lives with passion.

My son once told me that being bisexual isn’t a choice; it’s “who” he is. The “choice” wasmothersday when to tell me, and the “choice” was who he would tell. No truer words were ever spoken.

It’s not our job to judge anyone for anything; we either accept people for “who” they are, or we walk away from them. That’s the gift of choice.

Pray for the lives that were lost due to ignorance; pray for the ignorant to become less judgmental and fearful, and remember:

“It’s time to make a difference, and we can make a difference together.”

And that time is now!

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

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