Author: Anne Dennish

“What’s Your ‘Word’ for 2024?”

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Every year on New Year’s Eve I pick out a “word” to follow me into the new year. It’s a word that will help to keep me motivated, inspire me when I’m feeling less than inspired, and remind me of the reason I picked it in the first place.

This year I am picking the word “hope.”

Hope that this year will bring peace into an unsettled world. 

Hope that we can all work together to spread love and kindness to one another. 

Hope that there will be less illness and more cures to those fighting them.

Hope that we will all strive to be the best version of ourselves that we can be.

Hope that there is more forgiveness and less blame.

Hope that we focus more on gratitude for what we do have instead of focusing on what we don’t have.

And hope that I can make a positive difference in this world and in the lives of others.

I have big dreams for this year and my hope is that they become a reality.

What’s your word and why did you choose that particular one?

I’d love to know and would be grateful if you would share it with me!

~Anne Dennish~

“New Year Revelations for 2024!”

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(Just a little something that I share with you every year!)

“Resolutions are promises you don’t often keep. Revelations are lessons you learn that can change your life.”

I learned that the only way for my life to change in the New Year was to think about the lessons that the year had taught me. Those lessons became my “New Year Revelations.”

Every year I notice that as the New Year approaches, people start talking about their “resolutions.” There are things they want to do and things they want to change in their life, so they make a list of “resolutions.”

I threw that concept out years ago because to me, resolutions were nothing more than making promises to myself that I couldn’t keep. They were goals for sure, but seriously, how many of us actually stick to those resolutions? I always tried, failed at some, then beat myself up for not doing what I had wanted.

So, years ago I realized that the only way for my life to change was by learning the lessons that life had handed me, learning from my mistakes, and learning from my experiences, and so I decided to have my “New Year’s Revelations!”

I ask myself some important questions throughout the month of December: What opened my eyes this past year? What did I learn about myself? What type of people am I surrounding myself with? Am I taking care of myself and loving myself enough or giving too much of myself away? And what do I need to let go of that has no place in the New Year coming up and in my life?

These are the questions to ask yourself and answer honestly. You see, when you have those “revelations” about yourself and the year that’s about to come to an end, you take those lessons and truths with you. When you do that, the New Year will open the door to endless possibilities.

Don’t put added stress on yourself by making “resolutions.”

Take the time to think about your “revelations” and begin the New Year in a positive light.

All things are possible if you just believe in yourself!

Wishing you all an amazing 2024! You got this! I know that you do!

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Give Me the Simple Life”

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Can you believe that this year is almost over? Time sure flies by quickly and I find that the older I get, the faster it flies, which is why it’s even more important to make my life as simple as possible so that I have more time to enjoy life.

Sounds wonderful doesn’t it? It does to me and I know that in order for a “simpler” kind of life to happen, we need to put in a little bit of effort.

One of the things I love to do at this time of year is to begin a journey of “decluttering” my life and I’m not just talking about materialistic things. We need to declutter our minds as well. Any type of clutter can make for stress and imbalance in our lives and when we take the time to “declutter” we’re taking care of ourselves. It’s also a  wonderful opportunity to clean out the clutter from the past year to make space for all the “new” things that the upcoming year will bring.

It’s a good time to clean out your drawers and closets to donate items that someone else may get better use of. It’s also a great time to go through your stacks of papers, clean out your in-boxes, and re-evaluate your friends list on social media. It’s time to get rid of that stagnant energy so that you can replace it with exciting and positive energy.

It’s a good time to clear out the clutter that exists around you and within you. It’s time to open up space for new and exciting adventures to happen. 

Here’s to getting ready for the New Year, one that I hope is filled with lots of love, happiness and promise for all of you!

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Twas The Morning of Christmas”

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“Twas The Morning Of Christmas”

“Say What You Mean, But…”

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“Say what you mean and mean what you say, but don’t be mean when you say it.”

I’ve always loved this saying and taught it to my children as they were growing up. Not everyone holds to this. There are people that will say what they mean in a cruel and hurtful way. Words are nothing to play around with. It’s the hurtful words that will stick with the person you said them to for a long time, if not a lifetime.

I listen to whatever anyone has to say to me, my children included, but I will not tolerate being talked to in a cruel and hurtful manner. My boundary is “say what you mean but don’t be mean when you say it,” and if what they’re saying to me turns ugly, that’s the end of the conversation. I’m not going to allow someone to verbally beat me up or use me as a whipping post. I respect the boundaries of others and they need to respect mine.

We all run into people that will be cruel and hurtful, trying to cut us down but if there’s one thing that I realize about them it’s this: they’re the ones with the real issue. They’re cruel words are born out of their own feelings about themselves. Maybe they’re lacking self-esteem and are jealous. Maybe they aren’t willing to take their own accountability and instead, throw it back on someone else.

Please, my loves, in a world that can be less than kind, YOU be kind. Be respectful of someone else’s feelings but also be respectful of your own boundaries. 

We can’t change the life of someone overnight, but we can continue to try through kindness, love and compassion.

Be the change you want to see in this world. Be the one who plays a part in healing the world. Be the one who tries to make a difference…and together, I believe that we can.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“One Year In Florida”

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Today marks one year that I’ve been in Florida and what a year it’s been. Eleven days after I moved here Hurricane Ian, a Category 5 hurricane, hit and I had to grab my parents and evacuate to the East Coast until it passed. Happily, I had minimal damage done to my little Florida house!

It’s been a year of trying to find my balance and my place here in Punta Gorda. My significant other stayed up North for six months before he moved here. I’ve tried to find part-time work and have ended up with some crazy jobs. It’s been quite an experience, to say the least. 

I did learn some interesting things about living in this area.

Florida has no cold water in the summer months, due to the extreme heat. The most you’ll get out of your faucet is warm water. 

Porches are called “lanai’s” which drives some of my friends crazy when I say that.

Most bars have a last call at 9:30 pm and close at 10. 

Onions are very strong here and if you cook them I can tell you that you will smell them in your house for over 24 hours!

I learned that lightning can, indeed, strike a car because we saw it happen while driving.

Some of the great things are that you can eat outside at almost every restaurant all throughout the year.

Though the summer is hot, the fall, winter and spring are beautiful. 

I love thunder and lightning and this is definitely the place to witness some beauty in the storms here.

The clouds are absolutely stunning at sunset.

I’ll never get used to alligators and snakes. I do love the sounds of the pack of coyotes that live at the end of my street, especially during a full moon when they howl for quite a long time.

Here’s to Year #2 in Florida. It’s taken me this last year to get used to it, but I’m working on it. I still miss the beach at the Jersey Shore but know that I’ll make it back there at some point.

Here’s to change, finding the positive in it and making the best of it.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Support”

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Support. We all need it in our life at times. We need the support of our family and friends, we need the support to help a dream come to fruition, and sometimes we just need support to get through a bad day in our life.

Do you support others? Are you there to share in a dream that someone needs help with so that it becomes a reality? Are you there to support someone, without judgment, on a bad day?

We should all try to support others in whatever way they need at that moment, be it a listening ear, a kind word, or a conversation that helps inspire and motivate them. Are you?

This world would be such a different place if we offered our support, practiced kindness, compassion and empathy. 

I’ll do whatever it takes, in whatever way it takes, to make this world a better place, to help someone through a bad time and to support someone who needs to know that they’re worthy of the dream that they’re pursuing.

Will you?

We’re all in this together. We’re all in a place to help one another. We’re all capable of doing great things with small gestures of love.

Let’s do this.

And let’s do this together. 

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Book Signing in Buttonwood”

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I had my first book signing for “The Mind of a Heart” last weekend here at Buttonwood Village in Punta Gorda, the community that I live in. It was so nice to see so many familiar faces come out to support me and to meet new ones. The morning was a great success!

Thank you to those of you who came out to support me and purchase a copy of my new novel. I can’t wait to hear the reviews! And a special thanks to my Dad who came out to support his daughter. 

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“A Work In Progress”

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We’re all a work in progress. We’re not the same person as we were a year ago, five years ago or 10 years ago, and that’s what life is about: change. When we stop changing, we stop living.

I can honestly say that I’m definitely a different person than I was a year ago or twenty years ago. Life teaches us lessons that help us, sometimes “force” us, to change. We live through circumstances that change us. It’s survival and it’s also becoming a person who can survive those moments and thrive because of them. 

If only others could see in us what we see in ourselves. If only they could see how far we’ve come in our life and how much we’ve learned about ourselves. If only they could see the effort it took us to get to “now.”

Sometimes I feel as though strangers see the changes more than the people closest to me, but more often than not, that’s the way it goes.

Still, I’ll never stop learning and growing. I’ll never stop changing into the best possible version of myself that I can be. I’ll never stop trying to live my best life.

Here’s to being “a work in progress” and growing into the best version of yourself that you can be today. And who knows? You could be an even better version of yourself in a year, or two, or more.

However long it takes, live each day living, learning and becoming the best version of yourself that you can.

You got this!

And so do I!

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~