“Waking Up Moments”

I had a conversation with my love yesterday about what a “waking up” moment is… and I realized that some might not know what it truly means. So, let me explain…

A “waking up” moment is that moment of clarity that can bring you to your knees when you realize you’re not living the life you deserve or want. Yes, it does take but one moment to find yourself “waking up,” yet we are meant to have many of those moments throughout our lifetime. It depends on your age at the time, your relationships, even your job.

It’s that moment you suddenly ask yourself: “What the hell am I doing? Why am I doing this to myself? How do I change this?” There you go, you’ve “woken up” to the reality of your life and your truth. And in that moment you were just gifted the choice to change it all!

I’ve had many “waking up” moments, yet breast cancer was the most powerful. It changed my life in ways I hadn’t thought possible, yet all for the best. I’m living proof of what a “waking up” moment can do for you… it can bring a miracle!

A “waking up” moment stops you in your tracks, makes you think, and hands you the lessons you need to find your truth and the joy you so deserve.

What was a “waking up” moment for you? I’d love to hear what helped you along the way, and I’m sure other’s would love to know as well. Share your story with me today, because “it’s time to make a difference, and we can make a difference together!”

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

waking up moment

“Joy”

“Joy.” I love that word, and up until a year ago had never used it much, actually, never used it at all! Sure, I’d say I was happy, but I’ve realized that “joy” is that one word that surpasses it all! “Joy” is a combination of happiness, gratitude, and that incredible feeling of knowing that you’re blessed.

As life changed after breast cancer and throughout this past year, I found myself feeling more than happy. It was during a reiki session with my spiritual teacher, Bobbi Torres, that she asked me what I was feeling. In a split second I answered her: I’m feeling “joy!” I realized at that moment that a word that was so foreign to me suddenly felt like home.

I had gone from happy to joyful, and at that moment I suddenly understood what “tears of joy” was all about, because I certainly shed a million. I sat for hours before my book

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Tears of joy as my dream had come true!

signing this past Saturday with tears flowing off and on. My nearest and dearest kept asking me why I would be crying on such an exciting and important day. My answer was simple: I’m crying because my dream came true, I’m crying over the immense amount of gratitude I’m feeling, I’m crying at how incredibly blessed I am, and I’m crying because I am feeling “joy!”

“Joy” is happiness, love, gratitude, blessings and peace all wrapped up in one, and my wish for all of you is to find your “joy” today! Embrace it, let it become part of you, share it with others, and let the “tears of joy” flow! It’s a great combo…why not try it? My guess is that you’ll realize that joy will feel like “home” to you as well.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

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“Dream Day”

 

dreams

It’s a big day today, and I’m filled with so many emotions! It’s the official launch and book signing of “Waking Up!” It’s also the first public appearance of “Anne Dennish.” So, how am I feeling? Excited, nervous, anxious, grateful and incredibly blessed. There are so many people that have made this book possible…there’s a piece of them in many of the stories I’ve written. If my life hadn’t changed as much as it has in the last several years, “Waking Up” would never have been written.

So this morning, as I get ready for the afternoon, I sit counting my blessings…and there are many!

I’ve been pursuing this dream for all my life, and the fact that it’s here is overwhelming! I never gave up on it, and while there were moments I wondered if it was worth it, or maybe it wasn’t meant to be, I still went for it.

I say to all of you today, dreams do come true. It may take years, but if you believe in it, and have faith in yourself, it’s absolutely possible!

“Dream big and make it happen!”

Well, Anne Dennish did just that… and today is my day!

I’ll be at BookTowne on Main Street in Manasquan, NJ today from 1 – 3. Stop by if you’re in the area…I’d love to meet you!

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

Author of “Waking Up”  copyright 2016

dr seuss

“Embrace The New Day”

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

It’s a beautiful day at the Jersey Shore today, yet every day you wake up is a beautiful day! Embrace a new day with no mistakes in it…take some time for yourself to breathe and relax. Spend some time outdoors, close your eyes, and listen to your intuition. Some of the most amazing thoughts and ideas come to you when you sit in silence.

Count your blessings, sit in gratitude for another day gifted to you, and find some time to laugh and be happy!my malibu

Wishing you all love & light, happiness and joy,
~Anne Dennish~

“The Dreamers vs. The Realists”

“My opinion is that the “realists” are fearful of the “dreamers,” because we dare to believe that there’s more to life than living in reality; that in fact, sometimes our dreams are the very thing we need in order to live in our reality.”

It took many years for me to accept and be comfortable with being called a “dreamer.” People had me believing that dreamers had no sense of reality, and that being one was not a good thing. I’ve learned throughout my adventures in my life that being a dreamer is a wonderful gift…and while I am a dreamer, I’m a realist as well.

“A dreamer is a realist with faith.”

Those that look down upon a dreamer are simply fearful of who we are; they see in us what they can’t see in themselves. They look at us and wonder what our “secret” is to dreaming as we do. The secret is simple: have faith in yourself!

If you want to make a difference in the world, you have to begin with a dream, then turn that dream into a reality. And all that happens with “faith!”

Here’s to the dreamers of the world! It’s time to make a difference…and we can make a difference together!

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

dreaming

from “Waking Up”  copyright 2016

“Motherhood”

I wrote a story called “A Letter to My Children,” which can be found in my new book, “Waking Up.” I remember the day I wrote it, and I remember WHY I wrote it.

It was a balmy, summer night and as my kids were floating in and out of the house, and those that didn’t live home had called me, I started to think about all the things they don’t yet know about parenthood…what they don’t know about “motherhood.”

Being a mom has been the greatest role I’ve had in life, and as much I love being a writer, I believe I was born to be a mom. I wasn’t perfect and I know I made some mistakes along the way, yet everything I was as a mother was born out of love.a letter to my children

“And on the day the first of you was born, I was re-born. I was not longer just a married woman; I was born again as a mother. 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 to all the responsibilities that were not a part of my life, from that day forward.””

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

“There is nothing that can or will break or lessen the love a mother has for her children; the heart of a mother is the heart of her child.”

I love my five beautiful children; they’re all unique in their own way, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’d like to think I gave them the strength to be who they are and to dream big. I know I made mistakes, yet my children and I learned through both their mistakes and mine. We’re all stronger for it. And isn’t “strength” one of the greatest gift we can give our children?

“There is the proverbial knowing that our children are not here to love us; we are here to love them.”

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

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“The Right Love”

As I sit here this morning watching the sun rise, I’m filled with an overwhelming feeling of love and gratitude. How did I get here? When did this all happen? Questions flowing through my mind, yet deep inside, I know the answer: I got here when I loved myself the way I wanted to be loved, and it happened on a snowy night last February. It happened when I met Rob.

We were two broken souls who found one another. Both of us believe that the ones’ we loved most that passed away conspired to get us together…and I believe that’s true. It wasn’t love at first sight, but it was love. And how do I know this? Because out of our relationship came some amazing things!

Perhaps the key to knowing the “right love” is paying attention to what your life together becomes and what it has brought you. Through our love he’s found a job he loves and strained relationships he had in the past became a smooth ride. I found more stories to write for “Waking Up” and found myself part of a family that I would have never imagined I’d be part of.

I found a close friendship with the mother of his children, one that isn’t built on his prior relationship with her, but on “our” relationship as two women who love and respect oneliz and i 1 another. I found myself part of her family as well, and while most think that’s crazy, I think it’s beautiful…and so does he. I found love in his children and in the laughter and love of his granddaughter, and he found that in mine.

The “right love” taught us who the right people were to have in our life; it also taught us who the wrong ones were. It taught us that we had settled for less than we deserved before we met. And it taught us that with the “right love,” miracles happen; amazing adventures become a reality; and that true love really does exist.

“The right person doesn’t want something FROM you; the right person wants everything FOR you!”

After all these years, I truly understand what love is, and I found it for the first and last time in my life. I found it on that snowy night over a year ago, and with each day that passes, I sit in gratitude of what this love has brought into our lives and the lives of those around us.

“It’s funny that the moment you stop looking for something is the very moment you find it.”

Believe in love and believe in yourself. If you can do this, the rest will fall into place…it always does!

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

robnanci

 

 

“A Martini Glass of Tears”

Yesterday was a bad day…and I don’t have those very often. My feelings were hurt, I heard some news that was upsetting, and the realization of who I thought was a friend turned out not to be true. Needless to say, the martini glass was filled with tears by the end of the night.martini glass 1

Yet bad days happen for a reason; they allow us to see what the good days really are. Yesterday was a compilation of all the changes happening in my life at the moment (and most of them are all good!), feeling beat up and manipulated by someone, and knowing that life has just handed me another challenge.

I went to bed in tears last night, and woke up this morning with swollen eyes. But I woke up better. I cried it all out and I believe with all my heart that a good cry is our soul’s way of cleansing all the negativity within us. I had had a week in which negative stuff was building up day by day, and last night it all broke open.

tearsThis morning I woke with the dawn, and sat outside with my coffee, listening to my intuition and the voices of reason that can only be heard in the silence. I’m not upset anymore, and the hurt that I felt from outside sources has lessened. They’ve lessened because I’ve forgiven them…not to their face, or over the phone. I’ve forgiven their hurtful behavior so that I’m not hurt or angry. And I’ve forgiven myself for allowing it to bother me in the first place.

We are in control of our emotions, and perhaps mine exploded last night due to fatigue and sleepless nights. Those are key factors in our “falling apart.” It’s so important to stay healthy and well rested, because when we’re not, our emotions take advantage of us, and we simply don’t have the strength to be strong.

“When you can’t find the strength, let the strength find you.”

My strength found me this morning with the sunrise, a hot cup of coffee, and feeling well rested. Moments like the one I had yesterday have to happen every so often. I believe they’re good for us at times, as long as it’s not happening every day.

“Trials, tribulations and blessings are one in the same because you can’t have one without the other.”

Our greatest blessings come from the lessons we learn from our trials and tribulations, and I truly believe that if we understand that, then we have found the secret to life.

Today is a good day, and I know it will get better. The martini glass that was once filled with tears is empty…and a new day is upon me, with no mistakes in it.

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

Wishing you love and light, my friends,

~Anne Dennish~

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“Choices and Chances”

There are those that think they don’t have a choice in life; that the life they’re living is because they “have to.” That’s simply not true because we all have a choice. We have a choice to move forward or stay stuck; we have a choice to say “yes” or say “no;” we have a choice to to be brave or be fearful. Life is filled with choices to make everyday, yet life doesn’t give you a choice; life gives you a chance to make the right choice! You can be whoever you want to be in life, and that’s not by chance, it’s by the incredible gift we’ve all been given: choice!

It’s our “choices” that give us our greatest “chances” in life!

Enjoy your gift of “choice” today… and every day thereafter!

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

choice post

 

 

“Catching a Dream!”

It was a crazy day yesterday; one filled with cleaning, making Italian gravy, laundry and a million phone calls. Yet I knew what day it was from the moment I woke up: it was the day I was going to launch “Waking Up.” I knew it was published on February 25, 2016 and was making its’ way to Amazon and Barnes & Noble over the weekend, yet there were a few glitches that the publisher had to fix. I’ve been sitting on my hands from sharing this news, and only a few people knew at all, but yesterday was the day!

So, I created my life event and sent out my invites to my first book signing/launch/celebration party! The outpouring of “likes” and comments was overwhelming! I felt excitement and joy, but most of all, I felt blessed and grateful to have such an amazing support system! I have to pinch myself to believe that it’s all really happening; that a life I always wanted is here; that I found my niche; that I found my place.

“The reality is that I’m a writer for a reason; that writing is the gift I was given at birth and that this is my life purpose.”

It’s a good day when everything finally makes sense, and you can see why your life happened the way it did: it was to get you to where you are now. Dreams come true…I’m living proof that they do. Take a chance, take a risk, and show the world how big your brave is!

If you ask me where I am today in my life, this would be my answer:

“I’m exactly where I belong.”

Go out and be brave today! Catch a dream!

With love,

~Anne Dennish~waking up last page

“Waking Up” was published on February 25, 2016

You can find it on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com and Xlibris.com