love your life

“Time To Declutter Your Life”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

(Here’s an excerpt from my book, “My Collective Soul: Things I Know Without Knowing Why.”)

It’s only a few days before we say “goodbye” to the old year and welcome in the New Year.  Are you ready? I know that I am! 

One of the things I find myself doing once the Christmas festivities come to an end is to begin a mission to “declutter” my life and one thing I’ve learned is that “clutter” makes for stress and imbalance. Now, I’m by no means a “neat freak,” yet this time of year is almost like “spring cleaning” for me. It’s an opportunity to clean out the clutter from this past year to make space for all the “new” things that the upcoming year will bring.

It’s a good time to clean out drawers, go through stacks of papers, and donate things that someone else may get better use of. It’s also a great time of year to clear out your inbox and re-evaluate your friends list on social media. It’s time to surround yourself with positive people and clear out the negative ones. It’s time to get rid of that stagnant energy and replace it with an exciting and positive energy.

Clutter exists around you and within you, that is, if you let it. It’s time to clear it out and clear it up. 

Make this upcoming year one of new beginnings, exciting adventures, and dreams come true!

Close out this year with love and begin the new year with promise!

It’s a good thing.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

declutter your life

 

 

Advertisement

“The Last Sunday of 2019”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

It’s the last Sunday of the decade. Can you believe it? It’s not only the end of the year, but the beginning of a new decade and you’re here to be a part of it. You’re gifted another day to witness it. You’re blessed to have a choice to make it the best year yet.

But why wait? You’re here to be an important part of everyday. You’re gifted another day to be present in it. You’re blessed to have a choice to make every year and every day the best.

Enjoy the last Sunday of the decade. Reflect back on the year that is about to end and set your intentions for the year about to begin. Take those “revelations” of 2019, those life lessons, and use them to set positive intentions for 2020.

I believe that 2020 will be the year of clear and perfect vision, a year in which we’ll be able to see things clearly for what they are and what they aren’t.

You deserve to live an amazing life. Don’t settle for less.

You’re here for a reason. You’re here for a purpose. You’re here to be present.

Embrace this last Sunday of 2019.

It’s a good thing.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

last_sunday_of_2019_1

Photo by Anne Dennish 2019

 

 

“The Stepping Stones Into 2020”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

It seems to me that the year of 2019 has been a rough one for so many. I’ve heard more people talk about all the negative things that have happened to them. Most people are grateful that the year is almost over. In a way, I am too, but for different reasons.

I’m excited for the New Year that is fast approaching. It’s a new beginning, a new month and a new year.

And I agree, 2019 has been a difficult year filled with more ups and downs than I would 2019_is_the_stepping_stone_1have liked, yet I believe that it’s been a “stepping stone” to get us all to 2020.

All those ups and downs we’ve experienced have been teaching us valuable life lessons, opened our eyes to see the truth around us, and given us reason to think about what we really want and don’t want in our life.

We’ve managed to survive so far through this crazy year of 2019 that’s almost over, so let’s give it a proper send off, shall we?

“Thank you, 2019, for being a stepping stone for 2020, a year that will put the past behind me and allow me to step into an amazing present, one filled with endless possibilities for my future. Thank you, 2019, for all that you taught me. I’m forever grateful because the lessons you taught me are going to help me to live my best life and live the life that I deserve.”

And it’s a good thing.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

 

“Stay Positive”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

Take a minute to breathe in all the positive energy, exhale all the negative, and move forward into having an awesome day!

It’s a good thing! 

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

positive mind

“NO” Is A Full Sentence

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

no 1

“No” is a full sentence.

And that means that there does not need to be an explanation as to WHY you said “no” in the first place.

I’ve always had trouble telling someone “no,” as I’m sure you have as well, whether it’s our children, friends, significant other, or even someone we work with, yet I know there are times I need to say it, and I say it because it doesn’t serve my Highest Good. I could be tired or not feeling well; I could have too much on my plate at that moment or simply need that down time to just “be.”

And at those moments I’ve always felt compelled to give a full explanation as to WHY I said no, yet over the years I’ve learned that I don’t need to do that. The person on the receiving end of my “no” should respect me enough to accept it. End of story.

But not everyone will accept it.

They are the ones that will keep at you until you give them what they want: a “yes.” It’s their way of controlling you because of their own insecurities over controlling themselves. It’s their way of feeding their own ego by knowing they were able to get what they wanted from you; and it’s their way of making you feel “out of control.”

Remember this: “what you allow will continue.”

It’s okay to think of yourself first and do what’s best for YOU, and if that means saying “no” when you need to, then it’s a good thing. And those moments that you say “yes” when you mean “no” can affect those around you, because when you give in to someone you feel frustrated with yourself, and sometimes even defeated that they won.

Don’t let anyone take your power from you or your free will to simply say “no.”

The people who love you will accept a “no,” but more importantly, the people who RESPECT you will.

And for those that don’t?

Let them go.

You control your life; you make your own boundaries with people; and you have the choice to “enable their behavior or disable their control.”

The choice is always yours.

Think about it.

And please remember this: “NO” is a full sentence.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Let Go Or Be Dragged”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment
Think about your life at this very moment: what is good for you and what isn’t?
 
Now, take what is good for you and embrace it, be grateful for it, and love it.
 
And take what isn’t good for you and let it go…or be dragged.
 
That which doesn’t serve your Highest Good will drag you down so be brave, say good-bye, and let it all go.
 
It’s a good thing…I promise! ❤
 
Wishing you love and light,
 
~Anne Dennish~

“Chemo Healed The Cancer But The Cancer Healed Me”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

My last book, “Waking Up: Lessons Learned From My Adventures With Life and Breast Cancer” was born over two years ago while lying on a radiation table for breast cancer.

I’m the type of person that loves meeting people because every single one of us has a story…we ARE a story! Some may not believe that, yet as a writer, I know it’s true. I was out to dinner with my love one night, along with his cousin and his love, and a table full of people I had never met. Yet by the end of the night, I knew them well.

You see, that’s the beauty of paying attention to people and speaking to them, yet more importantly, LISTENING to them. They were laughing at me last night when I said that the whole night of conversations was indeed a story!

So it’s no surprise that “Waking Up” was born; the idea may have begun on a radiation table, yet the stories were already taking shape in my mind, and for the last two years of writing it, more stories were born. Every story is true; most of them are of my personal experiences, and there are a few born out of situations with someone else who graciously allowed me to write about it

Yet, here’s what that one moment that woke me up was: “breast cancer!”

Yes, I had been on a spiritual journey for years, but finding out I had cancer was a big kick in the ass! I realized that as much as I had learned over the years, the lessons were far from over. Breast cancer changed my life and how I live it. That tumor was all the things I never said out loud, all the pain of allowing people to treat me badly. It was everything I never said that I should have, so I made a deal with the cancer: “I’ll open my mouth and use my voice, I’ll make better choices of who I surround myself with, I’ll rid myself of people and situations that make me feel less than good, and I’ll take all of this and write about it to help someone else as long as you leave my body when the time is right.”

I guess the cancer agreed with the deal, because it held up its’ end of the bargain. I did all those things and it left me the day they cut all that stuff out of my body. They did more than a lumpectomy on February 21st. As cancer and I were about to say good-bye that day, I could hear it speaking to me. Sounds crazy, but it wasn’t really. It said: “You’ve done the work and I know it wasn’t easy. I’m sorry to have had to come and visit you, but this journey is over. Remember the lessons, remember to love yourself, and finish up our deal: tell your lessons to everyone you can reach. I’m counting on you.”

Well, in a strange way, chemo may have healed my cancer, but my cancer healed me. It taught me more than I could imagined, and since then, I spread the word, I keep out as much drama and stress as I can, and I walk away from anyone or anything that tries to control and manipulate me. Cancer didn’t abuse me as much as some people have tried to, and I’m smarter because of all of it.

“Waking Up” is so much more than a book; it’s my heart and soul that simply wants to make a difference in someone’s life. Life get’s shorter as we get older, and my goal is to live everyday to the fullest, to show love and kindness to someone who needs it, and most importantly, to make someone laugh and smile.

Struggles will always happen in our lives, yet it’s your attitude and perspective that will handle it and teach you more than you could have ever imagined.  After all, “we don’t become who we are by chance; we become who we are by choice.”

Love your lessons, whether you like them or not, because in the end, miracles happen!

“Chemo healed the cancer but the cancer healed me.”

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

 

choice 1

“Keeping It Positive”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

frustrated 1

I realized something yesterday morning: that for the past few weeks all I’ve been saying is negative things, which is unlikely for me. Yet, I’m as human as anyone else and sometimes we forget to pay close attention to our thoughts and words.

Yesterday I sat in front of my laptop wondering what to write. I found myself saying “I hate having writers block; why does my foot still hurt; why is everything taking so long to happen?”

Then I realized that I was putting all that negative stuff out there all on my own. At that moment I changed my thinking and choice of words and turned it into: “I’m writing everyday; my foot is healing day by day; and things are happening just as they should”

You see, sometimes we lose sight of our thoughts and words. We forget to keep them all positive, yet when you notice what it is your saying and thinking you can change it. You can change it to positive thoughts and words.

I remind myself today that “everything happens as it should, when it should and how it should.”

And I remind myself that I do the best I can everyday.

More importantly, I remind myself that negative thoughts and words are to replaced with “I can, I will, I am.”

Go easy on yourself and remember that you are in control of your thoughts, your words and your actions.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

i can

“Dancing in the Rain”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

My love and I went to a concert the other night. It was a concert we bought tickets for monthsfor1 ago and the night was upon us. The day was sunny, hot and humid. We got dressed for the night, picked up subs and our wine so that we could tailgate in the parking lot. It was a night we had looked forward to for months.

We arrived in the parking lot a few hours before the concert, opened the back hatch, turned on the music, and poured ourselves a cocktail with dinner. There were some nice people surrounding us, all bonding over the upcoming excitement of the concert we were all there to see. We sat there, eating and drinking, enjoying each others’ company on our “Saturday Night Date Night” and relaxing. The night got even better when three of our friends showed up at the back of the truck. We all hung out and walked into the concert together. for3

My love rented two chairs for us to use on our “lawn seats” and at the moment the first band began to play it started to rain.

And it continued to rain.

We had slickers on, but the rain still managed to soak our shirts and our jeans. We watched the first concert, standing up singing and dancing. The rain still came down and became a bit stronger by the second band. We still stood up and danced and sang, enjoying this date night in the rain.

The third band, our favorite, “Foreigner,” came on just as the skies opened up, and I for6mean opened up with a vengeance! We were covered with protection, yet still soaked through…and it was at that moment, rain so hard that we could barely see one another, that we began laughing out loud…belly laughing…laughing at the sight of each other soaked, covered with “plastic” to keep us dry, and that we waited all night to hear our favorite band and the rain came down as a torrential downpour.

But there’s my point.

We laughed and we laughed together at the sight of my glasses fogged up and the “lake” of rain water piling up in the center of his coat. We laughed because this was so typical of our life together and so typical that we would find something funny in it.

And we did.

And we always will.

Life is about your perspective, and we make the best of ours. We take the unexpected for8and find humor in it because we’re together. We take a night of torrential downpour, of our clothes being soaked beyond belief, of a band that we could barely see through the rain and we made it “ours.” We made the best of it and most importantly, we made a memory.~Anne

Life is meant to be lived, no matter the weather.

And I would rather be dancing in the rain with my love rather than running to seek shelter to stay dry.

Sometimes you have to get wet to see the humor in life; sometimes you have to dance in the rain to find your rhythm together; and sometimes you have to find your funny together, come rain or come shine.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

for2

 

 

 

“Life Is Like The Great Outdoors”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

outdoors 2

Life is about perspective and I have become the queen of analogies lately. Some call it a defense mechanism, I call it survival; it’s my way of taking the ugly and finding some beauty in it.

I’ll admit, the month of March was not so good for me; losing loved ones, feeling so drained that I got sick, not once, but twice, and any bad news that could filter it’s way into my life came in the month of March. It’s no wonder I’m celebrating April 1st today!

This morning I was speaking to my girlfriend who’s had a bit of a rough go lately. Sheoutdoors 1 was feeling down and not knowing what to do to get out of her head and this funk she was in. She told me that she felt like she had to get a hold of her life, get hold of a line of it. I tried to reassure her that this too will pass and then I said to her: “Go fishing. Go stand at the edge of the river and throw in your line. Look at that hook that’s out in the water and see it as your life. Gently reel it in, keeping a firm hold on it. And there you go, you’re reeling it your life that you felt got away from you.”

She laughed but also understood the analogy. Sometimes our life can feel like “the one that got away,” yet when we feel that we all we have to do it go fishing, be patient, and reel it in…and this one “won’t get away.”

I have my own analogy for letting go of toxic people in my life; I say that I’m going “gardening.” I look at the difficult process of letting some people go as one of “weeding out” the toxic people, or “weeds” as I like to think. So, I envision a beautiful garden which represents all those I love and that are in my life for my Highest Good. When I notice a weed in my garden, I know it’s time to pull it out. After all, it’s the weeds that choke out the flowers.

My favorite analogy is one I use often to help my friends out: it’s about the fear of taking 999383-002a leap of faith. I tell them to envision themselves on a cliff, looking out and over a beautiful ocean or endless mountain range. I tell them to see everything that is beautiful and good, and to pick a spot to land. That spot is what or where they want to be or have in life that fear is preventing them from having. Once they find the spot, I tell them to jump…jump off the cliff, knowing that you’re protected by a parachute or bungee cord of faith, and that the arms of love will be there to catch you. It’s an incredible leap of faith, but one that you can do if you change your perspective on it and lose that fear.

Sometimes on your worst of days you have to try to envision it as something else; change your perspective, make it a picture in your mind, or just head to “the great outdoors” for a little fishing and a bit of gardening. End it with strapping on your parachute of faith and take that jump…

It’s worth it; I promise.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

just