loveyourlife

“A To-Do List For YOU!”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

I woke up this morning with gratitude for another day. I made my first cup of coffee and sat on my front porch to watch the sunrise. It was peaceful and as I was sitting there watching the burnt orange skies of the sunrise, I was writing my “to-do list” for the day. In fact, I write a list everyday! The truth is, I have many of those lists cluttering my desk, yet not one of them is ever completely checked off as “DONE!”

I began to think about “why” the list doesn’t get done. Some days I’m tired or my allergies have gotten the best of me. Some days I lack the motivation and energy to get those things done. Some days I allow  situations that aren’t my problem or concern to distract me.

And I made a decision that there will be no more of that nonsense!

This morning a new idea was born in this already over-crowded mind of mine: “What about making a to-do list for ME?” Why not make a list of things I want to do or need to do to stay focused and balanced, to feel healthier, and to have  more energy to accomplish the tasks on the other list?

So,  today, instead of writing yet another “to-do list” filled with tasks such as “make a doctors appointment, go to the post office, run to the food store, reschedule the dentist,” I wrote a “to-do list” for me and I think it’s a good thing for all of us to do.

Write a list of things that are just for YOU! It could begin with morning coffee and meditation, a 20 minute daily walk, yoga, healthier eating, or changing habits that don’t enable you to live your best life. 

Life gets busy and we may find ourselves distracted by outside influences that are not our concern. We lose sight of taking care of ourselves. I know that in order to accomplish anything in my life, let alone my day, I need to feel whole, healthy, focused and balanced. I’m sure many of you feel the same.

I’m starting my Monday morning in a different way today. I’m starting it with a “to-do list” for me. 

What’s on YOUR “to-do list?”

Let’s see what YOU need to do for yourself to live your best life.

It’s a good thing.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

A-To-Do-List-For-1.-Enjoy-my-morning-coffee-2.-Keep-positive-thoughts-and-3.-Buy-fresh-flowers-to-4.-Take-a-walk.-5

 

“The Tornado of Drama”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

The drama that other’s cause is like a tornado sucking in all that’s in its’ path. No one has control over being caught up in the vortex of it, yet a tornado is a force of destruction created by nature. 

Drama is a force of destruction created by another human being.

No one can control the forces of nature, but you can control the forces of drama. 

Don’t allow yourself to be sucked into the path of human destruction and don’t allow yourself to be swept up into the vortex of the drama. 

A tornado will eventually lose its’ power and end.

Drama will only lose its power if you don’t engage with it, don’t feed it and don’t fuel it.

You can’t control the behavior of others and you can’t always stop the person causing the storm, but you can make the choice to seek shelter from it until it goes away. 

Eventually when the storm of drama isn’t being fed it will lose its strength and dissipate, the same way a tornado does.

And what’s left after the storm of drama loses its strength?

“The truth.”

And it’s a good thing.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

Dont-get-sucked-in

“Once Upon A Time…”

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“Once upon a time there was a little girl who wanted to be a writer. Since the moment she learned to spell she would write stories.

One day she told her mother that she wanted to grow up to be a writer. Her mother said that it was a nice dream to have. The little girl didn’t understand quite what that meant but she kept writing.

Time marched on and the little girl grew older and went to college…and she was still writing.

Then the little girl got married and had children. She loved being a stay at home mom yet she still kept writing. She wrote little stories and poetry for her babies and made up silly songs to sing to them.

She wrote in her journal every day about her secret thoughts and feelings.

Then the children started growing up and leaving the nest.

And she thought about her “once upon a time” so many years ago.

And she thought about all the people along her life journey that told her that wanting to be a writer was a nice dream and a fairy tale, that real life wasn’t about doing what you love all the time, and that most times dreams don’t come true.

And for many, many years she believed them.

Until one day when she stopped believing them and began believing in herself.

She started to believe in fairy tales and dreams; she started to believe in magic; and she started to believe that everything and anything is possible.

And on that day she wrote her first book and had it published.

And she knew then that her “once upon a time” was a fairy tale that came true.

There was a happy ending and a beautiful beginning for her.

Once upon a time there was a little girl who wanted to be a writer….

And the little girl grew up…

And became a writer.

And that is not the end.”

What was your “once upon a time” story? What was your dream or fairy tale?

It’s time to remember that…

It’s time to believe in that again.

After all, “once upon a time” does come true.

It’s a good thing.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

once upon a time 1

“Finding Strength In The Struggle”

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 I’d like to say that the week has gotten better but sometimes life throws you another challenge and it’s done that to me. This is a difficult journey for me, yet day by day I’m finding my strength and keeping my thoughts as positive as I can.

 

I believe that everything, even some of the worst situations, happens for a reason. There are moments that the Universe hands us a difficult situation to stop us in our tracks, to make us pay attention. It’s during those moments that we have to stop and see the truth of how we’re living our life. We have to look deep at our relationships, careers, and even our lifestyle.

It’s the ultimate moment of truth…and it’s your truth, not anyone else’s.

This journey is challenging, and I believe in the end it will be life changing for me. It already is.

Today is a new day and I embrace all that it has to offer.

And I’m sure that the biggest gift it will offer me today is “truth.”

And I’m okay with that.

After all, it’s a good thing.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

challenge

“Kindness Counts”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

I’d be lying to you if I said the recent suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain didn’t still upset me, because they do. Even more so than those two suicides are countless social media posts about the number of people who take their own lives, of the importance of understanding mental illness, and the faces of those who suffer and have suffered from these illnesses.

Kate and Anthony were public figures, yet to see just how many people actually do take their own lives is unbelievable. There are no pictures for the world to see on social media of these people; they were living their life just as we all do.

Yet there’s so much more to each and every story of suicide.

And I, for one, can’t even begin to know how to understand them all, except to say that they’re all tragic, sad, and heartbreaking.

What I can do is keep writing words of encouragement and inspiration to all of you; I can keep writing stories to share with you in the hopes that it may touch the heart of someone who needed to read it; and I can keep doing something every day of my life to make a difference in the world and in the life of another.

Let’s do this together.

Let’s start today.

One act of kindness can change the day or even the life of another human being. We don’t always know what someone else is going through, so be kind to each other with both your words and your actions.

Kindness counts.

We all count.

Remember that.

It’s a good thing.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

be kind ellen

“Keep Looking Up”

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I’m a big believer in always “looking up,” and not “looking down.” One seems to be positive and the other is negative.

Think about it…what do you see when you look up? The sky, the sun, the mountains, the stars, the moon, the clouds…the list goes on. And when you “look up” it’s as if you’re seeing the endless possibilities that life has to offer you. You’re seeing the vastness of the Universe with no limitations.

Now, about that “looking down.” When we look down it’s at the ground or more often than not these days, most people “looking down” are looking at their phones, at their computers, at their social media…and that list goes on as well. Yet looking down is restricting you from seeing the beauty around you; it prevents you from seeing the people that love you; it steals precious time with the world around you that you’ll never get back.

How many times have you found yourself “looking down” only to find that when you looked up you missed something amazing? You missed the sunrise or the sunset, you missed the one you love smiling at you, you missed an opportunity to communicate with another human, or you simply missed something that you’ll never have a chance to see again.

I know there are times we have to “look down” but don’t let that become your priority. Make that “looking down” thing but a brief moment in your day…make that “looking up” thing a priority of your day.

Trust me, more negative experiences and situations happen when you’re looking down all the time…

And trust me when I say that more positive experiences come from looking up…

And looking around…

And looking forward.

It’s a good thing.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

look up

 

“Never Forget How Far You’ve Come”

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The older we get the more experiences we have under our belt, yet there are times we forget how far we’ve come on this life journey.

We all go through rough days and tough times, no matter our age. It’s in those moments that we wonder how in the world we’re going to make it through, how we’re going to get past this difficult experience, how we’re going to find strength in a soul that is exhausted.

Yet we do.

And do you know how to do that?

You need to remember what you’ve already gone through and that you made it through…and sometimes by the skin of your teeth, but you made it through. And you made it through stronger, different, and better.

Never forget how far you’ve come…never forget the lessons you learned, and some you learned through the worst of times.

And never forget that you never thought you’d make it through, but you did.

You got through a day, slept through a night, and woke up to a new day in the morning.

A new day with no mistakes in it.

A new day to do it all differently than the day before.

A new day to change your life.

And that day is a very good day.

Life will always throw a challenge or two your way, yet it’s so important to remember that we’ve been through difficult times before and we made it through.

“Never forget how far you’ve come.”

Remember that…

Always remember that…

It’s a good thing. 

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

never forget

“Do You Know Your Value?”

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value yourself
 

Everything begins with you…and I can’t say that often enough to you. There are moments even I have to remind myself of that.

And those moments seem to come when we place more value on others than we do on ourselves, and when that happens, well, everything hits the fan!

We find ourselves seeing the true colors of friends; we see that they weren’t who we thought they were; and when that happens we find ourselves feeling betrayed, hurt and angry. We wonder why they couldn’t be as loyal to us as we were to them; we wonder why they turned their back on us; we wonder why they crossed our boundaries of friendship.

We wonder what happened, why things went the way they did, and what did it all mean…in other words, we want to know WHY it happened.

No one can control another; no one can make another loyal and trusting to you; no one can make someone love them.

We can only control ourselves.

And that’s a great power to have: the power to make decisions that are best for YOU!

You see, you lost sight of how valuable you are; you valued someone else so much that you forgot to value yourself; you placed way too much importance on someone who hurt you.

If you can’t see how valuable you are, how do you expect anyone else to?

It all begins with you.

Walk away from those who bring you down; wish them love and light, be grateful for the lessons it taught you, and move forward.

Let go of the negative people you’ve allowed in your bubble and make room for the positive people to come in.

Know your value…know your worth.

It’s a good thing!

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

 

“Those Waking Up Moments”

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“It takes but one moment in your life that you find yourself waking up.”
~Anne Dennish~

 

“Waking Up” was the title of my last book and of the song I wrote to go with it. It was born out of my journey with breast cancer when a nurse asked me on my last day of treatment how the experience affected me. My answer was quick: “It woke me up.”

And it sure did.

But you don’t need to go through an illness to “wake up” to your life and how you’re living it.

I believe we all have those moments of “waking up” in which we see a situation differently…we see it with open eyes and more clarity. We see the truth. We see what’s working in our life and what isn’t. We see who belongs in our bubble and who doesn’t.

And then we have the choice to change it.

I’ve been going through a few “waking up” moments myself and while there are moments of sadness in what needs to be changed, there’s many more moments of happiness because of the change.

“Waking up” moments bring us life lessons to be learned so that we can live our life to the fullest and for our Highest Good.

Change isn’t always easy but I can promise you that it will always be worth it.

Because “YOU” are worth it!

Know the value of who you are…

It’s a good thing.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

it takes but one moment

“My Restless Soul”

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I feel restless. It used to be that I only felt that way once or twice a year, yet lately this feeling is happening more and more frequently. I’m feeling restless, feeling bored, feeling like I need a new adventure; I need something new, something exciting, something different. I need to feed my soul because it’s my soul that’s feeling restless. I guess you could say I have “restless soul syndrome!”

Don’t get me wrong, I love my life, yet there are moments even I wonder if this is as good as it gets or this is all there is…and I’m at that point now, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that way now and again. Maybe some of you feel that way as well.

Life seems to morph into a ritual of the same people, the same parties, the same old same old…and while I love those people and those parties I need new experiences as well. I’m not one who can stay in a box and that same comfort zone for too long. I need to experience new things, new people, and new adventures.

And that’s where I am today…feeling restless. I’m wondering what direction I need to move in my life next, what I should be doing differently, what I’m missing out on. I love my writing and I couldn’t imagine a day without writing something, yet in the midst of that I find myself in the middle of laundry, housework and mundane routines…

And I’ve lived that life before…

I’ve been a full time housewife and mother, and as the kids have grown older, there’s not much need for it now. I have two of my five children living home now and both boys tell me that they want me to do more as a writer, that they love the fact that I AM a writer, and they support me through it all. They want to see me out there in the world catching my dreams, always believing that something wonderful is about to happen, and living my life pursuing my passion of writing. They know I’m always there as their mom but they want so much more for me. They’re two very impressive boys and I’m grateful for them every day. They sometimes see in me the potential and ability that I sometimes lose sight of in myself.

They believe in me.

They love me.

And they want me to do the same for myself.

They both lived through my breast cancer with me…they were there for the diagnosis, the treatment and the recovery, and ever since then they want me to do what makes me happy. They want me to write, to publish more books, and to try and make a difference in the world. They want me to live my life in a way that I never had before. They want me to live my life making the world a better place.

And believe me, they’ve done that for me.

So here I am, knowing all that I know, feeling restless…wanting more, desiring more, and ready for another adventure. I want to push the envelope and shoot for the moon. I want to dream bigger and better; I want to write more and share more with the world; I want to step out of this box I find myself in and push the limits to one of endless possibilities.

And I’m the only one that can do that. I own the fact that I’m feeling restless and I know that it’s up to me to change it.

I want to fuel that fire that ignites my soul.

Feeling restless doesn’t mean I’ll change who I am; feeling restless means that the Universe is trying to tell me something. It’s taking who I am and trying to make me a better person. It’s trying to teach me a lesson and tell me that there’s more that awaits me in this world. It’s telling me to get out from under the laundry and move up to what it has to offer me next. It’s telling me that there’s another experience waiting for me if I’ll just open my eyes and see it.

So, while I’m feeling restless today I know that tomorrow is another day with endless possibilities and new experiences just waiting for me to grab onto them, move forward with them, and let them guide me to the next chapter in my life.

I know these moments of feeling “restless” are for a reason and I can’t wait to see what they are!

I’m ready to take a leap of faith and open up the door to something new…

Are you?

It’s a good thing.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

restless soul