#loveyourself

“You Are a Survivor”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

Somewhere along the way, we started labeling ourselves by what happened to us. 

The divorced woman. 

The grieving husband. 

The cancer patient. 

The abandoned child. 

The parent with an estranged son or daughter. 

The person who lost everything. 

But what if we looked at it differently? What if instead of defining ourselves by the storm, we defined ourselves by the fact that we made it through? 

Think about your life for a moment. 

Maybe you’ve buried people you loved or sat in a doctor’s office waiting for test results. 

Maybe you’ve survived a divorce, betrayal, addiction, financial hardship, loneliness, depression, or heartbreak and there were days you weren’t sure how you would make it to tomorrow. 

Yet here you are, breathing, living and reading these words. 

You survived, not because it wasn’t hard, or that it didn’t hurt and knocked to your knees. 

You survived because somehow, some way, you got back up. 

We spend so much time calling ourselves victims of our circumstances that we forget the truth: victims stay trapped in the story. 

Survivors keep writing new chapters. 

That doesn’t mean the scars disappear or the memories stop hurting. It simply means the difficult thing didn’t get the final say. 

You did. 

The next time you find yourself replaying everything you’ve been through, pause and ask yourself one question: ‘Am I still here?’ If the answer is yes, then congratulations. You survived 100% of your worst days. 

And that makes you something far more powerful than a victim. It makes you a survivor. 

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Peace or Perfection?”

/ Anne Dennish / 2 Comments

Six days until Christmas.

Not a countdown.

Not a checklist.

Just a gentle reminder to move through this week without pressure.

You don’t have to do everything.

You don’t have to be everything.

You’re allowed to slow down, breathe, and let things be “good enough.”

Take this week one moment at a time. 

Peace matters more than perfection.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“A Self-Care Reminder”

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This time of year has a way of pulling us in every direction – plans to make, places to be, and people to take care of, but somewhere in the middle of all that hustle and bustle is YOU!

And YOU matter, too!

So, today, give yourself permission to slow down. If you’ve been working all day, come home and let the world quiet itself for a moment. Slip into something soft, breathe deeply and allow yourself to unwind.

And if you’re in the middle of a busy day, carve out even five minutes just for you: read a few pages of a book, sip something warm, listen to calming music, or simply sit in silence and let your mind rest.

Self-care isn’t selfish – it’s necessary. When you nurture your own heart, you make more room for joy, patience, and love to flow into everything else that you do.

Take a moment today, and everyday because you deserve that much – and so much more.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“A Sunday Reminder”

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Here’s a little reminder for you on this Sunday:

“You are not too much. You are just enough for the right hearts.

So go ahead, take up space, speak your truth and continue to shine your light!”

The world needs your light.

And the world needs you.

Happy Sunday, my loves.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“A Moment of Grace”

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Today I decided to be gentle with myself. Not Lazy. Not unmotivated. Just gentle, because sometimes the strongest thing we can do is give ourselves permission to take a breath, to rest, to heal and to simply be. Life doesn’t always need a battle plan – sometimes it just needs a moment of grace.

What would happen if today, just for today, you softened your heart towards yourself?

Try it and let me know how you feel.

Today it made me feel calm, peaceful and filled with a hope that all things are possible.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Discernment Is A Gift”

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“Discernment” is a gift, not a crime. 

It’s not always easy to say “no” to someone you love or to call out behavior that hurts, but discernment isn’t judgement. It’s wisdom shaped by experience, boundaries and care for one’s own peace.

If someone hides things from you, excludes you or treats you like an afterthought, that’s NOT YOUR FAULT for noticing it. It’s their fault for denying transparency.

You’re not walking away because you want to hurt them. You’re stepping back because you deserve honesty and that’s not selfish. That is self-respect.

And don’t you deserve that?

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Choose YOU!”

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You’ve given so much to others – your time, your love, and your energy. But this week? Make a little promise to yourself: choose you! 

Choose what feels right. Choose rest when you’re tired, adventure when you’re brave and quiet when your soul needs to breathe. 

The world can wait, your spirit can’t.

Let this be the beginning of the week that you come home to yourself.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Writing Your Own Permission Slip”

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Sometimes you have to write yourself a “permission slip.” Remember those back in grade school? They were the ones your parents wrote for your teacher or school telling them that you had permission to leave early, or permission to attend a class trip. It seems so long ago yet as adults I think we need to write one to ourselves.

I’m home by myself this week. Eight days and seven nights of “alone” time and it’s been good for me. The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of travel and my oldest and daughter-in-law came for a visit, so this time was much needed and well deserved.

And during this time, I realized something sacred: “I can.”

I can say no to what drains me.

I can say yes to what lights me up.

I can order takeout without guilt.

I can write when I feel called to.

I can nap if I need to.

I can breathe deeply.

I can be gentle with myself.

I can say: “This is my time.”

This is the freedom that we often forget that we’re allowed to take. Balance isn’t about doing it all, it’s about knowing when to shift, when to rest and when to rise.

Write yourself a permission slip. Remember that this is your time. Live a life of “I can!”

And enjoy every moment of it.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“New Year’s Revelations 2025!”

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(Here’s an excerpt from my book, “Each Breath Along the Journey)
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, by learning from my mistakes, 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 are in my tribe? 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. You begin the New Year with a better understanding of yourself, your life, your situations and the people in it. When you do that, the New Year will bring all that you want it to: love, happiness, joy, adventure, new beginnings, and new opportunities. The possibilities are endless.
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!
It’s a good thing.
Wishing you love and light,
~Anne Dennish~


“Don’t Let Them Dull Your Sparkle”

/ Anne Dennish / 3 Comments

“Never let anyone steal your brave because of their fears and insecurities, never let anyone steal your pretty because they have an ugly personality, and never let anyone steal your sparkle because they don’t know how to shine.” ~Anne Dennish~

Sometimes all we need is a memory to pop up to remind us of a life lesson. This was mine from many years ago.

A good friend of mine had stopped by my house many years ago. We hadn’t seen each other in months, and it was a much-needed break for me that day. We had a nice visit, but it was something that she said as we said “goodbye”, that stuck with me for many hours that day. She said: “What happened to you? You lost your pretty, your sparkle and your brave! Go get that stuff back!”

Wow, point taken, and she was right. I had lost my pretty, forgotten about my brave, and had most definitely lost my sparkle. My task on that day was to figure out what happened to it all and the next was to go and get it back. It wasn’t the thing that I had wanted to do that day, but after all, if I’m going to share my experiences with all of you and tell you how I got through them then I had to practice what I preach or at least practice what I write about!

So, what happened to my pretty, my brave and my sparkle?

A lot of things happened.

Yet it isn’t so much about “what” those things were but “why” those things happened. And as always, I believe that what we allow will continue and that we have to set up healthy boundaries in our life and not allow them to be crossed.

It’s easier said than done.

So, on that day I had to look in the mirror and be truthful with myself. And yes, the truth, even our own truth, can hurt.

And it did.

I had work to do that day and I was more than ready to do it. I knew then why and how I lost my pretty, my brave and my sparkle.

I lost it because I lost sight of its importance to me and that those three things are a part of me. I forgot to love myself the way I want to be loved, and I lost sight of myself as well.

You see, I’m as human as you and even I have to be handed another experience in life to remind me of a life lesson that I had forgotten and needed to remember.

Only I am in charge of changing myself; only I am in charge of my feelings and emotions; and only I am in charge of my actions and reactions.

After all, don’t I always say that “everything in YOUR life begins with YOU?”

On that day many years ago, I remembered that “everything in MY life begins with ME.”

And I remembered it again today.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~