relationships

“What’s Your Agenda?”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

Good morning! What a weekend it was! My mind is still trying to process a dream coming true at Barnes and Noble this past Saturday… yet, there’s no rest for the weary and it’s time to keep moving forward. With that said… I have a question for all of you:

Do you have an agenda in life?

I’ve had this discussion with several people this week, so I’m assuming that the Universe is asking me to write about it! So, here goes:

Throughout the years I’ve heard men say that women all have an “agenda,” and I believe women feel the same about men. In fact, someone made that statement to me years ago, and as he lumped me in with all women in the world, I thought about it. Within seconds I answered him: “Yes, you’re right. All women do have an agenda, and mine is to be happy.” That stopped him right in his tracks, yet it didn’t stop me.

I’m curious about people and their stories, and about their “agenda” in life. I’ve come to realize that a positive agenda which is based solely on your purpose in life and your Highest Good is the agenda to have; this agenda involves you and you alone. Other’s will help it along, but the agenda you have is up to you.

Then there is the other type of agenda: the one that is self-serving and involves a manipulative or controlling behavior that involves someone else. I find that the people with this type of agenda are not living the life they want; they’re not as happy as they’d like to be, and they tend to want what others have. They tend to be martyrs; people that know they have a choice to change their life and their thinking, yet are too fearful to do so. They tend to control other’s lives because they can’t control their own.

And they’re not all bad people; they’re sad people who sometimes get so lost in their own tearsdespair that they have an agenda with those that are NOT lost, those that ARE happy, and those that ARE in control. Most times they don’t even realize what they’re doing, and that’s where we need to pay attention to our Highest Good to know what they’re doing and not allow it. It’s never selfish to do what’s best for you!

We can’t fix another human being; we can only fix ourselves. We can love them and stand by them, yet if they are unable to change, it’s okay to wish them love and light and walk away. Keep them in your thoughts, remember them in your prayers, but if their “agenda” is hurting you, then it’s time to love yourself more… and that is an “agenda” worth having: “to be happy.”

One more time: what is your agenda in life?

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

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“Rock The World”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

“The world doesn’t owe you, you owe the world. If you put out all your best into the world, good things will come back to you. After all, the world doesn’t revolve around you, you revolve around the world.”

There are those that believe that that’s a simple way to think, that it’s not true. Yet it is true. I know it for fact.

I know a few people that walk around with a chip on their shoulder, always complaining that they never have enough or that they didn’t get what they want. They wonder why no one is helping them or giving them what they need. They are the martyrs of the world, the ones who, literally, have a boulder on their shoulder.

I almost feel badly for them, because they have no clue as to why life isn’t treating them the way they want; it’s because THEY are not treating their life the way they should. They expect others’ to fix it for them, yet they sit in ignorance and denial that they are the reason for their life not being what they want.

YOU ARE IN CONTROL of your life, your emotions, your boundaries, what you will allow, what you will accept and of what you want!

Repeat that until you believe it.

Sometimes it’s just easier to blame someone else. None of us want to admit that we caused our problems or emotions that are hurtful, but the truth is, we did.

Most of us don’t understand that we have 100% control of our life, of our mind, of our heart. It’s almost scary to think that we can change our life and our thinking to attain our goals, to fulfill our dreams, but we can! And we shouldn’t be scared. We should feel grateful for the gift of choice, the gift of free will, the give of control!

Take control today; don’t look at the world as the place that owes you what you think you deserve. You owe yourself what you believe you deserve, and you have the power to have it all…it’s all in your hands.

Every new day is a chance to make a choice which is for your Highest Good!

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

Every new day is a gift just for you.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

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“Just Believe”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

Do you believe that all things are possible? Do you believe that with faith in yourself that the dreams you want can turn into something you never imagined? Something bigger than you had thought?

I do…and I’m living proof of it!

I’ll be posting some exciting news later today, and it’s something that came out of the blue, was unexpected, and something so awesome that I have to pinch myself to believe it to be true.

Yet, after the pinch, I remind myself that when your life is in balance, when you surround yourself with positive people, when you love yourself as you want to be loved, and most importantly, when you BELIEVE in yourself and your dreams, miracles happen! Opportunities come along, adventures begin, and love grows even stronger!

 

My life isn’t perfect, yet it’s perfect for me… and that’s what counts. What I believe, how I love, and how I live are the key to my success, my happiness, and my ability to connect with the right people.

Accept the gifts of the Universe, because it’s always watching, always listening, always paying attention; and when it knows we believe in ourselves and that we’re living in a life that’s for our highest good, it steps in and gifts us some amazing adventures!

That’s the truth, and I know that with all my heart. It took me many years, a multitude of lessons, and some incredible spiritual teachers to get me here, but I sit in gratitude for this life and the direction in which it’s going.

I sit in awe, in gratitude and love for this adventure I’ve been blessed to be given.

Dream big, my friends, and go out and make it happen!

“Just believe, just have faith, everything else will fall into place.”

I know you can do it, because I believe in you… now go out and believe in yourself!

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

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“Anne Dennish & Sutton Thomas”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

I’VE GOT SOME EXCITING NEWS TO SHARE WITH YOU!

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Sutton Thomas

Sutton Thomas and I have joined creative forces to produce a compilation of songs that coincide with the stories in my book, “Waking Up: Lessons Learned Through My Adventures with Life and Breast Cancer.”

We spent a few hours yesterday working together on some new songs, and it’s a match made in heaven as I write the lyrics and Sutton Thomas writes the music! He’s one of the most creative and amazing musicians I’ve met, and I’m grateful that the Universe conspired for us to meet and work together. It’s such an amazing feeling to work together with another creative soul such as him.

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Working on our latest song!

Our CD is a beautiful work in progress, and will be released sometime in the summer of 2016! We will keep you posted when this final work of inspirational and uplifting songs is available to you!

 

I am so grateful for this  journey I’m on. Every day something wonderful falls into my life, bringing people and opportunities that I never saw as possible. My life truly is an adventure, and I’m embracing every moment of it!

I believe all things happen just as they should, when they should, and how they should. The secret is to keep the faith, believe it to be true, and put out into the Universe all that you want to come back to you. Positive thinking brings some amazing adventures!

In the meantime, check out Sutton Thomas at www.heart2song.com and get to know more about the creative genius of this amazing musician. You can also find him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Sutton-Thomas-Music!

It’s time to make a difference, and we can make that difference together!

Dream big and make it happen! You can do it, I know that you can!

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The creative forces of Anne Dennish & Sutton Thomas meet!

 

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

I woke up earlier than I usually do today… 5:30 am to be exact. And I know that when that happens it’s because I have a lot on my mind. Today is no exception. I went to bed with a lot on my mind, and woke up this morning with even more.6am annie

Why? Because life is changing.

Change is never easy, yet I embrace it. I know it means that there’s a new adventure on the horizon, exciting challenges on the way, and choices to be made. It’s a little scary, I’ll admit, but when life stops changing, you stop living.

When your life changes, I choose to believe that it’s because it’s time to kick it up a bit, time to move into something better in your life. There’s a Higher Power at work over all of us, and when our life isn’t the way it should be, or could be better, it steps in and brings up changes. It makes us think, it makes us wonder, and it makes us stronger.

Embrace the changes that life brings to you… even if it is at the crack of dawn. Trust yourself, trust your Higher Power, and trust that everything is happening just as it should and when it should.

Grab those changes that life is handing you and get moving…all good things are on the horizon. You just have to believe and have faith in yourself that it will all work out in the end.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

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“Don’t You Forget About Me”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

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For those of you old enough to remember the movie, you’ll understand when I say this: I feel like I’m part of “The Breakfast Club!” And all I can hear is that song playing in my head: “Don’t you….forget about me!”

There have been times in the last few weeks that I find myself feeling “forgotten.” And I have to wonder how and why that’s happened. I always pay attention to someone while they’re speaking to me, I listen to them and try to offer advice if they need it, but more importantly, I respect them. Yet turn the tables and I find myself becoming “white noise” to them, feeling like a burden as I speak to them about me, and more importantly, I feel disrespected. I feel “forgotten.”

This has been going on for some time now, and I’ve been trying to figure out how it happened. I find myself in conversations where I just want to say: “Don’t you forget about me!”

But they do, and they did.

And I’m feeling upset and hurt.

And I allowed it.

The truth is that they didn’t forget about me, I forgot about me. I forgot to do what’s best for me, I forgot to speak my truth, I forgot to be sure they respected my boundaries.

I don’t like confrontation, yet speaking my truth and expressing it to someone with kindness isn’t confrontation; it’s owning who I am. So why is it so difficult for us to do that?

No one likes to hurt someone’s feelings and most of us try to avoid doing that. But what if someone else is doing that to us? Why do we find that acceptable?

We find it acceptable because we don’t like to feel uncomfortable yet:

“Sometimes we have to do something uncomfortable to be comfortable.”

And that is the truth. We, as humans, like things smooth and easy, but if you’re in the right relationship, no matter the type, being yourself and being honest shouldn’t be uncomfortable. All relationships should be based on respect and love, yet sometimes that line gets lost. And we find ourselves stressing over emotions and feelings that we allowed to happen.

Well, it’s time to STOP doing that, because protecting, respecting and loving yourself enough to tell someone the truth IS truth…your truth!

It’s my personal experience that the people that “forget about me” only do so because I’ve “forgotten about me.”

Stand in your truth, respect yourself, stand firm on your boundaries… and remember who you are!

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

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“It’s A Guy/Girl Thing”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

As my love and I were having our morning coffee together, we began to discuss our “miscommunication” from the night before. It’s funny how two people can be in the same situation, yet both can see it so differently. I guess that’s the difference between men and women: men see it one way, and women see it another.

That’s not to say it happens all the time, because I truly believe that when you’re in balance and in the right relationship, it happens very little. Yet I do believe that when it happens it does so to teach us something about ourselves and each other.

It also teaches us about our relationship.

I tossed and turned all night, thinking about what had transpired. It was such a small and inconsequential thing, yet couple that with being tired, working long hours and too much on your mind, well, you’ve got a recipe for disaster… or at least a minor miscommunication.

Women and men think differently, process things differently and react differently. Yet what I’ve learned over the years is this: If women can learn to accept the differences of a man, and a man can learn compassion for a woman’s differences, then all is right with the relationship. Truth be told, we should all have respect for each others’ differences, whether you’re a man or a woman.

How many times have you said: “It’s a guy thing, or it’s a girl thing?” I’m sure you’ve found yourself thinking it or saying it on several occasions. And you would be right because men and women are different, and that’s a fact.

So what do you do with these differences? You embrace them with love, try and understand them if you can, and be grateful for the lessons you learn from them. It’s these very lessons that teach you more about yourself, and about your relationship.

My love and I don’t always agree on everything, yet the love we share and the life we’re building together are much stronger than the little things that come up every so often. Our similarities far outweigh our differences and once we talk about our differences, there’s always laughter to follow… and our love for one another grows stronger.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

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“Fallen Angel”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

I have some exciting news that I’ve been waiting to share with all of you…and today is the day!

I’ve joined creative forces with one of the most amazing, creative and talented singers and musicians that I was blessed to meet through my love and his cousin, Thomas. It’s time to introduce you to Sutton Thomas, owner of Heart2Song.com!

Let me tell you how this new adventure of Anne Dennish and Sutton Thomas began. A few weeks ago I wrote lyrics as a theme song for my new book, “Waking Up,” and sent them to him. He sent back an amazing song and the general feedback from most who heard it said that we should do a compilation of songs together that coincide with the book! I am most honored and thrilled that Sutton Thomas has agreed to work with me on this new adventure!

Here’s your first listen at a song I wrote that goes hand in hand with the story in the book called “Fallen Angel.” I wrote this song for someone who holds a special place in my heart. It’s about his struggles with addiction. I’ve watched him fall, and I’m blessed to be part of watching his journey through recovery.

None of us choose to fall, we are chosen to fall. We are chosen to fall for many reasons, find a strength we never knew we had, and fight our way back up to greatness! I truly believe that it’s the “fallen angels” in this world that rise back up ready to change the world and make a difference.

 

And we don’t just fall from addiction; we fall for many reasons…and the lessons learned from the fall will bring us back to a better life, one that we always wanted and deserved. I’m a big believer that when our lives aren’t going the way they should, the Universe will step in and smack us with a 2×4! It’s that smack, that “fall from grace” that brings us to our knees and makes us take a cold, hard look at ourselves and our truth.

It’s when we finally “choose” to see our truth that the climb back up from the fall will bring us a new life, another chance to do it better, and will have finally taught us what “love of self” is… and how many miraculous, beautiful and wonderful things come into our life when we find that love of self.

I’m thrilled and honored to share “Fallen Angel” with all you! Both Sutton Thomas and I would appreciate any and all comments you have, and please feel free to share it out. Be sure to check out his website and “like” his Facebook page “Heart2Song!”

Once again, “it’s time to make a difference, and we can make a difference together.”

And today, the lyrics of Anne Dennish met the music of Sutton Thomas… and together, he and I want to make a difference through music.

I hope you enjoy the first public release of “Fallen Angel.”

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

“Scenes From An Italian Deli”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

“It’s time to make a difference, and we can make a difference together.”

~Anne Dennish~

I had a book signing today at my local Italian deli, Valente’s. It was a cold, rainy day, yet the owner and staff were wonderful to my love and I.

However, it wasn’t the amount of books sold that stuck with me today…it’s what happened as I was leaving, and I want to share this beautiful story with all of you.

There was a table of gentleman sitting across from me, and they were there for quite some time. They kept looking over and were probably wondering what this book was all about, yet they didn’t stop by to see me… until I was leaving.

This sweet gentleman came up to me and asked what the book was about. I told him it was about the lessons I’ve learned through my life and breast cancer. He smiled and told me he has a rare cancer, but was fortunate to be in an experimental trial which is keeping him alive. Others with this same cancer had passed long before him. Soon, his friend joined in the conversation, and we exchanged our stories of chemo, treatments, hospitals, side effects and survival!

I reached my hand out to formally introduce myself to him, and with that, he outstretched his arms and consumed me in a beautiful bear hug. He told me to keep writing, stay healthy, and survive. I told him the same. I couldn’t help but feel such a connection with another person battling cancer. He smiled as he said goodbye, and wished me well.

That stands out more in my mind than the books I signed today. My story made a difference, and his story made a difference to me.

Please remember to be kind, to take a moment to listen to someone who needs to talk, and share your “waking up” moments with others.

After all: “It’s time to make a difference, and we can make a difference together.”

And today, at an Italian deli, a difference was made.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

Author of “Waking Up: Lessons Learned Through My Adventures With Life and Breast Cancer”

Available at Barnes and Noble.com and Amazon.com

your move

“You Had A Bad Day”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

A tone in the voice, a look of the eyes, and a distinct difference in the body language… yes, you’ve just been part of someone’s bad day.

It happens all too often, but the trick is to understand the behavior and realize that it has nothing to do with you.

We get frustrated, angry, or annoyed, and when we feel those negative emotions, it’s the people around us, which are usually the one’s we love the most, who feel it as well. Your unhappy mood can affect someone else’s good mood…but only if they let you.

You see, negative emotions bring negative reactions and responses, and if I’m wrong on this, please let me know. Positive brings positive; negative brings negative. Pretty simply concept, isn’t it? Yet, life get’s to us all now and again, and we feel some negative things, but don’t feel them too long. Take a breath, and think about why you feel that way…and if you’re the recipient of the bad mood, understand that it’s nothing you’ve said or done; it’s their fear, insecurity or unhappiness with themselves, not you.

If I find myself on the other end of someone’s “bad mood,” I’ll only allow myself about 30 seconds to hang my head and feel badly about it…yes, it does make me feel bad, but as soon as those 30 seconds pass, I say to myself: “It’s their bad day, not mine. If I can help them, I will. If they just need to vent, I’ll listen. But no, I’m not taking the blame for their feelings.”

I know, sounds easy, and it’s not always that easy. But this is where your “love of self” is so important! We can’t control another person’s behavior, but we can control what we allow: our feelings, our responses, and our tolerance.

Life isn’t perfect and neither are we. We all have a bad day once in awhile, but the important thing is this: don’t take it out on someone else. That “someone else” just may be the one to help and love you out of that bad mood.

So, on with the day, my friends. Stay strong, stay positive,and know that you are in complete control of your own actions and emotions. In the end, bad moods don’t last forever, and as the saying goes: “Don’t sweat the small stuff!”

Wishing you love, light and a happy mood,

~Anne Dennish~

life is too short