Lifted, By My Girls! — The Archives — Formerly Vented Uplift

My daughter has always said to me “ Mom, you just don't know how to really relax” all said while she’s in sweats, wrapped in a blanket like a burrito placed in the middle of her bed, surrounded by more blankest and pillows ever possibly needed with just her eyes and red curls sticking out. She knows how to relax. And, she was totally right about me. I never really knew how to get lost without thoughts and cares.  With a brain that is literally non-stop it’s always been hard for me. Being in design, retail and the service industry for 35 years I can’t help but make checklists I’m my head about ways that the environment I am in could be improved. But then, I was finally in a place that does what they do so well that the first barrier was broken. The Rock Spa at the Hard Rock AC do it right! Now the next barrier was me….what was holding me back? I had to get out of my own way and really be in the moment and let go and just relax. And really, who likes their children to be right? Am I ...

  I LOVE quotes.  Funny quotes, poignant quotes, sarcastic quotes, and inspiring quotes.  I call upon them when a good laugh is required, or I’m having a conversation I believe a good quote would be the perfect punctuation mark on.     But, lately I find myself getting concerned by what I believe is becoming a trend.  I’m starting to believe that many people use positive quotes and mantras as remedies to healing.  What is more concerning?  If their mantras or the quotes they love “don’t work”, the whole idea of having a positive mindset becomes bunk to them.   “Yes, I Can!” “She Believed She Could, So She Did!” “Life Is As Easy or As Hard As You Think It Is!”   As a believer in “What you think about you bring about”, I suggest people “Live in the YES!”, “Hope ALWAYS Floats!”, and “I Am MAGIC!”.  But, do I say yes to everything?  No.  Are there things I hope for that do not come true?  Yes.  Can I pick the wi...

Day 1 Positive Memory Recall  Think back on a positive memory and write about the experiences that you had. Use your senses to fully experience the moment. For instance: I spent time with my family, and it was an amazingly beautiful day. The Sun felt warm across my skin and the fresh, ocean smell permeated the air. Limit yourself to one paragraph on that positive memory and no more than five sentences and here's why. Once you start doing more than five sentences, now you're starting to get into that gray area where you conjure up some of the negative parts of the experience. So, try to keep it to the most salient, most beautiful, aspects of that moment. The best time to do this is right before going to bed as it sets the tone for how you go into your rest and how you wake up in the morning. Think about it: if you go to bed on a positive note, chances are you have better dreams, you sleep better and you wake up the next morning feeling very refreshed. Best Time Right before goin...

Originally posted by Cassie Davis on  https://whispersofgrace2015.wordpress.com/   Do you ever look at someone and wish that they could see themselves the way you see them? That they could see the potential that lies within them.  That they could see how much more they are capable of.  How much more they deserve. And that they could arise and begin walking in all of that freedom. That freedom that is right there within their grasp……if only they would just reach out and claim it. If only. Recently I was thinking about someone like that in my life.  Someone I have been praying these specific prayers over for many years now. And I began to feel frustration well up within me. How many more prayers will it take? How many more conversations had?  How many more words of encouragement will need to be given? How much more will it take for them to see, to see themselves for who they truly are? It’s not that I need a specific deadline or else I will choose to give up ...

  So today I felt like switching up the kind of blog I would write. I decided I would torture my husband and write about him on this day in our history together. He may kill me for posting this but I wanted to praise him today. Its been a long year and he is my rock, hell my mountain. Well lets get back to what today is in Canny history.  See…today is the day I made Mike Canny officially start dating me…30 years ago tonight.  And yes,  I made him! It may have really happened on the 19th as it was  the latter point of our date but I claimed we were going with 8/18. I liked the date better. The things we think about when we are  20 and in love but I knew he would be mine forever so obviously the date was crucial…was it not?   We had big plans that we would finally go back to The Village Vanguard tonight and sit in the small theatre, listen to jazz, have a cocktail and celebrate us and all that we have accomplished and been through.  But things ...

There is a growing number of loved ones in my life who have passed away and as time goes on, there’s been a beautiful shift in how I relate to their love.    The first big loss was my maternal grandmother.    She passed away on Valentine’s Day 13 years ago.    I was in London visiting my brother at the time and I believe it was her way of always reminding us how much she loved us. Each of my closest loved ones who have passed on have a way of connecting with me from the other side.  The number 919 shows up when my grandmother is reaching out to me.  Her birthday was 9/19.  With my paternal grandmother, blue jays show up on my fire escape or follow me around in the park.  She loved watching the birds hanging out at the feeder in her backyard.  These are reminders that I am still loved even if I can’t be with them here on the earth plane. When my stepmother, Linda, passed away last spring, she came to me in a ...

Here are a few of the lessons I've learned about fear.  Fear is easy. Fear is isolating. Fear is debilitating. Fear is destructive. Fear is learned. Fear is inevitable. Fear is normal. Fear is unifying. Fear is helpful. Fear is protective. Fear is powerful.  Fear is not forever.  We are often afraid to speak up. We're afraid to ask for help. We're afraid to sing in public. We're afraid of math. We're afraid of standing up for what's right. We are afraid of all of these things, because we've been taught to be afraid. We are afraid of someone's response. We're afraid of what people will say. We are afraid of how people will judge us. We are afraid that someone will use our weaknesses and our emotions against us. We are afraid someone will post that hideous photo of us and that someone will turn it into a meme (or is that just me?). The more that you can latch on to some perspective regarding fear, the less afraid you become. We let fear control so much...