“If you change the way
you look at things,
the things you look at change.”
— Dr. Wayne Dyer —

I know we are supposed to wait until January to refresh and start anew, but why not go ahead and make it happen now? This way we can rid ourselves of any notion of Bah Humbug and decide to soak in the pure magic of the next wonderful weeks. Impossible, you think, with all the harried hustle and bustle, to-do lists, and skewed news on every channel? Yes, my friend, it is very possible but 100 percent up to you.

Here comes the holidays and with it comes
that tired, old holiday speak:

“Happy Turkey Day!”
“Are you ready for the holidays?”
“Have you finished your shopping?”
“It’s a madhouse out there!”

And these are just a few, but let’s at least talk about them:

“Don’t think ‘what’s the cheapest way to do it‘ or ‘what’s the fastest way to do it...‘ think ‘what’s the most amazing way to do it?‘”
— Richard Branson —

I counted more than 100 self-help books as I categorized the selections on the bookshelf in my bedroom. Those 100 books do not include the self-help books I have in my office, in one of my various business totes, in the car, on Audible, or that I have passed on to others. Does that make me a self-help junkie? Well, I don’t think so since I don’t feel the need to read self-help every day, and my fiction to-be-read (TBR) list far out numbers my self-help TBR list. Truth is, I’m going through a phase, or maybe I’ve reached an age of wisdom, where I have pretty much put self-help on the back burner for now.

As we move from the height of tourist season to our local stores, businesses, and restaurants being a little less crowded, I want to remind you of the wonderful community we live in, and that it takes all of us to make it a great place to live. Though, I wrote the following article in 2019, I want to run it again, as it is a great reminder of the influence you have on our local businesses. All I ask, is please use your words wisely. We are living in a time when we all need some extra grace.

Stop. Drop and Be Reasonable.

“My life is my message.”
— Elizabeth Skenes Millen

Well, here I go, entering another decade of life on September 10. I don’t remember this, but Lindsay, my art director, reminded me that I cried all day the last time I hit a new decade. In my defense, I think that was more about what I was going through at the time (divorce, empty nest, house destroyed in Hurricane Matthew, so much at once) as opposed to my age. While I don’t plan on crying this year, I can’t promise anything.

First, I want to say, I’ve had an amazing life so far. Believe me, there’s been some difficult stuff—lifelong stuff to be exact, but I’ve been fortunate enough to have a strong mind that allows me not to get stuck or dwell in the quagmire and to find and walk the lighter path. If my life was a novel, the first lines would be from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”