We have put this group together here for just a little while and I am truly grateful about the little space you are creating in your life for you. But more importantly, the space you are creating in your HEAD.My sister has a saying when I do anything positive:“Keep going”.That goes for this message, too. Keep carving time out for you to increase yourNET PEACE.Remember my talk about what is NET PEACE and how to make it more positive? I…
“You are afraid of Surrender. Because you don’t want to lose control. But you never had control; All you had was Anxiety.” -Elizabeth Gilbert This sentiment popped up online July 17th of this year. The art that goes with this saying is actually very simple and beautiful. But the meaning behind these very simple words made my jaw drop. You may recognize the author. Eat, pray, love. When I read it, I stopped what I was doing. Read it again. Thought about…
“Live.So you do not haveTo look back and sayGod. How I haveWasted my life.” Elisabeth Kubler-Ross So if you have never sat through a palliative care consultation, this may be a little interesting to you. Our team is made up of a palliative care physician, chaplain, social worker and an RN. We are not always there together in a consultation, but resources permitting we try to be. We walk down the halls together, holding our own individual folding chair as…
I just realized that it is almost end of August. Year 2020. Did that just go so fast that you think this year was an out of body experience? I know it’s COVID and everything is shut down and our lives are bizarre. This whole year whizzed by like lightning. But I have to tell you as a 50 year old person, I have realized that the years are moving fast anyway. When my kids were little, time stood still….
Hello Friends,How are you feeling today?Like, pause for a second. Put your hand on your belly if you need to, close your eyes and check in. How are you?I feel like often times, we think of our life falling between an ON and an OFF button. We wake up in the mornings and we are ON and get going and feed the kids, feed ourselves, run out the door, go to work, go, go and go. Come home and go,…
Today I want to talk about: “Rituals” I am hoping this won’t be triggering to any of you reading this, as it’s about the context of my line of medicine: palliative care.We are all familiar with Full Code and DNR status. When a patient is very sick and it seems unlikely that they can survive hospitalization, no matter what medical interventions we may offer, I recommend to the family to consider DNR. I see it as sort of a soft…
Today I want to talk about “perspective” It’s about choosing how you see your life. Not talking about glass half full or half empty. But what is the general theme of your life? I have learned that the more tendency you have to view your life negatively, the more easily your mind tends to slip that way in all aspects of your life (work, relationship, self love). Just a simple awareness of how you see your life is enough to…
Today I wanted to talk about a concept that is very near and dear to my heart: “Holding Space” Have you ever heard of it? Do you know how to describe it? I will first start with the definition and then give you an example.‘Holding Space’ means being physically, mentally, and emotionally present for someone. It means putting your focus on someone to support them as they feel their feelings. An important aspect of holding space is managing judgement while…
How was your weekend? Did you get recharged or at least purposefully pause for an hour or two? To be more of who you are… Who are you? I did my palliative care education training at Harvard. I had the most exceptional mentors. One of my all time favorite teachers was a visiting professor from Minnesota who was a psychiatrist. He did this exercise with our group of 40 or so people in the room. I want to do the…
“Don’t let the concept of change scare you as much as the prospect of remaining unhappy.” I don’t know who needs to hear that bit of advice. I know change is hard. It’s the unknown and uncharted territory. Believe me I know. I also know that we are given one precious life, and to live it fully we have to know our worth. Do change to be in a better situation (at work, with relationships or circumstances). I feel like…