Blog Archives - Courage & Connection Counseling

If I did have a motto this would be it

5/31/2016

One of my all time favorite books is Stolen Lives by Malika Oufkir. It's a memoir (in the Oprah's book club obviously). It had a profound impact on me due to the phrase pictured below.

Long and wonderful story short: Malika's whole family was captured and jailed for 20+ years. At one of the prisons in the very beginning of their journey they met an old woman who was said to be a psychic of some kind and told the family they would indeed be free and somehow escape, she said: "Zouain zouain bezef". Which is an ancient Arabic phrase that translates to "It will be miraculous, very miraculous"

These words kept Malika's family going for the next 20 years. Believing they were living a predestined miracle made it so they could overcome everything their captures thrust upon them. In their darkest times they would murmur to one another "Zouain zouain bezef"

I remember reading it at the time and thinking How wonderful is that? "Miraculous" struck me as such a special word. Who wouldn't want to believed their life was going to be a miracle?That somehow everything that is happening now is all leading to miraculous and wonderful endings. It struck me as a daring new idea that perhaps I could view my own life as "Miraculous" too. What would be different about my journey if I told myself "It will be miraculous, very miraculous".

It's made every ounce of difference, and I've realized that miracles come when you believe in them, and because you believe in them. Some people say they'll believe it when they see it. Malika's story showed me that it's actually the other way around, when you believe it you'll see it.

Speaking of Adele.....

5/29/2016

After yesterday's post where I mentioned Adele I decided I'd take a gander to see what the first thing that popped up on YouTube for her was. Umm it was only a brand new video released this week....no big deal. What are the odds? I love it when that happens.

She's a genius by the way. I can't get enough. Just her on a stage looking fierce and sounding incredible. I love it. The song has a great beat, and regardless of what situation you're in you'll find yourself bopping your head to this one- but especially if you're in a place to say "buh bye" to something/someone. Enjoy.

Find Your Language

5/28/2016

I'll let you in on a little fact about me. I love sad things. Sad movies, sad songs, sad poems. Kinda weird right? Thankfully I've learned I'm in pretty good company- Goddesses such as Diane Sawyer long for a sad tune every now and again as well.

What me and my dream life BFF Diane know is there is a definite beauty to such raw emotions. I think about Adele and how her heart break is something that millions connect with on a level that is astounding. The woman is an institution. And most of her stuff is pretty sad. We love it because we've been there, we get it, it's raw, it's real, and it's so beautiful.

The funny thing is I don't listen to sad music when I'm actually sad. It's just not what I need in that moment. When I'm sad I seek out inspirational or upbeat music. Sad music is a beautiful thing to me and I don't want to handle it when I'm in a dark and twisty place, and make it dark and twisty too. I love it too much.

But I'm pretty good at knowing what I need and getting myself out of funky places. When I saw this quote I couldn't help but think "yup I've felt that way", and I sure as hell know a lot of my clients feel that way. I see people every day struggling to just keep it all to themselves. What I encourage everyone to do is find something that can speak for you.

Listen to a song on repeat and sit in wonder that that famous person thousands of miles away has felt exactly what you have felt. Paint or draw with colors that make sense for where you're at, or better yet, where you want to be. Prepare and cook a divine meal that feeds you in ways you didn't even realize you were hungry. Find things that don't require your explanation, and let them speak for you.

Do Nothing and Rest

5/26/2016

We live in a culture that glorifies being busy. The Goddess Brene Brown speaks about this a lot. When we're showing off how busy we are, we're setting up a dynamic for comparison. You're comparing yourself to others, seeking approval or awe, and others are comparing themselves to you. And all of us are tired. Here's the secret: we're all super busy. We all have tons of stuff going on. Let's call it a wash ok?

Don't fall victim to the rat race of showing off who is most busy. Take time for yourself and let that be the thing you show to the world. "Hey world- Look how I take care of myself. Guess what I deserve it too". I promise you it's not a crime.

Grow

5/24/2016

So many people are just trying to survive one day to the next. They're getting so caught up in their own funky stuff they can't see what they're actually blocking.

So often I'll challenge someone on their need to come up"plan B" or they'll keep expectations really low so they don't get their hopes up. This never really makes sense to me because no one ever has a problem believing the bad things will come around, but people think it's so unreasonable- foolish even- to be so sure good things will come.

When I see this quote with the beautiful flowers it actually reminded me of the idea of growing and blooming. Take a chance and grow. Put it out there and allow yourself or your hopes and dreams to bloom into something wonderful. A flower doesn't worry about being cut down, it just blooms because it's meant to. You're meant to too.

May 04th, 2016

5/4/2016

Mad at the world

5/1/2016

Author

This blog is less about my writing, and more about sharing inspiration. I'll post pictures, articles, and videos that I find interesting, moving, or just funny (funny being a loose term here as my humor is generally of the nerdy psychoanalytic variety).

I don't take credit for any of the pictures, they are all from other sources. When available or appropriate, I will try to place the link to original source.

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