Real Life No Filters

About a year ago, my very best friend gave me a very curious plant. She asked me, "Have you ever heard of a Rose of Jericho?" Now I love gardening, and I love when others give me a little slice of their plant, and I can grow a new one. It's almost like having a piece of your person with you! My Grandmother had a true green thumb and my husband knows everything about plants and flowers! But, I had never heard of this one. This gift was so special. It's a beautiful correlation and reminder to those of us that struggle daily. This plant,  this tumble weed, survives.  No matter what. Bad weather? No water? Too hot? You forgot about it? You have a black thumb! (LOL) It looks completely dead?! But... it's magical.  It's strong. It's a spiritual force of it's own. You see, the Rose of Jericho, is a fighter. If I had to pick a spirit plant,  I'd choose this one. Every day,  I go on my porch and see this reminder. Even when it looks like the last brea...

For those of us, and notice I said us, that deal with anxiety and depression, there are times when we will do anything to feel better. A few weeks ago during one of the award shows, I was lucky enough to catch Demi Lovato's song, "Anyone". I feel very strongly that you should listen to it. If you are here you are here for a reason. This song spoke to me. I have been doing a lot of reflection over the last few weeks, and this song brought me to thinking about my past 20 years. How I cope, how I handled certain situations, thought about different situations that may have even been manic, and made worse by alcohol. I have an extremely high metabolism for my medications, but not alcohol. This has caused me quite a few issues and I am still learning how to balance, "socially having a few drinks", versus the "feeling" that I need to drink because I am anxious in the situation I am in. Of course I can't dwell or change the past, I can only learn from ...

Ahhh, the age old question, why are we here? It's really an interesting topic.  I bet if we asked 10 of our acquaintances, we would get 10 different answers! I have personally pondered this question for many years. Why am I here other than producing my two wonderful children? What am I supposed to do every day to make a difference? If I think about it too long, I start to get anxious. Am I doing what I was supposed to do in my life? How will I know when I'm doing it? Am I wasting time, not living to the fullest? I think the answer can be as simple or as complicated as you'd like it to be. I have narrowed it down to just one thing. We are all connected, so we must help each other to get through life.  Whether you think we all connect via our energy, our human compassion, or just because,  science...we are all intertwined. How do I know this? Easy! When you yawn, do you make other people yawn? When a baby laughs, is it contagious to everyone? When you smile, does someo...