WellnessWithHolli

How Courage Opened the Door to JOY Introduction Have you ever wanted to make a change in your life?  Have you ever said you were going to change and then nothing ever happened?  Have you wondered what might be holding you back? As I share my insights in today’s blog, I hope you will discover as I did that although change is never easy, its genesis lies within us -  COURAGE                   Background Almost two years ago, a deeply beloved member of our family suddenly passed away. I have experienced other losses in my life. But this one magnified the fragility of life and its stark brevity.  As I moved through my grief, I made a promise to myself – I was intentionally going to seek out JOY.  In order to do that, it would require Courage.  Courage to change. Courage to be vulnerable.    Courage to Change All of my adult life I have dedicated myself to helping others, first as teacher and then as a...

As we near the one year anniversary of the COVID Pandemic, our lives have been ravaged on every level. We have spent much of the last year grieving our losses: personal, relational, professional, financial, and of course, loss of human life. Although there is hope on the horizon with various vaccines, we can anticipate there will be more loss impacting us in the months ahead before we begin to reclaim and restore our lives more fully.  As tragic as all this is, over the past year I have had the privilege of witnessing how my clients have experienced a series of "shifts" during this difficult time of heartbreak, stress. and overwhelm. It has reminded me that even during the darkest days of this COVID Pandemic, there is indeed Grief. And, if we are willing to receive them, there are Gifts.   Gift One: Less Is More As soon as the pandemic hit, the brakes were put on our lives. Most of us were forced to come to an immediate stop or at the very least take our foot off the acc...

We have spent the past 17 weeks discussing relapse!  Wow! Every time I have sat down to write, I think to myself, "What I have to say today about relapse is so important! I hope I choose the right words, and I hope I get the message across!" Most importantly, because of our shared suffering from relapse , I also hope these blog posts have been a positive contributor to your recovering process by imparting healing principles and tools.  And, as we bring this discussion of relapse to a close, for now, I hope you will take some time to reflect upon this final lesson - The Gifts of Relapse. It is often said,  "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again,  expecting different results." Over the past several months, we have discussed the anatomy of relapse. We named and pealed away the layers of shame and we tenderly addressed the inner core of shame; we thoroughly identified internal and external triggers and assessed their impact upon us; we confront...