4 Steps To A Decluttered Home And A Deepened Relationship: Guest Post At Minimalist Packrat
Hello and happy Friday! Guest post #6-in-a-row (yes, this ends the streak...I think!) comes to you via Minimalist Packrat, the site that celebrates writer Tanja Hoagland's journey from (you guessed it) packrat to minimalist. Which leads me to ponder: if I'd employed a similar "is living into now + used to be" fusion title for this site, it might read, "Peaceful Control-Freak," or "Brave Scared" or "Bold Writer Shy Girl." That last one kind of has a ring to it... 😉 Moving on. As you know, A Wish Come Clear's mission is to help you find meaning in your most...
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Trapped By A Problem? How Active Receptivity Can Set You Free
When you want to solve an intractable problem, you probably do what I do: dwell, ruminate and obsess. Yet I've noticed that when I'm frantically seeking a solution to a difficulty, I rarely receive one. Yet this does not translate to: "Since I don't know what to do about my [job search/medical condition/insane schedule], I'm going to do nothing." Giving up gets you nowhere. But if madly scrambling for a solution isn't helpful....and giving up won't do...what's left? There's a middle way between striving and passivity. It's called active receptivity. It means that you work toward a solution while opening...
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On Taking Initiative Today (Because Baby, You Were Born This Way)
Last week's post on thinking small got me thinking about the flip side of things. Initiative. Thinking big and acting big. This doesn't have to mean acting dramatic. It means acting outside your comfort zone. It means having what my friends and I call 'brave days'. Thinking big and acting big simply means putting yourself out there. It means that you... 1. State Your Desires In yoga, there's a wonderful tradition of setting an intention as you begin your practice (or begin your day.) Your intention could be anything: to have fun, to challenge yourself, to breathe deeply. The power...
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Do You Dare To Think…Small?
I have a confession to make: I can be my own best buzzkill. I was this week. Two nights ago, I was thrilled to hear that I'd made my first affiliate sale. Someone purchased Inside-Out Simplicity via A Wish Come Clear (thank you, whoever you are.) Someone had a fantastic book to read...and I'd made a sale! I've had (wonderful, generous) donations, but a sale! I bounced around with excitement. I tweeted about it with Josh Becker (the author.) He was glad to be a part of my first sale. I thought about how exciting it was, how much I'm...
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The One Where I Got The ‘Wrong’ Person: Owning Your Anger, Part 3
Let me tell you a secret: when I first came to L'Arche in June of 2007, I got paired up the 'wrong' person. At least, that's what I thought. I arrived at L'Arche Ontario home in a time of transition. As such, many of the people with intellectual disabilities who lived in the Ontario home needed new accompaniers. (To be someone's accompanier makes you the 'point person' for everything from their medical appointments to their taxes to their toothpaste.) At first, it seemed that I was going to be paired with Vincent*. I was happy with that idea. Vincent felt...
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What’s The Most Subversive Stance Of All? Love, Actually.
If you've seen the film Love Actually, you probably have one storyline that you love best. Perhaps it's the one with the beautiful, cross-cultural love story between an Englishman (Colin Firth, portraying Jamie) and his Portuguese housekeeper (Lucia Moniz, portraying Aurelia.) Perhaps it's the one with a young boy (Thomas Sangster, portraying Sam) and his heartbroken dad (Liam Neeson, portraying Daniel) who go to great lengths to "...get the shit kicked out of us by love!" Great choices, all. But the story I'm drawn to is that of Laura Linney's character, Sarah, and her relationship with her mentally-ill Michael (played...
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Do You Need Permission To Rest? (You Got It.)
Good morning, all, First, a brief update: I have another post featured on the S-O-S for Parents blog this week; you can read it here. Next, I want to share that the posting schedule at A wish come clear will alter slightly; in the coming weeks, I'll be posting on Mondays and Thursdays. The motivation behind this change is threefold: first, it reflects reading patterns on the site at present; second, it allows me to maintain the high level of quality content you desire; third, it allows me greater space for freelance work, guest posts and long-term projects. I welcome...
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Your Own Improbable Peace: 4 Suggestions For Serenity
I keep telling my husband that we jinxed it. First, there was a mention of Vincent's* upcoming birthday. (Vincent always has some kind of medical emergency on or around his birthday.) Next, there was the way we said, "Finally, a quiet weekend at home. A normal, peaceful Saturday." You see where this is going, right? We were awakened by the L'Arche emergency line on Saturday morning. Vincent had stroke-like symptoms, and an ambulance took him to the hospital. It turns out that Vincent didn't have a stroke (thank God), but that he needs further tests to determine what's happening. And...
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Welcome S-O-S (And A Free Ebook Link)
Welcome to the special Tuesday edition of A Wish Come Clear! I'm pleased to welcome guests from the "S-O-S for Parents" blog. What's S-O-S? "S-O-S for Parents is dedicated to supporting parents who have children with "invisible" special needs such as ADHD/ADD, autism, Aspergers, anxiety, sensory processing disorder, social skills deficits, play skills deficits, mental illness, and more." A Wish Come Clear is featured today in their 'Best of the Best' roundup, under 'Siblings.' Thank you, Danette, for this opportunity! Guests from S-O-S, I encourage you to look at posts in a category of your choosing. Also, subscriptions are most welcome....
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Overcoming Passive Barriers: Impossibility Vs Possibility
First, a big thank you to readers ~ A Wish Come Clear has a Facebook page & username, thanks to your support! *** I'm a big fan of breaking down barriers. Passive barriers, to be precise. I'd never heard of them until recently. For a brief introduction, I quote from Ramit Sethi, who defines passive barriers like this in his guest post on Get Rich Slowly: "Passive barriers are things that don’t exist, so they make your job harder. A trivial example is not having a stapler at your desk; imagine how many times a day that gets frustrating. For...
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