Making the Most of the Hand You’re Dealt
Life has a way of dealing each of us a deck of cards that ranges in numbers and colors. Each and every day we wake up and pull a card and the day has been defined. There are good days and great days and sad days and unhappy days; however there is one thing that is is guaranteed – you have the freedom to accept what you are dealt or you can fold. Over the course of a little more than four years, I had no idea what cards I would be dealt or that I would desperately need to find…
28 Days to a Life of Gratitude
Why Life ISN’T Unfair
Life isn't unfair... it is always fair! Now, I can imagine the tremendous leap of faith that embracing this premise might require. We've all posed the question: "Why me? Why do bad things happen to good people? How can a good God allow such injustices to occur?" None of us is immune to seemingly negative occurrences, but life's events become calamities only if we make the conscious decision to make tragedies out of them. The storms in one's life, while they have the potential of creating incapacitating turbulence in the mind, do not have to. We might just as easily…
Unwavering Strength
5 Lessons for Happiness
Here are a few of the best lessons I can happily share: 1. Life is tough Agreed, life is filled with trials and tribulations. To say one is happy all the time is a lie. To know happiness is available at any time is a truth. Happiness will not wait for us. Happiness will not invite us to the party. We must invite ourselves to say, "yes", diving deeply and happily into life... all of it... the ups, downs, twists and turns of our miraculous journey. Happiness exists in tandem with adversity. Happiness waits in all the nooks and crannies…
The SMART Way to Your Dreams
Life is way too short, so take risks! Danger or risk can mean different things to different people. However, in order for you to achieve and create the life of your dreams and reach your goals you need to take risks! It is when you get out of your comfort zone that you truly live and achieve your goals. So how do you do that? Make a list of goals and dreams you want to accomplish. Then pick your top priority goal or the goal you wish to focus on first and define this goal by using the SMART system.…
5 Choices that Will Change Your Life
We can choose to grow habits of the mind and the heart that will guide us naturally to love and service. We can blossom through presence and good mental habits to awaken our authentic spirit. Love is the common denominator. Love is the universal energy of the universe. The human condition is enduring; adversity will forever ascend. The impact of adversity can be an insidious virus or rich nourishment for our souls. We can choose to use adversity as nourishment to awaken our authentic spirit. Our authentic spirit is our love, which we are, and our service, how we act.…
Finding the Opportunity in a Stroke
I had a stroke in June 2011 and went through a complete transformation of self, learning so much from facing such a life-altering experience that almost killed me. The biggest questions in my mind became "What's really important in life?" and "How do I create a new life for myself?" We are presented with opportunities from one minute to the next throughout our lives, good and bad. When the opportunity comes in the form of a life-altering experience such as mine, our choices of how to handle it will either propel us forward on a journey of inner peace or…
Triumph Over the Toughest Challenges
I was 27 years old, at the start of my medical career and expecting my first child, when the neurologist confirmed what the first clinician had suspected - the tremor I had been experiencing over the preceding year was Young Onset Parkinson's Disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disease for which there is no cure. The diagnosis was made and my dance with denial, fear, anger and secrecy began, one that lasted almost a decade. Thoughts of disability and helplessness eventually turned to hope and optimism but the transformation was a painful and difficult process. My story however is not unique. Each…