Zen Parenting MomentYour inbox needs more hopeful and helpful moments.
Dear Girls,
Letters to my daughters about self-awareness and mindfulness
by Cathy Cassani Adams
All
Dear Girls
Personal Reflection
Family Stories
Writing
The Beatles Connection
11/11/2016Art touches our intellect, but it mostly appeals to the heart. It’s not always about taking sides or arguing to be right, it’s creatively offering that pain is pain, disconnection is disconnection, love is love. It’s common ground....
00Mindfulness is like a library
08/24/2016I’m not sure how everyone else’s brain works, but I tend to think in pictures. I see things and do my best to explain what I’m seeing. This may be true for you, too, or maybe you see or feel words. There’s no right way, however y...
01Loneliness and Wabi-Sabi
07/16/2016Our front porch is one of my favorite places. I watch the birds and people, I get quiet and usually end up deep in thought. Sometimes I laugh out loud, sometimes I cry. You’ve caught me in my teary moments. Even if I tell you I’m O...
01Empathy and the ability to feel your feelings
07/05/2016We were built to feel our feelings, even when feelings don’t feel very good. Anger, sadness, feeling left out – not enjoyable. But we all know these feelings intimately, they come and go throughout our lives. They are wonderful tea...
01The choice and power of words
06/22/2016In a moment it can feel really good to yell at someone, to release the anger through words. It’s like unloading heaviness onto someone else for awhile, like a momentary relief. But later we are left feeling guilty and ashamed, with the...
01Use your super powers for good
06/13/2016Fear is human, and the acknowledgement of fear is essential. But it’s the choices we make while feeling fear that define our humanity....
01Find What Fits
06/02/2016When things don't fit we need to trust that there is not one way. What is true for you can only be felt by you. What you decide to do with it can only be your choice....
02Feeling afraid? Create light.
11/16/2015I told my girls about the Paris tragedy. I explained that a few very angry people chose to harm and create fear, but their actions actually led to compassionate solidarity all over the world. They thought they were spreading hate, but in...
01Letting go of our junk
09/25/2015Deep down our inner workings are good. What’s not good is all the junk piled on top of the good. The history, defensive mechanisms, trauma, judgmental thinking, biases, prejudices, and pain that blocks the good. Life is not a process o...
00Overthinking What People Think
04/23/2015Too often we pull back from an innovative idea, allow ourselves to be treated poorly or decide to not try something new because we find ourselves thinking, “I don’t want people to think that I’m…” What? Too successful? Too outs...
00Roots and Wings
02/15/2015The definition of love requires constant re-examination. It means one thing when we are young, one thing as we look for a partner, another when we find work that speaks to us. It especially requires re-examination when we have children. ...
00These are the things that terrify me…
11/08/2014Fear – because it’s irrational Fear wakes me up to misconceptions, untrue stories about myself or others, untrue stories about the world. Fear makes me stop and think, fear pushes me to breathe and contemplate. Fear can feel brutal, ...
00Love what we see
10/20/2014I have met people who make poor choices, people who act out of fear, people who demonstrate the negativity they feel. They aren’t inherently bad. They’ve just forgotten who they are. Pieces of themselves have been harmed, shamed, or ...
02Losing Greeley
08/25/2014As I held my bunny for the last time, I couldn’t help but think about Will Gardner. I read that when the writers of The Good Wife decided to have Will die, they didn’t want it to be a typical television death, they wanted it to be ...
01Want Change? Then Rethink
08/14/2014It’s been a tough week. How do we process what we feel? How do we change circumstances? Dialogue and posts are great, but they tend to fade away once we accept what has occurred. I don’t want to oversimplify the complexity of the w...
01Back to school: The normalcy of anxiety
08/08/2014Kids are heading back to school in the next couple of weeks and they are feeling it. We parents are feeling it, too. We all have different feelings and experiences when it comes to school, but the word I am hearing the most right now is ...
03Are you meeting your obligation?
07/28/2014This weekend one of my dear friends said something I can’t get out of my head. She said, “My dad taught me that we are obligated to live a good life, to give back in some way.” This resonated so strongly, I literally felt the words...
03Throw away the litter, find the goodness
05/30/2014I took a walk with my almost-done-with-Kindergarten-6-year-old today. At her suggestion we took a garbage bag with us because she wanted it to be a “litter walk”. She explained that we pick up litter as we move and talk. And that we ...
00A No-Clock Day
05/26/2014I have to work really hard to create a no-clock day. I have to say no to a lot of things, sometimes I even have to reschedule a thing or two. But it’s worth it, it’s always worth it. Having one day a month, or preferably one day a we...
01Living with turtle energy
05/14/2014I love the energy of the turtle. The real turtle, but also the cartoon turtle that lives in my head – he slowly glides through the water, smiling at everyone he sees. He gets to where he needs to go at his own pace. I have a picture of t...
00Crying is real, crying is strong
04/08/2014I used to be uncomfortable in emotional movies because I’m a crier. I am moved very easily, I have always been moved very easily. So during a movie, or when witnessing an act of kindness, or when hearing a touching story, I would hold ...
06Let’s be clear – what do we really want for our kids?
03/26/2014When I ask parents this question, the most common response is: I just want my kids to be happy. This is great in concept, but what does this really mean? Be honest – what does happiness really mean to you? Do you want your children...
00Banning Bossy: It’s not about the word, it’s about the conversation
03/12/2014People create things based on their own experience. And in Sheryl Sandburg’s experience, “bossy” made her feel wrong or maybe uncomfortable. Obviously it didn’t hold her back, but when people used it with her, the energy must hav...
02“Superwoman”
03/05/2014Amy Duffin is back with another great guest blog! Some great reminders here for anyone who is trying to be everything to everyone…. SUPERWOMAN. We’ve all seen her. She resides in many of our towns. Sometimes she is in magazines or ...
00What I tend to forget over and over again
02/18/2014As I sit in front of the ocean I think about the smallness of me. I am humbled by the vastness of the water. I think about when I would play in the ocean as a kid and the tide would take me under. As scary and uncomfortable as those mome...
02Working the Work Life Balance
01/27/2014By Guest Blogger Amy Duffin Work Life Balance. I am not sure who came up with this term, but to most women, it’s something we dream about, but find it difficult to have. As valuable as a winning lottery ticket, achieving work life ...
02“Selfie” points out insecurities and reminds us to look deeper
01/22/2014Today several people emailed me the short film “Selfie” that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. It shines a bright light on how girls feel shame or discomfort about their appearance, but in reality, their beauty radiates thro...
03The teacher needs a teacher
01/15/2014Early yesterday morning I taught my college students. We talked about how they need to take care of themselves so they can best utilize their skills. In the middle of the day I worked with elementary school students. We talked about ho...
0110 Harmonious Practices for 2014
01/06/20141. Quiet meditation (quiet time, going inside, call it what you want) When I don’t do it, I can tell. I get impatient faster and I get annoyed more often. It’s more difficult to recognize how I contribute to every situa...
00Believing in Santa
12/04/2013When I was 8 or 9 years old, I remember lying in bed on Christmas Eve thinking about Santa. The funny thing was I wasn’t really envisioning gifts or the way he would get in my house, I was just feeling so, so, good, and everything seem...
00It’s Time to Waste Some Time
10/31/2013Like the rest of the population, I get a rush when I complete tasks and work toward my goals. I have dreams and a vision, and I get excited to move forward and check things off the list. But I simultaneously believe in wasting time. I ...
00Balance is a Living Thing
10/23/2013Sometimes I add, but I forget how to subtract. Sometimes I realize there is a lot I want to do, but only so many hours in the day. Sometimes I remember that a brain can only hold so much, and that with every over-reaching “yes”, I risk s...
00Advice to Anyone Who Has Made a Mistake
09/25/2013When someone else makes a mistake we usually understand, but we tend to have difficulty forgiving ourselves. I used to deny mistakes, and sometimes I would blame others. Or sometimes I would sit in my mistakes for days, just to punish ...
00Teaching Children to thank the Earth
09/24/2013My girls and I were in the car a lot on Sunday. When we pulled up to our final destination, they all said they were car sick. Nobody moved, my youngest looked like she was about to cry. Since we were parked right in front of my sister�...
00Want to be happy? Be happy for others
08/27/2013It’s so common it has its own name: Schadenfreude – finding pleasure from the misfortunes of others. And although few will admit to it, it’s a very human experience. If we see others fail, we feel better about ourselves. This is on...
003 Myths About Introverts
08/23/2013“Introvert” tends to bring up an image of a shy person in a corner, or an insecure person at home alone. But over the years I have learned that introversion isn’t about shyness or insecurity, it’s about where and how you derive...
00Back to school? Be here and roll with it
08/18/2013Back to school tomorrow and I am appreciating a beautiful afternoon with no schedule. Part of me grieves losing summer, it was definitely a good one, but part of me doesn’t feel like longing or being sad, it just feels like smiling and...
00Quit hurrying and notice: Lessons from The Fault in Our Stars
08/09/2013I finished the book and went to bed thinking about Hazel and Augustus from The Fault in our Stars, and I woke up thinking about them. Not just their love story, but their worldview, the way they faced each day knowing that time was rea...
00
