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Shopping. Cooking. Cleaning. Sending out cards. More shopping. Work. Money. Family gatherings. Still more shopping… It’s no wonder that the holidays is not only the most joyous time of the year, but often the most stressful as well. We get so wrapped up in everything that we need to do, we worry about how we’re going to accomplish things, making …
My Mom is one of the most thoughtful people I know, and it certainly extends to Christmas. She begins baking weeks ahead, preparing special goodies for family, friends, neighbors, as well as her letter carrier and sanitation engineers. She’d leave prettily wrapped packages in the mailbox for our letter carrier. A stay-at-home Mom, she would watch carefully on garbage day, …
By now, most of you following this blog know that I own my own martial arts school in Columbia, South Carolina. In addition to teaching my students self defense skills, each month during class, we review a certain character and life skill. Yes, I know what you are thinking! What does character and life skills have to do with karate? Everything! …
The holiday season if officially upon us, and if you’re anything like me, you’re beginning to enter panic-mode because your Christmas shopping is nowhere near finished (or started). But fear not! I am here with a list of great gifts for the men, women and children on your Christmas list this year. And the best part? All of these gifts …
So you’ve heard about Black Friday, the day when all of us Americans frantically storm out in hot pursuit of this year’s hottest gifting trends. You’ve probably also participated in it’s sister “holiday,” Cyber Monday, the day we recover from not getting whatever we wanted to gift in stores and attempt to find it at a shockingly low price online, …
What were you like as an 18-year-old? Could you have gotten a job, went to college, rented your own place, and earned enough income to feed and clothe yourself? Beyond finances, what if you had no emotional support? Imagine being 18 and no one cared if you ate breakfast that morning, if you aced the test, if you were the …
You’ve seen them on social media, generally labeled as #firstworldproblems or #middleclassproblems. Odds are, you’ve posted one or two yourself. The unifying theme of these complaints is that they’re not really problems at all. They’re about how difficult it is to deal with an embarrassment of riches and blessings. When we post comments like these, at least we sometimes have …
Teaching healthy eating habits by bringing the principles of mindful eating into the classroom at snack time may be the ultimate way for teachers to help their students build a lifelong habit of being kind to the body by engaging the mind. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 17% of American children and adolescents aged 2-19 …
With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, it’s almost time for people across the country to begin the daily practice of gratitude. This year I’m taking a different approach – one that I think will inspire a deeper sense of gratitude while also helping me develop a stronger kindness practice throughout the year. I’m calling it the 30-Day Kindness Challenge. The 30-Day Kindness …
My mom often sent me little notes in my school lunches. They’d include a hand-drawn eyeball, a heart, and the letter U. I’d see the colored paper when I opened my lunch and quickly snatch it up, crumpling it before my friends would see and tease me (I was in 4th grade and sooo incredibly mature). Secretly, though, I loved …
