Tina's Words
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Meaningful and Relational Living
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Engaging Our Stories
This is where I am. I sit here with sand lightly blowing across the pages before me as waves toss in their rhythmic ritual just beyond the reach of my beach blanket. The sun shines more than on my skin. As I bask in its warmth, it shines into my soul. I come here often to be present and slow in my full and busy life. Today I feel peace, but it is not always so. For I carry with me my story. And with that story I carry my understanding of the world and my place in it. My story shapes the way I...
Unfinished Business
Hi, friends! When we feel stuck, it often is connected to our unfinished business. We've heard it said that we marry our unfinished business. We do this in our relationships and jobs as well. We are drawn to certain kinds of scenarios that feel like home. Our childhood left us with things we haven't worked out yet, so we go toward similar situations & people in an unconscious attempt to rework it. We go toward the familiar. So it is here that we want to know what the unfinished business is...
What is it like to be on the other side of you?
Do you sometimes notice that your experience of yourself and how others experience you are not the same? After spending time with a friend or in a meeting, stop and think about how you experienced it. How did you experience yourself in that moment? How did you think? How did you feel? What was it like internally to be you? Then talk with the person that was with you. And ask what their experience of you was during your shared time together? What was it like to be on the other side of you?...
Do your plan and purpose line up?
In order to get where we want to go in life, there are two key things we need to know, and most of us are stronger at one. The two key things we need to know are our Purpose and our Plan. Purpose shows us where we are going.Plan shows us to how to get there. Lack of clarity about either our plan or our purpose is an obstacle to thriving. When we are stronger in our plan-making skills, but lack the clarity of our purpose, we can be overwhelmed at doing too many things, be discouraged by not...
Calmed and Quieted
My inner world swirls like a dark storm. Yet I have calmed & quieted myself. I am able to calm myself because I was calmed by others first. (my version of Psalm 131:2) We learn or don’t learn this self-soothing skill as our youngest selves when we cry to be heard. We cry to be seen in order to receive both physical needs and emotional needs. When the physical is met and the emotional is left unattended, it is both ineffective and confusing. We move into our adult lives with...
Tina’s Wine Cookies – Almond Biscotti
I grew up calling them Wine Cookies. I didn't know that most of the world called them biscotti until I was an adult. Family lore has it that my great grandfather enjoyed them in his basement with the Priest after Mass. Dipped in Vin Santo ("holy wine"), of course, which is likely why we called them Wine Cookies. The smell of anise in the house meant the holiday was just around the corner. They existed only once a year. And they lived in a glass cookie jar with a noisy lid. My sister and I...