Wildflower Writes

Photo by Isabella and Louisa Fischer on Unsplash I like to breathe. The intake of oxygen, the expelling of carbon dioxide… it keeps the blood moving and all the organs functioning. Then this nasty microscopic virus (of the common cold variety) interferes with the breathing process. Armed with Kleenex, antihistamines, decongestants, cough drops, vitamins, lip balm, anti-bacterial wipes, tea, and soup… I settled in for a long night (or two). Before the cold hit, I took breathing for granted. I didn’t even think about it. It just happened. It was easy, even automatic. So many things in life are like that. You don’t realize how you took your health for granted until you get a diagnosis. You don’t realize how much you enjoy someone’s company until they move away. You don’t realize how it feels to be trusted until you fall out of someone’s good graces. I think that’s why gratitude is so powerful. It provides insurance against those life disappointments. If you live in gratitude, you...

As a youth leader, I had come to an inescapable conclusion.  Life is full of choices, and your path is determined by your decisions. This is particularly true with young people, because they are faced with so many decisions in a short amount of time- Do I wear this to school? Do I go to the party?  Do I skip track practice?  Do I ask her out on a date?  Do I apply to colleges now?  As "old" people, we often get in a rut, because it seems like the life changing decisions are over.  We've met and married our spouse, had kids, settled into a career and a house... nothing left to do but to wait it out until retirement.  Or maybe life is so full of meeting other people's needs that you've forgotten that you matter too. Bah!  We still have to decide to be the most we can be (at the risk of sounding like a military recruiter), at any time of our life.  We still have choices to make regarding relationships, new opportunities, and health.  ...

It's great to have goals and to be able to work steadily toward them.  In my experience, however, only the most die-hard determined people can make a plan and stick to it without fail.  Often, these people are so driven their health and relationships suffer.  Moving forward is important.  Yet, as we know, life happens.  People get sick; people lose their jobs; people make poor decisions.  When life happens, it's tempting to get frustrated and give up.  "Apparently, it wasn't meant to be." So, maybe it isn't going to be as easy as you thought.  Maybe it's going to take longer.  Maybe after some long, hard thought, it's not really what you wanted after all.  That's okay.  Just don't give up.  Adjust, be flexible, arrange your time and money around your values.  Think about how your family and health figure into your goals. Along with being flexible, you have to be resilient .  You can't let little t...

There’s a picture of a pizza on facebook. It’s caption asks me if I want to “become a fan.” Now, all I can do is imagine a piping hot pizza, with spicy-sweet tomato sauce, thick slices of pepperoni or ham, flavorful veggies, and loads of gooey cheese all on a thick, chewy crust. Two slices would be be equal to about half my daily calorie needs, and would include all my daily fat allowance. I’d still eat it if you put it in front of me, even though it’s past 9:00 at night, and I just had dinner three hours ago. I read a lot about health and fitness. Maintaining good physical health makes it possible to do all the things you want to do in life. In my head, I know this. I have a little trouble practicing what I preach. I was an athlete in high school. Now I spend a lot of time at a desk. Two kids and 15 years later, I have a little extra baggage. I’d like to get rid of it, and theoretically I know how to do that, but my execution is weak. I’ve never been able to go on a stringe...

Andrea Tannouri of http://www.twittertango.com/ says, "Take the word victim off of your person—out of your vocabulary. It reeks with the old energy and does not suit your magnificence.” Now, I’m not sure about old energy or how magnificent I am, but I do agree with trashing the victim mentality. Victimhood results from someone with an overdeveloped sense of rights, and an underdeveloped sense of responsibility. If I believe I have the right to health, prosperity, and the pursuit of happiness, yet don’t take responsibility for making it a reality, I will feel victimized. After all, it’s somebody’s responsibility. Who is letting me down? Who is keeping me from being healthy? Who is mis-managing my money? Who is determining my feelings and not giving me what I want? The “rights” we receive are privileges granted by God and our country. We don’t automatically have a right to anything, except what is dictated by laws and social rules. We don’t have a right to housing, or employment, o...