Sometimes it’s hard to smile, but when we share a smile with someone it makes us feel so much better! Smiling creates endorphins, the brain’s happiness hormones … and the more we have of those the better! According to the latest scientific research, smiling has loads of benefits: Reduces anxiety Lowers blood pressure Drops heart rate Improves mood Enhances relationships Strengthens immune function Relieves pain And …. drumroll, please… The happiness a smile brings is equivalent to having 2,000 bars of chocolate!! You’re welcome.

The last time I was down visiting my daughter’s family we went strawberry picking. My grandees, who are five, two, and eight months, loved “helping.” Little Myles sat in the dirt and squished berries between his fingers and had berry juice smeared all over his face, hair, and clothing. It was a memory I won’t soon forget! I brought home almost three pounds of berries (this is a photo of the harvest) and my husband and I enjoyed their sunshiny sweetness for over a week. The whole process got me thinking about how important it is to control our thoughts; they can be dark and worrisome, or they can be bright […]

I know, I know, this is easier said than done. For those of us who struggle with anxiety and worst-case-scenario thinking, being mindful of staying in the present is a challenge. This is a conscious decision I have to make every day because I know that obsessing about yesterday, last week, last month, or last year is not only painful, it also ruins the future and the important work I have yet to accomplish. Lament less, trust more. That’s my new motto. Join me?  

Alexander Graham Bell, the recognized inventor of the telephone, understood that looking back at past failures can hinder one’s future accomplishments. Inventing is all about coming up with new ideas, after all. His forwarding-thinking quote is engraved in the stone wall within the Peace Chapel of the International Peace Garden on the border of Manitoba and North Dakota. “Woulda, coulda, shoulda” thinking will get you nowhere other than in a spiral of regret. We’ve all made mistakes we can learn from, but obsessing about them serves nobody #lookahead