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Life

Humans Are Adorable

The human experience is quite an adventure. There are mountains to climb, valleys to journey through, and challenges to conquer. We get lost, stumble, and occasionally hurt, only to pick ourselves back up and grow stronger.

We laugh, we cry… and sometimes we do both at the same time.

We love so big that we allow ourselves to be vulnerable, open our hearts to stress, and sacrifice without hesitation. We often take life too seriously, grow up too quickly, and forget that life’s greatest secret is that the joy we seek is found within.

When I need to return to my center, I often step back and try to see the situation from a larger, more distant view. It reminds me of how endearing this human experience can be and how small our individual circumstances are when looking through the lens of time and space. 

Our planet is only a speck in a galaxy spinning through the infinity of space and time.

The beauty of the human experience is that despite the insignificance of our size in relation to the vastness of the universe, the power of living our lives in a single moment is colossal. It’s our everything, the very reason we came to this blue and green ball.

I saw a post shared on Facebook years ago from a Tumblr user called teaboot that perfectly illustrates just how amazing this human experience is. This writer shares the perspective that “humans are adorable.”

Like every good writer, teaboot shares this perspective with clever supporting evidence. It’s almost as if this writer is sharing the diary of an alien observer who is trying to explain who these human beings really are. It’s a post I revisit often when I need to step back and see the bigger picture.

It’s just a really charming post that made my heart smile the first time I read it. I hope you enjoy it too (thanks for writing this teaboot):

Humans are adorable.

Supporting evidence:

1. Humans say “ow,” even if they haven’t actually been hurt. It’s just a thing they say when they think they might have been hurt, but aren’t sure yet.

2. Humans collect shiny things and decorate their bodies and nests with them. The shinier the better, although each individual has a unique taste for style and colouring.

3. Humans are not an aquatic or even amphibious species, but they flock to bodies of water simply to play in it. They can’t even hold their breath all that long; they just love to splash!

4. When night falls and the sky goes dark, humans become drowsy and begin to cocoon themselves in soft, fluffy bedding.

5. Some humans spend time in each other’s nests! Just for fun! It’s not their nest; they’re just visiting each other.

6. Some humans use pigments and dyes to make their bodies flashy and colourful! They even attach shiny dangly bits to their cartalidgous membranes!

7. Humans are very clever, and sometimes adopt creatures from other species into their family units. They don’t seem to notice the obvious differences, and often raise them alongside their own young!

8. If a human sees another creature in distress, they can commonly be observed trying to help! Even at their own risk, most humans are deeply compassionate creatures!

9. If a human hears a particularity catchy sound or tune, it will often mimic it, even to the point of annoying themselves!

10. Sneezes are entirely involuntary, and completely adorable. Especially when the human in question becomes frustrated.

11. Humans love treats!!! Some more than others. Many humans will save these treats specifically for a later date when they are in need of comfort or reassurance. IE, pickles, pop tarts, popsicles, etc.

12. They’re learning to travel in space!!! They can’t get very far, but they’re trying!!! So far, they’ve made it to the end of their yard, and have found rocks.

balanced stones on a beach
Life

The Power of a Single Word

“The single most important tool to being in balance is knowing that you and you alone are responsible for the imbalance between what you dream your life is meant to be, and the daily habits that drain life from that dream.” – Wayne Dyer

I was first introduced to the concept of setting a one word intention for the new year at that end of 2016. It was through a project my new company was doing with Chris Pan, founder of MyIntent.

The concept is really simple, choose a short, one word intention that can serve as “a daily reminder representing a quality or principle that guides you toward how you want to live or how you hope to feel as your best self.”

Beautiful and simple.

It’s been a few years since I’ve tuned in and chosen a single word to serve as a beacon for my new year. This year, I decided to do it again.

My word for 2023 is BALANCE.

This past year I faced a few health scares that really shook me to my core. As scary as it was (everything is fine now), I’m quite grateful for the lessons and insight that resulted from the entire experience.

One of the biggest lessons was the non-negotiable need for balance.

Metaphysical teachers like Louise Hay and Dr. Joe Dispenza have written and spoken extensively about how stress manifests as physical symptoms in the body. This is exactly what was happening. The mix of taking too much on at work and home and not playing or relaxing nearly enough was starting to show physically in my body.

So this year, I’m focusing on finding balance.

It’s a new concept to for me… one that I’ve always strived for, but never carved out the time to focus on.

The first step I’m taking on this journey to find balance is to slow down.

Literally…

This month’s focus is to establish a daily meditation and yoga practice. Meditation to hit the pause button and yoga to hone in the physical skill of balance.

I’d love to know, what’s YOUR WORD for 2023?

Life

Make Room in Your Schedule for You

“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”
— Stephen Covey

I recently heard a quote that shook me in the best of ways.

It came from Kyle Gray, an international speaker and bestselling author, during his recent appearance on the Inspire Nation Show with Michael Sandler.

The conversation was about spiritual practices and how to develop a routine that serves your highest good.

Kyle said, “I used to fit my practice around my life, now I fit my life around my practice.”

As soon as I heard these words, the lights in the room began to flash, bells started ringing, and the ground started to shake.

Okay… none of that actually happened, but I was stopped in my tracks.

For years, I’ve been trying to work a spiritual, creative, and physical practices into my day-to-day schedule. I’ve tried early mornings, but I end up falling back asleep. I’ve tried evenings, but work and evening family activities often get in the way. I’ve tried to figure out a time in the middle of the day, but I never seem to find a break in the day.

Time after time, I come to the conclusion that I’m just too busy. Then I quickly convince myself that I just haven’t found the right practices to work yet. So I try something new. When it doesn’t work, I inevitably start beating myself up.

When I heard Kyle say this, suddenly the cycle made sense.

“Of course!” I said to myself as I backed up the podcast recording and listened to him say it again.

“I used to fit my practice around my life, now I fit my life around my practice.”

Trying to fit a practice into my day isn’t working, because the practice itself isn’t a true priority. If I want to really grow spiritually, mentally, or physically, I need to make those practices my top priority. I need to lead my life with practices that serve my highest good and set a clear boundary to make those practices non-negotiable.

Life needs to fit around the practice.

But how? Is setting the intention really going to be enough?

This is what I’m trying to figure out now. Tell me, what has helped make your practices a priority?

Life

The Type of World We Live In

“The way we choose to see the world creates the world we see.” – Barry Neil Kaufman

Long before I learned about the law of attraction, I understood that the world becomes what you expect it to be.

My understanding began when I was working as a journalist in the breaking news and police beats. I spent my days covering crime, accidents, natural disasters, and all around bad news. After less than a year in this position, I woke up each morning believing the world was a pretty terrible place.

In hindsight, it’s not surprising. I was immersed in the pain and suffering happening around me. It was all darkness. I questioned the point of it all. Did I really want to be in a world like this?

Something had to change and quickly. I could see the dark road I was heading down. So, I decided to challenge myself: find three good stories for every one bad that I had to cover. It was tough at first, but before long I was reminded of the brightness filling this world.

Recently, I’ve found myself checking in on the daily news cycle more than usual. It doesn’t take long before the undercurrent of the negative news ocean begins to drag you down. There’s some heavy stuff happening in the world…

But there’s a whole lot of amazing happening too.

It’s time to focus on the AMAZING with the very first installment of…

[insert drumroll here]

The Type World We Live In!

In this series, I will answer the question “What type of world do we live in?”

Let’s get started!

We live in the type of world where our furriest companions show us, through their example, that the power of love brings us all together… even when it seems we have nothing in common.

Just one example of why dog is GOD spelled backward. 💖

Life

But what is grief, if not love persevering?

“It can’t all be sorrow, can it? I’ve always been alone, so I don’t feel the lack. It’s all I’ve ever known. I’ve never experienced loss because I’ve never had a loved one to lose. But what is grief, if not love persevering?” – Vision

This week has been a challenging one, because it ended with Rocket’s first birthday not physically with us. For the last 10 years, Rocket’s birthday has kicked off a 3-month string of birthday celebrations. We would start on March 19th by putting up a “Happy Birthday” banner for Rocket that would stay up through my son’s birthday in April and my birthday at the end of May. We would fill the living room with balloons, put a candle in a cupcake, and help Rocket blow it out while telling him that he was the answer to all of our birthday wishes.

This year, we hung a new “Happy Birthday” banner, blew up some balloons, made puppy chow, and shared our favorite memories of Rocket. We decided as a family that March 19th would forever more be known as “Rocket Day.” It would be an official family holiday.

The boys of the house have made it though the weekend so far without crying. I, however, woke up crying and haven’t stopped for long. The quote above has come to mind more than once this weekend. When I first heard it, I thought of Rocket. 

“But what is grief, if not love persevering?”

Before Rocket came along, I wasn’t much of a crier. He taught me that it was okay to be sad sometimes. Somehow he always knew when I was about to cry. He would come over, moments before the tears fell, and put his head against me. Whether it was from a sad part in a movie or a broken heart, he always knew and held space for the emotions to come through.

Our first annual Rocket Day, which we turned into Rocket Weekend, has been a bit uneventful. The boys have spent the weekend diving into video games in their respective gaming locations (aka the man cave and the teen boy room). As for me, I’ve been powering through it as best I can. The pandemic blocked any attempts at a big blow out, but I think that’s okay. I wouldn’t make it through any type of social gathering without breaking down. I feel like Rocket would be okay with that. Instead I spent time outside with Rocket’s little sister Daisy, who joined our family a few months after he passed. We sat in the grass, watched the clouds roll by, and tossed a tennis ball. All activities that I know Rocket would approve of.

I’m planning a big celebration that I hope to host next year for the neighborhood dogs and close friends of Rocket (it’s a big list, he was a bit of a social butterfly). But until it’s safe, any kind of social gathering will have to wait.

This year, I’m holding this thought closely, “But what is grief, if not love persevering?”

It’s a beautiful way to look at grief and loss. Neither can exist without love. It comes to reason that the deeper the love, the deeper the grief.  What a blessing it is to know a love like this.

Life

Forever Wouldn’t Have Been Long Enough

“In the end these things matter most: How well did you love? How fully did you live? How deeply did you let go?” – Jack Kornfield, Buddha’s Little Instruction Book

There aren’t words to describe the pain you feel when you have to say goodbye to someone you love, especially when that someone is your devoted furry companion. Two days after writing my last blog post, my husband, son and I held our best friend, Rocket, as he closed his eyes and found his wings.

The world stopped spinning as he stretched his neck out and laid his head in my arms. It was what he always did when he sensed I was sad. It always seemed like it was his way of saying, “I’ll always be here for you.”

I tried to hold back my tears and be strong for him. My husband and son were attempting to the do the same. In that moment though, we knew Rocket could sense our hearts breaking. We weren’t ready to face the world without him, and it was impossible to hide that sorrow from our infinitely wise companion. He used the last of his strength to remind us that he would always be by our sides.

In these last two weeks, we’ve felt his presence. He’s reminded us in small ways that the bond we shared is rooted at the soul level.

We really weren’t ready to say goodbye, but the truth is forever wouldn’t have been long enough to have him by our sides. While we still long to see his smile waiting at the bottom of the stairs, feel his kisses on our cheeks, and embrace his warm, soft body, we’re holding onto his final promise.

“I always be here for you.”

Thank you, Rocket. You’re still the goodest dog of them all.

Life

There’s Nothing Like the Love of a Good Dog

Author Gabriel Zevin once wrote that there are over 300 words for love in canine. Anyone who has ever loved a dog knows just how true this is.

I’ve often asked my loyal sidekick, Rocket, how I could repay him for the love he’s brought to my life. He answers, every time, with a slobbery kiss and a soft nuzzle. 

These last few weeks, I’ve been reminded over and over that dogs love on a whole new level. Three weeks ago, Rocket collapsed in the house. He was conscious, but he couldn’t move. After creating a makeshift cot, we rushed him to the emergency vet. As I held him in the back of the Jeep telling him how much I loved him, he looked up at me and licked away my tears.

In pain, he chose to show love.

As we’ve sat up at night trying to make him comfortable, he’s shown us that what comforts him most is just having us near. Through the home cooked meals, the extra time to help him around the house, and the creative hiding of medicine in “treats,” he matches every step we take with gratitude and admiration.

He finally answered my question. How do you pay back a dog for the love he brings to your life? You become his human. That’s all he wants and all he needs.

There may be 300 words for love in canine, but in English we can sum it up in two… GOOD DOG.

Life

The Hidden Power of a smile

Robin Williams once said, “I think the saddest people always try their hardest to make people happy, because they know what it’s like to feel absolutely worthless and they don’t want anyone else to feel like that.”

This quote from Robin has always stuck with me. I’ve always been known as the “happy one.” 

been one of my favorite actors. As a child, I was in awe of his talent and ability to make people laugh. As an adult, his authenticity and truthfulness about the challenges he faced taught me a lot about myself. The quote above has always stuck with me. 

Life

It’s So Good To Be Back!

Wow, it’s been such a long time. It feels good to get Unscripted Life back up and running. I’ve been paying for this URL for years with the intention of returning to blogging. The plan was to relaunch the blog when I had more free time. I quickly learned free time isn’t something that just shows up. It’s something you have to intentionally create.  

A lot has changed in the last six years. My son is a teenager now (he had just been born when I first launched this blog). Our family built our dream house in a neighborhood so magical that I have to pinch myself regularly to make sure all of this is real. My neighbors are the ones Mr. Rogers sang about (I’m sure you’ll be hearing a lot about them soon). And professionally, I’m working with inspirational content creators to put a lot of good and kindness into the world.  

My years away from the blog have been quite a ride. I look forward to telling you all about it, sharing the lessons I’m continuing to learn, and sharing new adventures with you. I considered republishing some of the content from the old blog, but I’ve personally grown so much that I feel like starting from scratch feels more authentic. Thank you for coming along for the ride and for your patience while I build this blog into something amazing.