“The mind can go in a thousand directions, but on this beautiful path, I walk in peace. With each step, the wind blows. With each step, a flower blooms.”
— Thich Nhat Hanh
Positively Purging-I welcome your feedbacks in the comments and your likes and passing the real life wisdom on to others as I embark on this new venture of “positively purging“, as I know each of these pieces represents something…
ask yourself: if i designed this next chapter to honor all of who i am—my curiosities, my need for rest, my creativity, my desire for community—what would that life look like? you don’t need to have all the answers today but you can start making small choices that honor who you’re becoming. and remember, some chapters look like holding onto a job to meet your physical needs while turning up the volume in your life on the things outside of work that feed your soul (hobbies, volunteering, etc). you get to define and redefine your balance in each season.Jasmine Marie
What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day by Pearl Cleage (1997, 224 pages) Pearl Cleage packed her debut novel with fierce love for community, loyalty, purposeful living, intentional mentoring, self-care, and a whole lot of Black Girl Magic before we’d given it a name. Told in the first person, the main character, Ava, who up until recently lived in Atlanta, discovers something that changes her life. She is HIV positive. Ava is a successful businesswoman, running her own salon in Atlanta. Her life may have been a bit full of sex partners, but she is a good woman and a hardworking woman. Through with the stigma of AIDs, she ends up having to shut down her business after losing customers when her status is found out. She plans to relocate to San Francisco. On the way, she stops in her hometown of Idlewild, Michigan, a decaying small town ravaged by drugs and church drama, to visit her recently retired and widowed sister, Joyce, for the summer. A former social worker, Joyce runs a ministry at her church for young mothers who need support, sisterhood, and guidance. Ava’s return is where the book truly takes off; where love is unexpectedly discovered and sisters fiercely support each other no matter what. This is a heartwarming story that finds you deeply rooting for family, love, and hope. There is a sequel, titled “I Wish I Had a Red Dress”.I have not read it, but it is now on my list to read.
This is exactly what I needed to hear in this season. Funny how that works, right? I already had everything I needed…
Positively Purging-I welcome your feedbacks in the comments and your likes and passing the real life wisdom on to others as I embark on this new venture of “positively purging“, as I know each of these pieces represents something…
I have a few words of encouragement for the young lady whose grandmother had developed dementia (“Loving Granddaughter”). My mom passed away 20 years ago from Parkinson’s disease and dementia.
I am in my late 70s now, but I remember my experience like it was yesterday.
This loving granddaughter should visit her grandma as much as possible. Take that time to learn all about her grandma. Talk with her and ask a lot of questions about her life.While mom was alive, we thanked God for the time she spent with us. Her life was much more interesting and fascinating than I ever knew. Her childhood, her adolescence, her marriage to my dad, their families, the world during her life, and much more. It gave me great insight into mom’s thoughts, life and her dreams.
Interestingly, the staff at the nursing home told us that we were quite unusual in visiting mom every day because many families never visit their elders but rather dump them off and leave them. Embrace this time and give thanks that you have this time with her before she is gone. God bless this young lady for caring for her grandma so much.– Loving Son
Dear Loving Son: This is wonderful advice. Many readers responded to the letter in similar ways. Others suggested using photo albums or music to start conversations or pull back older memories, which may be more graspable to more recent events. One reader also suggested the book “Creating Moments of Joy” by Jolene Brackey. I’ve found it to be a wonderful resource.
Real Life of an MSW 