Works of Heart Counseling

01/01/2024

Life is all about perspective.

11/29/2023

09/29/2023

Batteries and flashlights.

09/15/2023

I'm possible

08/26/2023

Live imperfectly with great delight! I don’t know who said this but if we lived this way, what would that look like? My birthday is coming up and on that date on my calendar I wrote “Live imperfectly with great delight”. I really want to live that way. Delight means joy, pleasure, happiness, glee, amusement or satisfaction. A big part of this is changing the way we think and look at life. Maybe some of these things might help you:

1) My husband and I play this little game of “Get To”. Instead of saying (or thinking for that matter) I have to go to work, we say, I get to go to work. Honestly when I was talking care of my husband in the hospital, 9 years ago, I had to change my heart and mind by saying I get to go to the hospital….he was sick enough that I might have had to live without him. It isn’t a game any more. I get to go home and see my husband.

2) The secret to happiness is to give it away. Random acts of kindness are no joke. Notice if you do something for someone, how you feel. I always feel loving and caring. Just leaving an encouraging sticky note for someone is such a great feeling. Loving others is our purpose here on earth.

3) An author and family therapist Virginia Satir once said “ We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth”. It makes us feel loved, connected and cared for. It might be hard to give the first hug but it gets easier as you keep doing it. Pick a family member or friend and give them a big hug. Always notice how you feel. This is living with great delight too.

4) Celebrate everything. Even if it’s just a quick, ‘Wow, that was wonderful’. Do something that makes you feel celebrative. Pick a flower and put it on a vase, which brings me to the next thing….

5) Look for beauty! Beauty is something that touches our souls. We crave beauty when someone dies because it’s such a loss. Flowers are always part of funerals. Even more than the beauty of the earth, see the beauty in interactions. One of the more beautiful things I’ve seen is when people care about one another. It’s beauty when someone tells another that they miss them or asks if there is anything they can do to help someone. Make some beauty and spread it to all those that you can. Beauty is the difference between nice and kindness. One is more genuine and sincere!

6) Go to counseling and be kind to yourself. Begin to face things that get in your way of living with great delight.

Patti Suzanne (8-23-23)

08/04/2023

Have you read C.S Lewis books?

07/17/2023

Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it. (Confucius)

I am all for making a gratitude list. It is a way to help an attitude to stay positive in this world where negativity seems to rule. I think gratitude lists are important but I usually talk in my therapy sessions about beauty lists. Don’t get me wrong; being grateful is important in all of our lives…. BUT I think mostly what we’re really missing is beauty. Beauty and gratitude are cousins. Ever notice when you really stay present and take in something beautiful how your heart sings a bit? How it lets in light? “People are like stained glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within”. (Elisabeth Kubler-Ross). Why are sending flowers traditional at a funeral? A heart that is grieving needs light, depth and beauty. Beauty is something that pe*****tes our hearts. I talk with my clients about starting a list of Beauty Is . . . I started one a while back (actually 20 years ago). It’s a long list but my heart is always lighter and I see the purpose and meaning of life when I read and reread it. Some of the things on my list are: my grandsons triple giggle (he was 3 years old then), my little granddaughter’s kissy face (she was 10 months old then), the sunset last night, my son’s texts to me asking how I’m doing (at the time he was a teenager…it’s still beautiful when he texts), my daughter inviting me to breakfast (there’s something about sharing and coffee that gives satisfaction and depth), the sun light on the leaves of a aspen tree, Independence Pass, my husband putting his arm around me (especially in public, it feels safe and loving), the purple flowers in my back yard, time spent with my family, connecting with my 3 grandkids that are 10, 15, and 22 now) and the birds making a nest in my $25 hanging baskets full of flowers. Those are many things that I cherish and that I am grateful for. I let beauty pe*****te and saturate and move me. I love art…it speaks…through it’s own beauty. Loving beauty is the grateful heart, feeling and allowing movement. So….
Beauty is . . .

07/14/2023

There will always be pain but you can heal

07/07/2023

A good quote from The EQ School

07/03/2023

Favorite memory with your best friend.