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Sharing the Holiday Spirit – 11 Ways to Make the Holidays Meaningful

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The holiday season – regardless of what celebration you participate in – is a time of sharing and caring about others.  There is lots of pressure to show our affection by giving material things to others or doing elaborate and costly events or entertainment. There are certainly plenty of opportunities to spend, spend, spend. Sharing the holiday spirit can be done in many other ways. Whether you desire to simplify your holiday activities or want… Continue reading

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Creating Your Personal Vision Statement – A Step-by-Step Process

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A vision is not just a picture of what could be; it is an appeal to our better selves, a call to become something more. ~ Rosabeth Moss Kanter  As stated in the previous post, https://carolbrusegar.com/personal-vision-statement-part-1/ , this is a perfect time to create a new Personal Vision Statement. We are still experiencing the effects and after-effects of the pandemic. After all the interruptions and dislocations of the past few years, creating a fresh one… Continue reading

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Personal Vision Statement – A Tool for Direction, Motivation and Decision-making

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Vision is the true creative rhythm.  ~ Robert Delaunay Does the idea of a Vision Statement excite you? Inspire you? Leave you cold? A Personal Vision Statement can be useful, especially if we keep it fresh and adjust as life progresses. A tired, dusty, tattered vision statement may have historical interest, but lacks power day to day. This is a perfect time to look at Personal Vision Statements. We are still experiencing the effects and… Continue reading

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Reclaim Your Holidays – Recapture the Joy

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Anticipation. Excitement. Avoidance. Ambivalence. Dread. You may have some of these and many other mixed feelings about the busy months of October, November, and December. The particular joys of the autumn/fall season, the holidays of Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and more – all in three months. It sometimes just feels like too much. If you feel this way, I invite you to reclaim the direction/control of your holidays. Reclaim Your Holidays! Expectations –… Continue reading

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Journaling Jumpstart: The Easiest Way to Start or Restart a Journaling Habit

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Do you write in a journal regularly? Or have you for some period of time in your past? I must admit that I am a sporadic journaler. For a period of time I can be very committed and it feels like a habit. And then I fall away. I really don’t know why that happens. I find that a simple strategy to get into the routine again can be this journaling jumpstart: a one-line-a-day journal.… Continue reading

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Embracing and Celebrating the Cycle of Seasons

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Recently the appearance of Joni Mitchell at the 2022 Newport Folk Festival – her first full concert since 2000 – caught the attention of people across the world. Her unique music of the late 1960s and beyond brought memories to many and introduced new generations to those treasures of our youth. The cycle of seasons was highlighted in one of her songs. “The seasons they go round and round….  We’re captive on the carousel of… Continue reading

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ONE OLD PHOTO – A WINDOW INTO BASEBALL AND BARNSTORMING IN THE 1930s

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“Take me out to the ball game. Take me out with the crowd…. For it’s one, two, three strikes, you’re out. At the old ball game!” It all began when I saw again a blurry photo labeled “Park Day 1933” among my mother’s photos. The photo was of a Black baseball team, some doffing their caps for the photographer.  The photo had intrigued me before but this time I pursued more information. It was taken in… Continue reading

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Techniques for Setting Priorities When It’s Hard to Focus

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This time of uncertainty in our personal lives as well is in our communities, states, country and world impacts us in many ways. With so much swirling around us, it can be hard to set priorities.  It’s hard to know what to focus on – we are often really scattered in our thoughts, in what we say, and in what we do. These techniques for setting priorities can help you focus on the things that… Continue reading

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Band Concert in the Park – When an Experience Elicits Memories and Exploration

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Hundreds of people in lawn chairs and on blankets at El Dorado Park West waited for the music to begin. Many had brought picnic dinners and were enjoying them with family and friends. A traditional band concert in the park had brought them there on this beautiful July evening to relax and enjoy. The Long Beach Municipal Band played Broadway music – Gershwin, Oscar and Hammerstein, Meredith Willson, Jerry Bock and more – with skill… Continue reading

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Cranking Up Your Problem-Solving Creativity

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Do you consider yourself to be creative? Perhaps you say no because you can’t paint or make music or sculpt. Creativity is MUCH broader than that. It’s about finding new ways to solve problems and finding ways to approach the situations we face. All of us are creative. It’s a survival skill. And we can become MORE creative in all areas of our lives. Cranking up your problem-solving creativity can make a huge difference. Here… Continue reading