Creating Sparks That Last & All Things Relationships

 International Men's Day International Men's Day  is held annually on 19 November. It is an opportunity to celebrate men and boys in all their diversity. Many people also use the day to highlight some of the key social issues that men and boys around the world face.  International Men's Day Info Disclaimer : The following information is based on my opinion entirely and is not meant, in any way, to persuade the reader's rights to their own opinion. The celebration of the men in our lives DOES NOT INCLUDE abusive relationships. Please seek help if you are in an abusive situation:  Global Link Honoring the Men in Our Lives We all start off in life with a male figure-head 'somewhere' in our lives. Some may not be present as father-figures but we are all conceived by both male and female interaction. So what is it then, that determines our perception of the male presence around us? Undoubtedly the direct attention of those in our daily lives, whether it be family, f...

How to Live Life on Life's Terms [I invite you to sit back, relax and take in the extraordinary information that our  Guest Blogger, Human Behaviour and Social Change Expert, Kristy Riggal, has written.] Relationships have evolved a lot since the 50’s and 60’s. Divorce rates are skyrocketing, as is the epidemic of anxiety and depression. I have dedicated the better part of the last 7 years + of my life to understand the why, through field research and my education. Here is a morsel of what I know to be true and factual. https://unsplash.com/@tylernixcreative Did you know the first 10 years of your childhood development set you up for your adulthood and how you show up in your adult relationships? There are actually 5 peak waves that shape and mould you before the age of 18/19 years of age. The child brain doesn’t fully develop and is largely ‘unconscious’ until around the age of 8-10 and continues to develop into your 20’s. Those first 10 years are crucial, as a child relies solely...

Finding Acceptance and Purpose  https://unsplash.com/@mscheid I invite you to read our inspiring article on the formative relationship between parent and child by Guest Blogger: Maria C. Palmer I was a recent college graduate, who like many  twenty -somethings had no clue what path my life would take. I was floundering. My feet were planted in two worlds     I was creating a new life in the land of dreams in Los Angeles, CA, all while keeping secret my life back home in Pittsburgh, P.A., where my father was unexpectedly incarcerated. I found acceptance and purpose in a charity started by a drinking, smoking, swearing, gambling Catholic nun, who was much too fashionable to be caught dead in a habit. Get On The Bus brought children to visit their mothers and fathers in California state prisons. As Sister Suzanne passionately reminded anybody who would listen, “ This program has nothing to do with the parents, and it is all about the children. Children a...

How to Handle Difficult Conversations I have been told so many times that I'm too sensitive. I've started responding with, "You say that like it's a bad thing." Honestly though, we are not too much of anything. There are sensitive people and there are not-so-sensitive people. We are simply that which makes us, us. https://unsplash.com/@css Thank you to everyone who has responded with suggestions for our new series on the blog. We'll start with communication, specifically with highly sensitive people through difficult conversations. New Blog Series Highly Sensitive People – How to handle difficult conversations Difficult conversations are part of all relationships. They are awkward, uncomfortable and confronting, but they need to be had. If one, or both, of you is highly sensitive, the conversation is that much more difficult to navigate. If one, or both, of you is hot-headed, the conversation falls to pieces too quickly. Mark Twain Quote: I can live for tw...

It’s Not Funny Treating our mental health well like we should our physical health is a necessity. To this end, James and I indulged ourselves with a Gold Class movie night out. We went the whole hog as they say – pre-ordering snacks to be delivered to us periodically through the movie. Lounging back in our recliner chairs sipping on tannin rich merlot, the aroma swirling around my nostrils, I was basking in the sheer opulence.    These are important moments to take for ourselves, and each other.  The movie we chose was Joker. In light of a recent emotional meltdown I had had regarding my career, this was a particularly sensitive story for us to follow. It was a dark storyline with uncomfortable truths to follow, but oh so necessary for us as individuals and for the greater community as a universal whole. Doing something out of the ordinary, watching a movie out of the ordinary nudges us towards growth. Understanding of others. Tolerance towards others. Compassion towards ...

What Is Love? 'Writer seeks 'wife' for a year on a tropical island.' The other day I asked for you, the reader, to define love in one word. I got some thoughtful answers which I'll list below. But before I do that, I want you to ask yourself what love means to you, firstly as an individual and secondly in a partnership. Years ago, when my marriage was still young, I read an autobiography by Lucy Irvine called Castaway (NOT the Tom Hanks movie). This was an intentional project to live on Tuin Island, an uninhabited island off the northernmost coast of Australia, for a year. It began with a male writer advertising for a female to live with him and test their mettle of survival on Tuin Island.   The catch, by Australian Officials standards, was that they had to be married in order to stay on the island. This did not please Lucy as G (as she calls him) expected more than just survival tactics from her. This caused deep introspection on both their parts, making for a del...