Creating Sparks That Last & All Things Relationships

Passionate and Surprising: December - Part 1 Welcome to book recommendations that'll both surprise you and touch your heart.  I put a call out towards the end of November for anyone who wanted to highlight relationship connections in their books. I got a few more responses than anticipated and simply could not turn them away. They all blew me away with their raw energy. Which is why I'll be featuring these books in two parts. Elora Canne TEIDA'S STORY: Life Through the Eyes of a Dog by Danielle Corrie Not only is this an endearing tale of human kindness towards each other, but also a deeply affecting tale of loyalty from a dog's perspective. Teida is a rescue dog who transforms the life of her new owner, Annie with a quiet knowing of mood and emotional needs. Teida also comforts close friends of Annie's with her gentle spirit of companionship and trust. Written through Teida's perspective, the author has observed her behaviours and mannerisms closely, with the a

How to Achieve Relationship Success? Image: Elora Canne Quality interactions - short term Combined dreams - long term Quality Interactions: For any relationship to be successful, you have to experience quality interactions that will draw you closer together and create lasting memories that you share. Last month we spoke about what we want more of in a relationship. Here’s the link if you missed it:  create-relationship-you-want The thing is, your partner also has their own desires for your relationship together. Here’s where the ‘how-to’ of a successful relationship comes in: A) Both partners write a list of 5 achievable date ideas for your relationship that will drive it to success. B) Swap lists and write a short list of your partners choices that you’d like to pursue. C) From each of your short lists, pick a starting point. Don’t over complicate things. Baby steps towards your relationship success will ensure sustainable practice in the long-run. Combined Dreams: Now that you both h

But how? Image: Elora Canne Self-awareness, for one. And effort for another. Neither romance nor love are going to land in your lap if you just sit back staring into space. Unless you’re gazing at the stars with the love of your life cuddled up next to you - but you have to make that happen, right? Let’s start with self-awareness: If you don’t know what you want, you can’t make it happen - go figure. Figure out what kind of relationship makes you happy, then set your intentions to plan for it.  For example: do you want more travel and adventure,  or romance and fine dining?  perhaps you’d prefer more quiet date-nights-in, or snuggled up for more movie nights? Whatever it is that you want more of, you have to,  a) know, and,  b) make it happen. So that’s your project for this month, to figure out what you want more of in your relationship. Perhaps you want a combination of all 3 of my suggestions above. Or, perhaps you can add ideas of your own. _________________________________________

And Healthy Relationship Tips If you’re wondering what the secret to lasting love is, there isn’t one. You have to take the long way round. And the good news is, I’ve got 3 tips that will get you there. How do I know? Because this year marks the 40th year my partner and I will have been together. Not married, that’ll be 37 years, but together - not yet mind you, that’ll be later on in the year. Our relationship comes with lots of experience, so healthy relationship tips are kind of my fortè. Here are my 3 tips for you: • Regular dates inject new interest into your relationship. They don’t have to be expensive outings, in fact they don’t even have to be outings, but they do have to be something out of the ordinary. • My second healthy relationship tip is to have the awkward conversation. Repeatedly, until the issue is fully resolved. This may take months, intermittently and you will continue to have issues needing discussion, just keep at it. Preferably on neutral ground during a walk o

In Conversation with Author Pat Backley Photo credit:  Pat Backley Pat’s memoir  From There To Here (With An Awful Lot In Between) is sprinkled with her positive outlook and quotes to live by. Here is one such quote that really stood out to me: Whatever life throws at you, never give up. Just learn to adapt and change. You’ll hear more of her passion and positivity shine through as you listen to our chat here: Relationships and Resilience   And if you have any questions for Pat, let’s hear them in the comments. She is a font of inspiration! You’ll find all of her books, both fiction and nonfiction on her website:  Pat Backley - Author Connect with Pat on the socials at the following links: Instagram   Facebook LinkedIn Twitter And I’ll leave you with one last quote from Pat that will inspire you to live the life you dream of: Life can be tough, but try to keep smiling through the tears. When you get knocked down, get up and carry on…You never know what’s around the next corner. Have a

Your Personal Growth Does Not Threaten Your Relationship  You've changed.  You are not the same person who your husband or wife married years ago. They are not the same person, either.  You committed to your partner without knowing who they would become. Especially if you were young.  It's part of the marriage package.  People change over the years. You are not the same person at 40 that you were at 20. Thankfully. Because that 20-year-old hadn't experienced enough life to know what was what. At 20, our brains haven't even fully developed.  You committed to your partner knowing that both of you would change. At least, you knew it in your head. If you think too hard about it, these agreements seem scary.  We calm these fears by telling ourselves a myth: Couples in Close and Connected Relationships Grow Together. Their Marriage Lasts Because They Feel In-Sync and are on the Same Page.  This simply isn't true.  You are busy. You have many obligations, projec

Unsure what that even means? I invite you to read on... This is what mindbodygreen.com interprets a conscious relationship to mean: A conscious relationship is a romantic relationship in which both partners feel committed to a sense of purpose, and that purpose is growth.  Individual growth. Shared growth as a couple.  Collective growth that makes the world a better place. You can read the rest of their article at the following link: The 4 Qualities of a Conscious Relationship I would add that a conscious relationship is not limited to a romantic connection, but also extends to family and friends as the two are intrinsically linked as I will illustrate below. https://unsplash.com/@_visalliart I've recently had the absolute pleasure of reading a number of books related to all topics of connection in our lives. Each one shows how irrefutably our network of relating to each other stems from our perception of connection. ≽ Quoted from Stronger Connections by Rosie Kendall: People wil

Healthier and Happier Together 3 Best Tips for a Healthy Relationship https://unsplash.com/@jeremybanks You wake up in the same bed every morning (or the spare bed if the snoring is unbearable, am I right?), eat the same cereal for breakfast every morning and drag yourself to work either home-office or workplace and wonder to yourself, "Is this It?" No, I can attest that ' this is not it '. This is how I know: If we want things to change, we have to BE the change Now this doesn't mean that all the relationship work is up to you, it simply means that if you are the one who wants things to be different, you have to be the one to do things differently.   - Shake routines up a little, maybe cook a tasty     breakfast to have together on a weekday               - Bring your partner a fruit and dip snack for morning tea if you both work from home               - Pack them a home baked (or store bought) muffin to take to work if they're in the office   Notice the sur