Creating Sparks That Last & All Things Relationships

I’m delighted to introduce our guest blogger kayymorgan today, directly from her own platform: Are you there, Erma? It’s me, Sylvia.”  In her article below, kayymorgan captures the essence of self-care in relationships perfectly. Enjoy. "ARE YOU THERE, ERMA? IT'S ME, SYLVIA." “I” BEFORE “U” kayymorgan Sylvia : Erma, how have you survived that mother of all relationships? You know. Marriage? Erma : Oh Sylvia, that's a biggie.  The question of all questions.  Too early for wine or an old-fashioned, so put a fresh pot on. As the cooler temperatures set in and the daylight hours grow shorter, Sylvia contemplates all the ways to bring possibilites for happiness to life. It seems a bit inconsistent though since autumn for many carries darker thoughts. Death and dormancy even for some. However, Sylvia, ever hopeful given the company she keeps and her best friend's soothsaying abilities (Erma predicts that everything works out as it should in the end), is thinking about w

Are You Your Own Worst Enemy?  https://unsplash.com/@danielmingookkim Deep questions for sure. Let me start by asking you how often you find yourself having a heated discussion in your thoughts? How often do you find yourself defending your actions internally, in your mind? Okay, enough with the questions, I'm sure you get the picture. It happens in a millisecond. We do or think something that we feel someone will criticize and we immediately prepare our defense. Crazy right? I've caught myself doing this countless times and am more aware than ever to stop my thoughts in their tracks and remind myself that it's simply not true and there is no reason for defense. Just as importantly, I've started reminding myself that whatever the action is that I 'think' someone might criticize me for, is an action I am quite *entitled to take and need not feel defensive in the first place. *Provided you're not hurting another being. https://unsplash.com/@nkuutz You are free

  Reviving a Lost Art Image credit Jill Wellington courtesy of Pexels  [I invite you to read this thought-provoking article on self-reflection by guest blogger Janice Melmed] I’ve been feeling quite overwhelmed lately. There has been so much going on in my life and I have felt pulled in so many directions at once. Distracted and not fully present, I reversed my car into a lamp post and jarred to a stop. I drove carefully home and I finally pressed pause on the chaos. I sat down and for a few moments I tuned into my body and I asked myself what I needed. Never mind what everyone else who I was giving my energy to needed, what did I need? I was surprised when the answer came back as gentle loving kindness. I decided to explore that a little deeper and to really understand what it was I was craving. Closing my eyes, I focused on my breathing, and once I was still, I allowed my senses to explore the words.   Gentleness brought images to mind of soft pastel colours, the sounds of tink