A Brand New Decade...A Brand New Start ~ by Darlene Kuncytes

Well, the New Year is upon us. It’s coming!
A new decade…a fresh start.

This past year as an author has been an especially tough one for me. Actually, the past few years have. Writers block. No time. A lot of not so great stuff going on with some authors that kind of took the shine off of the writing community for me.

But...

As this decade grows closer to coming to an end, I realized that I will not let the negativity of a few bad apples dampen my passion for what I do.

I write. It’s what I love. It’s what keeps me sane in a whole lot of ways. Lol. It’s what makes me happy, and at the end of a long, tiring work day…it helps me to escape for a little while.

Anyone who has a love for something, whether it’s music, art, crafts, writing, or whatever, knows that even when we hit a mountain, we still trudge along. Making our way up that incline until it evens out and once again becomes a more even path is our goal.

Nothing in life is ever always easy. Creativity is a fickle beast. She comes and goes like the tides.

What we need to remember is that it’s okay.

An author friend of mine was beating herself up because she just hasn’t felt like putting words to the page. And believe me, I understood where she was coming from. Like I said, I have been fighting that battle. But it can’t be forced. It must come when it’s time.

We have so much going on in our lives that sometimes things get lost in the melee. It will be found again, because it is part of us. It’s in our souls. We simply need to remember to breathe. To take a step back and release the negative energy.

We are approaching a brand-new decade. Let’s make it a point to be kinder and more aware of the things around us. Let’s get our creative juices flowing again, and strive to make this upcoming year a year of change for the better.

A year of maybe doing something small that will affect others in a positive, supportive way.

Find your passion again if it’s strayed away from you, or perhaps find a brand-new passion.

How about in this new year we realize that the possibilities of what we can do are endless! Let’s not short change ourselves or what we can do. Every little ripple we send out there grows and grows and hopefully inspires others to do the same until we make a mighty wave.

Never think that what you do doesn’t matter. Because it does!

So, here’s to 2020. Here’s to looking for the good. Learning from the bad. And making this year a glorious one!

Love and kisses everyone!

See you next year! 😉

Darlene

All it Takes ~ by Grace Augustine

I’m a huge fan of America’s Got Talent. Last week one of the acts

was a choir comprised of kids from Detroit under the direction of a passionate man who believes in these kids 100%. The announcer, Terry Crews, was so moved by their story and performance that he gave them the opportunity of moving the directly to the live show by pressing the Golden Buzzer.

“All it takes is one person who cares…” Crews said.

I thought about this statement the rest of the evening and into the next day. All it takes is one person who cares enough to make a difference in your life. One person. One person who draws alongside of you. One person who cheers you on. One person who loves you for who you are. One person who says, “You can do it.”

I didn’t have that my growing up years. I was born in Shelby, Montana. My dad died when I was 9.

Kathryn & Frank Augustine

My mother remarried and it was over 9 months later, when he died, 2 days after my dad had the prior year. We then moved to Cut Bank, a "town to the west." It was then my mother spent the majority of her time catering to everyone else’s needs, and I was in the background.

Through an unfortunate course of events, and for my own safety and sanity, I ran away from home the middle of my sophomore year in high school. I stayed with friends until the situation at my house was a better environment for me.

During this time, one person drew along side of me…talked with me, spent time with me, became my big sister and confidante, and taught me how to stand up for myself. That person was Ms. Janet Smollack. She was my 10th grade English teacher.

I owe a lot of who I am today to her gentle guidance and teaching and

Janet Smollack Liharik

 her loving ways of bringing truth to light in my life... all things I’d not experienced. The shepherding, the love, the prayers, the faith

base she taught me are my foundation. They are who I am.

Years have passed, forty-seven of them to be exact. We have kept in touch throughout each one. We spoke only yesterday, and with each conversation, I still glean a lesson. She is ever the teacher…ever the sister...ever the best friend.

One person who cares makes a world of difference to someone who is struggling. It doesn’t matter what their struggle is, if you can be that difference, please do so. Our world is filled with so much haughtiness and hatred, with ego and anger. Be the difference. It must start somewhere, why not with you and me?

My years in Cut Bank, Montana, living in the Pacific Northwest, and personal experience are a foundation for my writing. In The Acorn Hills Series…each character of each book has a part of me and pieces of my memories of that gentler time.

Book 3, Sultry Sensations, has the most of me in it. While there are

copyright Grace Augustine

some parts that didn’t happen and are only imagination, other parts are factual. It’s about an overweight girl from the wrong side of the tracks who takes charge of her life with the help extended her, some that came from her high school English teacher. You can learn more about my books HERE .

Please, never think yourself better than anyone. You aren’t that special little darling you think you are, because each in our own way are special...none more so than the other. We all are fashioned the same way, and technically, each of us have the genes of the other. We’re related. And while you shake your head and say, “Yeah, but some of those relatives…” take a look in that mirror. Are you the best of the best or is it because you think having  money makes you the best, or a large home, or many successful kids and grandkids? Some of the wealthiest people monetarily are some of the poorest on earth, yet some of the wealthy are as common as your next door neighbors. Be that odd one out. Be the one who cares enough to make a difference in someone’s life. You won’t be sorry. It will warm your soul and give you even more purpose than you think you have.

For my dear, sweet friend: Thank you, Jan, for always being there, always knowing what I need to hear, and always imparting wisdom--whether Divine or your own. I love our phone chats. You are forever in my heart.

To the rest of you reading this, remember…someone once took a chance on you. Whether you chose to accept it or reject it is yours to own, but nothing says that you can’t be that difference for someone else. Pass it on, people. It costs nothing to be kind.

photo by glazimg.pw

 

Goals...Why Not Stack the Odds? ~ by Marj Ivancic

photo courtesy of pexels.com

For many years, I subscribed to a variety of health-related magazines because I enjoyed learning new exercises as well as tweaks that I could make to my eating habits and daily practices to improve my overall wellness.

Interestingly enough, the more I read, the more it became clear that those articles weren’t just teaching lessons about weight loss and diet. They were instruction manuals for how to make a change in one’s life and, perhaps more importantly, how to sustain that new model. The principles they shared are guiding tenets meant to keep the practitioner grounded and moving forward.

#1 BE FORGIVING
You are going to have setbacks, times when your plan isn’t working

photo: greatergood.berkeley.edu

or when an unexpected roadblock is thrown in your way. This is not a prediction; it’s a fact. Acknowledge this at the beginning of your journey so that when it happens, you are prepared to some degree. You don’t have to beat yourself up over it. Reflect on it, learn from it, but then check it off the list and move on.

#2 START SMALL
Very few things compare to the feeling you get from achieving a goal. It’s a rush of pride and excitement that thrums throughout the body. So why make them impossible to capture? You know yourself better than anyone else does. You know what you can and cannot handle. Break up your long-term goals into pieces that are realistic and attainable for YOU. Short sprints of action can be daisy-chained together to become long-running success. And even if one of these links break, the setback is significantly less of an impact because it’s just one tiny piece in a larger effort.

#3 HAVE A PLAN, BUT BE FLEXIBLE
Go into the journey knowing what you’re getting into. Plan out

photo courtesy of pexels.com

those small steps and set goals within goals. Understand the dependencies between them all. And remember guideline #1; think about potential failure points and have a plan B workaround for when surprises happen. Aim to be a step ahead of yourself and your environment.

#4 MAKE IT VISIBLE
When something is in front of you, it’s pretty hard to ignore or forget. Keeping your goals where you’re reminded of them keeps you accountable and reinforces both your successes and the work yet to do. Some folks like to go public with their goals; friends and family can be great motivators. But that approach doesn’t work for everyone nor is it the only step to take. Little things, like putting inspirational pictures, articles and quotes where you’ll see them on a regular basis—the fridge, the bathroom mirror, above your bed—can make a big difference between success and failure.

photo courtesy pinterest

Obviously, nothing can guarantee success. Life is one big poker table, and each goal we set is a gamble. But if the four steps listed above can help hundreds of people lose weight and eat better, why can’t they push the odds in your favor for the other bets you make in life?

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