Skip to main content

The Summer of My Own Life


Two books have served as guides this summer as I seek to live my own life.  To confront and rebuild and to rebuild resiliency.  I found myself exhausted mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally.   Intense times of work or stress left me completely depleted.

I started with thinking about my legacy and created a life plan as I read "Living Forward." I realized I was operating from a position of great weakness.  How would I ever meet these goals I sought, when my entire being seemed strung out?

I realized it was time to work, "The Compassion Fatigue workbook," gave me some specific strategies to identify some challenges and ways to build resiliency.

Trust me...it truly is a WORKING through workbook.

"Feeling overwhelmed didn't happen overnight," Francoise Mathieu stated.  He encouraged, "we have to walk the walk and not just talk the talk."

"Your resiliency strengths come from self-motivated, self-managed efforts to develop resiliency skills."  Al Siebert

I realize it will take some time to rebuild resiliency and fixing the fence or boundaries around my life, took time.

However, so many around me continue to be walking zombies and I'm much more aware of their need.  While I would love to help" and make them see what I am seeing...they have to live their own life.

My husband, for one is exhausted.  Throwing another book at him will not motivate him to read these books.   On the other hand, living my own life better, just may be the starting point for him.


The Compassion Fatigue Workbook by Francoise Mathieu

The Compassion Fatigue Workbook: Creative Tools for Transforming Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Traumatization


Living Forward by Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy.

Living Forward: A Proven Plan to Stop Drifting and Get the Life You Want by [Hyatt, Michael, Harkavy, Daniel]

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Starting a Journey

September 3, 2010 Originally posted How to Begin a Journey 1. Pick a destination or simply start. 2. Plan a detailed itinerary or just take the first step. 3. Pack everything or travel lightly. I am choosing to just begin. To leave behind the baggage, pick up a day pack, and go. Several nights before we moved to Ogallala, I was praying about the transition when I heard that still, small voice of God. In that moment, I knew He heard my Heart's Cry. He hears every whispered plea, every unspoken longing. If I truly sit with that truth, it humbles me. What courage, boldness, passion, and decisiveness I have when I remember: He never leaves or forsakes me. He provides for my every need according to His riches in glory. My hope is to encourage you He hears your Heart's Cry too.

1940 Canned Apple Butter: Family Root Cellar

I loved exploration as a child.  From opening the door and going down the stairs to get something from my Grandma's root cellar or exploring old homesteads while checking cows.  I credit my Mom with teaching us to appreciate those things that represented the people who had gone before us. When I moved with my husband and boys to a house on the family ranch-I began exploring immediately.  This was the house my Aunt and Uncle lived in during my childhood.  My Grandparents had lived there and many other families dating back to 1900 when it was built.   With two little boys in tow, I made my way to the root cellar and found a treasure cove.  Old text books belonging to the original family who had been a teacher, the original medicine cupboard, tools, trash and memorabilia.   I felt like an archeologist sifting through layers of debris representing generations and culture.  And I was.  I hauled truckloads of trash to the dump (some...

Diabetes-Opened to Disease OR Open to Connecting to my Strengths

I've tried living in denial for two years after the big D diagnoses was handed over.  Honestly, I just don't want to talk about it.  Outwardly seemly calm and disconnected from it.  Inwardly terrified. As a plant that is stressed is open to disease, injury and death so to our bodies are.  I opened myself up to this.  Stress, lack of sleep, bad nutrition, overweight and lack of exercise.  For some reason I believed that if I ran fast enough and worked hard enough, I would outrun my family genes.  The tiny room in the back of my brain locked with a key has kept the fear of this disease at bay even though I could hear its screaming when life quieted down. My Aunt died piece by piece to this disease.  First a heart attack and quadruple by-pass.  Then a toe.  Next a foot.  Legs came next along with more heart attacks.  Kidneys shutting down.  She died very young. When I was little, my Aunt Ally gave herself s...