From rising costs of everyday essentials to the growing burden of sick care costs, today’s economy is making it harder for many of us to stretch a dollar. Low-income earners, who didn’t have enough money to make ends meet before costs began to climb, are now having it harder. Ask them what they worry about most and the answer will likely be money. “Robbing Peter to pay Paul” often dominates their conversations. Average income earners bring in enough money but are afraid t

"There's enough that you don't know to make whole ‘nother world." These words, spoken by my mother, didn't mean anything to me when I was growing up – she sometimes called me a “know-it-all.’ But today I see them for what they were - words of wisdom. What we don't know is dragging us into a different world –one we will soon regret inhabiting: A world that is running out of clean air and water fit to drink. A world where digital devices are taking over our lives. A worl

“Your legacy is not what you leave behind. It’s what you create every day that you live to your fullest.” August is “What Will Be Your Legacy Month. It’s a dedicated time to reflect on your values, assess your life's impact, and how it can benefit future generations. Most days, we don't think about how we live. We meet our obligations, paying little attention to what they all really mean. But the irony of death is that it interrupts routine and, for some, like myself, it sti

“Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. For those who love with heart and soul, there is no such thing as separation.” Rumi Death is the guest that never knocks. It just barges in, unannounced, as it did three weeks ago when it snatched away my younger brother, Timmy Ray, without warning. My daughter, Mia, and I were crocheting and watching our favorite shows when I got the call that Tim had passed. He’d battled depression most of his life, so hearing the w

“He that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. For only by patience, practice, and ceaseless importunity can a man enter the Door of the Temple of Knowledge.” James Allen My journey to wellness began with a simple gratitude list that grew over time. The longer the list, the better I began to feel about myself. Eventually, I discovered one of gratitude's many hidden gifts: it raises self-esteem and nurtures self-confidence. That discovery sent me

“If you want to understand any problem in America, you need to focus on who profits from the problem, not who suffers from that problem." Amos N. Wilson, PhD. I was born curious. It guided me into a fulfilling career in health promotion—one I never anticipated - and it's still what drives me. Not a day passes that I’m not thinking of how I can reshape the way people view health. Every dimension of wellness matters, but intellectual wellness is the one that gets talked about

"Your emotions make you human. Even the unpleasant ones have a purpose. Don't lock them away. If you ignore them, they just get louder and angrier." Sabaa Tahir Emotions are what make us human; however, they can be complex and hard to understand. From joy to despair, our feelings paint vivid pictures of our experiences - they guide our reactions to the world around us, shape our relationships, and influence our decision-making. But here’s where emotions get tricky - they

“Change is painful, but nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.” Mandy Hale Beyond our basic needs for food, shelter, and safety, we all want to belong, to be accepted. It’s how our brains are wired, and society sets a clock for us to find our place by a certain age. But it doesn’t bother to tell us that true belonging starts with self. As author Brené Brown puts it in Braving the Wilderness: “true belonging actually requires the willingness t

We spend time learning to love others unconditionally. What if your body deserved that same grace?" Nearly ten years have passed since that fateful day in January 2017, when a stroke attacked Mia’s brain, causing massive damage to her body. She spent the first few months of rehabilitation relearning how to walk, feed herself, speak, read, and write – childhood milestones most of us take for granted. Determined to regain some level of independence, Mia embraced every physical

“Everything changes when spirit leads the way.” For 17 years, I've lived with degenerative spinal stenosis, refusing to let it define me. By tapping into spiritual wellness, I’m thriving with no prescription medication and no surgery - just an intentional practice that has carried me further than what any doctor said I'd go. This same practice has guided me for nearly a decade as caregiver and wellness coach for Mia, a stroke warrior who is also thriving. But none of thi

"At the center of your being, you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want." — Lao Tzu From an early age, we’re taught that life should follow a straight path. You go to school, set goals, plan, celebrate milestones, and live your dreams – the perfect picture of order and predictability. But as we grow, we discover that life isn’t quite as linear –rarely does it unfold exactly as planned. When unexpected events happen, the straight line starts to curve

“The solution to the problem of the day is the awakening of the consciousness of humanity to the divinity within.” Hazrat Inayat Khan After four years of keeping a gratitude journal, I discovered another life-changing book: Wayne Dyer's "There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem." Hoping to understand what life was trying to teach me, I decided to give it a try. The title made a big claim, but the opening quote - "The solution to the problem of the day is the awakenin

"It’s hard to “Be Well” while holding on to self-defeating habits. At some point, change must come. The secret - start small." My small change approach to living my best life grew from two things: 1) my innate gift of systems thinking – I’ve always sought patterns and connections within complicated situations and, 2) lessons learned along my journey from caterpillar to becoming a wellness butterfly – what I call small change “Blessons” (blessings hidden in lessons). Sharin

To every mother who ever went without so her child could have, who faced fear so her child could feel safe, who stayed up worrying while pretending everything was fine, who gave her best without expecting anything in return—there is no word big enough to describe who you truly are. So I simply say… Thank you for being: Matchless – Your birth canal is our passageway to the world – it can’t be replicated. Omnipresent – You are always with us, even when we’re miles and lifet

Every May, organizations across the country encourage women to prioritize their physical, mental, and emotional well-being through checkups, screenings, and the establishment of healthy habits. It’s great advice, but it’s incomplete. True wellness encompasses the whole person, and the small change Wholistic Approach to Wellness fills in the missing pieces of the health and wellness puzzle. It’s based on a simple conviction: Health isn’t a destination you arrive at - it’s a

“Fear is an invitation to reconnect with a deeper sense of self.” Stress Awareness Month has sparked several interesting conversations about how stress affects us. While I didn’t learn anything new, these individual and group talks confirmed three things: 1) We don’t fully understand how stress affects our bodies. 2) We don’t get the connection between fear and stress. And, 3) No one is immune to stress, no matter their background. Most of our stress comes from the fear we cr

"It's not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it." — Hans Selye I was quietly working in my office when I received the urgent SOS from my daughter. I rushed to her room. She was in her bathroom, slumped on the commode with a trash can up to her mouth, miserably dry heaving and sweating. She murmured that her stomach hurt unbearably. When I asked if she’d taken something for it, she nodded but said that what she took wouldn’t stay down—and the pain was getting worse.

“Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.” – Dale Carnegie Stress is something we all experience, but don’t fully understand. We feel it every day — in our bodies, our minds, and our relationships — but we rarely stop to examine what it truly means. If you asked ten people to define stress, you’d probably get ten different answers. The good news? When we learn to recognize stress and understand how it works, we can stop reacting to it blindly and start re

“Gratitude turns what we have into enough.” April is Stress Awareness Month—a timely reminder of the importance of caring for our mental and emotional well-being. Political upheaval, economic uncertainty, and the challenge of maintaining daily balance have left many of us feeling more stressed than ever. In moments like these, we all need an anchor that truly makes a difference. Gratitude journaling is a simple yet powerful way to shift your focus, ease stress, and bring more

A healthy person has a thousand wishes; a sick person only has one. The sickcare industry is a complicated industry by design, and navigating the system can feel overwhelming, especially when you or a loved one is already facing a health challenge. Every year, millions of people encounter confusing medical jargon and complex processes. For vulnerable populations, it can be the difference between life and death. One way to make things better is through the help of "patient