parenting
Stop Comparing Yourself To Others
I believe that my own tendency to compare myself with others began at a young age, when my mother would constantly compare me to my cousins. For example, she would talk affectionately about their lovely physical attributes, like their thick hair, high cheekbones or deep-set eyes. Their personalities were louder and more assertive than mine too.
I was an overweight kid, and the more withdrawn I became, the more I would eat. I felt that my overweight was seen by others as greed, but I now believe I was layering deep insecure feelings.
I now know too that I was not meant to be like my cousins. In hindsight, I thank my mother for the life lessons. Perhaps she helped me in learning about insecurity and experiencing an inferiority complex. Today, I have a much deeper understanding of how my clients feel, when they don’t feel good enough. Or, as is often the case, when they are concerned about their children not feeling good enough for whatever reason. This is not always due to faulty parenting. Parents often suffer terribly when they see their kids, whatever their ages, suffer from lack of self-esteem. They see their kids as having every reason to be super-confident, yet witness them withdrawn and unhappy.
Traits Of Your Cancer Child
A child born between June 21st and July 22nd is a Cancer. Home and family are very important to children born under this zodiac sign. Anything relating to family and home life will tend to make them very sentimental. Cancers tend to keep elaborate scrapbooks or make videos of special family moments. They are extremely attached to the home, and especially to their mothers.
Cancer is not only a water sign, they actually love water! If your child or baby is having a rough day, sometimes just a warm bath, or a little time in the pool or at the beach, can help calm them down and rejuvenate their soul. They might also love to wash their hands, so let them help with the dishes!
Cancers tend to be highly empathetic. They are very caring, loving and affectionate. They need a lot of affection and love in return, to feel happy and secure. Keep a close eye on them and make sure they aren’t absorbing other’s negativity, or becoming overwhelmed by other people’s emotions.
When Your Child Is Your Spiritual Coach
Coming from a family who never communicated their personal feelings, I learned a lot about the importance of communication between age groups in my early teens, when I was sent to live with a Dutch family with three children for several months.
I always admired their closeness, but it wasn’t until I actually moved in with them, that I realized just how far their caring and sharing went towards feeling part of such a close knit family. They prayed together too, and included me, always asking for healing for my mother who was having treatment at the time for her ‘nervous condition.’
In later years, as a recovering alcoholic in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), I would often hear the expression, “A family that prays together, stays together.” I am sure this family has stayed close all these years, even though we have lost touch. Continue reading
Saying Thank You Is Good Karma
Karma can be witnessed by looking back on one’s own life and experiences, or by observing the lives of others and how karma affected them. If you are close with someone you can see their karma unfold if you’re paying attention. Sometimes we don’t see it until much later in life.
A less obvious kind of karma, which I have started to notice over this past year, relates to saying two simple words: thank you. Why is saying thank you so very difficult for some people? I have never understood it, until recently.
One of the most common reasons people don’t say thank you, is because they were never taught to do so as children. Usually we are taught these things early on. But some people are brought up in dysfunctional homes where there is the lack love, attention and connection between parent and child. Continue reading
What Goes Around Comes Around
Karma is a very real thing. I know an older lady who firmly believes that she will never have to struggle coming in the door, whenever she comes home to her condo. She never has to set down any of her items to look for the right key to unlock the door and let herself in. There always seems to be someone there to let her in; people are usually going out as she is coming back in.
Amazingly, this appears to be true. I have never actually seen her having any trouble letting herself in, and it seems to be the case especially when she is bringing in groceries, or carrying a heavy load.
I asked her why she thinks this is, and she told me that when she was younger, and her legs used to worked better, she used to always help elderly people. She would help them to their car, or help them bring things in, or help them cross the street. It was something her parents taught her from a very young age – to always be ready to lend a helping hand to children and the elderly. Continue reading

