Barbara Brooks created Flamingo Strategies LLC to help clients stand up and stand out, through telling and sharing their stories of impact and purpose.
Hacking Away at Happiness is her blog.
All in Aging
We all thought we’d never age. Yet here we are. And If you’re like me, you have have a list of other things in your head that you think you’ll never do.
Life isn’t exactly like the Choose Your Own Adventure book series because we can’t go back for a re-do. But we do have options.
As I spend less time alone, I’m noticing the practical compromises one has to make in order to truly share physical life with another human.
Two years ago, I bumbled my way into a relationship that actually works. I haven’t wanted to jinx it by putting too many certain-sounding words on the page. But now it’s time to try.
If we’re aware of what scares us, and we have a plan, then maybe can find calm in the eye of the crazy storm we don’t see coming.
I packed in a hurry because I’m a girl who beats deadlines. And I’m an editor, so I knew I’d have other chances to crystallize my thinking.
We’re all living on borrowed time. Squatting on borrowed land. Eeking out a borrowed existence. So what does safety even mean? And how does it change as we age?
Thanks to the coffee mishap, ideas are percolating. So here’s what I’m thinking about change.
My whole life I’ve been on a quest for 20/20 vision. Perfect vision, I thought, meant perfect clarity. But of course that isn’t true.
Conflicting desires make peace of mind seem impossible, especially as we age. But longing is what makes us human. And without our longings, we’d be numb.
The brain on praise is a beautiful thing. Giving praise trains your brain to notice positive things in the world. We can’t acknowledge what we don’t see.
It’s mighty powerful when people around us take the time to reflect the good qualities they see in us. We all can be mirrors.
Time is a vortex that sometimes sucks us in. It takes awhile to notice when I’m spending my time on things I know are pointless. But here I am again.
Inquiring minds wanted to know: What is true love for yourself? How do you know you have it? What does it look like when you get there? So here’s Part 2.
A trickle charger maintains the perfect balance of power. It puts energy in at the same rate it’s draining out. It’s slow going, but it’s better in the long run for battery health.
Now I see what’s happening: Those tricky Stoic gods tossed me a second eye surgery because I didn’t learn enough from the first one.
I was drawn to the book because of my marital redundancy. What I learned is that we all have three marriages. At the same time. Welcome to the new polyamory!
I returned to the hot springs. I knew there was more to see. And to say. Especially about getting old. And learning to love the skin I’m in.
This Independence Day I won’t lie on my back in the sand behind the Surfside Community Center—yes that Surfside—as I did as a child. But I’m learning to be free.
Why wait until a doctor tells us our time is limited? Our time already is limited! We can do these things now.
