The Real Deal Family and Relationship Guide

All people suffer from the pain of life in varying ways. We often carry these pains of suffering around like emotional weights tied to our necks. In time the pain has to be alleviated and released. The release of pain in our hearts is best removed through the simple and random things we do for others in which we seek no return of gesture. A bird can never get far off the ground when it is carrying a load it can not bear..we humans are the same way..letting go of those things that hold us down, keep us from flying, moving and rising to be a better person is key to our healing.. Random and anonymous acts of kindness  There are many ways we can do these things to lighten the woes of our own scars. We can do kind things that are anonymous and with the intent to bring joy, love or benefit to another. We can tend to our gardens and plant trees for each milestone we cross in our lives. Giving of ourselves freely, brings joy, peace and nourishment to our souls. When this happens ou

"Trust me..." Do you ever run across people that say the word "trust me" a lot and wonder why they feel so compelled to convince you of something?  Many times in life you may run across or know someone that possibly tries a little too hard to convince you they are telling the truth..and it seems in the  midst of all of their words you'll hear a phrase like "trust me."  "Less than..." Just like the phrase "the lady doth protest too much" the phrase "trust me" can send up a red flag when over used. With  the first phrase, this suggests the lady denies so vehemently that it suggests she is lying.. and the phrase "trust me" suggests you not doubt or question so that I may fool you. This may not always be the case some people sputter out phrases out of habit, but for those others, these words and these two phrases, are closely related. One of the most important steps we can make in improving ourselves internall

The Way to Happiness (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Happiness is not a given in this lifetime. It is something that has to be sought after, and it is often the ways we seek our happiness that determine how long and how successful our end results will be. People with mood disorders, depression and other personality issues become dependent on many external contributions to elevate their mood and happiness. When pills aren't getting you where you want to be.. This truth is, we all build up a tolerance to pills in some way or another. So what do we do then? Take stock in all the external factors that have been in your life of late. Have they been stressful, unsure, and negative? These things will come and go in life so pills will only carry you so far.  It is a good idea to talk your family doctor to rule out other contributing problems that may be affecting your mood, including having a thorough blood work up done to rule out low levels of iron, B12 etc. Sometimes there is an

Dawn Gagnon Photography ©2023 Release is a skill many fisherman develop over a lifetime of fishing. When they are not depending on the fish to provide food, but only the momentary pleasure of their company, they learn to release, so that the fish can return to their life, and the fisherman can continue doing what he loves. We as humans have to learn the art of release in other areas of our lives as well. We are called upon many times to release. Release guilt, release loved ones, release anger, release resentment, release the past... When we learn the fine art of releasing, we can then move on to embrace the truth, embrace our loved ones, embrace our feelings, embrace others feelings, embrace the future. The personality type that is most likely to resist learning how to release is one with low self esteem, dependent, seeking self worth through others, fault finding, judgmental, passive aggressive, smothering and likely to be disappointed a lot in other people around them.

Teenagers are a real challenge to raise. While many parents will tells you the "terrible twos" are a real hard time to get through, this pales in comparison to the teen years. Teenagers today have so many negative influences in their  life that it is very hard for a parent to know where to draw the line between protecting your child, and letting your child have some space and privacy. Sometimes our best intentions can create far more negative outcomes than we can imagine. Teenagers are very resilient and should never be underestimated in how far they'll go to hide things from you. The question is, did you create a situation that prompted them to be this determined? If you are too protective, and too involved in your teen's private life you run the risk of creating just the opposite of what you really desire. Instead of making your teen feel like you really care and are looking out for their best interests, you will force them to seek privacy, and independence to a

Teen Mom 2 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) MTV's hit reality shows Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant are wildly popular. The show follows teens on a journey from pregnancy to parenthood and often reveal the day to day struggles the girls and their boyfriends face when dealing with an unplanned pregnancy. In some cases, the girls seem to make the whole process seem rather easy, especially those like Chelsea Houska receiving a huge amount of financial support from parents. Chelsea drives a very nice vehicle, even bought a new one while on the show and moved into several rather nice homes/apartments while the show progressed. Houska's biggest struggles however, seem to be her own inability to end a toxic relationship with her baby's daddy Adam Lind. What teen moms need to remember about their boyfriends is that when you choose to have unprotected sex with a teenaged boy, you are choosing a teenaged boy for a father . You can't expect them to be a man, nor can they expect you to b