Community Building

Justice and Unity in Interpersonal Relationships: Gently Rocking the Boat

Justice and unity are both essential in creating healthy communities. But when it comes to the practical application of both within the same setting, things can get a little difficult (to put it mildly). I’m sure many have faced a situation where for the sake of unity, an injustice was perpetuated. It recently happened to… Read More Justice and Unity in Interpersonal Relationships: Gently Rocking the Boat

Book Review, Fiction, Young Adult

Book Review: ‘Life Unaware’ by Cole Gibsen

Being a teenager is already hard; but it’s even harder when your mother is a congresswoman running for re-election. While seventeen year-old Reagan Fray doesn’t have to worry about material things, she has a lot of other things that weigh her down. The pressure of appearing perfect is extremely difficult; taking example from her mother,… Read More Book Review: ‘Life Unaware’ by Cole Gibsen

Personal Development

Building Effective Journaling: Some Tried and Tested Habits

A post recently went up on Sahar’s Blog discussing some of the benefits and pitfalls of journaling. It generated an influx of emails from readers with, amongst others, some great “logistical” tips about journaling; these inspired a post on the most coveted journals and pens. Ensuing conversations contained so many great quirks and habits that… Read More Building Effective Journaling: Some Tried and Tested Habits

Book Review, Fiction, Women's Fiction

Book Review: Lindy DeKoven – ‘The Secret Life of Wishful Thinking’

In a tradition similar to that of Jennifer Weiner, the lives of four women become tightly intertwined as they learn that life lived through wishful thinking does not guarantee their dreams coming true. Four years ago, the precocious Kenzie Armstrong saw an end to her quick ascent up the marketing career ladder because of a… Read More Book Review: Lindy DeKoven – ‘The Secret Life of Wishful Thinking’

Book Review, Historical, Non Fiction

Book Review: ‘Plucked: A History of Hair Removal’ by Rebecca M. Herzig

Many women spend countless hours and large sums of money to get rid of unwanted hair. From our eyebrows all the way to our toes, there is not a single part of the female body that has not been subjected to plucking in some form or another. How many of us have stopped to consider… Read More Book Review: ‘Plucked: A History of Hair Removal’ by Rebecca M. Herzig

Community, Putting Humanity back into Arts

Building a House (and a Community) With Cards

Community building is a wonderfully complex process that contains many layers and elements. One of these elements are relationships, in all shapes and forms: between family members, between friends, between lovers, between coworkers, between store workers and customers, between people who regularly commute together, etc. There are many ways to reinforce each of these relationships… Read More Building a House (and a Community) With Cards

Community Building, Personal Development

The Balancing Act between Punctuality and Flexibility

Punctuality is considered an important part of the character of a well-rounded person. Many are taught early on that being punctual is important. It reflects our own trustworthiness as well as respect for other people’s times. Many also learn that a pattern of constantly changing plans at the last minute reflects the opposite: that we… Read More The Balancing Act between Punctuality and Flexibility

Personal Development

Hello, 2015! Mantra-fying your New Year’s Resolutions

Two weeks into 2015 already! New Year resolutions are still a hot topic, and although many readers loved my posts about journaling, some mentioned they were looking for other tools available to them in their quest for self-improvement. I immediately thought of mantras (something I have already blogged about). Not to sound too dramatic here,… Read More Hello, 2015! Mantra-fying your New Year’s Resolutions