Susan Gabriel's Blog, page 2
August 24, 2020
Resilience Dispatch – August 25th – Day 81
Although I’ve talked about self-kindness before, I want to circle back to it.
In the 90s, when I was a licensed professional counselor in Charleston, SC, most of the women clients I saw did not think they deserved kindness or gentleness from anyone, and especially not from themselves. This saddened me, given how resilient...
August 21, 2020
Resilience Dispatch – August 21st – Day 80
Do you ever take naps? Sometimes in the afternoons after a full morning of writing, creative exhaustion sets in. If I don’t have anything else going on, I will lay on my bed for a quick snooze. This feels like such a luxury.
As a girl growing up in Knoxville, Tennessee in the 60s, I would sometimes take naps in the...
August 17, 2020
Resilience Dispatch – August 17th – Day 79
Can you imagine going through a pandemic without reading books? It’s hard for me to even go there.
Reading is a huge part of my everyday life. As I write my novels, I am also reading them. The editing process is reading the story over and over again and making the changes that will make it the best story I possibly...
August 14, 2020
Resilience Dispatch – August 14th – Day 78
As our world becomes more chaotic, there has never been a better time to seek clarity.
Clarity about what our values are.
Clarity about who and what gives us energy, and who and what costs us energy. Then deciding how to let go of as much of the stuff that costs us as we can, because we need our energy for better things.
...
August 10, 2020
Resilience Dispatch – August 10th – Day 77
Will you help me celebrate?
Life can be monotonous and challenging these days, so it’s important to celebrate every chance we get. Celebrations can be about all manner of things: watching a sunrise, a glorious sunset, seeing a friend or family member that you haven’t seen for a while. Birthdays. Anniversaries. Getting...
August 7, 2020
Resilience Dispatch – August 7th -Day 76
Life bursts through the cracks even in the most difficult of environments. Because we are living beings with an imperative to survive and express ourselves, we are much more resilient than we realize. But that doesn’t mean challenging times are easy, by any means, and it is important to acknowledge the difficulties.
...
August 3, 2020
Resilience Dispatch – August 3rd – Day 75
I’ve been sick the last few days (not COVID), and don’t feel well enough to put together a dispatch today. I’m thinking of you, and I will be back soon.
Stay safe. Be kind.
Love,
Susan
Artist: Jackie Morris
Read the previous dispatch here.
July 31, 2020
Resilience Dispatch – July 31st – Day 74
Did you keep a diary when you were growing up? Or do you keep one now? Or perhaps you prefer a journal. They are considered synonyms, but there are also clear differences.
A diary is considered a daily summary of the happenings in your life. Some people make multiple entries in a day. Others choose to write one diary entry at...
July 27, 2020
Resilience Dispatch – July 27th – Day 73
Today I’m posting a 38 second video of a doe and a fawn that have been hanging around my yard here in the mountains of North Carolina. One of the good things that has come out of this pandemic and sheltering in place is that I have been more aware of nature’s awesome beauty around me. I love where I live, and I...
July 24, 2020
Resilience Dispatch – July 24th – Day 72
Fireflies or lightning bugs? When I was growing up in Tennessee, we always called them lightning bugs, and I still call them that. Here in the mountains of North Carolina where I now live, they appear every evening as the sun is setting. I love watching them light up the forest.
In the United States, glowing insects...
