August, with its straw hat and freckles, has taken its final bow for the year. In its stead enters September, which, with its return to routine for so many families, gives one that sense that life is once again standing at attention with its glasses on. The mornings are crisper, the daylight shortens, but still, the spirit of renewal is in the air. This month invites us to resume activities we’ve abandoned during the ...

  Growing up, my family took my mom’s cue (who was able to find humor in her wretched MS) and laughed about everything. Mundane acts that were once effortless for her (like showering, getting dressed, eating, and seeing), became exhaustive endeavors requiring no less than three people to complete. It was too absurd not to also be downright hilarious at times. We laughed at her first electric wheelchair having a seatbelt, and we laughed when ...

When we talk with clients about making small changes that have significant impact, we often use the word “finesse” to describe the process that’s needed. Maybe that’s because we eventually bore of saying “optimize,” “improve,” and the colloquial “zhush.” It’s as much because the concept of finessing is apt. In my mind, finessing is the art of injecting style, refinement, and sophistication into the mundane or the complex. But, rather than achieving these ends through ...

Growing up, my family’s norm was the unpredictability of chronic illness. The question of whether my mom would have a “good MS day,” (denoted by having enough energy to be showered and dressed, participate in conversation, and feed herself), or a “bad MS day,” (see: the opposite) lingered in the air each night. This made making plans more than challenging, and it made me, from the earliest age I can recall, aware that health and ...

True power is not, as is so often thought, dictatorial, oppressive, or corrupting. Power is the force of our authenticity, the knowledge that we are worthy of being here, and the confidence that relying on our intuition provides. Being in our power, counterintuitively, is what allows us to relax. From this stance, we know when to hold firm and when to be flexible. We hold the line between compromise with others and self-sacrifice. We communicate ...