Article by Make The Days Count Contributor Marie Monroe

As an art therapist, I have been in the business of creativity for 25 years.  My job has been to help others, typically non-artists, to engage in creative work.  What I have learned long the way is that all of us can become “artists” in our own lives with our own brand of creativity … no matter what our calling is or what we do in life.

To understand the benefit of creative work for the average person, it’s helpful to consider how artists behave and what happens along their life journeys.  This gives us a snapshot of creativity in the extreme … a caricature, if you will, in which we can see some interesting detail. Read More »

Article by Make The Days Count Contributor Judy Mosley

Stop.  Take a moment wherever you are and listen. Close your eyes.  Let yourself be quiet.  What can you hear?  What have you been missing amidst all the daily hustle and bustle that weʼve all fallen into?  Now, take a deep breath.  Draw it in like a cool drink of water.  Let it out slowly with intentional delight. The next breath is yours as well.

I want to ask you something.  You will need a pen and some paper.  I want to know . . .

Whatʼs right with your life?

Itʼs so easy to be negative.  Every day, we are bombarded with whatʼs wrong in our world.  Today it’s the economy, jobless claims, fear of recession to name only a few.  We listen to the news, hoping for valuable information, but walk away feeling powerless. We take it mostly because we think itʼs what we should be doing, but also because weʼre used to it.

So … how will you respond?  Whatʼs right with your life?

Read More »

Article by Make The Days Count Contributor Judy Mosley

Life is full of challenges.  All of us have, at one point or another, decided how we are going to live our lives.  Itʼs the journey that everyone makes.  But, it can be difficult to do when there arenʼt many people around us to model our lives after.  

Still, we push forward.  We lose 50 lbs., learn to organize our home, develop healthy relationships, or we find our dream job.  Weʼve conquered the various mountains that have stood in our path.  Yet, after the fact, we might feel reaching our goal is anticlimactic or even feel at a loss.  

What now?  Whatʼs next, now that weʼve achieved what weʼve set out to do?  Wasnʼt mastering the challenge the point?  Or, is there life afterwards that we hadnʼt thought of? Read More »

Article by Make The Days Count Contributor Tamara Belinc

Bill Morgan believes you should walk through life with a smile on your face, a prayer in your heart and outstretched hands to help those in need.  When Bill believes in something, he acts on it.

Growing upon a cotton farm in Anniston, Ala., Bill, 64, suffered from rheumatic fever and was paralyzed for a time. “I know what it’s like to be left out,” he said, “so I made it my goal to be sure that no boy is left out that I can help.”  With that goal in mind, he has been the Past Master of the Masonic Orders and also the past president of his local Shriner’s chapter. He also served as an ambassador. “I’ve taken kids and their parents to Nashville to catch a bus to go the Shriner’s hospital,” he said. Read More »

Article by Make The Days Count Contributor Judy Mosley

It’s a simple signal - a little growl in the stomach or the sudden urge for “something.”  Human beings are superior for knowing when we are hungry.  Even if we aren’t exactly starving, we will snack as much as possible to keep hunger at bay.

There is another part of us that needs just as much attention.  It can’t be seen on an x-ray or an ultrasound, but it’s still an important part of who we are.  We’ve all felt its’ many signals … from unwarranted anger, the loneliness that creeps in while we’re in a crowded room, to the feeling inside when we have nothing left to give to those around us, just to name a few.

It’s our soul speaking to us in different ways, and it’s telling us it’s hungry. Read More »