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 Chris Bennett

Every body knows that guy who just loves to go the extra mile, on anything and everything.  Audacious to an extent, but you just can’t wrap your mind around how he has so much persistence and such a ridiculous amount of drive.

I ran into this situation recently, and I found myself asking just how in the world this person functions on an off day.  You know, one of those days where getting out of bed is a hassle in its own right, and then you have work or school and have to be around people, it just is not a fun day.  Time seizes up and seems to go by ever so slowly and you cannot fathom being overly productive.  Well, I soon realized that this guy lets nothing stand in his way of his daily quota of productivity, not even a five-minute coffee break just to catch up on the weekend festivities.  

That is one extreme end of the velocity of life spectrum I want nothing to do with.  Which end are you on? 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 Jennifer Snelling

You probably do it all year and don’t even think about it.  If you don’t, you’re starting to think about it now.  The holidays are that time of year when a magnifying glass is held over our lives, our financial status, and our generosity.  Often, it isn’t just the fact that we’re expected to give at this time of year – that many of us are shopping for gifts, being asked to help with fundraisers, or hearing those Salvation Army bells tolling on the corner – but also that we, for some reason, feel compelled to do something to participate in the general warmth of the season.  In fact, it can be very depressing when we feel apart from it.

There are all kinds of ways to give, and they don’t necessarily have to be monetary.  Here are seven simple and inexpensive ways to make you feel like you’ve helped someone or improved the world, without traveling to exotic places or spending a lot of money. Read More »