My Blissful Break from Facebook

Exactly 24 days ago, I decided to go on a Facebook fast. I didn't do it for religious reasons, although many types of religious fasts last for 21 days. I simply needed a break. I gave myself 21 days of Facebook abstinence & deactivated my account. My fast is now over & I have given consideration to reactivating my account. But here's the thing: I just don't want to. It has been a very blissful break & I'm not ready for it to end. Here's why:

No Longer the Victim

I don't need to be a victim.

I don't want to confess my pain.

I don't need to share my heartaches -

I want my dignity back again!!

I will no longer place blame with others

For the things they "should not have" done -

I'm responsible for the present.

I will leave the past alone.

I can't blame my loving family,

Nor my friends, nor someone else,

For the problems in my life - 

I am responsible for myself!!

"Woe is me" is gone forever

From my mouth, where once was home

To a host of negativity,

And where self-pity was free to roam.

I cannot change my history,

Nor undo the wrongs done unto me.

But I can make my future brighter,

By being the best that I can be.

For life's too precious to waste it fretting

Over events of yesterday.

I will live for every moment

And judge my life for just today!!

© Cari Kissel (first written in 1994...edited in 2013)

Venting, & Other Healthy Habits

It's been awhile since I've written anything here. I haven't felt like writing. Writing for me, is cathartic. It soothes the soul. It ignites something in me that I am passionate about. It gets me motivated to encourage someone else in some way or another. But I've been dead. Too much stress. Too much on my plate & feeling overwhelmed.

Where to Draw the Line

How can you tell if something that someone says or does is the last straw, or if it's just something very unpleasant, but tolerable? How do you know when to say "enough is enough!" & draw that line in the sand that says you will not tolerate something any longer? That is a topic that I have thought about a lot in the last ten years of my life, & something I sometimes have a hard time identifying, when certain situations come along.

What Are We Teaching Our Daughters? Take Miley Cyrus, for Example

I am quite sure that most people are over & done with hearing about Miley Cyrus' recent VMA performance. I know that I am! So I only reference it here to make a point about what we are teaching our daughters today. When my teenage daughter was a young girl, she was a huge Miley Cyrus fan. By huge, I mean that she had the backpack, bedspread & sheets, posters, CDs, clothes.....you name it, she had it. She was Miley Cyrus obsessed.

Boundaries

Growing up as a shy girl, I was too afraid to stand up for myself because I lacked the courage, for one thing, & for another, I didn't want to hurt someones feelings. As I got older, I began to realize that while I'm worrying about not wanting to hurt someones feelings, I'm forgetting that the person I need to stand up to, is not worrying about hurting mine. So begins my epiphany.....

Respect

This is a long post. Brace yourselves.......

Respect was important, as I was growing up. If any of my 5 siblings or I showed disrespect toward my parents, we either got "the look" from my father, the "I'm very disappointed in you" from my mother, a spanking on the bottom (depending upon the degree of disrespect), or we were made to brush our teeth with a bar of soap (reserved for times of extreme sassing, such as the time when I yelled at the top of my lungs that I hated my father's guts, just because he scolded me for being sloppy when I was drying the dishes). Before anyone cries "ABUSE!!", let me just say that I never felt abused as a child. I grew up in a very loving home, by two very wonderful parents. My parents loved me enough to discipline me when I needed it. Back then, parents weren't afraid to discipline their kids, because it was called good parenting. I felt secure & safe because I knew what my boundaries were, & I knew my parents cared enough about me to set them.

Pardon Me, Your Self-Esteem is Showing

Today boys & girls, we are going to talk about body image & self-esteem. Yes, it may seem like a silly topic for a blog post, but in flipping through the channels on our TV, & glancing at magazine covers as I'm waiting in line to check out at the grocery store, it has become so evident that this is a topic which does not receive enough attention. One only has to look at the tabloid magazine covers to see how much our society is drawn to images of celebrities being made fun of for having visible cellulite while wearing a bikini, or other magazine covers to learn the secret of losing weight & keeping it off.