Barbara Brooks created Flamingo Strategies LLC to help clients stand up and stand out, through telling and sharing their stories of impact and purpose.
Hacking Away at Happiness is her blog.
All tagged love
The challenge of Christmas isn’t believing in Jesus. It’s believing that peace is possible. Peace is within our reach, if only we do the work.
So here we are at Thanksgiving. Appreciating our plenty. Acknowledging the people we love. But it’s also okay to feel a bit afraid.
So here I am again. Thinking things through and putting words on the page. Maybe love is not a project. And I’ve been going about this all wrong.
When I got Greta, I imagined she’d be the best dog of my life. But that’s a lot of pressure to put on a dog. And even more to put on myself.
Conflicting desires make peace of mind seem impossible, especially as we age. But longing is what makes us human. And without our longings, we’d be numb.
Whether our trips are long or short, to the beach or to the mountains, solo or with others, we’ve got to make time to unpack. And not just the dirty clothes.
It’s mighty powerful when people around us take the time to reflect the good qualities they see in us. We all can be mirrors.
Serial daters aren’t so bad. Here’s a spoon in cheek guide to recognizing the real culprits. They’re the cereal daters. Perhaps you know a few.
Inquiring minds wanted to know: What is true love for yourself? How do you know you have it? What does it look like when you get there? So here’s Part 2.
What if we’ll never find the peace we seek with another until we first understand and love the barely comprehensible human who already lives in our heart?
It’s hard to celebrate this calendar turn as either Happy or New. So, instead of staging a hollow celebration—or ignoring the day altogether—why not open our hearts and forgive?
I bumbled around looking for a match, but frustration set in. The heads were too boxy. The legs too short. Some pups were born too early. Others already were taken.
Losing Ruby connects me to anyone who has ever experienced loss. And anyone who ever will. So hold your pets close and your humans even closer. And don’t give up on love.
Today is just another day. To wag more and bark less. To express our gratitude. To live as though we could die at any minute.
If staying over our skis is a metaphor for living in the present, how can we both stay over our skis and let something unknown and risky pull us along?
I was drawn to the book because of my marital redundancy. What I learned is that we all have three marriages. At the same time. Welcome to the new polyamory!
When I was an insatiable child, my mother would say “Greedy, greedy, makes a hungry puppy.” I hated that. But now I know this: “Busy, busy, makes a tired monkey.”
Going on so many dates may seem like torture. But it also creates compassion. For myself, and for the other guy.
Madame Bovary ate arsenic and died in agony. Anna Karenina threw herself under a train. I may feel like hell right now, but I’m not giving up on love.
As I dipped from pond-to-pond, or floated on my back, I forgot all about the male gaze. And the female gaze. Instead, I gazed inward.
