Living a Life of Purpose

Spirituality in real time.

by Dorothy Firman, Ed.D.

Saying Goodbye…Slowly

As women, we are all daughters. Learning to make the mother/daughter relationship work is the first step. We are invited to do this in our inner world and in real time. Learning to let it go is the last step, but not before we internalize the best of what that relationship offered us. Read More

Spring Cleaning: From the Inside Out

Spring cleaning starts on the inside! The garden of our heart, the inner rooms of our mind, these are the place to start. De-cluttering is not just about the too-many-things in our outer world. It is also about the many, many things that fill our minds and hearts that do not serve us. Read More

SELF.....ish

Is it better to give than to receive? Or is it, in fact, better to know how to give and how to receive? Finding the balance between selfishness and self-sacrifice is all about hearing the Call of your SELF. Read More

Take Off That Mask!

It's almost Halloween! Time to put on a mask. But wait, we are already wearing so many masks. Maybe it is time to take some of them off. Read More

The Risk of Living Deeply

For all of our efforts to stay safe, the risk that we are all drawn to is that which takes us closer to our own heart and soul. The Call of Self invites us to step out of safety and into our own truth. Read More

Defenseless

We've been building moats around the castle since we figured out how to build castles. But why? Why is it so important to protect everything? Protect it (us) from what? Read More

At the Choice Point

New Years has come and gone and with it, that made-up moment when we make (or don't) our New Year's resolutions. Some voice in us tells us we should make that list, really, this year, for sure... and stick to it, finally, ok? And maybe you made that list, or at least spent some time thinking about it, feeling guilty, giving yourself a hard time for all the things you should or should not do. Read More

Tis the Season…..

Taking a stand against the pull of family history, culture and tradition allows us to create a holiday season that has true meaning. Time to take stock of what is really important, what we really believe and how we (uniquely) want to move through this season. Read More

True Power

katana As the story goes, the renegade samurai (ronin, they call them) was running through the streets slaying people in his rage. The villagers, fleeing to safety, ran up into the hills and yelled to the monk meditating in his (her) temple. Run, run, run... the ronin is coming. The monk, as one would predict in a morality tale, continued to sit in serene meditation. The ronin finally got to the temple and confronted the monk, sword at the ready. "Don't you know I have the power to run you through with my sword?" he (she) said. A deep breath and the monk responded... Read More

Meditation to Go!

There are no easy answers. But there are some easy strategies and if we can institute even a few little calming moments, then we have changed our lives. And like any habit, bad or good, the more we practice a strategy, the more it becomes a habit. The more it becomes a habit, the more it becomes a way of life. And the way of life is all we have. Read More

Twixt Heaven and Hell

Every day on the personal, familial, national and global front, we are caught between some version of heaven and hell. Heaven is right around the corner: a good grade, a sweet job, the lottery, a beer at the end of the day, true love, a safe return...... Hell is around the same corner and there is no map to get us safely to heaven, safely away from hell. Read More

Summertime and the livin' is easy...........maybe

In summertime we are reminded of childhood vacations: no school, playing in the yard, games with friends, nature, camp...... or maybe not. As adults, we may still be the people who take summer vacations, packing up the kids and going to the beach... or single, off with friends... or lone adventurers tackling the mystery of travel. Read More

Happy INTERDEPENDENCE Days!!!

Celebrate Interdependence days on the 4th of July and every day! Read More

What's a Grandmother To Do?

It’s hard enough watching our kids, young and old, struggle with some of today’s tough issues, but harder still to see our grandchildren facing a world that seems not to be user-friendly. Little ones, the world around, are facing the greatest hardships and the lesser hardships. War, poverty, trauma and abuse face an inordinately large percentage of children in the world. Read More

Just Say Yes!

YES! We've all heard the oft repeated phrase, "Just say no". It's been used to respond to drugs, food, or even other people-a way of making boundaries. But there's a real invitation in the opposite phrase... just say yes. In our election of Barack Obama we said "yes" to hope. We said yes to something new, something hopeful, something larger: a possibility. Read More

The One and the Many

Who decides what to buy at the grocery store? The dieter? The pleasure seeker? The one who is in a hurry? The rebel (angry at the dieter)? Read More

Life on purpose!

Lots of life feels like an accident, from the actual accident-car crash, lost wallet, third child-to the choices we thought we'd made that were going to work and somehow seemed not to. "Accidents, accidents, all accidents" cried the terrible toy breakers." Read More

Dorothy Firman, Ed.D., is a psychotherapist and author/editor of many books including Chicken Soup for the Mother & Daughter Soul.

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About Living a Life of Purpose

Living a Life of Purpose is about asking the biggest question, WHY and the most pressing question, HOW. This is about hearing the Call of Self and answering, in every way that we can. This is all we have, our own truth, our own choices. No matter the ups and downs, and there will be plenty, we live in a constant state of possibility, opening more and more to our own lived purpose.