Category: Community

  If I had to pick one word to describe what we need during this time, that word would be compassion. Compassion for self and compassion for others. Why compassion? When we are under duress or experiencing stress we are more likely to make mistakes, communicate less effectively and present with emotions and behaviors that vary from our norm. For many, the changes and the challenges that we are currently facing trigger unresolved grief or trauma. We feel rocked to our core. Trauma lives in cellular memory, not just the brain. When we experience a traumatic event such as what […]

  Many years ago, I learned the value of identifying things that were bothersome and quickly taking action to remedy as much as possible. For example, that favorite sweater that you reach for repeatedly and once in your hands, you remember that a button has fallen off – gift yourself a moment to sew the button back on and enjoy that sweater. In today’s world, our concerns often consume more energy than sewing on a button, but when we identify concerns, we can become empowered to improve situations. Like you, I have many concerns. Taking the time to identify concerns […]

As seen on LivingUpstate.com This week is National EMS Week and it gives us an opportunity to express appreciation, learn a little EMS history and get some tips for helping emergency responders help us. I have deep gratitude for EMS practitioners. Without the help of a 911 operator and the EMS personnel who answered a call many years ago, I would not be writing this article. I was 13 and home alone. I had a history of asthma and on that particular day, none of the medication I had was helping. I was hesitant to call 911 as I thought my […]

As seen on LivingUpstate.com This week is National Police Week, the perfect time to learn more about police work in our local community. In 2016, I had the honor of attending the Spartanburg Police and Spartanburg Fire Citizens’ Academy. The first night of class I looked around the room and realized that I was old enough to be the mother of my classmates. For a moment I wondered, “What have I gotten myself into?” Each of us responded to a question to tell why we had decided to attend. Most of the class members were there because they were considering a […]