Have you noticed that the words you speak to express your feelings make a huge impact on people?

The tone of your voice, the expression on your face, your body language, the very words spoken can change your relationship in an instant. Something is said in a hurtful tone and we can go from loving and friendly to hateful and angry. We will either react in a positive or a negative way. So it’s important to think before you speak. I admire a friend of mine who always has a kind word and a loving disposition. Read the full story

The tree I have in mind is you. Trimming is cutting dead branches. The dead branches are relationships that no longer support who you are and where you are going.

Often we get caught up in peoples problems, friends who do not know who we really are and toxic situations that cause us stress. Read the full story

Fran Walshin at her keyboard. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

Last August, DavidsonNews.net columnist Fran Walshin was in Florida visiting a friend with cancer when she came down with an unshakable cough. After doctor visits, she too was diagnosed with cancer – non-smoking lung cancer.

During treatment over the past several months, Ms. Walshin has continued writing her column “Young at Heart.” The 78-year-old Davidson resident’s  experience as a communicator ranges from corporate recruiter to ballroom dance teacher to life and work coach. Her entries typically offer readers inspirational and motivational thoughts about life, work and relationships.

Since her diagnosis, she also has been blogging about her experience with cancer in a separate site called “Fran’s Challenge.” Read the full story

Everybody has days that seem as though life has played us a dirty trick. We don’t want to go out. Hiding indoors is more comfortable than being out doing chores. Some days we can barely get out of bed.

Like Jack who went up the hill then fell down and broke his crown, when we fall down there is no one to pick us up. We have to pick ourselves up, brush ourselves off and start all over again. That is what is so great about being human. We can start all over again, several times in fact. We never really break our crown. It may feel like that, It might even hurt like we are broken, but we are not. Read the full story

Would you stop what you are doing to care for a friend? Would you comfort him or her in times of trouble and need? Would you be supportive and motivating when he or she needs it?

If there was a person whom you wanted to befriend, what would you do to create and nurture that relationship? Call once in a while, set a date to meet. Do fun things together, plan a trip, be a good listener. Read the full story

Today I took a long ride that brought me down a country road dense with trees of many shapes and sizes. I was awestruck as I saw miles of trees dressed in their autumn colors. It is something beautiful to see all the trees as they transform themselves from summer green to fall orange, red and yellow.

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