Trauma to Transformation on the Bridge

12/23/2023

Christmas 2023, on Day 23 of bout of COVID …
- no presents for 14 grandkids
- no cookie baking
- no decorations up
- no parties or get togethers
- no Christmas Eve service attendance
- no fun adventures
- no energy or strength to do the job I love

The NOs seemed overwhelming this year until I had a few sessions with clients this week. With my limited energy and weak voice, it was a challenge to help the needy, the grieving, the disconnected. As a trauma counsellor, I hear sad stories, hard stories, lonely stories, and yet together we discover glimmers of hope and light in the darkness. AND I was invited to refocus on the real meaning of being, family and Christmas.

Christmas will not be focusing on the NOs of what could have have been. Each NO can be reframed into an opportunity to say YES to connection and transformation.

What is Connection and Transformation for me this Christmas?
- Yes, I have time to enjoy each grandchild in conversation whether in person or on FaceTime
- Yes, my daughters bring Christmas to me with a feast, fun with grandkids
- Yes, a tree decorated by Tammi and Jaidyn
- Yes, a family get together where I can sit and visit rather than prepping, cooking, serving, cleaning
- Yes, a deep spiritual awareness of the presence of Jesus with me, in me and all around me, and healing me from this illness
- Yes, having my son home for a few weeks to share his stories of adventures in the Air Force
- Yes, knowing my family of 4 who cannot be here are safe, connected, and enjoying their first English Christmas in York
- Yes, ability to BREATHE, REST and BE, even when not at full health

Christmas 2023 may be the best one yet, because my children, their spouses and my grandchildren are amazing individuals that I can connect with and see stories of transformation in their lives. I can be Mom, Mima and Dianne as a vulnerable, loving person who brings light into dark places, hope into hard places and BEING into a society that is too busy doing. This year I cannot do much and that may be the best blessing, I have to just BE.

I will be grateful to BE alive, and enjoy transforming connections with those I encounter.

YOU are invited to leave the busy doing and reflect on the deeper meaning of Christmas. Discover authentic connections and celebrate spiritual transformations. And whatever circumstances you are in, reframe each NO to saying YES so you will enjoy a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

06/28/2023

Proudly presenting conversationsonthebridge.com. Check it out and let me know what you think! via

Building Authenticity and Connection

06/15/2023

We saw homeless people on the streets, many struggling with poverty and mental illness in Jamaica. One person has a unique coping strategy. He feeds 3 wild dogs daily and he has trained them to sleep around him. They protect him from being harassed and he can sleep soundly on the street. When in trauma, humans are creative to find survival skills. So thankful that Canada has more resources for mental health, including my own practice of Conversationx on the Bridge

05/21/2023

One of the hardest experiences of a healing journey is feeling “stuck” in unhealthy patterns as they recycle again and again. Today, pause … take a walk in nature … breathe deeply … be curious about a new way of being. Be open to creative Conversations on the Bridge…

03/30/2022

As the sun rises today, the sky is bathed in glorious colours. How do YOU greet the day? Are you stuck in the limitations of your past? Or will you shift into the freedom of anticipation, adventures and the strength of your powerful transformation? Join me for more Conversations on the Bridge.

03/27/2022

03/21/2022

When you are lonely and feel a sense of loss, a Conversation on the Bridge gives space to reflect, acknowledge feelings, and create action steps to get to the other side. I remember a time when I needed someone to walk alongside me. Do you need a community where you can be supported in an authentic and connecting way? Share below one of your challenges or obstacles.

03/18/2022

I have been a stay-at-home Mom for 25 years, LOVED raising 5 children who have become AMAZING adults! Then went through a journey trying to find out who I was, just as Dianne... had lost who I was outside of the Mom role. Let me help you find your authentic self, not by what you do, rather by WHO YOU ARE! Join me on Wednesday, March 23rd at 1 pm EDT or 7:30 pm EDTt o find out more.... Register at https://tinyurl.com/dungeonstocastles