“Sometimes our lives have to be completely shaken up, changed and rearranged to relocate us to the place we are meant to be.” Life on Purpose – Mandy Hale When I had a nervous breakdown, I was in a bad way. The world I thought I knew had fallen apart. I was supposed to be| The Phoenix Spirit
Raising little kids is hard. After a grueling day it's mommy this and daddy that. And I don't like macaroni and cheese any more. And why can't I jump on the couch?! Then it's scream, scream and tears because my tummy hurts. Besides I don't want to go to bed tonight. And by the way,| The Phoenix Spirit
The Phoenix · Having Healthy Boundaries: A Necessary Way to Love To know where you begin and I end is necessary for me to respect you, for me to be respected by you, and for me to respect myself. Without respect, there is no authentic love. Every time I visit my family I come| The Phoenix Spirit
When we are immersed in recovery, our healing journey is a moment by moment experience. Over forty years ago, I was introduced to the Twelve Step program because I wanted my husband to quit drinking. It was evident his behavior was destructive. The Al-Anon program revealed that mine was crazy too. Unaware that my fears| The Phoenix Spirit
Shame definitely has a place in our lives when we’ve done something wrong or hurt someone else. But it has no place in our lives when all we are doing is simply being a human being or being different in some way we cannot help.| The Phoenix Spirit
Anger acts as thief. It steals away serenity, ability to focus, and the ability for self-awareness. After 9/11 Fred Maples, like most of us, felt angry about what happened. But then he did something that may perplex (or perhaps anger) many seeking a just revenge on these terrorists who caused such suffering: he began to| The Phoenix Spirit
Good character is doing the right thing when nobody else is looking. When I first met Jamil I didn’t know what to think. He is a charming, funny and intelligent man from Somalia who is active in his community here in the States. He helps many of his own country persons to make it in| The Phoenix Spirit
The worst part of having clinical depression is the crash that generally occurs after experiencing a ray of hope. Or, if I dare admit, after feeling “happy” for the better part of a day or two.However, there are times when I feel so low, that it takes unimaginable effort just to get out bed. These| The Phoenix Spirit
It's all very simple. You set a goal for yourself; you determine how you'll meet that goal, and then you follow some tried-and-true strategies that will help you reach it. Will power! That's all you need. Determination. Discipline. Ah, if the road to recovery were only that easy. Anyone reading this article, anyone recovering from| The Phoenix Spirit
Housed in a basement art studio in Avivo’s Minneapolis Community Support Program, we organize together as the Avivo Artworks Collective. If you ask us who we are, we would say we are artists – first and foremost. What brings us together is the goal to create community so that we can support one another. Our| The Phoenix Spirit