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Simple Wisdom – Because Life Can Be Complicated

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  • Aging,  Life Challenges

    When Life Hands You a Diagnosis— How to Receive, Accept, and Keep Living (and Laughing)

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    Doctor with crossed arms delivering a difficult diagnosis

    How do you keep living when you receive a difficult diagnosis? Suppose for a moment that your body was a house, and one day, you found a crack…

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    Ardis Mayo
  • Aging,  Life Challenges

    Say Goodbye Without Regret 

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    Couple standing at cemetery saying; goodbye; growing whole not old

    What does it mean to say goodbye when there’s still time—but not enough of it?I recently lost a dear friend. We had one of those slow goodbyes, the…

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    Ardis Mayo
  • Spiritual Growth

    Mind Reading – Did You Ever Wish For It?

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    Woman with questioning face wonders about sound of silence. mind reading

    When I have difficulty understanding someone, I have thought that if I knew mind reading, I would be able to understand better.

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    Ardis Mayo
  • Dekker

    Wisdom from Dekker

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    Dekker, service dog posing on granite slab

    As I, known by all as Dekker, lie here in my favorite sunspot by the window, I think about the curious human problems people ask me about.

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    Ardis Mayo
  • Aging,  Life Challenges

    The Stories We Carry

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    Woman sitting in the power of silence on a mournain peak, stories wondering if she were religious, learning to be a human being

    Some stories we tell ourselves over breakfast each morning. Others we pack away in boxes labeled 'someday.' Which of yours are weighing you down, and which ones are…

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    Ardis Mayo
  • Aging

    Lessons From Your Younger Self

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    dressing up as a child who wants to grow up, the person your younger self needed

    Suppose for a moment that you could send a message across time to your younger self... What would you say? What wisdom would you offer from the vantage…

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    Ardis Mayo
  • Aging,  Life Challenges

    How Old is “Old”

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    old aging tree trunk

    Are you old yet? Or more to the point—do  you worry about getting old? And exactly how old is ‘old?’ I have asked myself these questions over the…

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    Ardis Mayo
  • Dekker

    Dekker Writes Again

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    Dekker A service dog with all the answers

    Once a month the task of producing a blog post is turned over to Dekker, a class-A service dog who much prefers to contemplate people problems than abide…

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    Ardis Mayo
  • Creativity

    Write your Story

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    a typewriter showing the words "the best way is just to start' as guidance on how to write ardis mayo

    When my father died at a relatively early age from a brain tumor, I remember standing at his grave wanting to hear more about the stories I had…

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    Ardis Mayo
  • Aging,  Life Challenges

    Growing Whole, Not Old: Embracing Spiritual Evolution in Later Life

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    aging woman with kind eyes- whole not old

    The journey to growing whole begins when society expects us to start winding down. While wrinkles deepen and hair whitens, something remarkable happens beneath the surface—

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    Ardis Mayo
  • Life Challenges

    Is the Pound I Lost the Same I Gained? Finding Wisdom in Weight

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    woman looking at herself in a mirror, weight gained

    is the pound I lost the same one I gained back? And more importantly, what has this dance with the scale taught me about matters of weight, wisdom,…

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    Ardis Mayo
  • Life Challenges

    How to Be a Human Being

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    young man practicing the art of listening, being

     Have you ever noticed how exhausting it is to always be "doing"? Our calendars overflow with tasks, our minds race with to-do lists, and even our rest becomes…

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    Ardis Mayo
  • Dekker

    Dekker Speaks HIs MInd

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    Dekker

    Usually I introduce this blog post by introducing Dekker, a service dog with many special gifts—one of which is sharing his wisdom with humans. Today, I said I…

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    Ardis Mayo
  • Aging,  Life Challenges

    Spiritual Reflections on Illness and Aging

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    aging and illness

    After avoiding the illness that changed the world, I finally experienced firsthand the effects of COVID-19 in my own body. Following are reflections on the gifts of that…

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    Ardis Mayo
  • Spiritual Growth

    Finding God Beyond Church

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    Woman on the beach, does she drift or is she on a pilgrimage? beyond church

    What happens when we let go of religious 'shoulds' and find spirituality in places other than church?

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    Ardis Mayo
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Recent posts

  • Doctor with crossed arms delivering a difficult diagnosisWhen Life Hands You a Diagnosis— How to Receive, Accept, and Keep Living (and Laughing)
    Aging, Life Challenges
  • Couple standing at cemetery saying; goodbye; growing whole not oldSay Goodbye Without Regret 
    Aging, Life Challenges
  • Woman with questioning face wonders about sound of silence. mind readingMind Reading – Did You Ever Wish For It?
    Spiritual Growth
  • Dekker, service dog posing on granite slabWisdom from Dekker
    Dekker
  • Woman sitting in the power of silence on a mournain peak, stories wondering if she were religious, learning to be a human beingThe Stories We Carry
    Aging, Life Challenges

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