Author name: Jan Whalen

Dear Beautiful, During my morning walk, I was thinking about the word priorities. How do we stack the various activities that demand our attention into an order that moves us forward with our goals? Maybe it begins with the way we value our time, how we invest in our day—much like investing our money. The decision

Dear Beauty, Lately, I’ve noticed lots of optimistic statements—platitudes that speak of looking on the bright side, living out-of-the-box, seeing the glass half full.  I quote them myself, but I wonder if I and the others who sing these positive mantras would put them into practice if a devastating crisis came to our door. I’ve always admired my youngest sister,

Dear Very Cool Woman, Have you seen the latest Star Wars or Hunger Games movies? We’ve seen both and they are certainly worth it. One thing I notice is that the writers have included farewell words of good luck that get repeated—almost like slogans. In Star Wars, everyone says, “May the Force be with you,â€

Good Morning Sunshine, The other day I started thinking about the word ask and realized that I have many questions about this three letter word: Who do I ask when I have a need and what am I asking for? If I ask, am I being dependent upon someone else? Is it better to ask or figure it

Greetings Beautiful, Maybe it’s just me, but I get told to focus, focus, focus my thoughts—often. Sometimes I wish I had a spray that kept my mind from wandering, the way hairspray keeps my locks from blowing in the wind. On the other hand, I wonder if there is value in not being focused. I

Hello Cool Woman, I had an interesting dream the other night. In the dream, I was at the kitchen table sitting across from my body and she began to speak to me. This is what she said: “I’ve been meaning to have a chat with you for some time now. I love this life we’re

Hello Beauty, Have you been thinking about the coming year? Even thought the future is unclear, it’s a great time to anticipate what’s to come as we march into 2016. May we be filled with passion for our lives. The older I get, and the more funerals I attend, the more I realize that I

Happy New Year Lovely, We’ve stepped into 2016. Ready or not, January is here again and our journey continues. Since my name is Jan (shortened from Janice many years ago because I always thought Janice sounded like somebody’s mother), I feel like everyone’s talking about me when they use the abbreviation for the month. But