http://www.bouncebackcafe.com Dedicated to finding useful, resilient solutions to life's adversities. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:03:46 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2011/gen/where-the-hell%e2%80%99s-the-door-out-2795 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2011/gen/where-the-hell%e2%80%99s-the-door-out-2795#comments Thu, 04 Aug 2011 07:01:53 +0000 Ellie http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=2795 When God closes one door He always opens another even though sometimes it’s hell in the hallway. — My Help Desk Expert, Bobby C. Sigh… ain’t that the truth! Moving through the in-betweens – those transitional Neutral Zones between closing doors and opening doors can be hell… even when we occasionally manage to ...Continue reading » Where the Hell’s the Door Out?]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2011/gen/where-the-hell%e2%80%99s-the-door-out-2795/feed 0 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2010/gen/try-your-brakes-now-2160 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2010/gen/try-your-brakes-now-2160#comments Wed, 17 Nov 2010 08:01:39 +0000 Ellie http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=2160 The Cyclists Warning Sign in today’s photo got me thinking about the downhill runs all of us, sooner or later, are likely to encounter… and I wondered how we might (metaphorically speaking) test our brakes before we found ourselves speeding down a mountain out of control. Is it possible there are precautions we could put in place now that would make us better prepared for such eventualities? Yes, I think so. But in order for those precautions to be available to us we need to ...Continue reading » Try Your Brakes Now]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2010/gen/try-your-brakes-now-2160/feed 0 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/the-road-ahead-785 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/the-road-ahead-785#comments Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:01:31 +0000 Ellie http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=785 Have you ever put on someone’s prescription glasses and suddenly gone dizzy?  Well I would suggest that’s how many of us are looking into the future – with lenses prescribed for the past.  And those glasses are making us feel disoriented.  There’s a mismatch between what we expect/want to see and what we actually see before us now.

So Many Trials & Tribulations

My niece recently wrote on Facebook, “Cancer sucks”.  And even though she hadn’t said it, most of our family thought “uh oh” and accurately assumed the worst – someone else in the family had just been diagnosed with cancer.  Another someone has begun the arduous and prayerful journey of hope and courage, fighting for his life. ...Continue reading » The Road Ahead]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/the-road-ahead-785/feed 0 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/is-there-such-a-thing-as-chaos-on-the-cusp-of-order-746 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/is-there-such-a-thing-as-chaos-on-the-cusp-of-order-746#comments Wed, 09 Sep 2009 07:01:19 +0000 Ellie http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=746 Have you experienced “chaos on the cusp of order” in your life?  How do you figure out when to take a breather and how to return with new energy? Sunday, already in a BAD mood but boxed-in by time constraints, I tackled my piled-high desk, trying to create an orderly working-space for doing my most hated cluster of tasks – ones my husband (a cost accountant by education and profession) used to do before cancer stole him from us – THE BILLS.  And suddenly, wham! I’m on the verge of despair and tears, helplessly bemoaning: “I’ll NEVER get this done, this is hopeless. I just can’t do this!” ...Continue reading » Is There Such a Thing as Chaos on the Cusp of Order? ]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/is-there-such-a-thing-as-chaos-on-the-cusp-of-order-746/feed 0 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/such-is-the-power-a-lament-594 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/such-is-the-power-a-lament-594#comments Wed, 05 Aug 2009 07:01:17 +0000 Ellie http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=594 If you have had to work your way through pain and back when the worst has happened, and you have strength to share – please share! Warning – Like Walking Beside, this too will be a tough read. When I was trying to figure out how to express my feelings about my husband’s failed-fight to regain good health, I found “A Grain of Sand”, which was written awhile ago for a writing class.  After reading it, I suddenly knew how I could begin to tell you about his struggle and my grief.  Both are true stories in the saga of his brave journey. ...Continue reading » Such is the Power – A Lament]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/such-is-the-power-a-lament-594/feed 2 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/walking-beside-580 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/walking-beside-580#comments Mon, 03 Aug 2009 07:01:29 +0000 Ellie http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=580 Writing helps me cope.  How about you, what helps you cope? This was a tough but quick write. I suspect it’s a tough read. Especially if you’ve come to BouncebackCafe.com for a bit of a lift. Why share this sad poem with you? I’m thinking that resilience isn’t just about keeping up the good fight in the face of adversity. It’s also about learning how to work our way through the pain and back when the worst happens. Whatever the worst might be for each of us. ...Continue reading » Walking Beside]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/walking-beside-580/feed 2 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/what-next-%e2%80%93-part-four-%e2%80%93-force-yourself-to-choose%e2%80%a6-314 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/what-next-%e2%80%93-part-four-%e2%80%93-force-yourself-to-choose%e2%80%a6-314#comments Tue, 23 Jun 2009 07:01:08 +0000 Ellie http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=314 Continued from Part 3 When every option has its merits but you can only do ONE – how do you choose the “right” path? Perhaps it’s time to try the fourth of five optimistic approaches to unfuddling your brain. To discover what you want to do, force yourself to make iterative choices between desirable futures.

Paired Choice Comparison Tool

About 20 years ago I arrived at an “aha” moment using a tool called “Paired Comparison”. I needed to understand WHY I wasn’t acting on my long-time desire to go into business for myself. ...Continue reading » What Next? – Part Four – Force Yourself to Choose…]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/what-next-%e2%80%93-part-four-%e2%80%93-force-yourself-to-choose%e2%80%a6-314/feed 0 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/we-got-the-news-257 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/we-got-the-news-257#comments Thu, 11 Jun 2009 07:01:23 +0000 Ellie http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=257 NED – “no evidence of disease” is what we expected to hear after the latest, now routine round of tests. Instead, we heard, “it appears there is disease here.” Esophageal cancer is hard to beat down but we thought my husband’s surgery and two chemotherapy regimens, completed a year ago, had beat it down. It had. For a short while. But it is back. We weren’t expecting this news. And it knocked us for a loop. (Ya think??) We’re still in a state of shock, trying to make sense out of what appears to be a death sentence. But so it was, back in the Fall of 2007, and he managed to beat it down then. And even though last year’s chemo threw him in the hospital for eleven days, he’s signed-on for doing chemo again. That takes guts, let me tell you! ...Continue reading » We Got the News…]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2009/gen/we-got-the-news-257/feed 0