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/2012/gen/healing-kindness-3146 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2012/gen/healing-kindness-3146#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:01:44 +0000 PattiAnn http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=3146 Where I grew up, a good old fashioned Catholic wake was the norm. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the tradition, a wake usually consisted of the presence of the casket in a viewing room; a kneeler in front of the casket so prayers could be said, a short conversation of condolence with family members and a Rosary led by a priest. If the person hadn’t died in an awful accident leaving them unfit to be seen, the casket was open. I’m sure that this tradition probably evolved from the older tradition of ...Continue reading » Healing Kindness]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2012/gen/healing-kindness-3146/feed 0 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2011/republished/thanks-for-the-memories-2-3079 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2011/republished/thanks-for-the-memories-2-3079#comments Tue, 27 Dec 2011 08:01:06 +0000 PattiAnn http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=3079 While December is a joyous holiday season, for Catholics, November is the month of remembrance. It starts with All Saints Day on the 1st and All Souls’ Day on the 2nd. All Saints Day is when we remember all those who the Catholic Church has recognized as being holy. All Souls Day is for remembering everyone else who has died. In a previous post I described how I use the Jewish tradition of Yahrzeit to remember my family and friends who have died. I learned about this tradition from ...Continue reading » Thanks for the Memories]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2011/republished/thanks-for-the-memories-2-3079/feed 0 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2011/gen/goodbye-to-2011-3054 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2011/gen/goodbye-to-2011-3054#comments Wed, 14 Dec 2011 08:01:13 +0000 PattiAnn http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=3054 The end of the year is such a rush with the holiday madness and business deadlines combined. It’s easy to get lost in all the busyness. In my family, because we’ve all scattered to the winds, getting together for the holidays necessitates at least one full day allocated to travel to the festivities which just adds to the general craziness and the sense that there’s not enough time. By the time we get to the New Year, I’m ready to get a cup of hot cocoa, a blanket, a good book, an animal to keep me company, and just ...Continue reading » Goodbye to 2011]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2011/gen/goodbye-to-2011-3054/feed 0 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2011/gen/glad-to-be-me-2974 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2011/gen/glad-to-be-me-2974#comments Thu, 03 Nov 2011 07:01:58 +0000 PattiAnn http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=2974 Do you ever find it difficult to be grateful? I do. Despite the fact that I know that I have much to be grateful for, I manage to feel disgruntled much of the time. This is unfortunate because one of the practices that consistently results in feeling better is gratitude. I find it interesting that we call it the practice of gratitude. It reminds me of practicing law, or practicing medicine or practicing dentistry. We often talk about how the people in those professions ...Continue reading » Glad to Be Me]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2011/gen/glad-to-be-me-2974/feed 0 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2011/gen/shades-of-gray-2722 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2011/gen/shades-of-gray-2722#comments Wed, 29 Jun 2011 07:01:22 +0000 PattiAnn http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=2722 Hard times change our view of the world. When we struggle with the very same things that we judged others for, we quickly learn that the world is made up of shades of gray. When I was younger, I was quick with the opinion and judgment. I knew what was true. For a very long time – probably way too long – I believed that the government was made up of people who were dedicated to service and crooked politicians were the exception. (Do NOT ask me how I could have believed that growing up in Chicago where the dead won the election for JFK.) Priests were ...Continue reading » Shades of Gray]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2011/gen/shades-of-gray-2722/feed 0 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2011/gen/finding-joy-2613 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2011/gen/finding-joy-2613#comments Wed, 11 May 2011 07:01:45 +0000 PattiAnn http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=2613 Joy is possible where ever and whenever you are. You just have to catch it. There’s a story that’s been making the rounds on the internet. It’s about an experiment conducted by the Washington Post. You may have heard this story before… ...Continue reading » Finding Joy]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2011/gen/finding-joy-2613/feed 0 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2010/gen/thanks-for-the-memories-2200 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2010/gen/thanks-for-the-memories-2200#comments Tue, 07 Dec 2010 08:01:46 +0000 PattiAnn http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=2200 While December is a joyous holiday season, for Catholics, November is the month of remembrance. It starts with All Saints Day on the 1st and All Souls’ Day on the 2nd. All Saints Day is when we remember all those who the Catholic Church has recognized as being holy. All Souls Day is for remembering everyone else who has died. In a previous post I described how I use the Jewish tradition of Yahrzeit to remember my family and friends who have died. I learned about this tradition from ...Continue reading » Thanks for the Memories]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2010/gen/thanks-for-the-memories-2200/feed 0 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2010/gen/do-i-make-you-proud-2194 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2010/gen/do-i-make-you-proud-2194#comments Thu, 02 Dec 2010 08:01:40 +0000 Ellie http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=2194 The season of giving is upon us and we – each and every one of us – have the wherewithal to give the most priceless gifts of all – honest and thoughtful compliments that show the special people in our lives “I see you”. Such gifts cost us but a bit of mental and social effort, a focused recognition of another person’s efforts and intentions… and a willingness to put ourselves “out there”. And so I challenge us all (you and me) to step out of our own ego-centric bubbles this month, to look with new eyes, to listen with new ears, to perceive with new sensitivity… and to notice how we could gift our loved ones (and perhaps even some strangers who pop in and out of our lives) with priceless treasures only we can give… treasures that come from our ...Continue reading » Do I Make You Proud?]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2010/gen/do-i-make-you-proud-2194/feed 0 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2010/gen/ga-zoon-tight-2185 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2010/gen/ga-zoon-tight-2185#comments Mon, 29 Nov 2010 20:00:38 +0000 Ellie http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=2185 It warms my heart when, in a crowd of strangers, I hear a chorus of “Gesundheit’s” and “Bless you’s” in response to an AH-CHOO! Why? Because it means that although somebody just blasted a burst of germs into our breathing space, we still offer them blessings. If that ain’t a sign of good fellowship, I don’t know what is… Happily, I find signs of community and fellowship all around me… people who keep their faith in humanity by sharing their love and their tolerance in everyday places and everyday ways. They are “blessings among us making jolly-ful noises.” ...Continue reading » GA-ZOON-TIGHT!
The Blessings Among Us Make Jolly-ful Noises…]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2010/gen/ga-zoon-tight-2185/feed 0 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2010/republished/deciding-what-is-enough-2-2179 http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2010/republished/deciding-what-is-enough-2-2179#comments Thu, 25 Nov 2010 08:01:05 +0000 PattiAnn http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/?p=2179 I have reached the conclusion that part of the reason that we get discouraged is that we believe that we’re supposed to be different than we are. One of my resolutions for Lent is that I will listen to audio books by one of the Christian writers that I like for 15 minutes each day. This usually works out pretty well because I walk the dog for 30-40 minutes each day and I can easily choose to listen to something for 15 minutes – IF I PICK ...Continue reading » Deciding What Is “Enough”]]> http://www.bouncebackcafe.com/2010/republished/deciding-what-is-enough-2-2179/feed 0