“Ten toes down…”
Not standing there fighting everybody…
Just standing firmly in your own humanity while other people are busy revealing theirs.
BOOM.
Love and blessings,
Wendy
Tag: healthandwellness
One:Soul Notes – Love, Wendy
It only takes one small cloud to block the sun.
It takes only one unkind word to break a spirit.
One smile can heal a heavy heart…
“One is the loneliest number that you’ve ever known.” (Three Dog Night)
“It Takes Two” Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston
Bring the sunshine. Speak with kindness. Share your smile.
Sing a different tune…
Be that one.
Love and blessings,
Wendy
PRACTICAL SPIRITUALITY:PAUSE TO BE PRESENT. PATIENTLY PROCESS – LOVE, WENDY
Think about the people, places and things in your life that are easily accessible and comfortable…isn’t it tempting to place yourself where you know these situations are not healthy for you because it requires little to no effort to reach for familiarity…especially when you are lonely and bored and begin to romanticize the good times? Familiarity becomes seductive because it is easy, particularly when loneliness, boredom, or vulnerability lowers our resistance.Â
We neglect to recall the excessive stress and emotional and physical depletion that came with that person, place or thing as it existed in our space…
Once you understand your vulnerable moments, you can prepare for them.
Change your environment, practice self-care radically, place yourself in an environment that brings you peace, wellness, and happiness even when you must plan for it…
Practice delayed gratification to ensure your mental and physical well being. Instant gratification is born of anxiety and lonliness…and convenience can masquerade as comfort. Something can be familiar, accessible, and immediately gratifying while simultaneously being completely misaligned with our wellbeing.
When our actions require little to no energy…it becomes an automatic response in our behavior whether or not it is a healthy choice…and we become complacent in our wellbeing.
Each decision is a choice…
“PAUSE TO BE PRESENT. PATIENTLY PROCESS. Take one slow deep breath through your nose, and exhale slowly through your mouth. Repeat three times. Your breath is your most accessible tool to intervene with your physiology in real time. Focus on your breath to align with the present moment.”
(Read more about this in my book, Write Pray Recover:A Journey To Wellness Through Spiritual Solutions and Self Care-Chapter 6 https://a.co/d/0fMlLK7Y)
Ask yourself, “Is this choice out of convenience, or is it a choice that is promoting my peace and wellbeing?” ”What do I really need in this moment to promote my wellness and peace?” Lastly, ask yourself “What is the quality of the relationship you have with yourself? How do you honor yourself daily? Write the intimate details of this relationship.”
This pause and remaining present to your reality gives you the discernment and control you need to choose again and again until you recognize and “feel” the perfect alignment.
Love and blessings,
Wendy
NEVER LET THE TRUTH INTERFERE WITH A GOOD STORY:SOUL NOTES – LOVE, WENDY
Through both my lived experiences and my field experiences, I have learned that those who lack emotional intelligence are often emotionally immature people, lack self-esteem, and experience accountability as an attack.
Accountability threatens the narrative when someone’s self-image depends on being the innocent, misunderstood, or “always right” person.
Taking responsibility for their words and behaviors is unlikely because it threatens the story they need to believe about themselves and portray for others…
When the truth threatens their story, they are sticking to it…
“NEVER LET THE TRUTH INTERFERE WITH A GOOD STORY.”
Love and blessings,
Wendy
SEPTEMBER IS SUICIDE AWARENESS MONTH – LOVE, WENDY
September is Suicide Awareness Month…
I had the opportunity to implement my training as a Mental Health First Aider and Suicide Safety instructor yesterday in two separate incidents. And last month, I was called to use both of these trainings for a dear friend who just lost his wife to suicide. 
I am a certified trainer and would encourage you to take this 8 hour MHFA training.
In today’s culture and climate, we all need to practice our own self care in order to live with mental and physical health, and to know how to support someone else who does not have these tools.
“Mental Health First Aid gives you the skills to recognize when someone is facing mental health or substance use challenges — and the confidence to be their first source of support. Whether you’re helping a loved one or handling your own stress, MHFA offers real-world training and tools to cope with mental health challenges.”
I had experienced a physical health emergency Thursday after work requiring steroid treatment and complete bed rest, and Friday morning as I was recovering, I received two (one in the morning and one in the afternoon) requests for assistance.
Both are doing well this morning.
Sometimes words can guide and support, and as a Mental Health First Aider and teacher, I knew exactly how to use my words as my guidance and support for these precious souls.
For information on becoming a Mental Health First Aider, go to https://mentalhealthfirstaid.org/
In addition, IN HONOR OF SUICIDE PREVENTION MONTH, I AM AVAILABLE VIRTUALLY TO PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING TRAINING:Â
SUICIDE SAFETY FOR SCHOOLS
APPROXIMATELY 2 HOURS
I am a certified trainer licensed by the Suicide Prevention Center of NY State.
This workshop offers the following goals in prevention and awareness:
To review the importance of suicide prevention
Describe characteristics of at-risk students
Outline your critical but limited role
Clarify your building referral process
Identify school and community resources
Talking about suicide in the classroom
What every teacher should know
Understanding warning signs
Understanding protective factors
Understanding a “warm hand-off”
Email me at wendyblanchard044@gmail.com
Text TRAINING to 845-263-4094.
Love and blessings,
Wendy
Peace Begins With Me:Soul Notes – Love, Wendy
Remind yourself daily and often “I do not need anyone’s permission to experience peace. It is my choice and my right…and I mindfully cultivate peace in every decision that I make and every person that I engage with…
”Peace begins with me.”
Do not cower, do not apologize, do not deny yourself your birthright to live in peace and wellness.
If they don’t understand your journey and they choose to abandon you…their loss…
Keep going forward with humility and grace.
Love and blessings,
Wendy
On Character:Soul Notes – Love, Wendy
Character is revealed in how you treat people whose choices are not aligned with our own beliefs and values.Â
One’s beliefs are simply a small piece of their tapestry…
We must always appreciate the entire intricacies and richness of the whole cloth.
Love and blessings,
Wendy
Sobriety and Reality:Soul Notes – Love, Wendy
Having so much free time is exhausting.
Free time is wonderful when we’re using it to live.
But…when there’s an enormous amount of unstructured time during a difficult emotional season, it can reopen a wound for every memory, every what if, every comparison, every loss to bleed once again into the present moment…and feel like death.
And this summer break has given me a lot of time to reflect on my 14 years of “wellness in recovery “ from prescription drug addiction…write…re-process and practice acceptance…intermittently, if I’m being honest.
I have recognized patterns. I have grieved. I have learned to change my environment in my grief in order to re-center myself.
I recall the woman I once was…and the life I once had.
And…I also recognize the woman I have become.
Sober, Independent, inspiring, passionate, productive, and dedicated to my 14 years of sobriety…second to none.
But reflection doesn’t always feel like healing while we are “living” it.
Sometimes reflection deeply hurts before it integrates.
I’ve discovered that reflection can be both a gift—and a burden.
It can highlight how far we’ve come…while simultaneously reminding us of all we have lost.
And…I continue upon my journey…one moment at a time…carrying my past with me as a badge of honor as I return to a full schedule tomorrow as an educator…
And I rise once again.
Love and blessings,
Wendy
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Off Duty:Soul Notes – Love, Wendy
You don’t have to stop loving someone in order to stop accommodating the behaviors that are destroying your peace…You don’t have to keep participating in the cycle that leads to a wild goose chase.
If you are a follower of my work, you have read the words I write and speak often…”Peace begins with me” My peace is non-negotiable. My peace is my power. And most recently I made the decision to NOT share my whereabouts, relationships or activities on social media because I have come to realize that, “Privacy protects my peace.”
You can step away from an unhealthy relationship or situation, protect your peace, and allow one to live with the consequences of one’s own lack of emotional work.
Let go of trying to save them.
This isn’t abandonment.
This is a boundary.
One of the most important lessons that I have learned in my 14 years of recovery is that the only person I can save, change or heal…is myself.
There is a difference between “I don’t love you anymore.”and “I love you, but I am no longer willing to lose myself trying to save you.” Trust me…there is NO situation where we can save another unless we are asked to step in to assist…and even then, it is not our burden or work to carry. We can simply guide according to one’s stated desires and needs.
And perhaps the deepest healing is realizing that your nervous system doesn’t have to remain on duty for someone else’s life…otherwise, it tends to “arrest” our own lived experiences.
Affirm: “I am not responsible for rescuing people from places they choose to remain.”
Stand in your power…
“Peace begins with me.”
Love and blessings,
Wendy
“Shhhh” Culture:Soul Notes – Love, Wendy
Move Quietly.
Although I am a writer and an author with a following of wonderful souls…I’ve learned that not every move needs to be announced, explained, witnessed, or understood.
There is a stunning freedom in stepping out of the need to let others know where you are, what you’re doing, who you are with…or what comes next.
Peace comes from reclaiming that privacy.
Those who are walking beside me in real time will share the view. I no longer desire anyone observing my life from the sidelines.
I can simply live it.
Soft. Confident. Intentional. And just a little mysterious. 🤫✨
Love and blessings,
Wendy
Write Pray Recover 