The V-Word

It was an honor to be named recently as a finalist for a state wide entrepreneurial award, named for Tom Holce who is known as Oregon’s quintessential entrepreneur. He started and invested in 25 businesses in Oregon, which were the impetuses for thousands of jobs. Prior to his wife’s death, he was married for 44 years. Ray King, one of the CEO’s that Tom invested in said this about him: “He was...

by Anastasia Strgar

If today were the last day that you ever had on this earth, who would you want to be with? What would you tell them? And would anything that may happen really matter?

As human beings with advanced technologies and complex brains that are both blessings and curses, it’s easy for us to take this life for granted. It starts with little things… We take our daily cleansing rituals...

“To educate yourself for the feeling of gratitude means to take nothing for granted, but to always seek out and value the kind that will stand behind the action. Nothing that is done for you is a matter of course. Everything originates in a will for the good, which is directed at you. Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of gratitude.”     -Albert Schweitzer

On the...

Some days all I can see is the mess around me. Conflicting needs, insufficient resources and a will only to rest. The question is can I find the grace in the mess instead of getting swept up in feeling daunted and overwhelmed? The beauty of life is still apparent even when things are falling apart.

How we think when things are not going as we’d hope or worse still, when things fall apart in ways...

“The practice of peace and reconciliation is one of the most vital and artistic of human actions.”   -Thich Nhat Hanh

The majority of relationships fail from our collective inability to make peace with each other. We watch our long-term investments of loving connection wither on the vine rather than take the courageous steps of seeking reconciliation. We are confounded by our egos into believing...

by Anastasia Strgar

Back in the day, girls were sent to college to find a husband. Once they did that, their entire lives revolved around taking care of their husband and their families. Their identities became grouped with their husband’s and they never really had a chance to develop their own identities. Flash forward 60 years to the “Me Generation.”

Today, girls are told to go to college and...

All couples deal with the painful process of initiation and mismatched desire in the course of their relationship.   Listen as Dr. David Schnarch, author of Intimacy and Desire: Awaken the Passion in Your Relationship and The Passionate Marriage offers time tested wisdom to make your relationship the people growing mechanism that it is. Through insightful case studies and helpful exercises, Dr....

“When one’s expectations are reduced to zero, one really appreciates everything one does have.” – Stephen Hawking

Coming home from time away is one of the quickest routes to realizing just how lovely your daily life can be. Even the smallest of details in life, like washing your dogs has a kind of tenderness that is easy to overlook. The truth is that it is the most familiar pieces of our life...

When I was in college and low on cash, a friend suggested that I look into being a phone sex operator to make extra money. At first I nervously laughed at the idea. Phone sex with strangers seemed outside of my comfort zone.