Be Your Empowered Self

Be Your Empowered Self This is where my writing lives with a bold pen. For the second-chapter woman at a crossroads — rebuilding quietly, choosing herself out loud.
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Excerpts + short essays + Podcast clips
Books-Turn Someday Into Today/BYES

https://linktr.ee/SomedayToday deb❤️

The Calm I Need Before I Need ItI am beginning to understand that calm is not something I canwait to practice until the ...
06/08/2026

The Calm I Need Before I Need It

I am beginning to understand that calm is not something I can

wait to practice until the emergency arrives.
Calm has to be rehearsed in smaller moments: in the repeated question, in the confusing conversation, in the family update
that stirs worry in my chest, in the moment when someone’s tone feels sharp and my own tone wants to rise to meet it.

I cannot wait until the hardest day to become the kind of woman who knows how to breathe before she speaks.

(This is a paragraph from my book, “Fading Memories: The Long Drive Home” page 51)


06/08/2026

What is a crossroad

Do you feel that we face that everyday in someways?

Good Morning

This morning I was walking on the trail, listening to the birds and the sound of a small stream running alongside the path. The sunlight filtered through the trees, and for a little while, everything felt exactly as it should.

As I walked, I found myself thinking about how often we take these moments for granted.

The trees are there.

The birds are there.

The changing seasons are there.

Nature quietly shows up every day whether we notice it or not.

I think one of the challenges of modern life is that many of us are constantly moving between two worlds. We enjoy the convenience, activity, and opportunities that come with busy lives, but our minds, bodies, and spirits still need something older and quieter too.

We need space to breathe.

We need moments where nobody is asking anything from us.

We need places where the only thing to do is notice.

Lately, I’ve been realizing that life isn’t always waiting somewhere in the future.

Sometimes it is already here.

In the morning walk.

In the conversation.

In the people we love.

In the season we are living right now.

This summer, I want to spend less time rushing toward the next chapter and more time appreciating the one I’m already in.

And honestly, so far, I’m loving it.
I am allowing my morning walks to become a ritual to find my rhythm, to find my flow, to find my voice, the peace within nature each morning before I start my day.

Have a blessed day🙏

Deb❤️
Be Your Empowered Self

walking

06/08/2026

Sunday Evening

This weekend reminded me that some of life’s best moments are often the simplest ones.

A walk with my sister.

Time with family.

A farmers market.

A street festival filled with music, laughter, friendly faces, and people enjoying a beautiful summer day.

As I sit here tonight, I find myself feeling grateful.

We often think joy arrives through big milestones and life-changing moments, but sometimes it arrives quietly through an ordinary weekend spent with people we love.

The older I get, the more I believe that life offers small gifts every single day.

The question is whether we slow down long enough to notice them.

Tonight, I am ending this weekend thankful.

It was a good weekend.

It was a good day.

And there is something beautiful about being able to say that honestly.

Be Your Empowered Self

Deb❤️

06/08/2026

Joy Drop

This evening feels a little different because the day has already been lived, and what a lovely day it was.

Today my sister and I spent the afternoon at a street festival in our area, one of those once-a-year days when the streets are closed, the neighbourhood comes alive, local businesses come out, the food is everywhere, the dogs are out walking with their people, and there is such a good feeling in the air that you can almost feel the whole community enjoying itself together.

We walked there, we walked back, and somewhere inside all that movement, sunshine, and togetherness, it felt like one of those simple days that quietly reminds you life is happening now.

Before the new week begins, maybe this is a good evening to pause and notice what felt true today.

What brought you joy.
What made you feel present.
What helped you feel grateful.
What reminded you that a good life is not built only from big milestones, but also from afternoons like this one, where you simply step out, enjoy what is around you, and let the day be enough.

Some things are worth carrying forward into a new week, and sometimes it is not only the lesson, but the feeling.

Tonight, I am carrying forward gratitude, enjoyment, and the reminder to stay close to the simple moments that make a life feel full.

Deb❤️
Be Your Empowered Self

06/06/2026

Saturday, June 6 — Deb’s Notes

This morning my sister and I got up early and went for a walk along one of my favorite trails.

The birds seemed to be having a conversation long before we arrived. We could hear them calling back and forth through the trees while a small creek quietly followed us along part of the path. We stopped on a bridge and watched tiny turtles below, and for a little while there was nowhere else either of us needed to be.

My sister is visiting from Los Angeles, and having her here has reminded me how much joy can be found in ordinary days.

Usually when I visit her, she takes me to some of her favorite places in California. We wander through farmers markets, sit for tea, explore little shops, and spend hours catching up on life.

Today we did the same thing here in my corner of Ontario.

After our walk, we visited the farmers market, enjoyed tea on a patio, and brought her little dog along for the adventure. Nothing extraordinary happened, and perhaps that is exactly the point.

As I get older, I am beginning to believe that a meaningful life is rarely built from grand moments.

It is built from mornings like this.

A walk with someone you love.

A conversation that doesn’t need to be rushed.

Fresh flowers on a table.

A cup of tea.

A familiar laugh.

A beautiful day that asks nothing of you except that you notice it while it is happening.

Sometimes the little things become the big things.

Be Your Empowered Self

Deb❤️

06/05/2026

Philosopher Friday

Marcus Aurelius once wrote:

“Confine yourself to the present.”

I have always loved the simplicity of that thought.

Not because the future doesn’t matter.

Not because planning isn’t important.

But because so many of us spend our lives preparing for a moment that never quite arrives.

We tell ourselves we’ll slow down when things settle.

We’ll enjoy ourselves when the work is finished.

We’ll rest when the list is complete.

We’ll spend more time with family when life becomes less busy.

The trouble is, life has a way of replacing one list with another.

One responsibility becomes the next.

One season becomes another.

And before we know it, years have passed.

Earlier this week, I wrote about looking through old photographs and asking, “How did we get here so fast?”

The older I get, the more I realize that time is not asking us to be perfect.

It is asking us to be present.

To notice the people sitting across from us at the table.

To enjoy the conversation that wasn’t planned.

To linger a little longer over a cup of tea.

To laugh when the moment offers laughter.

To step outside and feel the warmth of a summer afternoon.

These moments may seem ordinary while we are living them.

Years later, they often become the memories we treasure most.

As we head into the weekend, I hope you give yourself permission to put down perfection for a little while.

The dishes can wait.

The list can wait.

The next project can wait.

Life is happening now.

And this moment deserves your attention too.

— Deb ❤️

Address

Toronto, ON

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