Gina DeLapa

Your year no doubt had some setbacks and successes. And while I started out to encourage you to count the wins, the truth is both matter. Both have the power to shape you – and shape your year ahead. If the spirit moves you, set aside some time today or tomorrow

Gratitude. Gratitude can help you unhook from other people's jerkiness. (Yes, including that of the person you're thinking of right now.) Staying grateful takes discipline, and none of us are perfect at it. But when you shift your energy to what's working – the people

Please don't try this at home. Recently I signed up for an eight-week poetry class that went from mid-November through Christmas Eve. Three days later, it hit me: Poetry is not my forte. Half the time, I don't even understand it. Not to mention, poetry is

We were always the family helping others. And I don’t think I grasped what a privileged position that was until our own family suddenly needed help and prayers so desperately. I wrote those words several years ago, soon after my oldest brother's cancer diagnosis. I never did

This morning while taking a walk, it occurred to me how much of life can be boiled down to one or both of those two categories: more alive or less. Certain decisions, actions and interactions make us feel more alive – others make us feel less. Accepting this can be a

How much more could we all get done if we spent less time on our phones? Last night while curled up with a book in my cozy brown recliner, I realized (a) how content I was, and (b) how much time I'd been wasting, every day, playing games

You're in good company. So many amazing women I know are going through this – and not with each other. It can be stressful. It can hurt. Three thoughts on friendship to help bring comfort and perspective: #1: Friendships do change, and sometimes that's a good thing.

You know this, but I'll say it anyway: If you love, you'll grieve, and your grief can hit you when you least expect it. (Ever been sauntering through the grocery store when they start blasting "Wind Beneath My Wings"?) Last Saturday at Mass, Communion

Nothing drives home this metaphor like going full blast on a treadmill, which I did yesterday for about a half hour, and don't recommend. I was just over halfway through Workout No. 8 of a 12-part intermediate jogging series, and the ponytailed instructor, whom I'll call

When your Great Aunt Edna calls and you let it go to voicemail, that isn't rejection – it's self-preservation. "Aunt Edna" can be anyone whose problems go beyond what you are called to deal with. Examples: the friend who stays stuck in a dead-end relationship,