Melody Chalkley

Melody Chalkley can often be found browsing the latest travel or education sites, speaking to groups about advocacy, travel and leadership skills or packing her bags to head for the next great adventure!

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Let Your Story Flourish

Let Your Story Flourish

Recently I have been reading Robert Taylor’s book, “A New Way to Be Human.” It is so full of inspirational guidance that I am having a hard time finishing the first few chapters because I keep re-reading them.  So far, my greatest take-away is to work on my self-editing way of telling my story.  I am guilty of rewriting my story to leave out the parts that I feel people will judge. Clutching on…

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Flourish and Go on Vacation

Flourish and Go on Vacation

“Relationships and engaged living honor the richness of your need of one another as human beings, feeding your capacity to appreciate others and notice the enrichment, stimulation and positive challenge they bring to your life. It is about living with a widely cast net.” Robert Taylor

Not trying to be too silly, but I am leaving for a cruise vacation today and won’t be able to post for awhile.…

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FLOURISH NOT CLUTCH While I write this I admit I am feeling a little anxiety.  Getting ready for a trip and my mind instantly wants to worry about what to pack, how to get everything done, how the kids and pets will do while I am away, and you name it.

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Flourishing without Weeds

    Pardon the metaphor, but this is like tending to a garden.  Since I am to create an environment in which I flourish, I will have to spend time culling out the “weeds”. Is there anything I am clutching on to that isn’t good for me? In fact, clutching in general is not healthy for my 2017 environment. Robert Taylor’s articlesuggests that when we stop clutching or holding on to regrets, we…

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The Dictionary of You: What Word Would You Be? What Words Would We Find There? The Dictionary will first define you as a noun: a person, place or thing.  Next, will come your adjectives, you know, what kind of you, which one of you, how many of you.

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Looking For Paris

Looking For Paris

Sitting alone with my coffee on a nice back porch in Suburb, USA and I wonder…”Where is Paris?”

Not just the city, but more importantly, the feeling I had while I was there.  Is it an elusive state of being you can only capture while you are there?  It quite possibly could be as fragile as a bubble that floats lazily through the air and then, when you blink, it is gone.  So I am…

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Resolute: Adult Children

I had never put enough thought and planning into how to help and participate in the lives of my grown children the way you do when they are little.  Now I am at a place in life that I want to be resolute in the way I interact with them.  They are precious to me and I am very proud of them.  Each one is distinctly different and bring me so much love and satisfaction as a Mom.  From time to time…

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Resolute: Forgot to Be Resolute!

Resolute: Forgot to Be Resolute!

Okay, I am a backslider. Actually, I became so resolute in just enjoying the calm and not fretting over making any big changes, that I became too settled.  I even stopped writing for awhile.  Truth be told, I also started spending too much time following the crazy presidential primaries.

It really is hard to make significant changes in your life and your habits.  Being “Resolved” to making true…

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Resolute: Regrets and the Crystal Ball

Resolute: Regrets and the Crystal Ball

Being resolute in the present has its’ challenges.  Especially when you keep looking back on the past and tossing that big old “Regret Salad” around! It is confusing.  How do you learn from your mistakes and past decisions without falling over the line into regretful thinking?

Let’s take this step by step with an example problem.  I continually tell myself that I am flat out grieving my decision…

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Resolute: Don't Be the Fork in the Road

Resolute: Don’t Be the Fork in the Road

What is the difference in making a resolution and being resolute? Well, the answer is clear. A resolution is a noun.  Noun’s don’t require action so maybe that’s why so many resolutions don’t make it past the first week in January.  The word Resolute, is an adjective that describes you.  This year, I chose the word “Resolute” as my theme so that it would describe me in this year’s situations.…

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Retirement should be fun!

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Promising to take time everyday to acknowledge my gratitude for endless blessings, no matter how small.

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When I was six, or maybe seven, I was in Girl Scouts.  It was getting close to a holiday and I was so excited that our troop was making presents for our Mothers.  The troop leader explained how we…

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Jason Eady "AM Country Heaven"

In just a few minutes you will hear the PERFECT explanation for why music is not what it otta' be!

http://musicfog.com Jason Eady performs the title track from his latest release, AM Country Heaven. Filmed during the Spring 2012 Music Fog Marathon at Threa...

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It's the Little things in Life that make it better....

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11 Days to Christmas: Starting backwards in my life, my True love is for my Mom and Dad, young parents with their first child, you taught me Love, Family and the importance of the little things in life that matter most.