Thoughtful Tuesdays: Connecting through our “soul volumes”

March 11, 2014 by Jenna Filia Canty

I found myself inspired to write today but without a journal. Typically, choosing a journal is a huge deliberation. I consider size, thickness of paper, lined versus unlined, hard versus soft cover, does it have character, how does it feel in my hands, how does it fit in my bag… a senseless batch of preferences. But today, I found a notebook in our supply room and it struck me as the perfect new journal to start – simply because it […]

Categories: Photography, Writers & Writing, Yoga • Tags: all too human, amy tan, better oneself, By Heart, connecting, Dorthe Nor, Friedrich Nietzsche, human, human spirit, Ingmar Bergman, inspiring quotes, language as power, mary oliver, meditation, meditation challenge, Nepal, Pablo Neruda, poetry, quotes to live by, self reflection, solitude, Stupa, The Atlantic

Cup o’ Courage: “True commitment always comes with loss”

November 6, 2013 by Jenna Filia Canty

“In Dante’s Divine Comedy the Roman poet Virgil accompanies Dante to the underworld. No one wants to be Virgil anymore — to ‘go into hell with Dante.’ But the willingness to explore with patience and empathy the actual experience of what people undergo, no matter how horrific, is indispensable in healing the emotional afflictions that haunt human beings. And we shouldn’t be surprised that recipients of such understanding will be capable of both remarkable resilience and extraordinary healing.” -Jeffrey Rubin, […]

Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: beauty in art, better oneself, challenges, connecting, connection, courage, creative writing, cup o' courage, dante, deeper meaning, empowering others, empty your cup, fill your cup, finding meaning, finding purpose, good company, gratitude, Haruki Murakami, having purpose, healing, healthy living, human spirit, jeffrey rubin, love, meaning in our lives, meditation, mental health, Nepal, Photography, reflection, self reflection, sharing is courage, soulful conversations, soulful moments, spill your soul, Tara Carrozza, ted talk, uncertainty, virgil, vulnerability, writing our lives, written word

Cup o’ Courage: “See the opportunity, not the obstacle”

October 30, 2013 by Jenna Filia Canty

Thank you Toni P. Filia, of Maineville, Ohio for her submission to this new weekly series on courage and connecting. As Brené Brown said in her brilliant Ted Talk, courage comes from the “Latin word cor, meaning heart — and the original definition was to tell the story of who you are with your whole heart.” Cup o’ Courage is a weekly series that allows us to tell a bit of our story in a small but meaningful way.   […]

Categories: Photography • Tags: authenticity, beauty in art, beauty in sadness, beauty is everywhere, being real, better oneself, brene brown, connecting, connecting with others, connection, courage, courageous, creative writing, cup o' courage, deeper meaning, empowering others with story, empty your cup, everyone's stories matter, fill your cup, fill your heart, find the beauty, finding meaning, finding purpose, good company, gratitude, having purpose, healthy living, human spirit, influence others, innermost thoughts, Maineville, meaning in our lives, meaningful conversations, Ohio, Photography, reflection, San Francisco, self reflection, sharing is courage, soulful conversations, soulful moments, soulful questions, spill your soul, spirit, stories that matter, ted talk, Toni Filia, vulnerability, writing our lives, written word, yoga

The Highest Form of Listening: Seek First to Understand (Stephen Covey)

July 30, 2013 by Jenna Filia Canty

 Listen when someone is speaking, not to the words, but to what is talking. -Diane Osbon I have been thinking about an exercise we did in Nepal with the Nepalese women: a study in active listening versus inactive listening. Being reminded of this today, I sat down to research more information on how be an effective listener. Mainly because putting my phone down and day aside just doesn’t feel like enough. Within a few clicks, I came across Stephen Covey’s The Seven Habits […]

Categories: Meditation, Photography • Tags: 7 habits, active listening, better oneself, connecting, diane osbon, empathic listening, good company, healthy living, human spirit, listening, Nepal, Photography, reflection, stephen covey