Beverly Flaxington's blog

I’ve been asked to speak quite a bit lately about the bullying legislation that is working its way throughout our national government, and through towns and cities across America. We received an email from our town Superintendent making us aware that the response to legislation was in place – in the form of a bully document – for parents to review and comment on.

I had the privilege of going to an Elton John concert this weekend. I’ve been listening to his music since I was a kid and he is still in wonderful form. The music and the band were more than I could have asked for! One of his well-known songs, “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” written by Elton and Bernie Taupin, really struck me as I was singing along with the audience.

I admit, though I know it will age me, that I am a Helen Reddy fan. I still play her music and “I am Woman” is my ringtone. One of her songs, listed here as the title of my blog, keeps running around and around in my head. When we watch our interactions with others, and we watch people interacting with one another, how many times do we feel “I can’t hear you no more”? It’s as if people are talking but we are no longer listening to what they have to say.

This has been an interesting week – I was interviewed by the Christian Science Monitor, SheKnows.com and Opposing Views about Charlie Sheen and his behavior. In addition, today I had a conversation with a woman who is writing a blog on how we can make change stick.

Driving my high school and middle school children to school one morning this week, I was behind a van with this bumper sticker: Wag More. Bark Less. Being an animal lover and one who is very involved in dog rescue, I smiled as I thought of the image behind it. But more importantly, it made me stop in my mental tracks. As we had been getting ready that morning, struggling to get to school on time (an ongoing challenge in my household), I realized how much I had been “barking” and how little I had been “wagging” as I ushered my children through their morning.

This week I had the opportunity to work with a hypnosis client who wanted to lose weight. She was a single, working mom and felt she had devoted enough time to everyone else and was ready to devote some time to herself. She expressed her frustration with her own decisions and kept saying she “knew” she should make different choices.