Take a risk. Change will bloom.
Risk
This risk, for me, is worth it. I am ready to move forward.
Filed under change, Life thoughts, Power Words
Change
Change can be empowering, frightening, enlightening, depressing, difficult or exciting. Often change is all of these emotions at the same time, which is possibly why so many of us are hesitant to voluntarily take change on. Usually change happens “to” us, or we are forced to change against our will.
I have always been emotional during life-stage changes such as children growing up and entering new phases of their lives, weddings, births, deaths, and moving on, either to a new home, new job, new place in my life. Change does not come easily because it places us in an uncomfortable unknown place and we crave the familiar.
At some point though, we begin to crave change. We look in the mirror and say “enough!” Or we see an opportunity to grow intellectually, spiritually or to improve our health or our surroundings and we say “yes.” We initiate the change, and that is a huge step to insuring its success. Change embraced is change most likely to be effective.
I am embracing change. I have three areas that I will focus on: health, spirituality, and responsibility. I will change my health habits to protect my body and to assure my health by exercising daily walking, with yoga, strength training, pilates and Qigong (my new-found exercise area of interest.
I will focus on spirituality through meditation (One Moment Meditation), connecting with people I care about, and those I want to help and self-reflection.
I will focus on responsibility by taking responsibility to educate myself about the things I need to take care of myself and live the life I want to live. Those include financial responsibility, staying connected to those I care about, performing my best at my job, challenging my intellect and being there, emotionally and physically, for my friends and family.
Change is not something that comes easily to me, it is an area that I chose to work on. My life is not stagnant and my self-initiated changes are more likely to have a positive impact on my life.
Filed under change, Family, Life thoughts, Power Words, Walking
Priorities
The time has come to reset our priorities if we are to have a future. If you are reading this blog it is because somewhere down the line, a teacher had an impact on you and you learned to love to read and to learn. If our children are to inherit this, we have to provide the opportunities for them to learn to love learning by providing a safe, healthy environment, qualified, compensated teachers and staff and the books and supplies needed to learn.
We must provide an education that includes arts and sciences, mathematics and literature, compassion and rigor. We need to focus on our students without being distracted by the hows. We need to focus on our job, not how to fund our job. The Nation is responsible for its future leaders and contributors.
Filed under Life thoughts
Forgive
I’ve been tryin’ to get down
to the heart of the matter
But my will gets weak
and my thoughts seem to scatter
But I think it’s about…forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don’t love me anymore
Don Henley
Learning to forgive is a challenging lesson that often takes years of practice to perfect. It begins when we are young and disappointed by an expectation unfilled. The parents we thought were ever-providing suddenly forget what was most important to us, or the plans we had so hoped would happen. Then in grade school, the best friend we loved with all our heart turns and befriends another, and in the hell of middle school, groups of friends revolve continuously forcing us to either learn to forgive and move on, reconnect or to spend the most difficult years of our lives in isolation. In high school, romance is revealed and most often hearts are broken. Learning to forgive and move forward becomes a well-honed skill.
We are forced to contend with our own thoughts, feelings and emotions, yet forgiving is often the path to take, the lesser of two evils. The second being pent-up hostility and rage. Who wants to spend life in sadness and anger? I believe forgiveness is a necessary lesson and a skill to master for when we forgive others, we are really forgiving ourselves as well. To think that acts and events are one-sided, or occur in isolation, is to error on the side of ego. Things don’t happen “to” people, things that happen occur because of the energy, the actions, the thoughts of people, and what we must realize is that our actions have repercussions. Our actions cause events to happen.
Forgive:
1. to cease to blame or hold resentment against (someone or something)
2. to grant pardon for (a mistake, wrongdoing, etc.)
3. (tr) to free or pardon (someone) from penalty
4. (tr) to free from the obligation of (a debt, payment, etc.)
[Old English forgiefan; see for-, give]
Thinking about the word “forgive,” the central theme being to release from something, perhaps forgiving is really about the release of a hold you have on another person, whether it is emotional, financial or contractual. That release serves the dual function of allowing one to release the obligation and to replace it with free will. When we are able to truly let go, and honestly forgive another, we have learned to be true to ourselves and to give the most selfless gift: forgive.
“Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit.”
-Peter Ustinov
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Filed under Life thoughts
Believe
There are so many ways to say “believe.” Thoughts Become Things, picture what you want, visualize, pray, to name a few. The real truth is that to believe is to create, and that creation exists because of the energy you put into it through your thoughts. This brings up the constant dilemma of channeling our thoughts towards the end result we want and learning to focus on the positive changes we want to make. I think about this a lot.
How can we learn to train our mind to go down the positive path? Is it so easy that we overlook it? Is it simply a matter of directing all of our energy in a single, positive direction? I like to imagine the belief as the pebble dropped in a still pond and the ripples expanding out as all of the parts of my life that will be affected. The pebble, however, must be composed of molecules of hope, energy, faith, knowledge, and love.
The ingredients for this pebble are gathered from special places along the path. Places that influence who we are and what we believe. For me those places are yoga, meditation, prayer, walking, friendship, family, gardens, books, blogs, and shared conversations. With these ingredients I become the catalyst for the ripples.
Filed under Life thoughts
Care
If I put the word “take” in front of “care” then it becomes another important message: take care. If we are to help others, we must first take care of ourselves. Or maybe we must also take care of ourselves. It is the message we get on airplanes about putting the oxygen mask on first so we are able to care for others. To care about oneself is to realize that what you put into your body becomes your body, what you do with your body impacts your body’s ability to function and that your body is the home for your inner spirit while you reside here.
Care is also something we give as a gift to others. When my mother was in Hospice, I was amazed by the compassion her caretakers had for her. They barely knew her, yet they cared for her a gently as they would their own mother. The tender touch we give a newborn, the comfort we give as we wrap our arms around an injured child, the casual caress we give our partner upon departure, all of these signs of caring are shown through tender, physical touch.
We can also demonstrate caring by taking the first step, calling first, being the first to suggest a get together, the first to send a comment, the first to offer to help, the first to volunteer. We show we care by giving advice to others that will enable them to enrich their own lives, to improve their health and their future. We demonstrate caring by cooking a special meal, buying a little treat for no reason, doing something nice “just because.”
We show we care when we relax, decompress our schedule, make time, when we sit on the beach with someone and just listen to the waves and watch the seagulls. The ability to care is not reserved for humans, animals demonstrate caring and unconditional love, but we can express our caring with words and acts of kindness, and because we can, we must.
Filed under Family, Life thoughts
17 Words
My New Diet
Over the years I have been fascinated with learning. I love to learn new things about myself, about the world, and topics relating to improving oneself and striving for a balanced life. I am also dedicated to improving my health which has been a project for more years than I’d like to remember. When I was a member of Weight Watchers, our group leader gave us these 17 words, Power Words. I have mine in a small frame on my bathroom sink when I can see them first thing in the morning. I select one word to focus on each day, but I thought it would be interesting to focus on one word each day right here in my blog.
The words are: prepare, care, believe, forgive, change, risk, listen, choose, relax, pray, persist, wait, smile, focus, act, trust and accept.
Today I will start with “prepare.” This word is especially appropriate for me today because after a relatively easy bone density scan, I received the unhappy news that I have Osteoporosis. The causes are not known yet but will be revealed after the 7 test tubes of blood are examined. Osteoporosis can be caused by many things, such as age, low vitamin D levels, low calcium absorbtion, or it can be hereditary. That is my suspicion since my mother also had Osteoporosis. So, I actually have it, it is not just a precursor to the condition. I have to prepare and establish new routines to prevent further degeneration and also build up strength and balance to prevent future injuries.
I have a plan of attack. I will take my vitamin supplements religiously, resume my yoga practice, walk my one hour daily, and eat lots of dark, green leafy veggies. I will prepare and strengthen my body to hopefully thwart future degeneration.
Preparation is a life skill that must be taught. The skill of being able to take a peak into the future and predict what might happen in order to prepare ahead of time is something I hope to teach my own daughters. I hope to spare them the news I received today by encouraging them to be proactive, establish healthy habits now and to realize that the things you think will happen way off in the future arrive sooner than you thought they would. After all, I still feel 19 inside and am constantly shocked to find out that I’m not.
Prepare!
Filed under Life thoughts, Power Words
Finding Time
Where does the time go?
I am searching for time. Recently I seem to be dwelling in an abyss of obligations, commitments and sleep deprivation. Time eludes me and when I do find it, it travels swiftly through the hourglass, reminding me of that old soap opera, The Days of Our Lives. How can I accomplish what I need to and what I want to? I am convinced I have to restructure time and set new boundaries for myself.
1. Limit time on the computer, specifically on social media. Computers are time suckers. They seem so efficient and helpful but in reality they are magnets that attract you and then hold you fast. There is no such thing as “quickly checking your e-mail.” To attempt to quickly do anything is to enter the labyrinth of the cyber world. Exiting is a tricky task.
2. Walk every day. Walking allows for time to think, plan, wonder, imagine and enjoy the world. Walking may seem like a time-consuming activity, but the benefits outweigh the time commitment. The benefit of good health, improved attitude and clarity come along with the obvious benefit of the exercise itself.
3. Learn to say “no.” Saying “no” in order to stick to your own plan and your own schedule is different from saying “no” just because you are selfish, or self-involved. You can help people, and do favors, but just learn to put yourself first and take care of your needs.
Three new rules are enough. They provide the structure I need and if there were more rules, it would just take too much time anyway.
Filed under Life thoughts, Walking
Pink Slips and Red Faces
I don't think pink is my favorite color anymore.
Filed under Life thoughts, Pink Slips, Teaching
Right to Write
Time to hop back on the treadmill.
The Wellness Company I now represent!
Filed under Life thoughts, Walking, writing
BetweenTheWords 