Enjoy the Journey while creating your own ... with gratefulness
Giving and Receiving Graceful Grateful Gossip Growing (Glowing) Guilt
Healing Holidays Humor
Giving and Receiving: Gratefulness and Acceptance are powerful magnets. Accepting
gifts and compliments gracefully with a smile is prosperity and confidence, knowing
we deserve it. Graciously receiving and giving gifts when you can will create a positive
trickling effect on the planet. No gift is too big or small. Can you volunteer with
your pet for an hour in a nursing home? Perhaps you can read to children in the hospital.
You decide what gifts you have to share ... how you can make a difference; it will
come back to you tenfold.
Gossip (becoming an effective communicator): Gossip is
global. Sharing only good news is a myth. We are barraged (media) everyday with bad
news and ratings go up! We can choose to listen, be educated and look for ways to
make a difference or help. We can turn it off and switch to more enlightening, pleasant
news. Gossip is everywhere; the workplace, grocery store (with people we don't even
know) and between family and friends. Is the gossip connective, informative or malicious?
What is the intention when we enter into conversation about someone's else's life?
That's the difference. We feel connected to others when we talk about what's going
on. Being human, we feel good when others feel good, sad when they are sad (or should).
Conversely, many people feel good when others feel badly. Getting caught up in it
or changing it to match your story will not serve any good and can harm someone's
well-being. Gossip can change and grow in the chain of transmission, becoming embellished
into a drama that isn't true. Becoming an effective communicator can help you learn
new information and offer it to others in a way that increases well-being. If you
feel that someone is gossiping to make themselves feel good at someone else's expense,
or that the gossip isn't true, then clarify it or walk away. Smile and say, "Thanks
for the insight" without any other response. You could ask "Is this true and how
do you know for sure?" Be mindful that people create stories from their own perspectives,
not yours.
Graceful: A dancer can show grace in beauty of movement, style, form,
or execution. We often hear the phrase "grow old gracefully." I'm not sure I know
what that means anymore then hearing someone say "you are a certain age so should
act more mature." Shouldn't we live gracefully every day and as we are as individual
beings? You decide. I have watched a dog dig fast and furious, find his bone and
gracefully walk off. My Angel Greyhound, Tia, I know for sure is gracefully Prancing
in the Sky. Tia could steal a donut in a room full of people, or patiently wait while
looking angelic, then get it! The next time you are upset or angry at someone, think
of a elegant way to put them in their place. My favorite after someone has told me
what I've done or haven't done right is, "thank you for sharing that with me." If
it is meaningful enough, I add, "now, can I share something that might help you?"
AHH ...
Grateful: We have heard Oprah Winfrey talk for years about being grateful.
She has had hundreds of authors who write about being gratefully. At one point, I
thought if I heard the word grateful uttered one more time I would throw-up. Ya know
what? It is true and it works. Going to bed at night with grateful thoughts makes
awakening in the morning a better day. Being grateful for little things like socks
that keep our feet warm, or dogs who put up with all of our quirks, makes appreciating
big "gratefuls" even better. Life is short, shorter for our dogs. Appreciating every
moment, knowing that it is not a dress rehearsal, is a strong lesson in living and
learning to the fullest with our dogs and others.
Growing (Glowing): When we learn
something new, big or small, we glow. Watch a child who learns how to tie a shoelace.
Observe a puppy who happily eliminates outside for the first time without making
a mistake in the house first. They wag themselves in half when we praise them. Growing
is physical, emotional and spiritual. Today, I choose to grow (and glow) in good
health, thought and feelings towards others. I will spend some time admiring my dogs
and other people’s good qualities. I will look in the mirror with a positively appraising
eye admiring every wrinkle, gray hair, bulge, muffin middle or crooked tooth. I look
around and glow at what I have accomplished.
Guilt (be gone): I do not believe in guilt. It is a cannon ball tied to the ankle.
As children, we are manipulated through guilt. As adults, media can hypnotize us
into thinking we are not "whole" if we don't have this or that. Choosing to forgive
and let go, from child hood on up, I love and accept myself unconditionally, just
as my dogs do. They taught me this more than any doctrine, mis-guided adult or Internet.
Flow freely knowing that you can accept who you are, let go, grow and glow with your
favorite color Chakra or Aura.
Healing: Living in balance is not easy these days.
It seems that the more electronic gadgets we have, the less time to simply relax.
If we use this, we'll become better. Is this true for you? Being open and receptive
to the healing powers of universal energy, every cell in your body can heal itself.
Trust your body. Listen to your heart. How do you feel? What do you need? Nurturing
our mind, body and spirit isn't foo foo or woo woo, it's vital. Live in balance with
wholesome nutrition, exercise and compassion for yourself. Every day take some time,
even 30-minutes, to shut off the cell-phone, TV and Laptop to sit quietly with your
dog. I enjoy brushing them. It relaxes me. What relaxes you? Only you can create
that moment of refuge, but first YOU need to know that you need and deserve it.
Holidays:
I love and hate holidays at the same time. Strong words, but I am learning to create
a Holiday Balance. Balancing what I do with my time-off or Holiday time brings serenity.
I shop for what I can afford, putting meaningful thought into what the receiver will
be getting. Looking at time off as being spent a little here, a little there and
spending time with my dogs and self is important to me. Now that I have boundaries,
that include healthy compromise, I can celebrate and enjoy holiday gatherings without
feeling stressed out. I know how to have a good time, not let anyone invade my good
time, and be responsible and safe. I want to leave gatherings feeling renewed, not
sapped of my energy, so I protect myself with my own personal shield. Before going
to a particular, stressful gathering, take time to breathe and imagine your own shield.
No-one is allowed to permeate it. You can answer questions you want to, and smile,
and not answer ones you don't. Pleasantly, you can leave when you are ready too.
Humor: There is nothing like a guttural, genuine laugh. Giggle to your heart’s content,
and to good health. Laughing produces feel-good hormones. Careful humor can lighten
up any situation. Learn to use your humor lovingly and wisely. I love to laugh out
loud with my dogs or friends. Cherish those moments when you can't stop laughing
... laughing until tears of joy flow. Physiologically, laughing releases negative
energy and stress. It gives the body a chance to let go, bringing balance into harmony.
Smile at yourself every morning in the mirror while toothpaste runs down your chin
or mouthwash out of your nose. Watch your dogs playing silly. Carry that light spirit
throughout the day and whenever stress seems to take over, breathe. Life will happen
with or without us. Choosing well-being, joy and a smile can lift the spirit. It
has a trickling effect on others. At the end of the day, what really matters?
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