Simple stress relief

This morning I am very grateful for a few miles of expressway, a good stereo in my truck, and Kenny Chesney. I had a great morning but things are really busy right now and by the time I left the house to go work I was feeling stressy and a little spizzy. On my way out of the subdivision a great song came on so I followed my gut, popped on the expressway and belted out the lyrics with Kenny.

I have to admit, this is not the way I usually handle frustration or spizziness. Typically I would take some quite time or meditate or something like that. But that's not what my gut said and this solution was perfect today. By the time I ran through the song twice I felt great - it was just a quick and simple way to let go and release a little tension.

Sometimes the answer is quick and simple ~ and downright fun.

The Power of Forgiveness

I had a a really interesting morning with a surprising discovery. See, I've been having trouble working lately, not in getting things done but in feeling inspired or really feeling "connected" and like I'm making a difference. I have learned that when I feel this way it's because I'm focusing only on the "to-do" side of life and not taking time to just be and experience things, to let life flow through me.

So a few days ago I decided to get back into my morning meditation routine, but it just didn't work. I tried spending time on the beach, praying, just being quiet, but none of it worked. No matter what I did I just couldn't find that peaceful, connected place I usually live in and really love to work from.

This morning I found the answer in a place I never would have expected - forgiveness. This really struck me as funny because I recently had the honor of receiving an early copy of Michele DeVille's new book The Path to Forgiveness for review and comment. I think the book is beautiful and thought it would be a wonderful inspiration for "those who needed it", which of course wasn't me. I didn't think I'd ever struggled with forgiveness. Then, this morning, I discovered I had. It was a little comment by a friend that I had hung onto without really realizing it. And it was this little black cloud that was interfering with my search to "reconnect".

As soon as I identified the issue and forgave the friend and myself it was like someone throwing a switch. I felt back to my old self, peace was restored and now I am off and running and enjoying my work again. All of this came through choosing to forgive.

"They" don't get it

"People only see what they are prepared to see." — Ralph Waldo Emerson

I saw this quote on @jdavis55 Twitter account today and one thought went racing through my mind ~ that's why "they" don't get it.

We make thousands of choices every day of our lives. Then come the times where we have to make bigger ones, choices that obviously affect other people's lives as well as ours, or choices that change the course of our life. When we make these choices often times "they" don't get it - "they" don't understand why we did it.

"They" are the people who are close to us, the people who's lives intersect with ours and the people with opinions we listen to. And the truth is that none of them are you. None of them know exactly how you think and how you feel. None of them can ever understand why you do what you do as well as you understand it yourself (and if we're honest, we don't even always understand it ourselves - we just know in our gut it's what we have to do).

So it's okay if "they" don't get it. When you know with absolute certainty that you are doing what you must do then that's enough. You can be polite and you can be kind, but you do not have to get "them" to understand. Know yourself, trust yourself, and follow your path. And if you want support or you want to be able to get excited and 'bounce off the walls' talking about your new adventures then seek out those who are creating change and do 'get it' and share with them.

It's all in your head

I was walking on the beach early this morning and as I looked out along the shoreline there was an incredible view. The land curved out into the lake and the trees were shrouded in a light mist, it was just beautiful. When I saw it I was reminded of Scotland. Immediately I started thinking about how wonderful that trip was and how beautiful the landscapes were. I really loved my time in Scotland, especially our northern most stops where we were on the water. It was peaceful and relaxing and I just plain felt good. And there are times where I think it could be really great to live there.

Then I started wondering what was really so different from what I had right here, right now. I had a beautiful view over the water. It is very peaceful and there is a lovely town around the corner. So what's different? The things going through my mind. Here I'm thinking about what I have to do today, how to solve a problem or what I want to do next. When I was on vacation in Scotland I had no responsibilities beyond enjoying myself and finding some place to eat lunch. My thoughts were entirely about the landscape and how wonderful and peaceful things were.

So what happens if I allow the same thoughts to be my focus here? What if I spend my morning on the beach thinking about how beautiful it is? What if I think about how peaceful and relaxing it is on the beach? What if I just enjoy the feeling of the sand under my feet and the water lapping at my legs?

So I decided to try it, to change my thought train right now on this beach. I did it and it was wonderful. I felt playful and energized. I was happy and having fun. (My dog may not have enjoyed it so much because the playful me started splashing him as we walked, but I had fun.) And I realized that there isn't some magic about the feelings of vacation - it's all in my head.

and to those who love them

Yesterday I wrote about the courage of 2 girls who are following their dreams and how they inspire me to look at each new phase of my life as an adventure to be lived with gusto and joy.

Today I salute their parents. Without parents who trust, love and support them in their efforts to follow those dreams, these girls might be facing a different road. It is the love of these parents, and their willingness to let the girls go that inspires me today. As a parent we spend our lives watching over, caring for and nurturing our children. Then comes the time where the way to love them best is to let go . . . and I salute these parents for doing just that.

ReclaimU sent out a Tidbit last week that says it all, and they have graciously added this one to their website so you can read it. I hope you enjoy.

Kudos to 2 girls following their dreams

I am really impressed with a couple of the young ladies in my life. They are both in their late teens and are hitting the gas when it comes to living their lives and following dreams, in spite of any fear they may feel.

One of these girls is the daughter of a friend of mine. She realized in the beginning of 2009 that she had an opportunity to graduate high school early and she went for it. She worked hard, spent her evenings taking on-line classes, fought the bureaucracy that popped up and finished high school a year early. While doing this she scoped out colleges, applied, went after scholarships (after all, Mom & Dad weren't expecting to foot college tuition bills for another year) and is now packing up to head out on the next phase of her life.

The other girl is my niece. She won a rotary scholarship to study over seas for a year. She is packing her bags and heading off to Belgium to live with a family she's never met, in a country she's never been to. She too has been very busy, not only planning for a year abroad but also setting up her college plans for the fall after she returns.

I'm sure they're scared. I'm sure they have thought of all kinds of reasons to change their plans, and yet I see them marching forward and focusing on the fun and adventure of all that is in front of them. These girls are an inspiration to me, and I hope to you as well.

Power of the mental twirl

I was reminded this weekend of the power that our minds have over us - and how we can shift that power to support us. I just came back from vacation and, in spite of planning for my return before leaving, I was feeling overwhelmed with all I have to do. A million thought of things that need to be done kept flying around in my mind. Then I got on the phone with my business partner and we started brainstorming and reviewing what happened while I was gone, but that just seemed to add a ton more to my mind.

On Sunday morning I was walking on the beach with my hubby and my dog and I was apologizing to my husband for snapping at him. I explained what I was feeling and that I knew in my gut "working" on Sunday wasn't the answer. And he reminded me of one of my power tools - write it down.

(image here of Sandy hitting herself on the forhead with the palm of her hand -- Duh!)

As soon as he said it I realized that he was right. By writing the thoughts down on paper I can release them from my mind and stop the twirl. Writing them down also exposes the "to do monster" to the light of day and shrinks him down to size. As I wrote out all these things I thought I had to do I realized that many of them were just reminding my kids of things they had to do and many more couldn't even happen yet (like buying school supplies). So the list wasn't as long as I thought, I was able to delegate things and the rest can be planned for and handled with a calm clear mind that has been released from the power of the mental twirl.