You Deserve Flowers

Life can get so hectic sometimes, especially if you are working and raising kids. And, if you have one of those jobs where you are giving to others, it’s a double whammy. Self-care isn’t something we give much thought to. Probably because we are taught it’s selfish to think of ourselves. And even if we do think of it from time to time, it’s usually put on the back burner.

You know what happens if self-care remains on the back burner too long—you burn out, and when that happens you’re no good to yourself or anyone else.  Here’s an idea for self-care. Make a list of all the things that bring you JOY. They don’t have to cost an arm and a leg, and most will cost nothing at all. Each week pick one of the items on the list and treat yourself. It could be a long walk somewhere beautiful, a soak in a bubble bath, or a cup of tea and a good book. Maybe buy yourself something once in awhile. You get the idea.

The world is a loud place to be, and we can lose ourselves in that loudness and become so stressed out. Be good to yourself and soon you’ll see how much calmer and happier you feel.

 Your soul deserves to be loved. Go ahead and give it some flowers.

Finding Peace

Find your peace in quiet places that speak to you. Sometimes the world is cruel, and we need to take a break from all the noise and craziness. Cover yourself in love and nature’s beauty, and don’t forget to breathe. Tomorrow is another day.

“Lose yourself in nature and find peace.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Don’t let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.” ~ Dalai Lama

Caring Too Much

Can we care too much? Perhaps. But better to care too much than not at all.

What sets us apart from evil is “Conscience.” Some of us might have an overactive conscience and it only becomes a problem if we think it is. Accepting who we are and trusting ourselves will keep us from self-doubt.

Letting our life force flow with our Spirits calling the shots without constraints, or stress, will indeed spread goodness and love upon this planet we call “Home.”

Caring too much might be a burden at times as we expect a lot from ourselves bringing some anxiety and sadness into our life. We have to realize that caring doesn’t mean we will always make the right decisions or even do the right thing. What’s important is that we keep trying and remembering we are only human. This is how we evolve and become better humans.

Caring too much puts gentleness upon the earth and its inhabitants. Sounds like a special gift to cherish.

A Quiet Place

In a world that sometimes makes no sense, and even seems to have gone mad, it’s so important to find that quiet place. A place of calmness, safety, and beauty. A place to restore our sanity.

This quiet place can exist in the mind. Close your eyes and take a mini break from work, and a hectic life. Just breathe, and maybe envision a peaceful scene where stress doesn’t live.

An actual tiny oasis can be created outdoors with a few potted plants and a small fountain. Water is always very soothing to the soul. Or maybe just sit outside and watch the show nature can provide.

The important thing is “Balance,” and finding a way back to it. Constant stress is a killer no matter what kind of stress it is. The body needs love and care to more than just survive. It needs to thrive.

In taking care of ourselves we can do a much better job taking care of our loved ones, and even showing kindness and care to those we don’t know. When we feel peace everyone around us feels it too.

“Each Life needs its own quiet place.” ~ Melody Beattie

Connect

“Only this actual moment is life.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Let nature help you to connect and relax into the beauty of who you really are. There are so many times that stress enters our life and the holidays are one of those times. When you feel anxiety coming on think about taking a step back from this crazy world, and breathe. Sometimes we don’t see what’s there. Open your eyes and connect to all that surrounds you. There will always be good days and bad days, but this is life; embrace it. 

Don’t let stress rob you; stay present. Remember, each moment of life is so precious and should be used wisely. Dance, sing, laugh, go with the flow, and enjoy yourself. Nothing is, or has to be perfect.

Open your arms and feel connected to your life; it’s a beautiful thing.

Chill

“Life is the dancer and you are the dance.” ~ Eckhart Tolle

Just relax. Nothing ever gets done in a good way by being stressed. Breathe deeply, let your thoughts go. Things aren’t all bad in your life. There is much good; open your eyes and see it.

Everything doesn’t have to go your way. Have no resistance; learn to flow. So much is missed when we are uptight, and life just goes by. Stay with the present moment, and don’t let the past or future take you over.

We all have obstacles in our life. Some days are good to us, and some are horrible. The secret is to not let those hard times take over and define our life.

It takes practice and patience, but learn to chill. You’ll be happier for it.

“Those who flow as life flows know they need no other force.” ~ Lao Tzu

The Sweet Spot

“The place between your comfort zone and your dream is where life takes place.” ~ Helen Keller

Life can sometimes become so hectic even crazy that we can begin to feel we’re not really living, just existing like shadows of our former selves. When this happens we need to start living between the spaces of our life.

There is a space between the situation that is happening, or one we fear is going to happen, and how we are reacting to it. That space between the two is the stillness and the balance where we should be living. It’s the place to be when life gets out of control and we start stressing.

“When you let go, you create space for better things to enter into your life.” ~ Steve Maraboli

When we’re not trying to live in that chaotic zone of our life, we are better able to move forward and have the life we really want. We become more creative, joyful, and feel gratitude for life.

When feeling stressed try closing your eyes. Now take a deep breath through your nose and exhale softly through your mouth. Visualize the problem. See your negative reaction to the problem. Imagine a large space between the two. See yourself going into that space and feel the calm and balance washing over you. This is your sweet spot where your life is meant to be lived.

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response, lies our growth and our freedom.”

~ Viktor Frankl, Auschwitz survivor

Find that power and start living a more balanced and happy life.

Simple and Still

The holiday season can get out of hand, and instead of being joyful it can become stressful. The best way to combat this is to stop doing so much. Try and keep the gift giving, social engagements, and even baking, simple. Don’t try to keep up with what your friends, family, and co-workers are doing. Don’t feed your expectations. Just keep your life simple.

Give yourself the gift of silence. Get very still and listen. When we are still everything becomes clearer. The universe speaks to us, and in the silence, we can actually hear. Make time for “You” by being still and just breathe in life.

May this holiday season and 2020 bring all of you a happy and balanced life that is fully lived without excuses or regrets.

Mistakes

“Don’t carry your mistakes around. Instead place them under your feet to use as stepping stones.” ~ Author Unknown

Oh, mistakes, we all make them and will continue to do so until the end of time. It’s not really all that important that we make big and small mistakes as we travel along. What is very important though is that we try and learn from them and hopefully not make the same ones again and again. When that happens something is very much out of whack in the whole way we are living and deserves some investigation.

Beating ourselves up won’t make the mistakes any less and only causes horrible stress in our lives, and we certainly have enough stress just by breathing so we shouldn’t be manufacturing it too.

I used to be really hard on myself when I made any kind of mistake and probably lost some future years and brain cells while putting myself through hell. So now I have finally learned to do what needs to be done when I make a mistake, and then let it go blowing in the wind. Very freeing and good for the soul.

I’m happier living this way and I bet you will be too. Go on, live your life, but don’t be so hard on yourself. Always keep learning by trying new things, and simply brush yourself off when you fall on your face. Hey, that’s how you learn to be mindful.

“Life can only be understood backward, but it must be lived forward.” ~ Kierkegaard

All You Need is Love

Are you all stressed out?

Just like the Beatles song all any of us really needs is love. The holidays can be a crazy time of the year filled with emotion and consumerism that can drive us all a bit wacky. While I was out shopping the other day I met two women that were talking about how rude people are this time of year. One woman made the mistake at the post office of saying Merry Christmas to the clerk who was in a bad mood and the clerk almost took her head off saying, “It’s Happy Holidays!” The second woman was a checker at the grocery store who looked stressed. I asked how her day was going and she shrugged and said that people come through her line and are busy on their phones texting and don’t even acknowledge her. And there are days when people are so nasty that she leaves her shift having to be alone and de-stress. Is this what we’ve come to?

Take a deep breath and surrender all the stress. Give some time to yourself. Maybe practice yoga and meditation. Instead of taking out your stress on others, learn to connect to people and things around you. When I surrender, good things come my way.

We are all so closed up in our safe cozy houses living in little bubbles. But think if the doors to these houses were blown away, or our houses burned down, there we would be with our neighbors we hardly know standing in a vast of nothingness. We would have to put our differences aside and connect to one another to survive. Sadly, many people this year have lost their homes and loved ones through these kinds of tragedies, and hopefully found love coming from complete strangers and caring neighbors they didn’t even know they had.

It shouldn’t take a catastrophe event to bring humans together. In the digital world we all live in we have to work harder to develop and keep real human connection alive. It doesn’t seem that long ago that our connection to one another is what made us human in the first place.

There are all kinds of love. The love for your children and grandchildren, your spouse, parents, close friends, etc. And there’s the care and affection for the people you work with, a distant friend, the neighbor you share your garden goodies with, and maybe even the checker at the grocery store. Connect with these people and you’ll find that connection will turn into love. When love is present there can’t be anger, hate, or even fear.

“Fear knocked on the door. Love answered, and no one was there.” ~ Author Unknown

All the silly disagreements and getting mad that we sometimes do is just a waste of time. And time is something that is running out for all of us. Simply just loving and accepting one another can conquer so much and make living a joy.