...i am so very easy to please.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life...
I have a skinny Moleskine notebook in every single part of my little house...and in my car and in my desk at work. I need there to be one close at hand when I think of an idea or subject that I want to write about! I am constantly scribbling in these notebooks, needing to get my (brilliant!) thoughts out on paper as quickly as I can. My most thought-provoking moments are when I'm getting ready in the bathroom, when I'm driving, all day at work, and, of course, in the middle of the night. Lately, I've actually overwhelmed myself with the number of things I think about!The last couple of days I've been trying to consolidate a few hundred of these thoughts, as well as a few of the notebooks...and came up with this:
A (random) collection of blogging ideas, (somewhat) thoughtfully arranged into a list of things I (try hard to) do to help keep my life on (the right) track.
I thought I might pass them on to you...- Be the most encouraging person you know
- Listen with your eyes
- Take the statement, "I don't have enough time" out of your vocabulary.
- Use the good dishes and light the candles. Drink the champagne you've been saving.
- Be forgiving and say you're sorry
- Return everything you borrow and consider things you loan out a gift
- Make a list of things you want to do...then start doing them
- Donate blood (my blood type is B positive!)
- Take lots of pictures and get in your own
- Dance more. Sing more. Really listen to music ('Music is what feelings sound like...')
- No more blaming others for where you are. Take responsibility for your life and let others take responsibility for theirs.
- Take "I'm tired" and "I don't feel good" out of your vocabulary (and PLEASE never tell someone else they look tired!)
- Remember people's birthdays
- Say please to everyone
- Exercise and drink water like it's going out of style
- Have a job that you love
- Get out of debt. It's not about making more money--it's about spending less.
- Lose the weight and be done with it. And stop talking about it (yes, I'm still working on this one!)
- Use people's names when you talk with them. Read name tags
- Don't top a friend's story with one of your own
- Be kind and give lots of compliments
- Be positive and enthusiastic
- Laugh out loud. Smile at people.
- Simplify your whole world by giving away (letting go of, selling, getting rid of) as much as you possibly can. Less is so much more.
- Be a hard worker and praise the work of others. (Then watch them smile!)
- Put the past behind you once and for all. Let go and move on
- Make it a goal to never complain. Ever again.
- Be truly happy for other people...and let them know!
- Your home is a reflection of your life--keep it clean, organized and in good repair
- Open the door for someone. Insist that someone go ahead of you in line. Tell the checker she looks nice today
- Say thank you. Be grateful
- Wear sunscreen. Take good care of yourself!
- Have a good attitude. Seek out the bright side
- Get up as early as necessary so that you never have to be in a hurry
- Enjoy every moment of now and stay curious about the future!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Yes! I will be there!
Peter Frampton was my VERY first concert in December 1976...How in the world could I NOT be at the 35th anniversary tour?!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Drip irritation system...
I took a bath on Saturday in my big, beautiful bathtub. Unfortunately, as I was thoroughly enjoying every second of the experience, the water was slowly, yet constantly, disappearing. Despite my multiple attempts to secure the plug and my constant re-adding of more water, it just kept going down the drain. Here I was, doing everything I could to hold on to something that was very obviously not meant to be. Not for that day anyway…
Interestingly, this morning as I took a shower, the plug nowhere near the drain, I found myself ankle deep in water (in my own filth is what Allison would call it.) The water was NOT going down the drain--at all! I washed my hair and shaved my legs, enjoying the experiences as always and hoping that it would just start draining...No such luck. Again, I tried to figure out what to do, what was wrong, what was blocking the natural flow?! As the water reached my shins, I once again surrendered. And finished my shower.
It’s amazing the amount of inspiration I have been able to feel from these two experiences. I thought about bathtub analogies all day!
These situations are so much like life. (Mine anyway) There are things I want to get rid of and things that I want to keep. There are things that fill me up and things that drain me. (Sometimes it’s the same thing.) What messes up my life? I have got to find a way to get it to go away. What fills up my life? I have got to figure out a way to keep it in!
Funny how a situations can be totally opposite, yet help me with the same lessons: What can I actually control? And what is it that I can’t? Can I force things one way or another? Why do I want what I can't have...and vice versa? Then here's the obvious thought that sometimes my life is going down the drain...
But honestly, most of the time, my life simply overflows with JOY. The real key for me, no matter what the situation, is enjoying the moment and, of course, accomplishing a goal, despite the setbacks.
Life is a series of clearing out the bad stuff and finding a way to keep in all the goodness.
Of course, then there’s an analogy with the tub itself. Just like my life, it looks so dang good…always clean, always organized, big, beautiful, and shiny.
But it’s obviously in need of repair…
Perhaps it's just time for a little Draino and a call to the maintenance crew at my complex.
I know I know.
My analogy doesn’t hold water.
But today, it’s keeping me afloat.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)