Have a wonderful Easter everyone!
Archive | March 2013
Don’t Quit
Hope you feel uplifted by these encouraging words! Enjoy!
Action Step:
Write An Appreciation Letter
Beautiful eulogies are written to reflect the positive feelings, thoughts and memories about a departed loved one. A great amount of time and effort is taken to write this declaration of appreciation to express how much the deceased was loved and admired.
At these times, we often wish we had expressed these beautiful sentiments to the person directly while they were still alive to hear them.
With that in mind, we can start to pay tribute to those we love while they are still here, by writing an appreciation letter. In it, we can mention all the specific things we value about our loved ones and give it to them now!
It is tempting to think we have endless time to tell those around us how we feel, but that is not always the case. We don’t want to miss the chance to tell the special people in our life how we truly feel, while we have the opportunity to do so.
Creating a positive handwritten note lets those closest to us know how we love and appreciate them today, and how our life is better because they are in it. Think how it would feel to our recipients, to receive a beautiful message expressing all the positive feelings we have for them.
Verbally expressing our affection is very important too; however, the written word can be saved and read for years to come, when we are not around to voice it anymore.
The main thing is to convey our appreciation. So, if the handwritten method will delay the writing of our appreciation letter than emailing, or texting our thoughts will still have a profound impact on the recipient.
These wonderful acknowledgements let others know the full extent of their importance to us, and remind us how grateful we are for their presence in our lives. This makes writing these letters a transforming experience for all concerned.
It can also be very healing to write words of appreciation to ourselves as well!
Action Step:
Compose a letter of appreciation and let the good feelings flow!
Let Your Creativity Flow
What if we just painted what inspired us, wrote what we felt, or composed a piece of music without worrying about the outcome?
We would feel much freer to let our creativity flow by releasing our inhibitions, experiencing more spontaneity, and having a lot more fun.
Many of us paint, write, dance or draw because it is our particular innate expression of who we are, and comes from deep inside us. We are just naturally drawn to certain creative outlets for expressing our individuality. There is an excitement in the process and experience of seeing our unique creations come to life.
However, when we’re too focused on receiving approval, then we lose sight of the simple pleasures in our chosen activities. We are more inclined to concern ourselves with how it will impact, affect or be received by others; rather than enjoying the process of creating or experiencing something important to us.
For instance, if we love to dance but spend our time worrying about whether or not people appreciate our every dance step, then we miss out on the fun and spontaneity of it all. Unless we are going to be on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ and being judged specifically on technique; then there is no need for doing it a certain way. It is more fun to dance like no one is watching.
When we create and live in a way that takes the focus off our reviews, then our creativity will expand, flow and grow. Having our own unique blend of skills, interests and talents is not only a wonderful gift to us, but it offers a special contribution to the many other inventive projects and performances around us.
After all, it would be a pretty monotonous place if we all wrote, painted, or presented things in the same way.
Do you let your creativity flow or is it blocked by expectations on the outcome?
Action step:
Think about how differently you would express yourself artistically, if you were not concerned about the results, and then give it a try!
Focus On What Matters
I like the simplicity of this quote, and the reminder to stay focused on what matters!
Enjoy!
Feed Your Hunger
Dr. Robin L. Smith is a best-selling author, ordained minister, keynote speaker, and licensed psychologist. You would think with all these credentials, that she has always been blessed with confidence, clarity and contentment. Not so.
There was a time when she reached a crossroads in her life and hungered for a more satisfying existence. That discontentment inevitably led to a huge turning point for her.
She began listing, and going after those things she wanted to experience which are shown below:
I’m hungry for real love—not crumbs I try to call a meal.
I’m hungry for relationships where respect is the cornerstone of the connection.
I’m hungry to be in relationships that don’t require me to dim my bright light to be given a seat at the table.
I’m hungry to have my gift and talents truly appreciated by those I work with.
I’m hungry to not need to dumb myself down so that others feel smart.
I’m hungry to have a partner who doesn’t feel like a predator.
I’m hungry to not have to play small when my spirit and dreams are big.
I’m hungry to be brave and not let fear drive my life.
I’m hungry for an undivided self, soul, life, love, and relationship.
I’m hungry to be me.
Her list identifies many of the things we are all hungry for such as:
- Love
- Respect
- Appreciation
- Acceptance
- Courage
- Wholeness
Often, we stay silent about our desires because we don’t want to risk sounding ungrateful, or silly to those around us.
Unfortunately, we risk much more if we succumb to pretending and hiding from what we really want. We risk losing ourselves, letting other people define our value, and starving emotionally.
To avoid this famished state, we need to apply the ingredients for successful living, in the same way, we need certain ingredients to create our favorite recipe. For example, when shopping at the store, we usually don’t waste our time looking at the items on other people’s lists, or getting the items that others tell us we need for our recipe.
Instead, we put our energy into pursuing those particular items that we know are needed, and have an assuredness that the combination of certain ingredients will produce the desired outcome.
Similarly, in order to get the desired outcomes we want in life, we don’t want to waste our time looking at the goals, agendas or actions of someone else that has differing priorities or desires than we have. Additionally, we don’t want to be persuaded into following a lifestyle formula that contradicts our own.
We do want to start following the directions of our own heart, which will satisfy our hunger and make us less likely to settle for whatever is placed on our plate, or graze on empty substitutes.
Action Step:
Goal setting is a great recipe for success. Write down at least one goal you desire to achieve such as returning to school or getting a job. Indicate the steps you need to take to achieve that goal (fill out an application or send a resume) and the date you plan to send those documents (by April 1).
Many Awards and Many Thanks!
Recently, I received three award nominations, and two were on the same day. A big thank you to Ute at Ute smile, for nominating me for the Best Moment Award, Fae at Fae’s Twist & Tango for nominating me for the One Lovely Blog Award and Letizia at Dutch Goes Italian for the Liebster Blog Award nomination!
What a lovely surprise and honor to be acknowledged in this way, by these three very special women.
They each share a lot of joy throughout their beautiful blogs, and all are the recipients of numerous awards themselves.
Their kindness in recognizing others is a wonderful demonstration of their generosity!
“Tomorrow is promised to no one.” ― Walter Payton
Best Moments Award
Awarding the people who live in the moment,
The noble who write and capture the best in life,
The bold who reminded us what really mattered –
Savoring the experience of quality time.
The rules for One Lovely Blog Award are:
- Visit and thank the blogger who nominated you.
- Acknowledge that blogger on your blog and link back.
- Share 7 random things about yourself.
- Nominate 7 or more blogs with the award, a link to their blogs in your post, and notify them on their blogs.
The rules for Liebster Blog Award are:
- Post 11 random facts about yourself and answer 11 questions from the person who nominated you.
- Pass the award onto 11 other blogs (make sure you tell them you nominated them!) and ask them 11 questions.
- You are not allowed to nominate the blog who nominated you!
- Try to choose blogs who have 200 or less followers.
Random facts about myself:
- Dancing classes at the gym have been a huge addition to my life and great exercise.
- I enjoy board game night with friends and the food that accompanies it.
- As a teenager, I attended Arizona State University and lived in a dorm.
- I enjoy arts and craft fairs.
- Skinny Cow chocolate ice cream sandwiches are one of my favorite snacks.
- I worked at Princeton University for several years.
- I’ve reached the over 100 posts mark.
- When I first learned to drive, it was with a car that had a stick shift.
- Driving my mustang convertible has been a lot of fun.
- Connecting with loved ones brings me joy.
- Hot apple pie is my special treat especially on holidays.
Questions posed to me and my answers:
- What was your favorite age? Many were good but becoming a legal adult at 18 was special.
- If you needed to emigrate, which country would you choose? Hard to choose but one that has beautiful beaches would be desirable.
- What is your favorite dish? Filet mignon
- Which city would you recommend me to visit and why? Key West Florida – For the nightly sunset celebrations.
- What makes you smile? Puppies, kindness and a good sense of humor.
- What is your favorite quote? “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at will change.” – Wayne W. Dyer
- Name one negative aspect of your home country. Fortunately, the positive aspects outweigh the negative, so I will respectfully focus on that.
- Syrupy or Savory? Both offer a good variety
- How do you prefer to travel? Plane, car, train, etc.? By car but usually take a plane for quicker arrival.
- What does ‘injustice’ means to you? Inequality
- What is your ultimate way of relaxing? Being near the ocean
My questions to the nominees:
- Who has been the most positive influence in your life?
- What was your favorite class in school?
- What is your favorite time of year?
- If you had one wish that could be granted today, what would it be?
- What type of movies do you enjoy?
- What is the best piece of advice you ever received?
- What famous person would you like to meet?
- If you could live someone else’s life for one day who would you choose?
- What is your favorite song?
- If a book were written about you, what would it be called?
- Who would you like to play you in a movie about your life?
I am delighted to nominate the following bloggers for the Best Moment Award, One Lovely Blog Award, and the Liebster Blog Award!
Select one or accept all three, as you choose.
Congratulations and enjoy!
The Cathie Barash Blog 