This was one of those books that I literally could not put down…..and was sad to finish! I read the book a couple of years ago and got so caught up in it that I remember sitting on the couch at my parents house over the holidays- all the kids running around, cooking in the kitchen- typical holiday noise, but I was able to tune it all out and stay focused on this book (I’m not one of those people who can read with music on….unless it’s instrumental). So, needless to say I was really excited when I saw that this movie was coming out.

What made it really great was that I was able to take my daughter with me to see the movie (I knew she wouldn’t be up for reading the book just yet…..she’s still a little more focused on The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants…). The movie was great, certainly not a disappointment, but not as good as the book (but then again, they never really are). Queen Latifah did a great job as May Boatwright, I love watching anything she does, but this was a great role for her. I haven’t watched Read More »

I’m still on vacation and finished reading the novel I brought with me, so of course I needed a trip to the bookstore so I’d have something to do on the beach after being thoroughly beaten up by the waves. I intended to get another book by the author I had just read, but the other books by her didn’t seem too appealing, so I kept looking. I picked up another book by Paulo Coelho,  The Witch of Portobello. As I was walking up front to pay for this (and the few magazines I picked up), I walked by a table with a bunch of Law of Attraction books and was pleasantly surprised when I saw a new book by Esther & Jerry Hicks and the Teachings of Abraham. This book is called Money, and the Law of Attraction: Learning to Attract Wealth, Health, and Happiness. It just came out in August.

Anyways, I started reading just a little bit of it last night and came across something called the “What-if” game. This is nothing new to me, but when I read about it this time I got a completely different perspective on it. Quite a few years ago when I was talking with my therapist after I lost my husband, I did the whole “What if we hadn’t moved where we did/when we did/ etc. ?”….thinking at the time of course that I had some control over what had happened. I’ll never forget what she said to me (which finally makes sense now….I’m not really a slow learner, just stubborn! :-)). In a very kind, but direct way she said, Read More »

You always know as a parent that you want your kids to be happy, and of course when they’re happy, you’re happy. As my kids get older, the moments of pure joy seem to less easy to come by…(not many 11 year olds get as excited about being able to say :”I did it! All by myself!”….the way they did when they were 3) It’s a little easier with my 7 year old, but with school, sports and friends, they get just as caught up in their own day to day doings as adults do. So being able to watch them these past few days has been pure joy for them AND me!

We’re currently in Maui, so it’s not too hard to have a good time here, even if we’re not doing much. We planned this trip months ago with my parents, so it seems a bit surreal that we’re finally here. I’ve taken my kids to the beach before, but it’s in Northern California, so the water isn’t quite as nice as it is in Maui. The first day we were here was absolutely wonderful! I still can’t decide if the kids had more fun in the surf or I did, just watching them SO happy! Watching them get pounded by the waves, then get up, laughing, and then going back for more….pure joy! Yesterday we went to a different beach, with boogie boards (and snorkels) and they did the same thing, only for longer and with bigger waves. The first night after the beach and dinner, I couldn’t find my son (in the condo), only to realize he had put himself to bed because he was SO worn out. Last night he passed out on the couch. Nothing beats a happy, exhausted child after a day playing in the ocean. Pure joy. And I’m so grateful to be able to witness it.

How I love these thoughts on Whole Living! It seems that each one is totally relevant to what is happening in my life, at that moment! Here’s the next thought from the September issue of Body & Soul magazine, which by the way I realized I hadn’t credited the author yet! The author is Terri Trespicio.

“Worry narrows; gratitude expands. Find ways to celebrate all that you have”. As much as I’d like to think I’ve “let go” of worrying (ha ha), it sneaks up on me when I least expect it. I have a lot going on in my life right now, all of which is good- and this thought on whole living was a perfect reminder about what I have to be grateful for. It’s not just that worrying about things is a waste of energy, it also sends the wrong message to the Universe (as well as my immune system…which is fightly a lovely cold right now) and creates a ‘tightness’ inside that pulls me further away from what it is I want to attract into my life.

The next few days are going to busy, but mainly because I am fortunate enough to be going on a  wonderful vacation with my family next week. It’s certainly something to be gratful for and is coming at a perfect time as well. It’s obvious I need a little break and some down time. I have every intention of just enjoying my time, swimming with my kids, relaxing with my parents and appreciating the beauty that surrounds us.

So I clearly am enjoying referencing the Ten Thoughts on Whole Living from the September issue of Body & Soul magazine. I figured I may as well finish all ten thougts, huh? Here’s the fourth thought: “True release comes form sustained relaxation”.

This is BIG one for me! I have a tendency to go, go, go….and then all of the sudden I hit a wall. I remember hearing something by Zig Ziglar a long time ago (it was an audio). And it was something like,” When you’re at work you’re wishing you were at home with the family and when you’re at home with the family you’re thinking you should be getting more work done………no wonder you’re never getting anywhere…..you’re always traveling”. Of course it’s more meaningful if you hear it with the southern drawl that Zig Ziglar speaks with, but it’s such a great point!

Taking time to rest and relax is just as important as all of our “to-do’s” and lists. When I start getting so busy that my list doesn’t seem to be getting much smaller, I realize that it’s time to take a break, because things don’t feel as good as they should. The never ending list starts creating “WORK”….and I’ve finally found something that I enjoy so much it has just taken a hold of me. I don’t want it to start feeling like work…ever. So that’s when I make sure to take some time to lay in the pool and read a book, take an afternoon nap or lay with the kids and read a book for a while. Inevitably, when I’ve taken the time to relax, I’ve released the tension, or tightness that I was starting to feel and my list looks like fun again.

So lately I’ve been doing a lot of purging around the house (closets, garage, kids rooms, you name it). So the next thought in the list of Ten Thoughts on Whole Living in the September issue of Body & Soul magazine was perfect! Here it is: ” Your stuff reflects you. As your needs evolve, find new homes for your old things.” This also reminds me of something I read in Jack Canfields book, The Success Principles. He has a lot of exercises in the book to help you get organized and set your goals. One of the things was to create a list of “incompletes”. You are supposed to list all of the projects that you have hanging around and all of the things you need to get rid of in order to allow room for what it is you want in your life to come in (this doesn’t necessarily mean material things).

The big thing that I’m gettin rid of and not replacing is a refrigerator in my garage. It finally gave out (it’s about 11 years old). I thought about getting it fixed or getting a small, new one to keep in the garage, but realized we reall don’t need it anymore. My kids are big enough that the frozen things from Costco are dwindling, I stopped buying them juice boxes/bags, I’ve moved the water bottles to the refrigerator inside the house and I’ll be saving money every month on my electric bill (which helps a lot!). And it feels really good to know that I’m not just getting rid of something. I’m not replacing it either.

This was the next thought in the “Ten Thoughts for Whole Living” section of the September issue of Body & Soul magazine. Here’s the next thought: “Becoming aware of your habits is key to an intentional life”. As I read this thought, I realized which habits I was very aware of and which habits I habitually ignore.  One habit (although I don’t know if it’s a habit or a pattern…..hmm) that I need to become aware of is when I have a ton of things that I need to do (and want to do) and I start borrowing trouble. I can feel the tightening inside of me as I begin thinking this needs to be done, I want to do this, I’d rather do this, etc. When I do become consciously aware of the fact that I’m doing this, there are two things that always help.

The first thing is just to take a few deep breaths and sit with whatever it is that I’m feeling at the moment. When I can physically feel that I’ve calmed down inside a bit, the second thing I do is just to take SOME sort of action re: what needs to be done. I just did this today. I have a lot of websites I’m working on, projects around the house and a paper due for a class I’m taking. I came into my office, cleaned up the ’shrapnel’ from last week (unopened mail, lists, magazines, etc.), re-did my to-do list and am now comfortably working and not overwhelmed at all. Just getting everything down on paper has made me realize that’s it’s not as much as I thought, and the added bonus to living an intentional life is that nothing I’m doing ever feels like work.