Hope (with a smile)

This quote found me today; funny how somethings happen just like that - at just the right time.  I couldn't help but take it in and then send it along.... perhaps it will find you in just the same way. Applicable to every single person - amazing. (Especially calling out to all with migraine!) Maybe these words came today for a reason? I think they did.


One day you will see that it all has finally come together.
What you have always wished for has finally come to be.
You will look back and laugh at what has passed and you will ask yourself,
"How did I get through all of that?"
Just never let go of hope.
Just never quit dreaming.
And never let love depart from your life. 
~ J. Campi


Powerful. True. Peaceful. Happy. Hope. Enjoy!

Today's wisdom

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful. - Buddha

Life's a Roller Coaster (or is it?)

Roller Coasters.....the ups, the downs, the turns, the tunnels - some anticipated, some unanticipated - the anxiety, and the fun....except, when the 'ride' isn't at an amusement park, it's at 'home'.  Many deal with the 'roller coasters' of everyday life with such ease - the ups just float above and the downs are so well taken. I admire those individuals.  


I found myself 'fighting' with either the roller coaster Driver or the roller coaster Track this week. Whichever, I didn't like how my 'roller coaster' life was going and I found myself using all of my energy trying to 'halt' what was completely out of my control. Why? I didn't simply let myself accept my life. I was fighting against accepting that the roller coaster was too big for me to move myself, and too heavy to set it on a new course.  


Life is like a roller coaster...we've all heard it before. But with the willingness to accept sadness, grief, difficulties, loss, the unknown, the 'roller coaster' suddenly transforms into a 'train'.  The life ride that was so uncertain, filled with fear and tears, has the ability to become a ride that is slower and calmer, a ride that sways rather than scares...roller coasters can turn into trains.


We have the power to make this change - to turn the roller coaster into a train - by practicing acceptance.  While life most definitely will remain a 'roller coaster', we can 'take the train' route. When we accept that there will be ups and downs, it becomes a decision to live the uneasy life, always riding on the edge, or to live the calmer life, acknowledging the ups and downs. Acceptance and acknowledgment remove unnecessary life anxieties. Life is life and many situations are out of our control - but without worry and fear we are able to truly live. 


My choice - to accept cancer happens and chemo follows. I choose to accept that I can not control cancer or chemo or the good and bad days that result. And I choose to accept that everyday is a new day and that each may not be easy - easy emotionally or easy physically.


The power of acceptance offers us all this same choice - to ride the Roller Coaster or take the Train. 

Daily goals offer opportunities for Daily Success

Did you set a goal today? A mini goal - nothing big, nothing too hard, not a 'goal of the world'...an achievable goal. Why not? 


Today seems to be a life of big, better, best....always. A life of more, faster, now....always. No matter what, the world today instills 'dream big', rather than, 'dream to achieve'. We are constantly set up for failure - and we set ourselves up for making it almost perfect, just a second too late, not quite good enough. Why work towards disappointment?


Perhaps we are trying to do too much? Be too much? Own too much? Hard to confess too - especially today - in a world where the standards are set miles above the clouds.  Perhaps we need to be reminded of *simplicity*. When life was *simpler*, did it go wrong? - No.  So what caused the change from *simple* to go, go, go? To be, be, be? To do, do, do? .... we did.


This week I too found myself 'stuck' in this cyclic bout of sadness.  Why wasn't I smiling enough? Laughing enough? Controlling my emotions enough? Yesterday I realized how sad I had made myself.  I know I smile everyday, and have been recently laughing more than I have in years. But I came down on myself for crying.  Crying? What's wrong with crying? 


Reflecting today, I realized that I was being too hard on myself. Crying is fine. Crying is extra fine during the ups and downs of cancer and chemo.  Rather than letting myself really cry, I held back because 'if I cried then it would alter my healing'....what the heck was I thinking? Crying is natural. And cancer is scary, chemo is difficult and it is my Dad with two types of cancer. Not to mention how much my migraine was pounding.


Dad reminded me yesterday about the little things that are often overlooked. I had become caught up in fear. Fear about my healing just because of a little set back - one bad migraine.  And without knowing it, I let my fear spiral and my energy was spent in anxiety rather than in living and without knowing it chemo scared me more than ever.  


Thanks for the chat Dad - today I'm back on track and setting daily goals. Goals that I can achieve without being swept up in the world of the 'unachievable' or the world of 'perfect'. Goals add self-esteem, self-worth, and a sense of satisfaction, especially in world of healing.  They slow the world down, even for a second, to help be in the moment.  And the best part - fear doesn't exist in the moment. 


Have you set a goal today?  

What are you scared of?

This week brought a bit of scare to many, especially for those 'virgin' to earthquakes. There was an immense amount of chatter online, between friends, in passing at the market, walking up to the yoga studio door...all about THE earthquake, and how scary it was, how long it lasted, and how extremely rattled everyone had become. The "Did you feel its?" have been endless. Why?


Once again, we are faced with a challenge that is 100% out of our control. Mother Nature shook the world (or at least Mexico and San Diego), and She does what She wants to do.  We have no control, no say, no timing, nothing to do with Mother Nature's behaviors.  


What 'shook' me far more than THE earthquake, as it has been unanimously labeled, was everyone's gossip reaction....WEEK LONG reaction. Puzzling?! There are no decisions to be made over THE earthquake, definitely no reason to hike up any existing anxiety, nor cause unnecessary anxiety.  Of course appropriate 'check-ups' on family and friends near the quake's range or fault line is not the 'chatter' being focused on here.  When subject talk overflows into every conversation, everywhere, all that comes about is anxiety....should I too be worrying about the earthquake? Yikes, THE earthquake?!!!!  Suddenly we have created a society encompassed in the drama, the necessity of fear for the situation, and self-developed anxiety. Why such emotional chaos?


I acknowledge that for many, fear was their natural reaction during the shaking, and rightfully so in that case - especially for those not native to San Diego.  But why cause fear in those not nerved by the quake? I loved the earthquake. I was resting and absolutely fell in love with the shaking. Despite the banging of my shower door, I was completely lost in Mother Nature's power. There was plenty I could have been anxious about, but I choose to enjoy...to relax, to absorb the moment (or what seemed like minutes) and enjoy the tranquility of the shake. 


I have learned an immense amount about myself this week. I am proud that I was able to 'be'...to truly be during THE earthquake. To me, it wasn't THE earthquake, but rather, an earthquake  - a change to a Sunday afternoon.  I learned that my healing has come a long way - from a chronic nervous wreck with a total loss of trust in the world, to a worry-free gal in a time which caused most and unlimited amount of fear.  I also learned that subconsciously I have the power to decide what energy I want to spread. I chose to say a blessing for anyone suffering from the earthquake, but not to join in creating THE earthquake madness. 


Mother Nature does as she pleases to teach us lessons.  We can not determine what will happen next or when it will happen or what is in stock for us to learn. But for this week, for me, it was a lesson of trust. Trusting myself in an atypical situation. And an opportunity for optimism - a chance to enjoy the  serenity Mother Earth has offered.

Have you had your dose of Green Therapy lately?

So *Simple* - Green Happiness
Some Green Therapies to enhance wellbeing, help protect Mother Earth, and automatically create a sense of satisfaction, with a smile!

• Anti-anxiety trick - Dump out a 'junk drawer' or weed through a dresser drawer you haven't opened in a while - just one at a time. Purge and donate, recycle and/or reuse in a new way. How can you possibly 'worry' while going through so much stuff! And doesn't it feel good to be 'reorganized'...a new found 'rejuvenation'.
• Enjoy a natural candle - soy based, essential oil sent - no toxins involved. Enjoy while reading a book, while re-organizing your drawer, while sending an email.
• Send a hand written card to a friend. Remember how exciting it was to receive 'real mail'? Creates an instant smile at your friend's mailbox and again while your letter is being opened...nothing like the surprise of appreciation.
• Enjoy some sun everyday. Not to get burned or to over tan, but to feed your body the necessary vitamin D it needs. Plus how easy is it to replace your vitamin D supplement?! Remember to wear sunscreen!
• Take a deep breath while you're enjoying the sun. Another anti-anxiety automatic!

Ready, set, go....please enjoy and smile....all while enhancing your Greener Self. So *Simple*!

A few favorite quotes

From Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now...

The pain that you create now is always some form of nonacceptance, some form of unconscious resistance to what is. On the level of thought, the resistance is some form of judgment. On the emotional level, it is some form of negativity. The intensity of the pain depends on the degree of resistance to the present moment, and this in turn depends on how strongly you are identified with your mind.

and.. 

The psychological condition of fear is divorced from any concrete and true immediate danger. It comes in many forms: unease, worry, anxiety, nervousness, tension, dread, phobia, and so on. This kind of psychological fear is always of something that might happen, not of something that is happening now.

It just makes sense, doesn't it?  So now, to practice Acceptance and not thinking...instead let's just Enjoy and Be. 

Sending Easter Joy

heaven

    peace

         soul
 spirit

     blessings

         renewal

I found an Easter card with this blessing - couldn't be more perfect to send to my parents.  I was so touched by the simplicity and depth of the saying and want to share this *Wish for Happiness* to all. 

Happy Easter come this Sunday!

Did you smile today?

Be honest. A real Smile....even though the checkout line was too long and you were grumpy to finally be conversing with the Checker?, to a neighbor simply driving by?, to a co-worker you pass in the hallway whom you don't even know?, to the drivers you blame your anxiety on for being in a 'rush'?....Reflect. Did you Smile today?

Greetings have amazing powers. Power that is so strong it doesn't matter if the greeting was verbal or not. A simple Smile can without doubt make someone's day. And Smiles are contagious - extremely contagious. You have no idea the real reason the grocery line was so long and so slow, or how your neighbor's day has been or where they are headed, and perhaps the new coworker is experiencing their first day on the job (always a bit awkward). And the slow driver - are they sick? Lost? Grieving?

Imagine the impact a single Smile would have on each of these situations we all share daily. Just a Smile from a friend or stranger eases tension and anxiety immediately. Smiles cause a sense of friendship, of relation, of ' it's going to be ok' - in problem, sickness, or in health. Smiles don't discriminate.

Smiles mean so much, travel so far and take less than a second to give. I challenge you to offer a Smile everyday - you'll be amazed at how many smiles you receive in return. And even deeper, how much of positive impact such a *Simple* act can be (suddenly your anxiety or 'bad day' disappears). Smiles are a tablespoon of free happiness that everyone can enjoy. Here's a Smile from me to you. :)