A pot of gold.

The other day, I asked my children to search for the pot of gold that I hoped was hiding on our property. It was said in a joking way, but just saying it made me feel excited and like a kid again…what if we actually found a hidden treasure?
 
What I said was overheard by my mom’s husband Don. His wise advice to me was to “stop searching for the pot of gold; the pot of gold is you!”
 
This was my gentle reminder that I already have everything I need within myself. So do you. Realize that you are the pot of gold at the end of a beautiful rainbow. Treat yourself like gold…shine yourself up everyday and make good choices about how you spend yourself! You are worth it! Namaste.

Focus on the Good.

Success Law: It’s all in the Perspective.
 
On a rainy Tuesday morning, my alarm woke me up with a great song by Trooper…
“We’re here for a good time,
not a long time,
so have a good time,
the sun can’t shine everyday!”

 
This was exactly what I needed to hear this morning, and it’s so true. We never know how long we have in this particular life, and it is too easy to get caught up in the negative things that come our way.
 
While the sun can’t shine every day, we can enjoy every minute of what we have no matter what the sun is doing! While hauling liquor in the pouring rain this morning, one of my dream team members told me how she just loves the rain and would happily haul booze in it any day! What a fabulous outlook!
 
Let’s face it. Shit happens. The Universe can’t just keep sending you rainbows and flowers and unicorns everyday. Otherwise, you’d get bored and you wouldn’t appreciate it when those things did come to you. So the next time “shit happens” to you, remember that something magical will be heading up the rear (ha ha). Have a good time. Enjoy the small, special moments in your life while you are on your journey to greatness, and smile through all the other stuff that gets thrown at you. When you are in the middle of a rainstorm in your life, remember that this too shall quickly pass, and a rainbow will appear. Have a wonderful week.

Get Dirty!

Getting dirty can be a lot of fun…

I took some time today to clean the leaves and dead stuff out of my over-sized garden in preparation for my garden this year. It was perfect. My girls played on the swings and then dug huge holes in my garden and made mud pies, complete with real live worms, while I had the pleasure of “cleaning” my garden. I am not an experienced gardener, but not knowing something has never stopped me before!

Just touching the earth with my hands today made me appreciate where my food comes from…not the grocery store, but the garden or farm that makes my grocery store food possible.  Gardening is a lot of work, but it is something I feel passionate about, and it is an activity that calms my mind and nurtures my soul.

Often, we justify doing activities we enjoy by stating how much money or time these activities will save us. Gardening is never going to save me money or time in the end, but it does make me feel happy. I kind of like getting dirty…it makes me feel like such a rebel!

This week, I am encouraging you to get dirty in your life! Find an activity that you enjoy doing, and do it without justifying anything but the fact that it makes you happy. You are accountable to you, first and foremost. Make yourself happy and everything else will follow.  Namaste.

My, Oh My.

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday! Today’s inspiration is a song that you won’t mind having stuck in your head…

“Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
My, oh my, what a wonderful day
Plenty of sunshine headin’ my way
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay” -lyrics by Ray Gilbert.

Today is your day. Harness the power, and know that everything you need is on its way to you today. 🙂 Sing it! Namaste.

 

 

An easy, effective assignment.

Grab a garbage bag and take a walk through your home. Open up closets, look under the beds, and inside drawers. Pick 5 things that you no longer need or want, or that just no longer have a spot in your life anymore.
 
Choose things like shoes you no longer wear, old jackets, boardgames, old make up or hair products, books, toys or something out of your kitchen. It may be your favorite jeans… the ones that you can’t even wear out of the house anymore because they are so worn out.
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As you put things into your garbage bag, let go of any feelings you have associated with those items. Say “thanks for being there for me, but I need to move on”.
 
Be sure to find at least 5 items, and feel free to get rid of more (but don’t spend all day on this).
 
This task should take less than 10 minutes, if you walk fast and make quick decisions. It’s only 5 things. No excuses. Just go do it now.
 
Look through the garbage bag and decide what you are going to do with your 5 items. If the item is garbage (not reusable), put it there now. Decide if you want to donate, or sell, the remaining items that are still usable. Put the items you intend to donate into your car so you can drop them off on your next outing. If you plan to sell some items, decide how you are going to do that and then do it. Take pictures of your items and upload them to Kijijji, or decide on a date for your next garage sale. If you think trying to sell the items will be a hassle, just donate. You will be making someone’s life better. By doing this exercise, you will also be making your own life better. Reducing the amount of stuff you have in your life can increase your efficiency and reduce your stress. Namaste.

Something to consider.

Something to consider. Is what you have right now really what you want?
 
If you answered yes, then get excited and be happy and enjoy every moment. Strive every day to maintain, and get more, of what you have. You must nurture what you have to be able to keep it.
 
If you answered no, then get excited and be happy because you have the power to change it! Stop embracing the comfortable, and start embracing change. You can have what you want, but you need to do something different. Remember that thinking about doing it is way more painful than actually doing it. So just do it!
 
Have a wonderful week!

Hold on tight.

Some songs just seem to give you what you need when you need it.

Electric Light Orchestra was singing right to me the other day…

Hold on tight to your dream
When you see your ship go sailing
When you feel your heart is breaking
Hold tight to your dream


And now I cannot get it out of my head. It is important to create a dream in your head. Visualize that dream and then never, ever let go of it. Things may not always go the way that you thought they would, but you will still end up with the results you want…if you can “hold on tight to your dream!”

See where you want to go and then have a little faith in the process. It matters not how you get there, only that you end up getting there. So enjoy the adventure, and the unknowns, that life gives you. The unknown will only be an unknown for a little longer. Clever advice from my mom, Janet Legere.

Dream big and then never let that dream fade or be taken from you. You are in control, even when you tell yourself you’re not.

It’s TGIWWW (Wicked Women’s Wednesday) tomorrow…and I am looking forward to my standing Wednesday lunch with my mom and my sister. We are coming into our fourth year of choosing to spend Wednesday afternoons together! And even after all these years, the time always goes too quickly on Wednesdays.

Thanks for choosing to read my inspirations. You ROCK!

Faith.

It’s Sunday, a typical day of rest, reflection and worship in a lot of cultures. No matter what your religious background is, today I want to remind you that

“you gotta have faith…oooh you gotta have faith. You just gotta have faith, faith, faith….”

-George Michael

I awoke to this song the other morning on my clock radio. That same day at  school while volunteering with my daughter, I was cleaning up after an activity and there was a sticker affixed to the paper tower rack. It simply said “Faith”. I had to take a picture of it!

What is faith? Defined per the Merriam-Webster dictionary, Faith is a”firm belief in something for which there is no proof.”

So today, have faith in the universe and its ability to provide for you. Have faith in your wildest dreams, and faith in your ability to create everything you want and need in your life. Have faith that no matter what, everything is going to be all right. Have faith, even when there is no proof! If you believe in something, you make it real.  Namaste.

Just add Fun.

The Best Books on Self Help will teach you how to get happy.  One way to do this quickly is to add fun!

I was volunteering at my daughters school the other day and in gym class the kids were doing skipping. I was immediately taken back to the asphalt of my elementary school and I vividly remembered skipping my lunch hours and recesses away. The challenges of learning to skip double dutch and doing double- and triple- unders while singing silly rhyming songs had me reminiscing and giggling to myself. And I found myself wanting more of it!

As we age, the pressures of work and family and home life leave little time for fun. But fun is what keeps us going. Fun is what motivates us to hop out of bed in the morning. Creating fun in our lives inspires us, makes us smile, and helps us learn in a positive way. Fun is what it’s all about.

Think back to your days as a child and think about an activity that you really enjoyed, like skipping, softball, hockey or dancing. Remember the fun you had. And start creating some of that fun energy in your life right now!

My birthday is coming soon, and this year I am asking for 2 long skipping ropes and a couple of friends willing to take turns skipping double dutch. I am already imagining the conversations that we can have, and the laughter that will ensue from an afternoon of skipping on a chilly spring day.

Add some fun to your life today. Namaste.