Forgiveness

Is there someone you need to forgive? 

Perhaps it’s yourself. Maybe you lost your cool with your child ... snipped at your spouse... handled a work situation poorly. I know we all struggle with this at one time or another as being fallible is part of being human. However, if we hold onto those negative emotions (anger, regret, guilt...) we are only hurting our own bodies and minds. Here are my thoughts: 

* Acknowledge the wrong doing
* Apologize or try to make amends/Be open to an apology
* Make a plan for doing better/What did I learn from this
* Try to move on

** If we feel our minds are stuck on the situation try a positive mantra to occupy your mind and bring it back to reality
“I am strong ... I am kind ... sometimes I make mistakes... I will use this to grow and be better “ (insert any words appropriate to your situation)

* Also you could try sending positive thoughts/energy to the one you feel wronged you or you wronged. (*credit to my sister for this idea)

When I’ve made mistakes with my children I’ve tried to show them that the behavior wasn’t acceptable but at the same time trying to teach that we are all human and will at times make mistakes. So I try to teach them that we need to make a plan for doing better next time but not get stuck in negative patterns of beating ourselves up.  Please visit my YouTube channel to view a children's meditation on mistakes "I can grow from my mistakes":

https://youtu.be/QhIbdxX6p3g

Do you have any tips for forgiving yourself or others? Please share in the comments!

When's the last time you did nothing??

It might mean literally doing nothing but it could also mean just slowing down the pace a bit.  Sometimes the days speed by and before we know it we've gone through the motions and it's over.  The frantic pace and multi-tasking make it difficult to appreciate the good things in our lives and to cement those precious times into our memories.  You may find yourself saying, "I don't have time to do nothing?".  But I'd like to propose that this is another form of self-care and the quality of our days will improve if we add a little more nothing into the day.      

For example, here are some ways I tried to slow down and do more nothing. While driving home after work I turned off the radio, turned off my motivational speaker YouTube videos (more on my favorite motivational speaker later!) and I watched the really awesome golden sunset.  I tried to appreciate how beautiful it was and also the fact of how much later sunset is these days. Also, rather than jumping right into nightly chores I took a few minutes when we arrived home to play game of checkers with my son and dolls with my daughter.  We don’t always need to be “on” and we may find that our day will go much smoother if we take a few of those moments to slow down and do nothing but be present.  

Let’s all support each other!  Please leave in the comments below how you’ve tried to slow down, do nothing, be in the moment.  I look forward to hearing from you all!

What is your body telling you?

What does it mean when a "good day" is one where you made it through to bedtime without developing a headache or chest pains? Or not needing to dose yourself with alcohol, sugar ...?

There are so many instances of our physical bodies manifesting our over-stressed lifestyles. We all feel like we're "okay" and that we can push through it.  Are we merely covering up the stress throughout the day, crashing at the end and then waking up to repeat?  Are we happy with the choices we've made?  Are we considering the long term effects of the repeated stress on our bodies and minds?  

 But when will our body push back. Let's all take some time to reflect on what that pain in our (____ fill in the blank) is trying to tell us.  Like when you are suffering from constant shoulder pain  maybe your body is telling you to stop carrying so much on that side (I didn't say it was going to always be a profound message!  Lol!).  Or I often will feel a quick sharp pain in my leg and then I realize that I have been running throughout my day.  My body is reminding me to slow down.  Then there are the more serious signals our bodies are sending us through digestive symptoms, diseases and injury.  Our bodies are very good at self-preservation and are crying out to us to get the message across that we need to take care of ourselves.  Are you listening?? 

I challenge you to stop and reflect on how you have been feeling physically and emotionally.  Now look at your day ... is there any down time?  What are your coping strategies for stress?  Any lifestyle changes that need to be made?  Are there any ways you could lighten the load?  (Now really look again because I bet there is something that could be adjusted/cut out/delegated/reduced).  

Love to all of you!  Let's all slow down and "care for you"!