"And waste my heart no more on fear"

This morning as I'm prepping to give a presentation on clutter tonight, I'm pausing to share a couple poems.

May I have the courage today

To live the life that I would love,

To postpone my dream no longer,

But do at last what I came her for

And waste my heart no more on fear.

   John O'Donohue

I choose to risk my significance.

To live so that which came to me as seed

goes to the next as blossom

and that which came to me as blossom, 

goes on to fruit.

Dawna Markova

Wishing you a lightness in your step and ease in your life,

                  Denise

It's not enough to keep peddling

It's not enough to just keep peddling and peddling. There are times you should pause, sit down have a picnic and enjoy the lunch before you start peddling again.  And there are also times you should take care of your bike.  Just a thought for the day

Sprouting Habits

 This morning I was once again out running and pondering life.  You probably know by now that I love to run.  Most of my moments of brilliance and inspiration show up when my mind shuts off - usually around mile 3.

Today, among other things, I was thinking about seeds, habits, spaciousness, the growth cycle of a plant, my stride and how good it felt to run in the rain.  As I ran, I got one of those awesome light bulb moments.

Habits and resolutions are like seeds.  You can't force a habit any more than you can force a tree from a seed- it takes time.  According to Tom Corley in his book on habits, most habits take between 18 and 257 days to be formed.  The difference in time being the complexity of the habit and how consist you are in getting it integrated in your life.

Here is the light bulb moment...drum roll please...  In January, we are only sprouting seeds.  We may not even see the dirt move until it spouts later in the year.  But...and this is crucial... just because we don't see any life altering change, doesn't not mean there isn't an extraordinary change happening... The seed is trying to sprout!!  January is when we are preparing our dreams and seeds to sprout.  We may not see anything but nothing, absolutely nothing, will grow without a beginning.

By February, and this is when many resolutions and hopeful habits get lost in the shuffle of life.  By February, if we stop caring for these itty bitty, very fragile seeds they will wilt and die.  Come next December, instead of enjoying the harvest from potential seeds we will sadly remember our hopes and dreams for the year.

Idea!  Write down your desired habit or resolution.  Get a picture of a seeding.  Combine the two and put them in a spot you will see daily.  Anytime you start getting board, discouraged or sidetracked, think of the tiny little seed/habit beginning to sprout and trying to make its way out of the soil.  Think how sad and disappointed the little guy would be if you just up and walked away from him.

Wishing you happy seedlings and rich soil,
           Denise

A few of your favorite things

This week, Julie Andrew songs seem to be popping into my head.  Last blog it was
supercalifragilisticexpialidocious from the movie Mary Poppins.  This week it seems to be, "A few of my favorite things" from the Sound of Music. 

What do you love? What makes your heart smile?  What makes you breathe deeply? When are you at your most creative?  How do you want this year to feel? 

 Make a list of your favorite things.  Along the year, when you need a boost you will have your own go to guide.

 Do you know what your favorite things are? 

Need a little inspiration?

Click here to watch A Few of My Favorite Things by Julie Andrews 

Here are a few of my own favorite things...

   Apparently, songs from Mary Poppins and the Sound of Music...

   Curling up in a big blanket, having something hot to drink and reading just for fun

   Running in the woods- this includes 2 of my favorite things - running and nature

   Having an idea, inspiration a light bulb moment pop into my day

   Creating a dish.  Something healthy, interesting with no expectation only curiosity 

   Free time, 15 minutes to a full day set aside for doing whatever my heart wants

   Coming home to Sally- our flop eared smiler (picture below)

            Nobody greets as joyfully as Sally.

            She grins, wags her tail and turns herself inside out
    Moss on trees in the winter- it looks like little coats

    Walking with my hubby and having him put his hand on my back- just to say hello
     

Wishing you all an inspired new year, filled with your favorite things, places and people!

      Denise

What to say when you don't know what to say... you might be surprised at the answer

I've just returned from a very chilly run.  Have you ever noticed how your brain runs free and light when running or doing anything with a consistent and mindless rhythm?  Running has always been my go to place to find ideas...

That said, while running today I was once again granted a moment of inspiration.  What to say when you don't know what to say...

We all get stuck in ruts, create habits and end up doing the same thing over and over again, even if it does absolutely nothing for us.  When working with clients, I hear the same thing over and over again: I don't know!! This repeated "I don't know answer" It isn't really very helpful but sometimes there really isn't an answer.

Today, half way through my run it came to me... Mary Poppins!  Yup, Mary Poppins.  I watched Mary Poppins a couple weeks ago, hadn't seen it in years.  I smiled all the way through- all 3 hours of the movie.

In the movie, do you remember the end when the dad is about to lose his job and he remembers what Mary Poppins told him?

   When you don't know what to say... say...

      "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"

And that was my idea today!  It sounds ridiculous, I know it does and yet I have a hunch it would be incredibly helpful.  When we don't know what to do, we get stressed. When we are stressed, we are not as creative, intelligent, flexible, healthy or happy.   But when we are happy we are a much brighter version of ourselves. Oddly enough, I'm pretty sure I could back this running theory up with solid science.

By saying supercalifragilisticexpialidocious we are creating new brain pathways and being silly.  By being silly, we relax and lighten up.  It gives us the freedom of not knowing everything.  As if anyone has all the answers anyway, somehow as adults we think we should.  But of course we don't.

The next time you don't know the answer just say "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"  and see what happens.

If you need a refresher here is the link with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dike.
         Click here to transport yourself back to being a kid without all the answers

Wishing you all a light hearted, inspired and care free 2017,  From the looks of my first post, this year is going to be a very interesting!!
           Denise