It’s been a while since I’ve connected with you but that doesn’t mean you haven’t been on my mind. I’m so entrenched in discovering the real me through my Holistic Health Practitioner training that I haven’t really made time for too much else; just being in the moment and enjoying all that I have and all that I am!
One day last week was a particularly nice day and I spent hours outside taking photos and reading and beginning to prepare for my next round of classes. I was watching my son play in the nearby stream as he built a bridge from one side to the other. He shrieked with excitement over finding a crayfish and ran to tell me all about it. He next went to catching salamanders (I stopped counting at eleven). It was a bittersweet moment as I realized that in a few short years his mind would be on completely different things. I made a conscious choice to stop what I was doing and just BE. His enthusiasm for enjoying the moment was contagious and I didn’t want to miss a beat of it.
Something special happens when we make a conscious effort to stop running in this crazy hamster wheel we call life. Do you ever feel like you are running, running, running and you can’t seem to get anywhere or catch what you’re going after? What would happen if you paused for a few moments and let yourself be, just BE? I discovered that watching my son enjoy nature awakening in spring after a winter nap made my heart sing!
Have you seen this video? I came across it recently and really liked it’s message. It has inspired me to begin the year with a peaceful, optimistic, open state of mind.
It’s a new year – a time of new beginnings, a new state of mind, and a new empowered you!
I was reflecting on the events of the last few weeks and I remembered something that happened. I was at a Christmas event and I saw someone across the room and was excited to see her. I immediately headed towards her to say hello. I got about three feet from where she was standing and she took the person’s shoulder who she was standing next to and turned both their backs to me. I had been dissed! It’s not the first time, and I’m sure it won’t be the last, but it really bothered me.
We’ve all been put in our place at some point whether it was by being shut out or verbally berated. I beat myself up enough on my own, so when someone else clobbers me with a harsh word sometimes I shut down for a little while. I always learn something from the experience. Sometimes the person has a point and sometimes it’s just someone showing us the darker side of human nature. When someone personally responds to us in a negative way, it can affect us deeply.
There are some habits that can keep us feeling good and more prepared to cope when someone showers negativity on us.
Eat a healthy diet. Eating healthy foods that nourish us is a first step to feeling energized and confident in who we are.
Exercise. When I make the time to workout, I feel strong.
Make time for yourself. Be still. Spend time in prayer/meditation. I try to do this first thing in the morning and it makes a big impact on how my day goes.
Forgive. It can feel really good to extend this grace to others. Holding a grudge usually hurts us the most.
Be thankful. Think about what you have been blessed with.
Remind yourself that the only thing that really matters is what God thinks of you.
I have a feeling that the bigger the obstacle or the negative curve ball we get thrown, the greater the success we will have. We can use these experiences to learn and grow. Our light can shine brighter than the negative roadblocks we encounter. I think that when we reach our destination and look back, we will see that these were just pebbles that irritated our feet along the way but made our path smoother and more comfortable as we traveled it.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t get out of bed in the morning to be just like everyone else. I recently took a family trip to Hershey and couldn’t pass up a trip to the Hershey Story museum for a little inspiration. I’ve been a Milton Hershey fan since I watched his bio on TV years ago. Now this guy was not your run of the mill fellow. He watched his father start and fail at 17 business ventures. Did this deter him from chasing his dreams? No way! He learned the art of candy making. He tried and failed several times, traveling to different parts of the country in an effort to make his fortune. He finally got it right when he developed his own caramel recipe and it became a hit. He made his first million by the age of 40 in the caramel candy business. Years later he concocted his own milk chocolate recipe and decided to sell his caramel business. People thought he was crazy but he knew that his future millions were in the chocolate business. Milton was an ordinary person, just like you and I. He went to grade school til he was just 13, completing only a 4th grade education. Why did he succeed when so many others failed?
He never gave up. He learned from each failure. After his failures, when he went back to his hometown, his kinsfolk didn’t associate with him because he was looked at as an irresponsible drifter. He stuck with it though!
He did not waste anything. As I walked through the museum, I was especially taken by the fact that he used every part of the cocoa bean. The cocoa bean shells, he used as a sweet smelling mulch, the extra cocoa butter he used in personal care items, etc. I like that he made a grand effort to use each and every part of that cocoa bean.
He was generous, a great philanthropist. Not only did he develop the wonderful town of Hershey for the people who worked for him. He gave them opportunities to own their own homes with access to beautiful recreational parks. He gave them good jobs and treated them well. He gave to numerous causes, including his greatest legacy, the Milton Hershey boy’s school for orphans.
His business ethics and philanthropy continue to inspire me and many others.
