Monthly Archives: November 2012

Bright-Side of the Web: Before I Die…

“It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and forget about what really matters to you.” Candy Chang.

Join Ms. Chang as she describes her experiences turning neglected spaces into constructive ones.  With this particular experiment, Candy says, “Thinking about death clarifies your life.”

As we bring November to a close and step into the time of year where people start planning their resolutions, think about Candy’s message.

How would you answer the question:
Before I die I want to…

30-Day Challenge: Day 30! Yipee!!

Well, how did you do? Did you make it all the way without stumbling?
If you stumbled, did you shake it off and keep going, knowing it was but a mere bump and nothing to make you give up?

I’m proud to say that I stayed away from bread for the entire month.  Not once did I have sandwich bread, bagels, croissants, waffles, english muffins, muffins of any kind or pizza. 

How did I find a month without bread? Ok, not bad, sort of hard, sort of easy.
I never once craved it but it made it more difficult to think of what to eat.  My go-to toast and jam or egg and cheese on an english muffin made me have to reach for something else or modify my standard fare – just eggs with no toast for instance.  

I did, I admit, eat more pasta than I usually do which perhaps was the reason I didn’t crave bread.  I also ate a few crackers.  They weren’t on my list so I felt they were ‘safe’ but I did limit them to much less than I would have had normally.
I had hoped that this challenge would kick-start some weight loss for me but not even a pound was shed (likely thanks to the pasta).
 

What’s for dinner tomorrow? Likely pizza. I did miss pizza.

Share your experience with your 30-Day Challenge.
Are you planning a 30-Day Challenge for December? What will you do?
And don’t forget to answer ‘Before I die, I want to…’ 

Video credit: http://www.ted.com/talks/candy_chang_before_i_die_i_want_to.html

A Symbolic Life

Symbols surround us every day. We use them and show them without much thought.

What do the symbols you present say about you? 

Perhaps in this age of texts and tweets and emoticons, symbols are used more than ever before.

We add ‘xo’ and ‘<3’ to the ends of notes to loved ones.

🙂 and 😦 display our emotions which help the reader understand the many non-verbal conversations we have with one another, hoping to ensure that our meaning is not lost in translation.

Are symbols fairly new to us and based on electronic communications?  Many are but in the case of x’s and o’s, these have represented kisses and hugs for generations.

Let’s consider the other symbols that surround us:

Math provides us with a myriad of symbols, both positive or negative. Either adding or multiplying to our experience or negatively deducting from our source.

But what other symbols surround us in our daily existence?

As we age, we develop wrinkles and laugh lines.  Someone meeting us for the first time sees these symbols of experience and make deductions. They start to assess our age and place themselves in relation to us. Are we older, younger, by how much?

One of my favourite lines from the song Happy Baby by Shaye is: “These lines upon my face, I’d be a fool to erase ’cause they show my place in this world.” Yet so many of us, women in particular, are obsessed with hiding our age.  Who are we really trying to deceive?

What about visible scars? Do they symbolize a difficult life?  A serious accident? A birth defect?

Our clothes? Symbols of societal stature?

Cars: Symbols of financial class or moral standing?

Houses: what does the size of our homes symbolize to passersby?

Choice of vacation spots: financial, educational, or a symbol of our stage in life?

The books we read. The movies we watch. Do we play video games or not?

Our lives are full of symbols; symbols that others use to define us and that we use to define ourselves.

As our friend Forrest Gump stated in the video on my post “Life is like a box of chocolates…”, “there’s an awful lot you can tell about a person by their shoes; where they’re going; where they’ve been.” These are images of ourselves that we portray, for the most part, without even realizing it. But you can’t know the whole story until you the know the whole person.

Have you ever thought of the symbols you present to the world? Are they representing the real you?

Enjoy Happy Baby by Shaye – great song, great message, great Canadian group.

Photo credit: http://photopin.com
flickr.com/photos/pinksherbet/5078981384/
Video credit: YouTube

Quotes That Make You Go Hmmm…


“There are moments on the brink,
when you can give yourself to a lover, or not;
give in to self-doubt, uncertainty, and admonishment, or not;
dive into a different culture, or not;
set sail for the unknown, or not;
walk out onto a stage, or not….
Resist then, and…
                                 there is only what might have been.”

Diane Ackerman

photo credit: http://photopin.com
flickr.com/photos/stuckincustoms/3155662908/

“Life is like a box of chocolates.

You never know what you’re gonna get.” Forrest Gump

Life is full of surprises and twists and turns.  Some wonderful, some not.

You may start off in one direction and end up somewhere quite unexpected.

You may meet someone who changes your trajectory. They may present options to you that you hadn’t considered and venture down an unexplored path. Perhaps a promotion offers a career direction that leads you to further challenges.

Some of these twists and turns may end up being the things you look back on and categorize as ‘mistakes’.  Did you learn anything from your so-called ‘mistake’? If so, then perhaps it should be considered a lesson.  Is it a mistake only if you repeat it?

Reaching into your box of life-chocolate, you pull out your favourite one. Do you gobble it up and reach in again for another or do you savour it slowly trying to make it last?

Do you enjoy being surprised by the selections or are you more the type that prefers to check the map and select your chocolate carefully, considering all the options and leaving the unpleasant ones for last, or for someone else?

Some would say that isn’t living; that life should be experienced as it unfolds.

Some would say that is living with intention; you have a plan, desires, and you intend to see that you reach your goals.

Is one method more right than the other? Is one method more right for you?

You may never know what life will throw your way, but if you make a map, there are less surprises; for better or worse, the choice is yours to make.

Are you a read-the-map person or a take-what-you-get sort?

Clip from Forrest Gump

Photo credit: http://photopin.com
flickr.com/photos/washingtonydc/4357019483/
Video credit: YouTube

Positive Ponderings: Judgement

Is it only books
that you judge
by their covers?

photo credit: http://photopin.com
flickr.com/photos/osiatynska/3287986172/

Bright-Side of the Web: The Beauty of Pollination

.

In keeping with this week’s posts on Simplification and Gratitude, I bring you:

The Beauty of Pollination

This video has been seen over 21 million times. Why?
Because we humans marvel at nature.

Nature can teach us so many things.

Stop  ~  Look  ~  Listen  ~  Absorb  ~  Relish  ~  Learn 

Always amazing, ever breathtaking, be it your first or twenty-first time
and definitely A Bright-Side of the Web:

video credit: http://www.YouTube.com

Happy Grateful Day, Again.

Today marks Thanksgiving for my American neighbours to the south.

As stated in an earlier post, Canadian Thanksgiving happened more than a month ago.  It seems a bit odd that these two virtually equal events would be celebrated at such different times of the year but looking on the Bright-Side, it gives yet another time to stop and ponder for all that we are grateful.

We all lead busy lives, rushing to do what must get done and adding what didn’t onto the list of yet-to-do’s.  Planning for this, accomplishing that, starting the next thing; with head down, nose to the grind-stone, forging ahead.

It is nice to be able to stop and reflect on all the good in our lives, even if we have to be told to do it.  And with Thanksgiving as a national holiday, the collective stopping is refreshing and enlivening.

So whether or not you are officially celebrating Thanksgiving today, take at least a moment out of your day and make a mental list of all the blessings in your life. You may be surprised at the length of your list.

Happy November 22nd, Everyone!
I am thankful you stopped by.

What are you thankful for today?

Photo credit: http://photopin.com
flickr.com/photos/jennifer13/304316401/

Quotes That Make You Go Hmmm…

Some things

have to be

believed

to be

 seen

Ralph Hodgson

photo credit: http://photopin.com
flickr.com/photos/mikebaird/7207479424/

Sometimes Simple = Best

Life is hard, period. 

However, there are times when things are definitely easier than others.

What is hard for someone, may be easy for others, and vice versa.

Sometimes we put pressure on ourselves and make things more complicated than they need to be. And then there are times when we don’t try at all and wonder why it didn’t work out or go our way.

Sometimes the best solutions are the ones that are so simple they don’t even cross our minds.

How simple? Think:

Peanut butter and jam sandwiches.
Grilled cheese sandwiches.
Cheese and crackers.
Milk and cookies.

In other words: Comforting. Familiar. Easy.

Can this way of thinking be applied to problem solving? Often, yes.

Sometimes we struggle so hard and long to find a way to:

resolve a conflict;
repair bad feelings;
lift someone’s spirits,

when a simple, heart-felt hug will do.

When your child is upset, just sitting beside them holding their hand may be all they need to feel better – to know that they are not alone and they are loved.

Life is hard. Simplify it when you can.

What do you do to simplify your life?

 Photo credit: http://photopin.com
flickr.com/photos/massiveblur/83607079/

Positive Ponderings: Lifestyle Coordinator

If I had the power to change your title to

 

Lifestyle Coordinator,

 

what would you do to help your next client:

You?

photo credit: http://photopin.com
flickr.com/photos/wwworks/2942950081/