Saying No to Say Yes

We need to find the courage to say 'NO' to the things and people that are not serving us if we want to rediscover ourselves and live our lives with authenticity.

Barbara De Angelis,

Relationship Consultant Author and Speaker

 

Say "No" today to all the people who do not allow you to be your best self. Do it for You and do it for them. If you change your answer, they will have to change their question.

Say "No" today to all the things that take you away from the goal that you need to follow. Do not permit these things to get in the way of what you need to do. Don't throw away your time.

Say "No" and Tomorrow, you will be that much closer to being your BEST.

Find Yourself, Find Your Bliss!

The Stillness in Between

Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast,

you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.
  Eddie Cantor

I read this quote and realized how many times I rush things. One task is barely done and the next has started. Each day is crammed full of ‘to-do’s with no break in between.

At the Yoga Studio, my teacher makes us slow down and listen to our breath as it moves. She tells us to pause in that moment of stillness in which our intake breath changes to our exhale and then to pause again before we breathe in.

Being aware of this makes me appreciate my Yoga time even more. We are not often told to be still, when the only thing to do is to breathe.

University of Portland, Oregon

 The next day with this thought in mind, I caught myself. I had just bitten into a tiny, delectable morsel of chocolate (did my hushed sigh of pleasure) and already had one foot on the floor ready to move. NO! I forced myself to stop and enjoy the flavour of that dark chocolate as it melted in my mouth. “There is no need to rush, stop and enjoy this moment” I said to myself. 

How many times a day do we deprive ourselves of those moments of pleasure that would enrich our day? 

No Safety on Shore

Laugh at yourself, but don't ever aim your doubt at yourself. Be bold. When you embark for strange places, don't leave any of yourself safely on shore. Have the nerve to go into unexplored territory.

Alan Alda
Actor, Director, and Author

Is truth stranger than fiction?

Is truth stranger than fiction? Yes.
Is John Irving's The Fourth Hand stranger than truth? Yes!

If you are a John Irving fan, you will surely love this book. Only Irving (I am too much of a fan to call him, John) could come up with this crazier than life story and characters that defy any form of predictability. Irving must indeed have seriously demented dreams to come up with his words.

How the almost cliche, unlikeable main character can evolve in a span of a few hundred pages is beyond magical. How so many people whom you know personally in real life could also be known by Irving and make their way into his book is indeed mysterious!

The Fourth Hand, speaks to our habits; about habits that are well ingrained, about breaking habits and creating new ones. It talks about reinventing yourself.

If you are not yet an Irving fan, pick up this book. If you read everything, you can get your hands on, that is written by Irving, pick up this book. In either case, you won't be disappointed.


 

Friday Morning with Scott Cook - Pass it Along

Another gentle reminder that we are on borrowed time in a borrowed place, we are all connected.

"The words they said still reach us, just like you're teaching me here today

  And you may not speak it loud, but it's clear in what you do

  And I hope to make you proud, because I borrowed it from you."

Less is indeed More

You aren't 'less' because something you did failed. It's not a reflection of you as a person.

Patricia Fletcher, writing at Inc. online's Level Playing Field blog

Giving the Gift of Love

Love is the ability and willingness to allow those that you care for to be what they choose for themselves without any insistence that they satisfy you.

Wayne Dyer
Author and Speaker

The short and the long of it

Whether you're in it for fun,

Orlando, Florida

or for the long haul.

Seattle, Washington

May your Valentine's Day be blessed with Love of the most special kind.

Necessary Questions

Some years ago, I was standing in a store on the eve of Valentine’s Day. I had been single for some time, done the online dating scene, a blind date or two, and even went on some 7-minute dates and was looking forward to the next day to devote to Me!

The young retail clerk wished my special someone and I a Happy Valentine's Day. She was crushed when I told her that I did not have a Valentine. She was sad for me! I remember thinking how far I had come, because I could see the humour in her response. “Oh Sweetie, I thought, there are SO many things worse than being alone on Valentine’s Day.”

Here, from the informative and always encouraging Conscious Relationship website are some thoughts for you, whether you are single or in a relationship.

 
Take this Relationship Readiness Quiz from consciousdating.com. ARE you ready?
Just answer "Yes" or "No" to the following questions:

1. I know what I want in life and in relationship.
2. I know my requirements in a relationship.
3. I am happy and successful being single.
4. I am ready and available for commitment.
5. I am satisfied with my work and career.
6. I am healthy in mind, body, and spirit.
7. My financial and legal business is handled.
8. My family relations are functional.
9. I have effective dating skills
10. I have effective relationship skills.

Do you notice how these questions center on You and not on the "yet to arrive" other person. Now that's a hard one, isn't it?

It is easier to think of what we want in a relationship than what we can give.

How many things can we hide?

This could be happening down the street from where you live. It happened to me.

This is my version of a true story with almost all accurate details. My friend met someone years ago who was a younger sister of a close friend. The sisters grew up with the bare necessities, but they dreamed big. The younger sister, whom this story is about, envisioned a life of some affluence, cloth napkins, and an abundance that happened naturally that was surely coming her way.

She did her part, got an education and married a man. They had a typical life and they divorced. She raised two young daughters while she was still young herself. She did what she needed to and it worked. Time went on and she coloured up her dream to another level; she added a rich, nice new husband that adored her and her two daughters. And lo and behold the dream became true. (How this part occurred is a little hazy in my friend’s memory.)

Who is real?

 Husband number 2, owned real estate, spoiled his young wife and daughters, bought and owned companies and they lived a happy life. He ordered one of those monster billboards that you see on the side of the road, announcing the birth of their newest daughter. Everyone going by the sign at rush hour, oohed and aahed. What a guy he must be for such a lavish display!

Friday Morning Music Party with Etta James

Sometimes it just feels good to let the tears flow. Etta James from Love’s Been Rough On Me.

A Speech of a Thousand Words

How many different ways can a person say something? Many, it seems. Am I the only one who is losing patience with the consistent drone of conversation? 

Silence can be difficult. We are accustomed to hearing voices everywhere, people on the cell phones in the grocery store, in the elevator, even walking down the street in the crosswalk. (Sometimes, these people you might notice, are invariably in the way either unconsciously or selfishly.) Are people that afraid of solitude, are they that afraid of being alone? 

I know that I am getting cranky.

I am not interested to hear, when you will be home, what you plan for dinner, what you want to do with/to your girlfriend, or the details of your last doctor’s appointment. Please, I want to say, "censure yourself sometimes".

Through this all, I realize that I am a relatively private person. As time has gone on, I understand better what to share and with whom. But sharing in private is my choice. 

Have a meaningful conversation, because it is your opportunity to share a few precious moments with someone who is a part of your life. Don’t give up this time to yell at them above the sound of oncoming traffic, the person you are “talking” to really doesn’t appreciate it. Give the gift of your undivided and full attention. Show them that they are important to you.

Here are just a few small suggestions so we can all have a quieter world: