Oh Happy Day

My focus recently has been on maintaining a positive attitude! I figure that no matter what life tosses our way it's up to us as to how we handle it! Many years ago there was a commercial on the stations in Orlando (maybe it was a national ad, I don't know). I think it was an ad for Aetna health care but I'm not certain. Anyway it featured this elderly lady. She said (in her little old lady voice) "every morning when I wake up I can choose to be happy or unhappy. I choose to be happy!" Why choose anything else?

With that goal in mind, I've been trying to surround myself with positive images (or as my mentor Jackie says "high frequency vibrations"). Every morning I listen to songs that make me feel good and I dance. I read material to reinforce my mindset. Right now I'm reading a couple of books...

Creating your best life: The ultimate life list guide by Caroline Adams Miller

and

Happy for no reason: 7 stops to feeling happy from the inside out by Marci Shimoff

In Creating your best life Miller recommends watching either "The Bucket List" (Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freedman) or "The Last Holiday" (Queen Latifah). I saw The Bucket List at the theatre so today I went to the library and borrowed "The Last Holiday." If you haven't seen it, I would highly recommend watching it. It's a feel-good movie with a message. Don't you love those? My frequency vibrations are definitely elevated after watching that movie!

(pictures of books and dvds from BarnesandNoble.com)

Do you have a "bucket list" or a life list? I've started mine. Two of the things on it so far are:

1) to do the 3-day cancer walk (60 miles!)

2) to learn to make a souffle

I'll let you know some of the other things as I discover them. I'd love to hear about your's.

Today is the 3rd day my complaint-free bracelet has remained in place! WooHoo! I'm enjoying the process of retraining my brain. I've started thinking about things before I say them and it feels really good.

Dolly loves my desk chair. Sometimes she will come sit on my desk as if she wants to be petted, when in reality she's waiting for me to get up! She's a very confident miss! I'm fairly sure she has more personality than any other female cat I've ever known!

Wherever you are and whatever you're doing...I hope that today will be filled with moments you love. Celebrate your life!

Reaching for higher ground

Have you ever had a day when you are going along just fine and then without warning or turn signals, you go from being in a happy place to being in a bad mood? I'm sure we all have those days...even without PMS or menopause sneaking into the situation. The question is what to do about it...ride it out or fight it? Wallow in it or reach for higher ground? Today I faced such a dilemma and boy was it tough!

Last year I read a book called A Complaint Free World: How to stop complaining and start enjoying the life you always wanted by Will Bowen (AComplaintFreeWorld.org). If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. The author points out that we often don't even realize how much we complain because we get into the habit. He provided his congregation with purple bracelets (like the yellow Live Strong ones) and instructed them to switch the bracelet from wrist to wrist each time they caught themselves complaining. He challenged them to go 21 days without switching the bracelet because studies show that it takes 21 days to create a new habit. I have a bracelet and I'm going to start wearing it because I believe that my thoughts create my reality. Complaining breeds negativity which then contaminates my world and the world around me. I've decided I want to surround myself with positivity instead.

It gets tricky because we have ways of blanketing our complaints, using words like "challenging." I find myself using that one A LOT! The thing I want to remind myself is that phrasing a complaint in glowing terms doesn't change the fact that it's a complaint! If I say I'm "challenged" by something that represents a GOOD challenge (like setting myself a goal to go 21 days without complaining! :) then it's not a complaint. If, however, I say that dealing with telemarketers is a challenge, the "challenge" has become a code word for "pain in the butt!" I hear myself using this term frequently because it sounds so much more "upbeat"! So how about if instead, I just quit talking about dealing with telemarketers. Does talking about them really make them go away? Nope...it just gives them more of my time and energy than they've already taken! So...here's my goal...I'm going to make Tuesday, February 24, 2009 Day 1 of my Complaint Free "challenge." Anyone care to join me in this uplifting venture?

Speaking of uplifting...

A very special friend sent me this lovely "dancer." My friend, Journey, is one of the most inspirational women I've ever known. It's no surprise then that she would discover this ornament that hangs above my meditation area!

Today's "whiskers" moment: Lacey is a bit camera-shy. It's almost impossible to get a picture of her face. She's more of a behind-the-scenes kitty who is always glad to lend a helping paw for typing assignments!

Sending you wishes for happy thoughts and complaint-free days!