Thursday, October 14, 2010

An Autumn Retreat Beckons

Saturday morning will find 49 of my church buddies and me breathing in the peace and autumn air at Pere Marquette State Park at the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. What a euphoric place of trees and rocky hillsides and small, wild critters. The greenest of baby lizards and the most luxuriant of tree tops can be found there.

It's also a primo place for relocating your inner peace and joy. And I'm reveling in the anticipation ~

Linda

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Let Color Ease Your Stress

Ongoing stress can turn our whole world to shades of gray, both emotionally and physically. We neither see nor think in colors. Conversely, we can oten lighten the emotional load through simple splashes from the color wheel.
  1. Use Crayons to write the reminders you put on your refrigerator door.
  2. Tie a red scarf or bandana around your neck, head, wrist or ankle. Each time you glimpse it, smile at the inner, free spirit that lives along side your practical working self.
  3. Stick a large canary-yellow posterboard on your office wall, and with the help of clear tape, use it as a bulletin board. Add a few children's stickers for fun.
  4. Choose bright, kindergarten colors, i.e., red, yellow, green, orange, blue and purple, for your knitting and crocheting projects. (Making gifts for others that way will futher lighten your mood.)
  5. Find a fairly smooth rock and using those bright markers, draw a smiling or silly face on it. Keep that Joy Rock on your desk or chair-side table as a good luck token.
 Let both the colors and the creativity lift and warm your heart.

Linda

Monday, October 4, 2010

When Selflessness is Selfish

One more life lesson came my way last night. A dear, longtime friend and I had had trouble finding a good time for her to bring a "quesadilla party" to my kitchen. So rather than cancel yet again, I didn't let on that I was wiped out from a minor touch of something unpleasant and short on sleep because of it.

Have you ever thought, "I can do this. I don't want to rain on our party again!" - and stuck with the plan? It feels like a giving thing. My friend and I could still have our quesadilla feast and watch "Treasure Island." All I had to do is sit in my chair. The thing is, I never considered that maybe I wouldn't be very good company.

This morning we talked on the phone about something entirely different. But her first words were about last night: "You should have told me you weren't feeling good! I watched you during the evening and you looked like you were dragged out and miserable."

Hmmm ... I'd say the lesson to be learned from that is that if I'm not feeling up to a fun evening, I'll probably be lousy company. Which is pretty much a lose/lose situation.

The next time I'll consider my friend's comfort and enjoyment as well as mine and make my decision based on that rather than my usual "tough it out" philosophy.

Thank you, Vera ~

Linda