Focus on the good . . . .

One of my all-time favorite quotes is "To experience true joy is to feel yourself smiling on inside." I love it because I feel it. (Not all the time, but often.) Do you ever feel it? It's a warm, sweet feeling of peace that will not only show on you, but it will look good on you! Really good! It's when you can put worries aside, let go of the fear, and feel simple gratitude. The tension melts, the resentful attitude fades, your face relaxes, and you feel your soul being nourished. Your soul is who you really are, so it deserves this kind of attention!

So let go (for just a minute) of your daily commitments, challenges and stressors. As your day unfolds today.......put your challenges aside, and take a minute to focus on the good! Fill your heart with gratitude, and begin to feel the fresh energy that will rush in. I promise, it will bring you greater clarity, and an awesome sense of absolute contentment. You deserve it! Take 10 minutes at the end of your day to calm your busy mind. Breathe. You'll feel better, you'll sleep better, and I guarantee, tomorrow will rock!

....breathe, 

and focus on the good.

End-of-the-day questions . . . .

Asking ourselves questions and answering them honestly is something we can all do to understand ourselves better, and to help us realize that we can do SOMETHING every day to make the world a better place. But sometimes we get all wrapped up in our own little world.....walking through our day with blinders on. It doesn't take a lot. Asking ourselves these simple questions can help bring awareness as to how we are spending our day. Are we doing what we can to be kind? To forgive? To try a little harder? Below is a quiz from Dr. Leo Buscaglia's book Born for Love that will help point out ways in which you can show more love to others. Remember, you can re-take this quiz any time. This is one quiz you can never fail!

Is anyone a little happier because I came along today?

Yes___ No___

Did I leave any concrete evidence of my kindness, any sign of my love?

Yes___ No___

Did I try to think of someone I know in a more positive light?

Yes___ No___

Did I help someone to feel joy, to laugh, or at least, to smile?

Yes___ No___

Have I attempted to remove a little of that rust that is corroding my relationships?

Yes___ No___

Have I gone through the day without fretting over what I don't have and celebrating the things I do have?

Yes___ No___

Have I forgiven others for being less than perfect?

Yes___ No___

Have I forgiven myself?

Yes___ No___

Have I learned something new about life, living or love?

Yes___ No___

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around."

-Leo F. Buscaglia

Happy Thanksgiving, my friends!

xo, Connie

Gratitude . . . .

With Thanksgiving approaching tomorrow, many of us will be spending time with family. It promises to be a wonderful day of plenty, with lots of good food, football, family and relaxation. It's a day off to celebrate the bounty, and to remind ourselves of all we are grateful for, so I'm hoping that we don't forget to count our blessings. Here's an easy one.....how about being grateful that Thanksgiving is not a particularly expensive holiday? There are no gifts involved, so we should remember to be thankful for that! I hope you are grateful for the person who is kind enough to cook the annual bird for you. All of the images of a perfect turkey are golden brown on the outside, and juicy on the inside, so it's quite possible that the person preparing your meal is feeling a little bit of pressure! Don't forget to thank them when you are enjoying your feast! 

Did you know that being grateful is good for your health? People who are habitually grateful tend to be more optimistic, they enjoy life to a higher degree, and they appreciate things with little effort. It's an amazing resource that we all have, and we can use it to improve our quality of life! So when the holiday is over, try to remember to make gratefulness a part of your daily life. Counting your blessings doesn't just cheer you up -- it can improve your health and well being.

"Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart."

-Seneca

Highlight of the day . . . .

I recently came across a article about a study revealing that people became gradually happier and happier over a six-month period, by simply writing down three good things that happened to them at the end of each day. When my kids were growing up, we did something very similar at the evening dinner table. We called it the "highlight of the day", and we would go around the table and take turns sharing one thing that we considered to be the best thing about our day. It allowed us to focus on the good, and to take a break from discussing our daily challenges. Yesterday, my 3 highlights were:

• Reconnected with a friend.
• Enjoyed a lovely dinner & conversation with my husband and my son.
• Won a game of tennis.

You can start writing down the good things that happen. A simple, small shift of focus towards gratefulness will bring great results and you can start it today.

What was your highlight?

Say thank you! . . . .

Photo via Smashing Magazine

When you give to others, you give to yourself . . . .

When you love others, it is YOU who will have an amazing life. Give love to others through kindness, encouragement, support, gratitude, or any good feeling, and it comes back to you and multiplies itself, bringing love to every other area of your life, including your health, money, happiness, and career. Give negativity to others, through criticism, anger, impatience, or any bad feeling, and you will receive that negativity back - guaranteed! And as the negativity comes back, it multiplies itself, attracting more negativity, which effects the rest of your life.

Trying to change another person is not giving love! Thinking you know what is best for another person is not giving love! Thinking you are right and another person is wrong is not giving love! Criticizing, blaming, complaining, nagging, or finding fault with another person is not giving love! And get this!!!.....looking for the things you love in a relationship more than noticing the negative things, will appear as if something incredible has happened to the other person. . . . all because you chose to focus on their good. How great is THAT? You win! You now get to enjoy the positive about that person! Why would you choose anything different?


You can't receive anything in life unless you give it first! Whatever you give, you receive, so it's not about the other person at all:  it's all about you! 

You have to be happy to receive the happy versions of other people!

Partial text from the book

The Power

Photo by Nicole Hill Gerulat

From the bottom of my heart . . . .

There is a saying, "Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone." I truly believe that. Gratitude should be expressed! When you feel gratitude and don't express it, it is like wrapping a gift and not giving it. So today, my gift is wrapped and I want to give it to you. I am so grateful for those of you who visit me here at this little blog of mine. I'm grateful for the emails that I receive from those of you who want to tell me that I've made a difference in your day by giving you a drop of encouragement, an ounce of hope, or have perhaps reminded you of some small thing that has set the tone in how you go about your day. I am completely grateful for that, and it truly is the reason why I post on this site. Nothing makes me happier. I have been rewarded in more ways than I could have ever imagined, and it has been proven to me that you truly do get what you give. 

Just over a year ago, I wrote a post entitled "Who inspires you?", and today I just wanted to reiterate how grateful I am for all the people in my life, but would like to add all of you to that list. So to those of you who visit me here.....you are the reason I post on this site! It is you who inspires me! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!    xo, Connie

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. 
-Melody Beattie 

Happy Thanksgiving!


Photo by Nick Vorderman

Graphic via the notebook doodles

I'm getting there . . . .

• Get back on track after a long holiday weekend.  √
• Find new inspiration.  
• Complete one random act of kindness......(anonymously).
• Eat healthy after a weekend of complete indulgence.  
• Say thank you - (out loud).  √
• Pay attention.  √
• Give one thing away.
• Nurture one friendship.  √
• Fix something.
• Laugh.  √
• Clear my inbox.  
• Enjoy the journey.  √

Have a wonderful day!  √

Sensory Deprivation . . . .

I want to go dancing and wear a dress that swirls and floats around me, and laugh. I want to feel the shimmer of silk as it glides over my arms and down my body, the joy of fingering its whispery softness. I want to sleep in my own bed and luxuriate in the cool crispness of clean sheets, and rest my head on my own pillow. And go to sleep when I want to, with all the lights out, and wake up when I'm ready. I want to stretch out on my couch under my blue-plaid afghan and listen as my favorite music seeps from the speakers and into my being, watering the parched landscape of my soul. I want to sit on my porch and sip hot coffee from my stoneware mug, and read the newspaper, and hear the dog bark at blowing leaves and trespassing squirrels. I want to answer the phone and call my friends and family and talk until we catch up on all the words we've saved for each other, and laugh. I want to hear the train hoot through Loveland, the gravel crunch in the driveway, and car doors slam as friends come to visit. And the tinkle and clink of silverware on china, the hiss and gurgle of the coffee maker. I want to feel my bare feet on the cool whiteness of my kitchen floor, and the soft blueness of my bedroom carpet. I want to see the colors, all of them, every color ever spun into existence. And white, true white, pristine and unblemished. And acres of green trees, and miles of yellow-ribbon highways, and yards of Christmas lights. And the moon. I want to smell bacon sizzling, a steak broiling, Thanksgiving dinner and my father's tomato vines. And fresh laundry. And the ocean. But more than all of this, I want to stand in the doorway of my son's room and watch him sleep. And hear him get up in the morning and see him come home at night. And touch his face and comb my fingers through his hair, and ride in his truck and eat his grilled cheese sandwiches. And watch him grow and laugh and play and eat and drive and live. Mostly, mostly, live. And put my arms around him and hold him until he laughs and says, "Mom, that's enough!" And then be free to do it again.                    

-Deborah E. Hill

The above article was written by a woman in prison. Can you imagine having all the beauty of what life has to offer taken away? 

Don't take life, 
and all it has to offer
 for granted.

From the book Highlighted in Yellow

by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

and

Rochelle Pennington


Photo via Google Images

Photo via J. Crew

Partial text from the book Live Good by Kobi Yamado

Thank you so much to the staff over at Fab Over Fifty for naming me as one of their (FAB FAVES) favorite blogs. I am truly flattered! How nice is that?

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words,

but to live by them."

-John F. Kennedy

Enjoy the gift of life . . . .

Gratitude . . . .

"In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy."

-Brother David Steindl-Rast

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."

-Melody Beattie

Happy Thanksgiving!

Look for their graces . . . .

With Thanksgiving approaching tomorrow, many of us will be spending time with family. For many of us it will be a wonderful day of plenty. . . lots of good food, football, family and relaxation. Unfortunately, many families will face situations that include uneasy feelings, turbulent situations or unnecessary drama. It is far easier to be critical of our family members and neighbors than of ourselves. When we continually judge others we do not have to look at our own weaknesses, and we have an explanation for everything that goes wrong. If you are looking at your family through a dirty window, be aware that it is quite possible that your own window is streaked, and when you clean it, your family improves dramatically. If you look through the window of blame, you will never find peace. Before you make a judgement, learn the facts and circumstances accurately. The knowledge you gain may change your opinion. Look for people's graces and not their faults. It is then, that you will find peace.

Wishing you a day full of grace & appreciation.

Amazing GRACE . . . .

It feels good to just say the word. It is described as an "elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion or action; a pleasing or attractive quality or endowment." I think of someone who has grace as having integrity as their foundation. It is someone who commands respect in a way that no others do. You can count on them! They give you their word and you know they will follow through. They will never let you down. And they honor the people around them. Now that's grace!

They are people who are successful on their own terms and never compromise, use or abuse their femininity or masculinity. Grace is a state of being when you open up to all wonders of the world. It is when you feel at peace with yourself, so much so, that you don't need to react to what is going on around you. The band U2 says it's a thought that changed the world, and that it finds goodness in everything. Grace makes people thoughtful in every way. Who wouldn't want to be thought of in this manner? When you are not needy or pushy, you will notice that people respond to you differently. You become their calm reference point. It is an atmosphere in which people want to be in.....a much more relaxed atmosphere. And when you have grace, everything is possible.

If you want to see how much more is possible in your life when you are graceful, here are four areas of your life to start with.

1. Manners:
Don’t just be polite for the sake of it. Please, say it with a genuine smile. Listen with your full attention to what the other person is saying, without putting your own story into the picture. The benchmark is "did I just make today more wonderful for that person?"

2. Morals:
Adapt the codes of conduct which give a moral backdrop to our lives. It is not a question of can I do this and not get caught, or how far can I push the boundary. The moral code is within you. The benchmark is "can I sleep peacefully tonight?"

3. Standards:
What do you stand for? What do you represent to the outside world? Standards create the structure of your life and standards are built on what you are committed to. Integrity is the foundation. The benchmark is: "how much can I be trusted?"

4. Style:
We each have our own way to express our identity in this world. Our style is a discreet language which impacts our surroundings subliminally. The beauty of your own style reflects how comfortable you are within yourself. How do you describe your style? Is your style noisy, untidy, trashy or crude? Straighten this up and start being graceful. Do you dress to display your sexuality and sensuality, or to radiate your grace? A quick test is ask yourself "what do people remember about me: what I was wearing or who I am?" The benchmark is "how much does my life flow with ease?"

“Grace is to the body, what good manners are to the mind”

-Francois de la Rochefoucauld

Partial text by Guru Kaur

You get to choose . . . .

What if we woke up in the morning and got to decide how we were going to feel for the day? Let's just say it's our decision. You get to pick ..... Excited? Happy? Sad? Motivated? Grumpy? Jealous? Angry? Ok, now let's just say that someone you knew had the power to rearrange all the people and circumstances of your life to make it happen. You'd like that, right? You'd choose happy, right?

Well, that someone who can make it happen for you, is YOU. You get to choose! I have found that what you give, is returned to you many times over. Make sure that what you are giving is good, if you want good back. If you emit anger, rage, jealousy and envy, you will receive suffering of some kind. If you emit gratitude, love, kind thoughts, words, and actions, you will bring joy into your life, and you'll begin to see the misery subside.

Three steps that will bring more to you

than you can ever imagine:

Think good thoughts.

Speak good words.

Take good actions.

Happy Friday!

Partial text content via Mike Dooley

Notes From The Universe

Who inspires you? . . . .

I could list so many people who inspire me for a number of reasons. There are the obvious ones who create music and art. The ones who take my breath away with design. The ones who speak so eloquently in front of a crowd. Writers who form words in such a compelling way that it causes me to close the book just so I can sit with the beauty of the words. I could go on and on. But today's post is on more of a personal level of appreciation in regards to those who inspire me.

I have made it a priority in my life to surround myself with people who have chosen to live their life with passion, lift others up. . . are encouraging, and who speak well of others. The people who truly inspire me have an inner beauty. They are people who motivate me. People who make me want to be a better person. People who make me laugh. People who are true to themselves. I love people who live their life with grace. Oh my goodness, I'm surrounded by these people, and I'm so grateful!

To those of you who live with passion...you inspire me. You make me want to listen.

To those of you who motivate me...I can't get enough of you!

To those of you who encourage...you will be rewarded many times over.

To those of you who have grace...I will always have room in my heart for you.

To those of you with inner beauty...never change.

To those of you who make me laugh...never leave!

To those of you who make a difference in the lives of others...you make me think about how I will be remembered, and what I can do to enhance that.

To those of you who have faced major obstacles...you have made a significant difference in my life as I watch you accomplish meaningful change.

Thank you.

I am so grateful for all the people in my life.

I love you!