on disaster...

Have you ever had a disaster in your life, or been witness to disaster? I am sure we can all answer "yes" that question. After all, we have all heard of the events that took place on 9/11, we have all witnessed the devastation brought on my tornado's, hurricanes, tsunami's, and earthquakes. Perhaps some of us have even lived through these events, and survived to talk about them. But today I realized that a disaster does not have to be a big, major catastrophie. A disaster can be a small event in our daily lives that throws us off of our normal schedule. I mean, I am not sure that we can call misplacing our car keys a disaster, but we can call a fender bender, or a sudden illness a disaster in our personal life a disaster. After all, an event such as that can throw us off of our normal daily routine. And what to do if we run into a disaster one day? Do we flip out, and think the world is crashing down around us, or do we keep things in perspective, know that it can always be worse, and make a plan to get back on track? I hope the later! Personal disasters can be traumatic events. We can, even momentarily, think there may be no way out of the situation we are faced with. We may cry, scream, and crumble, and all of that is ok, HOWEVER, what we need to do after the meltdown is regroup, recompose, and refocus. Just like a disaster of great proportion, we need to devise our own Red Cross and Homeland Security plan. We need to breakdown and prioritize all of the steps we need to take to get through the disaster, and find ourselves back on top. To refocus we need to have a clear mind, and a final goal in place; something that we can focus on to know we will get through our disaster, and know that life must go on. If God set us to it, He will see us through it! As I have wrote about in the past, we are not given more than we can handle, so take baby steps until you reach the finish line. Disaster is not the end, but perhaps a situation that forces us to think and act differently then we normally would, or a new beginning. Disaster can bring us down, but it can also lift us to new limits, new highs, new peaks, one's that we never thought we could reach!

Today's activity: make a disaster plan
By definition: a natural or man-made event that negatively sets us off track or affects life

Ever think about making a generic disaster plan for yourself? Not a plan that is carved in stone, but rather a guideline or outline of what you would or could do in the event that a personal disaster takes place. While we don't ever know when a disaster may take place, we can train our minds to be prepared for a disaster at any time. First, we need to remember that WE CAN GET THROUGH a negative situation. Then, after we realize that, we need to breathe, and make a plan. I have a tendency to break down, or compartmentalize things in my head, then I prioritize them. I find this way of thinking to be very helpful to me. At then end of  the day, I can take a quick mental inventory of my day, be sure I have crossed all of the critical things off of my list, and know that anything else can be addressed at a future time. The same can take place for a personal disaster. If a disaster takes place, take care of the critical things first; your health, and then the health of others that may be involved. Health, mental and physical, are the most important. If those two items are in order, you will have the strength to address all other issues that may come your way. Today I encourage you to think about a personal plan of disaster. Create a guideline in your head, or on paper, to reinforce your plan. Again, we know life happens when we least expect it, but if we are healthy and strong we CAN get through a personal disaster, no matter how big or how small. Have a plan in place, and activate as necessary! Go, do, be! xo

on being scared...

If you follow my blog, I am sure you have noticed there was quite a hault in my progress over the past year. I started out strong, and tried to make the committment of blogging 5 times a week. For the most part, I was pretty consistent with my work, that is, until April set in, and then things pretty much went downhill. Recently I put some thought into why I wandered away from something I enjoy so much; my blog, and writing. I took mental inventory of the past several months in my life: in April of last year I was preparing to finish school. I was busy with projects, and deadlines. I was preparing for finals and graduation. That took up a great deal of time, and energy. Then, and I am happy to report, I graduated! I was super excited and proud of my accomplishment. After graduation I was ready to begin a new adventure...a BIG GIRL job, but guess what? The job was not ready for me. After countless resumes mailed, interviews, and calls, I was unable to find a job in my field of choice. So then...I became very depressed, and saddened by the fact that I was ready for the world, but the world was not ready for me! Summer came and went, and finally in September, I landed my dream job! I began working in right after Labor Day, and my life became crazy. I was busy learning new tasks, a new environment, and managing a new staff. But in the back of my mind I still thought about my blog, and how much I missed it. I then began to recognize my fear, or being scared to open my blog and write. I felt I had fallen of course, and I was scared, and due to the time I had taken off, I was ashamed to admit I was not following one of my dreams, my blog. The holidays came and went, and well, I still was not blogging! But then something happened....everyday I began to think about my writing and how much I missed it. I began to think about how I NEED to write because it is a creative outlet for me, and being creative keeps me alive in so many other areas in my life. Writing and my blog began to show up in many places; friends telling me to write a book, random topics popping into my head, wondering if I even remembered the password to my blog! I guess the universe was telling me...it was time to write again! So, when February 29th came around, I thought to myself..."Self, what better day to re-start your blog, than today...an extra day of life that we are given!" And I did it! I was scared, and kinda still am. After all, what if I don't have time to write everyday, or what if I can't think of topics to write about. But guess what?...for today all is good. I am writing, I have a topic to write about, and I am scared no more!

Today's activity: being scared
By definition: being nervous, worried, or anxious

Is there anything you have been scared about recently, so you just keep putting off thinking about it, or addressing the issue? Is there anything you keep pushing under the carpet, but no matter how swiftly you move your broom, the carpet keeps popping up? Maybe you are scared of the things you have been putting off. Perhaps you think too much time has passed, and now how could you possibly pick up where you left off? Well, I am here to tell you...you CAN pick up where you left off. You CAN take baby steps, putting your fear aside, and before you know it, the emotion of being scared is quickly overpowered by the emotion of being powerful, and making way on the goal you set out to do. Who really cares if you started to write that book 2 years ago, but haven't touched it in 6 months? Who really cares if you started a diet 3 mornths ago, but fell off the wagon? Who really cares if you planned to write a letter to your elementary school friend, but just haven't had the time or energy to do it? The bottom line is...YOU CAN START TODAY! Today I encourage you to not look at what you have not accomplished, just stay focused on what IS possible. Before you know it, fear and being scared will no longer exist, but you will soon be surrounded by countless numbers of projects and tasks that you have completed, because you are scared no more! It is easy, just pick up the pen, just turn on the computer, or just start with one healthy meal. One second, one minute, one hour, one day at a time you can make your dreams come true! Trust me, after all, I AM blogging again, and it feels great! xo

on sunny....

During these mostly gloomy days of winter my eyes have been attracted one particular color, like they have not been attracted to before. This magical color is: YELLOW! I have never really been attracted to yellow so strongly in the past. I mean, I adore the sun, and it makes me happy. I love a yellow tulip, and I prefer mustard far more than ketchup. But recently, like maybe over the past week or so, I have fallen in love with this beautiful hue! Maybe I have been afraid of this color, after all, since the time my daughter was a baby, every time she wore the color yellow, she ended up getting stains all over her clothing, so maybe subconsciously I have stayed away from this sunny delight! Who knows, and I can tell you I am no longer questioning my dislike for the color any longer. Just the other day, I was in my favorite 'big box' store when I ran across a scarf with bright yellow lemons all over it. I was so attracted to this scarf, I quickly ran over and picked one up to buy. The scarf made me smile, and if you know me, you know the LAST thing I need is another scarf! But, I purchased the scarf, and I am wearing it today, and I feel happy in it! Just yesterday I was working on one of the art projects, that has been collecting dust on my dining table, when I decided the project needed a splash of yellow on it to brighten it up, and so the project has a splash of yellow on it, too!
Then today, while driving into work, I heard the song "Mellow Yellow"...you know the one..."they call me Mellow Yellow". So now I'm beginning to think...have I heightened my awareness to the color YELLOW, or is YELLOW really all the new rage?!?!? Who really knows, but if YELLOW is the new rage, I am super excited about this sunny breakthrough!

Today's activity: discover the color YELLOW

Today I encourage you to discover or rediscover the color YELLOW! Yellow is such an amazing hue, from its warm gold tones, to its buttery mild tones. Yellow makes my skin feel warm, makes my mouth want to smile, and makes my heart skip a beat! Yellow corn makes my chicken look yummier, and yellow lemonade quenches my thirst! What does yellow do you for? Do you love it or hate it? Does it makes you smile and warm your soul? Look at yellow in a way that you never have before, and then think for a moment...what would life be like if we all lived in Yellow Submarine!