on what's in a name...

So, at birth, we were all given a name. Whether we like our names or not, our parents gave us names that they either loved, reminded them of someone/some place/some thing, perhaps was a beloved family member, or the name of their hero/heroin. For that, I truly appreciate my name. My birth name is Michelle Ann, and being born in the late 60's, I cannot help but think that I was most probably named after the Beattles song: Michelle My Bell! Over the years, I have had a love/hate relationship with my name. I often times like my middle name more than my first name. Many people say I don't 'look like' a Michelle. For some odd reason, many, many,many people call me Kim, and I cant quite figure that one out! But whatever the case, I am Michelle Ann, the name that my parents gave me, or am I??? Several years back, I was given the nickname Pink, but my college friends. I love the name Pink, after all, I am Pink! But I continued to think about things that I like, and I listen to the words that people speak to me. Many times people say I am like a flower, who is blooming. I take that as a very big compliment, as I love flowers, and I think flowers are amazing, unique, and beautiful...oh, and MOST times they smell good too! So what if my last name were Flowers, rather than what it is?!?!? How cool would that be? I would LOVE IT! So then I'm thinking, hmmm....maybe my name could be Michelle Flowers, nice, but still didn't really  jazz me. Then a friend of mine had a baby, and named her Daisy! Now we are talking....why couldn't my name be Daisy? Daisy Flowers?!?!?! We are getting closer to being excited! And then I was talking to another friend of mine. I told her the thoughts about my made-up name. I was telling her about Daisy Flowers, and how cool it would be to have that a name like then, when she said....you are: Daisy P. Flowers, and the P is for Pink! Yes, yes, yes...Yay, yay, yay...that is IT! I am, at least in dreams, Daisy P. Flowers! I love my made up name, Daisy P. Flowers. I can picture myself sitting behind a vintage typewriter, sporting an editors cap with a HUGE daisy coming out of it, with a name plate on my desk, that reads: Daisy P. Flowers! xo

Today's activity: what is your made-up name?

So how do you feel about your name, your birth name that is? Do you like it? Love it? Hate it? How did your parents come about naming you? Does your name tie back to a song, a loved one, or just a lovely combination of letters? Let's pretend you could pick your name...would you select the name your parents gave you? If so, great...you are lucky! If not, start thinking about what your made-up name could be. Do you hear people say you remind them someone, or something? Do you have a favorite color? Is there a food or drink that speaks of YOU, (you know Im sure Margarita didn't start out as a slushy cocktail!!!). Do you wish you had a more simple, or more sophisticated name? Would you name yourself after a famous actor or actress? Start thinking about this. You may not come up with your made-up name right away, but what is the rush? You may want to play with different words, until you find a combination of words that speaks of you. You may want to write out your made-up name, and see how it feels to you, feel free to tweak as necessary! This is a fun and playful activity...pretend you are flipping thru a book of "A to Z Baby Names" and see what fits you best. While we may never change birth names, we certainly can have fun creating our inner child! and here she is...Daisy P. Flowers ready for duty!

on the smell of color...

Have you ever gone through life smelling different scents along the way, and then something triggers in your mind, and suddenly that particular scent reminds you of a color? Come on, I know you have...tell me you have! Tell  me, it is not just crazy me who thinks this way! Well, allow me to share with you this story...just the other day I was walking through one of the hallways at work. I work in a large outpatient healthcare institution, so there are many corridors, and lots and lots of visitors! As I walked down this hallway, which appeared to be fairly empty, I was taken back by a smell. Not a super favorable smell, like chocolate chip cookies, but not a terribly bad smell either. While I could not, and still cannot, place my finger on the smell, or the origin of it, I did suddenly have the color of olive green flash through my mind. This got me thinking...do we smell in color? I guess to some extent it is true, we do. For example, if we smell roses, we may associate that smell with the color red, for red roses. If we smell fresh cut grass, we may associate that scent with the color green, as grass is green. Both those seem pretty obvious to me. What really took me by surprise was how quickly I associated this random scent with the color olive green...crazy! I have heightened my awareness around this, and on a daily basis I try to associate smell with color. It is tricky, but for me it works. I wonder if it works for you, as well.....

Today's activity: the smell of color

Today I encouragae you to take note of the smells you might encounter throughout the day, and see if your mind asssociates them with any particular color. Does the smell of strawberries remind you of the color red? Does the smell of fresh air remind you of the color blue, blue sky? Today I encourage you to walk through life with a new eyes, or a new sniffer, if you will! Heighten your awareness to the scents you encounter and see if the smells spark any color(s) for you. If this trick doesn't work for you, then the worst that can happen is life goes on. However, if this DOES work for you, just think of the possiblities...are will be living in a world of scented colored rainbows! Peace....