Trust in Yourself

Never underestimate your own abilities. Give yourself permission to trust your own instincts. Let nothing stand in the way, especially yourself, in the pursuit of your own greatness. Let the sun shine upon your face, and allow the rain to wet your skin. Keep marching to your own tune. Simply ...trust in yourself.

Perfect Imperfection

I find it intriguing how nature in its original and untouched state is uniquely beautiful and perfect. However we all too often fail to see our own exquisite perfection; condemning and altering our own uniqueness if it doesn't fit the conventional or constructed ideal. Imperfection is the authentic perfection of beauty.

New Year, New You, New Hope!

"We rarely succeed at anything unless we have fun doing it." ~Rev. John Naus

Have a most wonderful holiday everyone!

Wishing you peace, love and joy.

Bedside Manner

Bedside Manner is a term that describes how well a physician can communicate with their patients. A doctor with a good bedside manner is known for their good communication skills with empathy, compassion and an understanding of the patient’s pain. A doctor with poor bedside manner is typically known to be abrupt, dismissive to the patient’s fears, and can easily offend their patients with a sometimes borderline abusive behavior. Fortunately many medical schools are now offering courses to practice a more empathetic approach to their patients. Studies have shown that poor bedside manner can affect the quality of care that a patient receives which may actually cause patients to perceive more pain if the patient is stressed with anxiety and fear. A good bedside manner may help patients recover more quickly through positive attitude.

I think there's a lot to be said for this term, universally through every profession. Embracing the opportunity to see through the eyes of another and be compassionate and empathetic to those whose  burdens differ from our own. Perhaps we can't relate, but do we have the ability to rise above the differences and step into another person’s world for just a moment? Especially during the rushed holidays and challenging economic times. Are we capable of understanding their pain enough to be positive and supportive?  I've been in the professional world for several years, working with all walks of life and professionals at varying levels. I've found that those who practice a loving and good bedside manner also maintain healthier, stronger and more geniune professional and personal relationships. At the end of the day, we all have areas that we uniquely experience as weakness and pain. It's in the kindness, love and compassion that is brilliant and wise, ...and is the true and natural healer of the human spirit.

Most Important Days of Our Life

"The two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you figure out why you were." ~unknown

Breathe In, Breathe Out ...and Smile

It's Friday, which is just as good as any other reason to promote positive thoughts and remove all possible negative energy and stressors away from the weekend.  Here's a few inspirational quotes to help kick off your weekend in good spirits.

"Picture yourself placing your problem inside a pale, yellow balloon, letting it go, watching it drift until it is a tiny pastel dot in the sky." ~ Barbara Markoff

"There's an old saying that you can't have a war when one side doesn't show up. Be that side. Do what you have to to address the situation and then walk away from the drama. Not only do you give yourself (and the problem) the greatest chance for a successful outcome, more important, you protect your peace of mind – the most valuable gain of all." ~ Cheryl Richardson

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh

"You can't look at a sleeping cat and be tense." ~ Jane Pauley

“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh

"It is impossible to keep a straight face in the presence of one or more kittens."~ Cynthia E. Varnado

The Philosophy of Achievement

"What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve." ~ Napoleon Hill

This is a video clip of the very famous Napoleon Hill where he talks about the wisdom shared to him by the billionaire Andrew Carnegie some one hundred years ago. The video is an oldie, and a little dry in its delivery but the message is timeless. The philosophy is exactly the same as it was, and will always remain the same: Regardless of who you or where you came from, you can achieve anything that you desire if you believe it. It's a seven minute video clip, but the message that Hill states is very powerful ...and if applied can be life changing. Enjoy.

Metamorphosis

I just want to give a big shout out to the readers who responded about my recent post, Breaking Free From the Routine and Into Your Best Life and shared inspiring insight to their experiences in discovering their passions. I received lots of emails  sharing creative ways in dealing with recent job loss, realizing it as an opportunity to create major changes centered around utilizing their passions and talents. It's incredibly encouraging to hear so many turning loss into an opportunity to living out your best life!  Several readers also said they found it as a sort of metamorphosis and a fresh opportunity to begin a new career where they felt more fulfulled. Albeit the financial struggle, they said they lost jobs that were primarily providing a paycheck that was just getting them by and provided very little personal satisfaction in the first place. Readers also said the loss was a sort of hidden wake-up call to start looking at their lifelong talents and passions they’ve suppressed for several years, and were far too busy to even think about before that point. I'll be the first to admit that it's not always easy to match our passions with our paychecks; however I do believe that sometimes a change in lifestyle and simplifying our lives can make the journey a little easier so we can focus on goals fueled by desire rather than filling our lives with just more stuff. I think it’s one of the most vital and incredible accomplishments that each of us can make in our lifetime: The awakening of our souls to our unique talents and apply them to a passionate and fulfilling career that allows us to live our best life!  Thanks everyone! My heart is with you in fulfilling your every dream!

Ten Signs She's Just Not Into You

I'm sure we've all heard of the book or seen the movie; He's Just Not That Into You. Well ladies, I know from experience we all have a few stories of our own to tell from the opposite perspective. This is all in good humor, but I must admit there is certainly an element of truth to it. There's always an exception to the rule of the emotionally healthy, sweet, nice guys to remain friends with, as I have a few ex-boyfriends from past long term relationships that I still deeply respect and admire to this day. However if a guy has acted disrespectful to a woman she’s usually more interested in moving on and clearing the air for a new and healthier relationship. We've all heard about these guys, and unfortunately may have even dated one or two. It goes like this: you date him only a few short months, but long enough to realize that your life was much more pleasant before he entered into the picture. So eventually you break it off reminding yourself you’ve been treated far better in the past and there's a world of really great guys out there who will treat you far better in the future. Unfortunately he's the one who just won't seem to completely go away under the guise of "friends" or attempts to convince you that he is "doing you a favor" in some fictional and over-embellished way that he has created in only his mind. In fact he’s usually the guy who needs to continue contact with all his ex-girlfriends, except the intelligent ones who have no desire for his dysfunctional attention. He's the guy who comes up with various reasons to reach you, through text, email, and I've seen one go as far as leaving disparaging comments on the ex-girlfriend's blog. Hmm ...would that be blog-stalking? And guys, if you were dating a nice woman, she probably didn't tell you the full extent of what she really thought of you, and you probably don't ever really want to know. Just trust that she broke it off with you because she wasn't in to you anymore. So here are ten clear indicators that your ex-girlfriend is no longer into you and it's time to move on. Trust me on this one guys, it's for your own good!

10. She broke up with you. This is a clear message that she's just not interested.  Additionally she's made no attempts to contact you after she broke it off.  That should be a really big clue.

9. She has no interest in being friends or getting together for lunch. Get over it guys, she just doesn't like you anymore. That's why she broke up with you in the first place, so asking her to lunch as friends is probably not a good idea. Neither is making up random reasons to communicate with her.

8. She avoids any place that she thinks you might hang out.  Do you think it's merely a coincidence that you never see her anywhere? This is clearly an indicator that she does not even want to run into you. If she's avoiding even hanging out in the same town, this girl is done.

7. She doesn't text, email or respond to your creative ways of contacting her. Guys, this is one that you really need to stop because the more you continue to do it, the worse you appear in her eyes. One thing you should never do is send her negative messages thinking you'll gain her attention by insulting her.  It will surely backfire on you because she'll just think you're creepy. Trust me, she's caught onto your game, so just stop bothering her because it will only make you look like a jerk.

6. The majority of her friends had no idea that she dated you and they didn't even know you broke up. Um, need I say more on this one?

5. She's interviewing for jobs in another state. This is a girl who's moved on and has absolutely no desire to be around you in any capacity.

4. She enjoyed spending time with her friends ...more than you.  Especially if you had an over inflated ego around her and didn't treat her right. She probably put on a smile for awhile, but she broke it off with you for a really good reason, because she clearly was not having a good time.

3. She doesn't care what you are doing or what's going on in your life. This is a girl who has clearly written you off. She's not interested in what you're up to or where you hang out.  As the famous Clark Gable once put it, ...frankly she just doesn't give a damn.

2. She said you lacked real integrity and respect.   If she didn't think you were a respectful or honest and upstanding guy,  it was never going to happen.  A woman has to respect and admire the integrity of a man in order to really fall in love with him. So guys, if you don't at least have those qualities in check, you'll never win her heart. She's going to figure that out quicker than you can say, "I shouldn't have been such an ignorant jerk."

1. She's moved on. Especially if she's got another guy in her life. At this point if you are still trying to win her heart, give it up, because by now it's far better to start looking for new love, and maybe even a good time to schedule a therapist.

Breaking Free from the Routine and Into Our Best Life

I've heard Oprah speak this phrase several times, and she even devotes part of her website and "O" Magazine to exploring and Living Your Best Life. It seems that some people are living exactly what they feel they were meant to be doing and make a terrific living at it, while others of us are continually trying to figure out what it is. It seems like it would be the easiest question in the world to answer, "What do I want?"  I think for so many of us, we've consumed our lives with so much of the superficial, the ego, the money, the stuff, and what we think we're supposed be doing, that we become disoriented in a very thick fog of confusion. In all of that we consume ourselves with gaining approval and impressing others and completely forget about what makes ourselves genuinely happy. I know that I've struggled with that same question especially after experiencing loss, and wondering "so what's next, and "what do I want?" Sometimes it seems so difficult to break free from our routine than to embark on something exciting and new. Perhaps there's a bigger purpose behind the meaning of loss that can sometimes be that silver lining in disguise, a reality check, or that integral wake-up call to begin living our best life.

Everything is Amazing and Nobody's Happy

A friend of mine posted this on Facebook, and I just had to post it. It's so true, especially for those of us who grew up without cell phones, ATM's or voicemail etc. Enjoy, it's funny...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r1CZTLk-Gk

Love in the Afternoon

I'm posting this story that I wrote back in the first week of launching my blog. It's one of my favorites with a flavor of inspiration. I didn't have many readers at the time, so I'm sharing it again...

Ah, love in the afternoon...and I'm not talking about the 1957 movie set in Paris with Audrey Hepburn and Gary Cooper. I'm also not talking about the passionate and starry-eyed kind of love between two people. I'm talking about the pure and simple love of life. My sentiment is that our English language genuinely could use at least 150 more words for the countless definitions around the word love. For instance, there's the obvious lovers love, but there's also a love for one's family, or love for a pet or love for the gorgeous sunny weather today. I wonder why our English language is so limited around the nearly endless meanings related to that precious and overused word? We experience love in so many ways, and on so many different levels. Do you ever notice that those who genuinely embrace and love life, that life genuinely embraces and loves them back? In fact that very thought is epitomized in a very interesting French film I saw recently, titled Paris Ja T'aime. The movie tells several different stories about the various forms of love, such as between a mother and her son, or two ex lovers, or between friends. But I found the most memorable story in the movie was about a single American woman who vacationed alone in Paris. Her first experiences were that of loneliness, where everywhere she went, all she saw were people in love. She wished that she could share her all of new experiences with her own lover as well. One afternoon while she was sitting alone on a bench in a lovely Parisian park, she had a very significant epiphany. She was enjoying and admiring all of the sights and sounds of the activities and people around her. In that moment, she realized that in all of her loneliness, she had been ignorant and missed a very crucial and obvious love that had been there all along; that she had fallen in love with Paris, ...and Paris had fallen in love with her.

A Walk Through the Hood

I took these pictures walking through my neighborhood the other day.  I love my hood!

I love the eclectic, old buildings with vibrant colors that line the streets with lots of adorable little shops.

A few blocks away a neighborhood kitty taking a stroll.

Pet chickens (not mine)

This picture is taken from Sunset Hill park on the top of the hill. I can never get enough of these views....

A Smile For Friday

I was loading the dishwasher yesterday and was thoroughly convinced that I was having a bad day, until I looked down and was surprised to see this little smiley face. Apparently the glass is indeed half full ...so full that it spilled over and dripped a little smile for me!

Snow Lake

When I need a nice break and want to get some peace and serenity, I love to take advantage of the gorgeous hiking trails that we have here in the Pacific Northwest. Here's some pictures I took on a hike I went on recently to Snow Lake.  It's located here in in the Alpine Lakes Wildnerness area, and has breathtaking views just about any time of year. I love how it seems as though you can see forever from here. This was obviously a great stopping point for lunch.

Gorgeous trees line the Snow Lake trail with these vibrant fall leaves.

Views from the trail looking across to Denny Mountain.

Simple Calm...

I've heard in the news recently that classical music is being used by many retailers who are located in areas of high crime. They blast the classical music through outdoor speakers to repel loiterers and vandals from their buildings. Studies show that certain types of music can produce dopamine in the brain which can positively alter ones mood, and apparently this ingenious plan has proven to be very effective. The response has been that people either love it and it improves their mood, or hate it and they leave the premises. The vandalism in those areas has decreased significantly, and as a result this trend has now become part of a larger plan to deter crime in a more gentler fashion. I guess possibly this could be an ideal example of how we handle conflict on a more personal level as well. I've always held a firm belief against reacting with aggressive or ruthless words to resolve conflict, and to instead use the kill 'em with kindness concept. In the same way that calm music can alter the mood for the general public, perhaps calm words spoken more frequently from the heart are the answer to resolving our own personal conflicts and sometimes callous attitudes overall.

Haven't Met You Yet!

I was watching the Today Show this morning and saw Michael Buble performing this song from his new album called Crazy Love. It has inspiring lyrics about hope and the potential for true love. I think he has a very good point in his interview, "...for all the single people out there who think there's no-one out there for you, there is, you just haven't met them yet!" As a single girl, it's a great reminder in staying optimistic in knowing that there's promise of true love for all of us. So on that note, here's his song titled, Haven't Met You Yet, I hope it provides my single friends out there with some optimism too, …and gosh he's cute!

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Stuff I Love

Happy Friday! Today I'm listing a few of those special little things in life that I'm grateful for. The unique moments and things that just make me feel happy.

Big puppy paws
A really good sandwich
Awareness
A good laugh with a friend
Smiling at a stranger and they smile back
Complimenting someone and seeing their face light up
Receiving a genuine compliment
Holding a really small kitten
A relaxing nap on a lazy afternoon
Stomping and crunching fall leaves
Watching a squirrel run with a nut in it’s mouth
Hiking
Crisp fall air
Talented street musicians
Relaxing bubble bath
Watching people chat on the street while their dogs play with each other
Standing on the beach and watching everyone around me enjoy it too
Colorful fall leaves
Summer evenings
Geniune honesty
Good friends
Great hair days
The satisfaction and great feeling after a long run
Walking in the snow
Back and foot rubs
Waking up after a great nights rest
A really red sunset
Outdoor Sunday Markets
Big hugs
Good intentions

Paradise by Anna Graceman

Have you seen this? This talented little girl wrote the words to this song. It's beautifully done, and her message is clear about appreciating and taking good care of our planet. I could not resist posting it, her words are inspiring!



Lyrics to Paradise
By Anna Graceman 2009 ©

Fields of green, and skies are blue
And the Salty seas, are sparkling too
Music is my laughter, the sun shines in the sky
Hope you'll hear my soul sing tonight

Paradise, paradise, it's a dream that I've dreamt before.
Paradise, paradise, it's a word that I've heard of, Paradise

Birds are flying high and dogs are running fast
I think this world is beautiful but dont know how long it will last

Paradise, paradise, it's a dream that I've dreamt before.
Paradise, paradise, it's a word that I've heard of, Paradise

Sweet sandy beaches and the wild forest reaches
Palm trees sway, hope they'll stay
Stars are in the sky and the black, black night
Dew drops on the flowers and the horses ride in flight

Paradise, paradise, it's a dream that I've dreamt before.
Paradise, paradise, it's a word that I've heard of, Paradise

We all know some day it won't be the same way
Were taking it for granted and I know that you'll regret it
I'm not going to say it twice
Cause we already live in paradise!

Paradise, paradise! It's a dream that I've dreamt before.
Paradise, paradise! It's a world that we live in, Paradise
This World that we live on is Paradise