What You Lose on the Roundabout May 7, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Humor, Life Balance, Life Lessons, Word Play.Tags: Life Balance, Life Lessons, Roundabout, Weekend Theme, Word Play
41 comments
When I first saw Sidey’s weekend theme ~ Swings and Roundabout ~ I didn’t know what she was on about.
So I decided to sit this one out.
Reading Col’s post, A Really Awful Spin on a Pendulum, gave me a glimmer of an inkling.
He shared an expression that no one had ever expressed or uttered before in my presence:
“What you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabout.”
As it turns out, the expression, and its vice versa, is British/Australian.
Here, in the USA, we tend to say, “you win some, you lose some.”
However you express the thought, it’s all about maintaining balance (and our sense of humor) in the face of life’s inevitable twists and turns.
A swing roundabout Google led me to an intriguing book, What You Lose on the Roundabout, written by a 57-year-old Brit misdiagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease who did just that ~ maintained her sense of humor (and got a tattoo!).
Did ya hear that Rosie? . . . she got a tattoo! 
Aah . . . that’s better!
The Anchor & The Wind April 20, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Happiness, Life Balance, Life Lessons, Mindfulness.Tags: Life Balance, Life Lessons, Mindfulness, Sail, Wind
20 comments
Contentment can be an anchor . . . keeping us moored in “safe harbors.”
Discontent can be the wind in our sails . . . pushing us
to keep moving, growing, and exploring.
Quotes to Ponder:
* Because of our routines, we forget that life is an ongoing adventure. ~ Maya Angelou
* Throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbors. Catch the tradewinds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. ~ Mark Twain
* Boats are safe in harbor, but that’s not what boats are for. ~ Michael Lillie
* Dear comerado! I confess I have urged
you onward with me, and still urge you,
without the least idea what is our destination,
Or whether we shall be victorious, or utterly quell’d and defeated.
Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass
Here’s to the dawning of a day filled with the uncertainty which arises with all exciting new adventures!
Aah . . . that’s better!
Related post: Happily Dissatisfied (Pix & Kardz)
It’s The Moment That Matters March 14, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Life Balance, Life Lessons, Meditation, Mindfulness.Tags: Breath, Life Balance, Life Lessons, Meditation, Mindfulness
46 comments
Instead of peering into the swirling mist to discern our Purpose, we can seek the purpose of each encounter by asking what we can bring to THIS moment.
Just letting people know they are loved and heard and not alone is incredibly important. Do it daily.
There are no insignificant decisions. Deciding to follow your feet out of bed in the morning is momentous. We impact others in a myriad of unseen ways.
Don’t miss the roses blooming in the garden by focusing on the thorns.
We are, each of us, a fire, a flame. No two flicker the same. We burn at our own speed and in our own time.
Ignited with passion, we mesmerize. And energize. We warm the hearts of those around us and spread light and love to all we meet.
It’s the moment that matters. We miss it if we fail to maintain our awareness of who and where we are.
Follow your breath.
It’s our connection to the wisdom within . . . the moving spirit that lights our way.
Here. Now.
Aah. . . that’s better!
Quote to Ponder: The journey between what you once were and who you are now becoming is where the dance of life really takes place. ~ Barbara DeAngelis
Artwork by Monica Stewart . . . “Unity”
Related post: The Land of In-Between (Kate Shrewsday)
Skunk! March 13, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Life Lessons, Mindfulness, Nature, People.Tags: Life Lessons, Mindfulness, People, Root beer, Skunk
48 comments
Sometimes life swamps us.
Other times it skunks us.
What should you do when you get skunked?
Wash It Off.
Wash it off as f~a~s~t as you can.
Neutralize the odor with tomato juice or lemon juice or milk or root beer . . . and wash it off.
Get into the shower, soap up, and let the stink sink down the drain.
Lather.
Rinse.
Repeat.
Don’t stop in the midst of the wash off process to phone a friend. You don’t need to ask them WHY the skunk did what the skunk did.
Stinking us up by skunking us is what skunks do.
We all get that.
You get that.
There’s no need to analyze the skunk before washing off the skunk gunk.
Just wash it off.
Lather.
Rinse.
Repeat.
As many times as it takes.
Aah . . . that’s better!
S~M~I~L~E! March 8, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Fun & Games, Gratitude, Happiness, Life Lessons.Tags: Gratitude, Happiness, Life Lessons, Mindfulness, Smile
39 comments
Take a moment.
Think of something that makes you S~M~I~L~E.
Feel that S~M~I~L~E radiating positive energy, inflating your inner tube of happiness like a balloon.
That’s it!
Now S~M~I~L~E about something else. And something else. And something else.
Go, you!
We can create happiness anytime anywhere . . . if that isn’t something to S~M~I~L~E about, what is?
A smile makes the saddest man a little happier. ~ John Gilstrap (Nathan’s Run)
Aah . . . that’s better!
Related post: Good Vibrations
Get Off The Nail January 29, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Happiness, Life Lessons, Mindfulness.Tags: Change, Happiness, Life Lessons, Mindfulness
31 comments
One day, a salesman drove up to a farmhouse to ask for directions.
As he greeted the elderly gentleman sitting in the side yard, an old dog at the farmer’s feet lifted its head and let out a low moan.
When the salesman started to ask for directions, the dog lifted its head and moaned again.
As the dog moaned a third time, the salesman asked, “What’s wrong with your dog?”
The old man looked at the dog and said, “He’s lying on a nail.”
“Lying on a nail?”
“Yep. Bothers him enough to complain about, not enough to make him move.”
Source: e-mail from unknown author
* * * * *
How often are we like that old dog? Staying put rather than making necessary changes?
* The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are. ~ J. Pierpoint Morgan
* And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. ~ Anais Nin
The Key To Life December 7, 2012
Posted by nrhatch in Books & Movies, Happiness, Life Lessons, Mindfulness.Tags: Happiness, Humor, Life Lessons, Mindfulness, Odd Life of Timothy Green
30 comments
Mom told me that happiness is the key to life.
So, when a teacher asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up, I said, “Happy.”
She said I didn’t understand the assignment.
I told her she didn’t understand life.
* * * * *
The Odd Life of Timothy Green shares the key to life with viewers in a tale filled with unexpected magic and inspiration.
In his short life, Timothy lived in the now. He didn’t argue, fuss, or fight over “nothing.”
He loved with an open heart and gave IT his all. He did the best he could, with what he had, where he was. He bloomed where he was “planted.”
He didn’t stress over imagined slights, close calls, or things outside his control. He embraced all with joy. He spread laughter like fertilizer.
He smiled like the sun.
Aah . . . that’s better!
Timothy Green is an inspiration to those of us who want to inspire others. He’s My Hero.
Don’t Worry, Make Money December 6, 2012
Posted by nrhatch in Books & Movies, Humor, Life Lessons, Mindfulness.Tags: Books, Humor, Life Lessons, Money, Richard Carlson, Shopping
34 comments
Don’t Worry, Make Money ~ Spiritual and Practical Ways to Create Abundance and More Fun in Your Life is a “bad book.”
While not devoid of good advice, it is redundant, repetitive, and full of convenient but implausible anecdotes.
With too much focus on MONEY and not enough focus on FUN.
Although marketed as “100 new strategies for living fully and worrying less,” many chapters rehash and restate what has already been said.
Much of the book is “white noise” . . . harmless, but not helpful. And pages not filled with “white noise” are filled with “white space” ~ lots of it.
More than 25% of the 220 page small format book is blank. Empty.
A much better book by Richard Carlson, Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff . . . and it’s all Small Stuff.
While writing this review, I learned that Carlson died on December 13, 2006, at age 45, of a pulmonary embolism during a flight from San Francisco to New York.
Learning of his death caused two thoughts to surface at once:
* Way too young to die. Especially right before the Holidays. Death takes the “Ho Ho Ho” right out of the Holiday Season.
* Well, there’s one more reason NOT to fly . . . the lack of proximity to hospitals, ambulances, and emergency medical care.
(As if I needed another reason.)
I read on and learned that Carlson was flying from West Coast to East to promote his last book: Don’t Get Scrooged: How to Thrive in a World Full of Obnoxious, Incompetent, Arrogant and Downright Mean-Spirited People.
Now THAT sounds like a book worth reading . . . just before heading around to the over-crowded over-heated over-decorated mall to finish Holiday Shopping!
Aah . . . that’s better!
Buy Less. Do More. November 8, 2012
Posted by nrhatch in Home & Garden, Life Balance, Simplify Your Life.Tags: buyers remorse, Clutter, Life Lessons, Mindfulness, Simplify, Stuff
44 comments
My life, like most, has had ups and downs, good decisions and bad, and more than my fair share of mistakes and challenges.
But they all led to this door. So, no regrets.
Except one.
When I look at the collective accumulation of stuff in our living space and closets . . . I am filled to overflowing with ”buyer’s remorse.”
Not in specific. Just in general.
If I could go back and tell my younger self or a good friend just one thing, it would be:
Buy Less. Do More.
We travel best when we travel light. The best way to avoid clutter is not to purchase it in the first place.
Aah . . . that’s better!
Related Posts: Tell us something you’ve done that you would advise a friend never to do (WP Prompt) * Woman Found Dead Amid Clutter * CCD: Compulsive Clutter Disorder
* * * * *
Susanna posted the 8 Finalists from the Halloweensie Contest yesterday morning . . . and I’m in the running!
If you want to vote, click this link and Vote for your Favorite!
They’re all in one place . . . so it’s one stop shopping. No clicking back and forth between blogs. Simple, right? And nothing to clutter up your house! 
Sass and Balderdash! November 7, 2012
Posted by nrhatch in Blogs & Blogging, Life Lessons, Mindfulness.Tags: Blogging, Happiness, Life Lessons, Mindfulness, Motivation, NaBloPoMo
22 comments
Yesterday, I read a Freshly Pressed post and fell in love . . . with Sass and Balderdash!
Katie’s post, HaMoLoObMo ~ Hating Month Long Observances Month, mirrors many of the thoughts I expressed about NaBloPoMo in When You Have Something To Say.
If posting every day is a priority for us . . . then we should find the time to post every day.
Especially if it makes us happy and we have something to say.
But what happens if we sign on for NaBloPoMo and miss a day? Will we feel like failures because we couldn’t keep up with the rest of the pack? Will we wonder why we even bothered to try?
Or will we keep posting carefully crafted quality posts when we have the time and inclination to do so?
That’s the key.
Much of what humans do is just “busy work” . . . we’re like residents of a huge ant farm building tunnels to nowhere.
We need something to do while we’re here so we pretend to ourselves that the “tunnels we’re building” are important.
Many of them aren’t.
Research on motivation has shown that what humans really crave is the opportunity to exercise autonomy, develop mastery, and feel a sense of purpose. The more we are treated like FWU’s (Fungible Work Units) on an endless conveyor belt from Birth to Death, the less motivated we become.
When we focus on quantity ( a post a day or a novel a month) instead of quality (writing when we have something of import to say and carefully crafting our words to express it in the best possible way), we often lose that sense of mastery and purpose.
When motivation comes from within, we’re inspired to do more and be more.
When motivation comes from without, we often end up feeling deflated and defeated . . . because IT (whatever IT is) wasn’t important enough to us in the first place.
Maybe what we were really after was the anticipated rush we expected to receive in the form of external validation from our peers?
It’s not just WHAT we do that matters . . . it’s understanding WHY we are doing IT. If we are doing IT just to go along with the crowd, or to gain accolades and applause from our peers, we are generally wasting our time.
Reclaiming our freedom to live life fully requires that we tune out societal messages urging conformity to listen to our own inner wisdom.
Once we learn to rely on inner motivation to set and define our priorities, we become less inclined to jump on the next-best-bandwagon that rolls down the street.
Aah . . . that’s better!
When we know WHO we are . . . we know HOW to live. ~ Goethe
Related Posts: Bah Humbug! (Huw Thomas) * Life is Not One-Size-Fits-All
* * * * *
Susanna posted the 8 Finalists from the Halloweensie Contest yesterday morning . . . and I’m in the running!
If you want to vote, click this link and Vote for your Favorite!
They’re all in one place . . . so it’s one stop shopping. No clicking back and forth between blogs. Simple, right? C’mon . . . jump on the bandwagon!
