40 Bloggers to Watch in 2011 January 13, 2011
Posted by nrhatch in Blogging, Humor, Life Balance, Word Play, Writing & Writers.comments closed
Many of us are not subscribed to enough blogs . . . yet!
On occasion, we have to exit the blogosphere, and step away from our keyboards, because the blog hole we’ve dug is not yet deep enough to keep us fully submerged in cyberspace 24/7.
If your days (and nights) are not filled to the virtual brim with new and enticing reading material . . .
If you find yourself thinking, too much time, not enough blogs . . .
If you are tired of living in the real world for even a few hours a day . . .
If you find yourself scrolling through blogs at a frantic rate, looking for something else to read . . .
You owe it to yourself to check out ProBlogger’s recent post:
The collective talent and enthusiasm of these bloggers is mind-bloggling. 🙂
No rules. Just write!
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OMPM: Hanging On To Anger January 13, 2011
Posted by nrhatch in Happiness, Mindfulness.comments closed
A friend called one day in a huff because a package of books she had ordered hadn’t arrived in the expected timeframe. She reordered the books, and then received both packages, with identical items, on the same day.
Turns out that the initial package had spent longer in the local post office than it should have.
As she relayed the story to me, every word conveyed her anger, irritation, and indignation at the post office for the delayed delivery.
Curious, I asked, “When did the packages show up ~ today?”
“Oh, probably three or four days ago.”
“Three or four days ago?! Wow! Why are you choosing to hang on to your anger?”
“I’m not choosing to hang on to my anger.”
“Of course you are. As soon as the packages arrived, you could have chosen to set aside your anger. Instead, you’ve chosen to hang on to it. Why? Why are you doing that to yourself?”
“Well . . . THEY just make me so mad. THEY are always doing things like this. THEY need to . . . ”
“THEY are not doing anything to you.”
Not only did she resist letting go of her anger, she wanted me to share her outrage. I refused.
“Do you think the post office did it on purpose? Just to piss you off?”
“No. I’m sure they didn’t do it on purpose.”
“Maybe they did do it on purpose. Maybe they wanted to piss you off so that you would waste time telling people how angry you are about the mix-up. You should let your anger go. That would show them.”
“Well, I don’t think they did it just to annoy me.”
“Exactly. So let it go.”
Being mindful of our thoughts is more than just a way of managing the “petty annoyances” in life . . . it’s changing our perspective in such a way that things don’t often rise to the level of “petty annoyance.”
We retrain ourselves to see things as they are, and accept them as they are, without getting our feathers ruffled by the intentional, and unintentional, “dive bombers” we encounter along the way.
Quotes to ponder:
* Don’t be quick to take offense.
* We take showers each morning to wash off yesterday’s junk, but we often forget to toss out yesterday’s anger, pain, and frustration. Instead of toting yesterday’s trash around, let it go. ~ Marianne Richardson (paraphrased)
* Betrayal by others is a gift which allows us to grow in forgiveness. We betray ourselves by hanging on to every slight, real and imagined.
* When we hate our enemies, we are giving them power over us: power over our sleep, our appetites, our blood pressure, our health, and our happiness. Our hate is not hurting them at all, but our hate is turning our own days and nights into a hellish turmoil. ~ Dale Carnegie
* How can you seize the day until you let go of yesterday?
* People hang on to so much of the past that they have no room for the present.
* To fully embrace this moment, you must let go of the past.
* How much time we waste on matters we would brush aside if we knew our time grew nigh.
* When you have conquered the enemy within, there are no enemies left to conquer.
No rules. Just write!
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Grow in the Direction of Happiness January 13, 2011
Posted by nrhatch in Gratitude, Happiness, Life Balance, Mindfulness.comments closed
The best way to create the life of our dreams it to grow in the direction of happiness:
1. Live each day to the fullest. Life is precious. It’s a mystical, magical adventure filled with fabulous gifts and exciting prizes. Enjoy all it has to offer.
Live each day as if it were going to be your last ~ one day, it will be.
2. Make room for what matters. As we follow our unique likes and dislikes (i.e., clues to our essence) like breadcrumbs, we move ever closer to living the life of our dreams.
The happier we are, the closer we are to being who we were always intended to be.
3. Don’t hang on to the bad stuff. Let past hurts go. They are merely images in your mind. Free up your energy to enjoy life. Turn your back on the past and return your attention to the present ~ right here, right now.
Keep flowing through life.
4. Be absolutely determined to enjoy what you do. Be spontaneous. Be childlike. Exude alertness and curiosity and wonder. Follow the pure impulses of spirit. Trust that the future will unfold in exactly the right way at exactly the right moment in time.
Revel in the uncertainty.
5. Don’t wallow in regret or self-pity. When you choose to hang on to the negatives, you continue to be a victim. Choose to be a survivor instead.
Hardship is inevitable. Misery is optional.
6. Forgive yourself and others. When we forgive someone, it doesn’t mean that we condone what they did ~ it means we are no longer going to devote our precious energy to hang on to unpleasant memories from a past that cannot be changed. When you refuse to forgive, they are no longer doing anything to you ~ you are punishing yourself.
Forgive others to free yourself.
7. Be grateful. Life is a gift filled with everyday blessings. Be thankful for what you have. Count your blessings . . . every day. It will put you in the right frame of mind to enjoy all that life has to offer.
As long as you have everything you need in this moment, you have everything you need.
8. Look for the laughter. There is always a reason to smile. When we focus on what is working, we are happier. When we focus on what isn’t working, we are less happy. It’s our choice.
We do not laugh because we are happy. We are happy because we laugh.
9. Choose your focus. Life is uncertain, and much remains outside our control. Yet we can control how we choose to view events over which we have no control. It is not what happens to us in life that determines our level of happiness, it is how we choose to view what happens.
How we relate to the issue is the issue.
10. Embrace all with joy. Things are not always as they seem. Losing a job may seem negative because the future looks uncertain. With greater perspective, we may realize that losing that job freed up our time and talents to pursue something truly meaningful.
Anything can be a gift of gold in disguise.
No rules. Just write!
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Spirit Lights The Way 