Being Present

“Shared By Carla”

I have lots of things going in my life, and at times they become a jumble and I have trouble sorting them out in my mind. The result is that I often end up feeling overwhelmed and not knowing which to tackle first. When this happens I realize that I’m so into my head and out of my body that I’m not at all in touch with the ‘now’.

So, this month I’m reflecting on what I call “being present”. ‘Being present’ means that I focus on what I’m doing/feeling right now. Not on what I did yesterday or will do tomorrow, but right now. Amazingly, when I do this for at least 10 minutes, it clears my brain, relaxes my body and I’m once again able to concentrate.

There is something very calming and peaceful about being ‘in the now’. Stopping everything and becoming aware of what my body is doing. Is my breathing deep or shallow, where are my muscles tense, am I warm or cold, etc.?

When I am ‘present’ I also notice what’s happening outside my body. The way the blossoms blowing off the trees look like snowflakes, how the sun feels as it warms my face, the texture of soft, squishy grass under my feet.

Many years ago when my children were toddlers they taught me the beauty of ‘being present’. Small children are always in the present. They don’t worry about what they have done or will do. They live in the moment.

If you’ve ever walked with a toddler you know that everything is fascinating. They see the beautiful leaf, the caterpillar crossing the sidewalk, and the lovely rocks in the driveway. Taking a walk with my small children was an adventure. They taught me to slow down and take time to notice the present, instead of focusing on moving ahead to our destination. For them, the process was the destination.

Now, when I feel overwhelmed and scattered I remind myself to stop, and just ‘be present’. It makes all the difference.

By Sandra Abell

Someday Bread

“Shared By Carla”

Irene was already well known amongst her family and friends for her amazing home baked bread. Cousin Orville in particular constantly prodded her, “Auntie Irene you need to enter your bread into the town fair! I know you’ll win!” Orville was right. Once Irene made the decision to enter her bread into the town fair, it ended up a winner almost every year. And much to Orville’s joy, Auntie Irene always gave him the winning loaf!

Orville and the rest of the family, including Irene’s daughter, were so proud of her. Watching her mom take such pride in baking the bread and entering it into the fair year after year, she vowed to follow in her footsteps one day. She wanted to learn to make bread the same way and someday, when she had children of her own, share that special experience with them.

Someday, thought Irene’s daughter, she would find the time to do this. In the meantime life kept her pretty busy. She was young, ambitious, working on building her career, raising a family and juggling a social life. All the while, she believed in her heart thatsomeday she would have time to go back and learn from her mom how to make the award winning bread, beloved by the whole community.

She thought that when she was home with her newborn baby it would be the perfect opportunity to relax and spend time with her mom. Mother and daughter could also share in the experience of the new baby. After all her mom had raised six kids, she certainly could pick up some great child rearing tips!  She was excited and looked forward to the wonderful cherished moments they would share together. But those moments she thought she would have with her mom, never came.

When the ambulance brought her mom to the hospital, Irene’s daughter kept thinking – this can’t be real, mom will be released and will hold her new baby granddaughter. Everything will be okay; she will get better. This was not to be the case. The cancer had returned and, nine days later, Irene passed away. Her daughter was devastated.

In the blink of an eye, “someday” had faded away.

The story you’ve just read is my story. I am Irene’s daughter Linda. It is me who stood in that hospital holding my baby girl Brittany in my arms, feeling sheer disbelief that my Mom would never hold my daughter in her arms or buy her favorite cereal like she had for all her other grandchildren. My world had been turned upside down; only 26 days earlier our entire family had celebrated the birth of my wonderful first-born and we were all filled with such joy. Now, we faced the reality that the Mom, the grandmother, the Auntie Irene to so many had passed.

In life, with all its joys and sadness we learn and then we take those lessons into our future.  On the day my beloved mom passed, I promised myself that my family would always come first.

Today, all these years later, I am proud to say that I am very purposeful in prioritizing activities in my life so that meeting the needs of my family comes FIRST!

Recently when my daughter Paige moved to San Diego, I was incredibly busy. And on top of that, I told myself she’s a big girl now and can move on her own without mom’s help. But after sitting back and thinking about this move, I quickly realized it would make a positive difference for Paige if I were there to support her in getting settled. The time spent helping her get organized (and of course there was some shopping to be done, which my husband says I’m an expert at!) was worth every ounce of energy!

Sure we’re all busy and we certainly can’t be everywhere at all times. But it’s a matter of identifying the times we can be there, to spend purposeful time with our family and loved ones.  The way in which we organize our time and schedule our priorities, will ultimately determine how we live our lives. What decision can you make right now to make your “SOMEDAY” happen today?

By Linda McLean

I learned a ton from Jeff Herring in his “Article Marketing For Beginners” course. If you see writing articles in your future Article Marketing For Beginners Course in your future check him out, he really is a good teacher. ==> http://justclicknow.ca/15YhRGF

Failing Forward

“Shared By Carla”

The best way to teach our children to succeed is to teach them to fail.

After all, if getting everything you want on the first try is success, and everything else is failure, we all fail much more often than we succeed.

People who learn how to grow from unsuccessful efforts succeed more often and at higher levels because they become wiser and tougher.

Two great American inventors, Thomas Edison and Charles Kettering mastered the art of building success on a foundation of what others might call failure.

Edison liked to say he “failed his way to success,” noting that every time he tried something that didn’t work he moved closer to what did. “Now I know one more thing that doesn’t work.”, he would say.

The lesser known Kettering (head of research for General Motors from 1920-1947) talked about “failing forward,” calling every wrong attempt a “practice shot.”

The strength of both men was that their creativity and confidence was undiminished by setbacks and unsuccessful efforts. They accepted that trial and error is an essential strategy for breakthrough innovation and simply rejected the notion of failure.  Thomas Watson, the founder of IBM, cautioned his leaders from being so careful that they never failed. He went so far as to say, ‎”The way to succeed is to double your failure rate.”

Of course, failure is never desirable, but it is inevitable and, with a proper attitude, can be quite useful.

The only way to avoid failure is to avoid the risks and challenges and that probably is a case of real failure. The great hockey player Wayne Gretzky used to say, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

Whatever your goal, whether it’s to get something, do something, or improve yourself as a person or professional, the secret of success is learning to transform unsuccessful experiences from stumbling blocks to stepping stones.
Three qualities can turn adversity into advantage: a positive perspective, reflection, and perseverance.

First, learn from the inventors. Don’t allow yourself to think of any failure as final, and never allow unsuccessful efforts to discourage you or cause you to give up. Remember, failure is an event, not a person. Even failing repeatedly can’t defeat you unless you start thinking of yourself as a failure. The way you think about your experiences shapes the experience in ways that either stimulate or stymie further efforts.

Second, don’t waste the experience. Unsuccessful efforts are wasted and debilitating only if you don’t learn from them. Reflect on your actions, attitudes and the results to discover the lesson within the experience and use that knowledge to guide future efforts.

Third, persevere. Try and try again. Just be smarter each time.
And finally, learn to enjoy the process. Simply being absorbed in the pursuit of any change that will improve your life or the lives of others is a blessing.

Remember, character counts.

 By Michael Josephson

 

Teachers and Tornadoes

“Shared By Carla”

Once I got past the awe of witnessing Mother Nature’s astonishing power to wreak devastation in Oklahoma, I was awed by something more positive and uplifting: the instinctive capacity of our species to care about, come to the aid of, and — for those caught in the middle of the calamity — to even sacrifice their own lives for others.

Every day we are surrounded by examples of the dark side of human nature — selfishness, greed, dishonesty and cruelty — which make it hard to resist cynicism. It’s a pity that it often takes a disaster and the heroic actions it evokes to provide compelling contrary evidence, to remind us of the best in human nature.

How can one resist tears hearing of the teachers in Oklahoma who put themselves at risk by shielding children with their own bodies? I suspect lots of other adults would have reacted in a similar fashion, but I think teachers really are special.
With the current focus on competence and accountability in education, we tend to undervalue one of the most important qualities of most teachers: their genuine sense of responsibility and affection for the children they teach.

Over and over we’ve seen the powerful instinct of teachers to protect children in school shootings and, more recently, in the horrific tornadoes.

Teachers willingly and without hesitation treated children as their own and put themselves at risk to protect them.

It should be a comfort to parents to know how much teachers really care.

Henry Adams once said, “Teachers affect all eternity. You never know where their influence stops.” He was referring to the way they shape lives by transmitting information and learning skills, but teachers often do so much more. Though only rarely called upon to risk their lives, they regularly touch the lives of students with their commitment and love.

It’s been said that kids don’t care what you know unless they know that you care. Let’s do all we can to commend, congratulate and celebrate teachers who show how much they care.

Remember, character counts.

By Michael Josephson

Professionals

“Shared By Carla”

Watching any professional perform is one of the most satisfying experiences in life.  It makes no difference what the professional is doing; they fascinate you with their skill and precision.

Years ago I was employed by the Fire Department.  I had a captain, Harry Taylor – we called him Scotty.  I suppose by today’s standards he would not be considered very professional. Scotty never attended the fire college, but by my standards he will always be a professional.

Some of the other officers who did attend the fire college and left with high marks had no idea of how to lead people. Scotty was a leader; he knew how to draw the best out of his people. He was a pro.

Watch professional ice skaters, they leave you with your heart in your mouth as they go into some of their jumps and yet they land with ease. You would almost believe they were born with skates on their feet.
Watch the professional assistants. They move with the same calm and assurance that the gold medal skater does.

The professional sales person is poetry in motion. They go through their presentation calm and confident, overcoming objections, leave with the order and you never even heard them close the sale.
Professionals are a joy to watch. How did they become so good or should I say great?

They did little things in a great way every day. They work towards being their very best, regardless. They know that amateurs compete with other people, professionals compete with themselves. They study, practice, simulate every move, every day – many times. They want to be better today than they were yesterday.

By Bob Proctor

I learned a ton from Jeff Herring in his “7 Tips” course. If you see writing articles in your future 7 Tips Course in your future check him out, he really is a good teacher. ==> http://justclicknow.ca/154LQlR

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