Floral Neverland
Category Archives: Attitude
27 Seconds
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I’ve added trying to hold the plank pose to my daily yoga practices. Opinions vary as to my efforts thus far.
GLASS HALF EMPTY: Pathetic that I’m only able to count to 27 while holding the pose. AND I’m probably counting too fast.
GLASS HALF FULL: I started with a count of only 10 and am now able to hold it to the count of 27 before collapsing. It’s all relative.
GLASS IS REFILLABLE: I’m slowly building a bit of strength in my core. Just like everything else at my age, it’ll take awhile to get to anything reasonable. I remind myself that when I first started with yoga stretches, I was unable to –
- Even THINK about bending over and touching my toes
- Put my hands over my head and onto the floor while lying on my back
- Get down on the floor and up again without the use of a crane (or some furniture)
- Get close to doing a sit up or other abdominal exercises or poses
- Even THINK about sitting on my knees
SO –
Today is DAY 125 of my daily yoga practice. I’m about to leave to get a glorious massage. I’m about the luckiest old lady on the planet. :0)
I hope that you are doing good things for yourself, too.
Filed under Attitude, exercise, taking care of yourself
Sunshine
It’s easy these days to be down. Things become more and more challenging, frustrating and downright scary in our world. It’s hard to listen to or read the news because of all the bad stuff.
It’s important to stay informed, but I’m determined to focus on the beauty around me – not to be a Pollyanna or put my head in the sand like an ostrich, but not to let it all stomp me into the dirt psychologically.
Every day I look at what talented people have created. I search for it because I find people creating music, books, paintings, photographs and sculpture so beautiful it makes me forget for a bit what a mess we are making of things. It doesn’t matter what the medium is. Someone can look at it and see it in a different way, seeing its potential and bringing forth beauty that makes you cry. What a gift!
People focus on making plants grow or practicing a skill until it’s an art form. Teachers light a spark that causes a fire in a child’s heart that cannot be extinguished. Someone’s speech makes you want to help or turn your life in a different direction.
The fact that we live on the same planet as these talented people is almost unbelievable, and yet it’s true if we only look for it.
We can realize that not everyone is rushing headlong into the scary. We can keep our eyes open, protect ourselves and our loved ones as much as possible, try to help in any way we can, and keep the faith.
As Anthony J. Dangelo said, “Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.”
Filed under Attitude, caring, Challenges, character-building exercises, Encouragement
Shot in the Dark?
Well –
I reached the wonderful guy who said he would fix our driveway. It’s been several months now and I hadn’t heard from him, so I called to find out if he 1) had been sucked into the void, 2) was still alive, 3) remembered us.
The good news is that he HADN’T been sucked into the void, IS still alive, and remembers us.
The bad news is that the second man, who was actually going to do the work with his equipment which was more suited to the job, has a problem. His rig burned up! Completely. It’s dead and gone.
So –
Our guy needs to find someone else who has a rig suitable for our job. I asked if he would call me when he finds someone. He said he would.
So –
I’m not really sure where we are now. We’re still waiting for the driveway to be healed. I WAS able to reach our guy, but I have no clue why he hadn’t bothered to call and let us know what had happened and that we were still on the list. I guess I’m a dinosaur, expecting common courtesy. I expect people to act as “I” would act, and I guess that shows how old I’ve gotten. People don’t seem to come, call, write, send carrier pigeons or smoke signals anymore. People say things just for form’s sake, not really feeling obligated to follow up.
When I sold a pair of earrings on my Etsy site recently, I messaged my customer, acknowledging the order and thanking her, telling her I planned to mail her earrings the next day and that I would let her know the tracking number when I had it. I messaged the next day giving her the tracking number and the expected delivery date. I got on the USPS site, entered the tracking number and entered the information needed so they would let me know when it was delivered. When I got the notice, I messaged my customer, asking if the earrings had arrived safely and if she was pleased with them. When she answered, telling me she was delighted with them, I wrote back, thanking her again for the order inviting her to return in the future. That’s just common courtesy.
So –
I guess one of my pet peeves is people making me feel hostile and unimportant when they don’t do what they say they will do. My list is growing.
Filed under Attitude, Pet Peeves
Freeze Frustration
You would THINK that, with as old as I am, and as many years as I have lived in Arkansas, that I would handle the sudden, one-time freeze event that happens every year with more grace.
It’s happening tonight. If it happens as predicted, the one-time event will kill everything still alive in our planters. THEN, instead of staying cold, it will warm up again for up to THREE MONTHS before freezing again.
I’ll show you ONE reason I get so hostile about this –
My elephant ears are happy and thriving, even though I do need to clean them up a bit. These will be devastated by a truly hard freeze.
I hope the weather forecasters are wrong…
Filed under Attitude, Gardening, Mother Nature
Feeling Lazy Saturday
My to-do list is intimidating me today. I went from feeling organized to have it all written down to feeling totally overwhelmed.
Brian Tracy wrote, “When you feel overwhelmed with too much to do and too little time, remind yourself that all you can do is all you can do.”
For the time being, I’m ignoring the list and doing what I want to do (writing blog posts) while I enjoy a cup of coffee. Then I’ll choose the most important thing and do that. Hopefully, these will give me the impetus and motivation to continue…
Filed under Attitude, Laziness - Sloth
Trying
I’m disgusted, but determined.
My scales are still impossibly snide, sneering at my efforts to lose the lard.
Most of the time I’m ‘good,’ only eating what I should. Other times – like in the middle of the night – I could eat the wall and not be satisfied. I’m frustrated and stressed, as we ALL are from time to time for various reasons. I’m trying to deal with that WITHOUT resorting to stuffing my face.
I’m using MyFitnessPal.com to record what I’m eating – except when I binge and all common sense and responsibility goes out the window. I’m 98% ‘there’ on trying to develop good habits of eating, drinking lots of water (my eyeballs are floating), and today is DAY 62 of my daily yoga practice.
98% is pretty good, but it’s the 2% that is killing my efforts. My husband said last night that the pain in my legs and hips at night might be due to my carrying a bit of extra weight. The result of THAT comment is that I can now add a bit of depression to the mix. He followed that up today, on the way back from the phone place, in stopping at Sonic and wanting to get us shakes! I told him to go ahead and managed to NOT get a chocolate shake. I did NOT bite him in the leg. (It’s a good thing because I haven’t had my rabies shot.)
So I’m going to fix our lunch now, drinking a full glass of water with it. I’ll drink a bottle of water mid afternoon, hoping that will curb my voracious appetite, and I’ve planned our good dinner, with lots of veggies, a bit of meat, and some fruit.
One day at a time…
Style
Learning to be happy is a skill.
With all the awful things happening in our world today, our hearts are ripped out of our chests on a daily basis. Hate seems to reverberate from the walls, causing defensiveness, if not hostility, in return.
We can simply turn off and be numb to all going on around us, or we can LOOK for positive things that help us deal with the bad as well as possible. Being happy is a deep-down choice you make. It comes from within you, recognizing all the good you have around you and filling your heart with it.
When you decide to be happy, it flows outward, affecting those around you. All you have to do to test this is to smile at people you don’t know when you’re out in public. Most of the time, people may look surprised, but they smile back. Not a word has been said, but you’ve communicated and both of you feel better.
This blog is a place where I can share the good things I find with you. I hope that some of it lifts YOUR spirits, too. :0)
Filed under Attitude, empowerment, Encouragement
5 by 5 rule
Filed under Attitude, empowerment, Encouragement
Dealing – Not Dealing
DEALING – Sometimes I want to get involved, doing what I can to change the world for the better. I want to engage, to discuss things that are happening, trying to figure out compromises and solutions. I want to find areas in which we agree, or at least “civil-ly” agree to disagree, and that we can still value one another whether we agree or not.
NOT DEALING – More often these days, I put my head in the sand, trying to escape from all the hurt and ugliness – what appears to be HATE at any differences in beliefs or goals.
I escape to my art room. I listen to music – wrapping it around me like a blanket. I dive into another world with a book. I immerse myself in my garden. I do yoga- trying to fold myself into a paper airplane, or at least try to stretch myself from one side of the room to the other. I laugh with our pets. I talk to my friends. I hug my husband. I sleep. None of these SOLVES anything, but at least they keep me reasonably sane. (I think. I HOPE.)
Filed under Attitude, caring, Challenges, Changes
Crayons
To me this means that we should strive to EXPAND our interests, our knowledge, our activities for as long as we are here. We need to actively try to leave our comfort zone, trying something new every once in awhile, meeting new people, finding new sources of information, and more.
I feel lucky that I can learn new things every day simple by being curious on my computer. I enjoy it SO much I have to be careful not to be sucked into a rabbit hole, reading one thing that leads me to another until a good amount of my day is gone.
I don’t want to color with fewer and fewer crayons, allowing my world to gradually implode around me.
Filed under Attitude, Encouragement
Spoiled, But Not Rotten
Yesterday was a very nice day.
I had plenty of time to do my normal chores without rushing. I only had to warm up leftovers for dinner and cut up more ripe, home-grown tomatoes to go with lunch and dinner. I cut up fresh peaches to go with our no-sugar-added vanilla ice cream. I took time to read some of a new book. I listened to some of my favorite music while I ALMOST finished the painting on the Christmas presents I’m making for friends. I played with our dog and cat and laughed with my husband. I did a session of yoga that is starting to be a bit easier. I spent some time searching the net for things I wanted to share with you here.
I didn’t have to travel somewhere to work. I could choose to mainly stay inside in the air conditioning. I took a short nap when I needed to. I had a quiet, calm day.
I’m spoiled. The only saving grace is that I REALIZE it. I’m THANKFUL for it. So, not rotten yet. :0)
Filed under Attitude
Be Careful
Filed under Attitude, caring, Encouragement, kindness
FUN
I’ve been having a wonderful time for several weeks now, making Christmas presents for my friends. I got the idea for the theme of the presents several months ago, and ideas have been rattling around in my brain ever since.
I finally ordered the materials I needed and began to play as soon as they arrived. I looked on the net for some reference pictures for some of my ideas, and then began drawing my ideas with pencil. There are two sides to each present and 8 friends, so there was a lot of drawing.
I’ve been painting for about three weeks now, having a truly wonderful time in my art room. I’m not in any hurry. My goal is to make some progress on the project each day, but enjoying every minute of the process. I’m about to finish ‘Side 1″ of the 8 presents.
Making time to have FUN each day is important to your soul, your sense of worth, your outlook. It’s a buffer against whatever challenges with which you are dealing, replenishing strength and resilience you’ll need. A time for JOY gives you peace of mind, if only for a little while each day – a coping mechanism that is priceless.
I used to put time in my art room, time for reading, listening to music, playing in my garden or yard, writing this blog on my to-do list WHEN I COULD MAKE THE TIME – if possible when my work and other obligations are under control. Now I consciously make time to at least ONE of the things I love on a daily basis. I feel stronger, happier, and more alive since I switched my priorities.
NOTE: I have to admit (shhhhh!) I felt guilty when my husband came in for batteries for his remote for the TV this morning and had Amber hair all over the front of his shirt from getting down on the carpet to work in the area under the TV in the entertainment center. Looks like I should make time to vacuum the first floor carpet today…. :0)
Canvas
It’s in your hands most of the time. Sure, things happen suddenly that swamp us, but most of the time we can choose how we view and live life.
I made a promise to myself awhile back, to include some joy in every day, no matter what else is happening. My happiness comes from within ME. It’s up to ME to splash some paint around.
Filed under Attitude, Encouragement, happy
creativeartworksblog 