Continuing to Follow the Path...

I've been so busy with my writing each day after work (journaling and writing flash fiction stories), doing my workouts, connecting with family and friends, and getting my vacation planned (and working overtime to help pay for the October trip), that I've begun to feel a bit worn down. So, I took off working out for a day and a half, started meditating more on God's word to bring me back to center and it really did the trick. I'm so grateful.

A friend said to me today, "Barbara, change is never easy."  I'd been getting concerned that I'd put too much on my plate all at one time. But, as we talked it over, I found that yes, change is hard.  Not so much the physical aspect of what I am now doing (being engaged in so many things at once), but the emotional facet of moving into a brand new realm - which can bring up hidden fears, anxieties etc... It happens to all of us, but in different ways.  I guess the way it hit me was with me becoming tired. So, thankfully I took the queue that my body was signaling me and made sure I was taking care of myself in all aspects (not overdoing it). I don't want to go back to where I was before, so I will do whatever it takes to stay on the right path to reaching my dreams and visions.  It's just a matter of paying attention to what's going on inside of me and taking the necessary actions to ensure I'm dealing with the emotions that arise in an appropriate way as I continue to transform my life. 

Finding True Joy Deep Within

I've revved it up into high gear a while back pursuing my goals of attaining fitness, improving my overall health, general well-being, and last but not least becoming a consistent writer.  I've definitely noticed a growth in my emotional level of well-being because of it. Until recently, I could not for the life of me remember the last time I have ever been truly excited (on the inside) about anything going on in my life. I don't mean to say that I haven't found anything worthwhile in what I've been doing, but rather the level of my ability to actually 'feel' truly excited about things happening in my life has been nothing short of miraculous to me.  Anyone who has suffered with bouts of depression and anxiety will know exactly where I am coming from (here). 

I hadn't realized how much I'd missed being able to feel real joy and excitement bubbling up from the depths of my soul until I began to experience it a few months ago after I'd put my new principles into practice. When I eventually put my visions (dreams) for myself into action...that's when I started seeing the results and even before I saw any results, the mere fact that I was being consistent in changing my life's routine in order to become successful in these areas gave me an overall feeling of satisfaction (well being) which started to build into excitement. I remember feeling this way plenty of times as a child and so those new feelings of excitement are returning to me.  I'm grateful to be feeling so energetic and capable of accomplishing ANYTHING I set my mind to do.

Focus Is On Having Some Fun...

Sometimes we just have to get away from the reality of our lives. I'm not saying to run off somewhere and bury your head in the sand.  However, it's good to take time away from the day to day responsibilities and decide to just have some good clean fun!  I was recently invited to join my sister-in-law and the kids for a mini getaway down the Wildwood, NJ shore and I just couldn't pass up that opportunity.  I joined them down there last Friday night and we stayed until Sunday.

 I get so excited as soon as I see the bridge that leads to the shore, then I'm like a kid in a candy store. If you've ever stayed somewhere away from home that gave you the feeling like you were transported to another world, that's what it's like to be down there. Every time I arrive in that town, tons of delightful memories bubble up to the surface. I stayed down there with my friends so many times as a teen and young adult. We played volleyball on the beach and lounged in the sun for hours until we were crisp and ready to show off our savage tans while strolling on the boards at night. Went from party to party and stayed up all hours of the night. I still can't believe our parents ever let us stay down there on our own - what the heck were they thinking? 

 Anyway, there was so much going on down there...there was a Blues and BBQ festival that drew large crowds right on New Jersey Avenue. We were planning to go there after dinner my first night down, but there was literally no way to get near the place.  But, we passed by a few times and heard some of the blues tunes being played by a cover band and caught whiffs of the sweet and smokey BBQ coming from the many BBQ huts that were set up in the surrounding area.  Later on that evening, there was also a colorful fireworks display that was set off on the beach that we watched from our balcony. 

  The next morning we had breakfast at Jimbo's in North Wildwood. They serve a mean BBQ pulled pork omelette with their signature BBQ sauce (Apple-Q Anglesea BBQ sauce).  It's simply to die for!  Later on, I went down to the beach and lounged for a few hours in the sweltering heat and humidity.  Thank God for the cool breeze coming off of the ocean. I decided to take some photos of the fab scenery all around me (I posted a few photos on my blog).  The final night, the kids wanted to walk the boards, play the games, and buy stuff. 

 All in all, it was a relaxing weekend getaway.  I had a chance to spend some quality time with the family, do some writing, take some great photos, and create some nice memories. 

Focus On Easing Stress…

We live in a stress driven society. Always in a hurry to get somewhere. No one has any time to just stop and breath. There seems to be so many more demands on our time compared to when I was growing up. The kids of this generation are far more prone to having stress, anxiety, and depression. I know of so many children that are on some kind of medicine for various stress related mental (emotional) disorders.             

Years ago, when I was growing up, we lived for running around and playing games outside of the house. I remember as a young child during the summers off from school, I would want to get up early every morning to have some breakfast and watch my favorite cartoons like Tom and Jerry, Bugs Bunny, and Scooby Doo, just to name a few. After my friends knocked for me, I would be out the door playing for hours until my mother called me in for lunch. Then once I was finished eating, I would dart back outside with the rest of the kids running around, playing jump rope, hop scotch, red light-green light, and all of the wonderful games I cherished playing. Same thing would happen at dinner time and so on... I also made up scenarios in my mind and played in the land of make believe. I would pretend my bicycle was my pony and I was a cowgirl in my backyard.  One of my favorite make believe ideas was dressing up as a teacher by putting my hair up, wearing fake plastic glasses and handing out lessons to some of my friends as I wrote on my miniature green chalkboard. Those were the days my friend. Talk about having no stress or any concerns about life other then who I was going to play with the next day. 

Unfortunately, we are living in a different world today. Now if kids are not being transported around by their parents to the various activities like being on different sports teams, dance recitals, boy scouts / girl scouts clubs, etc...then they are at home playing on their video games and texting their friends instead of spending actual time with them. I'm not down on joining sports teams or any other activity, I think it is an extremely positive experience that helps children learn to work together and build friendships while having fun. But, I also believe that there is a limit to the number of group activities a child should be involved in outside of the home - especially while they are still in school. I've seen some children literally burn out and begin to hate the very organization that they used to love being apart of just because they were involved in too many extra curricular activities. Why don't kids enjoy the simple bliss of playing outside?  Has the technology boom during this generation stopped our children from experiencing the truly marvelous and simplistic approach to having fun? And more importantly, will they be able to maintain real 'face to face' social relationships as they get older? 

I will remain hopeful that this generation will find out sooner than later that being overly busy is not the key to success in this world and that technology will only get them so far and that it shouldn't be used as a substitute for actually spending quality time with family and friends. Then maybe, just maybe, they won't need to be put on any medication for stress related problems. They can be free to be happy with cherishing the simple things in life, because God knows that it will be too late once they become adults. 

We All Have Days Like This...

 Today was a pretty good day all together.  Woke up earlier than usual and did a 10 minute workout on my stationary cycle, while working out my arms with a resistance band - which really ups the cardio workout. I'm really starting to get this morning routine down. And coming from a night owl who used to dread getting up out of bed in the morning is really saying something. 

 My work day seemed to go pretty smoothly as well. No problems to report, no fires to put out today... However, on the ride home some invasive thoughts began to manifest themselves into my conscious mind. The thoughts themselves weren't bad, but they brought some 'bad feelings' with them. Thoughts that made me feel a bit lonely as a single woman.  Then the old thoughts of how to handle the bad feelings came popping up, 'stop on the way home and buy some kind of cake and maybe some chips too.'  Oh, that will make me feel better, yeah sure. But, oh yes, I did listen to them and I stopped at the local drug store and bought a small box of snack cakes and a large bag of chips. All the while, I knew I was in the wrong. I knew if I ate even a portion of them, I would be sabotaging my fitness goals. I also knew that once I put them in my mouth, regret would soon follow. And that is what exactly happened. But something else happened at the same time. I realized in the same moment that I really didn't need or even want to eat that junk food. In fact, I started to feel sick from eating that crap. Not because I ate too much of it, but because I've been training my mind/body to enjoy eating healthy proteins, fruits and vegetables for quite a while now. In fact, the foods that I thought I loved since I was a child and couldn't live without (cakes, cookies, chocolate, candies etc...) I'm starting to see as being toxic to my body. And I need to keep thinking that way about them.  

Once I acknowledged to myself that what I was doing was wrong, I immediately threw the rest of the cakes and chips in the trash. And I felt empowered once again! Then I jumped onto my stationary cycle and 'rode' for 40 minutes and burned all of those extra calories away. Yes, sweet victory! I also texted my fitness coach and fessed up and of course she was nothing but supportive and encouraging - love you Beth! I'm sure I will make other hasty decisions like this on my weight loss/fitness journey, after all, I'm only human. However, I am grateful that I'm continuing to grow and learning more about myself and tuning in quicker to what triggers me to run to sweets for a comfort fix so I can nip it in the bud before it turns into a bad habit.

Taking Control of Your Thoughts...

In order to find a healthy balance in our lives, we must first learn to control our thought patterns. Since the way we think directly affects the way we feel in any given moment, it is important to be mindful of our thoughts. As human beings, we do have the capacity to think about anything we want.  But, I'm sure you've also noticed that there are certain thoughts that rise to the surface that we know have not originated from us. These strange and uninvited thoughts often leave us puzzled as to where they came from and how they can even appear to be coming from our own minds. While this is an important topic to continue, for now, I will leave you to your own assertions. 

However, I do want to reiterate what I had mentioned in one of my previous posts that when we experience having negative, unhealthy thoughts it is good to just stand back and acknowledge they are there without passing any judgment or giving them any credence and they will eventually dissipate. In this way, we don't give those thoughts any power over us. Thus any emotional reaction that would have been charged by surrendering to them is now dissolved. We are able to remain in a state of Zen. And while it is true that this can be accomplished with much practice and persistence, it is also true that the only way we can fully master this technique and find a constant peace of mind is by making it a point to actively do our own research into this subject as I have done for many years. One of the best and I believe only true sources of finding the answers to obtaining the balance and peace we all desire is directly from the word of God. In Psalm 29:11, Psalm 85:8, Psalm 119:165, Isaiah 26:3; 12, Matthew 11:28-30, Philippians 4:6-7, John 16:33, Romans 15:13 and in many other scriptures are the true answers to finding authentic, trustworthy, applicable peace of mind/heart that this world can never quench (John 4:1-38).