Tis the season to be… Organized…

They say February is the shortest month but I beg to differ… I think its December. It feels like it is 25 days and the count down begins on the first…

We have all heard of “Jamaica time” which is where everything moves a bit slower… I am suggesting that in “December time” everything moves a bit quicker.

My best advice…

1.     Begin Early!!!

2.     Make a list and check it twice (do this in November)

3.     Begin your planning at home, in peace, over a cup of coffee (or whatever you enjoy drinking)

4.     Shop all year round for Christmas presents (especially stocker stuffers)

5.     Start writing cards and letters as early as possible

6.     Get the family photo done on the coldest day of November when people honestly look happy about the change in seasons and their new winter attire is still a novelty

7.     Aim to be one of those people who have lights flashing and stockings hung as of December 1^st, it sounds terrible but it feels good  - I am speaking from experience here : )

8.     Cut yourself as much slack as possible… can you really tell the difference between store bought and home made treats??

9.     As you book your calendar of events literally block off some time for yourself to do something you enjoy

10. Sometimes the pressure can get the better of us… try to smile at strangers and share the road

Random Thought #10

And remember...he sees you when you’re sleeping; he knows when you’re awake… he knows if you’ve been bad or good ... so be good for goodness sake …

Put on your own oxygen mask first…

Life is full of ups and downs… sometimes we see things coming … sometimes we don’t … but in each life a little rain must fall.

October wasn’t a great month for me. I didn’t blog at all. Late one night towards the end of September I was up late reading when I should have been fast asleep and of course… I got hungry… so I went down to the kitchen and made myself a late-night snack. As I bit into my cream cheese and antipasto filled multigrain cracker my tooth cracked and things have not been the same since… for more information on how one tiny little tooth can change your life read on…

The human body is an amazing thing… when you really think about it… the organs, the systems, the whole, the parts, the connections … its defies reason… when it works well we don’t really notice it but when it breaks down… repairing and restoring it can preoccupy us in a way we didn’t imagine was possible. So begins my random thought about life and our bodies…

In life we worry about this and that and in all likelihood few of these ever materialize. We plan, we prepare, and we imagine and expect all sorts of realities about how our lives will be… sometimes these pictures are closer than others to the actual reality of our lives… But often it is the unexpected random things that happen to us that really tilt our picture…the unexpected somethings that put all non essential items on hold and take up the vast majority of our resources…

Recently I have begun to think the most important thing we can do during the ‘ups’ is to take care of ourselves and keep things in order so that we are as prepared as we can be for the downs…

The airline industry seems to be a group of people very prepared for the eventualities of life… These people have thought things through, they have a pretty good idea about how things will go and some plans in place on the off chance that it doesn’t…even though its supposedly one of the safest ways to travel… they begin each and every flight with the flight crew going through the safety card in detail… instead of saying something like … you guys know where it is. Just as we wouldn’t want our pilots traveling without a flight plan, in the wrong direction or without the right equipment… we too can’t expect to live our lives without some preparation and thoughtful planning…

I think it’s safe to say that on each flight and in life, we can expect a bit of ‘unexpected’ turbulence… I think the trick is to be as prepared as we can be for the unexpected by taking care of our physical and emotional well being when things are going well so we are operating on all cylinders and with a full tank of gas when they are not. There is a reason they tell us to put our mask on first…While our natural instinct may be to first put the mask on others…

 … I will take care of myself after… I finish this project, this job, once the kids are in bed, the house is in order, I’ve retired …sound familiar???

We are postponing the inevitable… Procrastinating with our most valuable commodity… Ourselves…. Neglecting ourselves or choosing to not focus on securing our own well being doesn’t help anyone… because think about it… if our mask is not on … we won’t be much use to anyone else for very long…

Random thought # 9

Start each day by reviewing your own safety card… Move yourself to the top of your list… just for today… If it feels good… try again tomorrow.

Having enough

I think that there is something synaptic about shopping. It can evoke strong reactions in us … for some a ‘thrill’ for others a … well I am honestly not sure what it feels like for others because I like shopping… but I am told that some people do not like shopping… not at all. Either way it seems to be associated with pretty strong emotions.

For those of us that like shopping… that enjoy experiencing the momentary guilty pleasure of ‘new’ … I would like to introduce another equally (perhaps even more) fulfilling concept. Using what you have and realizing ‘you have enough’

There is something equally (maybe more) satisfying about finishing something. Whether it is a big project, a book, the food in your fridge or even a bottle of shampoo.

At one point I think I had a shampoo addiction ...crazy… Anyways I couldn’t resist the smell of a good shampoo … if I was getting a haircut or at a friend’s house the product would be sold… just browsing the shampoo aisle of a store was a real pick me up for me.  After a while… what I found was…instead of starting my day with one of my favorite things - a shower with a nice smelling shampoo- I was overwhelmed by the amount of half used bottles of shampoo I had accumulated… And I realized that while I enjoy buying a new bottle of fresh smelling shampoo … there is also something wonderful about using the last drop to it to wash my hair… Here are a few other examples

• Finish the book you are reading or decide that you won’t and give it away. These are much more energizing solutions to going to bed with a pile of books on your beside table.
• Empty your fridge and buy only what you need. Design meals ‘on the fly’ by looking at the contents of your refrigerator and making do (it feels good!). And I guarantee that you will find meals in there for a few more days even when it starts to look empty. Also think about what you ‘realistically’ do when you meal plan not what you would ideally like to do… Ideally I would like to cook a healthy meal full of protein, whole grains and a variety of multicolored vegetables each night… My reality is quite different... if you find you are too tired most nights to cook, plan on ordering in or going to a restaurant and save on your grocery bill.

Random Thought #8

Shopping for something new can be a treat but making do with what you have can also be very fun. There’s something very satisfying about finishing what you start… whether that is a huge endeavor or a book or squeezing the last bit of shampoo out of a bottle.

If A+B=C than A equals...

Sometimes I walk my dog thru a cemetery. It’s quiet, there’s very little traffic and its right near my house. One day as I looking at the tombstones, I thought no matter how challenging things may get… as long as I am still on this side of the pavement … there is still always opportunity.

These reality checks are everywhere. When we visit friends in the hospital and see people struggling with their health, when we drive by an accident on the highway…

Someone once told me our “reality” was determined solely by our ‘perception’ of an event and our ‘interpretation’ of that perception in terms of a feeling (e.g. positive / negative,…happy / sad….).

I recently saw the movie Inception and in it the characters used a totem (a small personal object) to distinguish between their reality and dreams…so…I thought …What a good idea! And wouldn’t it be interesting to use a totem everyday? It could be very comforting to have something we could carry with us everyday to regularly check in with ourselves... a physical reminder to look inward…check our perceptions and interpretations of a situation…and ‘be’ with and feel our feelings in any given moment.

Random Thought #8

Consider the idea of a totem to question your interpretation of reality and if it is all determined by our minds… work towards being the luckiest, most positive person you know.

Cinderella I am not …

You know what they say about all work and no play…. even though I like cleaning and organizing … my list of “To Do’s” seemed like one of those revolving lines of credit… no matter how much effort I expended there was always more "to do" and unfortunately … I have not seen evidence, nor am I convinced that those TV families with a helpful husbands eager to do their share and obedient children who listen and pick up after themselves exist…

So… rather than nagging and fighting with everyone… and feeling justifiably terrible (e.g. they should be helping)... my newest strategy is to hire people to my capacity. Instead of scrutinizing the activities of others…I scrutinized my budget to see what I could afford and than I shopped around for the best prices (well worth the effort) and paid people to do the "delegatable" tasks I wasn’t enjoying or that were for whatever reason stressing me out.

Random thought # 6

Buy yourself some peace of mind. This way when the prince calls to ask you if you want to go to the ball … you can say… Sure!

Exercise does not come naturally to me...

I have thought about exercise a lot and talked to people who really enjoy exercising to try to get the bug… but …I can honestly say that my mental health does not suffer when I lie horizontally on my couch watching TV … my waistline however… is another story…

So I try…

Today as I was trying to jog around the block, I loaded my ipod with music that I listened to in my early 20’s and I found it made it quite a bit less painful…it was distracting and reminiscent of a time when my life was organized around ‘fun’ … instead of just organized.

As I rounded each corner I listened to songs that you’d hear while riding the polar express backwards going really, really fast… And I must admit I felt lighter and stronger and at times even forgot I was having trouble breathing…

Random Thought #5

Organize your ipod. Fill it with songs that remind you of your best self… or your ‘fun’est self (I realize that’s not a word) so that you can be that person again for a little while, remember what that felt like and bring a part of that person back into the hustle and bustle of today.

Ripple Effect

As I was throwing stones in a pond with my son this morning, we watched the ripples each stone made.

I thought... these stones are like our decisions. Each decision we make has far reaching consequences much like the ripple effect I was observing. Those closest to us feel the greatest impact and it gradually spreads out to others around us, to society, to the world. Whether its buying Canadian goods, organizing a closet, smiling at strangers, volunteering, recycling... I could go on with negative stuff like stealing or yelling but why bother...the point is the consequences of our decisions impact ourselves and others in either positive or negative ways.

When they say 'we can only change ourselves' (e.g. not others) or 'be the change we wish to see in the world'... this could be what they mean because just like the first couple rings around that stone... those closest to us experience most of the positivity or negativity and as I watched the ripples spread through the pond...I thought... the consequences of our actions are far reaching.

Random Thought #4

Before making big decisions... throw a stone in the water and mull it over... let's make thoughtful decisions and let the positive ripples flow!