What does the first day of spring mean for us?
“I’m not interested in any philosophy unless it can help me grow corn.” Sun Bear
Meaning, “it gives me practical help in my life.” This post is about how celebrating the Spring Equinox can do just that.
This year the spring equinox in the Northern Hemisphere is March 20, 1:14 a.m. Eastern Time: a day of equal balance of the hours of light and dark before the sun continues its journey towards longer daylight hours and warming temperatures. The word equinox comes from the latin words meaning “equal night.”
The equinox energy is strong for four days before and after March 20th, giving you time to bask in the opportunities and lessons it brings.
Ancient cultures throughout history have celebrated this time of rebirth of Mother Earth. But what does it mean for us?
Sleep solutions: 25 tips for a good night’s sleep
“Sleep is the golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.” Thomas Dekker
There may be no better way to improve health and energy, and reduce stress, than getting a good night’s sleep. But that seems to be more and more difficult to achieve in our 24/7 world. Prescription drugs and over the counter sleep aids are plentiful but may not be our healthiest choice.
Counting sheep has never worked for me, but here are 25 tips that will contribute to a good night’s sleep, without side effects:
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Why are we afraid to admit our mistakes?
“You can never learn less; you can only learn more. The reason I know so much is because I have made so many mistakes.” Buckminster Fuller
When my niece, Kate was ready to start kindergarten, she had to first go through an interview consisting of ten questions to assess her social skills. Nine of her answers were deemed “correct” but the one she was marked wrong for shocked me.
Question: “What do you do if you break something?”
Kate’s honest reply: “You tell the truth.”
Wrong answer!
32 ways to de-stress
A December 7, 2011 story on the Today Show alarmed me: 25% of adult women take drugs for anxiety and depression, and to help them sleep. 25%!!!
The reason given is that we all have more stress in our lives and prescription drugs seem to help us cope with it.
While scientists don’t always agree on much, there seems to be consensus that at least 70% of all illness is stress-related.
Continue readingWorkaholics, you are not alone!
“There is more to life than increasing its speed.” Mohandas Gandhi
I confess. I am a Workaholic. I rarely rest; I want to be working all the time.
It started as a child. My mother told me that once I was old enough to talk, my typical answer when she asked if I wanted to do something was, “I too busy.”
“Molly, do you want to come to the store with me?”
“I too busy.”
“Molly, do you want your lunch?”
“I too busy.”
“Molly, do you want to play outside?”
“I too busy.”
And so it has gone for most of my life.
The incredible irony of this is that I teach people how to de-stress, relax and live a balanced life. And am quite good at teaching these things! Proof of the saying that we teach what we need to learn.
I’m the girl who leaves a relaxing yoga class saying, “I don’t know why yoga has to take so long. I could do all that in 20 minutes.”
When I worked in a law firm, I was often the last to leave at night. And I never, ever said no to overtime projects. It wasn’t for the money; I just had a very strong sense of responsibility.
Years ago, my typical Saturday morning was: work out, clean the house, do the grocery shopping. When I returned at 10 am my roommate would ask, “Now that you’ve done what it takes most people a full day to do, what’s next?” And there was always more.
Continue readingWhat is success?
“Too often we define success as financial achievement. I view success as doing your very best at all costs.” — Bear Heart in The Wind Is My Mother
Here in the U.S., “success” is often attributed to the richest, thinnest, youngest and most famous. Is that backward? I think it is.
I recently came upon another meaningful definition of success. I invite you to ponder it. As a reader of this blog, I feel it’s certain to apply to you.
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38 Conversation Starters
My last post was the “thirty day no-gossip challenge.” Since so many conversations seem to be about other people, particularly in a negative context, I promised to write a post with suggestions for positive conversation topics.
The idea for this post came from the memory of a sweet conversation I witnessed between my then four-year old niece and her 4-year old neighbor, Erica.
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