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It’s Monday, which means it’s time for the Inspirational song of the week!
Honestly, I’ve been fighting a cold for the past few days. Today was the first day I woke up feeling better. It’s funny how this song was playing in my head as I sat down to coffee this morning. It’s getting better all the time by the Beatles
I hope everyone has a wonderful week!
Tchau, Pam
” Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” Lao Tzu
I wish you happiness today and always,
Pam
The Wednesday word of the week is Gratitude.
I was reading Chris Guillebeau’s article on Zen Habits the other day. One of the things that really struck me was when he wrote “Gratitude is a balanced response to a life filled with highs and lows.”
Everyday is different. Every moment brings another opportunity to choose which side of the pancake to look at. It really just depends on our perspective.
Good things happen, bad things happen. The only thing we can really decide is how we react to them.
Gratitude makes the difference.
What are you feeling grateful for this week?
Tchau for now, Pam
I think Simba has got to be one of the luckiest kitties on the planet!
My girlfriend Simone found him and turned him over to our friends, Paula and Leandro. They kept him for a week, while Simone did the paperwork to send him back. Our friend Craig, a Guardian guy who lives not too far from us, went down to Brasil. He agreed to bring Simba home, and even went over to Paula and Leandro’s to get to know him.
Long story short, Simba is home again and currently snuggling up to Garrett in bed.
Thanks Simone, Paula, Leandro, and Craig for bringing our kitty back. You all ROCK!!!!!!
xoxoxoox Pam
Today is Monday, which means it’s time for the the Inspirational song of the week.
Not only is this rockin battle cry a FANTASTIC way to kick off the week, I especially love the part where Robert Plant sings… “for peace and trust can win the day despite all your losin’”.
No matter all of the garbage that gets thrown around as news, peace and trust can and do win the day. Every day we choose to focus on the beautiful instead of the anger, we win the day. By savoring these last few precious moments of summer, we take control of our perspectives and make our lives something worth living and as well as looking back on.
I wish you all peace and trust.
Remember be Excellent to each other.
What are you savoring this week?
Pam
I’m hanging out with my husband’s family in PA. We’ve been having a wonderful time chatting, eating, looking over photos, and my favorite part, making art with the kids.
We’ve been making aliens from fuzzy balls, googly eyes and popsicle sticks, as well as sculptures and beads from Sculpey clay.
Yesterday afternoon, after dinner, I went out back to hang out with the kids and get in a little trampoline time. We bounced and talked about how much fun we were having. Tabetha and I talked about what color our fairy wings will be when they finally grow in.
I would love to keep this feeling of happiness and contentment forever. The kids will grow up. Times will change, but we will always have the memories of the fun we’ve made together. As well as the Sculpey clay sculptures.
We’ve been feeding our souls and spirits during these halcyon days. Saying yes to joy and fun. Stretching our imaginations.
These are the days to remember.
peace, Pam
Today is Wednesday and time for the inspirational word of the week!
(thanks to Dictionary.com for the definition)
Have a wonderful week!
Pam
It’s Monday, which means it’s time for the inspirational song of the week!
It’s a great day to be alive by Travis Tritt
This song is a FANTASTIC way to start the week.
I hope each and everyone of you sings along. If nothing else then at least try the howling part!!!!
I got rice cooking in the microwave
Got a three day beard I don’t plan to shave
And it’s a goofy thing but I just gotta say
Hey, I’m doing alright
Yeah I think I’ll make me some homemade soup
Feelin’ pretty good and that’s the truth
It’s neither drink nor drug induced
No, I’m just doin’ alright
And it’s a great day to be alive
I know the sun’s still shinin’ when I close my eyes
There’s some hard times in the neighborhood
But why can’t every day be just this good?
It’s been fifteen years since I left home
Said good luck to every seed I’d sown
Give it my best and then I left it alone
Oh I hope they’re doin’ alright
Now I look in the mirror and what do I see?
A lone wolf there starin’ back at me
Long in the tooth but harmless as can be
Lord, I guess he’s doin’ alright
And it’s a great day to be alive
I know the sun’s still shinin’ when I close my eyes
There’s some hard times in the neighborhood
But why can’t every day be just this good?
Sometimes its lonely
Sometimes its only me and
The shadows that fill this room
Sometimes I’m fallin’, desperately callin’
Howlin’ at the moon
Well I might go get me a new tatoo or
Take my old Harley for a three day cruise
Might even grow me a fu man chu
And it’s a great day to be alive
I know the sun’s still shinin’ when I close my eyes
There’s some hard times in the neighborhood
But why can’t every day be just this good?
And it’s a great day to be alive
I know the sun’s still shinin’ when I close my eyes
There’s some hard times in the neighborhood
But why can’t every day be just this good?
[ Travis Tritt Lyrics
are found on www.songlyrics.com ]
xoxoxo Pam
To be completely honest, I stopped watching regular main-stream news the week after 9/11/2001. I could feel the suck and pull of my emotions being dragged through the drama, and I decided to take my future into my own hands and pull the plug.
To say the least, I am infinitely happier now because of that decision.
That does not mean I don’t watch any news. It means I choose what I allow into my perspective.
I decide what to pay attention to without fear or judgment. I choose wisely and am not alone. When I envision, expect and choose great things, I will identify, pursue and experience great things.
I keep my options open and acknowledge emotional clutter and unrealistic expectations.
I look for the opportunity within the challenge. That’s where the juiciest parts of life come from anyway.
I just came across this fresh piece of journalism and decided that it’s educational value is imperative to fixing what is stagnant in our country.
For sure it will inspire debate. I’m sure it will inspire something.
Please let me know what it inspires in you.
Tchau for now,
Pam
P.S. Check out theconfidenceguyonline.com
I first recognized “Pink” while I was living in Mexico with my husband and son. My husband was building a glass factory and so we were going to be living there for about 14 months.
We had been there for at least 6 months at this point. My dear husband had been working many, many long hours on site, and my girlfriends had all left for their summer vacations, so I was feeling pretty darned lonely, frustrated, angry and defensive which is not the way I wanted to be spending my life, especially trying to raise a young, impressionable child. I was frustrated because I felt like I “should” being doing something else, what that was I didn’t know. I was angry because I was frustrated and I was defensive because I felt guilty for not being content with what I had, which was a FREAKING AWESOME LIFE! The front part of my brain knew that I “should be happy” but there was a nagging discontent that was making me short-tempered, irritable and snappy. I wasn’t happy and my attitude was poisoning my life. I knew something had to change, I just didn’t know what.
I was taking my walk, when I noticed the sky. There were just enough clouds on the horizon to create one of those picture-perfect sunsets with yellow rays of sunlight shining through hot pink clouds against an apricot sky. Stunning, really stunning.
It was then that I felt a feeling of lightness. Like a marionette, I could feel the sunset pulling all the tension and pain off of my shoulders.
I was wearing an MP3 player and the song playing at that very moment was Pink by Aerosmith.
I was speechless, floating along the street, listening to Steven Tyler sing…
“And I think everything is going to be all right, no matter what we do tonight” and I got it. I totally understood just what exactly it was that I was supposed to learn.
I could hold onto my loneliness, anger, frustration and defensiveness and continue to feel horrible.
Or I could let it go, even for just a few moments and feel better. The choice was completely up to me! Amazing! I had to be strong enough to surrender and let it all go. I had to have enough faith in myself and the Universe to figure out what it was I really needed, as well as, the patience and determination to go out and get it. Essentially, I had to let my life become something different, something better.
I started by taking control of my attitude. Doing this allowed me to develop appreciation for my life. It hasn’t happened all at once, but it HAS happened. Just like muscles are strengthened by regular use, I had to practice living joyfully day to day. I had to go out and find the Pink things. As a matter of fact, I started creating art (making Pink things ) to represent my gratitude for the Pink things in my life. The piece at the top of this essay was just the first of many projects I’ve made to say THANK YOU to the Universe. I built up my happiness muscles and I USE them!
God wants me to be happy. She’ll throw out clues to remind me. It’s my job to look for them.
Pink is my reminder of why life is worth living. It’s a naturally occurring phenomenon produced by the Universe. Like a birthday present, it’s wrapped up in the mundane events of daily life just waiting to be opened.
Like the soft, pink of baby toes,
and the light-hearted earnestness of “Octopuses Garden” by the Beatles,
my son’s laughter,
and my husband’s smile,
the sexiness of Steven Tyler singing “Pink”,
and the hot, pink flowers on a bougainvillea vine,
the resilient attitude of SpongeBob SquarePants,
and the warm, buzzing feeling in my muscles after an intense work-out,
Pink reminds me that my happiness is completely up to me and I can unwrap it whenever I want to.
That day transformed my life. I love my life and feel so very blessed. I admit, there are days that are difficult, some of which are downright painful. Sometimes I look around and don’t see anything Pink.
I finally realized what it is I am supposed to be doing. I have to be the Pink thing, the reminder of why life is beautiful and worth living.
“Wait!” you say. “How can you be so unrealistic? Real life is hard, difficult and filled with dissappointment. Aren’t you sticking your head in the sand with all of this Pink crap? Aren’t your afraid of being made a fool of?”
Thanks for asking and I’m really glad you’re here. Without you, I would just be talking to myself and that would be really boring.
Let me be more specific about what I think Pink means.
Pink is my way to describe an overall-workable scheme to create a life worth looking forward to, as well as looking back upon. Pink is about momentum, not about perfection.
Let me offer three ideas that really help develop the philosophy of Pink;
desire, equanimity and resilience.
Desire is a very powerful force. Desire doesn’t sit in the corner waiting to be fulfilled. Desire pushes and prods relentlessly. Like a hungry cat rubbing around your legs, desire gets noticed, dammit!
Equanimity is the relationship in your life between what is happening to you and what you are doing about it. For example, if you spend every day of the week making chocolate chip cookies, you may become a very good baker, but you will not become a Kung Fu Master. Basically, you become what you do everyday.
Resilience is the ability to bounce back after hardship. You practice resilience by getting back up again, and again……and again……….
“You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.” ~ Mary Pickford
Pink is the combination of all three of these. Pink is not afraid of what everyone else thinks. Pink wants to be noticed and appreciated. Pink has something better to offer than fear. Pink promises fulfillment. Pink is beautiful, funny, inspiring, strong, joyful, soothing and confident. Pink ROCKS!!
I hope that you will go out and look for the Pink things in your life. Even if your Pink things are Purple, Turquoise, or Neon Green, they long for your attention and want to inspire you.
The best part is that once you find them, everyone benefits!
John Lennon and the Beatles said it best when they sang “And in the end. The love you take, is equal to the love you make.”
May peace be with you and keep you safe and happy.
Pam Belding
p.s. Paula Pryke has a new book called”Simply Pink” and it is GORGEOUS!
