Today is Wednesday, which means it’s time for the Inspirational word of the week. (Remember, each week I pick a word that will inspire me to write. I thought of it a few moments ago and only have 2 hours to write about it before I need to go clean house and put dinner together. That’s why I call this blog Current Inspiration!)
Believe: (verb) to have confidence in the truth, reliability or existence of something.
Oh My! :)
With that is my inspiration, I will pull together some of my beliefs to share with you, my friendly blog reader! (I would LOVE IT, if you would share your beliefs in the comments!!)
I believe in good sleep, great sex and true love.
I believe people who expect the worst will not only find it but end up creating more of it.
I believe being happily married depends on kindness, respect and trust.
I believe in smiling at strangers for no better reason than to see what they’ll do in return.
I believe in the healing power of laughter!
I believe a daily 4 mile walk will do more good for a persons mental health than all the pills on the market.
I believe in art, music, yoga, aromatherapy, and meditation.
I believe in living well despite the distractions. I believe in peace, grace and resilience.
I believe having faith in yourself is the strongest magic there is.
I believe it’s everyone’s responsibility to maintain hope and show people that we can get along when we try.
I believe people should NEVER give up being kind to each other. Ever.
And last, I believe it is my duty to enjoy lifein order to show other people that it is possible and to inspire them to try it for themselves.
Wow, that was fun!!!
What do you think? What do you believe in?
I wish you a wonderful week and will be back on Monday with the Inspirational song of the week.
xoxo Pam
p.s. This I believe, an NPR series, is a wonderful way to inspire yourself, and the ones you love. Click the link to check it out!!
Today is Wednesday, which means it’s time for the Inspirational word of the week. (Remember, each week I pick a word that will inspire me to write. I thought of it few moments ago and only have 2 hours to write about it before I need to go clean house and put dinner together. That’s why I call this blog Current Inspiration!)
Enough: (adjective) adequate for the want or need. (pronoun) an adequate quantity (adverb) to a degree that satisfies a purpose.
I was chatting with my Dad on the phone last night and he asked me how that “thing in Ortonville” was going. (Of course, he was referring to the Beets, Beats & Eats farmers market that I help put together and am a vendor at, but he couldn’t remember the goofy name of it!) So I told him that I bring in 2 of my burlap art projects (they’re delicate, so I only bring in two at a time in order to keep them from getting ruined), my Tibetan prayer flags and my massage chair. He was tickled, and not surprised to hear that I make the bulk of my money from the massage chair. This is the man that I worked on regularly as a child. I remember spending as long as an hour every day massaging his lower back because of the pain caused from arthritis. My Mom has a torn tendon in her shoulder from a car accident, so between the two of them, I developed into a very strong masseuse with a lot of stamina. My Dad used to say that my hands were my dowry!
He asked if I do the massage outside of the market and I told him that I usually don’t. “The biggest reason I do the massage is because I know I can make people feel better. Even if it’s only for 5 minutes. If I had to do it during the week, and it got in the way of something else I really want to do, like play a game with my son, or take a boat ride with my husband, I’d feel resentful, and then I wouldn’t give a good massage. This way, the people getting the massage really do feel better, and I’m happy knowing I’ve done some good. That’s enough for me.”
***********
On Monday, I listened to an on-line writers workshop class with Jen Louden. She talked about setting Conditions of Enough. While unlimited possibilities seems like the best way to get what you want, ultimately what happens is that we don’t know how to define the beginning or the end of what we’re working on. This can lead to frustration and self-abuse because we end up over-working ourselves and getting angry that we didn’t accomplish everything! (Listening to this part made my hair stand on end because I recognized this in myself. As a classic work-aholic, I been known to work myself into a frenzy, only to be disappointed that the work itself (like laundry and dishes) is never done. AAAACCCKKK)
By setting our Conditions of Enough ahead of time, we give ourselves stepping stones that show us how to get to where we’re going! BRILLIANT!!! When we set time limits, borders and realistic goals on our energy, we get a proper measure of how much we’ve really accomplished.
Then she said “It’s“important to declare to yourself, (out loud even) “I’m satisfied” even if you don’t feel it! By declaring your satisfaction, you define the end of the project your working on.”
I’m so incredibly happy to have listened to Jen’s words of wisdom, my friendly blog reader. I’m relieved knowing that I’m not the only person who’s done this to herself! I’m even more happy to know how to remedy the situation! Although I have a tendency to fight against “rules” and “structure” I love the idea of stepping stones!
My wonderful son and his friend are asking me to play Monopoly with them, so I’m going to declare this blog post finished and “I’m satisfied with how it’s turned out“.
That’s good enough for me!
I wish you a wonderful week, my friendly blog reader!
Today is Wednesday, which means it’s time for the Inspirational word of the week. (Remember, each week I pick a word that will inspire me to write. I thought of it few moments ago and only have 2 hours to write about it before I need to go clean house and put dinner together. That’s why I call this blog Current Inspiration!)
Clarity:(noun)1. clearness or lucidity, freedom from ambiguity. 2. the state or quality of being transparent or clear.
It was hard for me to open myself up and share my needs with you, but I felt it was necessary to help you, my friendly blog reader. Although, it probably made some of you uncomfortable, I hope seeing someone else working at getting their own needs met helped to clarify how to go about it.
To be honest, clarity has not been my strongest virtue. I’ve always been more of a “go with your gut” kind of woman. With all of the traveling and moving around I’ve done, focusing on long term goals just seemed like a waste of time. It seemed far easier to just put my head down and handle whatever came my way with as much strength and guts as I could muster. Clarity never really played into it.
However, now that I’m 41 years old, with a home, family and responsibilities, I’ve come to realize that if I don’t clarify my goals, other people will automatically assume that I will always be willing to do what needs to be done because I don’t have anything better to do. They know they can depend on me to take care of whatever needs to be done because I’m strong enough to do it.
Whether or not it’s my responsibility, doesn’t matter. I’m strong and reliable, so they will (unwittingly or not) take advantage of that.
If it continues, it will end up making me resentful and them weak.
That’s NOT what I want.
What I want to do is to inspire people to take care of themselves and become successful in their own lives.
That’s pretty clear.
Now, how do I do that?
By becoming an inspirational speaker as well as artist and writer.
I’ll start by talking with people who already know me, but don’t know that I write and just go from there.
I look forward to talking to more people about what I’ve been writing because somewhere, someone really needs what I do.
I realize some people won’t get it, but I can’t let that stop me.
My message is clear! Speak up or risk letting other people define what my life turns into. What about you? What are your goals? Are you willing to clarify what you want and go about getting it?
Last week, I talked about my top 3 needs here, and although I didn’t link to it in the first post, I also wrote about one of my basic needs, Acceptance, in the Inspirational word of the week here.
In no particular order, the 9 Basic Human Needs are
Security = Asks lots of questions and demands more information.
Adventure = Always looking for a new way of doing things.
Freedom = Needs to make their own choices. Resists rules.
Exchange = Works well with others to share values.
Power = Strong leadership tendencies. Good organizers and accept responsibility.
Expansion = Needs to build and grow. Recognizes value.
Acceptance = Friendly and tolerant. Smiling and whistling is normal.
Community = Likes to be around other people. Nurturing and helpful.
Expression = Creative with words, art, or even computer stuff.
Last Friday night at the Beets, Beats & Eats Farmers market, with a great deal of help from my friends, we held the very first Enjoy the Process Coloring Contest! Wweeeeeeee!!!! It went so well!! Our winner is a lady named Gayle Dodds, a new artist, and vendor at the BB&E. Out of the 26 entries, her piece received the most votes from all of the people in the park. The prize was a collection of all of the entry fees, which totaled $26. (My prize was seeing her beautiful smile light up the park! ) She had never won anything before, and she was absolutely tickled pink! She happily floated around for the rest of the night and promised to enter into next years contest as well! I couldn’t be happier for her and I’m completely thrilled with the excitement and enthusiasm of all of the people who participated!
So next year I’m planning on adding categories for different ages as well as mediums, including glitter & glue, beads, seeds, stones, fabrics and mosaic tiles! It’s great to have something fun to look forward to!!!
“It’s good to be doing what I’m supposed to be doing with the people I’m doing it with”
When I first read through the 9 Basic Human Needs, I first thought I needed Community because I like to be around people, (which is one of the requirements), but later, as I continued reading, I realized that I have more of a need for Exchange because, according to Barbara Taylor’s article “People with a need for exchange are concerned about the flow of energy in all types of relationships. They like to see things “moving” in some way that expresses balanced equality, integrity and an equal exchange.”
When I decided last November to put together this coloring contest, I had no idea that this was because of my need for Exchange.It just seemed like something I’m supposed to be doing. I needed to give people something special to do in a fun atmosphere. Ever since I had my epiphany in Mexico, I’ve hosted art classes for kids and grown-ups, as well as English and cooking classes while I was living in Brasil. That was when I started writing this blog.
Which leads me to my 3rd basic need, Expression. My need of Expression first manifested itself when I started making my burlap art in Mexico. I took a simple project I had first done in the fourth grade and expanded on it by making and adding beads, fur, flowers, leather strap, hand-made paper and lace.
I use art and writing as therapy to help me get through the really tough parts of life. And unlike pharmaceuticals, art therapy works most of the time with very mild side-effects. For instance now I have a dresser full of scrap material, my friends always give me cool stuff they’ve found, and my art cabinet is stuffed with beads, pine-cones, seeds, stones and other found items! Those are way better side-effects than dry-mouth, sleepiness or oily discharge!! :)
“Art builds community and the community creates value for all.”Seth Godin
Art and writing have given me something beautiful to focus on as well as a chance to express myself and make friends.
So there it is, my friendly blog reader, my top 3 basic needs and how I figured them out.
What do you think? Do you know what your top 3 basic needs are?
I’d love to read your thoughts in the comments!
Have a wonderful week and I’ll be back on Monday with the Inspirational song of the week.
Today is Wednesday, which means it’s time for the Inspirational word of the week.
Influence: (noun) 1. the power to be a compelling force 2. the process of producing effects on another (verb) to move to some action, to affect or sway.
Not only do I sell Tibetan prayer flags, I hang them throughout my house because they bring a positive influence into their environment.
The Tiger hangs in my bathroom. It symbolizes unconditional confidence, a natural sense of satisfaction and fulfillment through disciplined awareness, kindness and modesty. Although I don’t always feel unconditionally confident, I’ve noticed a difference in myself since I started flying this flag. It’s a gentle reminder to help bring me back to who I want to be. This simple flag helps to remind me what I need to represent in order to be a positive influence.
Especially when life gets difficult. Because life is never easy for very long.
Dale Carnegie wrote, “Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.”
Whenever I start to feel like I just don’t know how I can keep going, I surf over to the communicatrix and listen to Colleen Wainwright sing her song . (WARNING, this song is not for young ears, but its message is very influential) It’s a great reminder that strength comes from the struggle. (It also helps to have a sense of humor!)
Like Colleen so eloquently said “One step at a time. Because there is love on the other side, but the only way to it is through it…”
*Anxiety Scrubber exercise* “Just cause I don’t know now, doesn’t mean I won’t know then…..Just cause I don’t know how, doesn’t mean I won’t know then……” (repeat 4 times while rubbing your finger and thumb together)
Promoting the Ortonville DDA Beets, Beats & Eats has afforded me the opportunity to talk with hundreds of people over the past couple of weeks. It seems lately that as long as I’m talking about the farmers market, I can talk all day. And quite honestly, it feels like I am!
To those of you who see me on a regular basis, I can understand why you’re just exhausted by watching me sometimes. I seem to have a tremendous amount of energy as I chat with people, in person, on the phone, by e-mail and on forums. It’s an incredible wave of energy and I’m glad to be sharing it with you all, my friendly blog readers.
My challenge is to keep focused in the right direction (giving people something special to look forward to in a fun atmosphere) and maintain faith in my mission to become an inspirational artist, writer, entrepreneur, volunteer extraordinaire!
This mission, should I choose to accept it, is to let other people get to know me and learn to accept me for who I am, because I have a lot of good to share.
“Stay open to the balance of energies, show patience for time to do its work. Embrace the place where life happens. By recognizing graciousness, kindness, generosity and bravery, we discover the power to create a better future is contained in the present moment.”
Relax your butt! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!
“If you live the life you love, you will love the life you live” (quote from Soothe your Soul on Facebook)
“Sufficient to today are the duties of today. Don’t waste life in doubts and fear; spend yourself on the work before you; well assured that the right performance of this hours duties will be the best preparation.” Ralph Waldo Emerson(thanks Gretchen Rubin over at the Happines Project blog
“Grace enters when we accept what is.” Carla Blazek
My darling husband is on his way home as we speak!!! His project in Israel is OVER!!!! I’ve been trying to get the house spiffed up in anticipation of his arrival, and I plan on attending the Beets, Beats & Eats in two days as a vendor with my burlap art, my tibetan prayer flags and my massage chair! This weekend, we’re planning on taking in Oxfords Hot Blues and Barbeque, (put on by their DDA! ) The rest of the time, we’re going to just chill out! xoxo
Thanks for stopping by, my friendly blog reader. I’m excited to know you’re there and look forward to seeing your comments below.
xoxo Pam
p.s. I’ll be back on Monday with the Inspirational song of the week.
p.p.s. For those of you who are new, I’ve been posting twice a week for the past year, so please make sure you read the post on the right that says “Read this first”. It carries a lot of my “Flagship” content.
p.p.s.s. Seriously, I’m gonna go clean house! TTFN!
So here’s a quick update about the Linchpin meeting today……..
My girlfriend Debbie drove us to Oxford today. Debbie really helped to ease my nerves! (Thanks Honey! xoxo) Our other girlfriend Molly met us there later. Although I had invited almost 20 people, only 4 had responded, 2 of which I’m already acquainted with. We sat close to the door so that I could see the other Linchpins. (I assumed they would recognize me because my picture was on the meet-up invitation.)
The first person to come was Jana, a lovely expatriate from the Czech Republic. She had just read Seth’s book 3 weeks earlier and was looking to make friends and connections here in Michigan. Debbie and I introduced ourselves and shared our enthusiasm for our BB&E farmers market starting at 6pm this Friday night in Crossman Park. We showed her the newsletter and schedule of events “push card” we’ve been passing out. Her English was very clear, although she didn’t seem to think so. I told her about my experience living outside of the country and how I understand how hard it is to be outside your network. I look forward to seeing her again soon at the BB&E.
Then Debbie called a friend of ours, DDA Executive Director Madonna Van Fossen, whose office is right around the corner from where we were meeting. She came right over about the same time Molly arrived. We all chatted about downtown drama, our events and the challenges they bring! It was really fun!
Although we didn’t have an actual agenda, I had printed out a few copies of my “How this works” to pass out, as well as a couple pages of notes I had collected when I read Linch Pin.
I started by asking everyone who hadn’t read the book to look over the linchpin-notes(Feel free to look them over yourself!)
Then we moved on to How this works.
First I talked about how important it is desire the sense of possibility of what we want. Personally, I want to get sewers put into Ortonville (yeah, it’s sad, but true) but I don’t really know how it’s going to happen. I just know that it’s important to remember the possibility exists and to focus on that.
Then we moved on to encourage compassion and accountability. It’s much easier to get anything done when we are compassionate with ourselves as well as other people. By carrying a good attitude, other people will be more likely to want to work with us, which enables us to get more done!
Next we talked about promoting motivation, communication and education. We had the BB&E newsletter on the table as an example of what we have to offer. It’s beautiful, with lots of color pictures, smiling faces, and tons of information about our park and everything it offers.
Next comes keeping it simple. “You can only live happily ever after, one day at a time.” Margaret Bonnano.
Then came recognize enjoyment in order to focus on what really makes life worth living.
Last, we talked about getting the rhythm and keeping momentum in order to see the benefits of positive growth.
*I need to tell you, my friendly blog reader, about the serendipitous moment that occurred at this moment. As I was talking about finding the fun in our lives, sharing it with other people and getting into the rhythm of it, the song “Love Train” by the O’Jays started to play overhead in the bar! It was as if my guardian angels were helping out with the soundtrack!*
After we were done, Madonna took us over to her office and gave us the nickel tour. We were able to get some wonderful promotional materials from her and I even got to show her the Stretch! She loved it and recommended I take it to Hannah at Soothe your soul, a local store in Oxford which has massage and aromatherapy along with candles, jewelry and great stuff. I fully plan on doing that very soon!
I’ve got to run out to the Village council meeting to give a quick presentation about the BB&E.
I hope you have a wonderful evening. Thanks for sharing in my adventures!
Today is Wednesday, which means it’s time for the Inspirational word of the week.
Perspective: (noun) a visible scene, the state of existing in space, the state of one’s ideas and a mental view or prospect.
100_0020I wish I knew how to put this video directly onto the face of the post, but this is the best I can do. I appreciate your patience.
When you click the link titled 100 0020 above, you should be directed to a video I took while on my walk in Brasil last year. It’s of two dogs barking and snarling at me and my dog Tootsie as we passed by them.
Every day, as soon as these dogs heard or saw us, they would start barking and would sometimes even attack each other!!! At first, this display of aggression scared the hell out of me, but eventually it just became annoying. One day I decided to stop and tape them, and a funny thing happened. They calmed down. Apparently, they were so totally confused by my standing still and staring at them, that they eventually just quieted down and paced back and forth. I didn’t get close to them, but I did talk to them in a calm manner and ask them what they wanted. They just looked at me, with their heads cocked to one side. I continued on my walk and from that day forward, although they still barked, the anger and aggression seemed to be gone from their voices.
Which brings me to the lesson I learned from that experience.
“Just because someone says or does something nasty and mean, doesn’t mean I have to take it personally.”
Quite simply, these dogs didn’t have anything better to do. They were behind their fence every day, without any mental stimulation. Their owners didn’t take them for walks, so they had no way to burn off their aggression.
Here I come with my lovely chocolate lab, cruising past them, giving them something to focus their frustration and anger onto.
It’s not surprising then,that from their perspective it was my fault. My walking past them was a reminder of what they were missing, which made them even more frustrated and angry!
I feel sorry for these dogs, as well as the rest of the dogs that bark as Tootsie and I go walking past. They don’t have control over their exercise schedule and they can’t communicate what they need.
Too many people neglect to think about their dogs physical and emotional needs, so it isn’t surprising when you figure they probably don’t think too much about their own needs either.
There are always people who just don’t have anything better to do than bark, bitch, whine and complain about how terrible life is. They simply have nothing better to do (or they’ve chosen not to learn a different way to communicate).
If I allow their anger to upset me, then we’re both going to be frustrated and angry.
The only thing I have any control over is my own attitude.
I hope this post has helped give you a fresh perspective, my friendly blog reader.
Today is Wednesday, which means it’s time for the inspirational word of the week.
Spirit: (noun) soul, consciousness, attitude, and divine presence.
Last Wednesday, my darling husband and I stained the deck. The temperature outside was 89 degrees Fahrenheit and the deck was blazing hot! We used a paint sprayer with a compressor, so the job didn’t take as long as it would have if we rolled it. (we’ve done that and it totally sucks!!)
Blake worked on putting up the paper to protect the house, while I sprayed deck stain on the hand-railings and spindles. I eventually caught up to him, so I put the sprayer down and went up to help him.
Now, the temperature outside was hot, but the temperature up against the house was even hotter! I could see beads of sweat dripping off of my darling husband as he struggled with the paper, the roll of masking tape and the wind. I did my best to hold the paper steady and level. At one point, I could see that Blake was really getting frustrated and he barked out for me to hold the paper steady! Using the calmest voice I have, I said ” I am, and I know you’re hot. We’ll be done with this by the end of the day, thanks to your sprayer.” My darling husband didn’t say anything else, but I could visibly see him relax a little and settle back into putting up the paper. I helped for a little while longer, and then went back down to continue spraying. We completely finished the deck just as Garrett got home from school at 4:30pm.
The rest of the evening we spent relaxing all together on the boat with barbecued pork chops and baked potatoes for dinner. (except for the few minutes I eeked out that quick post you got to read last week)
My agenda has been so busy lately, with CreekFest coming up this Saturday, and getting the sprinklers turned on, checking in on my neighbors new dog Roxie and doing the Drop the Drama stretch a couple of times a week, as well as the usual laundry, dishes, shopping, and floors………it’s really nice to stop for a few minutes to write a blog post and share this energy with you, my friendly blog reader. ;) MUWAH!!!!
I would love to read your thoughts in the comments.
For now, I’m off to another meeting!!
xoxo
Pam
p.s. If you’re in Ortonville MI on July 2, please feel free to come to the Beets, Beats & Eats farmers market and enter our coloring contest. EVERYONE is invited, but you must be present to win! All entries must be colored within the shape (no coloring outside the lines!) and on the supplied flyer (click the link above to print it out on 8 1/2″ x 11″ paper). Bring the flyer and $1 to the BB&E and give it to me. I will collect all of the money and display the art in the park. Everyone at the park is invited to vote once on their favorite. People’s choice wins all of the money!!!! The more entries we have, the bigger the prize!!!
p.p.s. I’ve never done anything like this before, so I’m not sure how it’s all going to work out. There may be some glitches along the way, but overall I think it’s a good way to give people something beautiful to focus on, as well as a great way to Enjoy the process!
