JUST A 'SCRIBBLE'

 JUST A SCRIBBLE

Someone that I know from on line that I have never met in person but somehow feel a connection to  writes down things and calls them her scribbles. The writings are actually very good. I know that I can relate to them through what is going on in my own life. As the scribble above is showing, most scribbles are going somewhere. Her writings are always headed in a particular direction.

As it turns out there is a connection between us. Her husband is a first cousin of Steve and they used to play together as children. All of the times that I have been over to the UK with Steve, I have never met them. In fact, it was only until about a year or so before Steve passed away that I noticed them on line. Their last name of Miles is what had me ask Steve about them. That is when he told me of their family ancestry. Quite a small world!

She wove in the words of this particular scribble to the song Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay. Helen said that she wished she could say that she was sitting on the dock of the bay watching the tide roll away. Then went on to explain that it really was TRUE. What a difference a day makes! One rises in the morning with so many plans but you can't plan and expect it to happen because our life is planned out but not always by us alone. Circumstances and events unknown occur. There is not one person living that can expect perfection in life. We can hope and we can dream but our fate is planned out.

So the most important thing is to firstly be HAPPY! I love that word she used! Firstly! Then secondly the most important thing is to share that happiness. Remember that all of us need to stop getting sad over small things and stop getting emotional over things that we can't control. It is a time for us to be happy because everyone deserves to be happy. 

Remember always that this is the first day of the rest of your life. Do the things that make you happy. Love the people you want to love. Be kind. Be good. Be honest. Be true. But most importantly BE YOU! 

Actually, sitting on the dock of the bay resting your bones is not such a bad idea...just do not do this alone too often. There is a time to have some alone time. That is not a bad thing. Sharing your experiences with others and biding your time with others is not wasting time. Why? Because everything is gonna change and nothing will always stay the same. Embrace each day with anticipation and love.

We all do have some control over how things turn out. Planning helps, just remember to always have a backup plan in case "stuff" happens. And we all know it does happen at times. Usually when we least expect it.

Eleanor Roosevelt said it well in her quote of the new day which is exactly why we need to embrace each day with anticipation and love.

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This is just so true. I think to myself about missing Steve. Missing him is the hardest thing that I deal with every day. Where does the happiness come in? It comes when I remember to hold each and every memory of him in my heart and know that I must learn not to live without him but to live with the love that he left behind for me. This makes me smile again and to share in my happiness. A new day brings on new strength and new thoughts. Always ~

Thank you Helen Miles for sharing your 'Scribbles' with me and allowing me to use some of it in my blog. Also to Otis Redding for writing "Sittin' on the Dock of a Bay" partially in California while sitting on a rented houseboat and then he completed the song in Memphis with Steve Cropper, the guitarist of Booker T. & the M.G.'s as well as a STAX music producer. Definitely Memphis music shared with the world.

SELF-LOVE

 SELF-LOVE

The best thing I ever did was BELIEVE in me.

There comes a time in everyone's life that before us there is a fork in the road. I hit that fork in my road through life. So which way was I going to choose to go? So far, I am 99.9% sure that I have chosen the best path for myself. It truly is a matter of self-love. I want to be healthy for ME. The side benefits just happen to be that I will not only feel better but due to feeling better, I will look better, at least in my own mind. It is part of self-love. Doing something for myself! It is not being selfish. I want to be around for as long as possible for my children and grandchildren. And, I want to be healthy and happy! So, I made my choice.

With the help of a very good friend, who became my coach through this process, I am moving on along my path with ease. Most days are very easy and flow very well. 

This statement is so true. One can't go out and find balance, nor can one go out and buy it. Balance is created within yourself. Keeping an open mind toward all of the possibilities is one way that I use to create my balance.

It seems that the more that I focused on my balance, the more it was magnified. This was my saving grace and will continue to be; sort of like the 'never-ending story.' And I happen to love that feeling. What I do know for sure is that my current situation will NOT determine my final destination. 

When I started this journey, I did it for self-love. I did it to become healthy. But, you know what? It does not hurt to have a goal in mind. At a meeting the other day with my financial planner, she continued to tell me NOT to go into my social security fund until I hit the magic age. Well, that will be sooner than she thought. HA! What a fabulous compliment when she said that she wanted my look when she was my age. (whatever that age may be)

All I can say is that it is ok to set your goals wherever you choose. Afterall...Martha never in a million years believed that she would be the oldest woman on the cover of the Swimsuit Edition of Sports Illustrated. But look at her! 81 years young!

Today I hope you wake up with love, love for life, love for others, and most importantly, love for yourself.

FRIENDS

 FRIENDS

What exactly are friends good for? There was a song titled, That's What Friends Are For, by Dione Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight and Elton John that speaks volumes about what friends are for. They are there through good times and the bad times. They know most everything about you and yet they still love you. 

It turns out that friends are so very good for our health. They don't just help you enjoy life but they may make you healthier too. How you may ask? From  The Upside  by Twill I found quite a bit of information.

• Friends keep our spirits up. That social connection is one of the strongest protections against depression. This is based on research at Massachusetts General Hospital. 
• One study suggested that when women communicate with their female friends, it can actually result in lowering their levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

 

• College students getting a flu shot were asked to list up to 20 close friends. After 6 months, those students who had named less than 13 friends produced significantly fewer antibodies to the flu virus than the group who listed more friends. This was also researched in a study. In a University College London study it was reported that being more socially active, especially in midlife, is linked with a significantly lower risk of developing dementia later on. Scientists believe that people who are socially engaged in exercising cognitive skills such as language and memory, may help them develop cognitive reserve, which is the capacity for the brain to withstand changes that usually lead to a decline in cognitive function.
• Having a supportive listener in your life is associated with better brain function. Participants in their 40's and 50's who had low listener availability in their lives showed a cognitive age that was 4 years older than those who had high listener availability.

Age does not seem to matter. We need friends all through our lives.

So we should all be able to see the importance of reaching out to a friend for our own sake as well as theirs. Love lights us all up! 

My very special group of friends. 

A friend is someone who makes it easy to believe in yourself!

SIMPLY GRATITUDE

SIMPLY GRATITUDE

By now, if you read my blogs often enough, you may be asking yourself, "Just how many blogs can she write about gratitude?" I will answer that with as many as my mind can continue to come up with. I found a great saying that simply was 'Everyone understands kindness!' There was a picture of a sweet young boy and girl with one giving a flower to the other one. So simple. So sweet. But then I thought...wouldn't that be so wonderful if everyone really and truly did understand kindness?

At that time, yet another mass shooting took place in the US. And even on a much lesser scale of kindness and gratitude I thought of my drive to pick up my granddaughters from school and how on a road in my neighborhood where the speed is 35, I was passed by another car going at great speed on a road that is not wide enough to pass someone safely on. And yet again on another road that was ok to pass someone in another lane but at a speed that was at least 25 - 35 miles per hour faster than the speed limit. All I can think is that somehow those drivers never learned to take their turns, not to butt in line nor how to be kind. They really are NOT more important than anyone else. Be kind to all and that will lead to having gratitude.

First let me put up the definition of gratitude:

 Please notice that it includes the word kindness. The two go hand in hand. Researchers have studied and proven that expressing gratitude consistently provides many health benefits.

Studies have be documented that show lower levels of stress hormones, reduction in dietary fat intake, lower blood pressure, lower levels of glucose markers, lower depression levels and better sleep for chronic pain patients. Actually, it boils down to fostering a gratitude practice helps our entire system function better. Mindsets actually do affect biochemistry.

It does require, at least for me, writing down a couple of things that I am grateful for each day in my journal. If you are not a journal writer it would be fine to call attention to them with a friend, a partner or simply out-loud to yourself. Even thanking someone for something by stopping and looking them in the eyes to fully communicate that gratitude. These are the kinds of acts that help to shift your mindset.

Again, more studies with cardiac patients showed that keeping a gratitude journal resulted in a significant drop in cardiac risks compared to other groups. Just try being your very own science experiment for a good cause.

I truly believe that Charlie Brown and Snoopy say it best of all: