There was a time when we all felt the world around us instead of analyzing or directing or complaining or ignoring it. . At some point we convinced ourselves that that should be put aside. BIG MISTAKE!  We look at the world around us and the problems in it, and just can’t understand why. Well maybe just maybe, if more people felt instead of ignored or assumed or didn’t think at all, some of those problems we see out there would go away.  But, it’s got to happen within us first.  So, take a few minutes for yourself. Here are just 5 questions to ask yourself. Ask them, but make sure that when you answer them,  you “feel” the answers from head to toe.  Good luck…   •What does it feel like to be happy?  •What does it feel like to feel alive?   •What does it feel like to walk through the soft grass?  •What does it feel like to hear your favorite sound?  •What does it feel like to allow yourself to actually feel?  Peace       ……Gregg

The next five or six weeks will find us in all kinds of situations involving the upcoming holidays, whether or not we celebrate any or all of them. Sometimes we might find ourselves in a situation that makes us uncomfortable because of who we are, where we are, or what somebody else is doing or saying. As a result, the holidays can be an uneasy time of the year for some. In this One Minute Blog I’ve put together 4 key things that will help us find our way through the next five or six weeks and if we do it correctly, through every day after that. 1•Find 15 or 30 seconds of peace at a time…      There will be moments when we will just be overwhelmed. It might be all the shopping or cooking still to be done. Maybe it might be something someone says or Dora’s that it rude or insensitive. Maybe it’s a memory from years past that just hits you like a ton of bricks. Whatever the reason, 10-15 or 30 seconds of peace can go a long way to getting you back on track. Grab a smile from the past, a picture, sound or smell that always makes you smile. Focus on it for a few minutes and find yourself smiling through your challenges. 2•Take a deep breath… and another… and another…      That simple act relaxes the vagus nerve that controls our entire body. A simple breath does. So much more than fill your lungs with air. Allowing yourself to breathe and focus on something positive will also make sure your not focusing on the negative.  3•Not only have some appreciation for what others have done, said or made, but SHOW some appreciation for it too…  Go out of your way to feel some appreciation and/or gratitude for what’s happening around you.  Once we’ve accomplished that, share that appreciation. Tell those around you thank you, drop a gift by, hold a hug a bit longer. Even a well placed smiled can make appreciation travel farther and faster than we could ever imagine. 4•Be grateful, even  it trying circumstances…  If someone made something to eat that you don’t like, be grateful for it.  If someone says something you don’t like, be grateful that you were able to hear it. (Even though you don’t agree with it.)  If someone acts in a way that’s inappropriate, be thankful that you aren’t the one acting that way.  We can only control how we act and react. We have no control within someone else’s actions and reactions.  Over the next few weeks, do your best to remember that how we act and react, we are doing our best at that given time. (And so are they. Even if it’s below the standards we’ve set at that given time.)  So, find something, ANYTHING to be grateful and thankful for. Focus on that instead of what Weird Uncle Herb just said or the awful Cajun Green Bean and Chocolate Marshmallow Casserole that Crazy […]

We’re about to get into that time of the year that is very happy for some and very, very sad for others. The time of the year where many of us will want to help others get through it. That’s a very admirable trait, unless you forget about taking care of yourself too. Too often we keep saying things like “I’ll be fine” or “I’m good” when we know good and well that we’re not. The need to help others is so big in fact, that many times we focus so intently on others even though we know it’s to our own detriment. So what are supposed to do, we need to help these people, right? Think of it this way…I call it the “Airplane Effect.” On a plane, the flight attendant during the safety speech always says “If you’re traveling with a child or someone who requires assistance, place the mask over your nose first.” Why? Because if you don’t take care of yourself first, something bad might happen to both you and them! This makes so much sense to us while we’re on the plane but somehow, as soon as we step off and into our regular routine we focus all of our attention on helping someone else and completely forget about taking care of ourselves. Just answer this…Would you be able to give better advise, to understand more, to see more signals that might be being sent out and/or to facilitate more if you took better care of yourself? Of course you would! More sleep, more prayer or meditation, better nutrition or maybe just eating at all, as opposed to not eating (which is often common) all fall into the “taking better care of yourself” category. The drive to help others is amazing and commendable. It’s one way we can all make the world a better place. Make sure though, that you’re not causing yourself a problem where down the line, someone just might have to take care of you. “I’m not indestructible” is a mantra we can all benefit from telling ourselves. Give yourself the same advise you’d give to someone someone else. So….. Take care of yourself so you can take care of them. Take care of yourself so you can take care of them. PEACE …..Gregg