photos by: Theresa Holder

 “Perhaps, the most important thing we can do is

honor whatever season we’re in and not fight it.”  

I love this follow up comment from my recent post Seasons Change.  Fellow blog writer Sara  really gave the fighter in me something to think about here. 

After reading Sara’s comment, it struck me that while honoring the seasons is an excellent way to deal with the changes in the calendar, the temperature, the daylight hours, energy levels, etc., the concept of honoring can be used in a much wider arena.

You see, I tend to resist or fight changes that I don’t immediately see the value in.  The kink that change throws into the perceived steadiness of my life does not thrill me.

Accepting change, therefore, may require us to honor things we normally fight against.  Honoring a headache, for example.  What value is there in a headache?  (As a migraine sufferer, I’ve been trying to answer this question forever.) Well, maybe, just maybe, it’s our brain’s way of telling us to shut out the noise—that constant chattering that we allow to fill our minds. 

Perhaps pain of any kind is a reminder to us as humans that we have been given the gift of the human body and need to honor it as a gift. 

Hmmmm…should I then welcome or be happy with pain?  Gosh, no.  I’m all about quality of life.  This earthly visit is so short, I prefer to go through it as healthy and happy as possible. 

I’m merely suggesting that honoring what is (physical or otherwise)–respecting and allowing that some changes are just plain necessary–may be the first step in moving through those changes effortlessly. 

Life is good!  Namaste.  –Lori

Did you ever flow through your day and think, “This is good. Life is good. I’m good.” – only to have one little miniscule everyday life event mess it all up? (Oh please let me not be the only one.)

Yesterday was that day for me. The morning (my special, intention-setting, alone time) was bliss. Work was more like play. Yoga class was downright spiritual. My angelic teenager (who knew those two words could go together?) was super loving and appreciative of her dear old mom. Life was good (as I always say in my closing).

So why was it that I checked that last email late in the evening? Oh yeah. I was waiting for news and hoping it would be good. I only checked to confirm what I wanted to hear. But, alas, it was what it was. And before my conscious mind had a chance to process the news and rationally put it in it’s place, disappointment grabbed hold of me like a scared child wrapped around her mommy’s leg. Without even knowing it really, I had turned my in-love-with-my-life mood into nobody-in-my-house-can-do-anything-right within a matter of minutes.

I swear, before I even saw that black cloud cover my light, I found that my angelic daughter hadn’t done the dishes yet. My husband hadn’t dried the laundry which he washed three days prior. And the poor cat was being uncharacteristically unaffectionate (I’m thinking her animal instincts told her to stay away from the grumpy human).

Simply put, I needed a time-out.  Problem was that I didn’t know it at the time.  It wasn’t until I had made everyone around me miserable, too, that I realized what was happening.  Yes, I fell off the positively positive wagon once again, and I even took a couple of others down with me for a while. 

How to recuperate after the fall?  Well, I just caught myself as soon as possible.  Made my apologies.  Asked for forgiveness.  Forgave myself.  And tried to get right back up on the positivity wagon.  Hopefully, next time I will catch myself just that much sooner, or at the very least, take the fall on my own and leave the innocent bystanders alone.

Today’s a new day. It’s a good day. Life is good!

Namaste. –Lori

Remember how your mama used to tell you, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all”?  Well, I’m ready to hold my tongue…literally.  Yes, I just may need to grab it with my index finger and thumb and walk around like that all day long.  No whispering, no mumbling, no nothing.  I just need to shut up.

Since reading Edwene Gaines’ The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity, I’ve been trying very hard to eliminate negative thoughts and comments from my daily conversation.  Ms. Gaines challenges her followers to try a 21-day fast from gossip, criticism, judgment…even sarcasm.

While I have no doubts that cutting out negativity from my thoughts and words will free me up to be more creative and attract more positive people and situations into my life, I’m stuck on the actual follow through.  Sadly so, I can barely make it through a whole day without a slip.

I’m not planning to give up, though.  There’s already a much shorter turnaround time between my untamed tongue and my I-can’t-believe-I-just-said-that realization.  And I do keep coming up with new strategies to try out (I might be kidding about the actual hold-the-tongue thing).  But it is getting a little frustrating to not be able to make it 24 hours without a slip. How will I ever string together 21 days in a row?

That brings me to plan P: Positively Positive.  Going forward, I will not use the terms Negative, Negativity Diet, Fast From Negativity, Eliminating Negativity, etc.  After all, how will I ever evolve into the powerfully positive woman I desire to be while focusing on the opposite attribute?  I won’t.  I’ll get exactly what I’m putting out into the universe.

Starting now (listen up Universe), I am a powerfully positive woman who brings joy and peace wherever I go.  That’s my mantra and I’m sticking to it.  If you’re inclined to disagree or critique, remember what your mama taught you.

Life is good!  Namaste.  –Lori

Every morning, I get up extra early, reread that chapter in her book and try to set my intention to fast from negative comments or thoughts. So far, I’m lucky if I last until noon. Then I get up the next day and try to hold my sarcastic tongue, curb my critical thoughts just a little longer.

Unlike other diets, there aren’t a lot of support groups out there to help you.  Why not?  Well, quite simply, it’s a very human tendency to bond by bitching.  And when in a group, be it family, coworkers or friends, I fall prey to that tendency as well…quite easily, I’m  embarrassed to admit.

So I think this is one spiritual challenge that I’m going to have to form a committee of one for my support. I’m hoping that if I keep setting my intention in the morning as soon as I wake up, I will eventually find that I’ve kept that intention alive until evening when I go to bed. I know that once I get through one full day, stringing several days of negative-free thinking and talking will be attainable. And the report to the committee will be glowing with praise for the committee member: me.

Life is good! Namaste.  –Lori