Building Happy Kids

I have always felt like I was pretty in touch with the signals my body sends me. I meditate, do yoga, pay attention when I feel stressed, and generally have a pretty good idea when I’m not doing so well.

Or so I thought, anyway…

I’m what is apparently called a “high somatizer”–my stress shows up very clearly in my body. Not just in the normal, my-shoulders-get-tight-and-I-clench-my-jaw kind of way, either (though I have that, too, of course!) When I am stressed it affects my joints, my sleep, my skin, my hands–you name it.

I used to be so bad that my health insurance paid for me to go to biofeedback when I was 18. Twenty years ago in Nebraska nobody even knew what biofeedback WAS! Read the rest of this entry »

I love blogging, but it also makes me feel bad sometimes.

I’m supposed to let it go (it’s Key #7, after all!), but it still gets me sometimes.

After all, people come to read my stuff, so I should give them something new to read, right?

It’s not a question of not having things to write–it’s a time issue. The sad thing is that I really do have the time, but I get tired and overwhelmed, and I choose to spend my time doing other things (like sitting on my butt watching How to Look Good Naked. I love that show! Wonder if I should start charging for this publicity? Hmmmm…)

Anyway, back to my point!

I started asking myself lately how this fits into the Seven Keys. Obviously, I don’t want to be a hypocrite–I should practice what I preach. Read the rest of this entry »

Apparently my “real” email address (as opposed to my junk email address, which I would gladly dump if necessary) has been sold. Just TODAY I have won:

• 1.5 million Great British pounds as a “consolation prize winner” from Sony (may be revealing my ignorance here, but don’t they use Euros?)
• $500,000 in the “One World One Dream” Olympic prize!

All I have to do is give them all my personal information, send them a copy of my passport and my driver’s license, sign over a kidney, and tell them the security code for all my bank accounts! WOO HOO! How lucky am I?

I’ve decided I’m going to take advantage of these little emails. I’ve had this address for years and I’m keepin’ it, so I may as well find a way to use this new development to my advantage…

Here’s the plan–I’m going to use these emails to help me attract more money.

Several of my friends want to have the “Can you have money and be spiritual?” conversation–me, of course, on the “I create my own reality and can be rich, giving, AND spiritual!” side, and them being on the “Money changes your priorities and turns you into a snot” side. I generally laugh and keep going. What I’ve decided is that right now I am happy, I feel better when I feel like I have some control over what happens to me, and it feels right so I’m going with it. No reason to argue, really–they can believe that I’m naive if they want, but I’m still happier!

Every time I get one of these emails, I’m gonna pretend like it’s real. Well, I’m not going to send them anything, or answer, or open any attachments…but you get the idea, right? I’m going to imagine that I actually received the money, picture it in my bank account, and be happy about it.

May as well, huh? Anybody with me?

Check out this mom!

That’s passion! She got into the water and didn’t want to get back out. That’s what you want your life to be–doing things that you love so much that the time flies and you don’t want to stop!

Don’t know what those things are for you?

• Start journaling. Writing (not typing, but writing by hand) has a way of connecting you to the “flow”. Before you start writing, sit quietly for a few minutes and allow your thoughts to float away. Then ask yourself “What is my passion?”, and write whatever comes to mind. Don’t filter or edit what comes up, just keep writing. You may be surprised at the results!
• Pay attention to the things that make time fly. Even if it is something like painting the house, if it makes you feel connected it could be one of your passions.
• Be open to it. Don’t limit yourself or decide that something “shouldn’t” be a passion. We are all different, and we each have something to contribute to the world. Just because your friends and family don’t understand why you like mudding and taping drywall doesn’t mean you don’t!
• What do you do once you find a passion? Start doing it. Even if it is only blogging about it, finding a group that meets once a month to talk about it, or even finding a part-time job where you can be involved, do it. You are worth it!

Think about what you can accomplish–after all, a 41 year-old mom broke the American swimming record, and is going to her FOURTH Olympics!

Life is short–do something you love!

I found the most touching blog today, and just had to share it.

First of all, this mother is amazing–to have multiple children with autism, to not only know her kids, but to appreciate them for who they are, and to be able to express her insight to the rest of us in such a beautiful way is just, well, amazing! (I’m having problems with synonyms today…you’ll have to excuse me!)

My favorite part?

These things may have gone unnoticed if they were “typical”, in their place a talk about the kids’ day at school or for a round of Go Fish or bedtime stories, but most of the time I prefer the wind, or the ant, or the leaf. Those things touch me and remind me of life and its perfect creation and place in this world.

This mom, who gets to see the world from a completely different perspective, not only sees the positive side of it, but embraces and thrives in it.

I love to live my life this way–to notice and appreciate the wind, the ant, and the leaf. Part gratitude and part letting go, I forget sometimes in the routine and worries of everyday life.

Thank you to this wonderful, strong woman for reminding us all…

I’ve been having a lot of trouble letting go lately. It’s the hardest of the Seven Keys for me, but (ironically) it’s the one I like the most. Between money, work, summer scheduling with my ex, and the standard, every-day stuff, I’ve been worrying a lot. Even the stinky mice have been getting on my nerves!

I’m better when I have my kids–it is easier for me to be in the moment with them. Since I share custody and have them half the time, I try to focus on really being with them when they are with me. Don’t get me wrong–my kids annoy me sometimes just like yours do (especially when they do that thing, you know, where they suddenly start yelling at each other over nothing, like what TV show they are going to watch? UGH!)

And, of course, when I’m stressed, everyone is stressed!

The entire basis of my writing is that my stuff affects my kids, right? And in the long run I want to teach them to cope, not stress out. The only way to teach them that is by example.

So I was thinking–what works to bring back the calmness of being in the moment?

Giving and gratitude are huge. They are two of the Seven Keys to Happiness, right?

But why?

I was reading this blog by law of attraction guru Eva Gregory, and I was thinking about the Seven Keys in relation to the law of attraction. I haven’t talked much about the law of attraction, but I use it–I figure it is there, so I may as well take advantage of it!

Gratitude and giving work together. Both put out good energy, so you attract good energy–simple enough, right?

Another way to think of it is this: giving and receiving are a cycle. If you send out good vibes by giving, gratefully accept things when they come back to you, and then send good vibes back out again, the good energy grows. It spirals outward and upward–like this shell–and so does how you feel. As you feel better, you send out more good energy, and the spiral continues. How cool is that??? Read the rest of this entry »

This isn’t exactly classy, but, being a single woman, I think this is HILARIOUS!!!

Be honest–how many of you have met this guy? You know what I’m talking about!

Wanna really upset some people? Start talking about weight!

The photo above is from an article about childhood obesity by Tara Parker-Pope of the New York Times. As you can see, the responses were overwhelming, (and sometimes angry), and the discussion quickly moved to the question of happiness.

Culturally, we like to eat a LOT. Especially in some parts of the country, buffets are everywhere, and people can eat as much as they want. Restaurants have huge portions, and we want to clean our plates, right? There are starving people all over the world–we don’t want to waste it!

At the same time that we have all this food, we are inundated with pictures of skinny models and TV shows with bikini-clad, perfect bodies.

Can you be fat and happy? Sure!

Can you be fat and self-conscious and unhappy? Of course. Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday in a Boy Scout campsite north of Omaha, Nebraska, 93 boys aged 13-18 were at leadership training camp when a sudden tornado destroyed the camp, killing four boys and injuring an estimated 48 more.

I grew up in Nebraska and have lived through tornados. I remember being terrified as a child when the tornado sirens would wail, sending everyone huddled to the basement with a radio and a flashlight, silently wondering if we were going to have a home when it was over.

As I got older, the ramping scream of the sirens didn’t bother me–I had been through so many false alarms that it didn’t affect me anymore.

When I was in college, a tornado ripped through my front yard moments after I was talking about going to the store to satisfy a cookie craving (Nutter Butters, I think…) We had no warning at all, and were standing in the living room watching the trees bend to the ground when we realized that, though we hadn’t heard any sirens, we had to go to the basement.

The house shook and the windows rattled in the panes. It sounded like a freight train was going through my yard. I was terrified, and there was nothing to do but wait. Read the rest of this entry »