Lightarted Living: Wishing You a Soft Scrambled Egg Morning

Lightarted Living: Wishing You a Soft Scrambled Egg Morning: Soft Scrambled Egg Morning

It was a soft scrambled egg morning,

Unfolding into a gentle and unassuming day;

The warm morning sun sent soft wisps of yellow rays

To tenderly light our way. 

Lightarted Sue

Wishing You a Soft Scrambled Egg Morning!

Lightarted Living: It Begins to Dawn on Her the Future is Bright, Joy...

Lightarted Living: It Begins to Dawn on Her the Future is Bright, Joy...:   THE WINDS OF CHANGE Weather or not you want to be here, The winds of change have blown you here. So CALM yourself And hold on for the ride...

A ray of hope shines down on her

and she begins to see more clearly.

It begins to dawn on her

that despite the dark cloud of changes,

a deep and peaceful sense of knowing 

her future is bright, joyful and secure

is beginning to emerge.

It Begins to Dawn on Her the Future is Bright, Joyful and Secure

 

THE WINDS OF CHANGE

Weather or not you want to be here,

The winds of change have blown you here.

So CALM yourself

And hold on for the ride.

Steady as she blows 

Is the name of the game;

Blow off some steam,

And away you go.

HOW TO WEATHER THE STORM?

ALWAYS BUILD A NEST 

IN THE EYE OF THE STORM

(said Margaret Mead's Grandmother)

CREATE INNER CALM 

An inner sense of calm and peace 

are what's needed to weather all storms.

FEATHER YOUR NEST WITH LOVE

When a new storm blows into your life causing

you to feel your heart is ripping into tiny pieces

and you're losing a grounded sense of self~

build that nest in the eye of the storm 

one feather at a time.

BREATHE

Provide yourself a secure anchor by creating a regular rhythm 

to your daily life that keeps your focus on daily self care.

Start each day putting one foot in front of the other 

while breathing deeply and slowly in and out.

Breathe 'uplift into your heart' as you inhale, and 

breathe 'calmness into your gut' as you exhale.

SIT, REST, WORK

 

When the storm overwhelms you,

limit the amount of time you think about it.

Sit, rest, and work on the problem in that order.

The Thing is to Love Life even when You have NO Stomach for It

Clean out the soiled bits of stuff sullying your nest

and replace them with clean bits of comfort and fluff. 

Distract yourself when you begin 

obsessing on details.

When overthinking threatens to overtake you,

empty your mind by engaging in physical activities~

Take the dog for a walk; 

Clean out the horse stall;

Feed the chickens;

Play with the goats;

Weed the garden;

Clean out a sock drawer;

Take out the trash.

When grief sits with you,

get together with trusted friends

to sit in silence, talk, cry, walk, laugh and eat.

A change of scenery will do you a world of good. 

When all else fails, get out of Dodge. 

SLEEP AND REFRESH

When life is storming all around you

you need to refresh your body and mind to keep

your wits about you.  Getting regular sleep and 

taking the time to refresh your spirit 

are of the upmost importance.

When you're well rested 

the whole world looks brighter. 

When you're well rested

you see the rays of hope 

shining down on you. 

When you're well rested

today looks like a good day to start over.

IT BEGINS TO DAWN ON HER

"This is a new day,

I am a new me,

All is well", 

she recites, 

As a lightness of spirit 

begins to take flight.

A RAY OF HOPE

A ray of hope shines down on her

and she begins to see more clearly.

It begins to dawn on her

that despite the dark cloud of changes,

a deep and peaceful sense of knowing 

her future is bright, joyful and secure

is beginning to emerge.

A BREATH OF FRESH AIR

A sense of well-being now freshens the air.

She deeply inhales the sweetness and

disperses the dark clouds that were fogging her mind. 

And with that renewed breath of fresh air

 the universe bursts wide open.

It begins to dawn on her~

All things seemingly good or bad

work in her favor.

Life is Good and All is Well.

No worries. She'll weather the storm.

The Dawning of a New Day

This is a new day.

You are a new you.

All is well.

Let the rays of hope shine down upon you today.

Original Photo by Chris Veloon

Lightarted Living: Playing the Game of Life when Dealt a Poor Hand

Lightarted Living: Playing the Game of Life when Dealt a Poor Hand:   " Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm ."   Winston Churchill    

You may think those who do well in life do so because they're smart or just plain lucky. While smarts or luck can help, they're not the key. Knowing how to bounce back and enthusiastically reengage in your life after a set back is. 

Playing the game of life well when you're dealt a poor hand is all about being street smart--i.e. knowing how to survive and thrive by getting back into the game after a loss. Always shake yourself off and prepare to play your next card.

Playing the Game of Life when Dealt a Poor Hand

 

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."  Winston Churchill

 

Learn How to Play a Poor Hand Well

What's happening in your life right now? Do you feel you're failing in some aspect of your life? Are you harboring a secret failure you're hiding from others in shame? Are you off somewhere licking your wounds? Do you feel life has recently dealt you a poor hand?

 Listen up!  The trick to doing well in the game of life isn't to be dealt a good hand. It's to learn how to play a poor hand well and to stay in the game.

You may think those who do well in life do so because they're smart or just plain lucky. While smarts or luck can help, they're not the key. Knowing how to bounce back and enthusiastically reengage in your life after a set back is. 

Playing the game of life well when you're dealt a poor hand is all about being street smart--i.e. knowing how to survive and thrive by getting back into the game after a loss. Always shake yourself off and prepare to play your next card.

 

Are You Flailing?

Many moons ago, the B.C. cartoonist captured the essence of our usual, but unnecessary, response to failure in one of his cartoons: "Flail: The opposite of slucceed." 

Too often we treat failure as a crime worthy of a mental flailing. After you beat yourself up, it may take days, weeks or months to get over the pain of that mental flailing. And while you waste time feeling guilty, frustrated, and sorry for yourself, you fail to take the next step to get on with life.

To win at the game of life, you must let go of prolonged mental flailing (okay--indulge in a little if you must) and wound licking, and learn from your failures and losses instead. Resiliency is the name of the game when it comes to living the best life. 

Play life as if you always have another card up your sleeve to play, and stay in the game.

Keep Aiming for The Best Outcomes

How are you dealing with a poor hand today? Are you afraid of falling short so you're having a hard time heading down a new path? Do you expect no less than perfection from yourself or life? Are you having a difficult time taking risks because you must guarantee success before you take the first step?

Let it go.

Don't let the fear of failure lead you to perfectionist thinking, and ultimately to getting stuck. Perfectionist thinking leads to procrastination which leads to paralysis of spirit.

If you're too afraid you'll make a mistake, you'll never throw your hat in the ring. Learn to use your set backs like top achievers do--as learning experiences and adjust as you go.

 

Playing Through

✅ Choose to see failures as learning experiences

✅ What could I do better next time?

✅ What can I improve upon now?

✅ What's the most important question for me to ask myself now?

✅ How do I turn this into a beginning, not an ending?

✅ What's the takeaway?

 

✅ Take steps without worrying about the results or outcomes. Run experiments.

✅ When things don't turn out the way you want, consider how to adjust then play through. Take a step--any step--and see what happens. 

 ✅ Expect and welcome learning experiences. You're stagnating if you're not failing some of the time. 

"The only difference between winners and losers is winners lose more often but they stay in the game."  Terry Paulsen

 

 

 

Lightarted Living: Robert Brault: Brimming Over with Whimsical Wisdom

Lightarted Living: Robert Brault: Brimming Over with Whimsical Wisdom: "Doing one fool thing after another is not so terrible  when you consider the human proclivity  to do several fool things at on...

Lightarted Living: A Chorus of Song starts with One Small Voice

Lightarted Living: A Chorus of Song starts with One Small Voice:   The Small Voices in Your Head When I caught my first glimpse of this flower photo, I immediately saw a minuscule chorus of singing spirits...

We all have those small voices in our heads, cheering us on, waiting for us to set them free.  What are yours? What do they have to say to you?

Listen for their sweet song, no matter how small. When their tiny melodic voices eek through the noise in your head, turn up the volume and allow them to move you into a calm and self-assured world filled with goodness and grace. And then share your calming song with others you care about.

Life is a song. Make yours a happy one to share with others.

A Chorus of Song starts with One Small Voice

 

The Small Voices in Your Head

When I caught my first glimpse of this flower photo, I immediately saw a minuscule chorus of singing spirits inside waiting to be seen and heard. 

As I began freeing each tiny well-wisher into view with my pen, one of the songs from Sesame Street that's always swimming around in my head wafted up to envelope my thoughts and I could hear the merry beings lift their voices to sing to me. I felt strong, calm, centered, and hopeful as I listened to their song.

We all have those small voices in our heads, cheering us on, waiting for us to set them free.  What are yours? What do they have to say to you?

Listen for their sweet song, no matter how small. When their tiny melodic voices eek through the noise in your head, turn up the volume and allow them to move you into a calm and self-assured world filled with goodness and grace. And then share your calming song with others you care about.

Life is a song. Make yours a happy one to share with others.

 

𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅘𝅥𝆔

One Small Voice

From Sesame Street for the child in me and you

𝅘𝅥𝅱 Every song the world sings,

Each was once unknown. 𝅘𝅥𝅯

𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅘𝅥𝆔

Somebody felt a song inside 

and wasn't afraid to sing alone.

If you feel the music,

And you sing it clear and true,

Then the world can sing with you.

𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅘𝅥𝆔

𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅘𝅥𝆔

One small voice can teach the world a song.

Start with one small voice, 'til another sings along;

And you'll feel the music growing full and sure and strong.

One small voice can teach the world a song.

𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅘𝅥𝆔

Teach the World Your Song

💓 What are the uplifting songs you carry in your head? 

💓 What is the life song you'd like to share with others? 

💓 What is the song you want others to sing with you?

💓 How can you be the one small voice to bring joy and comfort to the world around you?

Sing of Happy

Teach the world a happy song. As Karen Carpenter sang, "Sing of good things, not bad. Sing of happy, not sad."

Find your inner happy voice then sing LOUD and sing TRUE.

Original photo by Diane Offenbacher

Lightarted Living: Life is a Bumpy Ride filled with Obstacles

Lightarted Living: Life is a Bumpy Ride filled with Obstacles:   Alone There she was, alone, standing in the field contemplating her life, unaware she had company. But her constant fierce, spiritual, ten...

This is the thing about life--it's a bumpy ride filled with obstacles. With life being what it is, sometimes our dreams collide with a reality that's a bit different than we imagined it. But as Winston Churchill said, 'If you're going through Hell...just keep going.' We hone our problem-solving and communication skills each time we navigate difficulties. 

Life is a Bumpy Ride filled with Obstacles

 

Alone

There she was, alone, standing in the field contemplating her life, unaware she had company. But her constant fierce, spiritual, tender and healing spirits never left her. She would survive.

Peace be with you. You are strong and resilient. Life will come good again. You will survive.

Life is a Bumpy Ride filled with Obstacles

'If you're going through Hell...just keep going.' Winston Churchill

This is the thing about life--it's a bumpy ride filled with obstacles. With life being what it is, sometimes our dreams collide with a reality that's a bit different than we imagined it. But as Winston Churchill said, 'If you're going through Hell...just keep going.' We hone our problem-solving and communication skills each time we navigate difficulties. 

So what's a girl to do when she runs into difficulties?  Keep going. Take the next step. Buck up. Get back in there and figure out your options for moving forward.

'Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goal.' Henry Ford 

When you meet a moment of difficulty and self doubt, learn to interpret it as your cue to refocus your attention on your goals and away from the obstacles. What do you want your life to look and feel like? What do you need to do to move it in that direction?

Re-framing for Better Results: From Obstacles to Challenges

If you let them, obstacles stop you in your tracks. But if you re-imagine obstacles as challenges, you'll energize yourself to find your strength and smarts and step up to the challenge of staying on course and doing better. Renaming obstacles as challenges puts your eyes back on your life goals. 

Accept daily life challenges as a normal part of life that makes you stronger and more competent each time you choose to problem-solve your way through them. Envision the life you want, then rise to the challenge of meeting your life head-on to figure out what you need to do to get there. 

Find ways to use your current challenges to move you further toward what you want--even if the message is 'I've had enough and it's time to move on'. The tough times show us what we don't want in life and serve to propel us towards what we do want. That's the challenge and the opportunity.


Your patience and persistence in pursuing the life you desire ultimately pays off. Trust your inner strength and willingness to always take the next step to meet life challenges. When you hit a rough patch, put your head down and endure what you can not escape to get through the tough times and get back to the good times.

Trust me--you got this, Girl!

'If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere.' Frank A. Clark

  

Keep Your Eye on the Goal

Forward Thinking: Imagining Your Life Ahead

Take a moment to look into the future imagining different outcomes for your current situation. Consider what your life would look like by keeping the status quo or changing things up. Listen to your gut or intuition. Consider what you want your life to be.  Here are two common situations to think through.

Stay in the Relationship or Move On

💓 It's 5 years down the road and I'm still in this relationship: What made me stay? What does the relationship look like? How has my life improved or worsened? How do I feel?  How did I overcome obstacles? What did I do to speak up? What changes did I make to make me feel safe and comfortable staying?

 

💔 It's 5 years down the road and I long ago left the relationship: What happened to make me move on? What was I dissatisfied with in the relationship? How has my life improved? What steps did I take to make me feel safe with changes?

 
💓 It's 5 years down the road and I'm loving my life: What am I doing? Where am I doing it? Who is in my life?

Stay in Current Career/Job or Move On?

💓 It's 5 years down the road and I'm still with this company or in this business: What made me stay? What does the work look like? What do the hours, pay and benefits look like? How does the job fit my lifestyle? 

 

💔 It's 5 years down the road and I long ago left the company or business: What happened to make me move on? What was I dissatisfied with in the company or career? Hours? Pay? Benefits? Management Style? Lack of Advancement Opportunities? Poor job fit for my skills?

💓 It's 5 years down the road and I'm loving my work: What am I doing? Where am I doing it? How much money am I making? 

Current Thinking to Align with Your Career Goals 

 💙 Why did I take my current job? How do/did I see it as a stepping stone for advancing? What's my 5 year plan?  

 

💚 What am I willing to do differently to make more money, utilize my talents better, or have more satisfaction in my work? Who can I ask for advice? 

 

💛 What have I learned in this job? What skills have I built or honed I can use to promote myself for my next position? How has this experience shown me I can handle whatever life throws me with grace and ease? How will I be strengthened by my experience with this job that will make me better for the next one?

 

💜 How can I make the best use of my time while I'm still in this job to help me move to a better position? Is there job training I can take advantage of? Can I ask to take on a job or project to learn something new? Can I use this time to self-study for a licensing exam to position me for more money or opportunity? Can I speak up about the type of training/instruction I need to better function in the job?

 

I love moving my life forward