Lightarted Living: 2022

Saturday, December 31, 2022

Lightarted Living: Wishes for a Bright New Year!

Lightarted Living: Wishes for a Bright New Year!: May all your 2023 weeds be dandelions to wish upon, and may all your dandelion wishes come true!

Wishes for a Bright New Year!

May all your 2023 weeds be dandelions to wish upon,

and may all your dandelion wishes come true!

Tuesday, December 20, 2022

Lightarted Living: The Sweetness of Love Baked into our Souls

Lightarted Living: The Sweetness of Love Baked into our Souls:

Love is our Raison D'etre

Royce rolls his yearly batch of Daddy's rolls,

Really full of love~

Our raison d'etre

making life complete.

The heart has it's raisons

that raisins know nothing of...

Raisons or raisins that make life so sweet;

What are we after, but plump, juicy raisin d'etre

to make our lives sweet and complete.

We close our eyes and embrace the smells

of the cinnamon and sweet yeasty scents;

We become children again with

the remembrance of a sweet Daddy's love

making cinnamon rolls together

in the warmth of the kitchen again.

The Sweetness of Love Baked into our Souls

Love is our Raison D'etre

Royce rolls his yearly batch of Daddy's rolls,

Really full of love~

Our raison d'etre

making life complete.

The heart has it's raisons

that raisins know nothing of...

Raisons or raisins that make life so sweet;

What are we after, but plump, juicy raisin d'etre

to make our lives sweet and complete.

We close our eyes and embrace the smells

of the cinnamon and sweet yeasty scents;

We become children again with

the remembrance of a sweet Daddy's love

making cinnamon rolls together

in the warmth of the kitchen again.

The Spice of Life

The spice of life is always found

hidden in Royce's rolls~

Shy, sly, sneaky buggers hidden in the folds;

Temptresses, castaways, and one doggie for good taste;

A tasty mix of sugar and spice sprinkled all over the place.

A BATCH OF LOVE

Won’t you help me cook a batch of love, little lamb?

We’ll mix together new and old, with smiles on our faces,

We’ll prepare your life to be joyful and fine,

While tucking love in all the secret places.

Let’s use my father’s recipe for cinnamon rolls,

Passed down from his mother long, long ago.

We’ll sprinkle warm memories into the dough,

To sweeten those memories of long, long ago.

And together we’ll create new memories too,

Of laughter, sweetness and fun,

And thus, we’ll pass on our family traditions,

Wrapping you in generations of love filled with

Tenderness and joy~

And celebrate that your new life has begun.

PUPPIES AND CREAM

In the dog days of winter

I had a mid-winter’s night dream,

My cinnamon rolls turned into a delicious batch of

Puppies and Cream.

A Cream of the crop pups they were indeed,

A delicious combination, so yummy, you see,

A vision to tuck you in bed with warm memories.

Good Memories Baked in the Making

Nancy, "Who's rolls are best?"

Is said in jest

as good memories are baked in with zest.

A father's love and teachings are

what's best baked in for life,

A dog gone good recipe, Daddy's rolls.

Wishing you all the sweetness of love

baked into your soul

this holiday season!

Lightarted Sue

Tuesday, November 22, 2022

Lightarted Living: The Secrets of an Optimist for Getting thru Diffic...

Lightarted Living: The Secrets of an Optimist for Getting thru Diffic...: As an optimist I am not immune from being anxious, fearful, or overwhelmed by life. It’s what this optimist does with the fear and anxiety...

"An optimist sees problems as challenges that are solvable. An optimist is hopeful and confident about the future because there are things they can do to influence the outcomes."

The Secrets of an Optimist for Getting thru Difficult Times

As an optimist I am not immune from being anxious, fearful, or overwhelmed by life. It’s what this optimist does with the fear and anxiety that makes it easier for me to get through difficult times better than most people.

When fear and anxiety raise the hackles of this optimist, it signals me to switch into a self-calming mode to blunt the negative thinking cycle of the brain while freeing me to step into an action mode.

At this moment, my husband has been in the ICU for a week with low sodium levels. It’s been touch and go, and there have been times he’s been unresponsive. Sodium levels must be raised very carefully and slowly.

Optimists, like me, see problems as challenges that are solvable. Problems are things to be dealt with in the moment, and left behind as we continue to seek a good life.

My husband's current health crisis has been scary to say the least. But I’ve maintained the belief I can do things to help--including getting him to the hospital and then giving the doctors and nurses time to work on the issue without my interference. I can also take care of myself so I have the strength to think clearly and be present for my husband. And I can provide my husband with a positive expectation for his improvement and sit with him each day to provide love and calmness.

As an optimist I’m hopeful and confident about the future because I always believe there are things I can do to influence the outcome. Then I actively take steps that could help, without worrying about whether those steps will actually help. That is, I accept the realities of life—bad things can still happen—but I continue to act in ways that could influence the outcome in a positive direction and I maintain a positive expectation for the future.

Keeping a positive expectation for the future, and continuing to take actions is what keeps me going.

"An optimist sees problems as challenges that are solvable. An optimist is hopeful and confident about the future because there are things they can do to influence the outcomes."

Monday, November 7, 2022

Lightarted Living: The Secrets of a Radiant Woman under Stress

Lightarted Living: The Secrets of a Radiant Woman under Stress:

Radiant Being, shining so bright,

Gathers the good and lets the bad pass.

All things that enter her body

Work for her good;

Creating the radiance and spreading the good.

The Secrets of a Radiant Woman under Stress

Radiant Being, shining so bright,

Gathers the good and lets the bad pass.

All things that enter her body

Work for her good;

Creating the radiance and spreading the good.

Radiant Woman,

Moving through life

With grace and ease;

~Always listening for~

~Always looking for~

Good News.

Radiant Woman

Always gathering the musical energy of life~

Breathing the harmony;

Dreaming the melody.

Radiance, Grace and Ease

follow her wherever she goes,

Lifting her spirits and keeping her well;

Her heart is filled with sunshine;

Her soul is filled with gold.

The Secrets of a Radiant Woman

A Radiant Woman is stress resilient;

She first and foremost fosters a positive mindset,

And builds a reserve capacity to buffer stress.

A Radiant Woman

consciously creates narratives of optimism

to habitually perceive less threat and more challenge

during times of difficulty.

She nurtures her optimism by always looking for

ways to take positive actions

and ways to create positive attitudes

especially during challenging times~

when doubt, anxiety and fear creep in.

She first and foremost believes in

doing whatever it takes

to maintain a positive attitude.

How to Nurture Your Optimism

Train Yourself to:

See More Challenge and Less Threat in Life

Always Look for and Listen for Good News in the Bad

When stressful experiences challenge

your positive mindset,

always take steps to rebuild your belief in

your ability to handle whatever life throws your way.

Ask yourself:

What would a Radiant Woman (Man) do under stress?

Am I willing to do whatever it takes

to overcome fear and anxiety?

A Note About my own Search for Radiance

This post originated thru my own desire

to articulate to myself how I got through

8 months of treatment for breast cancer,

and how to best move forward with grace and ease.

The idea of being a Radiant Woman came from

my sister-in-law, Lee Bryant, who

after I completed radiation,

said to me "I never understood

why you needed any radiance treatment

when you are the most radiant person I know."

This made me laugh, but more importantly,

it showed me what I desire to take with me through

all my life experiences--A RADIANT SPIRIT.

I believe working to maintain an optimistic spirit thru

my cancer diagnosis, surgery, chemo and radiation

was the key to my getting through as well as I did.

I nurtured my belief that I could affect the outcome

and handle whatever life threw at me.

When fear and anxiety arose after the diagnosis

and my blood pressure shot up

I took positive steps to deal with it.

I contacted my doctor to

add blood pressure meds to my daily schedule.

And when a friend gifted me a relaxation-sound

therapy CD I chose to listen to it daily.

I took charge before starting chemotherapy by

engaging friends to walk me daily throughout

my 4 month treatment. I looked at those 4 months

as a time I had daily walks on the trail with friends,

not as a time I was doing chemo. Chemo was simply

something I fit into my walking schedule.

Putting a positive spin on the treatments helped too.

Getting chemo infusions became my Chemo Spa days,

where I was able to sit in a comfortable chair,

in a well lit room coloring and drawing and doing art.

Getting radiation became my radiance sessions.

What could be better than that?

Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway

Sure, none of us know what the future holds.

But if you let fear and anxiety get you in its grip

during challenging times

it comes to live and sets up a negative

feedback loop that only creates

more fear about the future.

When you feel the fear during stressful times

choose to take positive actions anyway.

Step past the belief barriers preventing you

from taking positive action. Chose to engage in

actions that head you in a positive direction

even when you don't believe you can make

a difference in the outcome. Train yourself

to change your beliefs through your actions.

Monday, October 31, 2022

Lightarted Living: Been Down So Long, Don't Remember how to feel Good?

Lightarted Living: Been Down So Long, Don't Remember how to feel Good?: 'Happiness comes into our lives through doors we don’t even remember leaving open' Robert Brault

Sometimes when you've been down so long you don't even remember what it feels like to be up. But sometimes--when you least expect it--happiness and good times show up on your doorstep. Then what? How do you act? What do you do?

Been Down So Long, Don't Remember how to feel Good?

'Happiness comes into our lives through doors

we don’t even remember leaving open'

Robert Brault

Expect the Unexpected

How to Act when Happiness and Good Times Return

Don't chastise them for being late--and don't call them liars and send them away again. Instead, treat Happiness and Good Times as honored guests--welcome to stay as long as they'd like.

Take them for long walks through town to reacquaint them with your environment. Dress them up and show them off to everyone you meet. Let them shine.

Take them out with friends and loved ones to welcome them home. Share their sparkle and let their fairy dust sprinkle on those you love.

Sit quiet and let them whisper words of love and encouragement in your ear. Trust them to speak truth to you, and then help them build a soft nest to rest in your heart. Thank them for coming home to roost.

Leave the Door Open for Happiness

If you've been down so long you don't remember how to feel good, leave the door open for happiness and good times to return. Keep a positive expectation for the good times to show up.