Lightarted Living: Lighten Up! Reframe Your Perspective

Lightarted Living: Lighten Up! Reframe Your Perspective:  

Lighten Up! Reframe Your Perspective

 

I spy with my little eye...

Happiness and Joy

hidden in plain sight

Playing the Game

As a kid I loved playing 'I Spy'. What could be better than finding things hidden in plain sight? 

Long after a game was over I still scanned my environment to discover the hidden treasures present if only I looked for them. I was enthralled with the game of discovery.

The game was a natural for teaching me how to scan my environment to look for what's present right in front of my eyes I'd miss if I didn't look for it. 

I learned I loved to play the game...and although I didn't know it at the time--so did my brain. This mind-engaging practice of playing I spy has stuck with me through my life--and has helped me find ways to change my perspective and see better in life.

I spy with my little eye...

8 variations of mirth

hiding in plain sight

Kids Love to Play the Game

For seven years, I used the game 'I spy with my little eye' when I conducted hospital tours for second graders to help kids get over their fear of the hospital, and to show them how to shift their focus from feeling fearful to relaxed by looking for familiar 'homey' things.  

I brought the children into a hospital room to play the game. As I had primed them with the promise they were going to play a game of I spy when they got quietly into the room, they waited with smiles and anticipation to hear what they were going to look for in the I spy game so they could play.

"I want you to look around this room and identify everything that is the same as in your home", I said. "When you've got something, raise your hand and say 'I spy with my little eye...something that is the same as at home'."

I'd watch their eyes focus as they examined the hospital room with 'home' in mind and wait for their hands to shoot up. 

'I spy with my little eye...a door, a bed, a sheet, a blanket, a light, an electrical outlet, a window, a table, a chair,' they shared. 

It was great fun--and I watched as the children's eyes focused on the familiar and comforting things in the hospital room rather than on the scary looking hospital equipment. Now, if they or someone they loved ended up in the hospital, they had a fun experience to fall back on to help them look for comfort in their surroundings.

Happy Girl

Tracy Gibbons

I spy with my little eye

a Happy Girl

hiding in plain sight

Lighten Up! Play 'I Spy with My Little Eye Something Good Coming My Way'

Too often as adults we focus our eyes on obstacles or 'bad' things we fear will occur in the future. Once you get in a negative groove 'anticipating the worst' it can be difficult to knock yourself out of it.

Truth is if you only look for bad things to show up, you'll only see bad things when they arrive and totally miss the good that regularly drops in your lap. 

If you find a way to switch to looking for good things coming next, you may actually see something good on the horizon.

Here's where the I Spy game comes into play. By using the children's I Spy game each morning to set your focus on the good things you see 'in plain sight' you can reset your attention so you look for and anticipate good things coming your way.

Happy Cat

Tracy Gibbons

I spy with my little eye...

Good things coming my way

hidden in plain sight

Set Your Sights on What's Hidden in Plain Sight

Practice redirecting your attention towards the good things coming today. Play I spy. 

Try playing by yourself, and then try playing it with a friend.  If you have a child you can play the game with do that. Kids are uninhibited and love to play. Follow their lead.

I spy with my little eye...

Love wherever I go

hiding in plain sight

Here are just a few of the things you can look for to spot something good coming your way.

I spy with my little eye...

💓Things that make me happy
💙Opportunities 
💚Jobs I'd like to apply for
💛Jobs I'd be good at
💜Something fun to do
💓Things I do to be healthy
💙People I'd like to spend time with
💚Characteristics in others I'd like to have in a partner
💛Characteristics of people I'd like to mentor me
💜Characteristics of people I'd like to emulate
💓People treating others well
💙People doing a good deed
💚People I'd like to learn from

Play I Spy

💓

Affirm

All is Well

Life Is Good

💓

Shift Your Focus 

From Fearful to Calm 

From Hopeless to Inspired

Feeling Happy! 

Gemma Gibbons

Lighten Up! Reframe Your Perspective

 

I spy with my little eye...

Happiness and Joy

hidden in plain sight

Playing the Game

As a kid I loved playing 'I Spy'. What could be better than finding things hidden in plain sight? 

Long after a game was over I still scanned my environment to discover the hidden treasures present if only I looked for them. I was enthralled with the game of discovery.

The game was a natural for teaching me how to scan my environment to look for what's present right in front of my eyes I'd miss if I didn't look for it. 

I learned I loved to play the game...and although I didn't know it at the time--so did my brain. This mind-engaging practice of playing I spy has stuck with me through my life--and has helped me find ways to change my perspective and see better in life.

I spy with my little eye...

8 variations of mirth

hiding in plain sight

Kids Love to Play the Game

For seven years, I used the game 'I spy with my little eye' when I conducted hospital tours for second graders to help kids get over their fear of the hospital, and to show them how to shift their focus from feeling fearful to relaxed by looking for familiar 'homey' things.  

I brought the children into a hospital room to play the game. As I had primed them with the promise they were going to play a game of I spy when they got quietly into the room, they waited with smiles and anticipation to hear what they were going to look for in the I spy game so they could play.

"I want you to look around this room and identify everything that is the same as in your home", I said. "When you've got something, raise your hand and say 'I spy with my little eye...something that is the same as at home'."

I'd watch their eyes focus as they examined the hospital room with 'home' in mind and wait for their hands to shoot up. 

'I spy with my little eye...a door, a bed, a sheet, a blanket, a light, an electrical outlet, a window, a table, a chair,' they shared. 

It was great fun--and I watched as the children's eyes focused on the familiar and comforting things in the hospital room rather than on the scary looking hospital equipment. Now, if they or someone they loved ended up in the hospital, they had a fun experience to fall back on to help them look for comfort in their surroundings.

Happy Girl

Tracy Gibbons

I spy with my little eye

a Happy Girl

hiding in plain sight

Lighten Up! Play 'I Spy with My Little Eye Something Good Coming My Way'

Too often as adults we focus our eyes on obstacles or 'bad' things we fear will occur in the future. Once you get in a negative groove 'anticipating the worst' it can be difficult to knock yourself out of it.

Truth is if you only look for bad things to show up, you'll only see bad things when they arrive and totally miss the good that regularly drops in your lap. 

If you find a way to switch to looking for good things coming next, you may actually see something good on the horizon.

Here's where the I Spy game comes into play. By using the children's I Spy game each morning to set your focus on the good things you see 'in plain sight' you can reset your attention so you look for and anticipate good things coming your way.

Happy Cat

Tracy Gibbons

I spy with my little eye...

Good things coming my way

hidden in plain sight

Set Your Sights on What's Hidden in Plain Sight

Practice redirecting your attention towards the good things coming today. Play I spy. 

Try playing by yourself, and then try playing it with a friend.  If you have a child you can play the game with do that. Kids are uninhibited and love to play. Follow their lead.

I spy with my little eye...

Love wherever I go

hiding in plain sight

Here are just a few of the things you can look for to spot something good coming your way.

I spy with my little eye...

💓Things that make me happy
💙Opportunities 
💚Jobs I'd like to apply for
💛Jobs I'd be good at
💜Something fun to do
💓Things I do to be healthy
💙People I'd like to spend time with
💚Characteristics in others I'd like to have in a partner
💛Characteristics of people I'd like to mentor me
💜Characteristics of people I'd like to emulate
💓People treating others well
💙People doing a good deed
💚People I'd like to learn from

Play I Spy

💓

Affirm

All is Well

Life Is Good

💓

Shift Your Focus 

From Fearful to Calm 

From Hopeless to Inspired

Feeling Happy! 

Gemma Gibbons

Lightarted Living: An Explosion of Happy Spirits

Lightarted Living: An Explosion of Happy Spirits:   

An Explosion of Happy Spirits

 

THE TREE SPIRITS

The tree explodes with flower fairies

Silly as can be.

So many varieties of goofy spirits

Hanging around for us to see.

When I unlock my eyes and see them 

They make me giggle and belly laugh happily.

IN THE FLOWERS

Hidden among the flowers

Are a gaggle of guests you see.

Happy, joyful campers

Hiding playfully.

"Look carefully," they say, "and you'll find us

Laughing merrily".

Thank you Diane Offenbacher for your original floral photos.

Come on, come on

Look all around you

and tell me what you see.

What silly spirits are waiting 

to make you smile today with me?

Every day's a new day

for us to discover the beauty and the fun.

No matter what's going on in your life

always find a way to turn your face

 towards the uplifted spirits and the sun.

An Explosion of Happy Spirits

 

THE TREE SPIRITS

The tree explodes with flower fairies

Silly as can be.

So many varieties of goofy spirits

Hanging around for us to see.

When I unlock my eyes and see them 

They make me giggle and belly laugh happily.

IN THE FLOWERS

Hidden among the flowers

Are a gaggle of guests you see.

Happy, joyful campers

Hiding playfully.

"Look carefully," they say, "and you'll find us

Laughing merrily".

Thank you Diane Offenbacher for your original floral photos.

Come on, come on

Look all around you

and tell me what you see.

What silly spirits are waiting 

to make you smile today with me?

Every day's a new day

for us to discover the beauty and the fun.

No matter what's going on in your life

always find a way to turn your face

 towards the uplifted spirits and the sun.

Lightarted Living: Friends are the Masterpieces of Nature Easing our ...

Lightarted Living: Friends are the Masterpieces of Nature Easing our 

Friends are the Masterpieces of Nature Easing our Burdens

 

"When You Realize How Perfect Everything is 

You'll Tilt Your Head Back and Laugh at the Sky" 
The Buddha 

Lee Bryant and Susan J Meyerott

Perfection in Friendship

As Ralph Waldo Emerson said--'friends are the masterpieces of nature'. For me, friends truly are the perfect accessory for living a joyful and satisfying life. I can't imagine how flat life would be without them--and how much harder.

Over the years, my sister-in-law, Lee--a fellow artist who enjoys playing with me in the artistic sand-box--became one of my perfect accessories for joyful living. 

Lee creates masterpieces, like The Buddha, then sends prints for me to scribble on as I look deep within her paintings or photos to find the hidden images and secret messages. It's how we've played together and created shared meaning although we live many miles apart. Her generosity amazes me.

When Lee sends me one of her masterpieces and says 'go at it', I always pause, wanting to tread lightly on her truly amazing creation. But eventually I can't help myself--I look at what she has created and I see what I see.

Soon, I'm sucked into a deep sense of relaxing flow as I look for the meaning and secrets within that speak to me. It provides me with a moment of perfect contentment and peace.

 "Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity." 

Khalil Gibran​

Friendship is a Sweet Responsibility

What a gift it is to be given a moment of perfect contentment from a friend.  She has to truly know me to understand what makes my heart sing and engages my soul. That is the gift of friendship--listening with tender understanding and knowing just when to reach out for a moment of connection.

I love that Lee sends me fresh palettes to project my positive outlook onto as I use art to focus and calm my attention daily.  And she is just one stunning example of the masterpieces of nature I am eternally grateful to have in my life. 

"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart

and sings it to you when you forget the words."

Shania Twain

The language of friendship is not words but meanings.

Henry David Thoreau​

Who Are Your Masterpieces of Nature? 

"When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. 

~The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares."

Henri J.M. Nouwen

"When You Realize How Perfect Everything is 

You'll Tilt Your Head Back and Laugh at the Sky" 
The Buddha 

Who helps you 'Laugh at the Sky'?

💙Who are your 'masterpieces of nature'?  
💓Who do you count on to help make your life more joyful and satisfying? 
💛Who can gift you with a perfect moment of contentment?
💙Who is able to 'touch your wounds with a warm and gentle hand'?
💓Who can 'sit with you in silence in a moment of confusion or despair'?
💛Who can 'stay with you in your moment of bereavement or grief'? 

Take a moment to celebrate the people who walk alongside you in this life to ease your way and enhance your enjoyment.  Reach out to them today to let them know how glad you are to have them in your life.

Today I celebrate you.

Friends are the Masterpieces of Nature Easing our Burdens

 

"When You Realize How Perfect Everything is 

You'll Tilt Your Head Back and Laugh at the Sky" 
The Buddha 

Lee Bryant and Susan J Meyerott

Perfection in Friendship

As Ralph Waldo Emerson said--'friends are the masterpieces of nature'. For me, friends truly are the perfect accessory for living a joyful and satisfying life. I can't imagine how flat life would be without them--and how much harder.

Over the years, my sister-in-law, Lee--a fellow artist who enjoys playing with me in the artistic sand-box--became one of my perfect accessories for joyful living. 

Lee creates masterpieces, like The Buddha, then sends prints for me to scribble on as I look deep within her paintings or photos to find the hidden images and secret messages. It's how we've played together and created shared meaning although we live many miles apart. Her generosity amazes me.

When Lee sends me one of her masterpieces and says 'go at it', I always pause, wanting to tread lightly on her truly amazing creation. But eventually I can't help myself--I look at what she has created and I see what I see.

Soon, I'm sucked into a deep sense of relaxing flow as I look for the meaning and secrets within that speak to me. It provides me with a moment of perfect contentment and peace.

 "Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity." 

Khalil Gibran​

Friendship is a Sweet Responsibility

What a gift it is to be given a moment of perfect contentment from a friend.  She has to truly know me to understand what makes my heart sing and engages my soul. That is the gift of friendship--listening with tender understanding and knowing just when to reach out for a moment of connection.

I love that Lee sends me fresh palettes to project my positive outlook onto as I use art to focus and calm my attention daily.  And she is just one stunning example of the masterpieces of nature I am eternally grateful to have in my life. 

"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart

and sings it to you when you forget the words."

Shania Twain

The language of friendship is not words but meanings.

Henry David Thoreau​

Who Are Your Masterpieces of Nature? 

"When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. 

~The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares."

Henri J.M. Nouwen

"When You Realize How Perfect Everything is 

You'll Tilt Your Head Back and Laugh at the Sky" 
The Buddha 

Who helps you 'Laugh at the Sky'?

💙Who are your 'masterpieces of nature'?  
💓Who do you count on to help make your life more joyful and satisfying? 
💛Who can gift you with a perfect moment of contentment?
💙Who is able to 'touch your wounds with a warm and gentle hand'?
💓Who can 'sit with you in silence in a moment of confusion or despair'?
💛Who can 'stay with you in your moment of bereavement or grief'? 

Take a moment to celebrate the people who walk alongside you in this life to ease your way and enhance your enjoyment.  Reach out to them today to let them know how glad you are to have them in your life.

Today I celebrate you.