Monday, September 6, 2021

Lightarted Living: Wishing You a Fresh, Bright and Cheerful Day!

Lightarted Living: Wishing You a Fresh, Bright and Cheerful Day!:  

Egg-uanimity💛

 

The perfectly balanced egg starts my day,

With its fresh, bright and cheerful center.

Poised to grace my breakfast plate,

It accepts its fate with egg-uanimity.


Lightarted Sue


E.qua.nim.i.ty 💛

emotional balance--mental calmness,

composure, and evenness of temper, 

especially in a difficult situation.

Wishing You a Fresh, Bright and Cheerful Day!

 


Egg-uanimity💛

 

The perfectly balanced egg starts my day,

With its fresh, bright and cheerful center.

Poised to grace my breakfast plate,

It accepts its fate with egg-uanimity.


Lightarted Sue


E.qua.nim.i.ty 💛

emotional balance--mental calmness,

composure, and evenness of temper, 

especially in a difficult situation.



Over Easy 


I wake slowly and slip into the day.

Eggs over easy gently lead my way.

Calmness and tranquility easily turn to equanimity.

Soon I’m feeling level-headed, poised and at peace; 

A gentle soul who lets things go and lets things be.

 

Lightarted Sue



Sunny Side Up 


The day bursts forth sunny side up;

My heart a bright yellow nourishing yolk,

Filled with creativity and possibilities to poke. 


Lightarted Sue


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



Relax into a Slow, Gentle Simmer

 

The water boils,

You drop the egg in,

And watch as a merry dance of swirling, spinning egg begins.

 

You ponder the poaching as you turn down the heat,

And contemplate the odd instructions 

to ‘let the water relax into a slow, gentle simmer’.

 

And in that moment you decide to turn down the heat 

to let your day relax into its own slow, gentle simmer.


You begin a merry dance to greet the day

Providing a swirling and spinning uplift to your day 

with a happy heart and spirit full of fairy dust and joyful shimmers. 


Lightarted Sue






We Sing You a Morning Golden and New!

"If I had words to make a day for you,
I'd sing you a morning golden and new.
I would make this day last for all time;
Give you a night deep in moonshine."

From Movie BABE 

Monday, August 30, 2021

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!

Thursday, August 19, 2021

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

Monday, August 16, 2021

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

 

 

 


Monday, August 9, 2021

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





Tuesday, August 3, 2021

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.