Making ends meet...

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In our present economy - a 'double (if not triple!)-dip' recession followed closely by several devastating natural disasters - we all need to cut down our expenditure. Prices keep rising while, for the majority of us, our incomes are static. So we all have less disposable income.

This doesn't need to be depressing. Let the economy be 'depressed' all on its own. Let's rather adopt a positive and generous outlook - positivity and happiness play an enormous role in our physical, as well as our mental, health.

So, let's look at being positive. Materially, we have some, if not all, of: a bed to sleep in, clothes to wear, a roof over our heads. These provide physical comfort and respite.
Emotionally, we have: friends, family, children - all of these people need us and enrich our lives with love.
Spiritually, we have faith, hope and charity.

We have so much to be thankful for, we can afford to be generous.
Materially, we can clear out the cupboards - stuff we haven't used or worn for the last year can be donated to charity. Someone somewhere is desperately in need of the things we've had stashed away so long that we probably forgot we even had them. There is something about de-cluttering and simplifying our lives which is enormously satisfying.

Emotionally, we can clear out negative feelings. There is no point in holding on to anger and resentments. The only person negative emotions hurt is you! The person you resent or are angry with probably doesn't even know that you feel that way, and if they do they more than likely don't care! Forgive and move on. (Forgetting may take a while.) Close your eyes, take a deep breath and as you exhale, let go of anger and resentment. Letting go of negative emotion frees up energy for some more positive project.

We can practice kindness (a form of charity) in our daily lives - it doesn't have to cost us financially. We can help someone by supplying a shoulder to cry on, a friendly ear or by giving sympathy, empathy and moral support. I've said before that a friendly smile or a hug improves the self esteem of the recipient, it also gives the giver a spiritual lift.

Have a great weekend. Enjoy being with your loved ones. And if you are alone - for whatever reason - use the weekend to relax and rest, you never know when someone might need you.

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Inspiration

A friend of mine posts an inspirational message on Facebook every day. Here is just one of them:

Judge each day not by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you sow. (Unknown)

I rather like this. Even if you don’t succeed today, you have contributed in some small way to your eventual success – or the success of someone else, maybe someone close to you, maybe someone completely unknown to you. And that can’t be bad.

Make each day your next step in the right direction.

Have a great weekend.

Mini-miracles

Today is miracle day. Just because I want it to be.

Be on the lookout for a miracle, not just today but every day – it could be a beautiful garden, or a bird on the lawn; a child’s laughter, or a welcoming hug. Look carefully or you might miss it.

Have a wonderful, miracle filled weekend.

We are NOT all the same.

I don’t like sweeping generalizations much. We are continually told that people are all the same, but then we are also told that each person is unique. So which is it? I think the truth lies in what criteria are in place at the time.

Hypothesis 1: We are all the same.
Yes, physiologically. Maybe. We all have bones and muscles; eyes, ears and teeth; arms, legs, hands and feet; hair and skin. Even that is a broad generalization – many people don’t have all those things. We can’t even say that we all have the same wants and needs - beyond food, shelter, health and world peace. And again, our needs and wants for food, shelter and health (yes, and world peace) are different from person to person, and different within each person at different times! The only criteria to satisfy the condition ‘we are all the same’ would seem to be…

I really don’t know. Everything I can think of leads to a quantifiable variable. Can you think of anything that makes every single person on our planet the same?

Hypothesis 2: Each person is unique.
I have to go with this one. It just makes sense to me; I don’t think I have to argue its logic or credibility. Do you agree?

So if each of us is unique, then it follows that we each have our own philosophy; our own path to choose and follow. Our own goals. We may share goals, such as weight loss or following a healthier lifestyle but we will each go about attaining those goals in our own way. And we each deserve respect for having set a goal, and continuing encouragement for striving towards it – by whatever means.

What I’m trying to say is that my way of doing things is not necessarily your way. I can show you my way to weight loss, but it may not suit your tastes or current lifestyle.

Let’s not criticize ourselves, or each other, for our different approaches to life and problem solving. Many years and experiences have made us the unique individuals we are. None of us is perfect.

Have a great weekend.

Rewards

When you have a goal in mind, it's good to keep renewing your commitment to that goal. One way of doing this is to reward yourself as you pass milestones along the way (eg every 5kg weight lost). Of course, these rewards should not be edible. But depending on your finances, a pedicure or manicure (even if you do it yourself!) is a nice reward; a facial or a massage; a handbag or new shoes.

Once having reached your goal, you don't want to slide back into old habits, so keep rewarding yourself, every month or so, for sticking with healthy eating - eg a new book or lipstick. Look at your reward and remind yourself what you have done to deserve it.

It sounds silly, but periodic rewards provide continuing motivation and keep you on track.

Positivity against the odds

In our present economy - and now they are talking about a 'double-dip' recession - we all need to cut down our expenditure. Prices keep rising while, for the the majority of us, our incomes are static. So we all have less disposable income.

This doesn't need to be depressing. Let the economy be 'depressed' all on its own. Let's rather adopt a positive and generous outlook - positivity and happiness play an enormous role in our physical, as well as our mental, health.

So, let's look at being positive. Materially, we have some, if not all, of: a bed to sleep in, clothes to wear, a roof over our heads. These give physical comfort and respite.
Emotionally, we have: friends, family, children - all of these people need us and enrich our lives with love.
Spiritually, we have faith, hope and charity.

We have so much to be thankful for, we can afford to be generous.
Materially, we can clear out the cupboards - stuff we haven't used or worn for the last year can be donated to charity. Someone somewhere is desperately in need of the things we've had stashed away so long that we probably forgot we even had them. There is something about de-cluttering and simplifying our lives which is enormously satisfying.

Emotionally, we can clear out negative feelings. There is no point in holding on to anger and resentments. The only person negative emotions hurt is you! The person you resent or are angry with probably doesn't even know that you feel that way, and if they do they more than likely don't care! Forgive and move on. (Forgetting may take a while.) Close your eyes, take a deep breath and as you exhale, let go of anger and resentment. Letting go of negative emotion frees up energy for some more positive project.

We can practice kindness (a form of charity) in our daily lives - it doesn't have to cost us financially. We can help someone by supplying a shoulder to cry on, a friendly ear or by giving sympathy, empathy and moral support. I've said before that a friendly smile or a hug improves the self esteem of the recipient, it also gives the giver a spiritual lift.

Have a great weekend. Enjoy being with your loved ones. And if you are alone - for whatever reason - use the weekend to relax and rest, you never know when someone might need you.