As I pack for my vacation the question of what to take and what to leave behind has been on mind throughout the day. One minute I want to take everything and the next, I want to take practically nothing. Obviously I can't take everything. It won't all fit in my suitcase. Besides, if I were to take everything, it wouldn't feel much like a vacation. I'd be spending my time trying to take care of too much stuff. On the other hand, I have to take enough, or I'll end up having to spend time and money acquiring things at my destination point that I won't need when I get back home. By the time we load our bags in the car I know I will have found a happy medium.
In the journey of life some people like to travel light while others tend to carry excess baggage. If each phase of our life is to be better than the one before, we need to make a conscious decision as to what we'll take from our past experiences and what we'll leave behind.
If we bring along the excess baggage of hurts and disappointments we'll be too weighted down to move forward. On the other hand, if we don't bring along the lessons embedded in those hurts and disappointments our destination won't be any different from our place of departure.
On this vacation I plan to take along healthy habits, rather than excuses to over indulge. I'm also taking along my walking shoes, a good book, a writing notebook and most important, I'm taking open arms to hug my granddaughters. What I'm not taking is stress- it doesn't fit in my suitcase.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Spring Cleaning
Ahhh Spring! Our Wisconsin April snow has melted uncovering the green grass and daffodils. Now comes the mud! Alfred Lord Tennyson said, "In Spring a young man's fancy turns lightly to thoughts of love." It sounds so alluring, but for women, at least those of my generation, in Spring our thoughts turn heavily to Spring Cleaning.
I don't mean to whine. Now days, at least it's our choice. Kind of. And men do clean too, or at least help. But have you noticed as much as the times have supposedly changed, the T.V. commercials for household cleaning products all still depict the woman doing the cleaning? We have to assume the manufacturers of these products have done some market research, which would prove, it's the women who the housecleaning chores rest the heaviest on. So, it's no wonder Spring is not my favorite season.
Give me Summer! When the mud has dried up and the work is all done. Oh, I forgot, A woman's work is never done. BTW, that little saying has been quoted so many times over history, I can't find the original author.
I apologize, my blog is meant to be educational and inspirational and I'm afraid I'm sounding negative. My excuse is the Spring cold that has invaded my head - so I'll just leave you with a couple more cleaning quotes. They were both authored by men of course- it's easy to find time to write when you don't have to clean!
"You sometimes see a woman who would have made a Joan of Arc in another century and climate, threshing herself to pieces over all the mean worry of housekeeping." ~Rudyard Kipling
"The obvious and fair solution to the housework problem is to let men do the housework for, say, the next six thousand years, to even things up. The trouble is that men, over the years, have developed an inflated notion of the importance of everything they do, so that before long they would turn housework into just as much of a charade as business is now. They would hire secretaries and buy computers and fly off to housework conferences in Bermuda, but they'd never clean anything." ~Dave Barry
I don't mean to whine. Now days, at least it's our choice. Kind of. And men do clean too, or at least help. But have you noticed as much as the times have supposedly changed, the T.V. commercials for household cleaning products all still depict the woman doing the cleaning? We have to assume the manufacturers of these products have done some market research, which would prove, it's the women who the housecleaning chores rest the heaviest on. So, it's no wonder Spring is not my favorite season.
Give me Summer! When the mud has dried up and the work is all done. Oh, I forgot, A woman's work is never done. BTW, that little saying has been quoted so many times over history, I can't find the original author.
I apologize, my blog is meant to be educational and inspirational and I'm afraid I'm sounding negative. My excuse is the Spring cold that has invaded my head - so I'll just leave you with a couple more cleaning quotes. They were both authored by men of course- it's easy to find time to write when you don't have to clean!
"You sometimes see a woman who would have made a Joan of Arc in another century and climate, threshing herself to pieces over all the mean worry of housekeeping." ~Rudyard Kipling
"The obvious and fair solution to the housework problem is to let men do the housework for, say, the next six thousand years, to even things up. The trouble is that men, over the years, have developed an inflated notion of the importance of everything they do, so that before long they would turn housework into just as much of a charade as business is now. They would hire secretaries and buy computers and fly off to housework conferences in Bermuda, but they'd never clean anything." ~Dave Barry
Friday, April 2, 2010
Letting Go of Time Management
I used to try to manage time. In fact I've been both a teacher and a student of time management. Now days I wish I had back all the time I spent trying to manage it- not to mention the money I spent on it. You see, when you're trying to manage time it requires a lot of tools designed to help you get organized. Now I realize that all these organizational tools are just more stuff that I have to organize.
Now I spend the time I used to spend on time management, doing the things I couldn't get to, because I thought I had to manage my time first. Like spending time with my family and friends, walking & cycling, reading and writing.
Oh, I was reading before too- but I was reading about things like time management. Now that I've let go of trying to manage my time, I read things I enjoy.
I've tossed out a lot of planners and organizers and it's freed up a lot of the time I used to spend trying to organize. It saves me money too, which means I don't have to work so much and so I have more time.
Its taken my a long time - which is okay now that I know there's plenty more of it to come-but I realize the way to finding enough time, is to stop looking for it and let it go. After all, don't you have better things to do with your time?
Now I spend the time I used to spend on time management, doing the things I couldn't get to, because I thought I had to manage my time first. Like spending time with my family and friends, walking & cycling, reading and writing.
Oh, I was reading before too- but I was reading about things like time management. Now that I've let go of trying to manage my time, I read things I enjoy.
I've tossed out a lot of planners and organizers and it's freed up a lot of the time I used to spend trying to organize. It saves me money too, which means I don't have to work so much and so I have more time.
Its taken my a long time - which is okay now that I know there's plenty more of it to come-but I realize the way to finding enough time, is to stop looking for it and let it go. After all, don't you have better things to do with your time?
Friday, March 26, 2010
Defining Success
Today marks completion of the real estate pre-licensing class for my latest group of students. With the presentation of their certificates comes my wish for them. A wish for success in their real estate careers as well as in all their future endeavors. Most importantly, I hope if they haven't already, they will define success for themselves. After all, it isn't a one-size-fits-all outcome.
Webster's definition of success is: The achievement of something intended or desired, attaining wealth, fame or prosperity. The meaning itself is broad, but taking it in the most literal sense it will come up short for many of us. Just ask yourself, how often you've pursued a goal only to find out it didn't bring you the result you hoped for. I confess, I've been there- and it didn't feel like success. What I found out at the end of those paths was that the target I had aimed for was not really my own and the price I paid wasn't worth the prize.
I've come to know that for myself -the "something intended or desired" must be honorable, wealth and prosperity can't be measured in dollars and cents nor fame in sheer numbers.
If we are true to ourselves in defining our goals, success will be authentic when we achieve them.
Take time at the start of each day to set a personal intention, and may you go to bed at night, in the glow of success!
Webster's definition of success is: The achievement of something intended or desired, attaining wealth, fame or prosperity. The meaning itself is broad, but taking it in the most literal sense it will come up short for many of us. Just ask yourself, how often you've pursued a goal only to find out it didn't bring you the result you hoped for. I confess, I've been there- and it didn't feel like success. What I found out at the end of those paths was that the target I had aimed for was not really my own and the price I paid wasn't worth the prize.
I've come to know that for myself -the "something intended or desired" must be honorable, wealth and prosperity can't be measured in dollars and cents nor fame in sheer numbers.
If we are true to ourselves in defining our goals, success will be authentic when we achieve them.
Take time at the start of each day to set a personal intention, and may you go to bed at night, in the glow of success!
Friday, March 19, 2010
Bliss
Mythologist/Author Joseph Camblell’s urging to “Follow your bliss” becomes complicated as you discover there is more than one thing that brings you bliss. You see, unlike Jack Palance’s character, Curly Washburn, in the movie City Slickers, I believe there is more than “the one thing”. Personally, I have several and I hope you do too.
The trick to keeping the bliss in the things that matter to you is achieving balance. If you’re among the fortunate few to have found bliss in your work I guarantee the bliss will fade if you don’t discover and then devote time for other paths to bliss.
My grandmother - lecturing on the ills of alcohol - used to say, “You can’t find happiness in the bottom of a bottle.” She was right and yet on many occasions I have found bliss in one glass of good wine. By the end of the second –at least for me- the bliss is gone.
We all know, you can have too much of a good thing. A whole sack of chocolate versus one truffle, for instance. The question is; can you have too many good things?
Make a list of what brings you bliss and rather than following one, balance your time among them all.
Which reminds me- I have some labels to add to my wine list and a book to add to my favorite reads. Now I’m off to follow my bliss….
The trick to keeping the bliss in the things that matter to you is achieving balance. If you’re among the fortunate few to have found bliss in your work I guarantee the bliss will fade if you don’t discover and then devote time for other paths to bliss.
My grandmother - lecturing on the ills of alcohol - used to say, “You can’t find happiness in the bottom of a bottle.” She was right and yet on many occasions I have found bliss in one glass of good wine. By the end of the second –at least for me- the bliss is gone.
We all know, you can have too much of a good thing. A whole sack of chocolate versus one truffle, for instance. The question is; can you have too many good things?
Make a list of what brings you bliss and rather than following one, balance your time among them all.
Which reminds me- I have some labels to add to my wine list and a book to add to my favorite reads. Now I’m off to follow my bliss….
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Writer's Relief For Haiti
Check out the article arcgbw.wordpress.com/2010/02/18/writers-relief-for-haiti.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Getting Started
Okay- I've been told I should have a blog. It's supposedly a good networking tool and I'm all for networking. I have my real estate school and maybe past and future students will follow my blog and tell others and before long, I'll have a real following for my school.
I'm also working on a memoir book and enjoy writing memoir essays and other creative non-fiction, so supposedly I can post some of my writings here and somehow, friends and family will find them and pass them on, and before long, I'll have a following for my writing.
If none of that works, then oh well, at least I will have enjoyed the writing.
Oh and hey, if you're reading this and have something you'd like to post here on my blog. Go for it! I like to read too~
I'm also working on a memoir book and enjoy writing memoir essays and other creative non-fiction, so supposedly I can post some of my writings here and somehow, friends and family will find them and pass them on, and before long, I'll have a following for my writing.
If none of that works, then oh well, at least I will have enjoyed the writing.
Oh and hey, if you're reading this and have something you'd like to post here on my blog. Go for it! I like to read too~
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