happy

LET THE SUN SHINE IN

As I walk around enjoying an outdoor music festival today, I realize how much the sun effects people, especially in this part of the country. We had a long, cold winter and it is now time to let the sun shine in!!!

It is a perfect, beautiful day to spend time outside listening to music. The Waterhill Music Festival is a sweet little festival where all kinds of bands and artists perform from the front porches of homes within a neighborhood as a whole slew of people walk the streets. People are happy. They have shed layers of clothing in exchange for sunglasses and smiles and the energy is amazing.

I am fortunate to spend the afternoon with a few of my most favorite gals and we catch each other up on life as we lay in the grass listing to live music.

We dance around a may pole, do lots of people-watching and enjoy a little bit of dancing ourselves.

Last summer I got a convertible…well sort of a convertible. I have a Jeep Wrangler and it is really simple to removed the tops directly over the front seats and let the sun shine in while driving. The tops have been off for about three days already and the next few look sunny and 70s as well…which automatically means that there is going to be a super happy undertone to everything that happens this week! I had no idea about the joy a convertible brings but am slowly realizing that there are some really sweet moments created by mixing loud music, sunshine, a breeze and a long country road.

I took the long way to get to Ann Arbor today driving all back country roads. What would normally take forty minutes to drive on the expressway, took almost two hours…but the time was absolutely blissful. Sometimes there isn’t much that is better than taking the long way just for the sake of taking a long drive.

Spring is a happy time, a time for growth and renewal, and it is palpable in the people that I have been hanging around…those that I know and so many strangers that I shared the sidewalk with today at the music festival. It is a bustling evening here in Ann Arbor, definitely a great sign of spring and It is absolutely time to let the sun shine in to your life!!!

This past weekend I was up north and spent my days snowboarding at Crystal Mountain. There were many, many moments during the days that I thought to myself “I am happy”. I then asked the question “What makes me happy?” and “What about everyone else?”.

I live a blessed life and I have many things that add to my happiness. In those moments while I was out on my snowboard, my happiness was magnified by the fact that I had a warm bed to wake up in, I prepared and ate a great breakfast that fueled my body for my day, I had time to play in the snow, the sun was shining, I was enjoying great conversation with a friend, I was able to let loose and fly down the hill on my snowboard and I was up north which is a change of day to day scenery.

I thought to myself “I really wish everyone that I know could be out here having as much fun as I was having.” That thought was soon nixed by the fact that the slopes would be too crowded if EVERYONE I knew was out there, but it transformed to “I really wish everyone that I know could be doing something that would add to their happiness as much as snowboarding in the sunshine adds to mine.” Yes, that is a much more rational thought.

When I mention the thought of being happy, I am also reminded of a man that has been coming in to get adjusted at the Cafe of LIFE for years and never, ever gets excited about anything; Monday is not exciting, Tuesday is not exciting, Wednesday is not exciting, Thursday is not exciting, Friday is not exciting, the weekend is not exciting, literally nothing is ever exciting and I wonder about his internal happiness. My thought is…WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!?!?!

Last night I attended a prayer service for an icon of a man who lost his life way too young. This man was truly a happy man and he did his very best to show others a little bit about being happy ever chance he got in hopes he could help them smile a little more on the inside. As I listened to his children speak about him, I was reminded of my own mortality and that we are never guaranteed a tomorrow and that life is really short, often shorter than we anticipate…so figure out what makes you happy and go do that!

Be HAPPY! There is absolutely no time like the present. If not today, then WHEN?!?! There isn’t anyone who is going to make you happy, you have to go out and make that happen for yourself. Let’s not wait one more day. Get out there!!!

What makes you happy? How do you add happy stuff to your day? Share in the comments below, you may end up inspiring someone with your ideas or the things you do.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING!!

Timing is everything! If you were to ask my Mom, she would say that I am not and have never been the most patient person. I am not one that needs to have things “RIGHT NOW” but I am one that if I get something on my mind, it needs to happen in the “VERY NEAR FUTURE”. I used to always say that once I have kids, I will learn patience. Of course I haven’t had that opportunity yet and so Life is teaching me lessons using other medium and boy they have been some real stingers lately.

Life always has it’s ups and downs and I have learned to roll

Dr Erica Peabody - Timing is everything - Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan

with the tide. I have come to realize that there is a plan out there that is WAY bigger than me and if I can just surrender to whatever that is, life is simpler and easier than trying to push and make things happen. I have learned this is a lot of different ways however I have to credit my yoga practice with teaching me so much about how to manage and gracefully handle the waves in life. I am still human though and when I know that something is happening in life that is super exciting, I have a hard time not wanting to get to the exciting point as quickly as possible. This lesson has come up pretty strong this summer in two different ways, and in retrospect, it is so clear to see why and how it is all going to work out and for that, I am so grateful!

The past week/weekend was really incredible. I have sat back and watched a couple really amazing things happen. I have been involved in the purchase of a short sale home since early May. It is a great little home in a great little spot and I was super excited to transition out of my condo and into a “Big Girl Home” as one of my friends referred to it. It has been a long 3 months with people continuously asking me when I am going to close with my answer always being “I don’t have a date confirmed but I am supposed to close on or before July 31st”. So with this past weekend approaching, my realtor and I put an extension on the contract. That very afternoon, just a short 5 hours after signing the extension, another house came up on the market and through a chain of communication I ended up seeing it the next morning and putting an offer on it that was accepted that evening and I will close within 30 days! The lesson in patience was reinforced for me in a really powerful way. “Good things come to those who wait”…I get it now.

The second lesson in patience this summer is private and really near and dear to my heart. It has been guiding me through a beautiful lesson is patience and timing and it is a slow process. This is something I will report back about further down the road.

We have one chance to live this life and sometimes our thoughts and desires are the limiting factor in us experiencing our greatest life possible. There is a plan out there, a much larger plan and no way for us to really predict how it is all going to turn out. I have found that the very best thing I can do is stay present, stay calm, enjoy the people and experiences I have in my life and just keep putting one foot in front of the other, or (I love swimming) taking one stroke at a time as we navigate this sea of life. Timing is everything.

THE SIMPLE THINGS

The joy in life is found in the simple things. This past weekend I accompanied a girlfriend to a party on the lake. Besides my friend, I wasn’t going to know a single person at the party but it seems that when hanging out around the lake, everyone is so friendly that I was sure it was going to be a good time. Something about the lake makes people happy. My understanding of the reason for the party was this couple got married and bought a house without telling anyone until it was over so this was a celebration of both of those things.

My assumption was correct and the party was a blast. The people were fun. The food was good. The house was beautiful. We stayed well into the night. Around 11pm were all chatting around a fire down by the water and Bob, the host of the party, arrived with a small cardboard box of stuff. It turns out that he had a bunch of Chinese lanterns.

Have you seen the movie “Tangled” the animated story of Rapunzel? Someone had recommended it to me so I watched it a few months back. Rapunzel finally had a day outside of the tower and her only goal was to go towards the lights. Every year, on her birthday, when she looked out the window in the evening, the sky would fill up with small lights. Though it was just an animated cartoon, the scene was really, really beautiful. She spent her free day in search of the source of those lights. Those lights were Chinese lanterns released from the people in the village. Fast forward to the happily-ever-after end of the movie is a beautiful scene filled with these lights, so beautiful I got a little choked up.

So you can imagine my delight when I realized that Bob had Chinese lanterns and that I was going to be able to light one and let it float up into the sky. I had no idea those lanterns existed in real life (though now that I googled it, I realize they are not THAT big of a deal) I don’t know if it is the fairytale-like scene that I am delighted by or what but it completely made my night to be able to light one off, actually it made my entire weekend! Its a really simple thing…but finding the joy in the simple things is what life is all about right? Have you found ridiculous joy in something so simple lately?

TIPS

Last night I had the privilege of being 1 of around 2,000 people listening to Deepak Chopra right up in Flint! The CRIM Foundation brought him in, we had to register early but we got in free and they paid for all the parking downtown so that was free too. AMAZING!!! I need to review my notes and I will write a little more at a later time about the actual lecture, however on each seat there was a brochure with some “Things you can do to become a healthier you” that I wanted to share with you. I think the brochure originated from CRIM and Deepak Chopra and this is word for word right from it.

“Things you can do to become a healthier you:

1. Work out regularly! Do something for your cardiovascular health, your flexibility and your strength at least 4 times per week. Walk, run, swim, bicycle, skate, play tennis…Do Whatever Moves You! You’ll feel better, look better and have more physical and mental stamina.

2. Eat to live, don’t live to eat.

3. Have an empowering social network. Invest your time with those who are inspired by life and have a greater purpose to fulfill – you’ll find that you are more inspired as well.

4. Control the chaos; make your home a sanctuary. Be selective about what you bring into your home – not just in terms of physical things but also the computers, music, television, and other forms of electronic entertainment that compete for attention.

5. Start a daily meditation/prayer/quiet-time practice. This can be as little as 10-20 minutes but research has proven the stress-relieving and health benefits. Not to mention, it’s been proven to extend your life.

Personal Commitment Statement:

Starting today, I commit to working toward a healthier me and to helping my family be healthier. I know that by doing so, I am also contributing to a healthier community – physically, socially, and economically.”

Good stuff, huh? Simple too! Health is a choice that we have to make every single morning when we wake up. We may as well choose to be healthy since we only get one chance…

YOGA TEACHER TRAINING

As many of you know, I practice yoga…a lot. I have been committed to cultivating my inner yogi for the past 4 years and spend 2-3 nights at Ethos Yoga Studio in Holly http://www.ethosyoga.net/.

It is one of my passions and helps to make me a better person in this world. My usual classes are Monday and Wednesday night over at Ethos and Friday afternoon either there or down at Center For Yoga in Birmingham http://www.centerforyoga.com/. It is therapeutic for me; mind, body and spirit. It is absolutely one of the greatest things I have added to my life and spend a lot of time talking about it during the day at the Cafe of LIFE. In order for the body to be and stay healthy, it needs to move. I haven’t found a better way to move the body than to flow and twist and turn in a yoga class and would highly recommend it in some way to everyone.

Tomorrow starts a new phase of yoga for me. I am always on the hunt for rich, rewarding experiences and I will begin a Yoga Teacher Training course over at Ethos Yoga. The course is 3 months long and is designed to immerse trainees in the yoga philosophy. We will be practicing yoga on a daily basis on our own or in a class. We will develop a personal meditation practice on our own and in class. We will change our eating habits to vegetarian or vegan. So this is going to be in addition to what I already have going on which is running a really fun chiropractic practice, hosting an amazing Book Club, giving Half Hour to Health lectures, participating in an awesome Walking Club, being a dog mom, and a runner amongst many other activities I am involved in. It means getting up an hour earlier and time managing a little better. It means studying and spending a lot of down time reading and writing. I look forward to it. I will keep you posted during the process.

(pictures are right off Ethos website; Kel Leigh Coale photography)