We Only Get One Chance – Page 16 – We Only Get One Chance

TRIPS AROUND THE SUN

I am in the process of finishing another trip around the sun. I have done quite a few of them; a lot less than some people and a lot more than others.

Every year brings new adventures and every year around this time I sit down and check in with myself and evaluate where I have been, where it is that I still want to go and how I am going to get there.

Sometimes during this evaluation process, I run right into an enormous mountain of “shoulds”…I SHOULD have done this by now, I SHOULD have done that by now, I SHOULD be more like this or that, I should…I should…I should.

But if ever the comment of “I SHOULD” comes up, it is usually followed by a non-truth. If it is true that I SHOULD be married by now, for example, then no doubt that would have happened. If something really and truly SHOULD be happening right now, then it WOULD be. Whatever is happening is exactly what is supposed to be happening because that IS what’s happening. There is no reason to struggle with any other idea, any other false belief about what is going on in life.

So instead, I choose to set a different intention and look in the direction I want to go, look ahead and step into that. This year, I am choosing to find a little more peace and quiet in my mind and my being. I will continue to move in the direction of being as healthy as I possibly can be. I look forward to some travel, a lot of learning and spending time dreaming. I look forward to meeting new friends, stepping into the unknown just to see what happens and continue to connect with others by getting involved in more rich, rewarding experiences.

I have to say that this birthday is officially just a little less fun than last year. I have turned a corner with the number of trips I have taken around the sun…and the number is making me have a teeny, tiny panic attack, a little tiny freak out session on the inside. I expected that feeling to begin to happen at some point…

Time will pass no matter what…and all too quickly. As I am writing this, I am reminded of this sweet little clip about how we are “spending our dash”. Take a moment…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsY6UrFIsNs[/youtube]

So I am doing my best to get the most out of my “dash”. I am living the best way I know how and learning as much as I can. Birthdays are just birthdays and the day comes and goes quickly. I believe it is even more beneficial to set a little time aside each day or week during our trips to have a small little celebration because there is an awful lot of juice to be squeezed out of each trip around the sun!

AM I REALLY LIVING?

I physically connect with a few hundred different people per week through service at my chiropractic office Cafe of LIFE, my book club, the gym, the yoga studio and other things that I am involved in. A large portion of those people are connected with me through Facebook as well and I make a conscious effort to share my life experiences along the way through that medium. I get a lot of feedback and people say things like “Wow! You are all over the map!”, or “You are so free and do so many things!” or “You are always doing something fun.” or…well you get the picture. I absolutely live a blessed life and am always trying to be involved in rich, rewarding experiences. But am I REALLY living?

You may ask yourself, “what exactly does she mean ‘REALLY living’?”

I was reading a book about 3 weeks ago which presented this new-to-me concept of what it means to REALLY LIFE life. To REALLY LIVE life, I need to find myself stepping outside my comfort zone so that I can expand my ideas, concepts and limitations so that I may continue to grow and evolve.

I spend a lot of time by myself and I love going on adventures and make it a point to look at most experiences as great adventures…but lately I am asking myself, how adventurous am I really?

I have a lot of free time and sometimes I will see an event posted somewhere that I think will be really fun to attend, I have the time free and I really want to go…but I hold back because I don’t want to be the one to show up alone. “What will people think if I am there by myself?” “What if all the seats are in pairs and I am sitting there with an empty seat next to me?” “What if everyone is talking in groups and no one wants to strike up a conversation with me and so I awkwardly stand off to the side alone?” “If only I could find a friend to go with me and I will be comfortable.”

I also come across events happening in places I have never been and I am held back from going by thoughts like “How am I going to be able to navigate traffic and parking?” “What if I have the wrong shoes and end up having to walk a long distance?” “What if I don’t want to participate once I arrive?” “What if it is a really bad experience?”

If I only participate in events that I know exactly what is happening when I get there and who will be in attendance…am I REALLY living? If all the details are already known, and everything plays out as anticipated, how am I going to grow, expand and evolve from that experience?

When I heard this idea, just 3 weeks ago, that maybe I was not REALLY living, I vowed to myself that if something came up that I really wanted to do, and I couldn’t find anyone else who could or would want to go, then I will still go anyway. I will show up alone, to unknown places, and unknown people and get involved in activities that I do not know all the details ahead of time just to see what will happen and how it will pan out. Why not? I have nothing to lose and EVERYTHING to gain!

So I have started…I began with a new yoga studio that I had heard about and have wanted to try for some time now…and ended up having the most intense and amazing yoga experience of my life thus far. While I was at that class, I was inspired to attend a class at the same location just a couple days later that turned out to be one of the most amazing experiences of live music and yoga I have been involved in thus far. So now that I have had such great reward from stepping outside my usual and customary routine in life, I am inspired to do so much more…and I can tell this is going to snowball since I have only lived in this new thinking pattern for 3 weeks…which is a really great thing and gets me even more jazzed up about life than I already was so WATCH OUT WORLD!!!!

I am looking forward to more great adventures and trust me, when they present themselves…I am jumping because I AM REALLY LIVING THIS LIFE!!!! Do you have a recent story that helps you relate to the idea of REALLY living life? I would love if you would share and be an inspiration for me and others to keep stepping outside our comfort zone, since that is where life happens. We only get one chance…

RE-DIPPED

I have been traveling a lot in the past 2 months…some for family, some for fun with friends and a trip to get, what a lot of us in the chiropractic profession call,”re-dipped”.

There is a phenomenal chiropractic seminar in California called Cal Jam that I am able to attend for continuing education and license renewal. There are seminars all over the country, even some really close to home, however I choose to go and spend my time with the best of the best and have sought out a couple venues to keep on my regular schedule every year.

Cal Jam always exceeds expectations and this year was no exception.

Some of my nearest and dearest friends and I all decided we would meet there this year, get hotel rooms together and be able to spend some time catching up in between listening to the speakers.

Chiropractors are kind of a strange breed to begin with. We have some really “wacky” ideas about the body’s incredible ability to heal, a philosophy that guides our profession and gives us framework for life, living and all things natural, we help people through the use of our hands, we practice what we preach and most of us absolutely love what we do. Put a few thousand of us in one huge theater, add in a little music, and the positive energy is palpable. For me, add to that some of my nearest and dearest friends, that also love what I love, and I feel revitalized, rejuvenated, re-energized…”re-dipped”.

The line-up of speakers was top notch; Joe Dispenza, Brenden Burchard, Garrett Gunderson, Jeanne Ohm, Barbara Loe Fisher just to name a few…some of the greatest in the profession and others that present on topics that compliment our profession.

When the days come to an end, we gather as groups and invade the local restaurant scene to “talk it down”. Our conversations range from the topics the speakers have presented, how our practices are going, business and money matters, family, travel plans, matters of the heart and so on. There is often roaring laughter coming from these conversations and in a small way, that positive energy that was palpable during the day flows out the doors of the theater, down the streets and into the local establishments.

Have you ever been around positive energy and felt your energy lift? I assume we have a small effect on the wait staff that is serving us, the bar tenders that are pouring the wine and maybe even the people that are sitting around the tables next to ours…or maybe it is bigger than we think…Really tune into this YouTube clip around the 2:20 minute mark…she happens to be one of the people sitting at one of the restaurants while I was there last week.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at6NsWoYGBI[/youtube]

“They look very happy, that’s all I know…” she says. I just love this glimpse into what kind of effects are happening due to positive energy. Happiness is contagious…being positive is contagious. Give it a try sometime.

I love to travel. Actually the process of getting to a place is not very glamorous with packing bags, driving to the airport, making it on time, lugging heavy suitcases around, dealing with security, sitting on the plane next to strangers for long hours, finding the rental car place, dealing with getting all the way to the destination, checking in…none of that is what I would call “fun”.

However having a change of scenery, seeing new places, learning new things, meeting new people, exploring new areas both physically and mentally…I FREAKIN’ LIVE FOR THAT!!! Something about all of that gives me a fresh start almost like pressing a “reset” button. Then when it has anything to do with the profession that I love so much, with people that love what I love, and the philosophy that I live in, there is nothing better than getting “re-dipped” and returning home to serve at a higher level. And yes, yes we are all really, really happy.

YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE…

LISTEN TO YOUR INNER VOICE

I cried when I read this. This spoke to me in a huge way and is a small lesson to help teach you to listen to your inner voice:

Hi Erica, I’m going to call and make an appointment for both an adjustment and massage. I could wait and tell you all this when I see you but sometimes it seems easier to put my thoughts in writing rather than to just tell it, plus you are a busy person and I don’t want to take a lot of your time. (Although I’ve been known to write books instead of messages, which could take a lot of time anyway. LOL!)

I keep trying to think of how I got so far off track! It’s just these little slips that happen without thinking it will be permanent – like family coming and just not taking time to take care of self. It’s preparing food that they like (and I like) even though it is not at all healthy. Pretty soon, a slip becomes a slide, doesn’t it? So that’s part of what happened last summer.

But then, I decided that the yoga schedule was too hard for me to work out so I joined a local gym, not intending to never go back to yoga. However, I got convinced that working with a trainer would be a helpful thing so I paid huge bucks for that for several months, which meant I couldn’t afford to go to yoga, to the chiropractor, to a massage therapist, etc., etc. The trainer also believes in eating vegan, but is strict on high protein and low, low carbs, which I tried hard to do but couldn’t stick to it. So I started doing high protein/low carbs eating meat, cheese, eggs, etc.

Then, the knee that you had been adjusting got worse and worse and I went to a surgeon who said I had a torn meniscus and he did surgery. He also said I have a significant amount of arthritis in my knee and probably in the other one. That was back in September and I’m still in pain, still stiff and am now doing physical therapy trying to get some strength and flexibility back.
I eventually could not afford the trainer anymore and began so slide off the diet and because my knee hurt so much I also quit going to the gym for the most part. Then I started eating whatever I wanted and gained some of the weight I had lost back.
So, there I was, sitting in my recliner, hurting all over, swollen up in my joints, feeling tight in my muscles, feeling dead in my stomach and OLD, OLD, OLD!!!! And I started praying about it and asking God to help me. And I began remembering how I felt when I fed my body the healthy foods – fruits, veggies, whole grains, nuts – all the things that are good (I was basically off fruits and whole grains on the low carb diet). And I remembered how limber I was, doing yoga, and chiropractic, and how great it was to have you support and encourage the yoga and the healthy diet and how easy and wonderful it was to get massages.
I think in the midst of all the voices that have swayed me one way and then another, I finally heard God’s voice – and my voice – saying “you know what is best for you! you remember what works, what is gentle, what is peaceful, what is healthy.
Sunday night I could hardly walk, hardly climb the stairs, barely even turn over in bed, I hurt so bad. Monday morning wasn’t much better and that is when I decided to make a change NOW! The yoga schedule will be the priority and my work schedule will be worked around it.
I will be going to PT for a while, but I want to come back to Cafe of Life and get back on the journey to health and wholeness. I have to stop allowing myself to get pulled off the journey and to stay focused!
I will be calling this afternoon and trying to get in next week. But I just wanted to tell you where I am in all this. I never intended on stopping my treatment there. It just little by little, day by day, time went by and pretty soon, I almost forgot.
As the yoga instructor says “BEGIN AGAIN.” I went back, by the way, on Monday evening. There was so much I could not do with my stiff knee but I did a lot and I felt more limber and not as tight and did not have as much pain Tuesday morning. The yoga instructor reminded me “Be gentle with yourself, but be persistent.” Good advise for someone who gives up rather easily, isn’t it?
I miss you and your gentle smile. I will be glad to see you and hope you haven’t given up entirely on me! I’m hoping to get this right this time.
Have a blessed Easter. I will see you next week, I hope.

MY RESPONSE:

Thank you so much for that email. I really appreciate you giving me all the details in your update because all of that stuff is important for me to know.

Life is a game of slipping and checking and BEGINNING AGAIN is always an option.

I never give up on anyone. Instead, I hold a space for healing for people whether you are at the Café of LIFE or on a journey that takes you from here. Either way, you will always be welcome here no matter how long it has been since your last visit. I realize that life takes twists and turns as mine does exactly the same. Healing comes from within and it is best to find something on the inside to anchor to so you can stay consistent, which sounds like you may have found that. Being gentle and persistent is how we progress, but take bite size pieces so you keep yourself having small successes that lead to bigger ones and then celebrate those.

There is a lot of “should’s” that can fall on us during a day and make us feel like we are failing in one area or another. Just do your best every single day and know that is all anyone can ever ask.

And give yourself a break, drink your water, find time to stroll and enjoy your days, make good food and exercise choices and believe in your body’s ability to heal. Your thoughts are powerful so make sure to use them in your favor.

Looking forward to seeing you…

Erica

Health & Happiness,

Dr. Erica Peabody

Every time I re-read this, the tears well up because I know there are so many people that have slipped and are struggling. Bless this particular person who shared her words so eloquently and is allowing me to tell her story.

Do you have a little voice in your head that guides you when you are lost? Does it talk to you in a positive way or negative way? Do you listen to your inner voice? It may be the most powerful guidance system you have for your life. There is so much technology, so many opinions, so many things trying to influence and steer you in this direction or that direction. Take some time to be quiet and listen to that inner voice…it is always right. Once you start to listen, and if you find yourself way off course…just BEGIN AGAIN.

THE WALL

What came to mind when you saw the name of this blog post, “The Wall”? A WALL of your room? Pink Floyd? The Great WALL of China? The WALL endurance runners hit? The Vietnam Veterans Memorial WALL? The Berlin WALL? Hitting a WALL in a relationship? Do you WALL off your heart to protect it from the world? Do you put up a WALL and block out new ideas? Maybe an idea is off the WALL?

There are many places in life where we may encounter a WALL, in fact if you look around you right now, I would bet there may be a WALL (or 4) somewhere close to you.

After my trip to Belize, I have an entirely new concept of a WALL. The island of Long Caye, where I spent my week, is situated about 100 yards from a tectonic plate. Tectonic plates are location on the Earth where there is large-scale shifts in the surface of the land. Many plates are underwater and create drop-offs, or cliffs, in the ocean floor.

At this particular location there is a 3,000 foot WALL (or cliff) due to the tectonic plate activity. There is a diving camp, Off the Wall Dive Center, that shares the island with Slickrock Adventures (the group I was with), and though I do not SCUBA due to my heart condition, there is world class diving within just a 5 minute boat ride from the island along this WALL. During the week, the dive center staff would come over and share information about their dive trips and offer us a chance to dive if certified. Hearing about “THE WALL” all week, I was beyond intrigued to have a chance to check it out.

On Thursday, I finally got my chance.

During lunch, our trip leader offered a “swim snorkel” trip around the island to those who consider themselves “good swimmers”. We were signing up for roughly a 2 hour swim experience so it was not a small commitment when you said “ok” to this option for the afternoon.

We got in the water around 2pm, swim suit, rash guard, neoprene shirt for warmth since we would be in the water for an extended period, booties, sun screen, snorkel and fins. The beginning of the journey took us over huge swells and through rough water as we freed ourselves from the protection of the island. I had my face down in the water most of the time watching the fan corral at the bottom as it swayed to the rhythm of the waves and current…absolutely beautiful.

We got through the rough water and things began to soften up on the surface as the ocean floor opened up to an expansive stretch of sand flats. The view was breathtaking and reminded me of the most beautiful snowy mountainside with slopes of fresh powder. The sand flats were sprinkled with sand dollars as we swam over from about 40 feet above. I did a little bit of free diving however there was so much beauty from the surface that it wasn’t really necessary to take a closer look.

As we continued on our swim there was a drastic change in the ocean floor from sand, to corral for about 10 yards, to the deepest, darkest navy blue abyss. With the beautiful colors, the textures of all the corrals, wildlife present and the deep blue nothing that goes on forever…it was hands down, the most magnificent thing I have ever seen in my life.

Something happens to me when I put my head into the water to swim; in the ocean, lake or even in the pool. There is a silence that is so peaceful and comforting underwater. When I arrived on the island a few days before, we immediately went on our first adventure. I put my mask and snorkel on and stuck my head underwater and instantly went into a trance. Our snorkel trips were always guided by a staff member. During the first trip, there were many moments when I was wandering off from the group, unknowingly until I raised my head up and could hear them calling to me from a distance. The beauty was breathtaking and I was in my own little world.

In the shallow water I was awe-struck…so swimming above this cliff was real treat. The experience was so overwhelming that I was brought to tears and had to take a moment with my head above water to re-gain composure. The rest of the group of 5 continued to swim along as usual.

I am not sure why such strong emotions came up for me. It could have been because the week was so amazing, my heart was so open and I was able to play and be free like a child. It could have been because of the physical energy of the Earth at that location takes a major shift and quite possibly I could feel that in some way at that moment. It could have been the sheer beautiful of the scene in front of me. I could have been so many things…it was one of those moments that I had such pure, raw gratitude for my amazing life that my body’s expression was tears. Whatever it was that bubbled up for me in that moment, there really are not words that can express it fully. What I am certain about is that was an experience I will remember for the rest of my life and it will forever expand my concept of what a “WALL” is for me.

I face many WALLS as I journey through my life…because I push myself physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally on a regular basis to find my limits, to find where my WALLS are. From time to time, the WALLS that I hit seem insurmountable and may be an indication that I need to back up and reconsider my course. Sometimes a WALL gives me good reason to turn around. Sometimes its presence inspires me to find a way to get up and over it. Sometimes it means that I need to figure out the first step to disassembling it…and other times I just need to sit back and enjoy the view as I soar high above it.

I hope I have done this WALL some justice describing it to you through the written word. If not, I have an even better idea…plan a trip to go and witness it for yourself! We only get one chance at this life…do not let your “WALLS” hold you back!

BEAUTIFUL BELIZE

I am just getting home from one of the greatest vacations I have ever taken…to beautiful Belize. I want to share a little bit about the week with you so you can have an idea about the experience. There are a few specific blog posts that I will add after this one with more details.

The week started out with a 2:30AM wake-up at my home in order to make a 6:00AM flight in Detroit. Travel from Michigan to Belize is quite simple with just 2 short flights and I was there just after noon Central Time.

It is always dramatic to leave the snow here in Michigan and just 6 short hours later be somewhere tropical. I am amazed at air travel every time I do it. It is absolutely astounding how far you can get in such a short amount of time.

The first night was spent at a hotel in Belize City. Since I have been home, many people have asked me if I would recommend Belize for a vacation. I cannot honestly say whether I would or not. If you are going to the country of Belize, and if Belize City is a true representation of what the country is like (and I do not know if it is or not), I would maybe choose a different destination. If you are going to do something like the trip I was on (and I also have no idea if the trip really represents Belize), then ABSOLUTELY!!!

On Saturday morning we ate an early breakfast and we all piled onto the “Batfish” which is Slickrock’s vessel for transporting us to the island we will spend the week on. It was a relatively easy (you will see why I say “relative” later in this post) 3.5 hour boat trip.

80 degree weather, sun shining, head sticking out through one of the hatches in the roof of the boat, wind blowing, great people, teal water, completely unplugged, and a week long vacation still ahead of me – this is the final 30 minutes of the ride before we pulled up to Long Caye, the small island we would spend our week on. I will forever have that image and moment etched into my mind. It was one of those “tears of gratitude” moments in my life…which I seem to experience more and more of all the time.

I cannot do the week any justice by describing the details of it all but the days went something like this…wake up, teach a yoga class, swim, breakfast, rest, take a sea kayak to a snorkel site, snorkel, kayak back to the island, lunch, kite board lesson, kayak surf session, rum punch and appetizers, jump on handlebars of a bike and ride to other side of island to watch the sunset, change out of bathing suit to dry clothes for dinner, eat fabulous food with lots of green habanero hot sauce, have great conversation, adjust the staff members or other people on the trip, listen to an informative and entertaining lecture given by our tour director, a warm breeze on the walk back to the cabana, and falling asleep to the surf just down from the cabana which is more like a lean-to and doesn’t even necessitate 4 full walls. Wake up the next day and repeat.

The staff was absolutely amazing and little did we know, they were tracking an intense storm heading our direction all week. Even though the storm was getting pretty crazy, they didn’t relay that information to us until it was absolutely necessary, allowing us to stay unplugged from society.

A few of us ended up leaving the island a day early due to the impending storm and what it may do to our travel plans and the necessity to be home for work on Monday. The initial report was “a storm is going to hit tomorrow around 11. Please have your luggage ready and at the boat dock by 9.” At breakfast the next morning it changed to “eat quick, go get your bags packed, have them ready at 8, wear your foul weather gear, grab a life jacket, put it on and zip it up.” Ummm…ok.

The next hour and a half was spent bracing myself against the side of the boat and the

hull, with my back to the seas so that my hood would keep me dry, however mostly just so that I didn’t have the visual as the boat was rolling up and over swells bigger than it (this picture is taken as things eased up a lot). To say it was intense, is more than an understatement. Good news is that I lived to tell the tale and laughed though most of it because I just couldn’t believe it was happening in real life!

The crew of the boat, the staff and all that were involved really made the situation the best it
could have possibly been. In fact, when I look at all areas of my life, I realize that the experience itself is largely impacted more by who I am with, rather than where I am at.

I wasn’t ready to kiss the ground when we finally docked the boat…but I can see why people use that phrase.

Slickrock Adventures runs a top notch production down there in Belize. Not only did they give us the option to get off the island early if we needed to, they also provided us a tour of Lamanai Mayan Ruins the next day as part of our week and an amazing tour guide to share the story of the Ruins.

The flight home was a breeze on Sunday, I have recently learned to actually sleep on the plane and so I felt rested, rejuvenated and ready to take on my week back at Cafe of LIFE, my chiropractic office.

I live an amazingly blessed life and I feel fortunate to be able to take trips to places like beautiful Belize. I love my reality and am usually looking forward to returning to it, however, leaving Long Caye to come home, I have to say I thought about how amazing it would be to be able to call that everyday life. We only get one chance in this lifetime. Make sure you are where you want to be, doing what you want to do, or at least take breaks from your reality to have some awesome experiences. Life is really, really, really good.

“HELLO! HELLO! HELLO!”

“HELLO! HELLO! HELLO!” is such a familiar greeting in my childhood. “Mom, why does grandma say ‘Hello’ three times when we walk in?” my 7 year old self would ask as we walked into my grandmother’s home who lived just one mile down the street from where I grew up.

I just heard that familiar greeting as I am sitting in the living room at my grandmother’s home in her golf oasis in Florida as a few of her friends arrive for a visit. I have been here all weekend with some other family members as my grandmother moves nearer and nearer to THE final destination. Yes, she is dying. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not this week. Probably not next week or the week after. Within a month or two she will leave this earthly plane but in the meantime she is alive and living the best that she can and we are here to experience some of that.

I feel fortunate to be privy to some of the stories that are shared in such an intimate setting. I always knew my grandmother was strong, powerful, full of life and opinionated. However, as I sit and listen the stories this weekend (and of course stories I have heard over the years) she is also a real person with real life experiences, has had many ups and downs, has shed a lot of tears, has found love and happiness and has the most contagious, roaring laugh on the planet.

My Mom is here, a few aunts and uncles, with other neighborhood friends of my grandparent’s stopping by during the days. Grandma is spending most of the day relaxing, reminiscing and resting. We have done a lot of sitting and talking, literally hours of sitting and talking. We have all shed tears, shared stories, asked questions and done a ton of laughing. In fact, the first morning I woke up here, I thought to myself how great it is to be awakened from sleep by roaring family laughter, especially considering these circumstances.

During this time, we have drawn out the family tree. My grandmother birthed 10 children. My grandfather, who isn’t my grandfather by blood but has been “Grandpa” to me for close to 30 years, has 7 children of his own. There are layers of grandchildren and great grandchildren and the total count of immediate family comes to 96 people total. WOW!!! Isn’t that an absolute monstrosity of a family!!!

“It’s a myth that a big family is always happy. We have our share of tears, but there is a network support system that always goes into gear in time of need. My children were the reason I got up in the morning” a direct quote from my grandmother back in 1981 when she was voted “Mother of the Year” by the local Fenton newspaper at the time.

That “network support system” has always been a central idea to how our family was run and I see it in my generation, especially when it comes to my own siblings and nearest and dearest. That theme is a powerful part of what my life was built around especially considering my dad was one of his own natural support network of 9 children.

There is nothing like family, absolutely nothing that can replace these blood connections. When family gets to these numbers, there are good eggs and bad eggs, however we are all connected and always will be connected in a way that runs strong and deep behind the scenes…and largely due to the ideas of the amazing matriarch that started this show.

My grandmother is a legend and one of my heroes. I know she will never truly grasp in this lifetime the extent of her extraordinary life and contribution to this world. She will never realize what an amazing person she is, her beauty, her strength and how much good she contributed while she is here. But her faith is strong and I know she will figure that out as soon as she sheds her current failing body.

When she leaves this earthly plane, she will travel effortlessly to wherever she believes Heaven is and I know God will know when she arrives because he will hear her roaring laughter and her infamous “HELLO! HELLO! HELLO!”. May peace be with you in your process of transitioning, Grandma, and thanks in advance for watching over all 95 of us from the other side.

HAPPY

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.

WHAT IF LIFE IS ABOUT SOMETHING DIFFERENT

I attended an amazing lecture with some really good friends this past weekend. The presenter/author touched on a really important topic…WHAT IF LIFE IS ABOUT SOMETHING DIFFERENT than we have always thought?
In this culture we have been taught that life goes something like this…
Grow up. Get the education, Get the job. Get the boy. Get the girl. Get the car. Get the house. Get the time off for vacation. Get the kids. Get more kids. Get the bigger house. Get the better car. Get the toys. Get the better toys. Get the good retirement. Get better stuff than the neighbors. Get the grandkids. Get retired and live happily ever after.

Is it possible that our understanding or life itself is totally askew? Maybe there is data missing and the whole human race is after the wrong stuff. How is it that 7 billion (+ or -) people declare they want the same thing and not be able to attain it after thousands of years of trying.

The lecturer presented the idea that maybe life is more about the following:

Be authentically you.

Figure out what it means to be you.

Then move about and express yourself in this world in a way that allows others to express themselves in a way that is more true to their own soul as well.

I think it is pretty safe to say that our job is to search and seek out ways for us to know ourselves better and to figure out our purpose and meaning in this life. We are not our physical appearance, the things we have, our education, our car, our job, our partner or our kids. We are simply us and stripping it all down to the very core of what that means is WE ARE LOVE. The rest of the stuff and things are just a very small piece of life. Our bodies are the vehicle that gets us around in this world so that we can have experiences. Beyond that, life is about relationships and how our words, thoughts and actions affect other people’s words, thoughts and actions.

The end of the lecture was a culmination of all that he said and 3 simple “call to action” steps that we can take as we travel through our days.

1. LOOK AT PEOPLE – really look at them because we all have a strong desire to be seen and the “eyes are a window to the soul”.

2. SMILE – Smiling at another means “I get what I am looking at. I get you.” If you are happy in your life, make sure to tell your face about it so it can be your loudspeaker to the world around you.

3. TOUCH – Reach out and make contact with someone. Our culture walks around severely deprived of physical touch and it is a necessary part of being a human.

…and a little bit of icing on the cake – SAY SOMETHING NICE – tell people how wondrous they are and give them back to themselves.

Can we really afford to walk around one more day not expressing ourselves and holding back from showing the world love? The days go quick and this life is really short and we only get one chance.

“We never know how something that we think, say or do today will effect the lives of millions tomorrow.” -BJ Palmer

Let’s make it count because what if life really IS about something different than we have always thought?