Archive for November 2010
Giving Thanks – Before and After
This blog was delayed a week because of the Yahoo email glitch (spammed), yet giving it a theme of “Before and After” seemed to work best throughout! Thanks for your patience.
There’s a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving…. Health, family, work… and more. The real meaning of thanksgiving to me is giving thanks to those who mean the most to us and to those who have made a difference in our lives. The much over used word of gratitude extends even more when you are faced with simple interruptions that take you away from what is really important.
Last Saturday, I learned my Yahoo email account had been compromised (emails to everyone in my address book). My Yahoo account is one that I pay a yearly fee for use with no ads. An account that has at least 10 other email addresses forward to it (from 3 websites) adding to the simplified or more like complication of life. With all the passwords and tight security, makes you wonder since my personal computer is like going through a TSA line at the airport. However, a brief hour at the public library on their wireless connection is the only place I could have been exposed. Talk about germs! That exposure has cost me hours of work, hours that right now (the weekend before Thanksgiving) I don’t have. So I ran a full scan on my computer, changed my password and deleted my address book in yahoo. And, I thought, “what is really important to me right now?” So much came up that took precedence at that moment, I realized that email, although important, could wait. I made a quick list of things to change and then left to enjoy the rest of my day.
As we approach Thanksgiving, life often gives us different perspectives considering all that is going on around you, me and the rest of the world. Family and friends rally together this time of year. And although my family is small, we celebrate giving thanks for our health and ability to continue despite the world conditions. I’ve been very lucky this year, since turning 60 in September, I continue to have my health, energy and have been able to work full time throughout this crazy economic time. My friends have been a beacon for me in good times and bad regardless of miles between us. My home and kitties offer me a grounding place to recharge and just BE – daily. My mom, who turns 97 in February, continues to be in good spirits. And, she’s grateful for her ability to continue to live independently! So when these glitches with email and computer viruses invade your space, taking a step back for a day, a week or even longer, makes you realize that life still goes on even if the email isn’t coming in at breakneck speed.
…..
It’s now been a week since the yahoo email debacle. I still have 100 more places to change my email address and 27 different subscriptions that have to be re-applied for at the website, since those 27 don’t allow you to manage your account at the bottom of the ezine. However, I celebrated Thanksgiving and remembered all who have touched my life in some way or another. I continue to really address, “what is really important to me… no… REALLY important – right now today, this month, this year or next? So with this constant reminder of change (leaving Yahoo) and how good it is for us, it also can suck up time if the change is not constructive costing productivity to drop considerably.
That’s when the daily list of priorities kicks in… That list of priorities is what’s really important to me and has brought me back to memory at times like these. I call it my “5 Daily Do’s: walk, eat healthy, write/journal, be creative and connect with a family member or friend.” When you zero down on the important things in life, a Yahoo email glitch suddenly goes far off the radar screen. Realizing this, if you don’t write down all the places that need address changes, you may forget half of them a few weeks later. You may also realize a few week later how unimportant some of those addresses really are.
Thanksgiving is also a time for “turning”. Turning of seasons, turning of time and turning a new leaf as we approach a new year. Giving thanks for all you have and all that is yet to come. A time for giving to others without the expectation of something in return. As we approach the month of December, we begin to recognize everyone we know with a holiday card or gift. We race around to attend holiday parties, sometimes more than one in a night. We’re busy with menus and baking, decorating trees and putting up lights. All for the sake of what? To celebrate Christmas? Yet had we given thanks in November – at Thanksgiving – to all those who are important in our life… Christmas would then have the true meaning of the birth of Christ rather than another holiday to get presents and eat big meals. Thanksgiving in its true sense – giving thanks for everything that has or will come into your life – good or bad. Giving thanks for all your challenges and difficult relationships in your life as they mold your character into understanding and forgiving. Giving thanks for the little things and the things we overlook. Giving thanks for the things that we think less important but are very important to others. Giving thanks for the things we take for granted – like the air we breathe and the water we drink. Thanksgiving – Giving Thanks Before and After… I may still have a lot of work to do in transferring all my “stuff” to a new email account. However, my first order of business is gratitude for my life … and then my daily priorities (remember my 5 Daily Do’s?) . These take precedence – everyday!
Hope your Thanksgiving was truly about giving thanks.
In The Spirit of Love and Light…
Rosemary Augustine
P.S. Let me know if I forgot something 🙂
Finding Joy in Your Sketch Journal
The purpose of this blog is to write about something that inspires you and me and anyone else that wants an ounce or more of creativity in our daily chaotic world. Why do you journal? For the fun of it? For the daily rhythm it provides? Or for the clarity that your soul seeks? What kind of journal do you use — a lined or blank paper journal… Sketch journal… Scraps of paper later taped to pages? Most importantly, what do you write about when you journal? Do you write about love, relationships, gratitude or health? What motivates you to journal on a regular basis? And what drives you to return to your journal when you have let the dust settle on its pages for weeks or months? Obviously, these are some things to journal about.
Last week, my best friend and business cohort, Anita Larson (http://www.arthonoringlife.com/) asked me to think about and then write a blog post about the different kinds of journals. I immediately thought about why people journal – and came up with the answer, “obviously they write for different reasons.” And then I thought about the kinds of journals. Oh my… in just a few minutes I came up with over 85 different kinds of journals you could write or use as part of your fun, rhythm and clarity. I won’t bore you with the 85+ types of journals that I listed last Thursday night in my journal, since it will give me an opportunity to provide you with more blog posts in the future – about journaling! Since I have been creating hand-crafted journals, writing about journaling, journaling myself and teaching classes and courses on the subject, I know there are many kinds of journals and many reasons for journaling.
When I wrote my 2nd book, “How To Live and Work Your Passion,” I designed the chapters so that you would journal your thoughts on numerous prompts centered around finding your passion, identifying your blocks of why you don’t live your passion and understanding what it means to truly live and work your passion – everyday! When I returned to my roots in 2001 and faced the challenges of the northeast culture (after living in Colorado for 20 years), journaling got me through many rough days and months that have now turned to the last 10 years of my life! Journaling became important to me, so much that when I moved to Pennsylvania, I purchased personalized license plates that say “JOURNAL.” Often people will ask me, what is the meaning of your license plates? My response today (and the day I ordered them) is, “to remind myself to journal everyday and to inspire others to do the same.”
For years I did morning pages, wrote during the day, jotted words that triggered a thought or inspired me to expand on an idea. Many nights I wrote in my gratitude journal (doesn’t everyone do this?), I kept a food journal (identifying food sensitivities and allergies) and a business journal filled with mind mapping; I have a special journal for writing ideas and article/newsletter and/or book titles. I always have a sketch journal in the works, since that is how I personally perfect my day via art. But the one journal that holds near and dear to my heart is my Joy Journal.
For years I wrote about happiness – defining it, identifying it, understanding what it really means to be “in the moment.” When I discovered it was joy that I was seeking and not happiness, I started a Joy Journal. It’s a small, wire bound book with a beautiful rose on the cover. Only measuring 5”x5” with lined paper, the entries have a very special meaning in my life. Therefore, my entries are not daily. My first entry was the inscription on the inside cover that reads, “Joy – a will of my soul and an act of my heart.” Periodically, I will read through my Joy Journal entries. I read these entries more than any other journal I have ever kept.
Sometimes, inspiration is a tall order. And the act of journaling can be overwhelming for some. I’m hoping this post will inspire you to create a special journal for yourself. Maybe it’s a “Joy” journal like mine, or maybe it’s a “Travel” journal – a special place that you write about your travels thus far and the places you hope to visit one day. Or … possibly it is a “Sketch” journal that captures your day in pictures. My recent hand-crafted Journals lends the opportunity to capture your day in words or pictures, sketching using pen, pencil or paint. I always carry a sketch journal with me and have pencil or pen handy no matter where I am. For short trips away from home, I also like to carry watercolor crayons, since I can use a small brush and a little water sitting in my car or on a bench. A Sketch Journal can be an absolute delight – sheer joy in the true sense – regardless of your skill level. Focus on your subject and sketch away… write a few captions… journal your thoughts… draw your emotions… Sketch and experience Joy! Hopefully, this post inspires you to create a few artistic endeavors through words, pictures or thoughts.
In the Spirit of Love and Light…
Rosemary Augustine
