Well, helloooo to all   It has been quite the while since I graced the virtual pages of this blog and I am glad to be returning.  I am giving my typing fingers a try out today to pen a few lines in an effort to reacquaint myself with things and for you all to reacquaint with me.

Much has happened to me – both externally and most certainly internally – since I was greeting you all weekly.  My inner journey is beginning to mellow slightly now though, my ascent is not as steep and I am getting back this week into doing many of the things which I did prior to my sojourn.  However, as with many things that happen to us in life and this most certainly is the case with inner growth, I feel I carry a new attitude with me this time as I go back to things that were once so familiar.  Possibly, not so much an attitude but a deeper understanding of my own place within this world along with a redistribution of the hierarchy of what is and is not important in life. 

2010 thus far, has really been quite the humdinger for me and in all I have learnt a lot about myself – from experiences, from revisiting my teenage brain and from people telling me their impressions of me from years ago – all very enlightening.  Whilst some of the external happenings have been upsetting and unexpected, they were none the less all part of a journey.  A journey, which for the most part, I was a mere bystander to; not the ‘main attraction’. 

Although my role was crucial it was also to be secondary.  It is, I feel, about understanding that sometimes when we give of ourselves we do so, so others can fully receive.  That it is in our acceptance of not being the centre and asking for nothing in return that we are gifted with both the knowledge of another’s depth as well as an insight into our own.

I am looking forward to getting back into blogging as well as catching up with some of my Twitter friends and inspirers who I have greatly neglected of late.  I have been toying with some new plans for on here so I will keep you all posted and we shall see together what road we/I/the blog takes. 

Enjoy

photo courtesy of Scott*eric via Flickr [cc]

A few of my previous blogs you might like to check out:

Life is in the doing not the having 

Delight in all the turns of your life

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Earlier this week I was reading a post on a blog by a lovely lady called Andie which is 101 things in 1001 days.  Andie has 101 goals to accomplish and one of those goals is to list 100 things that make her happy.  I thought that was a great idea and it inspired me to pen my own 100 things.   So later that day I sat down and began to write type, all the while picturing myself feeling happy and listing all the pictures and feelings that came into my mind.  One hundred of them flowed out pretty easily – there was a bit of a pause around the #28 mark when I looked at the number wondered if I would get to 100.  I didn’t try to list big or ‘deep’ things as I believe it is in the small that our lives are lived, moment by moment.  Happiness is felt in the now and I wrote the list from the place of what gives me happiness as it happens not so much what makes me happy over the longer term, though a few of them crept in as well.

My list was varied and I shan’t bore you will the complete 100 but shall give a few snippets to give you the gist.

#24 having a computer

#25 the internet

#96 travelling and holidays

#26 watching a good movie

#5 being me *flicks hair over shoulder*

#87 eating sushi in one of those places where it revolves around [love this]

#72 all the possibilities that are ahead of me

#88 warmth from the sun

#17 when I achieve a life time goal

#4 feeling loved

#36 going to sleep

Making the list reminded me how much happiness I have in my life [thanks Andie].  A lot of the things on my list cost nothing; they are gifted to me – like love or warmth from the sun.  Happiness is truly in the way we view things.  If we look for the goodness in all things that is what we shall find and being grateful for what we currently have in our lives instantly makes our life great.  Life is good if we decide it is good, similarly if we decide everything in our life is crap then a crap life is what we will get.

Whether we currently feel we have a little or a lot [especially in a material sense] if we look at all that makes us happy we instantly have a lot, we instantly live a rich life.  When you go shopping do you bother looking at the stuff to don’t like?

~ You might like to do your own list of 100 things that make you happy or even share some in the comments section below.  Either way it is focusing you on what is good and great in your life.  Sending the signal out to the universe that this is your life, your happy life.  What you focus on expands as they say, so focus on the happiness in your life and watch it grow.

Enjoy

above photo by renaissancechambara via Flickr [cc]

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Some other postings you might like:

Happiness, fulfilment – what’s stopping you?

Life is in the doing not the having

Allow your inner voice to speak

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#101 my ‘official’ two cups of morning coffee always makes me happy

photo by ballistik coffee boy via Flickr [cc]

After extensive reasearch a.k.a my life thus far …… here are a few attitudes and habits to adopt if you would like to make your life a bit harder, less simple.  If you choose not to make it that way just do the opposite of the list – as always your life is what you choose it to be.

THE LIST:

1.  Get rid of your weekly plan – and especially your daily, yearly and 5 yearly one

2.  Always think about the past

3.  Always focus on what doesn’t really matter – sweat the small stuff

4.  Keep all irrelevant pieces of paper

5.  Always let stress get the better of you

6.  Always accept interruptions when you work

7.  Procrastinate all things

8.  Don’t have lists for anything — this one doesn’t count

9.  Let the day free flow – don’t schedule anything

10.  Do lots of things at the same time

11.  Never feel proud of yourself for accomplishing anything you do

12.  Don’t have any goals

13.  If someone asks you to do something always say yes – their stuff is more important than yours

14.  Rush through everything you do

15.  Do not prioritise

16.  Have as many useless possessions as possible

17.  Do everything yourself – don’t delegate to anyone

18.  Always keep your desk and work surfaces messy and cluttered

19.  Never believe you will do anything

20.  Surround yourself with friends who do not support and encourage you

Enjoy

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Other postings you might like to read:

Delight in all the turns of your life

Simplicity Thursday – 5 things to do whilst boiling the kettle

Unburden yourself here – it’s free & freeing

In the silence are all the answers you seek

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Expectations are slippery characters.  In themselves they are fine but it is how we attach ourselves to them; or them to us, which imbues them with a power which can be hazardous.   In one way they can be good in another not so good.  The good way with expectations is not to hold on to them too tightly, not to incorporate them too deeply into the part of us which resides in the physical world.  Savour an expectation, feel it arise  within and visualise its outcome, let the  mind know this is how we would like things to be.  Expect good things of our self – to be and do all that we believe is possible [and then some]……. then set the expectation free.

What we expect is usually what we get, though sometimes not in the form we expected.  If we do not get what we expect then we must not be disappointed or downhearted.  Expectations send out a message to the universe that this is what we want or think we deserve; yet if we do not let go of them, they cannot go forth to do their work.  They will not come back to us for they never left to be fulfilled.  However, by fearing our expectations will not be fulfilled we doom them to failure by not  letting go of them.

Expectations must be taken on board then released, that is their way, the way.  Expectations are powerful and can have a positive effect on our life, yet if we do not set that power free it turns inward.  It builds in us and consumes us as the weight of increasing unfulfilled expectations are pilled higher and higher upon ourselves, by ourselves and our inability to release them.   They are made to move, to be free and to wander – their energy doing its work in freedom.  They do not operate when caged; they are inhabitants of the open.  They only like to rest upon our thoughts momentarily before taking flight again to spread their goodness.

~~ So by all means enjoy your expectations and have high ones but remember you do not own them, they will do you the most good by letting them go.  They are like a summer breeze, touching you for a moment so you can shape how they flow but always and ever they are free flowing.

Enjoy

Photo by: lucyfrench123

You might like reading another post I wrote on expectations

Great Expectations?

Some other postings:

Happiness, fulfilment – what’s stopping you?

Life is in the doing not the having

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Don’t allow trivial matters to aggravate you

if the milk spills, wipe it up and move on to something  which deserves your energy

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Enjoy all you do

this is the only time you will live this moment so make the best of it

Enjoy

Other postings you might like:

You don’t have to save the world

Do you live a quantity or quality life?

Honouring your core values

The benefits of a neutral colour scheme

Last Monday’s post was my most successful yet – comments and hits wise that is and possibly one of the most  successful in a helpful way too – unfortunately that doesn’t come up on the analytics .  I would like to thank everyone who released emotions which they no longer wished to carry the full weight of and trust that in some small way it has made you feel lighter and added to your inner growth.

I will take a guess here and surmise that for some of you a fear had to be overcome to place a comment  and I wanted you who did over come a fear to know that last Monday I had a fear too.  It wasn’t in writing the post as only I was seeing it, yet as I went to push the publish button I hesitated, I doubted myself and quavered.  My last  post was different from my usual Monday sort, a move away from my comfort zone.  I could feel the build up inside me, I was a bit scared and put it down to maybe it wasn’t a good time to do a post like this  – what if I offend someone, what if no one comments, what if this and what if that…

As I sat there thinking whether ‘to publish or not to publish’ I began to wonder if maybe the feeling was just plain old fear; fear of doing something differently, of expanding, of growing.  Which one was it?  Then I remembered a piece I read in a magazine about a woman who had come through an experience of cancer.  When asked what positive had come out of her experience she said she would no longer waste another day not feeling totally liberated to be whoever she wanted to be.  Then I thought of all those people who have done great things in their life and often when asked, they too, say that they had to over come personal fear.

I decided then it was just plain old fear so proceeded with finishing off the post.  All the while the feeling kept chipping away, but I pressed on reminding myself not to succumb to it for it was only trying to keep me living a ‘small life’.   By the time I had finished doing all the extra bits like picking the picture etc it was too late for fear to grip me fully.  I had walked through it and was already on the other side with enough inner oomph to push the publish button.

~~ When I feel fear rising within I usually picture it as a wall of sheer muslin type curtains [hence the above picture], don’t ask me why, it’s just how it appears to me.   Obscuring what I want to see, do and be yet at the same time powerless to hold me back if I choose to move forward.  The curtains offer the illusion of resistance but really there is none for it is all self imposed.  So I picture myself walking through them and feeling the fear/curtains gently waft over me as I pass through.  No harm can be done as the fear is weightless  in comparison to the motion of me moving forward – both physically and mentally.  The fear becomes insignificant.  Only not moving forward stops me from being all I can be as only not moving forward stops you from being all you can be.

Which of your fears will you walk through?

Enjoy

Photo by independentman

Other postings you might like to read:

Delight in all the turns of your life

Simplicity Thursday – 5 things to do whilst boiling the kettle

In the silence are all the answers you seek

In us all there is a great power – a power no one else has.  Whether we feel confident, shy, ambitious, unmotivated etc it resides within.  It is the power of choice.  To focus and choose what we want to do next, what to put our concentration on.  Only we have the power to choose what to put our focus on.  We can choose to focus on what we like about our life or what we don’t.  Whatever choice is made will be expanded on.  What we focus on expands, it’s a universal law, the way the world works.  We aren’t far along the path yet to know why but it does, but it does – this I fully believe.  No matter what is going on in life we can always choose to focus on the positive aspects of the situation.  This we have complete control over, this no one can take from us.  Yes, it can be hard to make these choices especially in the midst of turmoil or feeling cruddy but they are there for us to make. When we concentrate on the good aspects of a situation we say to the universe ‘this is my world’ and the universe will increase it; likewise if we focus on the not so good parts.  So if we focus more on the good in our lives then our concentration will be there and we will start seeing that aspect of our lives increase.

Change your thoughts and you change your world ~ Norman Vincent Peale

Enjoy

image credit: Editor B

Other posts in the logos coaching blog:

10 free ways to enhance your life

Our choices make our life

Take at least a small step each day

During my enjoyment of the snowy weather over the last two or so weeks something occurred to me. In all that time I haven’t heard one person complain that they were late getting anywhere or that they needed to be at so and so a place by such a time.  No one was clock watching, no one was tut tutting and no one has been cranky because they were stuck behind a slow car or tractor.  Even with everyone doing half the normal speed on the roads, taking their time and just going with the flow; everyone still got to where they wanted or needed to be.

Time has been meaningless in the snowy weather.  People have been more patient and yet for the most part all that is necessary has still been completed.  What stuff do we do in our lives on a daily basis that is totally useless; totally unnecessary to whom we truly want to be.

Recognise something that you did differently over this snowy cold period that you would like to incorporate into your life more.  It might be to go a bit slower when driving, drive more patiently, realise it doesn’t matter if you are a little bit late, spend more time at home with the family by the fire or play a bit more with the children.  All experiences offer learning, what will yours be from the snow?

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Other postings you might like to read:

Find your common denominator

Do you live a quality or quantity life

Do you have a theme for 2010?

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How this is done is personal and you should do it in a way that makes it important to you; in a way that carries meaning.  Whether it is big or small is beside the point as it is the symbolism that it carries for you which is of importance.

So have a think over the next day or so and see what you would like to do.  If you are working or busy on the 31 December you still have time afterwards or even before to do something or you could imbue your whole day with the spirit you wish to mark.

A few ideas to get you thinking:

Make a list if you like of all the great things that happened to you during 2009 as well as all the things you achieved then congratulate yourself.

Cook a nice dinner for yourself and family or friends and chat about the year you have all had.

Do something that you wanted to do all year but never got around to as a send off to the year and to remind you in the coming year to get on with things.

Go for a drive somewhere and take in how wonderful nature can be and sit for a while and remember your year.

I am sure you will have some other fantastic suggestions of your own that are personal to you.  Whatever you decide to do, do it with your whole heart.

Enjoy

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Other postings:

Simplicity can be simple

Our choices make our life

Honouring your core values

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image by Sirkullay via Flickr

KITCHEN SURFACES

Working and preparing food in a kitchen that is functional, clean and streamlined is always more pleasurable than in one where nothing can be found or where there isn’t enough room to butter a piece of bread.  Many kitchens do not come equipped with adequate bench space so by the time the paraphernalia that ends up in the kitchen arrives there really is none to speak of at all.  As with many things to do with home life, keeping objects on the kitchen counter tops is just a habit.  If that habit is not working for you or is causing you hassle then it is time to change it – especially with the coming festive season approaching fast and all the extra cooking that it often entails.

ANY OF THESE SEEM FAMILIAR?

The toaster on the bench all day & night for toast made only a few mornings a week?

The juicer to remind you to drink the freshly squeezed fruit and veggies – last used 5 months ago

Six months of mail, old magazines you will read with a cuppa, supermarket specials from last Easter, recipes and folded paper bags all in a stack in the corner

A ceramic jar which was bought to put biscuits/sweets in but now has become a receptacle for old dockets, buttons which need to be sewn back on, elastic bands etc

Water bottles, things to go in the recycling/compost bin and a fruit bowl which hasn’t looked appetising for the last two days

THE TASK

1. Look at your work surfaces in the kitchen.  If your surfaces are really cluttered then it may be best to work on one section at a time.
2. Set timer for 30 minutes (anymore and you will get distracted, so best to work in increments)
3. Remove everything from the section
4. Clean the bench (or table top or cabinet top)
5. Ask yourself
   • ~ What do I use that area for?
   • ~ What really needs to be there?
   • ~ What does not need to be there?
6. Put back only what is worth moving every time you want to wipe the surface.
7. Put the rest of the objects where they belong, recycle them, put them in the bin or give them away.

If you cannot find 30 minutes or you cant bring yourself to bother with doing it for that time, then each time you are in the kitchen boiling the kettle take one object and put it where it belongs or throw it out.  It’s amazing how after a few cuppas things start to look a bit different!

If an object on your bench does not serve a useful and current purpose then it has no value being there & taking up space.

Enjoy

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Other postings:

Top 3 habits to simplify your life

Simplicity to do #5

Simplicity to do #4