Reflecting On Our Words: March

One really never knows how one small choice can have such an impact. In January, Caroline at The Zen In You selected a word...one simple word. A word that would carry her through the year. From that choice came a like minded choice for five blog friends: Octamom, Miruspeg, AnneMarie, Roban and me. We wanted our "Word" to make a difference..and what a difference a choice makes. It is now the end of March and time for us to share our post reflecting on our word. This month we share a photo.

It is a simple task, the click of a button and a picture forms. I am loving the creativity of my dear friends. We have carried our "Word" with us through our days, and in no small way has our "Word" positively influenced us.

Through our photos, we hope in a small way you will find for yourself a path of Excellence, Balance, Faith & Joy, Discipline, and Abundance!

Octamom chose Excellence. There are many ways that she has walked this walk. Her "Word" has truly been a blessing as her child (7 of 8) who had a stroke at birth has now, through many hours of therapy begun to walk. A most excellent gift for this family! We certainly celebrate with her!

Miruspeg chose Balance. This woman has so many gifts. She has surely implemented Balance in her life since January. We all hope to have balance in our lives. Read her wonderful posts about how she practices her "Word".

Roban chose Faith & Joy. You can read her wonderful posts and see how she honors these words with her family and friends. A life of faith and joy surely shows through her beautiful photography!

AnneMarie chose Discipline. She is practicing this with style, documenting her most disciplined activities. I would say that she is courageously attacking Discipline in her life. Read more about her and get inspired!

I chose Abundance. What a journey I am experiencing!


We would love to see your photo and read your post about your word. Please let me know if you post about your word! I too would love to be inspired!

Abundance is....sharing a project with friends!

Change Through A "Down Dog": My Journey #2

How does real change begin? I have "started over" with my many commitments and resolutions over and over again. I always intended to keep my commitments to myself...what kept me from being consistent? I am not sure. What I do know is that since I began the year with my WORD "abundance" I have sought to define exactly what that means. I last posted on living in the moment. I am definitely practicing this one.

Part II of my journey started with a doctor visit. A new doctor who gave me some new medication for a chronic pain that I have experienced for years. Within days, the pain was more controlled. The next Sunday at church I met a visitor who had been in a yoga class I had attended several years before. She invited me back to yoga. The next night I was walking into the yoga room with a renewed energy. I was excited about the prospect of the experience.

It has been 8 weeks and I have attended yoga three times per week and I have to say there has been more than a change in strength and flexibility, although the physical activity has continued to lift my spirits and make me feel strong. The last 10 minutes of the class is a time of complete quiet and relaxation. Soft music plays in the background. It is truly the best part of my week. I have not yet been able to create the same experience at home but that is surely a goal. In that 10 minutes the goal is to completely relax, to allow the ground to support the body and for that moment to focus on the breath. It also beckons one to be comfortable with silence. Sounds simple enough...but it is not that easy. It is difficult to avoid letting thoughts of the day creep in or to be distracted by outside sounds.

I find this experience to be an abundant gift and the experience has led to a few more gifts for my spirit. More about that in future posts.

I have friends who take spin classes, bike, walk, and run in the outdoors. I suspect for each of them the experience creates the same type of effect...it can become a form of meditation, a time to be introspective.

I can only be encouraged that so far so good on the commitment. That in itself feels like a small victory. Yoga is an ancient practice. It is an awe inspiring thought that throughout history people through yoga have sought change and inspiration. The achievement of "enlightenment" in yoga practice is said to be an ultimate quest, but for now my personal quest occurs one class at a time with the next balanced pose and 10 minutes of inner peace.

Abundance is...holding a "Down Dog" for longer than 10 seconds!! :) (heels still not down)

This Very Moment: My Journey #1

Ah! What an amazing moment I just had opening my blog site after several weeks. It was like coming home. I have been taking a journey and discovering some wonderful things about life and myself. The journey has been taken within the schedule of my own life. It has required no vacation, no special resort. I look forward to sharing some of my journey in the next few weeks.

The first lesson I am learning is to live in the moment. Not just talking about living in the moment but actually doing that. It requires practice.

I can do nothing about my experience in the past. I cannot change it or control it or make it different. Really, it no longer exists.

And the future is not in my control. Tomorrow is not in my control. I heard someone say that worry or concern for the future is fear that something may happen that I do not want to happen.

So, I could spend time worrying about what is to come that may or may not happen the way I want it, or I could accept the fact that tomorrow will come and I shall live in that moment when it arrives.

Living in the moment is freeing and allows us to enjoy or life without strings that tie down.

I am reading Paulo Coelho's book "The Alchemist". Here is a quote from this book: "Because I don't live in either my past or my future, I'm interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man. You'll see that there is life in the desert, that there are stars in the heavens, and that tribesmen fight because they are part of the human race. Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we're living right now."

I am used to thinking about my calendar and always wanted to know what was to come. I used to live through my precious time on the weekends thinking about what I had to do the next week. In fact, my favorite quote was from the movie "Kate and Leopold", paraphrasing Kate was sitting in Leopold's arms on their deck on Sunday. It was a tender moment and Kate says, "I hate Sundays. And Leopold asked why. Kate replied.. Because tomorrow is Monday."

In order to have a more abundant life I am taking time to discover how I can do that. For this reason I have not been blogging. I love my blog and I love the people who I share this interest with. I think that my blog and my life will be better for the journey.

So for today, at this moment I am only thinking about this post, sharing life with others and enjoying the fact that I love opening my blog and seeing the beautiful blue and the lovely picture I have chosen. I love seeing the faces of those who share posts with me and looking at the titles of others posts as they pop up on my screen. Soon I will live in a moment to read some posts, share some encouraging comments. For now, I wish you abundance in this moment of your life.

Abundance is..."enjoying this moment!"

Laughing Out Loud

I could not resist this song list for the month. Although these are old and a bit dorky, you just cannot listen with out a grin or two. There are so many ways to build laughter into your life. We get started in our day and before we know it we are "singing the blues"! We'll, not me. At least not in March. I want to have more wrinkles from smiles than frowns, I want to lower my blood pressure (experts say laughing does this), and I want to keep on the sunny side....there is just too much out there that can bring us down. We get to decide what we put into our minds.
A friend of mine recently participated in "Laughter Yoga" at an event he attended. Although it was a bit of a strange experience at first...the result was a room full of happy and relaxed people. I looked this up and there is an "American School of Laughter Yoga" and there are Laughter Yoga clubs around the country. Visit their website and watch a short Youtube video about laughter yoga as presented on the Oprah Winfrey Show.
Youtube is no stranger to providing all the laughter you can muster. My personal favorites are the laughing baby videos. Here is the link to one of my favorite belly laughs. "Baby Laughing at the Wii".
I also spent an evening last weekend watching a video of Tim Hawkins, a Christian stand up comedian. He performs at churches across the country and I have to say, I released more than a few chuckles listening to him. His website and Youtube provide short videos to give you a sample of his work.
Okay, so no excuses. Try a bit of laughter this week. I feel better already!

In closing, turn off my song play list and enjoy this favorite from Mary Poppins!


Abundance is...looking for joy and finding it!