Vacation!

Ahhhhh...vacation! A time for rest and relaxation, right? How many of you have ever felt like you needed a vacation from preparing for vacation?? That's how I feel right now as I prepare for an upcoming vacation followed quickly by a 4-day business trip. I know the vacation will be great once I'm there, but the "getting there" can be quite taxing :-). The squirrel in the above picture must be feeling about the same, LOL.

As I was thinking about my upcoming vacation from "work," I thought about how we might want to step back occasionally and see if we need a vacation from something else...

Is worry weighing you down? Is there a problem or situation you've been worrying about for awhile? As we know, worry doesn't really solve anything, although it's close cousin, "constructive reflection" can help us work through things sometimes. Maybe it's time to just stop - time to take a worry vacation -even for just a few minutes - where you just soak in the moment, enjoying the sunshine or the pretty purple flower outside your window or even just enjoying the contented look on your kitty's face as he sleeps.

Do you need a vacation from anger? YIKES! That's a scary thought, isn't it? Yet some of us carry anger with us as if it's our JOB - and we all know we perform much better when we take vacations from our jobs. So....stop the anger.

Maybe it's being judgmental of others that you need a break from. Someone isn't doing enough at work, doesn't dress the way they "should," talks too loud, or whatever...just stop. Again, it doesn't solve anything and just keeps you aggravated about the situation.

Have you been comparing yourself or your life - unfavorably - with someone else lately? Your finances, your home, your car, your hair color - whatever! Comparison steals contentment - so just stop.

Just as a "real vacation" is sometimes hard to schedule and enjoy, a vacation from emotions can be challenging, too. The thing is, we have to DECIDE to take the vacation, don't we?

So...what will you decide to take a vacation from?? Drop me a note and let me know!

Blessings,
Linda
www.LindasWorkshops.com
Linda@LindasWorkshops.com

Comparison

Greetings, everyone!
Well, I think spring is about to spring in most areas of the country. Here in Florida, a friend remarked today that getting into my warm car reminded her of how hot it will soon be here. When I think of those of you who have experienced a very harsh winter, I find no reason to complain about the heat coming our way - I was fortunate to not have to shovel the chilly nights we got and that makes up for it in my book.

Speaking of which, have you ever found yourself comparing something in your life to someone else's life? I'll bet you have - I think all of us have done that at one time or another.

I recently read a note I had made several years ago while listening to my pastor in Ohio. He commented, "Comparison breeds discontent."

OUCH!!

But he's really right in so many cases, isn't he? How often do we think about how lucky we are compared to someone else? I think it's usually the other way around, isn't it? And I believe we are all lucky in some sense. For instance, I don't think I have any readers from Japan, but those of us who do not live there can certainly compare our week to theirs and consider ourselves lucky.

You'll notice an unusual picture with this posting. This is the interior of the hyperbaric chamber that my husband, Guy, experienced for 2 hours every week day for 6 weeks a couple of years ago to promote healing after the oral surgeon broke his jaw pulling an impacted wisdom tooth and they had to wire his jaws shut for 10 weeks (the bones in that area are very fragile due to the 62 radiation treatments he had for tongue cancer in 2007).

Considering Guy has a bit of claustrophobia, it was no mean feat that he managed to complete the entire course of treatment, especially the day he had to share the chamber with a very large man who was reacting violently to being in the chamber - kicking out with his foot very near Guy's face! Anyway... we were so, so fortunate ~ not that he had the broken jaw, of course, but that we found this hyperbaric chamber about an hour away. In this chamber, Guy could sit up; in others you have to lie down with a "lid" closed over you as if you are in a coffin ~ doesn't sound too appealing, eh? So, comparison was good for us that time around!

When I was thinking about that word ~ comparison ~ so many areas of life popped into my head: weight, finances, house, health, car, clothes, family, appearance, hair, relationships, job, retirement, weather, pay scale, abilities, skills, experiences, talents, education ~ YIKES! It's scary to think that "comparison" can bring up that many thoughts so quickly!

So here's my challenge for you [don't you hate it when I do that?? :-)]... for the next 30 days ~ yes, I said 30 days! ~ I want you to find things in your life that you can "compare" to someone else's and realize how lucky you are.

Can you do it? I think you can! Use my list of "comparison areas" above to get you started.

And let me know how you do!
Blessings,
Linda
www.LindasWorkshops.com

Confession

Hi everyone,

I hope somewhere in last week's jam-packed week you found contentment...

Well, they say that confession is good for the soul ~ so I'm going to confess to you today. There were moments last week when I did not feel contentment. It wasn't that I was comparing my home, clothes, finances, or car to anyone else. So comparison really wasn't the issue. It's just that last week, life was ... well, hard. Not as hard as it has been in other times and certainly not as hard as many people have it.

It was just a week of "stuff" ~ Guy having a test done at the hospital and an inconsiderate remark by the technician causing some real depression - for both of us. I'm going to physical therapy twice a week (with the accompanying insurance deductible each visit!) to try to clear up a bum shoulder - and avoid surgery. Some job issues didn't work out the way I had hoped which is not all that unusual since I'm self-employed, just not what I needed last week on top of the other things that were happening. For some reason, I missed Abby (see my post about her from a few weeks ago...) more than ever.

You all (or y'all, as they say here in Florida!) know how it goes. I'm sure you've been there a time or two - and maybe you're even there right now.

But remember a few posts ago when I talked about "moment-by-moment?" Well, that's what I finally remembered toward the end of the week. I had a great time with some folks during an online workshop I conducted on Thursday - and the more I thought about helping some of those people and others I'll help in the future, the better I felt about life in general. The better I felt about life in general, the more I've been able to carry that feeling with me over the last couple of days.

Aha! Confession! I was focusing on me, me, me during the rest of the week, when what I really needed to do was to look around, or at least not look at only me. In this case, I saw that I could help someone else feel better. Granted, a workshop may not seem like a big deal, but since it's what I do for a living and I love it, it helps to know I really do help some people. I carried that feeling back to my "work" when the session was over and somehow it has made a difference. Maybe what really made the difference was that I quit looking only at my circumstances.

I guess what I'm saying is, none of us is perfect in trying to be content, not comparing ourselves to others, living in the moment, or any of the other things we've discussed these past few months. What I have found is that if I confess my feelings to myself and figure out how and why they're happening, I can move forward a little quicker. If I can remember to not focus on me, I can find more contentment... maybe you can too. And of course, as you've heard me say before, it's all about awareness!

Blessings,

Linda

Linda@LindasWorkshops.com

http://www.lindasworkshops.com/