Contentment

Hi everyone and welcome to my new readers ~ I know Candee Rose, Robin, and Priti are recent additions and some of you who read the blog but don't show up in my "followers" - welcome to all of you!

So how did you do last week pondering what is vital to your soul? I took a step toward taking care of that today when I visited a local nursery that helps support disabled folks in our community ~ and took home several deep pink plants to brighten my patio - and my life! Visually beautiful things seem to be vital to my soul. When I look at a passion flower or a brilliant red cardinal at the bird feeder, I feel at peace. I hope that over the past few days, you too have re-discovered something that does that for you.

Today's word is contentment. When I read about something THREE times in one day, it's a pretty sure indication that I should write about it in the blog :-)

The word "content" or "contentment" really did appear in 3 things I read today, but the phrase that really caught my eye was in Dr. Charles Stanley's monthly publication called In Touch. He made the comment that "comparison steals contentment." WOW! Three little words with a whole lot of meaning...

Maybe you've been there...

...someone else lost the weight and you seemed to have found it ~

=goodbye contentment

...a friend just spent your monthly food budget on a gorgeous new outfit ~

=goodbye contentment

...another friend got a beautiful new car ~ and yours runs on duct tape ~

=goodbye contentment

...the neighbor just remodeled and added that stunning sunroom you've always wanted ~

=goodbye contentment

...her husband just did the sweetest thing for her ~

=goodbye contentment

...he just got to play golf for the 5th time this week ~

=goodbye contentment

...their bank account makes yours look like the change you get at McDonald's ~

=goodbye contentment

...they're on schedule to retire early and you'll be working until you're 112 ~

=goodbye contentment

...she just got a promotion...and you just got laid off ~

=goodbye contentment

We could all add dozens, if not hundreds, of other comparisons to this list and not a one of them will make us feel good about ourselves. Comparison does indeed steal contentment.

So let's look at life from a different lens...

Have a headache today? Find contentment in your general good health...

Wishing you had more money in the bank? Find contentment that you HAVE money in the bank...

Your spouse/significant other takes you for granted? Find contentment in the fact that you are with someone who cares for you, even when they don't show it the way you'd like...

You'd like to have a new outfit that WASN'T on the 80% off rack? Walk into your closet and find contentment in what is hanging there - I'll bet there's plenty...

Can't lose that 10 pounds you've been fighting? Find contentment in being able to enjoy every bite of a delicious meal...

You drool when you see the beautiful new sunroom...or kitchen...or carpet...or anything...she just got? Find contentment in the beautiful blue sky, flowering blossoms, and deep green grass that we all get to share - for free!

You get the idea - STOP comparing anything in your life to someone else's life. It's just too easy to get caught up in it and let our contentment drain away.

Challenge yourself this week to FIND contentment in your circumstances ~ and let me know what you found!

Blessings,

Linda

http://www.lindasworkshops.com/

Linda@LindasWorkshops.com

Vital!

Hi everyone,

Thanks for indulging my sporadic postings the past few weeks. I feel like I can finally get back on track with a weekly posting of "words to live by."

This week's word is "vital." There are probably a dozen definitions depending on the dictionary, but the one that really strikes a chord with me is "tending to renew or refresh the living." Of course, there's the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink. But I'm talking something that is vital to your soul.

When I conduct programs on "Returning Balance to Your Life," this is one of the issues we discuss. What in your life is urgent? You know, those pesky cell phones, the email beep, the kids tugging on your sleeve, the spouse wondering when dinner will be ready, the mortgage payment that is due tomorrow - yep, all important things, but maybe not vital to your soul.

When I think of what renews and refreshes me, a couple of things instantly come to mind: my workshops renew and refresh me ~ not the workshops themselves, but the comments I receive from attendees telling me that I have helped them make a change in their lives. The things I learn from researching and continually improving my workshops are vital to me. Quiet time is vital to me.

Let's take people out of the picture for a moment...what is absolutely vital to you? What feeds your soul and makes you feel that all is well with the world? What renews you? What refreshes you? What nurtures that deep place inside that keeps things right in your world?

So...here's the hard question: What have you been doing to make sure the vital things in your life become urgent, demanding immediate attention ~ and what have you been doing to make sure the things we normally say are urgent don't overtake your life??

Blessings,

Linda

http://www.lindasworkshops.com/

Linda@LindasWorkshops.com

Simplicity - right??

Well, I think I lost a week or so in there somewhere! Here it is, 2 weeks after my last post - something I was sure would never happen.

The amusing thing is that I spoke to a client about 10 days ago and she made an innocent statement: "I just want a simple life." I told her she had just given me the word for that week's post - simplicity. Then life happened!

A husband with a pulled muscle in his back, a car that won't quit (Literally! It would NOT turn off!), a puppy who the vet says is probably within days or weeks of leaving us, 2 doctors' appointments for hubby, several new programs to prepare for along with a week-long business trip coming up, new technology equipment in my office (yuk!), and the list goes on - as I know yours does, too. I guess the simplicity gremlins heard what I was going to blog about and decided to make sure that didn't happen!

So I have been reflecting (when I have 37 seconds to do so!) on how I can gain some simplicity in my life again. I'll be honest here - I'm not sure it's going to happen for me in the next 2 or 3 weeks and I have to be willing to admit that without carrying any guilt around about it. I'm pretty sure July will be a little "lighter" for me, but who wants to wait until July???

And yet, if that's what happens, it's what happens. I need to have PATIENCE, the same word I mentioned on my last blog. However, I also need to be AWARE (there's THAT word again) of how full my schedule is right not and not say "yes" to anything that is not vitally important to me. It's so easy to do, isn't it? A friend wants you to stop and have coffee, someone wants you to do "just this one little thing," a spouse asks you to handle a minor errand - and yet, it can all become just too, too much.

So I think the next blog word will be vital - as in, what is the difference between what is vital to you and what's urgent?

A little food for thought - until next time :-) In the meantime, let's all try to have patience - with ourselves AND with others!

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