Hmmmmm…04-30-12

“There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly.”

  –Margaret Fuller

Attention, Late Bloomers!  The path less traveled has been walked by many a noteworthy sojourner.

Julia Child did not learn to cook until she was 40 years old.  Harlan “Colonel” Sanders did not start Kentucky Fried Chicken until he was in his late sixties.  Grandma Moses first picked up a paintbrush when she was 75.  At age 72, Oscar Swahn was not only the oldest Olympian ever, but also the oldest medalist at the 1920 games.  Emily Post published her famous book Etiquette when she was 50 years old.  Alan Rickman, aka Professor Snape from the Harry Potter series, got his first movie role at age 46.  Roget invented the thesaurus at 73.  Al Jarreau released his first album at age 35.  Enough?

Don’t write yourself off.  A butterfly was once housed in a dull cocoon that resembled a dead leaf.  Dried up and wrinkly on the outside doesn’t mean anything to the inside.

Don’t write anyone else off, either.  Baseball player Josh Hamilton did not make his major league debut until the age of 26 due to years of serious drug and alcohol abuse. Johann Wolfgang Von Gothe said, “Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being.” He was in his fifties when he published Faust.

Diamond or coal?  Time is on your side.

No pressure,

Gina J

Hmmmmm…04-16-12

"A 'no' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble." - Gandhi

 H-e-e-e-e-r-e’s Gandhi:  a guy who knew a thing or two thousand.  Are there any people pleasers out there who need a pep talk from this timeless sage?

If you’ve ever desperately wished that you could be freed from all your obligations to people and things, maybe it’s time to examine your motives.  When you become over committed by saying ‘yes’ to save face, boost your image, or avoid conflict, the mental result will be resentment.  It has been said that harboring resentment is like taking poison and expecting the other guy to get sick.  The physical result will at first be exhaustion, and later, disease.  A body can only handle so much stress.

Check your daily planner.  Does it include a full-time job, committee chairperson, Pee Wee Football coach, graduate school, Girl Scout leader, Meals-On-Wheels volunteer, Twilight League, spinning classes, a book club, and daily babysitting for grand children?   Saying ‘yes’ when you should say ‘no’ will make you sick and tired.

“A man’s got to know his limitations,” said Dirty Harry Callahan.  So, go on and make your day. Maybe less is more.

Stay in the ‘no’,

Gina J

Hmmmmm…04/09/12

"Worrying is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere." –Glenn Turner

If worrying was an Olympic sport, would you be a contender for a gold medal?  Have you been in training, just in case it’s added to the next Summer Games?

Perhaps you’ve heard the expression, “to be worried sick.”  Chronic worry physically affects your sympathetic nervous system, causing it to release stress hormones that harm your immune, digestive, and cardiovascular systems.  Is what you’re distressed about worth having a heart attack over? 

No one has ever added one day to their lives by worrying.  There are no statues erected to famous worriers.  There are no awards given for expertly tormenting yourself.  You don’t need to go for the gold in misery. 

Your anguish starts with a thought and that’s the fault of faulty manufacturing.  Next time anxiety rears its ugly head, try making a new thought.  After all, you’re the supervisor in the factory of your mind.  How about mass producing some positive products?  And while you’re at it, discontinue worry. There’s no market for it anyway.

Here’s to quality control!

Gina J

Hmmmmm…04/02/12

“If you step on people in this life, you're going to come back as a cockroach.”                                                     ~Willie Davis

We believe in lots of things that we don’t physically see, like wind or gravity.  There’s another unseen force that we should respect and that’s karma.

Karma has been described in a number of ways. You get what you give.  You reap what you sow.  What goes around comes around.  It’s the Golden Rule in action.  This ethical rule of reciprocity is the basic concept of most major religions, but even if you don’t consider yourself a religious person, your life will profoundly change for the better when you follow it.

Next time before you act, ask yourself this question: am I being kind?  Is this how I would like to be treated?  Dr. Wayne Dyer tells us that the way people treat you is their karma and how you react is yours. 

Do Unto Others.  The acronym is DUO and you can’t do that solo.  Although you’re the only driver of your karma, there are passengers along for the ride. Kindness is always the high road.  Take it.

Life is a highway,

Gina J