Tag: Life is good

On Purpose

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On Purpose.

There are times in life that remind me that life is meant to be savoured. Life’s a gift and each day is fresh and brand new. It’s meant to be lived with purpose.

I often think about what my purpose is in life, because without purpose, there is no direction.  I get caught up in the hectic pace of life, and forget to enjoy the little moments full of pure joy that are there right before me. If only I would stop, listen, and live consciously. Soak it all in.  These little nuggets of joy are all around us my friends.

You see, kids know when these moments happen, they live within the joy of a moment and they don’t need to be reminded to live consciously.  They aren’t aware of insecurities. They love and live without condition.

You know the saying “Dance like no one’s watching”?  Have you ever watched a little girl dance? She always dances like no one’s watching. She isn’t yet burdened with outside influences.  She just is exactly who she is. Purely authentic.

And then we loose pieces of that as we grow older.  We lose our ability to just be.

I was thinking about Purpose today, and what it is that I want to achieve in life.  It’s easy in today’s society to get caught up in the “Keeping up with the Joneses” mentality. We work so hard for “stuff”, and no matter how much one makes, there is always more “stuff” to buy.  Love doesn’t live within “things”.  Surely my purpose isn’t to be successful in terms of monetary possessions.  What’s unique or purposeful about that?

I do know where there is no purpose in my life, and it’s taken me a long time to come to this place and accept that it’s just not a healthy reality.  There is no purpose found within negativity, judgments, insecurities, jealousy, and lack of forgiveness.  All these things weigh on a person’s soul. They are a burden on the heart. There is true freedom to just. let it. go.

How do you do that? You focus on the good, the now, the present, the positive, the gratitude. Perception, perception, perception.

Friendship and the ability to give unto others without expectation is a gift.

I was reminded these past couple of weeks that life is too short, and life is meant to be LIVED. Lived with purpose and pride.  If I get to the core of it, I know that’s why I love to stay active, because it’s when I feel the most alive.  It’s a gift.  Yes, health is a gift.

There is no comparison to how I feel now versus how I felt when I first started the path to reclaim my life. I’m not only speaking about the changes physically, but more importantly the changes within my heart and mind. I took so much for granted. I didn’t feel the responsibility to take care of myself. I gave up in many ways. I’ve changed my lifestyle because there is no going back to that space I lived in for many years. It fills no purpose in my life today because I didn’t like who I was then.

I should clarify in case you haven’t read other posts, that I don’t believe happiness comes based on the physical body. I can only speak from my own personal experiences. For me, self-acceptance and pride happened when I found ways to feel alive inside again. Those amazing bits of life that kids just inherently know to experience.  A big part of that was getting active and to stop watching life go by from the side-lines.  Happiness is a choice, and a big part of feeling gratitude and joy lives within how one perceives life.

My goal is to live consciously, be reverent of the amazing moments life dishes out when one least expects it (and often in the most unlikely of places), and to live a life full of purpose and gratitude.  Change can only occur when action is taken.

I know I’ve shared this quote a few times, but it’s one of those amazing life quotes that has to be read a few times to truly sink in!

“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.” George Bernard Shaw

I’ve lived far too much of my life waiting for life to start. I didn’t realize that life actually starts when I say so and I simply had to get out there and start living it!   Not all of life is supposed to be “sunshine” and “rainbows”. How would we truly know how to appreciate life if it was always good? Adversity is what brings about reflection, change, and gratitude.

I have so much to be grateful for.

Thankful…

From my heart to yours,

Christine

Meditation

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I have always wanted to learn how to meditate, however my mind is always going…thinking, thinking, thinking.  The days are so busy, how am I going to etch out some time to be silent in the middle of hectic?  Take today for example (and as I write this it’s not quite 2 p.m.)

I woke up this morning to my hubby whispering good-bye in my ear. The room was still dark, must have been really early.  The night before we had joked that I never say anything back to him when he says his daily good-byes. In my morning slumber, I believe I do so this morning I make sure I repeat everything he said to me…attempting to say it at the exact same time. We laughed and I went back to sleep. I was awoken thirty minutes later to the sounds of my dog Teddy frantically barking as my son was playing with him in the living room. My daughter soon joined in, and within a few minutes there was the familiar song of sibling rivalry going on. Wiping sleep from my eyes, I dragged my weary legs to the kitchen to make breakfast for all three kids.  They know not to talk to me first thing in the morning, they know to give me at least 10 minutes before any demands are made. Robotically, I spread peanut butter and jam on their toast. I make coffee. I need coffee.

The pace turned hectic as we rushed to get out the door for school.  Homework to be found, socks to be matched, clothes and hair to be fixed.  “Mom I can only find one mitt, oh and sign this sheet, also I need 2 cups of chocolate covered raisins by tomorrow for a cooking project.” my son yells to me.  I think to myself:  “Who cooks with chocolate covered raisins and Why don’t I get my act together and have everything organized the night before?”.  One would think that would make life easier.

I opened the garage door; the chill of winter slapped us across the face as I realized that the deep freeze is still upon us. I told the kids to jump in my car. We are running late. I’m not above driving the two blocks to school just so we don’t have frozen hair and eyelashes today.  There’s a lot of school traffic on cold days. There was a lady waiting to turn left at the school, meaning she had to cross the traffic.  The same traffic that wasn’t moving only because she needed to make a left hand turn. Suburb deadlock.  “Why must you turn left and hold up traffic lady! For the love of chocolate, just turn right and circle the block” I whispered under annoyed breath.  We ran into the school, my finger tips were numb. Kisses, “I love you’s” and “you’re awesome’s” were exchanged.

I returned home to clean up from the morning rush.  I feel tired and the day has just begun. E-mails to answer, phone calls to return, laundry piled up, the house in shambles, my accounting records for 2010 lay open waiting for me to finish them.  “Stop taunting me accounting records. Why must the government need these?” I say out loud. I’m weird like that, I’m a talk-to-yourself-er. I want to go back to bed.  I look up at the clock after the morning errands, and It’s already time to pick up my daughter from Kindergarten. In fact, I have exactly one minute to get back to the school.  I can’t find my keys, why am I so absent-minded?  Rush out the door.

When I get home from picking up my daughter, I have the overwhelming urge to work out.  I don’t like to plan when I’m going to work out, the inner exerciser be-yatch eventually calls out.  I quickly put on my workout gear, lace up my runners, grab my iPhone for music, and head to my unfinished basement to my make-shift gym (complete with non-drywalled walls).  My son plays his Xbox downstairs, and there is evidence of a lounging Teenager everywhere. I clean up, muttering under my breath.

Time to run.

I find my power list on my iPod filled with music that is the perfect pace for running. Green Day, Clutch, ACDC, BEP, The Offspring, Rihanna, Muse, The Black Keys.  I take a big gulp of water and turn the treadmill on for a 5 minute warmup walk.  I’m stiff at first, and after my warm up I tell myself I will just run for 10 minutes. I always tell myself that, so I don’t complain. I up the pace to 6.3 and I focus on the same spot on the wall that I’ve stared at for years while I run.

I have no time to  stress about my responsibilities  All I can do is focus on this run, on my breathing, and on the uncomfortable feeling that is creeping into my muscles…travelling up my legs and into my lungs. I want to stop after 10 minutes, but I push that feeling out and convince myself I will run another 10 minutes. I get to 20 minutes, my legs have found their pace. I want to keep going. I want to beat my previous 5K time of under 30 minutes. Time to pick up the pace. I turn it up to 7.0 for 5 minutes (uttering a couple MF’s along the way), and back down to 6.5 for the remainder of the 5K.

The music is timed perfectly to each running step. I feel powerful, like I could do anything I set my mind to.  I feel strong, proud, and in control.  The more uncomfortable I feel, the more I say yes…I can do this. This is just the feeling of being alive.  I can’t explain the feeling that washes over me. It is not comfortable; however I realize, this feeling is PEACE.  Uncomfortable yet peaceful. Because that’s where peace lies for me…in pushing out of my comfort zone, in challenging myself, and in moving on.

While I run, I think about a friend whom I admire. She has found an amazing bright patch of happiness that she’s carved out of darkness. Does she know how amazing she is? There’s no point in keeping the good feelings within. I will tell her how amazing she is, but first I must finish this run in under 30 minutes. 🙂

When I’m done my run, I sit on my weight bench and catch my breath. I reached my daily goal. I’m smiling. I’m happy.

No stress, just strength and peace.

I’m thankful.

Life is actually a lot simpler than I think it is.

I want to continue on my day with this feeling.

Love, love, love.

Peace, peace, peace.

Maybe THIS is my form of meditation.

From my heart to yours,

Christine

It’s the Little Things

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The other day, as I was going through my kid’s papers they bring home from school, I came across this gem written by my son Lucas that made my heart melt.

It brought tears to my eyes and made me realize the little things DO matter to my kids. They notice!  I haven’t made buns in so long as it’s a day-long project, but my kids often ask me to.

This letter has given me a kick in the pants today.  I have declared today as stay-at-home and make buns day.  🙂

I also love that he wrote “My Mom likes to scare me.”  We have a fairly new game where I try to scare him, but he always succeeds in scarring me while I’m attempting to scare him.  I am easily frightened so I’m not sure why I thought that game was a good idea.

These little seemingly unimportant day-to-day activities is what shapes childhood memories.  I forgot that!  I have memories of my own mom making buns, and waiting impatiently for the dough to rise on the dining room table.

I remember my mom giving us girls 10 smarties when Mr. Dress Up came on.

I remember my Dad giving me a ride to school in his grain truck when I missed the bus (I was chronically late for the bus), and his grain truck back firing as he pulled away. Actually, I think he could make his grain truck back fire at will and he just did that to make a point not to miss the bus anymore.

I remember after-school afternoons with my Grandma Perkins where we watched “Thunder Cats” followed by “Wheel of Fortune” followed by a game of Skip-Bo.  My Grandma Perkins would always say “Sick-a-Moose” when her cards were bad.

I remember my father helping me pick out my very first car (a little two door mustang) which I paid for with my own money earned through sheep 4-H. It was a standard, which I didn’t know how to drive, but he taught me in 5 minutes and told me to drive home from Bonnyville (where I purchased it) to Vermilion.  I drove part of the way home with the parking brake on.

I remember holding a special glass bottle in the shape of a bear while my sister Roxy washed my hair in the oversized sink.  We would lay back on the counter with our hair in the sink, gripping the glass bottle which we could only hold when we got our hair washed.

I remember the game of counting how many pails of coal it would take to fill up the furnace, and when I think about it, I can still smell the coal within that memory.

I remember looking for our stockings on Christmas morning.  Mom would hide our stockings the night before, and we would find them first thing Christmas morning, and in turn we hid Mom’s.  Mine was usually hidden in the dryer.  With 6 kids, one runs out of hiding places.

Ahhhh, I digress.  The point is…the moments you create that are special and unique to your family is exactly what your kids will remember.  Sometimes one just needs a kick in the pants to remember that.  Thank you Lucas, and I do love you kids to bits.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to run and punch down my dough. 🙂

From my heart to yours,

Christine

Mind, Body, Spirit

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I was reminded this past month, that the quest for a balanced happy life full of purpose needs to involve not only the body, but the mind and spirit too.  It can’t just be about weighing X amount of pounds, or fitting into a certain size, it has to be more than that.  I’m not defined by what I weigh, my happiness doesn’t revolve around what the scale reads in the morning.

These three elements need to work together because when one area is lacking, the other two also shift as well and the balance just isn’t there.  The trick is to find what it is that feeds your mind and spirit too!  That special something that fills you with purpose, happiness, and thankfulness within.  It can be difficult because the demands of daily life often get in the way of taking time for yourself…which you need to do.  It’s not selfish to put value on yourself.  It’s essential.  When you are fulfilled within, you have so much more to give to others.

There are moments when I feel like a failure, when I let people down, when I feel completely overwhelmed, when I feel sorry for myself, when I lose track of what’s important in life.  Then there is a life changing event that occurs that snaps me back to reality and forces me to re-evaluate what life is all about.  That’s just life…you take the good with the bad. The hard times remind you how important it is to cherish the good times.

Life is all about perception.  We can choose to dwell on the things we wish we could change, the things that annoy us, the things that are hard to deal with.  It’s a part of everyone’s life!  Or we can choose to focus on all the amazing things in life to be valued and treasured; most importantly the relationships that are built on acceptance and love.  Surround yourself with people who bring you up and make you want to be a better person, and in exchange give that back in return to those you love.

At times I get caught up in the complaining game about the little things that put me out.  How selfish is that!  I am healthy. I have three healthy children. I have a warm home to live in. I have a big, funny, loving, supportive family. I have amazing friends.  I have a career where I get to document love and connection.  I have the freedom to choose to follow whatever path in life I like. What do I have to complain about?  Absolutely nothing!

Life is good and I want to live it! I want to truly experience the best of life.  I have found the most freedom in taking control of my health and changing my perceptions.  Life is a gift and it’s my responsibility to choose to live it with a heart full of gratitude.

When I go for a run, and my mind starts doubting that I can keep going or that it would be better just to park my butt on the couch, I just have to remind myself of my sister who can physically no longer run but would absolutely love to.  I CAN run. It’s a gift I take for granted. It’s all about perception.  It’s humbling when I actually stop and take stock of all the blessings in life that I take for granted.

So today I am going to take some time out of my day and go for a walk, and I’m going to use that time to count my blessings which are too numerous to count.  I am thankful for your support and the time you take to encourage me.  I want to encourage you as well to enjoy the amazing life you have been given, and to remember that you are loved, valued, and cherished.

And at the top of my iPod playlist today will be this song…

From my heart to yours,

Christine

Bottling Happy

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I just returned from our trip to Couples Negril, in Jamaica.  I need to attempt to put into words what I learned (or will attempt to learn) with you.

Click HERE to check out the post from my photography blog to view pictures.

Because we traveled to our resort under the veil of humid darkness, we couldn’t see the country side of Jamaica.  But when we arrived at the resort, I was hit by beauty.  Gorgeous scenery, happy people, chill attitudes.

I enjoy people watching, people are fascinating aren’t they? Being that we were at a Couples resort that is devoted to all things love, I was surrounded by lovey-dovey traveling couples; HOWEVER I was most drawn to the Jamaican people…the staff, the vendors that would come with their handmade treasures to sell along the beach, and the musicians that would come and sing softly to lounging holiday-ers. “One Love! One Heart! Let’s Get Together and Feel Alright.”

I found this YouTube video of the gentleman pictured above.  He has a great voice.

The people I met from Jamaica are Happy.  I watched them.  They are truly happy.  They laughed and smiled a lot while they worked.  Some even sang and whistled while they did their daily tasks, and they work their butts off let me tell you.

At one point I looked over from my beach chair perch and noticed a scene that hit me with another one of those life lessons that seem to come to me at the oddest times.  There was this American man who was really really tanned. Like tanned beyond belief.  I called him Cigar Pacer and I’ll tell you why.  He must have woke up pretty early to get the same loungey chair by the pool every day (or he was King of the loungey chairs, and no one dared to take his).  I watched his extra tanned self with unlit cigar in one hand and a cell phone in the other, pace around his loungey chair like a lion in a cage.  Pacing back and forth, back and forth, around and around while he conducted his cell phone business with the pent-up energy one would hope to lose while on a holiday.   While his tense pacing was going on, I looked to my right and saw one of the servers collecting empty cups that stacked to the sky and she had a huge smile on her face.  She hummed a little tune under her breath and let out a little giggle when she saw a co-worker pass by that had a bigger towering stack of empty glasses.  A towering stack of glasses much like this one…

Now people have energy that comes off of them.  You can feel it as soon as you are around them…or at least I feel it.  There I was looking at two people obviously conducting their daily business and the energy from Cigar Pacer almost gave me hives and made me contort my face in stress, and the energy from the lovely Jamaican women made me want to play a flute (not that I can) and dance around the beach grinning from ear to happy ear.  lol

How is it that every Jamaican I encountered carried with them this amazing energy?  I talked to several of the staff members and many of them work 6 days a week and some travel by bus over two hours to get to work…yet they carry with them this unbelievable happy, chill, calm energy.   I wanted to collect their beautiful energy in a bottle and take it home with me.

As we left the resort to fly home, I was able to see the country side in the daylight, passing by villages that I recalled hearing about as places many of the staff members lived. Along the 120 km stretch of road back to the airport,  I saw many homes that were shanties really.  The stores in the villages donned hand-painted signs summarizing what they had to sell.  Goats ran freely and grazed around abandoned buildings.  Many little tarp-covered shade shelters offering fresh fruit for sale, dotted the country side.

Do you see where I’m going with this?

I am selfish.

I am spoiled.

I worry about silly things.

I am blessed.

I need to relax.

I need to realize what’s truly important in life…and that is the amazing people who stand by me everyday.

I don’t need more things to make me happy.

I need to soak up the love and more importantly give love.

Don’t worry about a thing. Cause every little thing gonna be alright.

I think that’s how you bottle happy.

PEACE…

and LOVE to you my friends…

From my Happy Heart to yours,

Christine

Love, Peace, and a Little Understanding

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As I was running yesterday, this phrase popped into my head.

Love, Peace, and a Little Understanding goes a long way!

I’m not really sure why it popped into my head, but lately I have realized how good it is for the soul to drop the judgments and replace it with a little understanding.  There will be times in life when those around you will not agree with your choices/thoughts/perceptions and you may not agree with theirs as well.  I have realized that their choices and opinions are theirs alone and have nothing to do with my own choices.   I can only control my thoughts, vision, plans, behaviour…etc so I’m wasting time and energy trying to change something I have no power over!

I have the power to change my perceptions, to accept others just as they are, to show love/peace/understanding because I haven’t walked in their shoes and they haven’t walked in mine!  We are all just people. 🙂

It takes very little to turn a bad attitude into a good one and I know that’s why the running bug has bit me.  Now don’t be fooled into thinking that I’m a graceful runner nor am I a fast runner…I was passed by a toddler followed up by a gentleman toting a wheeled oxygen tank on the running track yesterday.

I know I talk A LOT about how amazing exercise is for the body, mind, and soul but when you find something that brings you so much joy, it’s hard to keep it in!  If I’m having a bad day and my heart hurts, I can’t wait to push myself at the gym to the point that the physical pain takes over the heart ache.  I know that sounds odd, but for me exercise turns heart ache, into physical pain (if I push myself), into pride and joy…all in the course of an hour.  I may go in defeated, but I always leave uplifted.  I actually wish there was a camera that captured the expressions of people walking into a gym and then the expressions walking out.  There would be great proof in the healing power of exercise and the pride that accompanies it!

Exercise heightens a good day as well.  It turns a good day into a great day.  I often have to repeat in my head:  “Don’t break out into spontaneous dance in the middle of the running track, someone could trip over you.” and “Don’t start singing loud while on the treadmill.”

Here’s the song that made me want to dance it out yesterday during my run.  Instead I opted for a slow jog/fast walk…heavy on the hip sway accompanied with a head bob and a finger snap.  Yes, I am a dork.

Anywhoooo….just thought I would sing the praises of exercise once again!  It brings moments of clarity to my heart.   If you believe exercise is not something you could enjoy, I encourage you to try it out consistently (even a couple times a week) for a month, and see what it does for you!

Here’s to Love, Peace, and a Little Understanding to all we encounter in life. 🙂

Christine

Life is so good!

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I was reminded today that life is so good.  It was a little moment that passed today that normally I would have taken for granted.  We went to a movie tonight as a family (we saw “Up”..great family movie).  My sons decided to sit in the row ahead of us because there was only 4 seats to a row…we happen to be a family of 5.  My hubby and I sat with Tessa at our side. 

Throughout the movie, my kids all showed there unique and quirky personalities.  Lukey excused himself to go to the washroom, only to return and break out laughing mid-walk down the isle as he watched the movie.  He giggled all the way to his chair.  You have to hear Lukey’s giggle to appreciate it. It’s the best laugh and it’s totally infectious. 

Tyler would lean down and whisper things to Lucas through out the movie which would bring on another bout of the giggles from both boys.  I tapped Ty on the shoulder to share his Skittles and he gave me the biggest handful and smiled his wicked little smile at me.  He’s so loving.

Tessa spent a lot of time talking out loud as the movie played.  She was very concerned for the characters involved and her expressions are so animated.  I love her so much.

So…as I sat there watching my kids, and tapping my hubby every time one of our kids did something I got a kick out of, I was reminded how good life is.  It was a good night…no, it was a great night.  We were all together and we loved being together.  That’s what life is all about.  

Life is good.

There is so much beauty in life, sometimes we forget to appreciate the little things.  We live in a country where we are free to love, praise, and live without condemnation.  That in itself is cause for joy.  Why are we always finding something to complain about?! 

Soak up the joy all around you.  Be thankful for your friends and family…they are food for your soul. 

Tomorrow is going to be another beautiful day.  I plan to start it out with a smile and a hug from my kids. 

I’ll leave you with one of my favourite quotes by George Bernard Shaw.

 

“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.”
George Bernard Shaw
Epistle Dedicatory to Arthur Bingham Walkley
“Man and Superman: a Comedy and a Philosophy”

Good night my friends!

Christine