First Snow

I am younger each year at the first snow. When I see it, suddenly, in the air, all little and white and moving; then I am in love again and very young and I believe everything.”

Anne Sexton

With the first snowfall of the season, Anne Sexton's quote came to mind. A few years back while I was shoveling snow, I noticed a pattern from the shovel and an idea took shape. Prior to this foray, I had only made the three snowball types of characters. One never knows where inspiration may come from. It is up to you to act on it before it melts away.

Failure is NOT an Option!

“What would you do if you knew you could not fail?"

Robert H. Schuller

I was recently poking around a gift shop and saw this wonderful Schuller quote on a plaque. It made me stop, smile, think a moment, and then make a note of it because I immediately began writing an article in my head. This happens to me all of the time these days. The more I write, the more my head is busy tapping out strands of thought. This sensation did not happen until I started writing on a regular basis a few years ago. So what turned on this new writing phenomenon? Me!

I began to write in response to what I was feeling when my health began to take a nosedive. I realized I could not, would not fail if I wrote about what I knew and what I was learning about life and the circumstances that seem to get thrown at me along the way. Since I began writing, I think I am a happier person. I seem to be filling a need I wasn’t aware of. So when I saw this little Shuller plaque, yes I smiled because it was a knowing smile.

What’s stopping you?

Do you feel as if you are on idle or stagnating? Perhaps answering this question would help you move on with your life.

Are you afraid of failure, or are you actually afraid of succeeding? If you succeeded, just what would that mean? Are you afraid of leaving what you know is comfortable and safe?

“What would you do if you knew you could not fail?"

When you first pose this question, don’t expect an answer to come immediately⎯just keep asking. If an answer does come immediately⎯get moving!

 “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?"

Once you ask this question, it doesn’t mean you can’t change course, start over, or continue to ask the question again and again. It's not like you are only allowed to ask this question once in a lifetime. There are no life-question police roaming around.

“What would you do if you knew you could not fail?"

I feel this question is ultimately very powerful. It should become one of those life questions we roll over in our minds from time to time. Failure in NOT an option here! So start filling a need you may not be aware of and turn on a new phenomenon for YOU! In a year full of intention⎯what’s stopping YOU? Consider starting small and with the momentum you gain, keep going, and remember...

"Shoot for the moon,

even if you miss you’ll land among the stars."

Les Brown

First steps photo courtesy of Eddi van W.

It’s a Freaking Family Reunion

Do you sometimes wonder who the heck the person looking back at you in the mirror is? As I get older I know I do. In a flash I see a grandma and an aunt here, and there’s my mom or is that my sister there, and why is my uncle looking back at me? I really did not see those similarities years before, but more recently I seem to be having a freaking family reunion every time I look in the mirror. Is this part of what we all call the aging process? And where the heck did that darn wrinkle come from because I know it wasn't there yesterday, and it doesn't remind me of anyone from my family!

If you think that the aging process is out of your control, think again. *George Vaillant, M.D., in his book, Aging Well, points out the usual suspects one would presume to find when listing factors involved in aging, but also includes some interesting predictors we might want to consider.

Controllable predictors:

• Non-smoker
• Not abusing alcohol
• Regular exercise
• Maintaining a healthy weight
• Stable marriage
• Pursuing education
• Maintaining adaptive defenses or coping strategies

Also critical:

• Network of intimate friends and healing relationships
• Knowing how to play and have fun
• Subjective good health (you may have an illness or potentially debilitating condition, but you don’t allow it to get to you)

“As we get older, maintenance becomes more important than genes.”*

Uncontrollable factors that do NOT affect healthy aging:

• Ancestral longevity
• Parental social class
• Childhood temperament
• Family cohesion
• Cholesterol levels/High Blood Pressure/Diabetes (working with your doctor and taking your medication properly make these manageable)
• Stress

“Aging happy and well, instead of sad and sick, is at least under some personal control.”*

So back to the family reunion in the mirror⎯I'm going to smile at all those wonderful people who seemed to have recently moved into my face. I haven’t turned into one of those dried apple-face dolls yet and neither have any of those other people staring back at me. As I look at the controllable and critical predictors above, I see I can do something about the aging process. I want to insure that as I go forward in this life, I continue to be happy and well⎯because after all, isn't that what really matters!

And as far as those wrinkles go, don’t forget what my mom told me when I was a teenager⎯moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. Yes, mom, I’ve been moisturizing my entire body since then, and thank you by the way!

*George Vaillant, MD professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medial School and director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development
Mirror Mirror on the wall photo courtesy of Cali4beach

January: I Intend to Be Positive

Negativity = a bad, unwelcome, or unpleasant quality, characteristic, or aspect of a situation or person

I am starting my year of intentional thinking on a positive note and erasing negative thought. That being said, each morning I am going to remind myself of the following, I intend to be positive. The first moments of waking thought can have quite an impact on us and may set the mood for rest of the day, thus this intention gets the ball rolling.

Just how is this statement of intent going to erase my negative thinking? For the past 6 years I have focused on intention on a regular basis. This awareness has helped me understand my thinking in a way I have not experienced previously. Stating the intention first thing in the morning will help me become aware of my negative thinking throughout the day, and give me a chance to change how I react or respond. It really is quite interesting. I will find myself grumbling about something or other and before you know it I will catch myself thinking, "Wait a minute, negative thought⎯need to change right this moment!" Just bringing awareness to the thought gives me a chance to understand why I am thinking or feeling negative and then gives me the opportunity to do something about it. This mindfulness seems to  happen the more I continue to bring awareness to any negative thought⎯no matter how insignificant.

I will focus on the general intention, but I plan on being aware of anytime I might think or say the word⎯hate. I hate vacuuming. Actually, I don’t care to do it but I don’t hate it. I hate the negative “news” we get bombarded with. Essentially, I don’t care to hear about it over and over. I am not a hateful person and I personally despise the word hate, but it seems to surprise me from time to time, and surface in my thoughts or come flying out of my mouth.

AND

I must not forget those silly little words we all use to refer to ourselves⎯oh you dummy, you did it again. Note the negativity towards self. If you find yourself feeding negative thoughts back to your brain, erase them this month and follow me as we carry the positive forward the rest of the year.

Photo courtesy of D. Sharon Pruitt

A Year of Intentional Thinking

Intention = Determined to do

You don’t need to fuss with resolutions this year; instead, follow me with a year of intentional thinking. Each month I will suggest a new objective, but it will be up to you to plant the seed. By the time we arrive at the end of the year, we will have improved our lives twelve times over. As you know I pick a word/theme each year, and as you may have guessed, intention is my word for this year. It will be your word too if you choose to travel this path with me.

If what you are doing in your life isn’t quite working for you, join It Is What It Is as we explore creating a better self one-month, one seed at a time. May this year be a purpose driven year for us all, and bring you intentional happiness and health.

Photo courtesy of Scott Cresswell