Dancing to Happy

For the past year, the speed of my life has jumped a bit faster than I normally strive for. I wouldn’t call it overdrive, but I have ventured into that lane from time to time. I have wondered if this is the universe testing me. If so, how am I doing? Let’s just say, I’m getting used to the pace. Some things are in my control, some things are not, some things are fun, and some things definitely are not. It's a choice. Rather than fight it, I am learning to go with the flow, as if I am in slow motion when everything else is zipping by me. I’ve found this visualization does wonders for me personally. It actually reminds me that I have control over how I look at things. It reminds me to slow down, to take time-out for myself, to find the fun in whatever I’m doing, fun or not! When I’m in slow-mo, I find a sense of happy. 

Summer finds us outside with many activities to add to our usual year-round gotta-dos. As I look at those not so fun activities, I am striving to not let them take me down this summer. For example, the other day I spent six hours on yard projects. These were some of the not so fun activities I was talking about. I decided I needed more inspiration than listening to the lovely chatter of birds; I needed a lift in my day. On go my ear buds and I plugged into music with a beat. Tunes that made we want to dance and sing my way around the yard, which I did.

While the neighbors may have wondered what the heck I was doing, they may have actually thought, “Gee, Michelle looks like she is having a blast!” Six hours later, I dislodged the music from my head with a smile on my face. It’s interesting the number of people who have mentioned to me how fast their lives are moving these days, so it’s not just me. Whether it’s some cosmic, universe testing thing or not, we all need to find a way to dance around the yard. Can this really make us happy? It sure could help!

You may have noticed I haven’t posted weekly this month. I usually take summer off from posting, but instead I will just slow the rate of posts a bit.  Going forward into summer you will hear from me from time to time. I’m going to remind you to find your fun, find your slow-mo, dial it down, get out of overdrive, and strive for happy. Don’t let summer take you down. Here’s a little ditty that is bound to make you smile. There you go, I know you can do it. Let Pharrell Williams show you how...

                                                     

Enjoy a happy summer. 

Dancing in the sunset photo courtesy of Giovanni

Pounding Dirt

Gardening is always therapeutic whether I am pounding dirt, as my dear friend Phyllis calls it, or drawing-in the nurturing aspects of it. In times of trouble, anger, confusion, I could go on here, pounding dirt has saved me from myself.

What I know for sure is this, pounding dirt is a grounding form of therapy, and may just bring on a good ache. I consider it releasing the mental to the physical. With focus and gritty determination, get out there and pound some dirt! I guarantee whatever was bothering you prior to the dirt pounding will subside.

Dirt #2 photo courtesy of Tim Samoff

Seeds of Inspiration

For many of us, gardening can be nothing more than a chore any time of the year. With an over abundance of rain, and ever-increasing days of sunshine and warmth, gardening is a chore to even the most seasoned gardeners. Between rainstorms, I am doing the same things over and over again; and I know the tasks and weeds will outnumber any list of gardening chores I may have.

At this point, I won’t be able to get ahead of the chores, or even try to catch up. Trying to take control over my own ideals can be frustrating, but I have learned to let those ideals go. Gardening has taught me many things, so not even trying to catch up is freeing. The seeds of inspiration I have gained from a lifetime of gardening have carried over into other aspects of my life. Here's a seed for you: there is always going to be one more thing, but you'll get to it eventually, or not. It’s okay!

Inspiration photo courtesy of photosteve101

A Mouse in the House

We recently noticed odd scraping and chewing sounds in the attic above our bedroom. While we have had mice visiting our garage, never have we had them in the attic. Access to this space is through our bedroom closet ceiling. My husband, Dennis, set two traps and closed the access.

The next day, while I was preparing to hop in the shower so we could head out for the day to celebrate our anniversary, Dennis decided to check the traps. Up the ladder he went. Yes, indeed, we caught two mice! While he was preparing to take the traps out of the attic, all at once I hear, “Oh $#@!,” and seconds later, a mouse lands on his shoulder and leaps off taking flight in the closet. Standing at the doorway, I figured if there were any problems I would close the bi-fold door. I failed to mention that to Dennis prior to my slamming the door shut with him still in the closet.

As I previously disclosed, I was preparing to hop in the shower. So, half dressed, with a bleaching solution sitting on my upper lip for purposes I really don’t need to go into, I ran down the stairs, out to the garage, and grabbed a bucket. Back upstairs I went. When my dear husband saw the mouse run to the opposite end of the closet, I quickly opened the door, tossed the bucket to Dennis, and just as quickly slammed the door shut. Fortunately, the mouse was more upset about the goings on in the closet than we were. As soon as Dennis set the bucket upside down at a bit of a tilt, the little mouse decided it looked safe and ran underneath. Got ‘em!

Still half dressed with my lovely bleaching solution mustache, back downstairs I run on a mission to find cardboard to slide under said mouse and bucket. Dennis took care of the rest of the mouse activity at this point while I was having a wonderfully good laugh. All I kept picturing was that darn mouse flying off his shoulder.

I giggled off and on all day, while he just shook his head. I’m sure we will have more mouse tales in our future as we roll through the upcoming years together. While many anniversaries come and go, our thirty-sixth won’t soon be forgotten. It’s nice to have loving memories to share with each other, but seldom do you get a half dressed, lip-bleaching wife running up and down the stairs while the husband is closed up in a closet with an acrobatic mouse. Gotta love those memories that put a smile on your face!

OMG! photo courtesy of johnson d

Warrior Pose

I make sure yoga poses are a part of my weekly workout routine. Yoga helps me combine mental and physical expression, as in mind, body and spirit. Breathing deeply, while maintaining form and balance, not only strengthens my body, but stills my mind. In order to hold the poses properly, I must focus; otherwise, I lose balance.

My favorite pose is the Warrior and its variations. When I first tried this, it was difficult to hold the position for very long at all. My whole body seemed to tremble just trying to maintain the form. Now, I feel I am the warrior, and can hold the position for as long as I would like, even with my eyes closed. It has become rather centering and relaxing.

While I change Yoga routines with regularity, I always include my warrior. Anything that helps me become the warrior in my life is an important strengthening piece of my journey, and should be lovingly maintained. On this amazing journey of mine, the warrior in me will introduce more positive guidance to my mental and physical expression. I will continue to bring more centering and relaxing focus to my day.

Warrior II pose courtesy of a4gpa