Taking Life Too Seriously

“Blessed is he who has learned
to laugh at himself,
for he shall
never cease to be entertained.”
Josh Billings

What thoughts are you thinking when reading Josh Billings’ quote.? Do you take the time to stop and laugh at yourself or are you seriously thinking everything is so hard?

I had a problem with Alfie, my cat finding mice in the basement, killing them and bringing me a present; the dead mouse. Finding the mice made me crazy. I was tiptoeing around the house with a flashlight and looking everywhere before entering a room.

On a Sunday morning at 6am I called Mindi, my daughter, hysterical asking her to come over right away because there was a dead mouse in my basement. Her first response was come to my house. I said, “No” because I wanted her to get rid of the mouse. We proceeded to have an argument and after awhile we hang-up the phone on each other.

Twenty minutes later she was waking into my house asking where is the mouse. We both gingerly walked down the basement to find the mouse. Lying on the floor next to my cat was a half dead mouse. We both started screaming. Thank God Mindi was able to get it into a bag and out into the woods.

Before leaving she told me to live in the solution. I told her she was the solution. We were both upset with each other for a few days.

The other day a picture of that Sunday morning of us both screaming over a mouse popped into my head. Thinking about it, I started to laugh and realized what a funny story it was. I called Mindi laughing at the experience and we both had a good laugh.

Alfie, my cat has not been allowed down the basement since that day. Thank God there haven’t been any more presents left at my feet.

What I learned from the situation is there is a solution for every problem. Taking action by not letting Alfie in the basement has solved the problem. Also, it makes life so much easier to have a good laugh over your fears.

I would love to hear your stories. Please leave them in the comment section of the Love Yourself – It Matters! Blog. Together we will all have a good laugh.

As Josh Billings states, by laughing at ourselves we will always be entertained.

Helen

New Way of Thinking and Acting

"Beginning Today…

Today
look in a mirror
and notice
that the person
who greets you
is beautiful,
inside and out.

Today
say to yourself that
you know nothing is
impossible.
Remind yourself that
every one of your dreams
is within reach.

Today
think about all of
the people who love you,
who see the beauty in you,
and begin to look at yourself
in the same way.”

~ Lise Schlosser

What were you thinking while reading the above quote? Most of us can logically say we are that beautiful person inside and out, nothing is impossible and we share our many gifts with others. Do we truly believe that in our hearts? The answer is "NO.”

We are human beings and have lived many years letting our thoughts tear away at our greatness. It is time to change!

What can you do differently? Chose one of the small steps below to start looking at life from a different perspective.
1. Read Lise Schlosser suggestions daily.
2. Look in the mirror and wink at the person looking back at you.
3. Decide on one very tiny step you can take to accomplish your goal. Example:
Your goal is to lose weight, just for today eat a piece of fruit instead of a high calorie snack.
4. Write yourself a love letter acknowledging who you have become.

Take time for YOU today! Make a choice to start thinking and acting differently. You are worth it! Today, after implementing one of the above steps please let the Love Yourself – It Matters Community know what happens.

Looking forward to hearing from you. Helen

Taking Time for YOU!

I want to thank everyone for either leaving comments on the Love Yourself – It Matters blog or sending me emails with inspirational messages. Your messages have helped lift my writer’s block.

What helped the most is letting me know that you are reading the blog and been making changes in your life. We are all on this journey together and by supporting each other it makes life exciting and easier.

Looking out the window the sun is shinning, the birds are sitting in the trees and the squirrels are running around the backyard. Taking the time to enjoy my surroundings is such a special gift.

Are you taking the time to slow down for a couple of seconds and enjoy either a conversation or take the time to relax? We are all programmed to live life in the fast lane and see how much we can accomplish.

I was having a conversation this morning with a client on this topic. Patti, name changed, did not consider the time she spent relaxing during the day as being productive. Her day was spent on meeting deadlines and things she had to do. Then when 9:00pm rolled around she got into bed and watched television to relax.

I asked her if she had a spare minute in the morning, afternoon and evening to just relax. Her answer was a loud, “YES”. What could she do in those 3 minutes a day? Patti thought about it for a few seconds and said, “I could take a deep breath and close my eyes.”

Patti tried her new mini-vacation by closing her eyes and taking a few deep breathes. She instantly felt relaxed and her voice was softer. Patti made a commitment to practice this exercise at least three times a day.

Now it is your turn to take three minutes a day to relax, or have a fun conversation or enjoy your surroundings. Why not take that minute right NOW and see what happens.

Please share your experiences with the Love Yourself – It Matters Community and together we will enjoy life’s journey.

I am looking forward to hearing from you. Helen

Support

Hi Everyone:

Today I am going to write you a letter letting you know what is going on with me. After speaking with Karen Miller, Publicist at lunch today about my finding it hard to write she quickly told me I have Writer’s Block.

At first I was relieved and then started to worry about how am I going to get through this new challenge. Not only is it hard to write, I feel guilty because there are a lot of you looking at my blog daily and there are no new posts. Please forgive me.

Karen explained that the only way to walk thru the challenge is to keep writing and eventually the words will flow again.

Hearing those words I made a commitment to Karen and now the Love Yourself – It Matters Community I will write on the Blog at least three times within the next seven days.

Thanks for listening and if anyone has any ideas or tips for making the journey easier please let me know by leaving your ideas in the comment section.

Thanks and look forward to hearing from you.

Helen