Special Moments

‘Relax and have fun over the next couple of weeks. Remember, you’re making memories at every moment. Make sure that yours are worth remembering.’
Cheryl Richardson

I was looking for a quote for my Life’s Little Journey Ezine and came across Cheryl Richardson’s quote above. How easy to forget that we are constantly making memories that inspired us and made our lives more enjoyable.

Sometimes I receive a wake-up call to STOP and smell the flowers. The last few weeks I have been working long hours and not taking time to appreciate the special moments in my life. Last night after making final revisions on the Ezine my phone rang and it was my sister. She was telling me about the special moments she shared with her two year old grandson. We had a great time laughing and telling each other how great it was being a grandmother.

When I got off the phone I realized that I was not taking time to enjoy my life; I was always working. This morning one of my intentions was to enjoy the special moments in my day. Following are the special moments that happened to me this morning:

• As I am writing this blog, Alfie my black cat, is sitting next to the computer watching me with such love in his eyes.

• While talking to a Coach this morning, we both realized that we had so much in common and now I have a new friend.

What special moments are occurring in your life right now?

Tips from Oscar, the Black Squirrel

As I sit in my office, watching the birds and black squirrel eat from the birdfeeders; it reminds me of how I use to eat compulsively. It is amazing how after eight years of eating healthy and using quantity control it still bothers me watching others eat. I can never forget the fact my disease is doing push-ups in a corner and waiting for the right moment to act out with a vengeance.

I was thinking about this situation and realized I could continue being obsessed with the fact that watching the birds made me feel uncomfortable or look at the situation in a different way. I could watch the birds and appreciate their beautiful colors and acknowledge how lucky I am to have so many different types of birds in my backyard.

As far as the squirrel, named Oscar, watching him gave me motivation and confidence to pursue my dreams. Oscar is very persistent and never gives up until he manages to eat from every birdfeeder until they are empty. He appears early in the morning and gorges himself until he is full. Then he runs around, chasing the birds and disappears until evening. Sometimes when I feel overwhelmed with life I think of Oscar, how nothing stops him from finding food and always plays after he eats. I have been working hard this week inputting information into a database and at the end of the day felt exhausted. I got into bed one night and thought there had to be an easier way. I started thinking about Oscar and how persistent he was and always took time to have fun. Made a decision, I would be like Oscar, to continue pursing my dream and also take a mini-vacation every day at 3:00pm.

A mini-vacation is taking at least 10 minutes for myself to do whatever made me happy. By taking the time for myself eliminates stress and is a great motivator. Everyday at 3:00pm for at least 10 minutes I either took a walk, read a book or called a friend. It is amazing how much better I felt and had renewed energy.

What mini-vacation for at least 10 minutes would you like to take everyday? Please let me know.

Thirteen Reasons for Taking a 10 Minute Min-Vacation Everyday

I am your Fairy Godmother and I am granting you an additional ten minutes a day. The only stipulation is that if you don’t use the 10 minutes everyday you will lose them.

1. Doing whatever You want for at least 10 minutes a day
2. Making a decision to be kind to YOU.
3. Time to relax.
4. Chance to make YOU feel important.
5. Time to escape from the world around you.
6. Renew your depleted energy.
7. Creating a special time for YOU.
8. Time to journal.
9. Opportunity to acknowledge yourself for your accomplishments.
10. Chance to just daydream.
11. Reason to pamper yourself.
12. Taking the time to just enjoy the moment.
13. Realizing you don’t have to take a trip to have a mini-vacation.