THE POWER IN PAUSING

Do you live your life in busyness? Has life thrown a few curve balls at you lately... and then you find a moment to breath.... and you find your creative juices flowing and you start thinking up shit to do... buy... change... just because there has been a space to pause.

Do you find that you're not living in the moment and are projecting to days, months and even years later... the What if's?

I see it all around me and why is it that I can recognize it so clearly? It was my life! For years, I'd stuff an hour of work into 5 minutes and when there was space to BE... STILL... I had no idea how to do that or that I should even do that.

Until one day... life came crashing down and I finally heard a speaker, Terry Hershey, a christian speaker no less, talking about the power of pausing. Really?

When I started attending retreats for work (I worked at a church), I remember thinking, all I want to do is sleep... rest.... Don't talk to me... don't make me do anything...

If you find yourself in a situation right now, a stressful... an all time consuming... lifestyle and you find that you have a moment free of chaos and drama, and your creative forces find a space to flow, try not to let them make more work for you or take you away from being with YOU!

I know... it feels weird right? Who is this person that should be our best friend? Who knows... If you're at all like me, I had no idea who I was, who I had been created to be... what gifts I had to share with the world. Why? I stayed busy 24/7. After all, if I got to know me, I might not like me.

Well my darling, I can guarantee you one thing. When you get to know YOU... spend time with YOU... YOU too will see the brilliant bright shining light that is YOU and YOU will love you as much as I do!

HAPPY RESTING SWEET ONE!

Say YES and Adventure will Follow!

One of the great things that happens for me when I travel is that it keeps me conscious. It is so easy for me to get in a rut and routine of doing things, that making a shift periodically in my life helps me to stay awake.

It's never that comfortable to make the transitions and I can easily become depressed and then a bit of a hermit saying an inward NO, to the opportunities that present themselves to me.

My friend was helping with a fundraiser for the Community Food Bank Motorcycle Poker Run, and I said YES to helping her... she had a table at the base of the mountains handing out poker cards. ( I LOVE the mountains!)

Then, she asked me to Happy Hour, (which I hate, for a myriad of reasons). After my initial "No," then, "I don't know, let me think about it," finally turned into a "YES! Why the hell not?"

Because I said YES, I found myself with an invite for a ride on the back of a Goldwing Touring Motorcycle during the up coming poker run. (I LOVE motorcycles!)  You guessed it, I said "YES!" It was a brilliant ride through the back roads of the desert landscape.

What does one have to do to say "YES" when new opportunities arise? Get out of your head!

Stop thinking of all the reasons why you shouldn't or couldn't and let God/The Universe support you in your heart's desire.

I had an invitation for a motorcycle ride a year ago, which never quite manifested itself. Being patient and saying YES to opportunities that were out of my comfort zone, paved the way for this dreamy afternoon.

HAPPY ADVENTURES! 

Self-Care as a Preventative Health Alternative

ETL has applied to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; National Health Observance Calendar for Self-Care to be recognized on the National Health Observance Calendar. We are asking that the month of September be recognized as September as Self-Care Awareness Month for the following reasons.

Self-care is a preventative health-care solution. It’s one solution, which is becoming more prominent in our society as evident by all of the social media platforms and ongoing conversations among celebrities, medical professionals, athletes and house-holders alike.

Virtually everyone from parents to caregivers and most people in between can benefit from understanding that neglecting to take personal responsibility for one’s own well-being; physically, emotionally, mentally, as well as spiritually, can masquerade as a myriad of different illnesses, which can be eased with education and practicing self-care techniques.

Our informal research shows that most people think of self-care as getting a massage or manicure, but it is so much more than that. It’s a lifestyle change. It’s becoming an advocate for, and investing in oneself as much as they invest in others. Along with communicating clearly, saying no, and setting boundaries with our time, just to name a few.

While our main focus at ETL is education of the many health benefits that practicing self-care has to offer, we’ve expanded our vision to include physicians, health care providers and legislation, in hopes of encouraging more insurers to pay for treatments.