"Life is a series of choices..."

Do you enjoy reading a good fortune from a Chinese fortune cookie?  I do!  Every once in a while you get one that is so meaningful, so appropriate, it seems like it was meant just for you.  Those are the rare jewels that I like to save.  Here's a really old one I'd like to share: "Life is a series of choices.  Today yours are good ones."  Wow, I like that!  I hope so!  It still gives me a thrill and forces me to stop and think about my day and what I've accomplished, or not yet.  Ha,ha.  It puts a positive spin on everything.

Who doesn't love chocolate?  It's one of my guilty pleasures, and Dove dark chocolate is one of my favorites!  I like the little ones that give you "words of wisdom" on the inside of the foil wrapper.  The other day I was a little out of control and opened a bunch.  Here are some of those little nuggets of wisdom:
"Be playful with your love."
"Take good care of yourself."
"Take advantage of every free moment you have."
"You're delicious."
"Tempt your sense of exploration."
"Relaxation by chocolate."
and they are all signed...
Love,
Dove
All really good reminders, aren't they?  Each one makes me want to pause and soak up the message.

"Relaxation by chocolate" has prompted me to write about the subject of relaxation which is near and dear to my heart.  Relaxation is something that eludes so many of us with busy, stressful lives.  Six years ago I enrolled in a relaxation program at the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Mass General in Boston, MA.  This particular 8-week program (which is still ongoing today) is designed to combine the best of conventional medicine with a self-care approach designed to reduce stress-related illnesses, such as headaches, gastrointestinal problems, autoimmune and sleep disorders.  Sounds amazing?  But it's true!  Through several learned techniques, including meditation, I was able to reduce my own stress level, blood pressure, other physical symptoms and learned to live a life of greater appreciation and gratitude. 

Thought I would share one technique for now that I learned at the Mind Body Institute that you may find helpful, too.  One invaluable technique is journaling.  I had never done that before but found great pleasure in it.  So I picked up my old journal today and read some of those pages from six years ago...
"At class today, learned new exercise: Each day think of the day in review:
1.  the best (part of the day or thing that happened)
2.  the worst (part of the day or thing that happened)
3.  the ordinary (part of the day or thing that happened)
I was called upon in class to give an example of ordinary.  My "ordinary" was to use my time on the train to meditate.  I got some "Ah's" out of the class with that one. (I liked that!)  After identifying each, think of how each incident affects me in a positive way.  Turn even a negative event into having a positive message or something good coming from its occurence in my life.  What each thing teaches me."

Many pages in the journal are dedicated to daily completion of this exercise.  It is a wonderful way to experience awareness and gratitude for others, yourself and life in general.  Ok, so here goes.  This was my first attempt...

"Best, Worst, Ordinary
1. Best - Kevin bought me the new Nora Jones CD as a surprise.  I am so appreciative of the pleasures, fun & spontaneity he brings to my life.
2. Worst - argument between Kevin and myself over Melissa and her room.  Learn to modify my emotions and reactions so that I will not feel bad.
(Wouldn't it have been nice if I'd included Kevin, too, instead of just "I"?  Ha,ha)
3. Ordinary - doing my morning exercises which I have done for the past year and a half.  I've been feeling better lately and getting stronger."

Of course the Best is fairly easy to complete, the Worst is the hardest since you need to find something positive about it and even the Ordinary can be difficult for that same reason.  This exercise is like taking the time to hold a mirror up to your face.  It's funny, but at times those three things I wrote on my first attempt can still occur to this day.  Does that mean I've failed??  I think I need to start journaling again.  Ha,ha.  But I also believe we never stop learning, and we can consciously make changes when we make the effort.  That's the mind/body connection.  Our bodies do react to what our mind is telling it.  Learn to be aware of what's going on around you and put a positive spin on it.  It all goes back to what that fortune cookie says...

"Life is a series of choices.  Today yours are good ones."  Let's do our best to make this statement true.  It's something worth striving for, both for ourselves and for others whose lives we touch each day.

What would you write as your Best, Worst and Ordinary for today?  How has each affected you in a positive way?  Think about leaving your response in a comment.  Thanks!

"Living a Dream..."

Do you believe that things just happen by coincidence?  Or that there is Divine intervention?  At any rate I felt compelled to read the local paper today and came across the syndicated column of Ronda Rich.  I've read her many times before.  She is printed weekly on Wednesdays in the SouthView section of my newspaper.  It had quite an impact on me.

Ronda Rich is always uplifting, offering her life experiences, advice and practical examples of people, places and things.  Today's article is titled, "Living a dream is the true reward".  She writes, "The key, I have decided, is to grow up brave enough and bold enough to follow our dreams, regardless of how crazy they may seem to others." 

Her first example is of Sylvester Stallone.  Did you know that he actually wrote the movie script for "Rocky"?  And in 1975 as an unknown actor, starving and down on his luck, he convinced 2 producers to take a look at it.  At first United Artists liked the script and offered Stallone $250,000 for it, but Stallone said, "No".  So they took a chance, offered a small budget and gave in to Stallone's insistence that he star in the movie instead of somebody hot like Burt Reynolds.  "Critics panned it, and the producers, standing outside the theater on opening day and bemoaning their luck, thought it was all over.  Actor Peter Falk, of "Columbo" fame, walked up and said, "Go inside. The audience is standing and cheering." 

Ronda Rich also writes:
"The public bought what the critics hated and the studio had been wary of.  "Rocky" went on to win Best Picture and two other Academy Awards.  Stallone had refused to settle.  He saw it through to the end to get exactly what he dreamed.  And that's another thing I believe -- you get what you settle for."

I love that line..."you get what you settle for."  How true is that??  To dare to follow your dream and see it through.  That is so inspiring to me.  I have dreams.  Dreams for today, tomorrow and into the future.  Things I'd like to accomplish on my bucket list someday.  I'm sure you do, too.

I'll share one dream I have for now.  That is to get strong enough to get back to driving.  I HATE  NOT DRIVING!  It's something I've been unable to do for close to 2 years now due to an illness that left me too weak to do it.  So from this day forward, I vow to get stronger, with God's help and willingness, to stop just talking about getting stronger and to start doing something about it.  I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Now what's your dream?  Please feel free to post a comment.

Editted on April 6, 2013:
Ronda Rich is the best-selling author of "There's A Better Day A-Comin".  Visit www.rondarich.com to sign up for her weekly newsletter.  

Day 1

I'm so excited to be here!  A dear friend helped me start this blog (because I didn't have a clue how to create a blog!), and I thank her so very much.  

My hope for this blog is that we can travel on this road together to a better life through positive awareness.  I can't wait to share helpful tips and information I have learned along the way and learn so much from all of you!