Every Morning I say…

“I will have a good day, today! Today, if something bad happens; I want to be able to process the bad in my mind; and I certainly want to find the good in it to move my life forward!”…This is my tip to me.  My mornings begin with this short phrase.  A short phrase, which, for sure, has an enormous impact on my day.  I’ve been doing this for a few years now.  This short phrase has now developed into a healthy habit in my life.

A bad thing happened here. All parties involved, thankfully, were fine. My daughter was shaken up. She was one of the parties involved. The accident happened four months ago. She still thinks about it and has become a more conscious driver. The bad in this has been processed. And, the good in this is that we are able to move forward in our lives. Lesson learned.

What do you say to yourself each morning before starting your day?

…thank you for visiting my blog…until next time 🙂

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No Pain, No Gain. Oh, Not This Pain!

Workout finished.  Not exactly the way I wanted it to.  I hurt my lower back.  Excruciating pain.  No idea how it started.  It did not happen during my workout, but right after.  Maybe while I was putting away weights, steps or risers…who knows.  (I heard that)…it has nothing to do with my getting older! 🙂

Having low threshold for pain, I immediately hit the websites –  read, and read on lower back pain. Started treatment.  Iced the affected area, then used heat.  Alternated that for a good couple of days.  Took ibuprofen as well.  Consulted my dear websites, again.  Next step – added some stretch exercises.   (I heard that, too)…I’m not going to the doctor!  And, stop telling me what to do!

After two days, I felt well enough to try my Body Pump class.  Using my body weight for squats and lunges; and low weight (about 5 lbs) for the rest of the class; I finished the one hour class.  For the rest of the week – I kept low weight and focused on my form.  The week ended well. Pain level, in control!  (Heard that)…Awe, that’s sweet!  Thank you for believing in my research and treatment. 🙂

Source of my back pain – who knows!  But I do know that nursing that pain, helped.  I’m happy now –  that much I definitely know.

…thank you for visiting my blog…until next time 🙂

 

I’ll go for a walk… with who?

When I crossed our main street to get to the sidewalk, Thomas, my beagle, pulled me to the left, a path we rarely take, as I, automatically, turned to the right, a path we usually take.  I decided to follow his lead.  He seemed happy.  His tail wagging, he took his time walking.

Nice cool breeze on a warm wintry day kept embracing us. And, the mostly cloudy day felt more like spring, not winter.  I felt my mind happily hopping.  I heard a complex symphony of sounds in the background – The chirping of the birds flying over us; the humming of the cars whizzing by us; the soft bark of a dog coming from nearby distance; the rustling of  leaves on trees around us.

As Thomas and I sauntered, I couldn’t help but chuckle remembering an encounter with an acquaintance – I had asked her about why she preferred walking alone.  She had blatantly answered, “Sweetie, because I can fart freely!”

I, too, realize walking by myself is immensely satisfying!  An accurate definition of myself would be  – me and my dog!  These walks are exclusive –  My conversations with myself remain private; my quiet times remain absolutely and phenomenally soothing; my silly but unavoidable burps, spits, and farts become one with the nature :).  Thomas and I walk completely immersed in our own worlds.  I walk leisurely at my own pace.  Actually, leisurely at Thomas’ pace :).  But, both walking, joyfully.

…thank you for visiting my blog…until next time 🙂

December 31, 2015

My usual daily walk, this morning, was usual in every sense; except that it was not usual.   On this particular walk, every time, I passed a walker or a dog-walker,  I was made aware that TODAY is the LAST DAY of the year 2015.  And, this fact made today’s walk an un-usual one.  “Happy new year,” “Happy 2016,” “Have a great new year,” “All the best in 2016.”  These were wishes wished to me by the people I passed.

I started to get into the spirit of this day.  With my pace trying to catch up with Thomas, my beagle; I felt my thoughts trying to catch up with this passing day.  All the wishes started to swirl inside my head – no homelessness, no poverty, no killings, no hunger, no rapes, no child abuse, no child trafficking, no abuse, no animal abuse, no misuse of power and money…OH! MY THOUGHTS BECAME UNSTOPPABLE!  My pace and blood flow followed!  I realized that I ultimately wanted only ONE thing for our world, our earth, our planet, for 2016 and years beyond 2016:

Please, there be peace in this world. 

….thanks for visiting my blog…until next time 🙂

Right, Right and Right! … A Short Thought

It’s the right thing to think that this planet is my Mother-Earth!  But it’s not my right to own it.  But it’s time to make that right turn to care for this planet.

It’s the right thing to think that I must devote my time to raise and love my offsprings!  But it’s not my right to own them.  But it’s time to make that right turn to set them free and let them spread their wings.

It’s the right thing to think that I must love myself.  But it’s not my right to own myself.  So, it’s time to make that right turn to open my heart to live, laugh and love.  And, towards the end make that right turn to become one with Mother Earth, who ultimately has the right to own me.  And, that is the right thing to do!

…thank you for visiting my blog…until next time 🙂

Little events — make me wonder and ponder!

November 2015:  My daughter wants her friends to make tie-dye shirts during her sleepover birthday party.  We buy a kit at a craft store for $12.  (Not bad!)

 

Birthday party day arrives – While my daughter and her friends go for bowling and pizza; we, her Dad and I, set up her tie-dye stuff —  plastic tablecloth, gloves, paper towels, buckets, shirts and the kits.  All set!  (We are relieved!)

My daughter calls around 9 p.m., “I’m cancelling the tie-dye activity because it’s too late.”  She tells us to get rid of  the stuff before they arrive home.  Hurriedly, her Dad runs down to the basement, and quickly rolls up the plastic tablecloth with the tie-dye stuff, and sticks the whole thing behind our office area.  (Whew!  All set! Relieved again!)  Next morning, party comes to a nice end, after a round of cinnamon rolls for everyone.  (Yummy!)

 

December 2015:  One month later.

10:30 A.M. – I go to the craft store and return the tie-dye kit.  I get my $12 back.   Now, I have some cash in my wallet.  (I feel happy!)

2:30 P.M. – I drove my daughter to the animal shelter where she walks, loves and plays with the dogs.  She does this 6-days a week.

5 P.M. – I pick her up from the shelter.  (I can’t wait to go home and relax).  Just then my daughter gets a call from a friend to join her for a holiday show.  (No more relaxing!). (Oh, her Dad can drop her.) (Yay!) (I feel relaxed already!)

6:30 P.M. – She needed money to buy a ticket for the show.  (Not an issue!).  I give her the two $5 bills from the return I made at the craft store.  (Down to $2 in my wallet.)

6:40 P.M. – Almost out of our drive way, I watch the car suddenly stop.  (Why?)  “Hurry, I need $2 more, tickets are $12.”  I run inside — grab two $1 bills — give them to her.  Off they go!  (My wallet is now cash-free!) (But, now I can relax — that’s priceless!)

What just happened here?  Little things just happened here!  My returning the tie-dye kit! Receiving the $12! Giving away that same $12 for tickets!  The ticket price happening to be $12.  Hmm!

DING! My thoughts were abruptly paused by a text.  “Can u check to see if the money fell in the driveway?”  (What?!) ($ lost!) (Already!) (How?!) (And, just like that! – POOF!) (The $12 vanished)  (How?!) (I think I asked that before … but really) (How?!)

“Not in the driveway.  It has to be in the car cuz u did not come out of the car,”  I text her back.

“Can’t find it.  Please, just bring another $12 when u pick me up,” she texted back.

So very weird?  I went through the entire tie-dye chain of events – buying the kit, returning the kit, giving the money from the return to my daughter!  Only to have it lost!  Small events make me wonder and ponder!

….thank you for visiting my blog … until next time!

 

The Space to Write

Quietness surrounds me; concentration pulls my thoughts together;  vision focuses to my notes and my laptop.  My body sits still on the bar stool, while my fingers do a tireless dance on the keyboard spewing words on the screen.  And,  the next thing I know, I’ve written something.  I read, re-read, edit, edit again, and once I enjoy my writing, I post!

Before I post:  I grab my space in time to write, because time keeps fleeting fast .  I write in between my responsibilities.  A habit that’s becoming addictive.  I miss it if I don’t do it.

My iPhone is always with me, wherever I go.  (I might as well embed it into my skin.)  In the house, I keep my laptop right on the kitchen counter-top, few steps away from the stove.  I have a drawer near the stove-top that carries my hand-writing supplies.  Paper, pen, pencils, and Sharpies.  I frequently jot down ideas on paper.  Later when I type, I refer to my paper notes.  A good system for me.

When I sit down to write, I shift my mental gear.  I close all other thoughts and get focused on my notes, and start to elaborate on each point as I type on my blog.

Enjoy your writing!

…thank you for visiting my blog…until next time…keep smiling:)

 

Three Goals: for The Unstoppable Optimistic!

Here are my three goals for my blog:

1. Celebrate my blog’s first anniversary, when it arrives.  Then, continue posting on my blog, with zest, of course.  
2. Start writing, writing and writing, like a novelist.   
3. Make tons of blog friends…share and learn a lot of anything and everything from each other, and mostly support and enjoy different blogs!

…thank you for visiting my blog…until next time:)

Let Social Media Inspire You! —a short thought on a tweet

You study, study, study, and at the end, you are lucky enough to discover the greatest gift of education: that you know nothing at all.

— EJ Koh (@thisisEJKoh) January 7, 2014

Life.  Your life  needs a few essentials to survive: sunlight, water, air, food and shelter. Nothing more.  But your life has evolved, now, into a sophisticated living being.  Thus, your life must add an additional essential: studying.  When you are studying, you are learning, thinking, planning, creating, and accomplishing things.  Studying has made you into an educated living being.

You are educated!  “You study, study, study, and at the end, you are lucky enough to discover the greatest gift of education: that you know nothing at all.” @thisisEJKoh.  You know nothing at all about how complex your brain is, or how big your universe is; you know nothing about how you were created, or how many stars are there in the sky; you know nothing about what dreams really mean or why you exist; you know nothing about where you’ll go when you die.   You know nothing about what will happen in the next moment.   @thisisEJKoh, thank you for the quote!  

Note:  And, the “You” in my article is the human race.

…thank you for visiting my blog…until next time…

A Story in a Single Image

A gift to us, to our being, this Earth;

Life, too, is a gift, know it’s worth.

Sun rays punch through the blue skies, everyday,

we bathe in its warmth, and so often, in it play.

Everything on this Earth – Mountain, land and seas,

Animals and trees; birds and the bees,

Each created to make this Earth complete.

Our gifts are most beautiful and rare,

So rare, we want to know if someone else, like us, exists out there.

Take a leap, jump for joy,

and this life, this gift, begin to enjoy!

 

….Thanks for visiting my blog…until then…