tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37406098112478477402024-03-14T07:23:59.911-07:00Happy TimesEncouraging snipits of happiness served every day!Cathleen Spacilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16881902758209965660noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740609811247847740.post-84874542844653349102012-05-23T18:33:00.002-07:002012-05-24T13:25:45.062-07:00Right Way of Thinking - The List<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B2n_kFE4ARA/T76ZO4BdaCI/AAAAAAAAAMw/9Yd5qsl88k4/s1600/The-List-2011-400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B2n_kFE4ARA/T76ZO4BdaCI/AAAAAAAAAMw/9Yd5qsl88k4/s200/The-List-2011-400.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For those of you who know me, I have spent a lot of time
doing work in the right side of my brain and helping others to do the same…
This is the creative side of your brain and it is also the area of the brain
where we are able to solve problems. When we engage the right side of our
brains, amazing things happen and we see things in a whole different light, so
each week I take you on a new adventure, into the land of right-brain thinking.
Come on, and play along!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Today we’re going to draw a picture of whatever comes to
mind as you answer some of these questions on “<span style="color: red;">The List</span>”. Answer two or three
of the questions and then just draw pictures or doodles as you answer the
questions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Once you have drawn your pictures, turn your page upside and
continue embellishing your doodle or drawing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Now squint your eyes to see if you see anything different:
new images, patterns, or thoughts that you hadn’t noticed before.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I’d love to hear what you uncovered about your “<span style="color: red;">Life Lists</span>”.
Please share your findings below.</span><o:p></o:p></div>Cathleen Spacilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16881902758209965660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740609811247847740.post-32076641385679090072012-05-23T18:26:00.003-07:002012-05-23T19:08:40.147-07:00Having Fun with "The List"<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UHPWtCxOw54/T72OMk4ZgPI/AAAAAAAAAMg/gjzMM2r8wbQ/s1600/have_fun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UHPWtCxOw54/T72OMk4ZgPI/AAAAAAAAAMg/gjzMM2r8wbQ/s320/have_fun.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Sometimes I get into moods that are just silly… I like to
have <span style="color: red;">FUN </span>and if I’m having fun – watch out!!!! If I’m tired I get a little
giddy and then it’s really hilarious and things can get a little wacky. But
that’s what makes things interesting in my life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You should all know by now that my focus and goal in life,
especially since losing my memory and going through something that was pretty
much potentially tragic, is to focus on positive things that keep my life
exciting and fun. When you deal with a mental disorder, like Bipolar, you have
to be in constant check of where your happiness is at <span style="color: red;">ALL </span>times and so I focus
on happiness. I think it’s a good rule of thumb for everyone, even if you don’t
have a mental disorder! It’s much easier to focus on being happy than focus on
being sad, angry, upset, confused or depressed. Wouldn’t you all agree? I have
to be realistic and say that depression does jab its way into me, but if I’m
focusing on happiness, it doesn’t have as deep a hold on me as it used to
before I put happiness practices into play.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What do you do to keep yourself happy? And what do you focus
on to make sure you’re keeping yourself as happy as you can be and having as
much fun as possible?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Last night I was on <a href="http://pinterest.com/" target="_blank">Pinterest.com</a>, browsing the pins (one of
my favorite pastimes) and I ran across a pin that just brought a big ol’ smile
to my face!!!! My husband was sitting on the couch, all serious, as he usually
is, and this was where the fun began…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p> </o:p> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The pin took me to a blog called, “<a href="http://cherishinghopesanddreams.blogspot.com/2012/01/30-things.html" target="_blank">Hopes and Dreams</a>” and
there was a post about “<a href="http://cherishinghopesanddreams.blogspot.com/2012/01/30-things.html" target="_blank">The List</a>”. This is a list that the author (blogger), JW
and his wife Jess were going to post of random things they had conjured up. Jess
said, “The idea is to record different parts of my personality for my
posterity, and I guess you get to know me better by default.” She also
suggested that this list could be something that might be used as a guide for a
fun date night. I also thought this could be a fun guide as a conversation
between friends, especially newly acquainted friends.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Back to my husband sitting on the couch… I started asking
him questions. I thought I knew how he was going to answer – and I even smugly
told him so and he quickly told me I was very wrong on some of them. It was
kind of late and it was shortly before we were going to turn in for bed. But
you can be assured; we will be continuing the conversation. I see this being
several conversations! I went to bed with a <span style="color: red;">BIG </span>smile on my face because we
were laughing about how we were answering some of the questions and how
different we thought each other’s answers were going to be and how after so
many years of marriage, we still didn’t completely know everything about each
other!!! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I think this would be a great game to play with your kids as
well! It would be a great way for your kids to get to know you on a deeper
level.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So thank you JW and Jess! Just another way to help us all find happiness
and joy in our lives! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Now onto “the list”:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">List 20 random facts about yourself.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Describe 3 legitimate fears you have and explain how they
became fears.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Describe your relationship with your parents.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">List 10 things you would tell your 16 year-old self, if you
could.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What are the 5 things that make you most happy right now?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What is the hardest thing you have ever experienced?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What is your dream job, and why?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What are 5 passions you have?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">List 10 people who have influenced you and describe how.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Describe your most embarrassing moment.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Describe 10 pet peeves you have.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Describe a typical day in your current life.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Describe 5 weaknesses you have.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Describe 5 strengths you have.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you were an animal, what would you be and why?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What are your 5 greatest accomplishments?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What is the thing you most wish you were great at?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What has been the most difficult thing you have had to
forgive?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you could have one superpower, what would it be and what
would you do with it first?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 15 years?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">List your top 5 hobbies and why you love them.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Describe your family dynamic of your childhood vs. your
family dynamic now.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you could have dinner with anyone in history, who would
it be and what would you eat?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What popular notion do you think the world has most wrong?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What is your favorite part of your body and why?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What is your love language?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What do you think people misunderstand most about you?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">List 10 things you would hope to be remembered for.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hope you
have hours of fun answering these questions!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Many hugs,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cathleen</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">p.s. If you came from Brain Be Happy Notables, don't forget to go back and read the rest of the newsletter!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>Cathleen Spacilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16881902758209965660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740609811247847740.post-81770705129485447672012-05-17T12:24:00.002-07:002012-05-17T13:08:08.839-07:00A Right Way of Thinking - Bucket List<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For those of you who know me, I have spent a lot of time
doing work in the right side of my brain and helping others to do the same…
This is the creative side of your brain and it is also the area of the brain
where we are able to solve problems. When we engage the right side of our
brains, amazing things happen and we see things in a whole different light, so
each week I take you on a new adventure, into the land of right-brain thinking.
Come on, and play along!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ePCSnADl0iw/T7VPg1CTSqI/AAAAAAAAAMM/O3kyDgIcUt4/s1600/dance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ePCSnADl0iw/T7VPg1CTSqI/AAAAAAAAAMM/O3kyDgIcUt4/s200/dance.jpg" width="178" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Today we’re going to do a “Story Completion” ARTsignment.
It's a fun way to use the right side of you brain! This allows you to create a
story. It’s not about writing and it’s not about words. It’s about letting your
imagination create a picture of what YOUR “TO BE” BUCKET LIST means to you! So,
let’s get going!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: red;">MY “TO BE” BUCKET LIST</span> invited me to dance. My first thought
was _______________, and then I realized that ________________. <span style="color: red;">MY “TO BE”
BUCKET LIST</span> then said, “__________________” and we began to dance. Our dance
was like ____________________. <span style="color: red;">MY “TO BE” BUCKET LIST</span> leaned over and whispered,
“__________________”. I finally understood that ________________.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What did you uncover about your “to be” bucket list? I <span style="color: red;">LOVE
</span>this Story Completion exercise! It’s one of my favorites! I hope you had some
fun with it!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I’d love to hear what you uncovered about your “to be”
bucket lists. Please share your findings below.</span><o:p></o:p></div>Cathleen Spacilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16881902758209965660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740609811247847740.post-14347453227749546742012-05-17T12:12:00.002-07:002012-05-17T13:03:29.429-07:00A Twist on the Bucket List<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CiqCJcqUzSM/T7VMdCJscEI/AAAAAAAAAMA/4fWXgYFF1ag/s1600/bucket+list.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CiqCJcqUzSM/T7VMdCJscEI/AAAAAAAAAMA/4fWXgYFF1ag/s200/bucket+list.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Remember the movie <b>The Bucket List</b> with Jack Nicholson and
Morgan Freeman? It went like this: Corporate billionaire Edward Cole and
working class mechanic Carter Chambers had nothing in common except for their
terminal illnesses. While sharing a hospital room together, they decide to
leave it and do all the things they have ever wanted to do before they die
according to their bucket list. In the process, both of them heal each other,
become unlikely friends, and ultimately find joy in life. Since then many
people have come up with their own “bucket lists” and in fact, I was involved
in a <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/" target="_blank">LinkedIN</a> Bucket List that a member on a “TED Group” started. He was trying
to make it the world’s largest collaborative bucket list.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But what if we changed the bucket list into something
different? What if we made the bucket list into who we want to become vs. what
we want to do in life? How would that change things? This was a question that
was asked of me this past weekend and I’ve put a lot of thought into it. I’m
guessing at this moment you might have some thoughts about this too…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p> </o:p> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here are some of the things that are on my bucket list of
who I want to become (and who I hope I already am). You may have similar wants
and you may have additional wants. This is where it gets fun! Not every person
is the same and that’s what makes it so interesting! So in the comments section
below, I think it would be great fun to hear everyone’s top ideas of who they
want to become or already are!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Now on to my list:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: red;">Be a GREAT
person in all my interpersonal relationships</span> – to me this means being an AMAZING mom, a SUPPORTIVE and LOVING wife, an AWESOME grandma, a daughter parents can be PROUD of, a sister who can be COUNTED ON, and a TRUE friend.
Sometimes interpersonal relationships can be tricky and can take a lot of
effort on our part. I can remember growing up and thinking my best friend was
the most important person in my life to me. We did everything together and
nothing could come between us. To this day we are still friends. There was a
time during my courtship with my husband where my total focus was on him and
nothing and no one else and all other relationships were set aside (I’m
embarrassed to say!) As I’ve grown older I’ve found a balance between all my
interpersonal relationships. I LOVE the time I spend being a mom! I LOVE the
time I have being a wife, a daughter, a GRANDMA, a sibling and a friend! I
think it’s important to find the right balance and to make every moment we
spend in our interpersonal relationships with all these people count! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: red;">Be a
happy and joyful person</span> – I know <i><span style="color: #0b5394;">I’m
responsible for my own happiness</span></i>. This is a job that takes daily effort.
Anyone can be happy and joyful, it just takes work. As most of you know I have
Bipolar Disorder and I have some days that are better than others, but I have a
choice to be happy and joyful or not. It takes effort. Also, <i><span style="color: #0b5394;">I focus on what I’m in control of</span></i>. There
are certain things that are completely out of my control and I need to let
those things go. That also helps me with my happiness. Another thing I do is <i><span style="color: #0b5394;">I keep commitments to myself</span></i>. When I
keep commitments to myself, like writing in my journal, keeping my house clean,
and being there for my daughters, this empowers me and gives me a feeling of
self-worth which increases my happiness. <i><span style="color: #0b5394;">I
practice gratitude</span></i>. I keep a gratitude journal every day. What I’m grateful
for grows and this increases my happiness. <i><span style="color: #0b5394;">I
live for the present</span></i>. I don’t dwell on the past and I don’t worry about the
future. I LOVE the present and cherish the time I have right now! This increases
my joy and happiness. <i><span style="color: #0b5394;">I am secure in who
I am</span></i>. I don’t let others drag me down or let the things that others say
about me (if they’re negative) get to me! I like to think of myself as
“bulletproof”. My value is infinite and absolute! <span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>I view others with kindness</i>.</span> I try to be as loving as I can. When I
try to focus on lifting other people up instead of worrying about myself, this
increases my happiness. And finally, <i><span style="color: #0b5394;">I
try to laugh as much as I can</span></i>! Laughter is the very best medicine! Norman
Cousins who wrote Anatomy of an Illness said “Hearty laughter is a good way to
jog internally without having to go outdoors.” So I suggest, laugh as much as
you can!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: red;">Be a
Woman of My Word</span> – I learned a long time ago that it’s important that when you
say you’re going to do something, you do it. It hurts when you’re counting on
someone to do something for you and they don’t follow through. And for this
reason, I have tried, and continue to try to be a woman of my word and do all I
can to follow through on what I say I’m going to do and be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: red;">Be Faithful </span>– Sometimes this is the hardest thing in life to be. It takes a lot of
faith sometimes when bad things happen to know that everything is going to be
okay. But in my life, even after all of the trials, and I’m sure, all of you
can say the same, having faith has brought you through, and things end up being
okay. So having that never wavering faith, and always remembering that God is
not going to give me anything more than I can handle, helps me to hold on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: red;">Be Courageous </span>– in times of pain and trials, to me it’s important to be
courageous. My daughter Savannah is the ultimate example of courage. In two
weeks she will be having her 27<sup>th</sup> surgery. I remember (there are
many things I have forgotten because of my TBI), but this I do remember, after
her initial brain tumor was resected, it caused hydrocephalus and she was in
the hospital and they were trying to get the levels of fluid regulated in her
brain and she would get the excruciating headaches. They also had to come and
draw blood every few hours and her veins were horrible (she took after me,
unfortunately), and they had a horrible time getting blood from her and it
seemed like she was in constant pain. I would sing to her the song from <b>Finding
Nemo</b> – “Just keep Swimming, Swimming, Swimming… Just keep Swimming, all night
long.” and she would sing along and stop crying. It helped her to focus on
something else other than the pain… She taught, and to this day teaches me so
much about courage. She has been the ultimate example to me!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Those are
just some of my “Want to Be” Bucket list items.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Please share
your thoughts and your ideas in the section below. I’d love to hear what’s on
your mind! And if you’ve come from the Brain Be Happy Notables Newsletter, don’t
forget to go back and read the rest of the info!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Many hugs,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cathleen</span><o:p></o:p></div>Cathleen Spacilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16881902758209965660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740609811247847740.post-9982812338857992192012-05-08T19:37:00.000-07:002012-05-08T20:08:10.419-07:00A Right Way of Thinking - Inspiration<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Okay, for some fun today in our “Right” Way of Thinking we’re
going to do some “What If” Journaling to uncover possibilities related to
<span style="color: red;">INSPIRATION </span>that you may not know or may not have seen before. So with some
colorful pens, pencils, crayons or any other colorful writing instruments and
paper, answer the following questions. (Remember, you can doodle too!) Now if
INSPIRATION is too broad of a topic for you, you might want to think of a
specific project that you are working on where you are finding it hard to find
Inspiration, and answer the following questions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If I was not afraid at all, I could…</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If I KNEW I could not fail, I could…</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Maybe it might work if…</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The craziest idea is…</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If I really believed in myself, I would…</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What if I finally was ready to…</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I’d love to hear what you uncovered about Inspiration, or
your project. Please share your findings in the comment section below!</span><o:p></o:p></div>Cathleen Spacilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16881902758209965660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740609811247847740.post-77029308190681612752012-05-08T19:30:00.001-07:002012-05-08T19:39:42.306-07:006 Simple Steps for Inspiration<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qyoQWv_rV0M/T6nWb-CdUfI/AAAAAAAAALo/sgRgGlsXQsQ/s1600/inspiration_road11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qyoQWv_rV0M/T6nWb-CdUfI/AAAAAAAAALo/sgRgGlsXQsQ/s320/inspiration_road11.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Have you ever just wanted to create something with your
hands but have had a mental block and although you know you want to create
something, it’s just not coming to you? Have you been asked to speak at an upcoming
event and been given a title, but have to come up with the “meat” of the
subject and it’s just not there? Have you committed to writing a blog every
week, but have run out of ideas for posts? Are you writing a book and you’ve
promised your editor copy by such and such a date, but have writer’s block? Have
you ever been assigned to teach a group something, but don’t know exactly how
to teach it? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I know I’ve been in almost all of those scenarios and it’s
not a fun place to be when inspiration seems nowhere to be found. So where do
you get your inspiration? How does inspiration come to us? Doesn’t it feel so
GREAT when you have figured out exactly how it is that you’re supposed to give
that certain speech? Don’t you just feel awesome when you’re supposed to teach
a lesson and all the pieces just all seem to fit together? <span style="color: red;">INSPIRATION </span>– true inspiration,
is what I’d like to talk about today. I find JOY when I’m inspired. There are
things we can do that allow us to be inspired, personally and professionally.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: red;">Having a positive attitude</span> – when we forge ahead, working on
a project with a positive attitude, it is only a positive outcome we will see.
If I am working on a project and I’m dealing with angry, hurt or defensive
emotions, nothing is going to come to me that will be worthwhile. Having that
positive attitude gets the creative wheels-a-turning and the inspiration is
more apt to happen.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: red;">Having a good sense of humor</span> – in this life, there are so
many times we have to be serious, or do we? I say, let’s look at things in a
silly way! Let’s make a funny face out of the facts! How many times have you
been taught a lesson by someone when they’re cracking jokes and you remember
what they’re teaching because they are having fun and have a sense of humor vs.
someone who teaches with all seriousness? Someone once said, “A sense of humor
is an escape valve for the pressures of life.” I totally agree!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: red;">Staying quiet</span> – sometimes while working on something and you’re
having times of no inspiration, it is important to just stay quiet and listen…
sometimes the answers are there and we are too noisy to notice the inspiration.
The answers can be in nature. It could be by someone saying something around
us. It could be a thought that comes to our mind but because we are being too
noisy with our mouths we can’t hear with our ears. Just stay quiet.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: red;">Practicing good health</span> – Exercise, reasonable amounts of
sleep, and good eating habits increase our capacity to receive and understand inspiration.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: red;">Capturing your Dreams</span> – keep a notebook by your bed! Inspiration
can be given in a dream when there is an almost imperceptible transition from
sleep to wakefulness. If you strive to capture the content immediately, you can
record great detail, but otherwise it fades rapidly. Often times, dreams are
very personal and when they are it makes it easier to understand and more
likely to touch our hearts by teaching us through someone we love and respect. Make
sure you capture these bits of inspiration by writing them down!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: red;">Trusting in your Higher Power</span> – for me this is God. When He
has our trust, He will guide us! Sometimes I find myself saying “But I can’t
handle it!” Those are the times that I have to give in and I hear my Heavenly
Father say, “Then give it to me, and I will handle it”. I have to remember that
God didn’t put me here on earth to fail, but to succeed gloriously! He wants me
to be inspired! He wants me to inspire others through my CREATIVITY and through
this I find JOY!</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Do you have a positive attitude? Do you have a good sense of
humor? Are you listening intently? Do you practice good health? Are you capturing
inspiration from your dreams? Do you trust in your Higher Power? If you’re
practicing these things, the chances of you being inspired to create better
works of art, better speeches, teach better lessons, write better blogs and
books will greatly improve by implementing these six simple steps. Let me know
if you practice any of these six simple steps and how they’ve worked for you.
What other things inspire you? I’d love to know this too! I LOVE feedback! And
for those of you who came here by way of <i>Brain Be Happy Notables</i>, don’t forget
to go back and read the rest of the exciting info!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Many hugs,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cathleen</span><o:p></o:p></div>Cathleen Spacilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16881902758209965660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740609811247847740.post-61727182748581329712012-04-30T14:51:00.001-07:002012-04-30T16:08:09.801-07:00A Right Way of Thinking - Visual Journaling<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For those of you who know me, I have spent a lot of time
doing work in the right side of my brain and helping others to do the same…
This is the creative side of your brain and it is also the area of the brain
where we are able to solve problems. When we engage the right side of our
brains, amazing things happen and we see things in a whole different light, so
each week I take you on a new adventure, into the land of right-brain thinking.
Come on, and play along!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Today I’d like to take the subject we’re focusing on –
JOURNAL WRITING and do something really fun! I talked up above about how I took
one whole page and wrote about GRATITUDE. Well, the other thing I didn’t tell
you, that some of you may already know about me, is that I LOVE Visual
Journaling, AKA Creative Journaling. I spend at least one day a week creating
something in my Creative Journal. My Creative Journal is a Mixed Media Journal
(I love the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003YIZ0HI/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=brbeha0b-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B003YIZ0HI" target="_blank">Strathmore Visual Journals</a>) where I just take a topic and create
something. So I challenge all of you to start a Creative Journal and I have
some prompts for you for your first page. For those of you who already have a
Creative Journal, this will be fun for you too!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Imagine you’re invited to a party in honor of GRATITUDE. Who
will be there? Where will it be held? What will transpire at the party? Now
write, sketch, make a collage, be creative, do whatever comes to mind and
create on your page whatever you’d like that tickles your fancy (as my Grandma
used to say - I LOVED that woman!). I’d
love to hear about what you’ve created. Leave me a comment below! Happy creating!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here's a couple of pages from my Visual/Creative Journal. The page on the left are my grandkids and the page on the right is ARTwork from my favorite mentor SARK!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>Cathleen Spacilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16881902758209965660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740609811247847740.post-5375839470805970322012-04-30T14:39:00.002-07:002012-04-30T14:39:34.196-07:00My LOVE - Journal Writing<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7rUQXpIwZ9M/T58DG-mbVFI/AAAAAAAAALQ/kA03R7WPj00/s1600/P4300060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7rUQXpIwZ9M/T58DG-mbVFI/AAAAAAAAALQ/kA03R7WPj00/s320/P4300060.JPG" width="292" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Every morning I start my day off with one of my favorite
self-care practices and that is writing in my journal. Journals come in various
shapes and sizes. Some are elegantly designed, some are cute and pocket-sized.
Some are known as “secret diaries”. I remember being about twelve years old and
having one that had a lock with a special key on it so no one could read what
was written inside. Heaven forbid anyone would read about my first kiss with my
cute “first love”, Jon, where I ran all the way home because I was SO in love
(and by the way, we never kissed again – I think we were both too embarrassed
by the whole experience). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Okay, so I digress…. Back to my favorite self-care practice.
My journals are very simple. I just use 3-ring spiral notebooks, the kind that
you can get four for a dollar at the back-to-school sales (That’s when I stock
up!) I used to do all of my journal writing on the computer, but there is just
something about letting the pen move across the pages, that is so relaxing and
makes me feel like I’m in a whole different space, a different world. It’s a
feeling you have to experience. Just try it out!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I so look forward to this time that I have to spend with
myself. As most of you know, and those of you who don’t know can read my story
<a href="http://www.brainbehappy.com/about/cathleen/" target="_blank">here</a>, after I lost my memory, it took me several months to dive into my
journals, as sporadic as they were. It was a very traumatic thing for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What I learned about the old Cathleen (this is who I refer
to pre-brain injury), is that the only time I spent writing in my journals was when I was
upset, angry, or was just having a bad day. So when I read the journals, all it
did was help me to remember bad times. Not a fun experience. I decided from
that time on that I wasn’t going to use my journal writing that way and that I was going to become an every day journal writer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">About that same time I was involved in ARTbundance
Certification and Training with Marney Makridakis of <a href="http://www.artellaland.com/affiliates/jrox.php?id=1611" target="_blank">Artellaland</a> and was introduced to <a href="http://juliacameronlive.com/" target="_blank">Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’sWay”</a>. What a blessing. I went to her website and learned that she had a
practice called “<a href="http://juliacameronlive.com/basic-tools/morning-pages/" target="_blank">Morning Pages</a>” What Julia says is “In order to retrieve your
creativity, you need to find it. I ask you to do this by an apparently
pointless process I call the morning pages.” On the website it also says this:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of
consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. There is no wrong way
to do Morning Pages– they are not high art. They are about anything and
everything that crosses your mind– and they are for your eyes only.
Occasionally colorful, more often than not Morning Pages are negative,
fragmented, repetitive or bland. Good!
Worrying about your job, the laundry, the weird look your friend gave
you – all that stuff distracts you from your creativity. It eddies through your
subconsciousness and muddies your day. Get it on the page first thing in the
morning and move on with your day with a freer spirit.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Julia does say “negative”, however I didn’t want to have to
read NEGATIVE again if I ever lost my memory, and I still have trouble with my
short term memory, so as I try to live JOY every day of my life, I do try to
keep it more on the JOYful side. I am human, so there are times, when I do have
to let off steam, and so this is a great outlet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But then I changed this up a bit. There has been so much
talk about how important it is to have a gratitude journal and how when you write
and talk about gratitude, it grows. So I take the last page, the third page and
write about those things that I’m grateful for. There are days, when I have so
much to say that I spend 3 pages writing about other things, but then I spend
the next page writing about those things that I’m grateful for. When I first
started this practice, I had to think real hard about the things I was grateful
for, but as I did this every day, those things grew, and grew and grew and I
look forward every day to writing about all those things that make me happy,
the things that bring me JOY and the things that make my life what it is today!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So what about you? Do you have some experiences with writing
in journals? I’d love to hear about your experiences and what has transpired
for you! Leave your comments below! And if you’ve come from the newsletter,
Brain Be Happy Notables, don’t forget to go back and read the rest of the
exciting info!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Many hugs,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cathleen</span><o:p></o:p></div>Cathleen Spacilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16881902758209965660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740609811247847740.post-15195230017940588942012-04-24T12:10:00.001-07:002012-04-24T13:15:13.806-07:00Random Acts Word Collage<div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For those of you who know me, I have spent a lot of time
doing work in the right side of my brain and helping others to do the same…
This is the creative side of your brain and it is also the area of the brain
where we are able to solve problems. When we engage the right side of our
brains, amazing things happen and we see things in a whole different light, so
each week I take you on a new adventure, into the land of right-brain thinking.
Come on, and play along!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Today I’d like to take the subject we’re focusing on –
<span style="color: red;">RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS</span> and make a <span style="color: red;">WORD COLLAGE</span>. With colorful pens, pencils or
markers and a blank piece of paper, write down a bunch of words that come to
mind when you think of<span style="color: red;"> RANDOM ACTS OF KINDESS</span>. Try playing with writing them in
different colors and different styles, so that you’re left with an assortment
of words that express how you feel about our subject today! You might even want
to make some doodles on your page too! Pictures and doodles always make me
smile!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Once you’re finished with your word (and doodle) collage,
post it in your work or living space as a reminder to be involved in random
acts of kindness throughout your week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Let me know what you thought of this right-way activity. You
can post your comments below!</span><o:p></o:p></div>Cathleen Spacilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16881902758209965660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740609811247847740.post-83837633635168676042012-04-24T12:04:00.000-07:002012-04-24T13:12:31.810-07:00A Week of Random Acts of Kindness<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This past weekend at church, it was suggested that we have a
week where we be involved in random acts of kindness. I LOVE that idea, a whole
group of people working together to provide random acts of kindness! Can you
imagine how many “feel goods” are going to take place this week?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My friend Mary shared a story of how she had been working on
and focusing her time on random acts of kindness. She was at the grocery store
during the 5 o’clock rush and she was in the 20-items-or-less check-out counter
and the bagger was just talking her leg off and not moving very quickly. People
behind her were getting a little annoyed but she just felt like she needed to
listen to this man, so she did. She remembered her “random acts of kindness”
project she had been working on and listened intently. As soon as he was done
bagging her groceries, he said “Thank you so much for listening to me. My wife
passed away a few months ago and I’ve been really lonely and haven’t had anyone
to listen to me for quite a while. It meant a lot to me that you would listen
to me.” Now that didn’t take my friend any money to do. It didn’t take her any
excessive amount of time, and it meant the world to this man! You never know
how you’re going to make a difference in someone’s life by providing these acts
of service.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So today, I’m going to provide you with some ideas of how
you might provide some random acts of service. There is also a really great
website devoted to “random acts of kindness”. You might want to take a look. It’s
<a href="http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/">www.randomactsofkindness.org</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Say “Good Morning”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Saying hello to someone even if you don’t know them, is a
common courtesy. It means you are acknowledging their presence; you are saying
that they are a person, too, and that they are important enough for you to say
hello to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Offer a Couple Hours of Free Babysitting to Parents<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Many parents of young children can’t afford to go out as
much as they like because they don’t have time, or can’t afford the added
expense of a babysitter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Help Someone for Free<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It’s easy to put time and effort into tasks if we’re doing
them for ourselves or getting paid to do them. But what about doing work for
others when you aren’t getting paid? Why not do a job like mowing the lawn,
cleaning the house or babysitting for someone, and surprise him or her by not
charging?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Give Carepacks to Homeless<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There are so many everyday accessories and toiletries we
take for granted – toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, deodorant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hold the Door Open for Someone<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Holding the door open for someone is something they just do
in old movies, right? Guess again. Holding the door open is a polite and
thoughtful act you can easily do for your family, friends and even strangers,
every day. Whether you’re at school, the grocery store, at work, or at home,
those around you will certainly appreciate your good manners.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Let Someone Go in Line in Front of You<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">With technology becoming more and more advanced, as a
society we get used to doing everything as quick as possible and getting
everything we want instantaneously. When we’re caught up in the fast-paced
world of today, we often forget to stop to notice those around us. So next time
you’re in a hurry in public, slow down and go out of your way to be courteous
to everyone around you. When you’re standing in the checkout line, waiting to
pay for your food at the grocery store or waiting to order your drink at a
coffee shop, offer to let the person behind you go in front of you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Make a New Friend Today<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Introduce yourself to a stranger and strike up a
conversation. Or, perhaps there is someone you’ve seen occasionally on the bus
or in the neighborhood. Ask them how they’re doing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Pay the Tab for the Person Behind You<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Have you ever experienced kindness for someone you don’t
know? Knowing that someone else noticed you can make your day a thousand times
better, especially if you’re feeling down. Celebrate those around you by doing
random acts of kindness for strangers, just for the sake of making someone else
happy. Pay the tab for someone behind you in line at the grocery store, gas
station or the drive-through. It doesn’t have to be costly, just friendly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Write a Letter to Someone Who Made a Difference in Your Life<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“<i>At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark
from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those
who have lighted the flame within us</i>.” ~Albert Schweitzer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Complain Less<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you enjoy the company of someone who’s positive, versus
spending time with someone who complains, you’re not alone. You have probably experienced
how being around someone who complains all the time can be draining and
sometimes downright frustrating. But how often do you, yourself complain? If
you find yourself complaining constantly, it can be an extremely hard habit to
break. But when you do overcome it, you’ll be surprised at how much happier you
and those around you will be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Forgive Someone<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“<i>To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the
prisoner was you</i>.” ~Lewis B. Smedes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We all make mistakes. The next time someone wrongs you,
forgive them without hesitation. Carrying anger and resentment with you is bad
for your health and your relationships. Learn to let it go and forgive others.
Both you and the one you forgave will benefit from this act of kindness. You
will be amazed at how much lighter you feel when you forgive someone!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Make Someone Laugh<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You’ve probably heard the saying “Laughter is the best
medicine.” Well, there’s a lot of evidence that this saying is actually true.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Those are some of my favorites. Go on over to <a href="http://www.randomactsofkindess.org/">www.randomactsofkindess.org</a> and
check out some other ideas and see some of the stories. Let me know how you create random acts of kindness and how it's made a difference in your life! I'd love to hear all your ideas! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Many hugs,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cathleen<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">p.s. Oh, yeah, if you've come here by way of the newsletter, don’t forget to go back there! There’s some more great info waiting for you!</span></div>
<br />Cathleen Spacilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16881902758209965660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740609811247847740.post-75634464006652278492012-04-17T11:31:00.003-07:002012-04-24T12:13:19.727-07:00A "Right" Way to Think - Sense Lense<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For those of you who know me, I have spent a lot of time
doing work in the right side of my brain and helping others to do the same…
This is the creative side of your brain and it is also the area of the brain
where we are able to solve problems. When we engage the right side of our
brains, amazing things happen and we see things in a whole different light, so
each week I’m going to take us on a new adventure, into the land of right-brain
thinking. Come on, and play along!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Today I’d like to take the word happiness and I want you all
to think of the word happiness as an object. With colorful pens, pencils or
markers and a blank piece of paper, I want you to write down<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What happiness <span style="color: blue;">LOOKS </span>like?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What happiness <span style="color: #e69138;">SMELLS </span>like?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What happiness <span style="color: #6aa84f;">FEELS </span>like, when you touch it?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What happiness <span style="color: #a64d79;">TASTES </span>like?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Maybe now draw a picture of what those words you came up
with made you think of. If you’d like to
share you insights to this exercise, give me your comments below!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>Cathleen Spacilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16881902758209965660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740609811247847740.post-31195715343321987952012-04-17T11:22:00.000-07:002012-04-24T12:12:51.785-07:00Be Good to Yourself and Good to Others<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For
the past year I have been sending out “Happy Healers” to members of my
Community of Healing. They are e-mails that I send once a week with random
thoughts and suggestions on how to stay happy. Over the past year I have found
many blogs and websites that offer many suggestions to keep one happy. Over the
year, as I have read these blogs and websites and as I have done my own
research, there are two themes that hold true throughout… 1) You must have
self-care time and respect for yourself and 2) you need to be good to other
people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, what are the things that you are doing for yourself each
day to keep yourself happy? I know for myself, one of my most favorite things
in the world to do for myself is to take time every morning to write in my
journal. I spend 30 to 45 minutes writing. I write 2 pages of whatever is on my
mind and then the last page is all about gratitude, because I’ve been taught
that whatever I’m grateful for grows. I have seen this happen in my life.
The more I write about gratitude, the more things I have to write about!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There are many other things that I do throughout the day to
keep me happy and to keep my JOY alive, but what about you? What brings you JOY
when you’re taking care of yourself?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Now, as for being good to others… There are so many things
we can do to help others! Helping others begins with my family. I get up at
5:00 am to help my daughter get ready for school and get her off to school. To me, this IS Joy! I then help my husband get his breakfast before he scoots out the door to work. That too brings me Joy. From there I try throughout my day to be involved in “Random Acts of Kindness”…
This always brings me JOY! What about you? What brings you happiness as you
help others?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Below is a fun little graphic that I’ve created to give us
some ideas about “How we can Scatter Sunshine” to help us live happier and more
JOYfilled lives. Click on it and it should open into a new screen so you can see it in a larger view... Leave a comment below and let me know what you’re doing to
keep the sunshine burning bright in your lives!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Many hugs,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cathleen</span><o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">p.s Don't forget to click back to the e-zine to read the rest of the info! Don't want you to miss out on anything :-)</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.brainbehappy.com/scatter-sunshine/" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gMVr1s-O7cs/T42riRUP3FI/AAAAAAAAAKw/mXsJtmeONa0/s640/Scatter+Sunshine.jpg" title="Scatter Sunshine" width="489" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>Cathleen Spacilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16881902758209965660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740609811247847740.post-72404640069254289552012-03-28T15:11:00.001-07:002012-03-28T15:11:54.102-07:00Happy Times: The Brain Injured Mind and Change<a href="http://brainbehappy.blogspot.com/2012/03/brain-injured-mind-and-change.html?spref=bl">Happy Times: The Brain Injured Mind and Change</a>: Written Saturday, March 17, 2012 I am a positive person. I am a happy person. I seek to find JOY in my life every day. I teach oth...Cathleen Spacilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16881902758209965660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740609811247847740.post-19713397176378236802012-03-28T15:05:00.001-07:002012-03-28T15:08:51.013-07:00The Brain Injured Mind and Change<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><b>Written Saturday, March 17, 2012</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-63ln3eKZy1k/T3OL37fwTaI/AAAAAAAAAKk/kQnCVsZPAVA/s1600/left-brain-right-brain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-63ln3eKZy1k/T3OL37fwTaI/AAAAAAAAAKk/kQnCVsZPAVA/s320/left-brain-right-brain.jpg" width="302" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I am a positive person. I am a happy person. I seek to find
<span style="color: red;"><b>JOY </b></span>in my life every day. I teach others how to find <b><span style="color: red;">JOY </span></b>and purpose in their
lives every day. I have systems and tools that allow me to function and exist
in a world that at one time made it very difficult for me to live in a world
that was very confusing to me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">About a month ago, we received notice from our landlord that
the house we had been living in for 10+ years had been sold. They gave us a 30
day notice to vacate. My first response, no emotion. I just thought, this is
something that was meant to be. I thought, maybe this is a message that we are
to find a better place that where we had been living and as my husband always
says to me, “We will be fine.” We always are.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The next week I ended up in the hospital with some medical
problems and then 2 weeks later was back in the hospital. During this time, my
husband was looking for a place for us to live, with no luck in finding a
place. This may have been because he was trying to take care of me, take care
of our daughter and trying to run the auto and marine shop, AND trying to find
a place to live… Whatever the reason, he wasn’t able to find a place.
Eventually, we did find a place to live 2 weeks ago and then my WORRY started
to set in… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I kept telling myself that CHANGE was a good thing. I kept
telling myself all the positives of moving. I would tell myself that we would
meet new people and new friends; that the place we were moving to was much
bigger than where we had lived before; that it was a much newer place than
before.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My real fears: I have short-term memory issues… How will I
remember where things are? I know where everything is in my old house. It’s
taken me 2 years to figure out where everything is. How will I find everything
once we have everything all boxed up? What if I lose important things and I can’t
find them?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My husband kept saying, “Everything will be fine.” I trusted
him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I told him that I thought the faster we did the move, the
better. I said if we did the move over a weekend, we could get a lot of help
and we could just box things up and then move and unbox everything and I wouldn’t
forget too much. So we agreed to that. Then I got notice from my doctor that I
wasn’t supposed to do anything, because my heart wasn’t doing so well, and I
was supposed to stay off my feet, so our plan wasn’t going to work so well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I had a friend come in on a Monday who started packing
things up for me, a couple more friends came in on Tuesday to pack some more
things up. By Wednesday the doctor said I could start packing and lift light
boxes. So I started to do that. Then my husband said we could start moving some
of the light furniture and then we planned to have several people help us on
Saturday to get the BIG stuff moved… I thought it would all be done by
Saturday. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As the days rolled by, I couldn’t believe how much we had
accumulated over 10 years. Half of it was in the basement and since I had lost
my memory, I had blocked out of my mind what was there… My brain could only
handle so much. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">By Thursday, at 11:30 pm, the last of everything was moved
out of the house.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">By Friday morning, my brain was on overload and although I
had spent several day working in the new house putting things away and keeping
most every room situated like I had “pictured them” in the old house for
familiarity purposes, there was still so much that was missing in my brain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There were close to 200 boxes in the Garage that needed to
be handled – weeded through to figure out what needed to be given away, garage
sold, or kept – a task that is difficult for a brain damaged brain… This is a
task that I have been doing for almost a week now – setting parameters – only one
parameter – Do I really need this? Does this fill my brain with cluttered
thoughts? If it does, it goes. If it helps me, it stays.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I’ve become a minimalist. This is good for a survivor of
brain injury. Keeping things as simple as possible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Have I found JOY in this process? Definitely! I have found
things that have brought back memories from my childhood. I guess before my
memory loss I kept everything that was sentimental to me – clear back from when
I was a child – and those memories were GRAND! Has it been an emotional
process? Absolutely! I have cried most every day – but with tears comes growth.
Has it been worth it? Yes! It’s getting rid of the Old and Starting Fresh! It’s
getting rid of the cobwebs and seeing things in a whole different light and
perspective. I feel a sense of newness, strength and vitality…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><b>Written March 28, 2012<o:p></o:p></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Life is so interesting… Just as you think you are moving
along, accomplishing what needs to be accomplished, roadblocks begin to spring
up in front of us, reminding us that we aren’t completely in control of our
lives. When we least expect it, things happen to remind us that, even though we
have plans of how we want things to go, shifts sometimes need to be taken, and
wake-up calls are, at times, things that we don’t think we can handle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On March 17, 2012 (the day I wrote the above), as I was
carrying in groceries, after a long day of running errands, taking a day off
from the process of going through boxes, I was walking up the stairs, hands
full of groceries and “POP”, I felt as if someone had shot me in the back of my
leg! After a trip to the Emergency Room, and a trip to the Orthopedic Surgeon 2
days later, I ended up in a non-walking cast and crutches because I tore the
tendons attached to my Achilles! My first thought when all this happened: “Now
how am I supposed to get through all these boxes? How am I supposed to
unclutter this mind of mine? Can this really be happening?” Then reality set in
and I realized that I couldn’t do anything for myself. Simple tasks that had
become so routine each day, I could no longer do: Make breakfast for Savannah
and I; make lunches; carry things from one room to the other (or from one end
of a room to the other end). I couldn’t carry anything because I needed both
hands on my crutches to get from point A to point B. Constant pain in my leg.
So many obstacles! How was I to get anything done?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Could I find <span style="color: red;"><b>JOY </b></span>in this new challenge? I searched each day
trying to find meaning in all of it. I teach <b><span style="color: red;">JOY</span></b>. I live <b><span style="color: red;">JOY</span></b>. I start each day
out feeling <span style="color: red;"><b>JOY</b></span>. But could I really find JOY in everything that was happening
to me?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There are moments of peace and tranquility where I do feel a
sense of JOY. There are moments of intense sadness and intense pain. There are
conversations with God where I ask why? The answers I receive are of comfort. Thank
heaven for those feelings of comfort. It’s what gets me through the day!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There are times when I think all of this confusion, with all
of my health issues, moving and now being injured and not being able to sort
through and unclutter my confusion is a test on whether I really can feel <b><span style="color: red;">JOY
</span></b>all of the time. Well, I’ve earned an “A” on the test. Right now as I sit here
I’m smiling and actually laughing at the whole situation because I do feel <b><span style="color: red;">JOY</span></b>.
It is actually quite funny! It has reminded me that all of those boxes sitting
in the garage probably don’t really need to be dealt with because I’ve been
doing just fine without all of their contents for the past 2+ weeks and maybe I
should just become a minimalist!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">With all joking aside, I won’t be in this cast forever, and
I will be able to resume the task of weeding through the boxes and will be able
to get back to what my task was that I spoke of earlier. This injury has just
helped me to be so grateful for working limbs that I did have and grateful that
I didn’t hurt myself any worse than I did. It makes me grateful for a loving husband
and daughter and many friends who have selflessly given of their time to help
me out and help me to do those things that I would normally do myself. I’m
learning patience (a trait that I may not have had much of before), and
although I would rather be spreading gifts of charity to others, I’m learning
that RECEIVING charity is as important as giving service (not an easy one for
me to learn).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">JOYfully,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cathleen</span></div>
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<br /></div>Cathleen Spacilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16881902758209965660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740609811247847740.post-43097081781555072302012-03-24T10:44:00.001-07:002012-03-24T10:57:10.312-07:00Creating Time Mega Event<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When something really intriguing and exciting comes my way,
I feel compelled to share it. And this is one of those cases. I'm totally
inspired by <a href="http://bit.ly/GZmbdj" target="_blank">The Creating Time Mega Event</a>...three FREE weeks of inspiration as
people all over the world will come together and welcome the ending of time as
we know it...and the beginning of an exhilarating new life! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>The Creating Time Mega Event</b> celebrates the release of the
new book, <i>Creating Time: Using Creativity to Reinvent the Clock and Reclaim
Your Life</i> by ArtellaLand.com founder Marney K. Makridakis, and I am so excited
and proud to <b>be a contributor to this book</b>! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>As a contributor I was able to share my thoughts and art as
it pertains to "the speed of love". I created a clock that describes
my interpretation of the speed of love
which, to me, includes my family, and other significant parts of my life and
when I'm "hurried" how the speed of love makes time much more
meaningful... It's sure to be an adventure as you read through the
contributions from many of my colleagues who have also contributed their
interpretations of "time".</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The <a href="http://bit.ly/GZmbdj" target="_blank">Creating Time Mega Event</a> starts April 2, and features 25
amazing luminaries inviting us to "time travel" as a collective
community to create a new paradigm of time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Have you noticed that time is moving faster than ever these
days? That it's virtually impossible to engage in or observe any conversation
that doesn't somehow bring up "time" in a negative context? That
"time" is the one thing that seems to hold most of us back from
living the lives we were born to live? I see this all the time in my work, and
I imagine that you do, too! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Now is <u>the</u> time for a new time! <b>The Creating Time Mega Event</b>
and this exciting movement can change the way we see and experience time
forever. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The <a href="http://bit.ly/GZmbdj" target="_blank">Creating Time Mega Event</a> is FREE and it all starts April
2, 2012 and runs for three amazing, life-changing weeks. You'll get inspiring
live webinars, daily email inspiration, dynamic time-shifting games and
challenges, a lively interactive community of fellow time-travelers, and so
much more. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I am excited for the ways that this ongoing flow of
innovative tools, techniques and ideas explored in this event <u>will</u> shift our
experience of time forever. And on a personal level, I'm really excited to be
part of this book and I appreciate your support of my contribution. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://bit.ly/GZmbdj" target="_blank">Learn more and sign up here</a>! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Many hugs,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cathleen</span><o:p></o:p></div>Cathleen Spacilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16881902758209965660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740609811247847740.post-1402673555953027442012-02-29T16:48:00.000-08:002012-02-29T16:48:14.378-08:00Happy Times: Feeling Kind of Funky?<a href="http://brainbehappy.blogspot.com/2012/02/feeling-kind-of-funky_29.html?spref=bl">Happy Times: Feeling Kind of Funky?</a>: Do you ever feel like life just isn’t going your way? Do you feel like sometimes the whole world is just out to get you? Well, there ar...Cathleen Spacilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16881902758209965660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740609811247847740.post-13154092655447055902012-02-29T16:15:00.001-08:002012-02-29T16:33:51.789-08:00Feeling Kind of Funky?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="http://blogs.whatsontv.co.uk/movietalk/wp-content/gallery/news-muse-week-36/pout-baby1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="185" src="http://blogs.whatsontv.co.uk/movietalk/wp-content/gallery/news-muse-week-36/pout-baby1.jpg" width="200" /></span></a>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Do you ever feel like life just isn’t going your way? Do you
feel like sometimes the whole world is just out to get you? Well, there are
some things that I’ve learned in my life that have helped me to stay out of
Funkville and have kept my attitude in check and me feeling cheery!</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000; text-indent: -0.25in;">1. Start your day with a nice warm bath (or a shower
if you prefer)</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">My daughter is constantly famous for telling me in the morning (especially on
the weekends), “I don’t feel good!” or “I have a headache!” Now mind you, she
does live with a shunt, because she does have hydrocephalus, and it does cause
her to have headaches, but all I need to say is, “Go get in the shower and
you’ll feel better.” She does and you know what? She always feels better! I know
for myself, as soon as I have had my bath and have cleaned myself up for the
day, I have a whole new outlook on the world and life! Watch out baby, here I come!</span></span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>2, Dress to impress</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Make sure you are doing this because you care what you think about yourself,
not because you care what others are thinking about you. . I know that when
I’ve done my makeup and hair and put on a slammin’ outfit, I feel really good
about myself. If I don’t do that, and just put on some sweats, I feel frumpy
and my self-esteem isn’t what it should be. So care enough about yourself to
look GREAT!</span></span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="text-indent: -24px;">3,</span><span style="text-indent: -24px;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Be around people you LOVE!</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It’s hard to have a negative attitude around people you love! I love to be with
my family and friends – especially my grandkids! They bring so much joy to my
life! LOVE is a great emotion that brings about positive feelings in your
heart, mind and soul. This will only help you to have a great attitude.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="text-indent: -24px;">4,</span><span style="text-indent: -24px;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Laugh!</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I’ve mentioned this before and I’ll mention it again, “Laughter is the best
medicine”. Be around people that make you laugh. Find a Laughter Yoga group to
be a part of. Find comedy movies to watch – old Laurel and Hardy movies –
they’re GREAT! Just find something to make you laugh!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>5<span style="text-indent: -24px;">, </span> <span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Write</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Writing is another one that I have mentioned before. I write in a journal every
day. Sometimes there are days when I feel like something is wrong but I can’t
put my finger on what it is that is wrong and I start writing and before I
finish I have figured it out. Writing is like a problem solver for me. This is
a great way to change a bad mood into a good mood quickly just using a pen and
paper. It’s important to note that you really should use paper and pen/pencil
instead of a computer, because there is something that happens in the
creative/right sides of our brains (where problem solving occurs) when we use
those writing instruments vs. computers that helps us solve our problems. Make
this a habit and it will become a best friend to you.</span></span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="text-indent: -24px;">6,</span><span style="text-indent: -24px;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Early to bed, early to rise</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Part of this used to be hard for me because I used to love to stay up and play
on the computer or watch some of the late shows, but now I force myself to go
to bed by 10:00 pm. Because I’m bi-polar, getting 6 ½ to 7 hours of sleep is
BIG for me so I’m usually up by 4:30 or 5:00. I LOVE that time early in the
morning before anyone is up when I can meditate on the day I have before me and
take in the stillness and calm of the morning. It just sets such a great tone
for the day. Getting enough sleep every night gives your brain enough time to rejuvenate for another day of GREATness! So get plenty of sleep!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="text-indent: -24px;">7,</span><span style="text-indent: -24px;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Be Grateful</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Make it a habit every day to write in a gratitude journal. When I write in my
journal I leave one page at the end where I write all the things that I’m
grateful for. Some days the things are similar to previous days, other days
they are completely different. If a whole page is something that you don’t want
to tackle in the beginning, make a list of 5 things. Then that list will begin
to grow. Just start somewhere.</span></span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>8<span style="text-indent: -24px;">, </span> <span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Listen to Happy Music</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When you listen to uplifting and happy music you can’t help but feel happy and
joyful. Along with that comes a great attitude and sense of peace and
contentment. Sometimes I listen to calming music, and that can be good – but if
you’re in a funk, most often you’re going to need to listen to upbeat, happy
music to get you out of the funk! Dance to the music and get your endorphins
going!</span></span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="text-indent: -24px;">9,</span><span style="text-indent: -24px;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Take Some Time to Tidy Up</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Sometimes all you need is to take some time to pick up things around your
living/work space. When our living/work spaces are cluttered and messy our
brains become cluttered and messy and this leads to depressive thinking and can
put us in a FUNK. So take 15 minutes and cleanup. You’ll be glad you did!</span></span><br />
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I hope these 9 tips (there I go again with that favorite
number of mine) have been helpful and that they help you when you’re feeling
right down funkitated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here’s to a JOYfilled, happy attitude life!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hugs,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cathleen</span><o:p></o:p></div>Cathleen Spacilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16881902758209965660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740609811247847740.post-82495959390468442372012-01-12T08:04:00.000-08:002012-04-12T14:34:44.521-07:00Happy Times: The Precious Present<a href="http://brainbehappy.blogspot.com/2012/01/precious-present.html?spref=bl">Happy Times: The Precious Present</a>: There’s a book called the “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002VLVWAI/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=brbeha0b-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B002VLVWAI" target="_blank">Precious Present</a>” by Spencer Johnson It’s a great read and one of my favorite books. It’s not at all what you...Cathleen Spacilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16881902758209965660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740609811247847740.post-31433027676185491882012-01-12T08:02:00.000-08:002012-04-12T14:36:51.036-07:00The Precious Present<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qab9MJsTZYU/Tw8C9-Ac6XI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/Z9RHSX26thA/s1600/gift.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qab9MJsTZYU/Tw8C9-Ac6XI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/Z9RHSX26thA/s320/gift.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There’s a book called the “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002VLVWAI/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=brbeha0b-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B002VLVWAI" target="_blank">Precious Present</a>” by Spencer
Johnson It’s a great read and one of my favorite books. It’s not at all what
you think it’s about and unfortunately this post is kind of going to give the
message away… Sorry for that!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For those of you who don't know, for 40 years I suffered with mental illness before being diagnosed. I always knew something wasn't exactly right, I knew I was depressed, but I
thought it was my circumstances and I was always blaming whatever was going on around me for my depression.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In 2006, I somehow, somewhere, figured out that my husband
had hired a hit man to kill me. I contacted my family and explained to them why
I thought this was going to happen, told a very few close friends and I was
counseled to hire an attorney. With the help of the attorney, my husband was
served an order, and was removed from the home. He knew nothing of what was
going on… When he left for work in the morning and later that afternoon when I
talked to him by phone I asked him to pick up some bread and milk on the way
home from work. I didn’t want him to know anything was going on. When he came
out of work, he was met by a sheriff who presented him with the order and the
next few weeks were Hell!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One morning, about 8:00 am, I got up and was going about my
business and picked up my cell phone, which I never really did and noticed I
had a text message. I never received text messages. I opened it up and it was
from my husband. It said, “I’m sorry, I love you, the back door is open.” I
FREAKED OUT! It was like I woke up from a horrible dream, like someone flipped
on a light switch that had been turned off and I began to be hysterical and I
called 9-1-1… You see, I didn’t even know where he lived… I knew the basic
neighborhood, but because of the order, we weren’t allowed to have any contact,
so there was no reason for me to know. They transferred me to the city police
where he lived, I gave them the description of his car and they started to
drive up and down the streets and found his house. When they found him, he had
overdosed… He had taken enough pills (according to the doctors), to kill 4
horses and it had been in his system for 8 hours… He was barely alive… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">By the grace of God, my husband’s life was spared, and when
he was seeking help from a psychiatrist and I was with him at his appointment
and the Psychiatrist was asking him questions about the suicide attempt, the
details came out and I explained what had been going on in my head. It was at
that point that I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For those who don’t know my whole story, you can go to <a href="http://www.brainbehappy.com/about/cathleen/">http://www.brainbehappy.com/about/cathleen/</a>.
After losing my memory after my last psychotic episode, and reading journals of
my childhood and teenage years, I ended up beating myself up a lot about some
of the things that happened. I have even at times beat myself up about my
illness and how I have been a burden to my family, especially my children and
my husband.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I look back on several situations from my childhood and
teenage years and even into my twenties and wonder if the things that happened
in my life really happened or if they were psychotic events that I made up in
my head. Sometimes it really confuses me and I could spend hours, and even days
dwelling on it. But that doesn’t do me, my illness, or my family any good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The most important gift I can give myself, especially as a
person with a mental illness, is the precious present. Even those of you
without a mental illness… The present is the most precious thing we have. It
all comes down to choice. I love CHOICE. How are you going to choose to live
your life right here, right now? Are you going to choose happiness, joy and
peace? Or are you going to choose frustration, sadness and pain?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">God has blessed us with so many things in this world. He has
even blessed us with challenges. With these challenges even comes a choice. We
can choose how to handle these challenges. Are we going to choose to handle
them with a smile on our faces or are we going to grudgingly go muddling through
complaining about “poor me”?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I’m as guilty as the next person about not always being as
happy as I should be when a challenge is put in my path, but as I thought about
it this morning, I thought “I have a choice!” When I make the choice to choose
happiness and joy over sadness, frustration and pain, my present circumstances
don’t seem so challenging.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We can look to the future with hope! I choose to not dwell
in the past – it’s not where I want to be. But I love the precious present!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hugs to all!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cathleen </span><o:p></o:p></div>Cathleen Spacilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16881902758209965660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740609811247847740.post-76124977625201976392011-12-14T04:16:00.000-08:002011-12-14T04:16:27.222-08:00Life' Curves in the road<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">November 18th I was on a coaching chat with one of my amazing clients and as she wrote back a chat to me nothing she wrote to me made any sense... I told my husband that I didn't understand what was she had written and he said, "just tell her that you're having some confusion, as happens every once in a while from my TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), or so I thought, and that you'll have to talk to her later.". I told him he didn't understand... I told him I couldn't write her back. I didn't know why, I just couldn't. Usually when this happens, if I do something, like coloring, or doodling, to get the right side of my brain active, things in my brain seem to work themselves out and the confusion subsides and within a few minutes to an hour I'm okay again, but this time was different. I couldn't color, I got sick to my stomach and within just a few minutes I realized I couldn't talk. Before I knew it my husband was rushing me to the hospital, it was all a blur and come to find out I had a TIA, or a Transient Ischemic Attack, also known as a mini stroke. My symptoms lasted for about 3 hours but seemed like about 30 minutes to me. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This mini stroke was a big wake up call for me... My perspective on life changed and the things that I was putting emphasis on changed as well. There were things in my life that I had started that I hadn't finished and things I hadn't done that I wanted to do. I was also warned that this could be a precursor to a major stroke and that scared me as well. One of the projects that I had started before I had suffered my TBI and lost my memory is I had started to make a pieced queen sized quilt for my mom. When I found it after I lost my memory, I was amazed that I had done it. I had hand quilted 4 of the 25 12X12 pieces that still needed to hand quilted and I still needed to bind it. With Google's help, I relearned how to quilt and I just finished it a few days ago. Here are some pics of it...</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d6T7BcD1-rg/TuiPImBWkvI/AAAAAAAAAJk/klV_3_1lsww/s1600/PC080535.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d6T7BcD1-rg/TuiPImBWkvI/AAAAAAAAAJk/klV_3_1lsww/s320/PC080535.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SgMeKAwozMY/TuiP2AVPmwI/AAAAAAAAAJs/bZNuU2pImKQ/s1600/PC080539.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SgMeKAwozMY/TuiP2AVPmwI/AAAAAAAAAJs/bZNuU2pImKQ/s320/PC080539.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have spent the last 3 weeks undergoing several tests and the tests will continue this week... Nothing has been found yet but as I met with a neurologist last week he suspended my driving privileges. That was a real kick in the pants for me. That was taking away one of the things that was a big independence thing for me. I have a hard time relying on others for help and like to take care of things by myself. So there was a lesson for me to learn here. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You see, there is not one day that goes by where I don’t go
somewhere in the car. Our daughter Savannah has been having seizures for the past couple
of months and I usually have to go to her school every day to pick her up
because of the seizures and then there are the weekly errands that have to be
run, and the doctor appointments, and now with the holidays, there is Christmas
shopping and it’s just a busy time of the year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I knew not being able to drive was going to put a lot of pressure on my husband
and it was going to cause him to have to leave work on a daily basis to pick
Savannah up and that he would have to take time out of his busy schedule to do
the things that I normally do and initially that was really stressing me out…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The night that my license had been taken away, after everyone had gone to bed I sat there in the
dark with the Christmas tree lit and thought “Why am I not crying about all
that has been thrown at me?” Savannah’s seizures, the mini-stroke, the doctor's not being able to find any answers for me, now my
license being taken away from me… And then it came to me. The answer was
simple. I had made the decision several months ago to choose JOY. Because I had
made that decision, nothing that was put in my path was going to get me down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Although I may have frustration about all these things there
is a bright side to everything…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Savannah’s seizures are psychogenic and are treated with ART
Therapy and right brain therapy, which is something I've been studying for a
long time now and I teach to my clients… I know how to help her and I know how
to train those who work with her. That has been a blessing.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When it comes to weekly errands, it just forces me to be
more organized and to think through things a little more so that Steven can
make one trip instead of several small trips to get things done…</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As for Christmas shopping, I’ve found some great deals
online, and I don’t have to go out and fight the crowds and I can even save
money in gas.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I now have more quality time at home to focus on what really matters...</span></li>
</ul>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Those are just a few ways that I’ve chosen to look on the
bright side of life with the circumstances that have been thrown my way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">How have you chosen to look at life? Is it going to be a
win-win situation and can you look at things with a JOYfilled attitude?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Are you doing things in your life that make a difference and are you prepared if something traumatic happens? I know that I want to be prepared.!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Love and hugs to all!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cathleen</span></div>Cathleen Spacilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16881902758209965660noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740609811247847740.post-9093164887324859782011-11-20T07:53:00.001-08:002011-11-20T08:02:50.859-08:00Love from the Age of 4 to 8<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I receive many, many e-mails and today I spent the day
weeding through them. I came across this e-mail – and maybe many of you have
seen it before, but as far as I can remember (and because my memory doesn’t
always serve me so well), I had never seen this and it really touched my heart
so I wanted to share it here in Happy Times…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I hope this makes you smile, as it made me smile and I hope
it brings joy to you on this beautiful day!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Many hugs,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cathleen</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d2NXJbU10YM/TskkUSWOpFI/AAAAAAAAAJY/l_6Ks-1jO8g/s1600/children.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d2NXJbU10YM/TskkUSWOpFI/AAAAAAAAAJY/l_6Ks-1jO8g/s320/children.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A group of professional people posed this question to a
group of 4 to 8 year-olds, 'What does love mean?' The answers they got were
broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">“When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over
and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time,
even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.” ~Rebecca- age 8</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">“When someone loves you, the way they say your name is
different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.” ~Billy - age 4</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">“Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on
shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.” ~Karl - age 5 </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">“Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of
your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.” ~Chrissy - age 6
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">“Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.” ~Terri -
age 4 </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">“Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she
takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.” ~Danny -
age 7 </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired
of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy
are like that. They look gross when they kiss.” ~Emily - age 8 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you
stop opening presents and listen.” ~Bobby - age 7 (Wow!) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“If you want to learn to love better, you should start with
a friend who you hate.” ~Nikka - age 6 (We
need a few million more Nikka's on this planet) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he
wears it every day.” ~Noelle - age 7 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who
are still friends even after they know each other so well.” ~Tommy - age 6 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared.
I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He
was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.” ~Cindy - age 8 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone
else kissing me to sleep at night.” ~Clare - age 6 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.”
~Elaine-age 5 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still
says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.” ~Chris - age 7 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left
him alone all day.” ~Mary Ann - age 4 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all
her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.” ~Lauren - age 4 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and
little stars come out of you.” (What an image!) ~Karen - age 7 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“No matter how mad you get at them, you still don't want
them to ever leave.” ~Cody - age 6 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it.
But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.” ~Jessica - age 8 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once
talked about a contest he was asked to judge. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I want to be all of these things to you...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring
child. <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The winner was a four year old child whose next door
neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old
gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the
little boy said, <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Nothing, I just helped him cry.”</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>Cathleen Spacilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16881902758209965660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740609811247847740.post-23050568206565559042011-11-08T05:31:00.000-08:002011-11-08T05:31:19.915-08:00Balance Unexplained<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">All week I have strived to bring some sense of Balance into
my life. The more I try the more I feel challenged. So I guess my message today
is maybe as you work on trying to bring balance into your life, it’s important
to be kind to yourself as things in life become complicated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Each day I start my day off at 4:00 am. I have a morning
practice that keeps me grounded. This includes reading e-mail, reviewing my tasks for the day, organizing my thoughts, taking care of
Savannah, getting her ready for the day, reading scriptures with her and having family prayer, getting her off to school, etc. As
soon as Savannah is off to school, I go on a 30 minute brisk walk and then I
come home and take time to write in my journal, spending time in prayer,
meditation, self-healing with Reiki and Crystal Healing and spend time with
affirmations and then get cleaned up for the day. I also take some time to make
a little protein shake for my sweetheart and see him off to work. As I do all
of this, I feel centered. I feel like my day is off to a good start and that
whatever comes my way I will be able to handle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This past week, because of one thing or another, my morning
routine has been interrupted by THINGS. As I’m sure everyone is aware, things
in life happen and we just have to deal with them. But what happens when those
things start getting in the way of keeping us balanced?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After a whole week of interruptions, having days of
uncontrolled chaos, dealing with things that were completely out of my control,
I was completely out of balance, or so I thought<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I am a Creative Energy Life Coach and I teach the people I coach Balance. I
teach that we need to keep our lives balanced in four areas, Physically,
Mentally, Emotionally, and Spiritually. Well, I can tell you I was spending a
lot of time speaking to my Heavenly Father but it seemed like the other three
areas all went by the wayside and as hard as I tried those things just seemed
to go further and further in the hole.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So what do we do at that point in time?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Well, it occurred to me last night as I was coaching one of
my sweet mentees, that sometimes life throws you lemons and you really just
have to do what you can to make lemonade… All you can do is the best you can
do. You can start your day out the best you can – planned as you have planned
it. You set time in your schedule to do something to keep your brain active. I
know for me, as I was running around last week to all of the appointment my
daughter had to attend, I kept a word search book in my purse and I worked in
that… That kept my brain <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;"><i><b>Mentally</b> </i></span>Active. <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;"><i>Emotionally</i></span></b>, I tried my very hardest to look on the bright side and find
the positives of why my daughter had ended up in the hospital. Amazingly enough I did find many
positives. We were able to find a diagnosis for Savannah and now know how to treat her seizures and I was able to network with many doctors and specialists about
BrainBeHappy.com . In the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;"><i><b>Spiritual</b> </i></span>aspect of things, I did become closer to my Heavenly Father through the
trials that were put in my path. Every day I tried to keep myself hydrated, and get some type of exercise and I tried to eat as healthy as possible (although it was a little difficult being away from home as much as I was). In the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;"><i><b>Physical</b> </i></span>area, I tried. I may not have been as successful in this area as the others, but at least I tried. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So looking back, did my life seem balanced?
NO! Definitely not at the time, and definitely at the end of the week I did a little beating up of myself. Do I feel like I achieved the things I set out to do? NO! But did life
happen the way that Heavenly Father wanted it to happen? YES! Sometimes
Heavenly Father has different plans for us and sometimes we don’t understand
what those plans are and why we’re going through what it is that we’re going
through and sometimes it takes quite a while before we understand, but it’s
important for us to understand that the Balancing Act that is HIS Balancing Act
makes much more sense than the one we have in mind for ourselves.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So my message today is let go, let God. He is in control.
You’re not! These feelings of frustration and pain will subside and you will be
able to get back to your life of normalcy when it’s time for normalcy as you
see it. This too shall pass!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Many hugs and lots of love,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cathleen</span><o:p></o:p></div>Cathleen Spacilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16881902758209965660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740609811247847740.post-38324741196026263192011-10-30T17:12:00.000-07:002011-10-30T17:12:37.792-07:00An Amazing Woman Named Rose<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #e3e4a2;"></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I was "stumbling" on one of my favorite websites, Stumbleupon and ran across this post. It just made me smile and so I thought I would pass it on... I was amazed when I saw that this post had 233,440 views and 140 comments! To see the original post, I've put the link at the bottom. Enjoy!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.<br /><br />I turned round to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.<br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><br /></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vQj4QeUAgz8/Tq3nMCrpdxI/AAAAAAAAAI4/VX6xeT4vNmc/s1600/red-rose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vQj4QeUAgz8/Tq3nMCrpdxI/AAAAAAAAAI4/VX6xeT4vNmc/s200/red-rose.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose.<br /><br />I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?"<br /><br />I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze.<br /><br />"Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked.<br /><br />She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids..."<br /><br />"No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.<br /><br />"I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" she told me.<br /><br />After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake.<br /><br />We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.<br /><br />Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went.<br /><br />She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.<br /><br />At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet.<br /><br />I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor.<br /><br />Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know."<br /><br />As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, "We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.<br /><br />There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.<br /><br />We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!<br /><br />There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.<br /><br />If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.<br /><br />Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets.<br /><br />The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets."<br /><br />She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose."<br /><br />She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.<br /><br />At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago.<br /><br />One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">www.helpothers.org/story.php%253Fsid%253D6528</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>Cathleen Spacilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16881902758209965660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740609811247847740.post-16554282182765225492011-10-24T04:47:00.000-07:002011-10-24T04:59:01.568-07:00Random Acts of Kindness<br />
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<i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">No Act of Kindness, no matter how small… is ever wasted.
~Aesop</span></b></i></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><b>“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking
creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.” ~Lao Tzu</b></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">These are just a few examples of people showing random acts
of kindness and these come from a great website <a href="http://www.givesmehope.com/">www.givesmehope.com</a>!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Many years ago, I received a letter in the mail. I’m sure it
was at least 25 years ago. But to this day, it seems like it was just
yesterday. It was on the prettiest stationery, peach colored linen, addressed
to me, with no return address. I opened it up and read it. I would share it
word for word, but it’s too personal and, well basically, this woman told me
how much she admired me, made me feel like a million bucks and signed it “A
sister in the Gospel”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I can’t tell you how much that letter meant to me. You see,
at that time, I was a single mom, was working full time, trying my very best to
be the “perfect mom”, trying to do everything that was expected of me in every
sense of the matter, and was trying to prove to myself that I could really make
it! It made such a difference in my life that someone else had noticed how hard
I was trying and that they took the time to let me know that they had noticed.
But the thing that was absolutely amazing to me is that this person didn’t want
anything in return. They didn’t need any praise, they just wanted to give and
didn’t want anything back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I’ve often thought of this person and as I’ve gone
throughout my life, her example has reminded me, that I need to live a life of
service. That I need to do my very best to spend time doing Random Acts of
Kindness, like she did.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Recently, I read a little paragraph in a fellow blogger’s
post about paying it forward and it made me smile. At a toll booth, he paid for his vehicle’s
fee and the one behind him. That car
would then approach the toll booth to find out that their fee has been paid. Sure,
it costs a few dollars. But the thrill
of doing something nice and completely unexpected for an unsuspecting perfect
stranger, who will never know who was ahead in line and therefore will never
know who to thank or give credit to, is a great way to remind others that there
is still a world full of kindness and generosity out there. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I think the concept of paying it forward is so wonderful for
a number of reasons:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1) By doing something like this, it helps us to remember, “How
can I create a little happiness for someone?” or “How can something I do let
someone know, with no strings attached, that kindness is still present in
others?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2) It’s centered around giving rather than receiving. It’s important to be gracious when receiving,
however giving is a gift unto itself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">3) It’s joyful both ways.
Doing something nice for a perfect stranger can generate an unmatched
feeling of pure joy. You can’t help but
feel amazing JOY in your heart and can you imagine what that other person
feels?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>WHAT YOU PUT OUT INTO THE UNIVERSE COMES BACK TO YOU TENFOLD<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have learned from experience that when we commit an act of
kindness for others, for strangers, it’s only a matter of time before that
kindness comes back to us. Being kind is
a gift that gives both to the giver and the receiver. Call it “what goes around comes around”. But that is not the reason for doing this… My
main reason for doing this, is the satisfaction and feeling I get from seeing
the joy on that other person’s face of JOY and the feelings of JOY I have as
the ACT is produced! Call if what you want and do with it what you want, just
do it!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What are some random
acts of kindness you can perform today?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Kindness is in our power, even when fondness is not. ~Samuel Johnson</b></span></i><o:p></o:p><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Many Joyful Hugs to all,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cathleen</span></div>Cathleen Spacilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16881902758209965660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3740609811247847740.post-40864148963473928592011-09-12T04:12:00.000-07:002011-09-12T04:17:07.450-07:00There is a Light at the End of the Tunnel<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Yesterday at the end of my 3 day Telesummit, <a href="http://www.choosingjoytelesummit.com/">Choosing Joy! Conquering Life's Challenges and Coming Out on Top</a>, <a href="http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/thankyouforhelpingme">Joshua Home Edwards</a> was interviewing me and asked me if there was any time I felt hopeless and if there was what it was that I would tell someone who was feeling hopeless if they were in that position and couldn't get past that feeling.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One of the the things I would tell them is "There's a light at the end of the tunnel". <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">I
had some very abusive relationships in my teens and into my 20s and at one time was even
raped. “There’s a light at the
end of the tunnel and keep going” is something that my sweet sister said to me
after I was raped many years ago. I didn’t understand how something so horrible
could have happened to me. I guess I used this statement a few times with my
adult daughter, Mandy, as she was growing up because Mandy, has a really good friend,
we’ll call her Stephanie, whose husband left her for another woman after eight
years of marriage. She was devastated and didn’t know what to do with herself
and had even become suicidal. My daughter had become very distraught over the
whole situation and not only were they friends, but my daughter was also her
boss. She sent a text to my daughter one morning and said she was on the
bathroom floor crying and had been there most of the night and couldn’t get up
and didn’t want to go on. My daughter told me that normally she would just text
her back and say, “Why don’t you take the day off, take care of yourself, stay
in bed, you’ll feel better tomorrow.”, But instead, she told her to get up,
wash her face, put some cute jeans, get in her car, stop at Jamba Juice, get a
drink with extra Vitamin B and come into work.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
My daughter called me and was very upset. I told her she had done the right
thing! A few minutes later, my daughter sent me the following text: It said,
this is what I sent Stephanie: Imagine your life like it’s a train. Sometimes
it has to work SO hard to get up the mountain. Sometimes it’s going so fast
that the time just flies by! Sometimes there is GREAT scenery and sometimes
it’s just blah. Sometimes it needs to stop and get refueled. And sometimes it
goes thru tunnels. Sometimes these tunnels are straight and it seems scary, but
you can see the light at the end. And sometimes the tunnels have twists and
turns in them like a kinky curl… It makes it hard to see. You just keep going
but don’t know when it will end or when you will see the light at the end… But
Stephanie… There is an end! And at the end of this dark, creepy, cold winding
tunnel is going to be the most beautiful scene your eyes have seen! There is an
end and Heavenly Father has SO much in store for you!! This too shall pass.
Trust me Stephanie. This is NOT going to last forever. I promise! You are just
around the corner… Keep going! If you shut your engine down and just stay in
the tunnel, you won’t get to see the beauty!! “I think I can. I think I can. I
know I can. I know I can. Hey! I can!” That is what we taught my 5 year old
sister fighting a brain tumor and everything that went with it. Now toot your
horn and keep going!<br />
<br />
So I sent Mandy a response: “Can I just say you’re amazing! She’s so lucky to
have a good friend like you and I’m extremely lucky to have a daughter like
you!”<br />
<br />
She responded: “Thanks mama. I just wish
I could reach down there and pull her up. I would hold onto her until she found
the strength to climb up. My heart is just breaking because I know the pain she
is feeling and I just want to make it go away.<br />
<br />
I said, “I know. But this is her own trial and it’s making her into the
daughter of God He intended her to become!”<br />
</span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
I was so proud of Mandy, but I was so thankful that I had a sister who was so
wise to share with me that amazing analogy that not only helped me, but helped
my daughter and helped her friend who had also become suicidal. Her friend, by
the way is doing great now!</span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I hope we can find hope when we feel hopeless, and know that there is a God who cares deeply for us and never wants us to give up, that want us to endure to the end, and eventually, we will see that light at the end of the tunnel and it will be worth it - I promise!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">Joyfully,</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">Cathleen</span></span></div>
Cathleen Spacilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16881902758209965660noreply@blogger.com0