Toes in the water, Ass in the sand...

That's the lyrics in a song I'm listening to. The fella was like, "life is good today" ... I thought, my god that's perfect. Sitting there on the beach, toes in the water, ass in the sand with a cold beer in your hand. (just one or two, unless you have to drive) I'm not a fan of drinking in the heat but relaxing and having no place in particular to go sure seems enticing.

Body kissed by the sun, what a great description. Don't you think? I do... There's so much trash in musi today where they're just "out there" with references about sex, dating and drugs too. I'm on the polite end of things because I don't think we need to get all that raunchy when we've got a perfectly good imagination going for us.

I mean can you just visualize sitting some where by yourself, relaxing, having nothing to do? Maybe bring a significant other with you or just a friend period.

Sometimes, in life, we get trapped up in our responsibilities and forget to take time for ourselves. We wistfully think about when we're going to take that vacation or when we're going to sit back and do nothing specific. Those youthfull carefree times seem so far away. And to think, we were bored back then. Remember that?

I keep thinking about how the whole world is in such a hurry. I was talking to a guy from Illinois yesterday, he was so laid back and a pleasure to talk to I wondered why I live where I live. The energy of everyone around me can feel pretty draining, the stress of the hussle and bussle in every day life really can take it's toll on a person. Never mind the energy emitted from those around us that can be over powering as well.

I went up to New York State to visit some friends of mine a couple weeks ago and every morning I would get up and take a couple mile walk. Nothing but me and my music, fresh air, some hills and woods all around me. I have to say, my step was lighter, I felt better mentally, phyisically and emotionally too. I had a couple hours of uninterupted thought for two whole days in a row. Now, I don't know about you but that kind of therapy feels so good, you don't even want to think about going back to the city.

I started thinking about this adult ADD stuff and how we've mistakenly assumed that with all the technology in the world today making things faster so we can do more, the pressure put on us by our employer, tight schedules we have schlepping the kids around, cleaning the house, paying bills, etc., that we've bogged ourselves down so much that we can't hep but be over whelmed. Then we slap a label/diagnosis on it and POOF... another "something" for doctors to diagnose and give us a little pill for.

What about, realizing we're cramming too much garbage into one day? What about learning how to streamline what we're doing asking for help, setting things up so we have some quiet time to ourselves? Even if that means we get up before everyone in the house does and just sitting there... doing absolutely nothing. Course, if you live with someone who hasn't grasped this concept, they may get restentfull that you've got free time and they don't. You'll have to help them out a little bit so they feel as good as you're going to.

Folks, these are the simple things in life that we lose sight of, or never thought of before. We NEED to take care of ourselves in order to feel good. Otherwise, life is just going to bog you down. Emotionally, physically, mentally... I promise you it will bog you down. You can only ignore it for so long.

As drove home from N.Y. State, I felt the stress settle into my lower back, down into my knee (where it seems to have migrated to) and I knew I was going home, back to all the congestion, polluted air, crazy drivers with no courtesy, defensive people and demanding job.

Most of it's self imposed. We're so pre-conditioned by things that we forget to take care of ourselves.

Here's my prescription for today...

Learn to delegate...
Learn to ask for help...
Learn to streamline your life...
Learn how to relax...
Get up earlier...
Find something that soothes your mind on a daily basis... my almost favorite "something" is my music. This iPod I just bought was the best thing I've ever purchased.
Laugh often, make it a deep belly laugh :) because those are the best kind.

I have a motive too behind this post, I want the people around me relaxed too. All that negative stressed energy adds to my own. No matter how much I block it out, deflect it or ignore it... it seeps into my system when I'm not looking...

So, last but not least, chose people to be around who don't ooze sludge from their very being... You can feel the difference if you pay attention. Little by little you can eliminate being around them as much.

Anyway, food for thought this morning. I'm going to listen to some more of my music.

I'll Scold You & Stand By You Too

I wasn't sure how to entitle this post, tried my best. A young lady, 20 years old, had a fender bender the other day. I happened to be driving up the exit, saw a car like hers, saw she was out of the car in a gas station parking lot, pulled up on the curb, onto the sidewalk and got out to see if everything was okay.

I would have gotten out to help anyway but there are a slew of guys who stand there loitering around every day looking to be picked up for work. They had all migrated towards where she was standing exchanging information with the other driver. This didn't sit well with me. I have a pretty over protective nature and I wasn't having her stand out there all by herself. Not only that but I think it was her first auto accident too and that's pretty scarey stuff, never mind how the other driver could have been reacting.

As I got out of the car and approached the scene, my adrenaline began pumping, anticipating any nonsense I may have to contend with either from those guys who had migrated down there "to see" and/or any attitude the other driver may be dishing out. You just never know how a person is going to act, so I was prepared for anything. I was calm too, mind you, if that's possible with all that adrenaline going through my system, the intention was to help, not make it worse.

I get down there, I put myself between this young lady and the men standing there, ask her if she's okay... wait until the other driver got in her car and as we were going to move along, this skanky guy comes over with his eye on this young lady. To me, that's like slapping a lion on the nose when he's eating, he's going to bite you if you give him just cause. That's where my mind was at... and the adrenaline started pumping all over again.

Mainly because he was a skanky fella and I saw the way he looked at her. It wasn't an innocent look and I wasn't having that. He offered the suggestion of giving the other driver some money to make her go away (the moron). I advised him we have insurance for that. He said he was a truck driver and he just knows some stuff... and all the while he never took his eyes off my little friend and I never took my eyes off him. I thanked him for his advise, turned to my friend and told her to get in the car. When she was in it, door closed and car in gear, I walked up to where my car was, got in and waited to see her get back into traffic.

She said, when we got to the office, she was happy to see me. :) I told her that no matter what I say to her in the advise arena, whether or not I agree with some of the decisions she makes (she's a baby to me at 20 years old :))... that I would defend her when necessary. I didn't say it "just this way" but this is the general idea. It was just a surface scratch along the paint and that got buffed out brand new, so that was a good thing

My point here folks is that sometimes people in our life will truly let us "have it" when we mess up. This never means that this same person won't go to bat for you when it gets down and dirty. Sometimes the scolding or advise we get from someone may make us think this person's angry with us or won't have our back but that's simply not true.

There's standing up to someone for the right things, there's standing up for someone when they don't realize they need it and there's being there for someone as they learn the ropes in life. Never assume because someone may scold you or give you "what for" on any particular issue that you can't go to them or that they won't be there for you. They're two seperat animals... okay? :)

Just my thoughts this morning...

Praise and Self Satisfaction

I am an avid ebay shopper. I like getting more for my money! Don't you? I recently, accidentally, purchased an Apple iPod with so much music capacity it amazes the mind. How all that stuff/music/movies/podcasts, etc., fits on this shinny little thing is beyond me. But, I digress... I was playing with my new toy here this morning, tickled to death, yet little confused still as to how to use it and I thought, "oh! I have to go and leave feedback!"

I logged into ebay, went to the area where you leave feedback and wrote how satisfied I am with my purchase. Which is VERY satisfied. The ipod is a refurbished ipod that I was bidding on for fun. Meaning, I liked the price of it and so in the last 4 minutes of bidding, I put 148.50, then 151.92 (imagine winning by .02?) and I clicked submit and it said, "Congratulations! You won!" I was like... Oh hell... LOL. And that's how I became the proud owner of my new toy. So, since I got it at a discount, I bought every adapter known to man for it, also at a discounted price which did bring me up to the full price I would have paid, yet if you think about it, I still saved money because the adapter for the car alone would have been $70.00 and I got it for $17.99. I bought all the other adapters, chargers, screen protecters etc., for a mere $13.99! Man, I tell you, saving money sure makes me happy. Course, this purchase was on accident this time and I had some misgivings about spending the money for the ipod, but since I love music so much, I figure the universe must think I needed one.

Anyway, I've digressed again, not shocking. So, I went and left feedback because I was so impressed with the condition of this refurbished ipod! While I was in that window, there is a section you go where the sellers give feedback about the purchaser. I have quite a number of them there, like I said, I am an avid shopper. I never make a purchase unless I have money in my paypal account or the adjoining account because if I don't have the cash, I'm not charging anything and living beyond my means. Just makes good sense to me.

I start reading some of the feedback left by the sellers for me. I realize that these people don't know me. Yet, it's interesting how our actions really do show others a little bit about who we are and further, how much they appreciate it. It all may seem silly but I assure you that when you have a good transaction/dealing with someone, you are impressed. I usually am anyway.

So, I'm reading through the feedback left for me, all saying prompt payment and great to work with, excellent buyer, all giving me A+++++ at the end of their statements... and I start feeling pretty good. I find myself grinning, then smiling, then my mood lifted a little bit and I thought how such a small thing, this feedback from complete strangers made me feel lighter.

My body began to release some apparent tension I didn't realize was there, I felt pleased at the comments and then I felt proud of myself. See, we can talk all we want about certain things but all that talk doesn't mean anything unless we back it up with action. To me, I talk about budgeting and money issues with my friends all the time. My accomplishment here, which these people didn't realize they were complimenting, is the work I have done on managing my finances better. I don't just slap things on a credit card because I have poor impulse control or because everyone else has one. I save the cash, I do research on an item and then I make a purchase on the spot. That's a nice accomplishment. Especially since the world seems to run on impulse and instant gratification so often.

Every time I read a postive compliment from these seller's it reminded me of my accomplishments. That's a pretty good feeling!

My point is that we should never underestimate how good it is to receive praise or postive feedback from someone. One thing leads to another and before you know it, you can feel pretty good about yourself. Don't forget to praise someone else either... if it feels that good to you, imagine how good you can make someone else feel :)

That's my thought for today!