YOUR LIFE A-Z:DECORATE

Be Festive and Exotic as you Decorate this Year

DECORATE

To DECORATE or not DECORATE is really not the question. The question is, how much should you DECORATE?   The answer to that question is, DECORATE as much or as little as you want.  Which parts of the holiday DECORATIONS do you enjoy the most?  Perhaps you only want to drink out of holiday coffee mugs and let the rest go.  Or perhaps you feel like it won’t be the holiday with out a Christmas tree.  Maybe you want to go all out with the DECORATION spirit and have the house lit up with outdoor lights and outdoor yard festivities, while making every room in your home a holiday wonderland.  People who live to DECORATE for the holiday season may find that the desire diminishes over time and there is nothing wrong with that. To everything there is a season and as our lives change so do our desires and goals.  It is important to stay aware of your holiday stress and DECORATE according to your stress level.  If you are becoming grumpy and agitated about DECORATING then you have taken on too much.  Back off a bit and ask yourself, “Which DECORATIONS are really necessary this year?”  You are not a holiday scrooge if you don’t DECORATE like your neighbors do.  You are only a holiday scrooge if you don’t choose to participate in any of the festivities of the season.  It doesn’t matter what your religious beliefs are, holidays are for celebrating the festival of life. DECORATING is just one way of doing just exactly that.

YOUR LIFE A-Z:KEY

THE KEY TO LIVE IS LIVING IT

KEY

It is hard to get into your home without a KEY.  Your car will not start without a KEY.   The KEY to your safe protects your valuables and as you get older (if you are like me) you spend a bit of time trying to locate your KEYS.   The KEY to this post is to make sure you know they KEY points to making your life meaningful today.  It is KEY to your health that you take responsibility for it and do not pawn your body off on your doctor.  Eating healthy and reading labels is KEY to you being in charge of what goes in your mouth.  Exercise is also KEY to feeling good about your body and keeping it in top shape.  Another KEY to a meaningful daily life is realizing that you are enough.   Quit trying to make yourself fit into someone else’s mold, be exquisitely all of who you are. Stop hiding.  Open the door of your heart and walk into life.  You are the KEY ingredient.  No one else can be you and the painful truth is no one else can live your life for you.  You are the KEY to your happiness and no one else.  Life is made up of KEY ingredients but you are the master KEY.  You unlock all the doors and you choose how to deal with what comes at you.  The KEY is to stand up and be responsible.  The KEY to your health, finances, relationships, connections, and life’s direction is in your heart.  Open it and live on. 

YOUR LIFE A-Z: YIELD

SOME YIELD SIGNS SCREAM RED

YIELD

When I think of the word YIELD, I think of the yellow triangle sign above, which basically means, pause and look both ways prior to continuing with your motor vehicle.  YIELD in this sense means to give the right of way to other traffic.  The word YIELD also means to concede in an argument and let the opposition win.  In the banking industry the word YIELD is used to describe the percentage that people make on his/her invested dollars.  YIELD is important to you today in each of the above scenarios.  Where is it in your life that you need to pause and look in all directions before proceeding with your idea or plan?  Are you examining all possibilities and making sure that you are on the right of way with your goal?  Next, how many arguments are you currently in conversations about?  Why is it so important that you win the argument?  What is the worse thing that would happen if you YIELDED to the opposition? Do you find yourself refusing to YIELD just in general principle?   If so, what is the pay-off for holding out?  If your personal life is fraught with discontent in relationships because you are always trying to prove your point, then maybe it is time to YIELD and let go.  How much of your daily life is YIELDING a high return on happiness?  Are you investing in decisions, activities, relationships, and personal time in meaningful ways that are YIELDING you a crop of happiness? Get the best YIELD out of your day.

YOUR LIFE A-Z: TASTE

ENJOY DECADENCE OFTEN

TASTE

TASTE is very personal and inclusive of food choices, clothing choices, and home choices.  What do you have a TASTE for?  What foods do you enjoy?  Over this next week choose three foods that you really enjoy.  Practice a mindful TASTING exercise by preparing that food just the way you want.  Then enjoy eating those foods, slowly and with attention to the texture, palate, and taste as you enjoy each bite.  Taking time to really TASTE your food is so important to the enjoyment and health of your well-being.  What is your TASTE in clothes?  What are your favorite colors?  TASTE is personal and you get decide what makes you feel good.  Moving toward the clothes that help you feel good build your self-confidence and personal enjoyment. Assert yourself when it comes to what you like and what you don’t like. Don’t let yourself be talked into clothes just because they are designer clothes when you feel like a mushroom in them.  Personal TASTE is also important when it comes to the décor and comfort of your home.  Personal space and enjoying your environment is so important to your daily mood.  If you have a TASTE for the Southwest and your home is decorated in Old World you probably feel out of place in your safe environment.  It is important to decorate according to your TASTE.  If you and your partner have different TASTE, discover ways to negotiate and share both of your styles within your livable space. 

YOUR LIFA A-Z:BLISS

FOLLOW YOUR BLISS!

BLISS

Joseph Campbell says, “If you follow bliss, you put yourself on a track that has been there waiting for you, and the life you ought to be living is the one you are living.  When you see that, you begin to meet people who are in the field of your bliss, and they open doors to you.  I say, follow your bliss and do not be afraid and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be. If you follow your bliss, doors will open for you that wouldn’t have opened for anyone else.”   BLISS may seem as if it is totally unattainable but if it is your heart’s desire, you must go for it.  Heart’s desire is different than goal setting.  Goal setting is very practical.  A heart’s desire is something that seeded in your life one day when you were not particularly looking for it.  A heart’s desire is an ache that will not go away regardless how many times you try to ignore it.  If you look back over the decades of your life you may find a theme that has been there from your earliest moments.  BLISS is awaiting you if you want it.  You must follow it even if it is not practical.  Perhaps, you will never know why the BLISS exists.   However, if you have a dream that has dogged you all of your life, regardless of the impracticality, why not give it a whirl?  Think about it and execute a plan to follow that heart’s desire.