I had a terrible night sleeping last night. So, I got up early, put my yoga mat outside on the deck, and sat. I stretched, I let the sun shine on my face, and I listened to the birds. It was a great way to start my morning. Now I'm having a yummy cup of coffee and watching Flea Market Flip, and it got me thinking....
They take old pieces of "whatever" and turn it into beautiful furniture. If old antiques can be made new....then so can I.
It takes vision, patience, and then hard work to transform these pieces into the beauties that sell for sometimes hundreds above what they spent on them.
Vision, patience, and hard work.
VISION, PATIENCE, AND HARD WORK!
Kind of where I am at this morning.
I have a vision...... I know who I want to be and where I want to be
Patience........ this is where I struggle(it takes time to execute the vision)
Hard Work........this can also be hard, as some days I'm just plain tired physically and mentally
So I move forward, a little each day and keep executing the plan
In the meantime, I am that beautiful piece at the end, she's inside of me waiting to be fully realized for everyone to see!
#Findyourjoy
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Friday, August 16, 2019
Is your joy lost?
What do you do if you can't find your joy? What if you look everywhere, and simply cannot find joy in anything or in any current situation?
Well first, don't sit there and decide that since you can't see it then it must not exist.
You need to start small. Your joy may have left you in an instant like I perceive that mine did (through those three words"You have cancer"), but really my joy was just hidden and I allowed it to stay that way. That's why it took me so long to realize and find it.
So, over time my joy diminished. With every thing that seemed like a huge burden or problem, the joy diminished. Therefore, I wouldn't expect that it would simply "pop" back up and shine brightly. It took time. It's constant work.
It's easy to simply say to yourself "there's nothing joyful about today", especially if you aren't willing to do some work.
Here are some suggestions:
1. Find your community of people. I found mine on Facebook, at my church, at school, at the yoga studio, and even through this blog. I am not best friends with all of these people, but we all have something in common, struggles and finding our joy. Reach out to these people when you need them.
2. Don't be a "downer", but don't be fake either. The only way out is through. Be honest. Be honest with yourself and others. If you are seriously without joy ALL of the time, this community may only be part of what you need. Humble yourself and seek some professional help. It's ok.
3. Even the little things count. Little steps to finding your joy are better than no steps at all. I constantly go back to the day I was having a pity party for myself during chemo. I was crying about feeling yucky, and wanting my hair back. Mark said to me " I'm sorry you don't feel good, your hair will grow back after chemo, and I'm giving you 10 minutes to cry then you need to get up a take a shower. If that's all you do today, it's better than doing nothing." That may seem harsh, but it was just what I needed. Also, Mark said it in love, not because he was sick of my whining. There's a difference. After taking that shower (which was really hard because I felt awful), I realized that not having hair sped up the showering process, and I actually felt better being clean, warm and in new pajamas! That was my joy for the day.
4. Write it down. When I am having a particularly hard day, I look back on my blog. Is my life easier? some would think yes, some would think no. Yes, I have some things to deal with, but I don't have cancer. Yes, I have permanent neuropathy from that cancer, but I can still play piano most days, and I can teach school which is a huge joy for me. Am I the only source of income for our family? Yes, but I've become a lot better at budgeting, Mark doesn't have to worry and can concentrate on the things he needs to deal with, and most importantly he's still here with me.
I hope you can all find your joy today. I did, I'm enjoying a good cup of coffee, writing this blog, and have very window in the house open to hear, smell, feel and see a beautiful day!
Well first, don't sit there and decide that since you can't see it then it must not exist.
You need to start small. Your joy may have left you in an instant like I perceive that mine did (through those three words"You have cancer"), but really my joy was just hidden and I allowed it to stay that way. That's why it took me so long to realize and find it.
So, over time my joy diminished. With every thing that seemed like a huge burden or problem, the joy diminished. Therefore, I wouldn't expect that it would simply "pop" back up and shine brightly. It took time. It's constant work.
It's easy to simply say to yourself "there's nothing joyful about today", especially if you aren't willing to do some work.
Here are some suggestions:
1. Find your community of people. I found mine on Facebook, at my church, at school, at the yoga studio, and even through this blog. I am not best friends with all of these people, but we all have something in common, struggles and finding our joy. Reach out to these people when you need them.
2. Don't be a "downer", but don't be fake either. The only way out is through. Be honest. Be honest with yourself and others. If you are seriously without joy ALL of the time, this community may only be part of what you need. Humble yourself and seek some professional help. It's ok.
3. Even the little things count. Little steps to finding your joy are better than no steps at all. I constantly go back to the day I was having a pity party for myself during chemo. I was crying about feeling yucky, and wanting my hair back. Mark said to me " I'm sorry you don't feel good, your hair will grow back after chemo, and I'm giving you 10 minutes to cry then you need to get up a take a shower. If that's all you do today, it's better than doing nothing." That may seem harsh, but it was just what I needed. Also, Mark said it in love, not because he was sick of my whining. There's a difference. After taking that shower (which was really hard because I felt awful), I realized that not having hair sped up the showering process, and I actually felt better being clean, warm and in new pajamas! That was my joy for the day.
4. Write it down. When I am having a particularly hard day, I look back on my blog. Is my life easier? some would think yes, some would think no. Yes, I have some things to deal with, but I don't have cancer. Yes, I have permanent neuropathy from that cancer, but I can still play piano most days, and I can teach school which is a huge joy for me. Am I the only source of income for our family? Yes, but I've become a lot better at budgeting, Mark doesn't have to worry and can concentrate on the things he needs to deal with, and most importantly he's still here with me.
I hope you can all find your joy today. I did, I'm enjoying a good cup of coffee, writing this blog, and have very window in the house open to hear, smell, feel and see a beautiful day!
Sunday, August 11, 2019
A bad week and an announcement
What do you do when you are having a bad week? For me? I can very easily turn a bad day into a bad week or a bad month if I'm not careful.
We are all allowed to have bad days.....it's what we do with those bad days and the days after it that really is the key to maintaining your joy.
This week was particularly hard for me. Mark has had another bout of gout. He has had two bouts of it and a round of kidney stones all in 4 months. He has two doctor's appointments coming up, so I'm thinking he'll be having some medication adjustments. We already have altered his diet to prevent uric acid build-up. When Mark has these things happen EVERYTHING comes to a halt for him and I have to pick up the slack. It was the last week of summer school, and I frankly didn't want to do that. Plus my neuropathy was acting up a little. So.... I had a little pity party for myself and had some trouble finding my joy.
What did I do? Put it out there to my community of friends. To the community that tells me how they love to see my #Findyourjoy and the stories I tell. My friend Charity reminded me in that post that as women we tend to not be transparent and that most of the time we just say "everything is fine", when it really isn't.
Don't isolate yourself in your struggles, it only makes you go deeper into them and then you have further to crawl out of the pit. Find your community, and work alongside of them to find your joy. Also, be prepared to do the same for them. You'll be amazed at how helping someone realize the joy they all along had inside them makes your joy shine even brighter.
So...... now my crazy announcement. I have been asked to do two speaking engagements about my journey and #Findyourjoy. The first one is a definite this Fall, and the other is still in the works for the Spring. I am totally blessed and humbled that my journey would be a topic that could help others. I'm steadily working on the specifics of the talk, and may through this opportunity have some other things in the works.
When I have more on the engagements I'll let you know, but for now, I'm doing much better this week thanks to all of you, and I'm spending the last three weeks of vacation enjoying this glorious weather, doing some things with Mark, and thoughtfully preparing for the Fall!
#Findyourjoy
We are all allowed to have bad days.....it's what we do with those bad days and the days after it that really is the key to maintaining your joy.
This week was particularly hard for me. Mark has had another bout of gout. He has had two bouts of it and a round of kidney stones all in 4 months. He has two doctor's appointments coming up, so I'm thinking he'll be having some medication adjustments. We already have altered his diet to prevent uric acid build-up. When Mark has these things happen EVERYTHING comes to a halt for him and I have to pick up the slack. It was the last week of summer school, and I frankly didn't want to do that. Plus my neuropathy was acting up a little. So.... I had a little pity party for myself and had some trouble finding my joy.
What did I do? Put it out there to my community of friends. To the community that tells me how they love to see my #Findyourjoy and the stories I tell. My friend Charity reminded me in that post that as women we tend to not be transparent and that most of the time we just say "everything is fine", when it really isn't.
Don't isolate yourself in your struggles, it only makes you go deeper into them and then you have further to crawl out of the pit. Find your community, and work alongside of them to find your joy. Also, be prepared to do the same for them. You'll be amazed at how helping someone realize the joy they all along had inside them makes your joy shine even brighter.
So...... now my crazy announcement. I have been asked to do two speaking engagements about my journey and #Findyourjoy. The first one is a definite this Fall, and the other is still in the works for the Spring. I am totally blessed and humbled that my journey would be a topic that could help others. I'm steadily working on the specifics of the talk, and may through this opportunity have some other things in the works.
When I have more on the engagements I'll let you know, but for now, I'm doing much better this week thanks to all of you, and I'm spending the last three weeks of vacation enjoying this glorious weather, doing some things with Mark, and thoughtfully preparing for the Fall!
#Findyourjoy
Thursday, August 1, 2019
August 1
Wow, it's August 1st! I'm not going to say the typical "oh, it's August 1st and summer is half way over, it went so fast!" I feel like summer is not going fast, nor is it going slow. I'm half-way through the summer of Kim. It's going well. I've had a neuropathy flare-up this week, so the movement part is not going so well, but I'm not beating myself up about it either. Today, I feel better and I will move. I've been planning and cooking more this last week, and our meals have been healthier so I'm making progress there too. Now to implement the last part....... simplifying.
I have simplified my life. I am not doing something unless it brings me joy. Now to simplify my home.
Summer school ends next week, and I have 3 weeks before the regular school year starts so I am on a mission to clear out some stuff in the house. Stuff brings chaos and chaos is not good for the summer of Kim so simple is what will happen. That way I'll know what I have, be able to find it, and be able to keep my house clean with a schedule.
Working slowly, consistently, and with the intent to make my life better.
#findyourjoy
I have simplified my life. I am not doing something unless it brings me joy. Now to simplify my home.
Summer school ends next week, and I have 3 weeks before the regular school year starts so I am on a mission to clear out some stuff in the house. Stuff brings chaos and chaos is not good for the summer of Kim so simple is what will happen. That way I'll know what I have, be able to find it, and be able to keep my house clean with a schedule.
Working slowly, consistently, and with the intent to make my life better.
#findyourjoy
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