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Day 12. Appreciating the Wisdom of Our Elders
What do you think of “old people” – seniors? Are you a senior yourself? How are you managing to keep pace with the information age? Do you find that young people tend to want to hurry you along from one activity to the next? Is it difficult for you to find a willing audience to listen to your tales and heed your good advice? In some cultures, elders are held in the highest regard. Younger individuals respect and revere their grandparents and great grandparents for the wisdom they have gained through life experiences. Families are expected to house and financially support their aging parents, providing comfort, care and dignity in…
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Boundaries- The Key to a Joyful Season
There you are, minding your holiday business when someone’s dysfunction crashes into your spirit. There’s a lot of Grinches and Scrooges out there and they have the potential to rub off on you if you can’t set healthy boundaries. There are a lot of reasons why people aren’t at their best during the holidays, but their bad mood doesn’t have to affect you when you are ready, willing, and able to set boundaries and protect yourself from their negativity. Here are the steps you need to set healthy boundaries for a joyful season Step 1. Be aware Some people are going to be negative. Be aware. Be on the alert…
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Day 11. To Be Positive and Present, Take Your Cue from a Child
To have an attitude of gratitude, and to attract more blessings into your daily life, you must focus on being present and in the moment. This is not easy for adults. Adults, women in particular, seem to be stuck in an endless planning and execution mode. This means we’re constantly thinking about what we did, and what we have to do. We have checklists to fulfill. That’s forward-thinking, or looking into the future. We also have comparisons to make and experiences to draw from. “When I did X, Y happened. So if I want Y to happen again, I’d better do X.” As you can see, we’ve trained our minds…
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Day 10. Celebrating the “Moments Between the Moments”
On day 10 of the “30 Days Blessed This Christmas” Challenge, we’ll focus on the moments between the moments. This means that even though the tendency is to fill up our schedules with big events and fantastic experiences… those “moments between the moments” are what really make life worth living. The moments between the moments have to do with communing and connecting with other human beings. Perhaps animals, too. The moments between the moments might be something of an extra surprise bonus experience that unfolded organically without “trying to make something happen”. Maybe you brought your kids to an amusement park, and a nice person who worked there took the…
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Money-Saving Tips for Happy and Financially Healthy Holidays
One of the fastest ways people get overwhelmed during the holidays is by overspending. Being financially unprepared for the holiday season leads to bad habits and poor choices that have serious repercussions at the beginning of the new year. Holiday spending is more than buying gifts, it’s usually a bunch of small things that add up. Things like- Décor Groceries Extra activities Extra giving/donations AND Gifts Money leaking out here and there for expenses you don’t have any other time of year adds up and can cause debt or overspending. Stress starts building up with each purchase and what should be a fun time of year starts to feel overwhelming.…
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Day 9. Surprise Gifts
Welcome to Day 9 of the “30 Days Blessed This Christmas Blogging and Social Media Challenge. Today we’re going to explore the concept of surprise gifts from unexpected people at unexpected times or places. When we think of surprise gifts, maybe something material comes to mind, like a certificate for a therapeutic massage. This is a nice present, no doubt. But it’s not the kind of gift we’re referring to in this gratitude exercise. A surprise gift, in this case, refers to a “kiss from the universe,” or something unexpected yet delightful, that seems to be exactly what you need at just the perfect time. What might be some good…
