Treat me to Optimal Wellness

The optimal wellness conundrum.  I have been thinking lately about the choices I make (I know you are all shocked). We often times know something is not going to support our optimal wellness and yet we go ahead with whatever indulgence / lie we tell ourselves and then further that by saying it's a treat.  I have spent time listening to the lies or unconscious choices I tell myself or even practice.  It is interesting the ways that I can convince myself to move as far away from optimal wellness as possible.  I am not beating myself up here - I am really trying to observe and have an honest conversation.  Why do we eat the way we do?  Why have we let ourselves become an obese nation that is sick...really really ill? Why do we continue to feed our children toxic crap and call it a treat? Why do we puff trash into our lungs or gorge ourselves with food that doesn't even taste like food and then go sit on the sofa and watch television that puts horrifying images into our heads?

I am not proposing that we all live on some island where all there is to eat is fruit and the main activity is fishing for survival (however appealing that sounds some days). Why does it have to be one extreme or the other?  Maybe for you this is not a problem or even a blip on your radar.  I however, have been practicing shifting my thinking.  Letting myself have fake potatoes fried in who knows what is NOT a treat.  Telling my kids if they are good we will go get ice cream that may or may not be actual ice cream is NOT a treat.  What if a treat was something that I made from wholesome "real" ingredients that I put love into or could trust that if I went somewhere it would be the same?  What if I chose a treat that was actually moving towards optimal wellness? What if I didn't deny myself treats because the treats I am consuming are harmonizing with my overall health? There is no doubt it is way easier to pull into a fast food joint and say "insert a convincing story we tell ourselves".

I am interested in the conversation of caring for the wellbeing of humans. For making it more affordable to buy and apple than it is to buy a bag of chips. I am interested in taking responsibility for the things I put in my body and in my families body.  I am interested in the food industry taking responsibility for there actions. Every time, I spend my money on something that is not good for me or my family I am saying it is ok for the food industry to continue to act the way they are. Sometimes the fight is easy and I have time and money to go the farmers market. Other times, time is nonexistent  and money is not plentiful. Does that mean I let myself off the hook?

I just found out that a very young friend of the family passed away a few days ago.  He died of a heart attack at the age of 31.  31! Please know if you are close to me and find my venture towards optimal wellness exhausting it's because I love and care for you deeply.  I want to share the knowledge that I have to help in anyway I can on the wellness crusade.  I thank you for listening when you don't want to hear it anymore.  I thank you for listening to the countless rants however passionate and well intended they are.  Please know that I am not judging how anyone else chooses to live. Also know, I am going to keep spouting my knowledge about this because I truly care that much for your health!  Ok, so I hope you have the very best day filled with all things yummy (like kale and a freshly peeled orange that is juicy and sweet and or organic strawberries that are sweet and refreshing)! Happy nourishing!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words ? aRe they Positive Words?

Have you ever starred at a picture and criticized it so much if you looked at it one more stink-in second your retinas would for sure be ruined forever.  Ok, so that is a bit dramatic but I began this awful awful practice and then I shut the computer so fast that if your hand had been in there it would have been chopped off.  I then proceeded to be disappointed that I was about to engage in yet another poor ugly me session when I thought, wait a minute, what if this too became a practice.  What if I opened this computer and only looked for the beauty.  Would that help me look at things in the seat of the compassionate observer vs the seat of the critical almighty judger? Ok, so I sorta cheated because the picture that happen to pop up was of my whole family.  Let me be honest here I think my husband is HOT. He has beautiful blue eyes and in this picture his eyes are open...ha! Then there is my stunningly gorgeous girls!  One with her edgy hair and cutting edge trendiness and the other with her old hollywood glam amplified.  I thought this is easy.  Then I got to my picture.  Surely there is something positive I can squeeze out of this judge mcjudgenstein (it is too a word).  Wait for it, wait for it. I was smiling...YES.  This may not seem like much but its a start.  I think this is a practice I am going to engage in more often.  Encourage myself to be in more pictures and then compassionately observe them and well find the good stuff, be honest about the other stuff.  Wait am I being honest or critical? I will have to sort that out later.  Maybe just maybe I'll quit hiding behind the camera and get in the phOtO?

I challenge you to look at yourself with admiration and love.  To see yourself in a different light. Share would ya - I'm lonely!

Cheese!
Michelle

Love ThY body enjoY ThY health

The gift of health.  I feel like every morning I awake to a different guest or mood.  Somedays getting out of bed presents a sense of happiness. Other days I may feel anxious, calm, tired, full of energy, sad, or drained.  Each day I am greeted by one or more of those guests.  What I have taken for granted though is the simple gift of being able to swing both legs over the bed and stand.  The gift of just coming out of a warm bed, that for the most part gave me a restful sleep.  Sometimes,  I am so tuned in to the guests arrival I forget the gift of health. Recently, I hurt my back and was elated that it wasn't too bad but just bad enough to bring awareness to how fortunate I am to have a body that allows me to do all of activities I enjoy and even some that I do not.  I was able to rehab my back pretty quickly with a whole lot of love and attention.  Then today I woke up coughing feeling as if I didn't even have the energy to swing my legs out of bed.  My chest felt tight, my head was a dead painful weight, and my eyes did not want to open.  I had an obligation so I got up and realized my body was putting up a fight for rest.  There it is...my body is telling me to rest in a way that I am unable to argue.  Tears fill my eyes (probably because I feel like crap) and I am overwhelmed with gratitude for this body whom calibrates for me daily.  Whom allows me to experience life with a steady cadence and who reminds me that I must recharge even if the list is long and the ambition is much.  Today, I yield to you body and I thank you for all that you do.  You deserve to be treated well :).

How often do you take for granted the simplicity of being able to get out of bed?

Five Minute Friday....Eeeekkkkkkk

I'm trying something new and scary via my close friend's nudging.  Here's how it works...We set a timer, throw caution to the winds and try to remember what it was like to just write without worrying if it’s just right or not (ummmm I'm pretty sure I have never not worried.HA!).

Want to play Five Minute Friday? It’s easy peasy!

1. Write for 5 minutes flat on the prompt- no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Meet & encourage someone who linked up before you.

OK, are you ready? Give us your best five minutes on:

Love

I have been pretty disappointed with my behavior lately.  It seems when allergies hit an all time high my head gets foggy, I become tired and really just don't feel good.  What does that have to do with behavior you ask? I have begun to notice that I have no filter when I feel this way.  100% Michelle's thoughts are realized into the wild no matter who may be stung by the unleashing. It seems when allergies flare so does my bad attitude.  Its like the 'whoa is me' overrunneths the gratitude full of love true nature of my heart.  Now that I have observed this behavior I am working on ways to infuse more love maybe if I overcompensate with love then the bad attitude will have to take a back seat.  Either way it stinks for those who are closest to me and have been whipped.  To them I am truly sorry. 

The dialogue:

Self, I love you, I am truly sorry you do not feel well please know that I intend to do everything in my power to infuse optimal wellness and love into you so we can align more closely to our true natu

So I am a bit confused if you just end literally when the timer goes off so that is what I did :) minus this sentence :).

Happy Yet?

What makes you happy?

It sounds simple yet I struggle with the answer.  I once read, happy is not a destination it's a state of mind. I sometimes find myself using happy as a destination.  If I only had this or accomplish that or my kids act this way or all the stars align then and only then can I find happiness. Well folks happy is not a destination. So I observe.

I sat quietly with this question...what makes you happy? I was amazed at what came up.  It seems a whole lot makes me happy.  I think all to often we can cloud what makes us happy with should.  I should do this I should do that.  If you take should out of the equation what do you get? What about the situations that used to make you happy but that situation no longer does. It feels more like an obligation or a should?  How do you then weigh whether you should keep the situation as is?  I realize this post is more question than reflection - randomness is part of the title as my dear friend so kindly reminded me.

There you have it - I need your feedback, input answers...

A Day Early a Dollar Tossed

HAPPY SPRING

If you had to choose one habit to toss that does not align with your true nature what would it be? Spring is here a day early - something that hasn't happened since 1896!  When I read this it got me thinking about how things shift even if it is a century later.  Nothing is permanent. Yikes spring cleaning a day early :). I feel it is important to do some honest to goodness spring cleaning.  In all aspects of my life.  Cleaning out stuff in my house, mind, body and a whole slue of other areas. Don't even get me started on weeds.

Back to one habit to toss...ummm one try several.  Here's the deal though if you try to toss more than one habit especially if it is a doozy of a habit you may feel overwhelmed.  Of course you could compile a garbage bag of habits that are easy to toss and do not require a lot of attention.  However, I am talking about a habit that has lived its course and is stopping you from 1. aligning to your true nature and 2. not making room for what does serve you.  Hmmmmm. I still have several but that is beside the point.

Now that you have that habit in mind *observe* your mental chatter and doings with regard to the habit. You may have to write down your observations or have a ticker near. I have been known to use a rubber band.  Every time this habit makes an appearance you switch the rubber band to the right side of the wrist - it helps bring awareness to the amount of energy you are feeding the habit.  You thought I was going to tell you to pop yourself with it...ouch! One person throws a dollar outside every time the habit rears it's head (who knows maybe someone who really needs a dollar is blessed that day?).  Do what you have to do. I have noticed that I give a lot of time and energy to something that no longer serves me and literally gets in the way of what does. Dictionary words that describe habit: dependence, routine, trait! The reason you have probably had this habit for a long time is because its not easy to toss.  You have to make an effort, you have to practice, you have to care enough to want to rid yourself of it and even then it may stick around. It may make guest appearances.  This is where compassion and diligence enters the picture maybe even a dollar bill. Your worth it :)

I'd love to hear how spring cleaning is going for you... all love

When Autopilot Drives you to Bad Behavior

My children were sitting at the kitchen table painting, laughing, humming and really enjoying themselves.  My first instinct was I should get them more paint. Then deep awareness set in.  They don't need more paint they are doing just fine with the materials they have.  I was kind of stunned to be thinking that. How many times have I impulsively done something on autopilot? Am I really a more more more kind of person? Insert randomness (that is how my mind works people) I instantly began to think about learning to drive a stick shift.  There is so much involved. When driving I was forced to pay close attention especially on hills or I could roll back and hit someone (which by the way is how I got in my first accident). Another thought did my fear manifest that accident? I digress...  Now, all I do is get in the car and bam autopilot.  It scared me forging more thinking.  What else is on autopilot?  I did not like the answers.  When my children enjoy something I think we need more so they can prolong the enjoyment.  If I can't find a bed linen I must go an purchase a new set. If my dishes don't match perfectly I should buy a set that does. I realize that the autopilot response is to go and get (horrified).

There is a small problem - autopilot mentality does not work with my true nature.  I SO don't like a lot of stuff nor do I like to waste.  As I began to clean out the kids cabinet I noticed we have a plethora of stuff (paint included) that we don't use.  You see it takes a lot of effort to come up with creative ways to reuse and not buy.  At that very moment, I was grateful for the awareness of autopilot mentality syndrome.  It brought me great joy to step back, notice the behavior and think of ways I could re-route the behavior - to shift my consciousness.

Interestingly enough after noticing my thought patterns we were taken to see The Lorax which drove this point home a little more.  Sometimes in order to really shift your consciouness you need many (in my case a lot of many) different ways to soak up what you are trying to shift. If you haven't seen the movie it really makes a case for the way our society has become driven by profit and greed (in my opinion). I have a led a very fortunate life and am interested in teaching  my children that less is more.  How can I do that if my first impulse is to buy more?

In what ways are you shifting your consciousness? How do you remove yourself from autopilot?

Here's to less is more and I have all that I need :)...