Just Be happy

Happiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response.
- Mildred Barthel

I love this quote because this is so very true: Happiness is a choice.  Your happiness comes from inside of you, not from circumstances, other people, increases or anything that would be outside of you because again, it’s a choice. I’ve often heard people say I’ll be happen when this or that happens. Well what if those things never happen, or happen years from now? Are you going to put your happiness on hold? If you wait for something or someone to make you happen, you’re limiting yourself because it’s a choice you can make right at this very moment.

                                                                     

Did you know that there is a "happy" meditation that you can do to change your vibration? Yep, it’s true. This meditation is so simple and all it takes is for you to make up your mind and open yourself up to it. All you have to do is close your eyes and smile. When you smile, that action brings forth good feelings which trigger good thoughts. Sometimes you may just laugh at yourself because you’re sitting with your eyes close and smiling. Either way, it works.

For this new year, I choose to do those things that make me happy. I choose to live my life on purpose, laugh more, hug more, take more pictures, say “I love you” more, make more phone calls, spend more time outdoors, and just live more. So this weekend I went hiking with the hubby and I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. As we started down the trail, the birds seem to serenade us and welcome us to the woods. They sang with so much vigor and beauty, I immediately felt a sense of calm and peace. I noticed an older gentleman sitting on a bench and as we got closer to him I looked at him to say “hello” but he had his eyes close, his head was slightly leaned back as if he was listening to the singing birds, he had a very peaceful smile on his face and he tapped his foot. He didn’t have any earplugs in his ears for music so that led me to believe he was simply enjoying the music of the birds. Watching this man enjoy this moment gave me a feeling of “connection” and ushered me into the state of mind to enjoy the moment. I think my hubby felt it too because he reached out and grabbed my hand.

As we walked along in this peaceful place watching the butterflies flutter along and the lizards creep across the sidewalk, I verbally thanked God and allowed gratefulness to overtake me. I felt so grateful for the beautiful day, grateful for the cool breeze (it was about 70 degrees), grateful that although it had rained a couple days before, there were NO MOSQUITOS. I took this time to reflect on all of the things that mattered most to me like my mom & dad, and all of my loved ones. I thought about how blessed I am and how good it felt to be moving and alive.



attempting to count the age of the tree

We walked the trail for about 40 minutes or so with very little conversation. I think we were both basking in our own worlds but grateful to be together. We came to the map and I wanted to see the botanical gardens because I figured that it’s spring so things should be in bloom. We crossed the path to head over to the botanical gardens and to my surprise it was a blooming wonder. I can’t imagine why I thought this was my secret place because there were quite a few people there taking pictures and walking with their children. The fragrant smells of the flowers filled the air and the gentle breeze blew the trees and petals around on the ground. It was totally picturesque. So beautiful. So much so that I decided to bring my son and his family back so that I could finally get some family pictures because that's what I wanted to do to make me happy.

So I offer that  you find those things that make you happy. Laugh out loud everyday and have fun like a child would. You get old when you forget how to have fun and forget to laugh. Smile more, love more, be more friendly, live more, and just be happy. It could always be worse.



Slow down and See it

Spring is my favorite time of the new year and I am still basking in the newness of life.  The wildflowers are all in bloom, butterflies are everywhere and I feel so grateful that the sun is shining but not like the usual Texas hot sunshine, and there is also a cool gentle breeze in the air. Texas summers are brutal and it's almost impossible to get out for running errands or family time prior to 5pm to do anything. You either need to go out before 11am or after 5pm in order to survive the heat. So what I've decided to do this spring is spend more time outdoors enjoying the city before it gets too hot. I want to slow down and not just look at things but see things. I'm going to take my time and see what I've been missing, so this week I started with my favorite place: Canino's Farmers Market. I've been to this market hundreds of times but because it's soooooo crowded I always rush in, grab the usual items that I want from the same lady and be on my way. But this past Saturday, I decided to slow down and bring my camera along to see what I've been missing and I was pleasantly surprised. I normally buy my leafy greens from the supermarket because the prices seem so competitive but on this day this is what I found in the air conditioned part of the market:

 This place even has goji berries which are filled with powerful antioxidants and other compounds that may help prevent cancer and other illnesses, including heart disease and all this time I've been ordering them from the web.

 There are many varieties of jams, preserves and natural fruit spreads that I've never even noticed before.

      And look at all the varieties of pure raw honey. My honey is comparing prices to get the best deal.

         After our purchases in this part of the market, we headed out to the open air part of the market.

                    I headed to my favorite marketeer and I finally asked her name. Meet Ms. Celia

     Her produce is so fresh and at this market each bushel of produce is only $2. Can you believe these prices???

Get busy

Happy Easter......a celebration of Christ rising from the dead and proving his diety. It's a feat that can't be topped by any human but we all can rise from dead things like relationships, jobs, unnecessary stresses, weight and so on. Although it's already April, if you've fallen off the wagon of your new year resolution, this is a great time to start again. The only thing stopping you is you.

 My biggest challenge was releasing weight of an extra 25 pounds that I gained in the course of being married for 8 almost 9 years. I use the term releasing weight instead of losing weight because when you release something you let it go for good as oppose to losing something that can be found.  Now that may not seem like a lot of weight to some people but for a 5'5 woman, 160 pounds on me is not cute. I started out at a size 6 and then went to an 8 and started pushing the envelope on a size 10. What was my biggest weakness? POTATO CHIPS!!! Salt & Vinegar chips to be exact. I would eat them with breakfast, lunch, dinner and as a late night snack. I ate lots of fried foods, lots of chips, lots of junk and get this.......I'M A PESCATARIAN. I think I had enough when my son took this horrible picture of me at the mall stuffing my face.

Now this one isn't as bad as the other one that I refuse to publish but this one is pretty bad. Anyway, I decided to start by eating salads and adding more fruits to my diet.

This helped a litte with my energy level but I still needed to do more to get the results I wanted. Now, because I had decided make this change in my life and understanding the Law of Attraction, I started to think on what I wanted to do as far as getting healthy overall. So one day at lunch I was surfing the net and came upon this website called "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead. I browsed the site and saw that there was a video on YouTube. I went home that night with the video on my mind and once things settled down I was able to watch the 2 hr video uninterrupted. I have to say it absolutely changed my life!!! I followed the juicing regime that was offered on the video for 10 days which turned into 25 days which turned into 45 days. This new lifestyle brought me so much more than weight loss. It brought clarity, energy, vitality, along with prayer and meditation. I had enough energy at the end of the day to do my quiet time, read, pray for longer than 5 minutes and meditate. I usually start my day with a breakfast like this:

Leafy green lettuce, golden apple, carrots, cucumbers, tomato & radish. Each of these vegetables have exactly what a body would need to maintain a healthy lifestyle. I make sure to juice enough for breakfast and lunch. I have a glass of this juice for breakfast along with a piece of fresh fruit and for lunch I have the remainder of the juice with some nuts.

 For my mid-morning and afternoon snack I have a protein shake:

Gluten free protein mix, papaya, flax seed, kiwi, local honey, bananas and hemp milk. When I get hungry again around 10 am or so, I drink my protein drink. This shake gives me the energy that I need and keeps me full for the most part of the day. I drink this again around the end of my work day when I'm feelling a little hungry.  This shake is absolutely delicious and very filling.

I do make several varities of both of these drinks to not grow bored of the same thing but they are all extremly nutritional and include nothing but fresh fruits and veggies. This has been so much more than a diet for me, more like a lifestyle change. I used to juice several years ago and I was following "The Hallelujah Diet" so I decided to look it up again since I am doing a lifestyle change. This diet consists of 85% raw and 15% cooked. You can order the book and get all of the receipes and encouragement you'll need to make the change. Once you do it you'll see and definitely feel instant results.

Ok, so I said all this to say change begins with you. If you want to make a change in your life, believe in yourself that you can do it. I know the hardest part of getting started is that first step. Martin Luther King said "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase" so don't allow excuses to keep you from getting to your dreams. No matter what the challenge, you can be an overcomer because of who you are. You are a cocreater with God and you have been equipped with everything you could ever need to get to where you want to go. So get in tune with the god within and get going to where you want to go. The only thing standing in your way is YOU.

Kisses,

Tums

Attitude of Gratitude

An attitude of gratitude is more than a rhyming phrase.When you are grateful for things that happen to you, for you and to others, you put yourself in a place of receiving more of those good things. Being grateful for the good and for the bad helps you to grow spiritually and it teaches humility. The bible even tells us to give thanks for all things and that's because all things are working together for our good. The Universe is conspiring to make things happen for us that will enable us to walk in our purpose. You may wonder why some doors may close and some open. That's because you are being led to your purpose and when you are out of your purpose you always have the feeling that something is missing. Grumbling and complaining won't change a thing, trust me. That's the time to surrender and say "Thank you" because God is working it out for you. Have you ever been in a situation where you were upset about something that didn't go the way you planned and then later on you find out that it was a good thing it didn't work for you? That's what I like to call "Divine Intervention" because although it looked good at the time God was on the job covering and protecting you from disaster. So when you're sitting in traffic and you feel like you will never get there, pause and say "thank you" because it's possible that the Universe is working in your favor to help you avoid a horrific accident. Even when you get let go from a job and I know it sounds crazy but still say "thank you" because it could be an opportunity for you to start your own business, go back to school or to find the job that better suits you.

A New Day

It's a new season, it's a new day... Spring is here and it represents starting anew, hence this blog. I started this blog because I am feeling exactly like that...."NEW". I am on a spiritual journey that has taken me in many directions starting with improving the care of my hair and my skin to self love and care, and to my diet which has now conjured up feelings of a career change. I am striving to live a spirit guided life and to be intentional in everything I say and do. Afterall, we are all spirit be-ings and when we walk outside of who we are we get lost and end up going thru the motions. What actually struck me to start this blog was a movie on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) called "The Shift" with Dr. Wayne Dyer. If you don't know who he is check him out here. Anyway, I was so inspired by this movie that I was in a fog for several hours just thinking and journaling, meditating and praying. I had so many thoughts going on that I couldn't contain them all so my spirit prompted me to start this blog. I'm not looking for any accolades or anything, I just like to share what I know and help because you may be like me which is trying to find out my purpose in life (I believe I found it) and to just be a better more focused person. Wherever you are in life it's important that you do this one thing and that is to take the journey and find your true self. Yeah, I know it sounds woowoo but If you've been questioning the meaning of life, God, or asking why me, I encourage you to simply open your mind and your heart and take the journey to get to know yourself. Find out what you like, what you don't like. Examine the areas of your life that are successful and not so successful and then make a change if you're not happy with it.  Sometimes that change can be saying no to some things or invitations or maybe ridding your life of toxic people.You have to start somewhere so be like Nike and just do it. You are wonderfully made in the image of the Divine whether you believe it or not. And because of that, if you have any questions about yourself, go to the Creator and ask. And when you ask,  be prepared for the answer because it may not be something you want to hear so be honest with yourself. Get quiet and go within to hear your answer. How do you go within? Find a time when it's nice and quiet and you won't be disturbed for at least 15 mins and then close your eyes, take a few deep breaths and then ask your question. You will get your answer, trust me.

Ok so this blog is going to be about my journey and some rambling here and there so if you're interested stay tuned. I look forward to seeing where this is going to take us...