Warm wishes to you all. I hope your day has been filled with family, laughter, relaxation, and sweet moments.
We enjoyed Christmas Eve with Ron's family and a traditional meal of meatballs and mashed potatoes, a little gift opening for the kids, and a little dice play for the adults. When I returned home with the stack of packages from Ron's sisters I uncovered a small hardback book with a familiar title, "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff...(and it's all small stuff)."
Following Santa gifts and our Christmas breakfast rolls, I spent the latter part of the morning preparing our Christmas dinner. The turkey was great....the crock pot does a nice job of making a juicy, tender turkey and alleviates my concern of carving a dried-out, crispy bird (note Griswald's Christmas Vacation below). The stuffing and green bean casserole are easy side-dishes. The only part of the meal I questioned was the freeze dried, astronaut friendly, boxed mashed potatoes. I doubt many of my kin folk have made potatoes without peeling, dicing or mixing--but I prefer the box method-- much more efficient. Still, I went to great pains to hide my dirty secret and the evidence from my mother-in-law. Thankfully, the time saved from peeling potatoes would soon be consumed by relaxing with family and enjoying my favorite gift, "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff...and it's all small stuff (including mashed potatoes). "
We retired to our post-meal recovery spaces with book, computer, or Wii in hand. Sitting by the fire I told Ron the book was my favorite gift and asked who gave it to us. Ron laughed and said the book had likely been on his sister's coffee table since 1997...somehow in my packing haste I had inadvertently added the book to our gift collection. Sometimes the best gifts you receive are the old ones you accidentally steal!
So, in honor of our approaching New Year I thought I would share a few of the sentiments from the author Richard Carlson. These sentiments encourage me to approach 2010 in a manner that embraces living this present moment to its fullest...with love, generosity, enthusiasm, fun, simplicity, and humility. I suppose they might be my New Year's Resolutions. Perhaps they will be meaningful to you as well.
1) Don't Sweat the Small Stuff
Often we allow ourselves to get all worked up about things that, upon closer examination, aren't really that big a deal. We focus on little problems and concerns, and blow them way out of proportion. So many people spend so much of their life and energy "sweating the small stuff" that they completely lose touch with the magic and beauty of life.
2) Become More Patient
The quality of patience goes a long way toward your goal of creating a more peaceful and loving self. Without patience, life is extremely frustrating. You are easily annoyed, bothered, and irritated. Patience adds a dimension of ease and acceptance to your life essential for inner peace. Becoming more patient involves opening your heart to the present moment, even if you don't like it.
3) Allow Yourself to be Bored
When you allow yourself to be bored, it takes an enormous amount of pressure off you to be performing and doing something every second every day. Much of our inner struggle and anxiety stems from our busy, overactive minds always needing something to entertain them. The beauty of doing nothing is that it teaches you to clear your mind and relax. It allows your mind the freedom to "not know" for a brief period of time. Just like your body, your mind needs an occasional break from its hectic routine. It comes back stronger, sharper, more focused and creative.
4) Spend a Moment Everyday Thinking of Someone to Thank
It might seem like a simple suggestion, but if you wake up in the morning with gratitude on your mind, it's pretty difficult, in fact almost impossible to feel anything but peace.
5) Smile at Strangers, Look into Their Eyes and Say Hello
6) Let Go of the Idea that Gentle, Relaxed People Can't Be Superachievers.
One of the major reasons so many of us remain hurried, frightened, competitive, and continue to live life as if it were one giant emergency, is the fear that if we were to become more peaceful and loving, we would suddenly stop achieving our goals. We would become lazy and apathetic. You can put this fear to rest by realizing the opposite is actually true. Fearful, frantic thinking takes an enormous amount of energy and drains the creativity and motivation from our lives.
6) Relax
Being relaxed means training yourself to respond differently to the dramas of life--reminding yourself that you have a choice on how you respond to life. Rather than thinking that relaxation exists only on vacation, think of it as a quality of heart that you can access on a regular basis.
7) Breathe Before You Speak, Don't Interrupt Others or Finish Their Sentences
This simple strategy almost immediately results in increased patience, added perspective, and as a side-benefit, more gratitude and respect from others. We often complete other people's sentences with "yeah, yeah" or "I know," very rapidly, urging them to hurry so that it will be our turn. The talking becomes more like a ping pong game. If you're at all like me, you'll be pleasantly amazed at the softer reactions and looks of surprise when you let others completely finish their thoughts before you begin yours.
9) Make Peace with Imperfection
I've yet to meet an absolute perfectionist whose life was filled with inner peace. The need for perfection and the desire for inner tranquility conflict with each other. Rather than being content and grateful for what we have, we become focused on what's wrong with something and our need to fix it. The solution here is to catch yourself when you fall into your habit of insisting that things should be other than they are. Gently remind yourself that life is okay the way it is, right now. In the absence of your judgment everything would be fine.
10) Lighten Up
These days, it seems that almost all of us are too serious. People are uptight and frustrated about virtually everything---being five minutes late, having someone else show up five minutes late, being stuck in traffic, overcooking a meal, making an honest mistake--you name it, we all lose perspective over it. The root of being uptight is our unwillingness to accept life as being different, in any way, from our expectations. Very simply we want things to be a certain way but they're not a certain way. Life is simply as it is. Perhaps Benjamin Franklin said it best: "Our limited perspective, our hopes and fears become our measure of life, and when circumstances don't fit our ideas, they become our difficulties." We spend our life wanting people, things, and events to be just as we want them to be--and when they're not, we fight and we suffer. When we let go of our expectations, when we accept life as it is, we're free, more content. To hold on is to be serious and uptight. To let go is to lighten up. When we lighten up, life is a lot more fun.
Merry Christmas Today and All Year Round!
We enjoyed Christmas Eve with Ron's family and a traditional meal of meatballs and mashed potatoes, a little gift opening for the kids, and a little dice play for the adults. When I returned home with the stack of packages from Ron's sisters I uncovered a small hardback book with a familiar title, "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff...(and it's all small stuff)."
Following Santa gifts and our Christmas breakfast rolls, I spent the latter part of the morning preparing our Christmas dinner. The turkey was great....the crock pot does a nice job of making a juicy, tender turkey and alleviates my concern of carving a dried-out, crispy bird (note Griswald's Christmas Vacation below). The stuffing and green bean casserole are easy side-dishes. The only part of the meal I questioned was the freeze dried, astronaut friendly, boxed mashed potatoes. I doubt many of my kin folk have made potatoes without peeling, dicing or mixing--but I prefer the box method-- much more efficient. Still, I went to great pains to hide my dirty secret and the evidence from my mother-in-law. Thankfully, the time saved from peeling potatoes would soon be consumed by relaxing with family and enjoying my favorite gift, "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff...and it's all small stuff (including mashed potatoes). "
We retired to our post-meal recovery spaces with book, computer, or Wii in hand. Sitting by the fire I told Ron the book was my favorite gift and asked who gave it to us. Ron laughed and said the book had likely been on his sister's coffee table since 1997...somehow in my packing haste I had inadvertently added the book to our gift collection. Sometimes the best gifts you receive are the old ones you accidentally steal!
So, in honor of our approaching New Year I thought I would share a few of the sentiments from the author Richard Carlson. These sentiments encourage me to approach 2010 in a manner that embraces living this present moment to its fullest...with love, generosity, enthusiasm, fun, simplicity, and humility. I suppose they might be my New Year's Resolutions. Perhaps they will be meaningful to you as well.
1) Don't Sweat the Small Stuff
Often we allow ourselves to get all worked up about things that, upon closer examination, aren't really that big a deal. We focus on little problems and concerns, and blow them way out of proportion. So many people spend so much of their life and energy "sweating the small stuff" that they completely lose touch with the magic and beauty of life.
2) Become More Patient
The quality of patience goes a long way toward your goal of creating a more peaceful and loving self. Without patience, life is extremely frustrating. You are easily annoyed, bothered, and irritated. Patience adds a dimension of ease and acceptance to your life essential for inner peace. Becoming more patient involves opening your heart to the present moment, even if you don't like it.
3) Allow Yourself to be Bored
When you allow yourself to be bored, it takes an enormous amount of pressure off you to be performing and doing something every second every day. Much of our inner struggle and anxiety stems from our busy, overactive minds always needing something to entertain them. The beauty of doing nothing is that it teaches you to clear your mind and relax. It allows your mind the freedom to "not know" for a brief period of time. Just like your body, your mind needs an occasional break from its hectic routine. It comes back stronger, sharper, more focused and creative.
4) Spend a Moment Everyday Thinking of Someone to Thank
It might seem like a simple suggestion, but if you wake up in the morning with gratitude on your mind, it's pretty difficult, in fact almost impossible to feel anything but peace.
5) Smile at Strangers, Look into Their Eyes and Say Hello
6) Let Go of the Idea that Gentle, Relaxed People Can't Be Superachievers.
One of the major reasons so many of us remain hurried, frightened, competitive, and continue to live life as if it were one giant emergency, is the fear that if we were to become more peaceful and loving, we would suddenly stop achieving our goals. We would become lazy and apathetic. You can put this fear to rest by realizing the opposite is actually true. Fearful, frantic thinking takes an enormous amount of energy and drains the creativity and motivation from our lives.
6) Relax
Being relaxed means training yourself to respond differently to the dramas of life--reminding yourself that you have a choice on how you respond to life. Rather than thinking that relaxation exists only on vacation, think of it as a quality of heart that you can access on a regular basis.
7) Breathe Before You Speak, Don't Interrupt Others or Finish Their Sentences
This simple strategy almost immediately results in increased patience, added perspective, and as a side-benefit, more gratitude and respect from others. We often complete other people's sentences with "yeah, yeah" or "I know," very rapidly, urging them to hurry so that it will be our turn. The talking becomes more like a ping pong game. If you're at all like me, you'll be pleasantly amazed at the softer reactions and looks of surprise when you let others completely finish their thoughts before you begin yours.
9) Make Peace with Imperfection
I've yet to meet an absolute perfectionist whose life was filled with inner peace. The need for perfection and the desire for inner tranquility conflict with each other. Rather than being content and grateful for what we have, we become focused on what's wrong with something and our need to fix it. The solution here is to catch yourself when you fall into your habit of insisting that things should be other than they are. Gently remind yourself that life is okay the way it is, right now. In the absence of your judgment everything would be fine.
10) Lighten Up
These days, it seems that almost all of us are too serious. People are uptight and frustrated about virtually everything---being five minutes late, having someone else show up five minutes late, being stuck in traffic, overcooking a meal, making an honest mistake--you name it, we all lose perspective over it. The root of being uptight is our unwillingness to accept life as being different, in any way, from our expectations. Very simply we want things to be a certain way but they're not a certain way. Life is simply as it is. Perhaps Benjamin Franklin said it best: "Our limited perspective, our hopes and fears become our measure of life, and when circumstances don't fit our ideas, they become our difficulties." We spend our life wanting people, things, and events to be just as we want them to be--and when they're not, we fight and we suffer. When we let go of our expectations, when we accept life as it is, we're free, more content. To hold on is to be serious and uptight. To let go is to lighten up. When we lighten up, life is a lot more fun.
Merry Christmas Today and All Year Round!
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