kristinspiration

A Choice We Make

Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of body positivity.pngWe all have issues.  We have things that make life complicated and unpleasant.Weight is a hot button for many people and they get caught in the trap of thinking and even saying, “if only I were thinner,” then waiting to lose weight so that something great and magical can happen for them.

The truth is, happiness is a choice we make each and everyday, fat or thin, young or old, healthy or unhealthy.  We can choose how we react to challenging circumstances.  We can meet them with resentment and an attitude of entitlement or we can meet them with gratitude and happiness.  Happy people choose to be happy, each and every day.  That’s not to say things don’t cause us sadness and pain, but we can’t hold onto our pain and anger like a badge of honor, because pain and anger chain us to the past and being happy is an experience that gets us and keeps us in the present, which is so full of so many beautiful things, if we’re paying attention.

Today, choose to be happy and see what it yields for you.

happy heart

 

Body Positivity: You are a Human Evolving

Copy of Copy of Copy of body positivityEvery moment we are evolving, growing, changing.  New cells are formed, others die.  We are in a constant state of change.  Have compassion for where you are right now, not where you think you “should” be, but where you truly are.  You can evolve and change, but you also have to have a deep love for yourself and where you are today.  Part of having body positivity is embracing that you are human in a human body and that you are in a process of evolving.

Peace on Earth, Peace in Space…

peace in space

Oil painting by Robert McCall

My dear friends,

This past year I have really gotten in touch with how much I have to be grateful for.  Even tonight, even when things weren’t going so well over my Christmas dinner out, I found touch points of gratitude and that was the gift of my 2017.  I could always find something to be genuinely grateful for.

For 2018, I think we all need a little more PEACE.  We ask, and sing and talk about “peace on earth” year after year that I think that it becomes tinny with the repetition.  However, I think we need to find a deep and profound peace more than ever.  Even if we disagree with something or someone politically, we need to find peace.  Even if that someone or something, manages to irk us every single time, we need to find peace.

This Christmas Eve, I am committing my 2018 to creating, fostering and maintaining peace.  It was St. Francis of Assisi who popularized what we now call a creche or a manager scene.  And it was also St. Francis who prayed, “make me an instrument of Your peace.”

I love this painting above by Robert McCall.  It points to how small we are, how small many of our problems are, compared to the vastness of the cosmos.  However, I think if we all do our small part to be the peace we are seeking, that can also do so much good.

My Christmas wish for you is to find the peace you are seeking.  If you are seeking peace of mind, I hope you find it.  I hope you create it.  If your heart is at unrest, I hope for you to have a peaceful heart in 2018.  Seekers are finders and I hope you seek peace and find it.

Happiest Holiday to You & Yours!

Much Love,

Kristin

We All Get Trapped in the Linen Cabinet

My day started off with a faint scratching.  It was cat claws on something, a milder version of the cringe-worthy nails-on-a-chalkboard sound.

“Catty, what are you doing?”

Nothing.  Silence.

I sip my coffee and begin to deal with notifications:  Facebook, Twitter, heaps of crap email.

That sound again.

“Catty, what ARE YOU DOING?”

I look around and no cat creating chaos.  I looked in on the cat box.  No cat creating a mess.  I looked around the living room where the cat sometimes rebels and poos anyway.  No mess.  I sit back down on the couch.

Nails-on-chalkboard sound.  CRINGE.

“Mercury?”

A faint mew.

“Mercury?”

I look around, doing a 360.  No cat in his usual spots.

“Mercury?”

A faint mew.

I open the linen cabinet.  Mercury, sitting atop a pile of towels, stares at me.  Somehow, when I was putting the towels away late last night, I had failed to notice he had gotten in there, and apparently spent the night there.  I had serious cat mom guilt.  I’ve spent most of the day hugging and petting this little guy.

I won’t be able to ascertain how long Mercury wanted to actually spend in the linen cabinet versus how much time he was actually trapped in there.   However, I’ve come to appreciate something very important.  Sometimes cries for help are faint.  It was that soft mew that led me to him.  If our furry friends have this issue, then certainly our human friends do too.  We have to be better listeners and curious listeners, not just listening for the sake of hearing, but listening for the sake of learning and hopefully, helping.

Everyone has their own linen cabinet.  For some it’s depression and for some, a rarely-spoken-of trauma.  Some spend a lot of time in the dark, just waiting for a door to open.  If you haven’t heard from someone in a while, are you listening closely enough?  Are you giving them space to be heard?

Sometimes I Press the “Random” Button

Sometimes not everything is peachy in Kristin-land.  I have my ups and downs.  There’s that catchphrase, “The struggle is real.”  Well, the stupid is real too and some days are full of very real and very consequential stupid.

fml bitmoji

I have had to learn how to manage a few roller coaster situations  in the last few months.   I’ve had to work on checking in with myself and I’ve found a surprising source of happy-my Tumblr.  My Tumblr has been godsend the past few months.

My Tumblr consists of mostly things I find fun, interesting and make me happy.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve pressed the “Random” button, seen a photo I’ve long forgotten and broken into a smile.  It’s my happy bank.

tumblr screen shot

There’s a lot of rancor on social media.  It’s the zeitgeist.  However, I think we all need a little digital happy place, one that we don’t feel the need to impress too much or grow following, just a space to let those memories that make us happy “be”.  If I were craftier, I’d scrapbook, but then I’d have to carry it around everywhere.   Considering my penchant for mislaying things, it’s probably best that my happy bank is digitized.

My point is, sometimes life hits hard.  It may be difficult to see the blessings.  You may be barraged by stupid.  When those times come, it’s important to remember the good times.  Fill your happy bank and your heart will always be full of gratitude when you need it most.  For me, it’s a small space on Tumblr.  Explore what works for you.

 

Thoughts on Passover & Easter

I am very blessed to live in a household that celebrates both Easter and Passover.  I am on a very poignant personal journey at the moment and my thoughts turned to the messages of this week.  I think we could all use a little wisdom from the Easter and Passover stories.

A few thoughts, inspired by Passover:

  1. Identify 10 things that are plaguing you or holding you back.  Understand that you can’t control them.  Commit to controlling how you respond to them.  Identify 10 blessings.
  2. What are you a slave to? Money, prestige, appearances?
  3. You may be the unlikely choice to be a leader. Lead anyway, even if by example.
  4. All who are wander are not lost. Keep going.  It may take a while.
  5. What things in your life need an exit strategy?

A few thoughts, inspired by Easter:

  1. Not everything is as it appears. Just because something is dormant doesn’t mean it is dead.
  2. Sometimes life is really unfair and unjust. Fight for justice and fairness when you can.
  3. We all experience betrayal. We all experience disappointment in our friends. Forgive and look at your boundaries.  Do you have healthy boundaries?
  4. Fortune is fickle. We may be on top of the world one week, crucified the next.  Stay humble.
  5. There is always a new beginning, even after the worst circumstances. Live for today, hope for tomorrow.

Whether your personal journey is through the book of Exodus or the New Testament or trailblazing your own path, spring is a great time to re-evaluate all that needs fresh energy in your life.  I hope you are having a Blessed Passover and/or Joyous Easter!  And for those not celebrating, a Happy Spring!

Love is a Verb

Love is a verb.  Just as much as love is a feeling, love is what we do and don’t do for ourselves and others.

Love is:

Standing up for yourself and others.

Doing the thankless things that have to be done, whether anyone sees them, appreciates them or not.

Sharing.

Paying attention.

Comforting the hurting.

Saying thank you for no apparent reason.

 

Love is not:

money

gifts

fame

sex

Love is powerful, when you know what it is.

Love is liberating, when you know what it is not.