I struggled with this blog, truly wanting to inspire and show the ray of sun that lies on every horizon but my ‘Pollyanna” disposition was lost. Then I saw a post from my niece on Facebook. Not only is she talented and beautiful but she is influencing our world with her insights and wisdom. I am resubmitting her 2012 resolution because frankly I think there is little to improve upon. May all of you that are reading this have the fortitude to get through the highs and lows of the upcoming year. May you be happy and blessed to have love and family in your life and may you reach your goals of happiness and health despite the obstacles that come your way. Because what makes us genuinely better people is how we handle our challenges more than our victories! Be humble and be happy, it’s going be a GREAT year!
By Caroline Adair: “There were countless trials & tribulations this year, countless tragedies and disasters that will not be forgotten .There were wonderful things that took my breath away. I chose to be inspired. I vow to do something every single day, large or small, to help make the world a better place. I will look at the bright side. I will vote. I will volunteer. I will hold the door open for a stranger. I will smile at the grumpy person having a bad day. I am thankful for my health. I am thankful for my job and home and I am thankful for my wonderful friends and family. I am ready for the New Year!”
http://yearinreview.yahoo.com/2011/blog/1263/inspiring-video/

It’s down to the wire… shopping in chaos, wrapping the gifts
and cooking up a storm. The final push is here and with all my grandiose ideals
of remaining Zen during the holiday I find myself in the midst of a stressful
week! You can relate to the list that adds two more tasks as you cross one off.
The fact that the kids are out of school at the same time you are trying to
balance motherhood, your job,  overnight family
guests and the dreaded fruit cake  that
will eventually show up is an enormous amount of responsibility. Then add the
fact that you want to be available to your friends and family with a cheerful
disposition even though you are thinking how much you love them when they are
all ASLEEP! God help me because I am thinking I want them to shut up and leave
me alone! Add a few indiscretions in the diet, less sleep for myself and the slight
guilt factor of not working out as much as I should and voila’…you have a
formula for depleted energy and short tempers. So how do I regain my composure?
How do I manage to spread Christmas cheer without wanting to stuff the next fake
Santa I see up the chimney? Personally, I start with 5 minutes of quiet time. You can call
it meditation, prayer or closing your eyes so people think you are asleep and
will leave you alone for a few minutes. Then I get a hot cup of green tea which
is a great adaptogen (a nutrient that is supportive to the system instead of
taxing on it) and helps give you energy without the spiked and dropped feeling you get from sugar or coffee. Then I give myself a small dose of forgiveness. I try to remind myself that EVERYONE
gets stressed, EVERYONE has a laundry list to complete and EVERYONE needs
someone to acknowledge them even in the smallest of ways. So when you are in
the store make the clerk smile, let the little Grandma behind you get in line
first and bring someone else’s day up. You’ll find that you will affect your
energy in a positive way. During this beautiful time of year, remember there
are those that do not feel cheery about the holidays due to varied
circumstances and they are the ones that need to be uplifted the most. So when
the stress gets to you, keep in mind that you have been blessed with a roof
over your head and food on your table. You have friends and family that want
to spend time with you and 2012 is looking like a wonderful “do-over” that will
bring you a fantastic year. So with that being said I want to extend my holiday
wishes for all of you that are willing to spend your time reading my blogs and
providing feedback. May you experience the joy of family, the gift of health
and the happiness of laughter. If that doesn’t work, stuff the next Santa you
see up the chimney, you’ll be surprised how much better you’ll feel. And please
do not ask me why I know this! Merry Christmas!

I find that the act of showing love to another human in any of its various forms is one of the greatest gifts we can bestow on others. To speak kindly to a stranger, make an extra effort with a co-worker that may not be your favorite or simply pausing and letting your friend know that they are important to you shows love in varying degrees. Why then is it so hard to show that kindness to ourselves or even more importantly showing love and forgiveness to ourselves? The impact we make on others is huge but the scars we leave on ourselves last a lifetime. In some cases it may come across to the world as depression, anger or sadness. I feel that I make an effort everyday to show gratitude to those in my life and frankly I frequently fall short. So I beat myself up which has absolutely NO positive outcome or affect on future events. It really brings my energy down and I don’t feel love anymore. Not by others mind you, but love for myself. Just about the time I think I’m doing pretty well, the dreaded misstep occurs. Something is said to hurt my feelings or that little voice comes in and says the most awful things about my behavior or my lack of perfection. My voice stems from a lifetime of not feeling good enough but I have been practicing the art of letting that go. I make strides, you know the two steps forward and one step back, as the saying goes. Then a small kick to my ego happens and I start ruminating. “Why did I say that?” “What was I thinking when I ——-?” “Why can’t I be more hospitable? (Or quieter, or more helpful, or thinner)”! Feel free to fill in the blank. I know we all have these moments. We seem to think we are the worst at whatever is the faux pas of the day. Whether it be a valid indiscretion or not. Today I had a small reminder of my ego based doubts about my purpose in life and how I treat others. I started to drop into all of the reasons why or how I could have prevented this from occurring but I stopped myself and went back to my new commandments. I have gathered these sayings over the last few months and have them posted in several places that I see throughout the day. They are… (In no particular order)

Grace & Gratitude
Be The Water Not The Rock
Live The Life I Have Always Dreamed Of
Be Present
I Commit To Myself
I Commit To Life
I Forgive My Mistakes
I Show Myself To Others
I Am Always In The Right Place At The Right Time

Showing  love and kindness to yourself  is important if you want to show love and kindness to others. It hurts sometimes to look in the mirror. It hurts sometimes when we reach out to others and our actions are not welcomed or misinterpreted. These are the times you have to REALLY love yourself and show kindness in a big way. Coming up with your own commandments can impact you significantly. I highly suggest you try it out. If your intentions are honest but you feel “less than perfect” in your actions, go to these commandments and recite them! If you have had a fantastic day, recite them! If you have been shown kindness and love from others, recite them! If you have been wronged even in a minor way, RECITE them! The more you love yourself, the more the world will see that beautiful, authentic soul inside of you. The one that is just screaming to get out!

Changing our lifestyle to be more fit and healthy is a process. It stems from building your knowledge about proper eating, hard work and consistent choices. I was so happy for a recent revelation that one of my “star” clients had. She has spent the last year transforming her body and mind. She has dropped over thirty pounds and 3 pant sizes. Has muscle tone that rivals a college student and she is twice the age. Her physical changes are obvious to her family, friends and co-workers. But the surprise that revealed itself to us both happened this week. She had to prepare for a scope of the lower and upper GI tract as a regular routine test for a person her age. It required a “prep” diet that involved the elimination of all fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, protein shakes etc. All of the food choices she has come to rely on for mental and physical energy. The recommendations for eating were meat, white bread and processed foods that had little nutrition and fiber. By the time I saw her she was low in energy and feeling “punky” as she put it. She did not need to cut calories so that was not the issue. She knew at that moment that all of the foods she had been choosing over the last year that were full of enzymes, phytonutrients and life-force were an irreplaceable part of her health. That a few days without these items made her feel worn out and sluggish just emphasized how essential this ingredients were to her active and happy life. Her biggest dream was to eat oatmeal and salad again the next day. At this moment we had realized that not only had she transformed her body but also her mind and spirit. That she now craved the nutrition of good food as opposed to the “cheap” high that fast food or sugar provided was proof of what true success is! I guess the old adage is true, that you never know how much you miss something until it’s gone. That the life we choose to invest in is worth the uncomfortable stages we must go though. That in the end we have truly gained success when we know that the choices we make are the right ones and also the ones we want!

do you enjoy facing changes that are imposed on you?

How do you deal with change?

Some of us deal with change easily and embrace change, as it gives us variety and excitement, others of us feel wary of change, don’t like to leave our comfort zones and try new things or have new ways put upon us.

The world is though, always changing, nothing stays the same, we are on a continuous circle or wheel throughout our lives, sometimes we are at the top, other times we are at the bottom and the rest of the time we are in-between.

If we wait for change to be imposed on us – this is when it can be really difficult as we have not asked for it, perhaps were not waiting for it, do not want it. evertheless if it is imposed we have to del with it.

So how can we accept changes imposed on us more easily, how can we look forward to change and see it as an opportunity, an exciting journey, something to embrace?

Th first thing you can do is to start making changes for yourself, instead of simply waiting for them to be imposed on you. Try it starting today, think of one small thing that you can change in yoru life that will make your life better, easier, more fun.

It may be something as simple as changing the colour of our lipstick, or your tie. It may be something like changing what you eat for breakfast or trying a new drink.

It doesnt matter what it is as long as it is a change, something that you normally wouldn’t do.

When you make the change, listen to your thoughts, take note of what you feel and how you feel, do you feel confident, scared, apprehensive, excited?

What was the effect of the change on your day?

Practice making one change – whether small or big – everyday and you wll soon notice a difference in your life and will soon look for new things to do, new ways of doing things and will find yourself wanting to make bigger and more dramatic changes for yourself in your life.

As you begin to feel comfortable making your own changes and start to look forward to making changes, when changes are imposed on you they will no longer be the dreaded things in your life but they will become things that excite you and that you know you can deal with easily and effortlessly.

To your every success
Carol