Are You A Sponge?

Posted by random olio

Are you a sponge? Do you feed off of the energy of those around you? I love this Daily Om from a few weeks ago called: “Centered and Safe.” It resonates with me because I find that when I am not balanced or listening to my inner voice, I can easily become a sponge to other’s moods, complaints, or joy. The good part is when I am a sponge for joy. The not fun part is when it is the opposite. You know when you are grumpy and someone else’s happiness kicks your mood’s butt? Those are the good perks of being a sponge. What is bad is when you can be in a great place, and someone’s poopy attitude sways you to become grumpy and frustrated.

I have worked hard over the past few months to be clear on when my moods are affected by those I am surrounded by on a daily basis. Do I feel frazzled and stressed out because those around me do? Can I leave the mood of others behind by finding the good in a bad or not fun situation? Another way to think about it is what the Daily Om calls being sensitive. I think “being sensitive” gets a bad rap. Many times the word “sensitive” has a negative connotation of being weak or easily influenced. I do not think of the word sensitive in that way. Dictionary.com lists “sensitive” as:

sen·si·tive [sen-si-tiv] adjective

1. endowed with sensation; having perception through the senses.

2. readily or excessively affected by external agencies or influences.

3. having acute mental or emotional sensibility; aware of and responsive to the feelings of others.

4. easily pained, annoyed, etc.

5. pertaining to or connected with the senses or sensation.

#3 is what resonates with me. So, the better balanced an individual is with their own selves, the easier it is to accommodate their own sensitive nature. In a good way. So if you are a sponge, you have a choice of how much of another’s moods you let into your experience. Are you aware of what you are absorbing?

You might also find Tuesday’s Daily Om resonates with you. It is called: “Let it Roll Off Our Back.” It is a good reminder to let things go and not get too caught up in someone else’s negative energy.

I am going to be on watch for when I need to squeeze out the junk from my sponge and when I need to keep absorbing the good!

Obesity And Healthcare Costs

Posted by random olio

Obesity and money. Two topics that can be taboo to talk about in our society. Yet they should not be. We should be able to talk about our financial future and our bodies, our health, or lack thereof. These past few years I have become hardcore about my health; what I eat and what I put into my body. I would also add that I have become adamant about what goes into my body via my mind too. I want Chris to make this print for the wall when you come in our front door:

“You are responsible for the energy you bring into this home.”

I think we are all responsible (or need to be) for what we allow into our thoughts, how we treat our bodies, and how we treat others. It all starts with respect. This article I read recently really opened my thought. It is not an article as much as it is an infographic on obesity and healthcare costs.

image from infographic

It is hard for me to even explain here, so you’ll have to click the above link to look at the charts and graphs of obesity costs. It shows me that we have our work cut out for us. How did this happen? How have we as a country become so obese? How has it become the fastest growing healthcare challenge? What are we going to do about it?

My hope is that we start by putting down our iPhones and computers. Actually bring the iPhone, I do not care, just get outside with it and start to move, and move, and move. And stop eating fast food, and processed foods, and preservatives. And start eating natural fruits and vegetables. And start caring about the energy that you bring into your home. This body has to serve us, it has to support us.

Do you think about the energy you bring into your day? Into your job? Your home? Your body?

Happiness = Eternal Stench of Running Clothes

Posted by random olio

Happy Friday! What do you do each day to get exercise? Do you sit in cubicle hell all day, or do you have the ability to move around, stretch, and have an active day?

I spent most of my life NOT running. Now I cannot seem to get enough of it. I want to go everyday and usually I do not want to stop when I need to due to other obligations, or because I am wiped out. I crave it. I often think about what would happen if I had been enamored with running earlier in life. Why did it take me so many years? Did I think I would not be good enough? Did I think it would be too exhausting? I cannot remember, all I know now is that I cannot imagine my life without running in it.

It is not that I did not have encouragement. A very close friend from college ran daily, often winning races and hiding the trophies in the back of her closet. She was a badass (and still is) but never wanted to talk about her race wins. She would often come back to our room for a quick shower before dinner completely caked in mud and gloriously happy. What did she already understand that took me years to wrap my arms around?

The key for me is the euphoria I feel when I finish a run. I feel pushed and stretched. I feel like I am being responsible for my health and taking care of myself. I feel like I have had an hour to myself. I feel content. While my husband would prefer to not smell the stench of my running clothes hanging in the bathroom, he obliges because he knows how happy it makes me. The stench = hard work, dedication, accomplishment = happiness.

Do you have a daily exercise routine that makes your day balanced?

Love what you have…

Posted by random olio

Do you enjoy your life? Do you work hard to meet some unattainable goal? Do you ever wonder why you try so hard, and whether you are missing out on some other aspect of your life in the process?

I woke up this morning (of course not wanting to get out of bed), with an immense amount of gratitude and appreciation for what I have today. It is so easy to look forward at what is next, to anticipate that x or y will happen, and in doing so we lose sight of what is NOW, what is today. What if you were able to only look at what you had to accomplish today? What if we had no capacity to wonder how we will ever accomplish what is on our ongoing plate of to-dos, and we could only do what was possible today?

For those of you that know me well, or who have been following my blog for a while know that I have an interest in personal finance. As I have grown up, I’ve been in situations where life has forced me to understand the steps to take regarding wills, estates, living wills, life insurance, etc. This has led me to want to know more and understand what we can do to set up our financial future for ourselves and family (or future family).

Due to my interest in personal finance, I follow the LearnVest newsletter each day. Recently I found a newsletter I saved from January that really spoke to me about gratitude. While I do not think I have Money Comparisonitis, this newsletter on “Money Comparisonitis” (specifically the 4th bullet) can cross over to any area of our life. I also think the following points in their newsletter are good reminders:

“Be grateful for the things you already have, whether that means your health, close friendships, the love of your family or your fulfilling career.”

Later it says:

“One way to better appreciate the good things is to make a gratitude list every day, which will remind you of everything in your life you’re already grateful for. And, ultimately, that’s the best way to keep comparisonitis at bay.”

What if we lived in present gratitude instead of moments of anticipation? What is on my gratitude list will be different from what is on yours, but nevertheless we all have a lot to be grateful for.

It is almost time for the weekend. What if we focused on gratitude and appreciation for the next few days?!

EmpowHER Blogger Network

Posted by random olio

I recently became affiliated with the EmpowHER Blogger Network. EmpowHER is a Social Health Community for Women. I highly recommend taking a moment to explore their website. You will find many women bloggers writing about women’s issues, health and wellness, exercise, eating, weight, etc. While there are lots of pages of things I might not be as interested about (on diseases, or not so happy topics) I am sure that many folks find the resources on the website helpful to them. I wanted to share their website for those of you that might be interested, as I follow their exercise and eating healthy topics.

Exercise and healthy eating is NOW important to me, but it has not always been. I grew up in Indiana, where I might have mentioned in a past blog post that corn should have been listed as the state vegetable. There is a small amusement park/area in Indiana called: Indiana Beach. They have a tagline of: “There is more than corn in Indiana.” I am not sure I believe them! Well, truth be told, I grew up hating my vegetables. It took at least until I was twenty-five years old and married before I would start to enjoy eating any vegetable (thank you, hubby for making them so yummy). I started to enjoy vegetables because of how he prepared them, and also because living in Oregon there are a vast variety of vegetables that grow local and are fresh and easily accessible to obtain, especially with our many farmers markets.

Lots of things have happened in my life since my vegetable breakthrough, I will not go into those now, but I will tell you that what has resulted from all those things is an excitement for eating healthy and for consistent exercise. Friends that knew me from a younger age are still shocked at my transformation with food. I now willingly ask for vegetables at restaurants, crave them, and know that they are benefiting my health. Changing my diet has changed my mood, my energy level, and driven me to be motivated to stay in shape and be healthy. As I have changed my diet, I have also gotten into running. I try to run at least 6 days a week, it has been a great stress release from the day. The other idea on my list to try is boxing, this article about women boxing workouts on the EmpowHER site has inspired me to see where I can start boxing in my area. Here is another good article from their website on 5 Ways to Exercise Everyday.

Take a moment to explore their website!