i'm the mother of a very courageous little boy.
john and i took the kids jet skiing in mexico.
knowing riley's love for speed, john, um, "volunteered" to ride with her. and when i say "volunteered" i mean he pulled my hair, poked me in the eye, and dislocated my knee as we were racing to see who got to her jet ski first.
nah, not really. but we both really, really wanted to ride with her because we both like to go really, really fast.
in contrast, wyatt sometimes tells me to slow down when i'm pushing him around the grocery store in their racecar shopping carts. "too fast" he'll tell me.
too fast? i've only got 2 wheels that are spinning regularly ... the third is tangled up in some kind of string they use to truss up hams and the fourth is not even touching the ground. it's not possible to go "too fast" in a rig like this.
but a jet ski ... ah, there's some speed for ya.
john and i once jet skiied all the way around paradise island and the atlantis resort twice in our allotted time when we'd been warned we'd be pushing it to make it around once.
his hind quarters looked like he'd been sitting on a cheese grater when he was done (something about little mesh swimsuits inside the outside swimsuit ... guys, i feel for ya.)
anyway, i drew the short jet ski straw with wyatt as my riding buddy.
we got on. i "accelerated" enough to move us a foot or two off shore and he started ordering me to "SLOW DOWN!"
bummer.
so, keeping us just out of a stall, we head out in to the caribbean ocean.
my son and i.
the first ten minutes went something like this:
wyatt: "SLOW DOWN!"
me: "I CAN'T GO ANY SLOWER"
jet ski: "STALL"
wyatt: "SLOW DOWN!"
me: "I CAN'T. THE JET SKI IS OFF"
neither one of us was having any fun.
he was terrified and i was frustrated.
PING
the emotional guidance system. bad feelings. something here is not lining up with who i've chosen to be.
so i changed the conversation because i am a patient, insightful, loving parent. that's who i choose to be.
me: "wyatt, you are a very courageous little boy."
wyatt: "thanks, what's courageous mean?"
me: "it means you're being brave even when you're afraid."
wyatt: "thanks. wanna feel my muscles?"
me: "absolutely. you ready to go super fast like a rocket?"
wyatt: "no. SLOW DOWN!"
me: "let's be courageous and go "super fast" like a rocket. here we go ... "(still traveling just above a stall ...)
jet ski: "STALL"
wyatt - with a huge smile: "that was FUN, let's go super fast like a rocket again because i'm really courageous and i have reallly big muscles wanna feel them?"
me: "yeh, buddy, lemme feel them then let's go "super fast" like a rocket 'cause you're courageous."
wyatt is now bouncing in the seat he's so excited to get moving at a crawl again. and that's how we spent the remainder of our time together on the jet ski. moving at a crawl with him sooooo excited that, in his world, we were going super fast and he's courageous.
he's empowered.
he's courageous.
he's out having the experience.
he's having fun.
i'm having fun.
we're stalling.
and we're stalling.
and we're stalling.
and it doesn't matter.
i simply changed the conversation from what was wrong, to what was right.
who's to say "super fast like a rocket" isn't just a notch above "stall" after all?
today, that's the highlight of his trip. he bragged about it at preschool yesterday. he wants to know when we can go again.
it was a great experience for him. and for me too.
in the face of frustration, i simply looked for a different perspective - and there it was.
in the face of his fear, he got to be courageous. now he knows what that feels like so as we challenge him to be courageous in other areas of life, he gets to draw on that experience. even as a 4 year old. because now sees himself as courageous.
and that's where unstoppable kids come from.
adults too.
go forth and be courageous!
~aunt bea says "hey".
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
i love my garage
so yesterday i was standing in my garage with six suitcases staring me down.
dirty vacation clothes.
six suitcases for 4 people for a week. plus everyone has a carry on bag. so really it's 10 pieces of luggage for 4 people for a week. and yesterday everything from 10 suitcases was spread out on the garage floor.
which is cool, 'cause we have a 4 car garage plus work space. lots and lots of room.
i could spread all this stuff out and the sand and stuff stayed outside. aunt bea had a great time living our trip vicariously as she sniffed through piles and piles of clothes and snorkels and masks and fins and pool toys ...
but i found myself thinking out loud ... "boy am i going to MISS this garage when we move!"
PING
there it is. the "lack" thinking. the "little" thinking that holds us back.
so i changed the conversation in my head.
"i'm gonna miss this garage" became something way more powerful ...
"TODAY, i am so happy and grateful for this fabulous garage."
and there it is. the tool to turn everything in to gratitude.
i love this house. this house signifies a lot to me. possibilities. playing big in life. taking risks.
but we're under contract and selling in may to make the move to texas.
as we've begun to plan the move, i've had little waves of missing this house already. only yesterday did i realize how unproductive those thoughts really are.
why am i already missing what i have today? anticipation of loss?
today is ALL i have! soooo ...
TODAY, i am so happy and grateful for my big, beautiful jetted bathtub that holds two kids and a dog.
(i just attempted to load the "dog & her boy in bathtub" pic but blogger gave me the following error message: BVG:15837561823950. let me know if you can decipher that, would ya?)
TODAY, i am so happy and grateful for the incredible view of the sunrise hitting pike's peak i can see from every window in my house.
it's easy to go back to "sleep" so to speak - to get wrapped up in future plans to the extent that we fail to notice the stuff right here and right now we have to be grateful for.
this is nothing new, especially for those of you who've engaged in some powerful personal growth tools like "Beyond Freedom" or "The Law of Attraction" or "The Secret".
the key is how we pull these tools in to our lives. i think sometimes we're looking for opportunities in the big moments of life when really the golden opportunities are in the little things.
little stretches throughout our day.
quality questions we ask ourselves.
the courage to BE someone different in the face habits and routines and persistent ways of BEING that have served us our whole lives.
abundance and gratitude.
they're circular. they flow together. they're indistinguishable.
man, life is cool~
aunt bea says "hey".
dirty vacation clothes.
six suitcases for 4 people for a week. plus everyone has a carry on bag. so really it's 10 pieces of luggage for 4 people for a week. and yesterday everything from 10 suitcases was spread out on the garage floor.
which is cool, 'cause we have a 4 car garage plus work space. lots and lots of room.
i could spread all this stuff out and the sand and stuff stayed outside. aunt bea had a great time living our trip vicariously as she sniffed through piles and piles of clothes and snorkels and masks and fins and pool toys ...
but i found myself thinking out loud ... "boy am i going to MISS this garage when we move!"
PING
there it is. the "lack" thinking. the "little" thinking that holds us back.
so i changed the conversation in my head.
"i'm gonna miss this garage" became something way more powerful ...
"TODAY, i am so happy and grateful for this fabulous garage."
and there it is. the tool to turn everything in to gratitude.
i love this house. this house signifies a lot to me. possibilities. playing big in life. taking risks.
but we're under contract and selling in may to make the move to texas.
as we've begun to plan the move, i've had little waves of missing this house already. only yesterday did i realize how unproductive those thoughts really are.
why am i already missing what i have today? anticipation of loss?
today is ALL i have! soooo ...
TODAY, i am so happy and grateful for my big, beautiful jetted bathtub that holds two kids and a dog.
(i just attempted to load the "dog & her boy in bathtub" pic but blogger gave me the following error message: BVG:15837561823950. let me know if you can decipher that, would ya?)
TODAY, i am so happy and grateful for the incredible view of the sunrise hitting pike's peak i can see from every window in my house.
it's easy to go back to "sleep" so to speak - to get wrapped up in future plans to the extent that we fail to notice the stuff right here and right now we have to be grateful for.
this is nothing new, especially for those of you who've engaged in some powerful personal growth tools like "Beyond Freedom" or "The Law of Attraction" or "The Secret".
the key is how we pull these tools in to our lives. i think sometimes we're looking for opportunities in the big moments of life when really the golden opportunities are in the little things.
little stretches throughout our day.
quality questions we ask ourselves.
the courage to BE someone different in the face habits and routines and persistent ways of BEING that have served us our whole lives.
abundance and gratitude.
they're circular. they flow together. they're indistinguishable.
man, life is cool~
aunt bea says "hey".
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
eyebrows and abundance
this time yesterday we were in mexico. today we're back in colorado.
slept in my own bed last night. aunt bea's back from her stay at star kennels, where she gets extra special loving 'cause that's where she was born. hound-dog lookin' lab she is!
life is good.
vacations are great. coming back home is also great.
we had a lot of fun, spent quality time with a lot of people we've grown to love like family, hung out a bunch with our kids, and received some truly life changing information.
i've heard michael losier speak before. i've read his book "The Law of Attraction" a couple of times and even done the exercises.
but i now know that i can hear the same information over and over and when i'm allowing transformation to take root in my life there will be a day when the light bulb actually turns on.
i'll get it.
whatever "it" is.
that allows me to relax when i'm open to teaching, trusting that i will "get" whatever it is i'm ready to receive.
i "got" something big from mr. losier this week and it has to do with abundance and being open to receiving.
michael recommends keeping an abundance journal.
i've never done that. although i probably did buy a binder, label it nicely with "Abundance Journal", maybe even put some nice dividers in it and then put it on the shelf and never wrote a danged thing in it. i also recall setting up an "Inspiration" subdirectory on my computer and setting up and "Abundance" file ... suspect it's empty too.
that's the game i play sometimes: "getting ready to get ready".
my friend shane said once "you've got to have a lust for the end result, not the process." admittedly, sometimes i enjoy the process. ahhh, but that's a topic for another blog.
but i got something when we did a little exercise during the Liberty conference as we were writing down areas of financial abundance in our lives. whether it's finding money on the ground or getting a free dessert with your dinner or getting an unexpected gift in the mail or winning the lottery ... it's all abundance.
so this is what happened. i got my hair "done" before the trip ... spiffy highlights and a nice haircut from my favorite hair-gal, Amy at HairArtz in castle rock. stop by and say hey to amy sometime. she gives awesome ho-hawks*. anyway, amy threw in a little eyebrow waxing just 'cause i'm her friend and all. and i felt really, really bad about it. guilty.
*that's 4-year-old-speak for "fake mohawk", by the way ...
as we're recalling incidents of abundance in our lives i thought about amy and the way i felt when she told me she'd comp'ed the eyebrow deal. i hadn't asked for it. i certainly didn't expect it. i felt guilty about about it.
in fact, i recall insisting "oh, you don't have to do that ... blah, blah, blah".
i tipped big to make up for it. which is cool, except when the big tip is driven by guilt.
which mine was.
suddenly i stopped writing during the exercise ...
i had the "feeling". that knowingness in my soul and in every cell of my body that i just got something huge.
in every area of my life i had been choosing to actually push abundance away out of guilt or some deservability issue.
when we were expecting both the kids, i received numerous offers for baby showers thrown in our honor.
i turned them all down. the very thought of it made me uncomfortable.
compliments? they'd embarrass me.
public displays of appreciation? i'm tongue-tied.
someone offers their assistance? i turn it down.
in fact, the morning of this exercise a great friend, samantha, had actually offered to watch my kids at the pool during the conference. our kids are all about the same age and have a great time playing together. the kind of kids that are easier to wrangle when they're all together because they are having so much fun.
what did i do?
i said "thank you thank you thank you - but, no thank you."
why?
because i didn't want to impose on samanatha.
that might make me look bad.
so, my kids spent 5 hours inside that day when they could have been playing in pool in the mexican sunshine because i couldn't graciously receive sam's offer - because i didn't want to look bad. because i chose not to receive her abundance.
i had actually been pushing abundance away from my life, and my kids' lives, because i hadn't seen my resistance to receiving.
ahhhh, i got it. i really really got it.
so i'm committed to keeping a daily abundance journal.
everyday.
evidence.
proof.
gratitude. the highest vibration.
i'm grateful for the abundance that i now see for the first time. it surrounds me.
i'm grateful that i'm on the court in my life ...
that i choose to surround myself with what's right and what's working ...
that i have a community of people who have taken a stand for me and for themselves ...
that i have a business that rewards me when i figure this stuff out!
that tomorrow will be better than today ...
that each and every day i'm getting better and better ...
that i can hear michael losier for the third time and receive such an empowering nugget of information for the first time.
for the Liberty conference ... which blew me away.
for being back home.
so here are some entries from today's financial abundance journal:
darrell, the dishwashing machine repairman, didn't charge me a trip charge this morning when my dishwasher was leaking.
aunt bea got free playtime at the kennel.
i opened my wallet a little while ago and i could swear i came home with the same amount of cash i left with.
there's a 5 figure check in my wallet itching to be cashed.
we have an abundance of clothes - albeit most of them are dirty right now - but they still smell like salt and sunscreen and pool water so we're technically still on vacation.
i could go on forever but aunt bea keeps bringing me toy after toy which is 5-month-old-lab-speak for "you throw stuff and i'll go get it and then we'll do that thing again and again".
here's to ABUNDANCE!
~aunt bea says "hey".
slept in my own bed last night. aunt bea's back from her stay at star kennels, where she gets extra special loving 'cause that's where she was born. hound-dog lookin' lab she is!
life is good.
vacations are great. coming back home is also great.
we had a lot of fun, spent quality time with a lot of people we've grown to love like family, hung out a bunch with our kids, and received some truly life changing information.
i've heard michael losier speak before. i've read his book "The Law of Attraction" a couple of times and even done the exercises.
but i now know that i can hear the same information over and over and when i'm allowing transformation to take root in my life there will be a day when the light bulb actually turns on.
i'll get it.
whatever "it" is.
that allows me to relax when i'm open to teaching, trusting that i will "get" whatever it is i'm ready to receive.
i "got" something big from mr. losier this week and it has to do with abundance and being open to receiving.
michael recommends keeping an abundance journal.
i've never done that. although i probably did buy a binder, label it nicely with "Abundance Journal", maybe even put some nice dividers in it and then put it on the shelf and never wrote a danged thing in it. i also recall setting up an "Inspiration" subdirectory on my computer and setting up and "Abundance" file ... suspect it's empty too.
that's the game i play sometimes: "getting ready to get ready".
my friend shane said once "you've got to have a lust for the end result, not the process." admittedly, sometimes i enjoy the process. ahhh, but that's a topic for another blog.
but i got something when we did a little exercise during the Liberty conference as we were writing down areas of financial abundance in our lives. whether it's finding money on the ground or getting a free dessert with your dinner or getting an unexpected gift in the mail or winning the lottery ... it's all abundance.
so this is what happened. i got my hair "done" before the trip ... spiffy highlights and a nice haircut from my favorite hair-gal, Amy at HairArtz in castle rock. stop by and say hey to amy sometime. she gives awesome ho-hawks*. anyway, amy threw in a little eyebrow waxing just 'cause i'm her friend and all. and i felt really, really bad about it. guilty.
*that's 4-year-old-speak for "fake mohawk", by the way ...
as we're recalling incidents of abundance in our lives i thought about amy and the way i felt when she told me she'd comp'ed the eyebrow deal. i hadn't asked for it. i certainly didn't expect it. i felt guilty about about it.
in fact, i recall insisting "oh, you don't have to do that ... blah, blah, blah".
i tipped big to make up for it. which is cool, except when the big tip is driven by guilt.
which mine was.
suddenly i stopped writing during the exercise ...
i had the "feeling". that knowingness in my soul and in every cell of my body that i just got something huge.
in every area of my life i had been choosing to actually push abundance away out of guilt or some deservability issue.
when we were expecting both the kids, i received numerous offers for baby showers thrown in our honor.
i turned them all down. the very thought of it made me uncomfortable.
compliments? they'd embarrass me.
public displays of appreciation? i'm tongue-tied.
someone offers their assistance? i turn it down.
in fact, the morning of this exercise a great friend, samantha, had actually offered to watch my kids at the pool during the conference. our kids are all about the same age and have a great time playing together. the kind of kids that are easier to wrangle when they're all together because they are having so much fun.
what did i do?
i said "thank you thank you thank you - but, no thank you."
why?
because i didn't want to impose on samanatha.
that might make me look bad.
so, my kids spent 5 hours inside that day when they could have been playing in pool in the mexican sunshine because i couldn't graciously receive sam's offer - because i didn't want to look bad. because i chose not to receive her abundance.
i had actually been pushing abundance away from my life, and my kids' lives, because i hadn't seen my resistance to receiving.
ahhhh, i got it. i really really got it.
so i'm committed to keeping a daily abundance journal.
everyday.
evidence.
proof.
gratitude. the highest vibration.
i'm grateful for the abundance that i now see for the first time. it surrounds me.
i'm grateful that i'm on the court in my life ...
that i choose to surround myself with what's right and what's working ...
that i have a community of people who have taken a stand for me and for themselves ...
that i have a business that rewards me when i figure this stuff out!
that tomorrow will be better than today ...
that each and every day i'm getting better and better ...
that i can hear michael losier for the third time and receive such an empowering nugget of information for the first time.
for the Liberty conference ... which blew me away.
for being back home.
so here are some entries from today's financial abundance journal:
darrell, the dishwashing machine repairman, didn't charge me a trip charge this morning when my dishwasher was leaking.
aunt bea got free playtime at the kennel.
i opened my wallet a little while ago and i could swear i came home with the same amount of cash i left with.
there's a 5 figure check in my wallet itching to be cashed.
we have an abundance of clothes - albeit most of them are dirty right now - but they still smell like salt and sunscreen and pool water so we're technically still on vacation.
i could go on forever but aunt bea keeps bringing me toy after toy which is 5-month-old-lab-speak for "you throw stuff and i'll go get it and then we'll do that thing again and again".
here's to ABUNDANCE!
~aunt bea says "hey".
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Rainy Daze ...
it's raining on my vacation.
"bummer", you may be thinking.
ahhh. not so.
in fact, it's awesome.
we took the "red eye" in to mexico from denver early tuesday morning.
we were checked in to the "crybaby" suite (i.e. the upgraded room next to the kiddy pool we've enjoyed on back-to-back trips by simply authentically suggesting to the desk clerk we didn't want the room far, far away from the pool) by 7am and with a brief nap we were poolside by 10am.
today, it's raining and i've realized how often i am really NOT present when i believe i am.
when it rains on vacation i slow way down.
there's an unspoken agenda when it's sunny to "get outside and enjoy the sun as quickly as possible."
when it's raining, you may find yourself wondering aloud if there's enough time to get the kids' breakfast before the buffet closes at 10:30 am. everyone sleeps late ...
when it's raining, you may find yourself diligently painting a crappy little pottery piece that we'll throw away in the move and debating the superhero powers of batman versus spiderman with your 4 year old son.
when it's raining, you may find yourself covered in virgin strawberry daiquiri juice that's been snorted through your 10 year old duaghter's nose when you turn your crappy little pottery piece around to her and let her know her mom's just turned the "sun face" in to "ronald mcdonald".
when it's raining, you may find yourself enjoying a 4 hour lunch with your kids discussing all the different ways there are to cannon-ball in to the pool. then you get to watch you 10 year old execute the maneuver just outside the seaside restaurant's window in to the pool in the pouring rain. to the delight of the entire restaurant.
when it's raining and you've spent 4 hours lazing in a seaside restaurant your 4 year son may announce to the entire restaurant that the man who just walked past in his speedo was wearing his "man panties outside".
mr. "man panties" didn't laugh. 10 year old daughter and mother did though.
when it's raining on vacation you just might find yourself meeting a very handsome 2 foot iguana along the path with your 4 year old son.
when it rains on vacation there suddenly isn't an agenda. any have-to's. there's a space of nothingness and in that space anything is possible.
the magic of life happens in the tiniest of moments. the magic of living an extraordinary life is being present enough to recognize them.
when it rains on vacation, that's all there is. magic in tiny moments. but THIS is what THAT feels like.
awesome.
now i get to take that feeling back home with me and experience it in the small moments of day-to-day life ... not just vacations.
and guess what.
i believe in that lies the trick to turning every day in to a vacation.
every day is my ideal day.
today is perfect.
okay. bye. gotta go eat candy with my kids in the rain.
~aunt bea says "hey".
"bummer", you may be thinking.
ahhh. not so.
in fact, it's awesome.
we took the "red eye" in to mexico from denver early tuesday morning.
we were checked in to the "crybaby" suite (i.e. the upgraded room next to the kiddy pool we've enjoyed on back-to-back trips by simply authentically suggesting to the desk clerk we didn't want the room far, far away from the pool) by 7am and with a brief nap we were poolside by 10am.
today, it's raining and i've realized how often i am really NOT present when i believe i am.
when it rains on vacation i slow way down.
there's an unspoken agenda when it's sunny to "get outside and enjoy the sun as quickly as possible."
when it's raining, you may find yourself wondering aloud if there's enough time to get the kids' breakfast before the buffet closes at 10:30 am. everyone sleeps late ...
when it's raining, you may find yourself diligently painting a crappy little pottery piece that we'll throw away in the move and debating the superhero powers of batman versus spiderman with your 4 year old son.
when it's raining, you may find yourself covered in virgin strawberry daiquiri juice that's been snorted through your 10 year old duaghter's nose when you turn your crappy little pottery piece around to her and let her know her mom's just turned the "sun face" in to "ronald mcdonald".
when it's raining, you may find yourself enjoying a 4 hour lunch with your kids discussing all the different ways there are to cannon-ball in to the pool. then you get to watch you 10 year old execute the maneuver just outside the seaside restaurant's window in to the pool in the pouring rain. to the delight of the entire restaurant.
when it's raining and you've spent 4 hours lazing in a seaside restaurant your 4 year son may announce to the entire restaurant that the man who just walked past in his speedo was wearing his "man panties outside".
mr. "man panties" didn't laugh. 10 year old daughter and mother did though.
when it's raining on vacation you just might find yourself meeting a very handsome 2 foot iguana along the path with your 4 year old son.
when it rains on vacation there suddenly isn't an agenda. any have-to's. there's a space of nothingness and in that space anything is possible.
the magic of life happens in the tiniest of moments. the magic of living an extraordinary life is being present enough to recognize them.
when it rains on vacation, that's all there is. magic in tiny moments. but THIS is what THAT feels like.
awesome.
now i get to take that feeling back home with me and experience it in the small moments of day-to-day life ... not just vacations.
and guess what.
i believe in that lies the trick to turning every day in to a vacation.
every day is my ideal day.
today is perfect.
okay. bye. gotta go eat candy with my kids in the rain.
~aunt bea says "hey".
Friday, March 02, 2007
from snow to sand, baby!
power versus force. i'm sitting here at my kitchen table, watching it snow and attempting to knock "1. blog today" off my "To Do List".
it's not working.
there's nothing on my mind now except packing for mexico.
i've got the suitcases out ... i've got passwords locked and loaded ... i've got kenneling arrangement all made for aunt bea (who upchucked in my car AGAIN today ... if anyone knows the secret to addressing motion sickness in dogs PLEASE LET ME KNOW!) ... now comes my favorite, favorite part.
i lay out everyone's clothes and start putting together outfits and packing them day-by-day. i know on wednesday we're going to XCaret. so nobody needs anything but swimsuits, t-shirts, rockhoppers and sunscreen.
wednesday packed.
next.
a little anal? maybe. but i show up on vacations knowing exactly what everyone is wearing each day. never have we run out of clean clothes. with the exception of JJ, who likes to throw it all together the night before and usually shows up shy some minor items like enough underwear or his tuxedo shirt (which he actually does need).
that's just the way he likes to do it. nothing wrong there. but i have a different approach and i just figured out why i get so juiced by packing specifically for each day. and why i really, really want to knock this off my to do list so i can go get started!
as i'm pulling things together and thinking through what we might be doing ... hanging in the pool ... out on an excursion ... swimming with the dolphins ... burying someone up to their neck in sand ... listening to amazing speakers or just chatting with our friends ... i'm actually already living that day.
i'm visualizing that day.
in detail.
i'm using the power of my imagination to create the ideal vacation, day-by-day.
i'm already experiencing the emotions of being there.
hmmmm ... sounds familiar. isn't that one of the critical elements discussed in "The Secret"?
"visualize your goals in detail. get emotionally involved with how it feels to already have achieved that goal."
admittedly, this is an area i continue to intentionally improve. but seeing that i already know how to do it - that is, i've already mastered it in other areas of my life (vacations!) - gives me access to taking the visualization of my goals to a whole new level.
we vacation. a lot. one of my first "real" employers once told me that "vacations are the reward for working hard. take them. and do something fun."
we got in the habit of going on vacations early in our marriage. with and without the kids.
i love 'em.
i love planning them. getting ready for them. and i consider myself on vacation for days after we return home. as long as there are still clothes smelling of sunblock and salt, i'm still on vacation.
perfect example of The Law of Attraction at work. the minute we complete one vacation i'm already planning for the next one. i expect them. and i daydream about them. i start taking actions immediately ... even if it's just making a file folder titled "next vacation".
well, i just love it when i see real-life examples of the universal laws at work in my life ... especially when i spot it in retrospect.
cool.
ole ~ i'm off to pack!
i'm marking #1 off my list!
it's not working.
there's nothing on my mind now except packing for mexico.
i've got the suitcases out ... i've got passwords locked and loaded ... i've got kenneling arrangement all made for aunt bea (who upchucked in my car AGAIN today ... if anyone knows the secret to addressing motion sickness in dogs PLEASE LET ME KNOW!) ... now comes my favorite, favorite part.
i lay out everyone's clothes and start putting together outfits and packing them day-by-day. i know on wednesday we're going to XCaret. so nobody needs anything but swimsuits, t-shirts, rockhoppers and sunscreen.
wednesday packed.
next.
a little anal? maybe. but i show up on vacations knowing exactly what everyone is wearing each day. never have we run out of clean clothes. with the exception of JJ, who likes to throw it all together the night before and usually shows up shy some minor items like enough underwear or his tuxedo shirt (which he actually does need).
that's just the way he likes to do it. nothing wrong there. but i have a different approach and i just figured out why i get so juiced by packing specifically for each day. and why i really, really want to knock this off my to do list so i can go get started!
as i'm pulling things together and thinking through what we might be doing ... hanging in the pool ... out on an excursion ... swimming with the dolphins ... burying someone up to their neck in sand ... listening to amazing speakers or just chatting with our friends ... i'm actually already living that day.
i'm visualizing that day.
in detail.
i'm using the power of my imagination to create the ideal vacation, day-by-day.
i'm already experiencing the emotions of being there.
hmmmm ... sounds familiar. isn't that one of the critical elements discussed in "The Secret"?
"visualize your goals in detail. get emotionally involved with how it feels to already have achieved that goal."
admittedly, this is an area i continue to intentionally improve. but seeing that i already know how to do it - that is, i've already mastered it in other areas of my life (vacations!) - gives me access to taking the visualization of my goals to a whole new level.
we vacation. a lot. one of my first "real" employers once told me that "vacations are the reward for working hard. take them. and do something fun."
we got in the habit of going on vacations early in our marriage. with and without the kids.
i love 'em.
i love planning them. getting ready for them. and i consider myself on vacation for days after we return home. as long as there are still clothes smelling of sunblock and salt, i'm still on vacation.
perfect example of The Law of Attraction at work. the minute we complete one vacation i'm already planning for the next one. i expect them. and i daydream about them. i start taking actions immediately ... even if it's just making a file folder titled "next vacation".
well, i just love it when i see real-life examples of the universal laws at work in my life ... especially when i spot it in retrospect.
cool.
ole ~ i'm off to pack!
i'm marking #1 off my list!
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