Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Ridiculous pressure

In retrospect, everything seems clear. Backward vision is always 20/20. Sometimes I wish I had a little bit more clarity when it came to allowing people to make me feel bad about my decisions or plight in life.

I'm a family person. The most important thing for me is my kids and husband and I will do whatever it takes to be with them as much as possible.  So that means if I don't have to attend an event on Saturday and can spend the day with my kids, I'm going to do it. I have allowed individuals to place guilt on me for not participating in events where I would have to sacrifice my time with my kids. And I regret feeling that way. They are the most important thing right now.

When they grow up and move away, I can be more involved in activities outside of the house, but right now. Home time is my priority and i'm not going to feel guilty for making that a priority.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Being Fully Present

I'm guilty of not being fully present each moment of the day and came across this article and it hit home. I'm going to try the recommended one minute of focus and see how things go. Now, just finding one minute alone will prove to be the real challenge!

From the article from Fast Company (awesome site, btw) you should subscribe to their feed!


First, find a reasonably quiet place where you can close your eyes (whether standing or sitting).
Set a timer for one minute. Close your eyes and focus on one of the following three things: the sounds around you, your breathing, or the sensations in your toes.

  1. Scan your environment for sound. As a meditation teacher told me, “Imagine that your ears are satellite dishes, passively and objectively registering sounds.”

  2. Focus on your breath and the sensations it creates in your nostrils or stomach. Pay attention to one breath at a time, but try to notice everything about this one breath. Imagine that your breath is someone you want to give your full attention to.

  3. Focus your attention on the sensations in your toes. This forces your mind to sweep through your body, helping you to get into the physical sensations of the moment.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Cancer Free!

Recently my lovely dermatologist scared the absolute crap out of me and became concerned about a mole on my inner left leg that he felt was growing and changing. He muttered the words melanoma a few times. Having already had a cancerous spot removed from my forehead, I was totally alert to any new spots on my body to show him. I have never been concerned about this spot on my leg, it's my birthmark. It's been there my whole life. I don't remember life without it.

Anyhow, he biopsied it and it's benign. Just an ugly old mole. Whew. No more nasty words like melanoma for me, thank you very much!