Red Light! Green Light!

Remember Red Light Green Light? I played that game for hours as a kid-amazingly I didn’t want to be the one calling Red Light Green Light because I loved running as fast I could on Green Light. Somewhere along the way I seemed to have forgotten how much fun it is to run on Green because I have been too concerned about watching out for the Red Lights. It’s seems that I became an expert at anticipating road blocks or Red Lights-so much so that I stopped running on the Green Lights altogether. Talk about blocking yourself from moving ahead-if there was a competition for this I would have been the champion. I had become a great student of what to avoid, but in the process I wasn’t doing the things I enjoy. I am grateful to say that Red Lights are now a necessary evil but not what defines my direction. Green Light-now run!!!!

Is Your Pinata Filled with Angst?

Do you spend your days agonizing over conversations from weeks, months, or even years ago? Do you obsess about every detail of the party you are planning, so that you’re not even looking forward to the party? We all can become obsessed with the little details, but the bigger question is why are we doing that? Sometimes the little details are much easier to face than a more serious life issue. If you have just become completely unglued because your boss failed to acknowledge you in the mail room and now you are sure that he didn’t speak to you because you are going to be fired, it’s time to have a long talk with yourself. The first question might be-what am I unhappy about? What am I anticipating? If you can at least nail down what is really bothering you, you’re well on your way to filling your pinata with joy instead of angst. Not dealing with a serious issue takes so much more energy than facing it head on-but you can’t believe that until you’ve met some issues head on and everything turned out okay. Take that first step and stop whacking the pinata filled with angst. Determine what is causing the angst, take a deep breath and acknowledge what you’re really worried about. Now that’s done, so exhale and smile. I felt your angstosity meter go down already!!

Lighten the Load on Your Heart

My full of life little dog Zoe must have gotten bored while I was sleeping. She decided that my ballpoint pen would make a great snack. Her snack resulted in a nine-inch square of blue ink on my new white comforter. I told my dear friend, Cindy about this problem and she told me exactly how to remove the ink. Spray aerosol hairspray on the ink and keep blotting and repeating until the ink disappears. It worked beautifully!! As I was spraying and watching the ink disappear, it occurred to me that removing the troubles weighing on your heart could work the same way. When I first saw the ink on the comforter I was afraid I couldn’t get it clean again. I had no idea that I could do so. I think it is the same way we feel about disappointments or fears we carry in our heart. Things that are weighing heavy on our heart make us feel hopeless and keep us from moving forward. Imagine your hurts or disappoints being lifted away with a blast of hope and excitement. Imagine how great it feels to have your heart feeling light and powerful again. You can remove whatever is weighing on your heart and make room for all of the good things that are waiting for you. It’s easy, just go buy a can of aerosol hairspray!