Lessons in Balance

More Ways to Find Happiness in a Recession

Following up on my Happiness in a Recession post in Monday's Kona Yoga newsletter, I'd like to reiterate the first five items introduced by Kimberly Palmer in bold, my comments follow:

1. Take Care of Yourself. Remember FAA in-flight instructions: put the oxygen mask over your face first and then help the person next to you.

2. Become More Charitable. Generosity can outweigh a sense of impoverishment.

3. Spend more time and money on enjoyable activities. Drop the should do's, have to's and must do's and opt for the want to's. Do what you want, not what's in fashion. Perhaps even consider working less?  "Treating the Blues Could Save the Planet".

4. Invest in relationships. Spend less time in relationships that tax and drain your energy and spend time with people who make you feel good (the ones who do #1 well and efficiently).

5. Focus on what you're grateful for. This may just be the most powerful. In the grand scheme of life, we are still so fortunate and blessed. Whatever you focus on, you get more of: it's your choice.

My additions:

6. Declutter: Make Room for More.

In the practice of Feng Shui, the flow of unimpeded energy, or chi, is the main goal.  Whether you are dealing with physical, mental or emotional energy, clutter blocks the flow. A Feng Shui consultant will often refer to a map in order to locate areas of your home which represent the different aspects of your life. Get rid of what's broken, not used or unwanted. You'll be surprised at what flows into fill the space. It's all about energy.

7. Learn Something New.

Learn a new language. Learn to tango. Try baking bread. Improve your reading or writing skills. Learn to sew. Some things might help you to save money, make you more valuable to a potential employer or open the door to something completely new and lucrative. Read what folks who were recently hired have to say about it.

8. Foster Creativity

Novelist Edith Wharton wrote, “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” When the majority of people are looking around them and describing what's not working, the truly creative optimists will be looking the other way. Consider different points of view through such methods as Six Thinking Hats.

9. Regroup and Recoup

All your power exists in the present so drop the finger-pointing and blame-seeking. Driving forward while looking in the rear view mirror is hazardous! Affirm "something really good is going to happen as a result of this situation" and feel the excitement in your words. After a disaster, would you rather be looking for survivors or casualties? Look for that which pulls you forward.

10. Examine Your Beliefs

Some of the tell-tale words are "always", "every time" and "never". "I always end up on the losing side" and "I always rise to the occasion" are both beliefs, but on opposite ends of the stick. Your habitual thoughts can serve or enslave you. Decluttering works here too.

 What are your thoughts or experiences. Have you found other ways to be happy in the state of Doom & Gloom?

Photo: Mare.Bow

Memories of the Big Island

I think I learned to crawl to the music of Elvis Presley. Everytime I hear, I Want You, I Need You, I Love You  I feel as though I'm once again in a smaller body and my world is like a black and white photo that has been randomly color enhanced.

I loved Elvis, even before I started kindergarten! In 1962, he came to Kona to film "Girls, Girls, Girls!" and I thought I was at the end of the rainbow one day when the large bus that transported cast and crew barged through sleepy Kona. A few seconds later, a stretch limo sped by and I saw Elvis in the back seat, dressed as he is in the photo, with his arm around a blonde woman!

If that thrill wasn't enough, I got to spend a whole day down at Milolii where the movie was being filmed. When I gathered enough nerve to ask for an autograph, all I could think of offering was the white vinyl belt that I was wearing!

In the photo above, my brother Mel, is in the front row, third from the right. I'm in the second row on the far right. The umbrella pole seems to be sticking out of my head and I could have cared less. I was in heaven.

I am truly blessed to have had a happy childhood. As I look back, the joyful memories are the consistent re-runs: they comfort and sustain me. The bits and pieces of 'monsters and disasters' are like commercials, they're there, but I've learned to switch stations when they air (since remote controls were invented).

As I look forward, the rest of my life is full of dreams:they entice and encourage. The part that I'm learning to enjoy more is my present, my now. Right now, I have the power to decide which memories to replay (or even edit). Right now, I have the power to choose the life I want to move toward. Right now, is where all of my power resides.

I get to conjugate my existence:"I have had a happy life; I have a happy life; I will have a happy life." A lifetime of Elvis sightings!
Originally published in Kona Yoga News, March 13, 2006.

A Tweet Tale

 This is Lisa,

 

and this is Karl.

They met last year at TequilaCon. Yesterday I followed Karl on Twitter as he was on his way from Sebring, FL to see Lisa in Reading, PA. His first flight was cancelled, second delayed...needless to say he was not his cheery self. (I'm just guessing that he has a cheery self).

Karl:  I like how the guy always announces these delays and finishes with "thank you for your patience." He has no idea how close he is to death.

Karl: Sometimes the only thing that keeps me from kissing a sleeping woman on the mouth is the thought of 5-20 and a big man who calls me pretty.

Lisa waited patiently.

Lisa: @karlerikson I guess it's safe for me to take a nap.

Finally, Karl made his way through faltering flights and snow.

Karl: I am officially at Clusterfook's house. Snow on the ground. Snow in the air.

This is where the usual Twitter voy(eur)age would stop. Karl and Lisa would close the door and we would be left to draw our own delusions. Except that this relationship and  meeting is far from an ordinary tryst.

Lisa Kelly, @clusterfook, is going through her third bout with ovarian cancer and recently decided to halt all medical treatments. She is living at home with her husband and two daughters while under the care of Hospice. 

I happened upon her blog two Saturdays ago and wrote about her in my weekly yoga newsletter. I introduced myself to her through a comment on her blog and followed her on Twitter, determined to hear her, until the end.

On Monday she Tweeted:

Preparing for @karlerikson to arrive tomorrow and the snow is making me nervous.

Then I read that Karl sucks at death and is making his way to Lisa to act as her "Power of Blog" to help deal with Clusterfook when she dies. Karl is still at Lisa's, as far as I can tell, and it'll be interesting to see what decisions and solutions they come up with.

In the grand scheme of things Twittered, their running conversations may not appear to say much, but a life is seeking balance here, even as it passes away. Makes you wonder about all the other passing comments, doesn't it?

When the oak is felled the whole forest echoes with its fall, but a hundred acorns are sown in silence by an unnoticed breeze. - Thomas Carlyle

Update, 2/28/09: Lisa Kelly, aka Clusterfook, died at 11:30pm on February 27, 2009. RIP Lisa Clusterfook.

 

Photos: Blog Talk Radio and The Rising Blog