I heard about a man, who recently left his family, stating that he wanted a divorce, he was not happy. He left a young beautiful family. Which caused me to stop and ponder what happiness is all about? It quite possibly means one thing to me and a totally different thing to someone else. Happiness according to Webster is a definition on paper, but in real life, happiness is less about how I feel but who I am.
So, life goes on, and not everything that happens is good, fair or right, it just is. My suggestions to someone struggling with not being happy is to think of what kind of life they want to live and then begin to create that life on the inside.
Happiness is a journey someone once said and I tend to agree that it is a way of living. I link happiness and gratitude together. It is never about having everything right in my world, but that in my world with struggles and difficulties, I can find happiness within.
So the real issue for me is to put the focus on my faith in God, live the best I can each day and find real happiness in even the smallest of ways.
My theme is – Love all, in all, through all.
Carol
Good morning! What a beautiful day, seems like spring is in the air. I have been busy with a project for a friend of my that is getting married in May. Yesterday I made a discovery, that painting signs is a creative outlet and I enjoyed it so much, I told my husband that I may have found a new job (another job would be more correct) – My friend asked me if I could paint a sign she saw about seating at a wedding, which led to another one and several more. I am so excited about this new project, I get to express myself and do something for my loving friend, what a great combination.
I am no artist by any means, but when I put my mind to something, I generally find a way to complete the task, like once I wanted to redo two chairs in my office at work. I did it, and they look good, but do not want to do that again anytime soon. And once I took a cake decorating class, it was fun, but not really my cup of tea, so to speak. So, I do know where to draw the line in completing a task and wishing I had never started in the first place.
But, oh how I have loved doing these signs/pictures for my friends wedding. Maybe it’s the occasion of uniting two people in love that has made this so special to me. One thing for sure is that I am having fun and grateful for friendship and being asked to be part of a special day in their lives.
Creativity helps let go of stress and fills my life with a sense of accomplishment and for that I am grateful. Oh, and Happy St. Patrick’s Day to y’all!
Love all, in all, through all.
Carol
I am slow with blogging, and just figured out how to post the “about” which is such a laugh out loud moment. That brings me to something that has been beneficial in my life and that is to learn to laugh at myself. Being able to see the the humor in life has helped me get through some tough times.
Laughter helps bring me into the present moment and see value in not taking myself so serious. I figure the choice is mine, I can either get frustrated or take a step back and find enough gratitude and humor to lighten up the moment. What does it matter, really in the whole scheme of life, will I even remember what is going wrong later? So if it is just a moment of frustration or difficulty, I try my best to let it go and have a good laugh, I mean a good old belly jiggle laugh. It feels so good to just let it out, I find that either that or I stuff that feeling and it comes out later with tears and frustration. So why not laugh Carol and get the lighter side of the situation. Works for me, how about you?
I read in the bible somewhere that God laughs for us. I find the thought so very wonderful and gives me the energy to carry on. One of my life saying is “Think Happy Thoughts” – what could be easier than to think of something lovely and find the gratitude in each situation…life is great.
Love all, in all, through all.
Carol
I received good news from the doctor a few weeks ago, my a1c level was down from 6.6 to 5.8 and I felt great. Which means that all the hard work and changes to my way of eating have made a difference. I’m talking about having diabetes. It’s been over five months since the doctor said “Diabeties” during my annual physical. I needed to go back but my fear was that all this work, changing my eating habits and the way I view food would be for nothing, that in fact I may have gotten worse. Well, to my surprise, the results were good, the doctor was excited, my husband who went with me was tearful. The news represented not just a number but how it is possible to make a significant change physically. I had lost 20 pounds then and currently have lost over 25. That does not sound like a whole lot to me, but I went from a size 18 to a 14 with this lifestyle change.
For me it is not about losing weight, but about feeling better. I have more energy, and have a mental attitude that is improved, like a dark cloud has been lifted over me.
I am glad the hard work paid off, but most of all grateful to have had a chance to make changes necessary to live just a little longer and healther. One of my favorite sayings is “Peace comes from a thankful heart” I feel this today, peace and gratitude, so when I am given a choice to eat that wonderful looking chocolate cake or cheesecake I weigh to options, it will taste good, it will be be a moment of lovelyness but in the end, I will not feel well, and the price is too much to pay. I would rather feel good than have a moment of lovieness.
How to survive in a sugar world is clear to me today, the choice is mine and I don’t always do it right but I am aware of the cost that sugar has on me physically. That information allows me to make better choices daily and to plan for special treats and celebrations. I used to eat candy, cake, cookies, ice cream desserts every day all day. but today I try to have treats occasionally.
The doctor said to continue what I was doing and come back in three months to have a look at what is working.
I am such a believer in this new way of eating, that it is not any longer a thing to fear, but a way of life. My husband has been a big part of the changes I have made, he is trying new vegetables and eating things that were normally out of his comfort zone. I am grateful for his support.
So, what I have learned is that when a difficulty comes my way, I can face it and make changes for the better. I am strong enough to do this and I can get through with the help of God, family and friends. Thank you all for your love and support!
Love all, In all, through all.
How to survive in a sugar world
A few months ago I was diagnosed with diabetes during my annual physical. I was completely caught off guard and it took a while for me to begin to grasp what this meant in my life. I remember the doctor saying your A1C fasting blood test came back, you have diabetes. She said to avoid sugar, eliminate as much white flour as possible, stay away from fried foods, and eat lots of vegetables and exercise.
She also explained that it would take time to lower the number A1C and that if I were to eat perfect and excise for one week, it still would not make a difference. We discussed trying to regulate the levels with diet and exercise then come back in 3 or 4 months and see where we stand, because no one wants to take medications if it could be reversed naturally.
Driving to work after the appointment I was in a daze, trying to figure out want this would mean for me in the days and weeks ahead. I want you to understand that I love food. I love to eat, cook, read recipe books, and look for new recipes and ways to cook the foods that I love. Of course that would include all the foods the doctor advised against.
One of the first things I did was look on the internet to see what a diabetic should be eating. Imaging how surprised I was to find there was no specific diet to go on, no list of foods to eat and that left me wondering what in the world I would do. I asked several of my friends that have diabetes about what they typically eat and was even more confused. Although they were helpful, I just could not figure out how much and why, I had more questions mounting every day.
After several days afraid to eat, and yet craving sugar, I called a nutritionist that just happened to be across the street from where I worked. We met and I must tell you that was the best decision I have made for my heath and sanity. She gave me encouragement and very much needed information. Armed with a new set of eating guidelines I went on about my daily life trying to find the necessary gratitude. It was difficult, some days were just down right awful, wanting to eat my favorite foods, but knowing that was what probably got me in this mess in the first place.
So I settled down to a new way of living, it took me about 30 days just to figure out what would work for me and another 30 to let go of some anger over the diagnosis. My nutritionist was very supportive and we met twice a month for a while.
I am writing this because it has been over 4 months tomorrow and I need to go on back to the doctor and see what my A1C level would be…I am very apprehensive over this and would rather wait another month or at least a week, but I will go and find the results out tomorrow.
I learned a lot about nutrition, diabetes and being able to make wise choices, but let me tell you the most difficult thing I have done in a long time is give up sugar (did I say give up? I mean eliminate as much as I can) cause I still like a brownie or cookie now an then. I am learning how to survive in a sugar world.
Today is special in our house, the family is here for Christmas and I feel the love in the air. Well, not all love, some of the thoughts are more like, hunger, tired and togetherness. We don’t get together every Christmas because of the distance and busy lives.
When deciding on the Christmas meal, everyone had a chance to put in what they wanted to eat, their favorite food. So for brunch today, we are having tacos. That’s right a Taco Christmas. We are a different family, quite untraditional and opinionated.
The thing about today that is special for me would be the togetherness. We have a small house and with everyone all cramed in one room it is amazing that we feel the love.
This is my first blog and it possibly isn’t going as easy as I had imagined, but with time and lots of thoughts to share this will get better. I am excited to be writing and feel the gratitude for another day and a way to live with peace.
My theme is Love all, In all, through all.
Carol
Grateful Carol 