Hi there.
‘Palm trees and margaritas’, the newsletter, is about life, the universe and what really matters. If we were to seek to categorise it, ‘Palm trees and margaritas’ is about work/life balance. None of us knows how our life will unfold so as much as we are in control, empowered living means making sure there is time in our lives for palm trees and margaritas*, however we define them.
‘Palm trees and margaritas – finding your oasis in a busy world’ my book based on the first year of this newsletter, and published by Avant Press, is at the printers. It will be in bookstores in the new year but watch your inbox for details of how you can get one of the first copies to take care of holiday reading and/or Christmas gift shopping!
A percentage of proceeds of the sale of the first 100 copies will be donated to the National Heart Foundation.
Meanwhile, 'Palm trees and margaritas' – the newsletter aims to give you five minutes of reflective reading time on the last Friday of each month (except December).
How was your month? And your year?
Karen Morath
karen@mpowercct.com
www.palmtreesandmargaritas.com
November 2007
* Life can’t be all palm trees and margaritas, but there are worse game plans.
TIPS
1. Never put yourself last.
2. Acknowledge your successes along with your downfalls.
3. Burn the candle that has been in storage for the last two years.
4. Strive for progress, not perfection.
5. Celebrate all your birthdays no matter how old you get.
6. Plant a tree, pull weeds, or get your hands dirty.
7. Diminish your wants instead of increasing your needs.
8. Rejoice in other people's triumphs.
9. Keep good company.
10. Never take a pill for a pain you need to feel.
11. Use your enthusiasm to put yourself in forward gear and give yourself a spark to move ahead.
12. Eat something green.
13. Remind yourself that the company you keep is a reflection of what you think of yourself.
14. Never attribute your accomplishments to luck or chance.
15. Know when to say no.
16. Avoid fads and bandwagons.
17. Stand up for what you believe in.
18. Take responsibility for what you think, feel, and do.
19. Pamper yourself.
20. Finish unfinished business.
21. Think of yourself as a survivor, not a victim.
22. See success as something you already have, not something you must attain.
23. Tell someone you appreciate them.
24. Never live your life according to what is right for someone else.
Source - http://cindieponabri.blogspot.com/2007/10/100-ways-to-be-happy.html
TO ENJOY
1. Check out www.freerice.com It does good and is truly addictive.
2. 25 more sleeps for the believers…
3. Reader Theresa says, "Give a gift or three to one of the wishing trees at the major department stores. Giving can be even more enjoyable than receiving."
STORIES
1. I can get really excited about the way some people live their lives. Perhaps you’ve noticed. Just as my encounters with some people sap me of energy, often enough the opportunity to converse with, or even to just read about or observe, someone interesting makes me smirk to myself and reminds me what it’s all about.
I met one of them the other day – a man in his mid forties who has been a teacher for many years while harbouring the desire to become a GP.
His research tells him if he starts next year, he can be a qualified doctor by the time he’s 50 and he has given himself a firm deadline to decide his future.
His rationale is that he will retire at 70 so if he decides to go that way he can contribute to society as a doctor for two decades.
At his age, so many people are counting down to an early retirement. He is actively and proactively living his life. His enthusiasm showed.
2. I read something somewhere about reading being seen as a method of meditation. I have no idea how sound this idea is but it struck a chord with me. Lately I have been busier than usual and have not had the time or energy to read as much as I normally would and I suspect that has created a vicious circle.
Reading creates energy for me as it calms my mind and body and provides restorative time. By allowing myself downtime, I am creating a state of higher energy and focus. Uptime.
I had never thought of reading as meditation but I know for sure that the more hours I spend reading each week, the more energy and interest I have for the rest of my week.
I don’t think I have time not to read.
3. I had lunch with a friend this week, a reader in fact, and was lucky enough to hear some of the wisest advice of my lifetime.
It was about how to be happy and she was quoting her father in the last stage of his life.
Here’s what she told me her dad had said to her.
Life is about being happy. You get to be happy by the choices you make. So every time you need to make a decision, the right decision is the one most likely to make you happy.
Her father’s theory is that a lot of little choices of happiness add up to an overall sense of happiness in our lives.
Emma’s dad was speaking with the wisdom and reflection that comes to some with age and maturity but we don’t have to wait for that to happen to us. We can just learn from him now if we choose to. I choose to.
REFLECTIONS
1. Is reading Martha Stewart’s Living magazine ever going to truly replace the need to dust and vacuum?
2. I think one of life’s great joys is working out what to buy my brother for his birthday. Does the spirit of giving still kick in when you feel overcome by relief?
3. Is it possible to read the birth notices in the newspaper without smiling?