Posts Tagged: relax

Music Monday — John Legend

August 27th, 2018
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sun drawing

Since it’s Monday and that fact on it’s own may make it difficult to get going, I thought I would share a song that always make me feel upbeat.

Listening to John Legend’s smooth velvety voice in this song, “A Good Night,” is a definite stress buster but I think there’s something extra reassuring when I hear him sing the words — as though he is telling me personally — “Everything’s gonna be all right.”

In the song, Legend sings that he thinks everything’s gonna be all right because he thinks he just met his wife.  But for our purposes, … Read More

Ask The Lightning Bugs

June 15th, 2017
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  Many would say that the oppressive heat that has been visiting the Washington, DC area is proof. Or they might say that the proof is in the feast of freshly picked juicy strawberries that fill the local grocery stores and farmer’s markets. On the other hand, the roses and hydrangeas are bursting in bloom and that could also be proof. But for me, the proof that Summer is here is the seemingly instant appearance of lightning bugs that tease and flit through the warm summer air. I saw the first ones of Summer the other night when I went… Read More

Retail Therapy

May 20th, 2016
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I confess that I am one of those people who will walk into a store and use it to help me decompress from a stressful situation. I don’t always buy something to make me feel better but I will enter a store and browse around for a good twenty minutes with the intention of being distracted, so that I can forget, at least for a short period of time, about what I am trying to handle. I think just the act of just being in a different place with different vibes contributes to helping me loosen up.  It helps me… Read More

Sweating For The Wedding

March 24th, 2016
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Jelly beans.  Cookies.  Cakes.  They are all calling out. Especially the jelly beans.  They are like crack for me.  There is a guy in my office who gave up chocolate for Lent and now he has a bowl of jelly beans on his desk which he continues to constantly refresh when the contents get low.  Ugh!  To me, that is just replacing one kind of sugar for another but oh well; each to his own. Anyway, I can’t tell you the amount of self control it takes for me to deny myself the jelly beans as I walk past his… Read More

Friday Is Special

March 4th, 2016
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Fridays are special and let me count some of the reasons why: — end of the work week — beginning of the weekend — hopeful — full of possibility — triggers need to hum, sing, dance or all three! — time to get together with family or friends — relax by thinking of inspiring thoughts such as the following two I recently discovered: Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. ~ Lao-Tzu I do not at all understand the mystery of grace… Read More

Guess Who’s Breathing?

January 29th, 2016
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  I am.  You are.  Everyone is. If we don’t breath, then we’re in big trouble, right? But we can change the rhythm of our breathing depending on what’s happening to us. It sounds so simple doesn’t it?  Just change.  But I have found it takes practice.  It takes being aware of what I’m doing. Many times, without realizing it, I find I am walking around almost holding my breath because I am dealing with two or three things at the same time.  Sometimes I’m at work or I can be at home but I am not fully breathing when… Read More

Color Up Your Awesome World

January 11th, 2016
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It’s one thing to tell yourself that you’re not going to get stressed about the bumps and pitfalls of life and it’s an entirely another thing to actually get rid of the stress that unfortunately comes along with it. Surprisingly, millions of adults have recently re-discovered the simple and easy fun that comes from taking up something that we all did in our childhoods: color.  Maybe you have read about the popularity of coloring books designed for adults and said to yourself that such a thing as sitting around and coloring pictures would be a silly waste of time since… Read More

Sweet Summer Stress Reduction

September 8th, 2015
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Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.                ~ Anne Lamott There’s a rumor floating around that summer is over but I don’t believe one word of it. Temperatures in Washington, DC are still hovering in the low 90’s, corn on the cob is still in season, along with awesome tasty tomatoes, and I’m continuing to wear flip flops to work even though the calendar says September. I admit I have seen a few signs that some kind of seasonal change is upon us such as leaves changing colors and falling off trees,… Read More

Personal Boot Camp

March 24th, 2015
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Dear Resilient Readers: You know that quote from Mahatma Gandhi that says something like if you change yourself you can change your world? It’s a bold thought and one I decided I should check out for myself.  On one level, I have always known that if I change certain things in my life that my world will change.  Take for example if I change what I eat or  how much I exercise.  I understand the different results I will get when I pursue those kinds of changes in my life. But what would happen if I changed the way I… Read More