Totem Hunt on the Lake Walk

Do you have a favorite place to go?
                                                                                                          
A path through the trees?

A coffee shop on the corner?

A chair on your Grandma's porch?

I am lucky enough to live near one of the world's most magnificent lakes.



Lake Superior

And a thought occurred to me. What if I took an open afternoon to drive down to the lake, walk my dog, and choose a stone, bit of driftwood, or fallen leaf to bring back home as a remembrance? Then whenever I wanted to connect with the joy of that place all I had to do was look at my found treasure.

Simple really.

Here's the problem:
     In my pocket I wanted to place the laughing child, the boulders wet with newly melted snow, the panting runners, the hundred year old former brewery turned hotel along the shore, the sparkling water,  the embracing lovers, the elderly man flirting with his wife, the toddler in rain boots stomping in the puddles, the last bit of floating ice twenty yards from the beach.

I searched for a pebble that could encompass all these things.
Couldn't find it.

I did find a curled up bit of birch bark, but there are no birch trees near where I was, so I have no idea how it got there.
Mystery.

I am not giving up on the idea of a totem hunt, and neither should you. Small gifts to jar our memories open up a world of happiness just by resting quietly in our hands.

Happy meandering,
♥ K.

Be the Person You Want to Be...

About 15 years ago I discovered motivational self-help books.

I covered my bathroom wall in affirmations, positive intention-filled flow charts, dream wheels, self esteem boosting mantras.

         

After much analyzing, brainstorming, and fussing over the perfect phrase to launch my life in a successful direction once and for all, a thought came to me:

I am here to inspire the world to see wonder, magic, and joy in all things.

This was my purpose plain and simple. This was my reason for being.

Fifteen years later I have a new phrase at the helm. This one came to me out of a need to stop wishing for a distant life and claim the one in my lap.

Here it is:

Be the girl you want to be
all the time
with no regrets.

Just this past weekend I was at my daughter's volleyball tournament. She's been playing for years, and I have witnessed, and been party to, gossip and back stabbing, negativity and ugliness. I've also cheered with the best of them, laughed and cried and celebrated.

With my new mission statement in mind, I approached this day with the attitude I wanted to have. All the time. With no regrets.

I had a great day!

I feel good about the conversations I had. I am intensely proud of my girl and how hard she plays. I am inspired by the leader she has become, and by her nonstop positive attitude.

I can do this.

And the best part is...being who I want to be all the time with no regrets is a direct bee line to JOY.

Falsehood and regrets lead to pain, disconnect, and loss.

I'll take JOY!!

Has a personal mission statement or mantra changed your life? I'd love to hear.

Blessings and brightness to all,
♥ K.



Slow Snowy Day

Here in northern Wisconsin we have had a mere dusting of snow all winter long.

Today, we had a blizzard come through which shut everything down. All schools closed. Most businesses too. Everyone just stayed home.

I made a pot roast.

It simmered on the stove for hours.

My daughter layed on the couch and read.

My son went on a snowmobile ride with his Dad.

They met friends, had burgers, and even got on T.V.! The news wanted scenes of resilient northerners at play.

Lesson of Joy for Today

Savor the "Snow Days" in life. Little impromptu gems. Gifts of time when we least expect them. Slowing down, with no particular place to go, no one to impress, nothing to prove, can feel positively blissful.

Ahhhhhhh.

♥ K.

The Wisdom of TUT

For some time now I have been receiving emails from a brilliant website.

The man at the helm is Mike Dooley. He's written books, gone on international speaking tours, and manifested the life of his wildest dreams.

One of the free gifts from his site is found here http://www.tut.com/resources/notes/

Please check it out. You can easily sign up and get these "notes from the universe" in your inbox. They're so GREAT!!

The one I want to share with you is this:

 

There is perhaps no more empowering belief, Kimberly , than understanding you're always in control of how you feel.

Similarly, understanding that just because you're not always skipping through tulips with joy doesn't mean that something's wrong with you.

You rock,
    The Universe



I've read and reread this and every time I smile. There is nothing wrong with me if I feel sad, or discouraged, or mopey, or reluctant to skip through tulips. And since I'm in control of how I feel, the ability to change it up if I want to is completely up do ME!

Love it.

Check out TUT. The universe loves you in many wild and wondrous ways.
♥ K.

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Giggles

My sister Lisa and brother Dane and I all wanted to sit on Grandma's lap at the same time. This was a game we loved to play. I think my Mom took this picture. I was about four years old. It sits next to my computer and I see it every day. I see my Grandma's laughing smile, my brother struggling to hold on, and pure joy on my own face.

I can remember that joy.

I can look at this picture, even on dark days, and know that in that moment EVERYTHING was perfect and free and surrounded with love.

Find a picture of yourself as a child when everything fell into place, when you were perfectly happy. Really look into your own eyes and know, that that moment can be ANY moment. The joy you felt then still exists in you today, even if only in a memory. Call it back. Feel it again.

My Grandma's love is that big. I'll bet you've got someone or something in your past who can travel through time and give you a jolt of joy.

Give it a try.

Saa Da,
♥ K.

Monday Motivation

"Hey Kim!"

"This is your motivated I'd-rather-have-a-good-day-than-shuffle-around-in-a-ratty-bathrobe-self talking.

Get dressed.

Make a plan for the next hour. (Write. Post a blog entry. Sew. Brainstorm. Create. Eat something healthy.)

And for crying out loud fix your hair and put on a face."

(I don't know about you, but my age is just a number to me. I'm forty-four. Still, some days I look in the mirror and say YIKES!)

I listened to my motivated somewhat bossy self and...



...piled my hair into a high, young, and hip ponytail, put on a one-of-a-kind Pinterest inspired scarf I made, munched on a lemon Luna bar, and here I sit.

                                                      When does Joy Win!?

When you love on yourself people.

    YOU are your own best company, and most constant advocate.

TAKE CARE.

MAKE PEACE.

LOVE YOURSELF.

That's all I've got today.

Peace, blessings, and ponytails,

K. ♥

Compare and Contrast

  

Our family has a small cabin deep in the woods in northern Minnesota. We spent the weekend there, just the four of us, to take our snowmobiles out across the lakes and down the trails.

It was a balmy 32 degrees with bright sun and gentle breezes.

A wonderful time with my family.

Our cabin is 16x32, powered by solar and propane, with no running water, four rooms, and an outhouse.

It’s comfortable for us, and we’re used to the rustic nature of the place.

What always gets me is what I notice when I come home. We live on a small hobby farm in northern Wisconsin. Our house is of unknown age and sits alongside a big red barn on 20 acres. We have a few chickens, and a goat.

I have one bathroom, no family room with a giant T.V., no master bedroom with walk-in closets, no new and impressive furniture. The house is old, with tilting floors in surprising places, drafty windows, and a spider filled basement that used to be a root cellar.

I confess I have spent a lot of time wishing I lived somewhere else; in a larger, newer, prettier house.

Yet I come home today from our humble cabin, and I walk from room to room on carpeted floors. I get a glass of water from the faucet in the kitchen. I use the bathroom. Sunlight streams across the fields through old rippled panes. I am so grateful to have this home. I am blessed by the luxury of it all.

If I don’t see JOY, it means I’m looking in the wrong place. Within my own life JOY wins when I see the abundance that is uniquely mine. That is key. It’s easy to look outside ourselves and see the good stuff we want that other people have. It’s a different thing to look at OUR OWN LIVES and see the great stuff that is already at the door!

Where in your life can you find something that beams JOY in a way that speaks to you?

What already exists in your life that sings abundance?

Make it personal.

That’s where it counts.

The "green grass" is growing in your own back yard, you just have to appreciate the shade.

                   Love to all,

                                                                                                    ♥ K.