July 2010

  • Float On... Or Move On

    By sarajean on 7/31/10 6:58pm
    Add Comment

    I think every time we get focused on something and stuck on it for so long that we feel like we’re drowning, we should all just listen to Modest Mouse’s “Float On” really loudly until we feel better. That always seems to work for me—at least temporarily.

    If we can’t float on just yet, perhaps we need to work on simply moving on.  I’ve just been full of normally rare epiphanies this week—probably because I spent half of it ill and reading books in the bathroom—and one that I realized was that holding onto some very bitter entanglements was not serving me. In fact, it was holding me back.

    Read more >

  • Offer an Apology

    By sarajean on 7/31/10 5:39pm
    Add Comment

    Just as we know that forgiving and thanking people can help enrich our lives, so too can apologizing when we need to. In my family, we never learned the art of a good apology. After a fight was had, we would simply act like it had not happened the next day. This was extremely confusing for my sisters and me. Were we in trouble? Were Mom and Dad still fighting—or mad at us? How did we solve the problem?

    Read more >

  • Challenge An Old Belief

    By sarajean on 7/31/10 3:13pm
    Add Comment

    If you haven’t given some old beliefs a bit of thought, changed your mind at least once, or budged on an issue lately, you might be getting cobwebs in your brain. Changing your opinion doesn’t mean you’re wishy washy or weak, as some people would say; instead, it means that you are still learning, still becoming informed, and still thinking. In short, you are still alive!

    Read more >

  • Forgive Someone

    By sarajean on 7/31/10 2:22pm
    Add Comment

    Hopefully you’ve already added “Thank Someone” or its equivalent to your Living To Do List. We all definitely have people in our lives that we could thank for various things they’ve done for us; I could probably list 100 myself. We all, in turn, also have people we could probably forgive in our lives for harming us, too.

    The thing about holding a grudge—besides being really creepy in that Sarah Michelle Gellar movie and its Japanese predecessor, which gave me nightmares for a month (go ahead and laugh, I don’t care! In fact, I forgive you)—is that it doesn’t hurt the person who harmed you. You can hold onto it until it boils and festers, and all it’s going to do is cause you more grief and pain. The person who harmed you isn’t affected by your feelings at all—you are.

    Read more >

  • Do Something…At Night!

    By sarajean on 7/14/10 9:27am
    Add Comment

    It’s amazing how things change when you’re in the dark, isn’t it? The mundane becomes the mysterious, the ordinary the unknown. I, for one, always get spooked by things at night that would never make me think twice during the day—and I’m a self-professed night owl!

    Going over my Living To Do list, I was just struck by the things I had listed that I wanted to do at night—build a snowman (check!), play Frisbee (haven’t done that one yet, though we did just purchase a Frisbee), and ride a roller coaster (check!) are just a few of them. What things would you like to do at night? Here are just a few ideas…

    Read more >

  • Get Started With Illustrated Journaling

    By erika on 7/12/10 2:14pm
    Add Comment

    "I'm saving that for when I retire."  A friend said that to me recently.  We were talking about illustrated journaling, which is something I used to do many years ago, before knitting and working freelance (i.e. every waking minute) consumed my life.

    She said that she had always wanted to try illustrated journaling, but couldn't find the time.  Thus she had put it on her "to do" list for retirement.

    "That's silly," I told her.  "You could die before you retire, and then how dumb would you feel?"  Maybe not the most sensitive of responses, but she laughed.  And it's true - we're always putting things off for tomorrow, next week, next year, after retirement.


    Read more >

  • 10 Alternatives to Fireworks

    By sarajean on 7/1/10 7:58am
    Add Comment

    Maybe you don’t approve of fireworks because of their cost, or because of the pollution they cause to the environment. Maybe you hate the loud noises, or simply the related dangers of fireworks. Whatever your reason, it’s perfectly okay to not want to shoot off fireworks. Of course, kids usually get pretty bummed out in such cases, so you might want to have some alternative ideas for celebrating “with a bang.” Here are ten to try.

     

    10. Throw Confetti

    But isn’t that just as bad for the environment, you ask? Maybe. You could always throw scrap paper—especially dots from your hole puncher—and then put them in your compost bin. But you could also chop up anything else going in the bin—strawberry stems, fruit rinds, whatever—and toss them in the yard, too. The scent will be wonderful, though it may get messy!

     

    9. Blow Bubbles

    Read more >