Tiny Superheroes

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“The Seattle mom was making superhero capes for her 1-year-old son when she came across a blog about a baby girl named Brenna. Brenna was born with a rare and severe skin disease. She needed eye surgery at just 3 weeks and beat an aggressive blood infection. In Robyn’s mind, Brenna was a fighter: She was Super Brenna.

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“I realized that while my son looked cute in a cape, Brenna needed a cape,” Rosenberger said. So she reached out to Brenna’s mom, Courtney Westlake, who lives in Springfield, Ill., through Facebook, and asked if she could send a cape her way.”

So began, Tiny Superheroes. The company, started by Robin Rosenberger, makes capes for kids who battling cancer and other serious illnesses.  Check out her wonderful story: http://www.today.com/health/tiny-superheroes-fight-big-illnesses-little-capes-1C9390606?franchiseSlug=todayhealthmain

We all have the power to be super heroes to someone or fight for a cause. How are you a superhero? Or after reading Robyn’s story, how are you MindFULLY moved to make a difference? Let us know!

WOW Factor from 74 Harley Street

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When was the last time you flipped through your jewelry box and wished you had that one fun piece to wear, but all you had were bits and pieces of this and that?

Last month, when I was in Kansas City, our cousins were wearing fabulous necklaces; pieces made of sparkly beads, pearls and fun baubles. Paired with t-shirts and jeans, these ladies looked so spirited! Where had they gotten such statement pieces?

Turns out, that one of them, the wildly creative and talented Susan Mayer, was making jewelry out of vintage pieces she was finding and that women were sending to her. Brooches, old necklaces, you name it. Pieces that somehow how had been collected or handed down, but never quite worked in today’s world. Susan was taking these pieces and creating hip and elegant one of kind necklaces and bracelets. I loved what she had on so much that as soon I returned to Denver, I sent her a brooch that had taken up space in my jewelry box for years. I don’t think I had ever worn it.

Within weeks, she sent it back to me. I love it! She created a necklace made of out of dimpled pearls and attached my brooch — designing the piece so that I could add and subtract other brooches. How clever she is. I wore it to a luncheon last week with a simple grey dress and then over the weekend with a white t-shirt and jeans. I had such attitude!

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Take a look in your jewelry box. I’ll bet there is something in there that could be recreated into something you would wear and treasure. Take a picture of it and send it to Susan. Check out her website  www.74harleystreet.com and then get digging through your stuff. You’ll be sporting a “WoW” piece in no time.

What MindFULL piece did you find for Susan to re-create? Send us a picture and let us know!

 

 

 

 

MindFULL Color

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A few weeks ago I wrote about wanting to paint my bathroom. I’m prone to changing color. I liked the green at first, but it never really sat well with me. However, repainting the room felt daunting. Remembering the lesson my daughter and I had learned – How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time – gave me the courage to look at the job as “one stroke at a time.”

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Slowly, but surely, it came together. At first the blue was off, but a quick trip back to the paint store and a little adjustment gave me just the shade I wanted. I love it! When I am in there, or even walking by, my energy changes. What is that about? Do you think that color effects how we feel?

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According to Psychology 101 color can certainly affect our moods. Check out their article for a simple read on how your favorite color may be affecting yours.

http://www.psychology-101.com/2012/03/color-psychology-how-colors-affect-our.html

What color do you Mind FULLY gravitate towards? And have you changed a color in your home to change your mood? Let us know!

 

MindFULL Kid

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It’s officially Spring Break in our house (although by today’s snowfall, you’d never know it.) Finally, it’s time for me to take a post off and venture into the world to re-“full” my mind. While I’m out absorbing new ideas to share, I thought I’d leave you with a spot of inspiration I came across via a friend’s Facebook page. It’s about a young boy known as Kid President.

The first link is to one of his videos. The second is about him. I am touched, inspired and warmed by his story, his smile and his words of wisdom.  I hope you will be, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=l-gQLqv9f4o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcZVGjG6LWM

As Kid President asks, “What will you create to make the world more awesome?”

Let us know!

7 Up

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Looking for something new to watch? How about a new way to ponder life and time. The link below is to a blog that my Kabbalah teacher, David Sanders writes. Always insightful, David brings new ideas and ways of seeing, moving through and being in the world.

http://www.kabbalahexperience.com/life-measured-every-seven-years/

His latest post is about 7 Up, a series of eight documentaries chronicling the lives of a dozen people from the London area since the age of seven–every seven years. None have died. They are now 56.

I’m curious about what ordinary people like you and I have thought about, experienced and have in common.

Which led me to ponder, if I were to make a documentary of my life, how many years in between would I choose to revisit with my self? What thread would weave itself throughout my story? And how would I want it to end?

What MindFULL documentary would you create? Let us know!

Another MindFull Perspective

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My friend, Joy, sent this to me last week. I thought for this MindFULL Monday, I’d share it with you, since this past weekend I posted a bonus blog on repainting my bathroom and all the thoughts it brought up. Love another way to look at decorating, not just our homes, but ourselves!

Each day we choose to decorate our life just as we do our homes, by Madisyn Taylor

There are few things more thrilling than having a new house or an empty room to decorate. Our imaginations soar as we consider the many possibilities. In the same way, our lives offer us the opportunity to express ourselves within various contexts, to ask ourselves questions about what we want to see as we move through our days and how we want things to flow. Some people do this instinctively, moving through the various environments they inhabit and shifting the energy with their presence. These people have a knack for decorating life. This can be as simple as the way they dress, the way they speak, or the fact that they always bring a bouquet of wildflowers when they come for a visit.

As we move through the world, we make a statement, whether we intend to or not. We shift the energy one way when we enter a room dressed elegantly and simply, and another when we show up in bright, cheerful colors and a floppy hat. One is not better than the other. It is simply a question of the mood we wish to create. What we wear is just one choice we can focus on. The way we speak to people, or touch them, shifts the energy more profoundly than almost anything else. The words we speak and the tone in which we say them are the music we choose to play in the world that is our home. Some of us fill the space with passionate arias, others with healing hymns. Again, one is not better than the other. We are all called to contribute.

Just as we consciously create an environment within our homes, we can consciously choose to decorate life itself with our particular energy. Ideally, in doing so, we express our deeper selves, so that the adornments we add to the world make it more meaningful, more beautiful, and as welcoming as a beloved home.

What MindFULL articles have inspired you? Let us know!

One MindFULL Bite

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How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

Such was the advice of the gentleman in the seat next to me, enroute to a project somewhere, years ago. His advice, on the heels of sharing how he got to be CEO of his company, made it into my journal.

“One bite at a time” I chanted as I stood in the doorway of my master bath, longing for a new color and knowing that if I wanted it to change, I was going to have to do it myself.

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Uch. I love the concept and I hate the execution. Taping, painting, perfecting.

I watch too much HGTV. They make it look so easy. Yet, for someone like me, who loves the big picture, but isn’t as crazy about the details, it’s really hard.

However, I am determined. And I thought about my daughter and all the little sayings we share, when we want to do something and feel overwhelmed. “One bite a time” has moved us through many a challenge.

I find that a saying can remind me of something I know, show me a new way to think about a situation and help me through a tough moment. If you have ever wasted hours clicking through Pinterest, you might notice all the sayings posted on the site. I have started a Phrase Board. I thought I’d share some of my favorites with you. After all, “Choose Joy” is something we could all do well to remember.

  • When odds are one in a million, BE that ONE.
  • People may not always tell you how they feel about you, but they will always show you.   Pay attention. (Similar to my friend Barb’s favorite saying, “People tell you who they are. Listen.”)
  • Sometimes walking away has nothing to do with weakness, and everything to do with strength. We walk away not because we want others to realize our worth and value, but because we finally realize our own.
  • Judging a person dose not define who they are…it defines who you are (And vice versa)
  • Swearing…because sometimes “gosh darn” and “meanie head” just don’t cover it.
  • Chin up, beautiful. Your mistakes do not define failure. They define your efforts. Even if you’ve stumbled, just take a step forward and keep moving on towards your goal.
  • View challenging people as your assignment. Ask yourself: What is this person meant to teach me? Every person in our lives has a lesson to teach. Some lessons include: To become stronger. To be more communicative. To trust your intuition. To be more self loving. To know when to let go. To be nothing like this person. To see a part of ourselves we hate to admit, or need to admire.
  • Don’t raise your voice. Improve your argument.
  • Some things fall part so other things can fall together
  • If things aren’t working out, turn 180 degrees and move toward what you want (thanks, Ellen!)
  • You don’t drive your car looking in the rear view mirror. Why should you live your life looking backwards?

 What MindFULL saying do you use to move through life? Let us know!

A MindFULL Fit

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Many years ago when we lived in Boston, I had a fabulous pair of  black snakeskin Kenneth Cole sandals. I loved them. I bought them for a great price and wore them everywhere. However, after several wearings, I was dismayed to notice how they started to hurt my feet. I ignored the rubbing along the outside of my pinkie toe, until one day I couldn’t take them off and look away from the puffy blister that had formed.

Bummed, I knew it was time to let them go. So I walked to the Boston Common and set them next to the garbage can with a note that said, “Enjoy Me!”, hoping they would fit someone else and they too would love wearing such beautiful sandals.

I was reminded of this easy reframe today, when telling my mother of how frustrated I was with my Doctor’s bedside manner. She simply said, “Perhaps it’s time for a new Dr. After all, our needs and preferences change. It’s totally fine to move on and often, that’s how life goes.”

She was right. My Dr. didn’t do anything wrong. She just didn’t fit for me any longer. It was time to release her and to allow her to make time for another patient. It was time for me to find a new Dr who fit the stage of life I’m in.

What an easier and kinder way to see our relationships. Like a favorite pair of shoes, sometimes we simply outgrow them and need to pass them on with love and gratitude for the time well worn.

With a lighter heart, I put my new favorite shoes on this afternoon and headed to a new Dr’s office. Thanks, Mom. If anyone knows anything about good fitting shoes and life, it’s you.

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What is your MindFULL Metaphor for life’s changing situations? Let us know!

Shining Eyes

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It’s MindFULL Monday. I love Mondays. I see them as new starts to new new weeks. However,  it has been a while since my last MindFULL Monday post. My get up and go seems to get up and go during the dark days of January. I tend to stick close to home, withdraw and spend time carting around my hotwater bottle. I know that I will be up and out again soon, but for now, I find contentment under my comforter with books, magazines and journal writing.

I am grateful for the work to come and this time to be.

Amongst reading and journaling, I have taken to a new favorite afternoon activity –watching TED talks on my iPAd. I know I have posted about TED before, but I love this site. And I LOVED this talk. When it was over, I looked in the mirror and saw that I had shining eyes. I hope you will gift yourself with 20 minutes to watch it.

http://www.ted.com/talks/benjamin_zander_on_music_and_passion.html (you have to copy and paste this link into your browser to get it to work. If it doesn’t, then go to Ted.com and type in Benjamin Zander Shining Eyes. It’s worth it!).

As I write this post, it just occurred to me that I could watch my TED talk AND walk on my treadmill. Hmmm, am I ready to fling forth the comforter and get up and go?

What do you MindFULLY do to create shining eyes? Let us know!

Birds Eye View

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It’s school break and that means lots of house time. Funny what I notice about my house after sitting in the same chair for hours.

Seeing things with a new perspective can help me think that I have created something new, without spending much money.

Take this drink stand I recently purchased. It just sat in the corner of my dining room, til Colette mentioned what a cool bird’s nest it could be when I wasn’t using it. All of a sudden, the shredded paper in the study had a purpose and everywhere we went, I started to notice all kinds of creative birds! I bought a few and am thinking I may be on to a new collection. I’m gonna work on this. nestbirds

Real Simple magazine has published  their New Uses for Old Things: Holiday Edition. http://www.realsimple.com/new-uses-for-old-things/new-uses-holidays . Perhaps there is something in it to inspire you? After all, you never know what “bird brain” ideas will present themselves when you simply look at things with a new eye.

What have you MindFULLY re-used? Let us know!

 

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