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If you're new to the podcast, welcome, and if you listen regularly, thank you!

This is a podcast about rest and recovery.
Two weekends ago, my husband, TD, and I drove to Columbia Tennessee to visit his family. It's always wonderful to spend time with lovely people. And it's beautiful that he still has several aunts and uncles to be able to see, touch and reminisce with.
Before we took the 4 1/2 hour drive, I was feeling some congestion in my sinuses and over the weekend. The congestion lingered so I went to get that checked out when we returned because my nose actually hurt. lol. Apparently, I had some kind of a scratch inside my left nostril. I believe that was the first time for me.

I'm feeling and breathing better and my energy is returning. I've also learned that the body will remind me about things that have happened even when I don't want the reminder. lol

August 7 will be the 10th anniversary of my mother leaving this physical form and earth. Words cannot adequately express how much I miss her being on this journey with me in physical form. Her spirit, kindness, and wicked humor are only a few things about her that make me smile. I know I feel her presence and energy often. it's different when you can reach out and touch someone, though, isn't it?
I remind myself that it's important to remember that grieving like much of life is not a one and done experience. It can come in gentle waves or tidal waves. Part of these life practices is about allowing and and accepting what is and I return to my practice of F.L.O.W. (Feeling Loving Open Willing) which is in essence, surrender.
This excerpt from my book, audiobook, e-book Why Struggle? life is too short to wear tight shoes, Know the stages of grief feels just right for this time.
Know the Stages of Grief
Life is a cycle. We are born. We live. We die. Death is as natural as living. Recognizing and accepting the laws of nature can help us live more in the present moment. As we learn to accept our lives and live without struggling over the inevitable, we can truly appreciate the gift of life.
Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance are the stages of grief. The time for each stage is as unique as your fingerprint. Experience the emotions as they arise and be gentle with yourself at this time.
Remember we may also experience grief when we make changes in our lives such as a change in a relationship, moving to a new city or a change in your work environment. A loss is a loss, give yourself
permission to grieve as you feel necessary.
Practice: Remember when someone you loved died and how you felt. Think about the emotions you felt. Were they denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance?
Affirmation: I accept the flow of life. Peace of mind
End of excerpt.

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2025 - Week 29 - Practicing Gratitude

Last night in a Zoom for a 12 day healthy reset program I shared some ways to stay grounded and slow down in this fast-paced world. If you listen to my podcast on a regular basis, you may have noticed that this episode is coming out a few days later than usual. That’s because I've decided to slow down even more. I'm slowing down with feeling the need and the pressure of having the podcast come out every week on Tuesday morning. I'm slowing down with the activities I do. I’m slowing down so I can truly savor this one beautiful life I know…right now.

I feel a change coming and instead of going against the change, I'm moving with the flow of what feels just right for me right now. If you listened last week, Episode 29: Practicing Gratitude,
| talked about being routine averse, so the fact that I've done a podcast for close to eight years is pretty awesome in my book. Yes, as my mother would say, baby patch yourself on the back. Lol.

I started this podcast in 2017/2018ish. I continue to learn to embrace change and to trust my inner guidance on what is next. The interesting thing about having an audio podcast is there isn’t usually a place for people to leave comments or connect with the host. I am so grateful for the people that listen to my podcast across all the various platforms and recently I've been enjoying sharing a partial upload to the Insight Timer app and I love that people take the time to leave comments there and other places where they can.

Did you know that only about one percent of the top podcasters make money from their podcast? And the ones who do either have paid sponsorships or ads running on their podcast. Mostly podcasting is indirect marketing for content creators.

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Are you steady? How do you handle routine? You know that everydayness of getting through life. The stuff like getting up, going to work or doing the daily activities we do, cooking, cleaning, keeping the house in order. I know, fun things right?

By nature, I am routine averse. Lol. Simply put, routine is not my friend. Although there are things I do routinely, I don't particularly enjoy them. Yes, I cook, keep the house in order, the maintenance things required in life. Do I enjoy them? Not so much. They feel like obligations and requirements most of the time.

Have you heard the expression?, Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water- after enlightenment, Chopped wood carry water? What that means to me is Being steady in the midst of the Everydayness or routineness of life.

I feel extremely grateful for having my meditation practice. My meditation practice keeps me steady. Practicing breathing and meditation daily keeps me steady. This allows me to start my day from a place of spaciousness, openness, and readiness. The self-awareness I experience simply through my daily time in silence continues to help me expand and grow.

As soon as I realize I am awake, I say thank you out loud. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. The simple acknowledgment of being alive another day is a powerful way for me to acknowledge life.

When people ask me, how do you meditate every day, I honestly have no answer other than how do I NOT meditate every day. Because I've done some type of meditative practice since the 90s, it is ingrained in the routine that comes with my daily life.

Humans are creatures of habit. Think about it, when we rise, we likely brush our teeth, tend to our hygiene, meaning we shower, or at least wipe some important parts, lol, prior to dressing, we may have a cup of coffee or tea or a soda, or a glass of water, and then we begin more routines throughout the day.

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Around this time I start to review my year and check in with what is important to me. I ask what I want to do more of, less of, keep doing, and what I may need to stop doing. I think about how I am spending my time now and what I may want to do in the future.

Asking questions helps me stay focused. Am I sharing my T.A.G.S. - Talents, Abilities, Gifts, Skills, to the best of my abilities?

Questions are my way of being open to listening for guidance. Some questions I've been pondering lately include:

• What's trying to emerge in my life?

• What gifts do I feel compelled to share now?

• What do I need to release now?

A few weeks ago in episode 24, I talked about M.E.E.T and Grace. Asking questions about how much Money, Energy, Effort and Time I'm willing to devote to what is being asked of me or what is calling to me. You might enjoy it if you haven't listened to it. So check it out.

Our time on this planet in this physical body is finite. We have a certain amount of years, days, minutes and moments. How do I choose to spend my time right now?

I also check to see if my core beliefs and philosophies changed? So far, my beliefs are still the same.

The excerpt that I’m sharing this week from my book/ebook/audiobook, Why Struggle? Life is too short to wear tight shoes, is part of the about this book section. In this part of the book I share my life philosophies.

I hope you enjoy it!

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Today as I was cutting fruit I allowed myself to do one thing...cut the fruit. No television, music, radio or podcast. Just me and the fruit I was preparing. I was home alone and I was in silence. And it felt AWESOME. I was focused and intentional and the fruit tasted delicious as I was nibbling whilst cutting. lol.
I must say I have really come to enjoy the quiet. At one time silence for me felt very scary. I would dread not having something to distract me. With practice, I have learned to relish silence. In the silence, I hear the gentle whooshing of the fan as I lie in bed in the mornings before I get up. I hear the birds singing and inviting me to come outside to see what the weather feels like. I have learned to be with my feelings and emotions so much better since I have been embracing silence as a daily practice.
Silence is my intimate partner on life's journey. In the silence I remind myself to be open and receptive to receive answers to questions I may have. I also learn that sometimes I don't have to or need to say anything, just be quiet.

What is your relationship with silence? Do you embrace the
opportunity for the stillness that may come with it? Does the quietness make you feel uncomfortable? Maybe you never thought about it? What would happen if you embraced silence as a daily practice?

Most things in life are enhanced with practice. I invite you to join me to practice a little bit of silence. I call this a slice of silence.

So let's take a few minutes to just be with the silence.

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This is a podcast about shaking things off in life. Enjoy this re-broadcast from Week 40 of 2024.

If you are new to the podcast, welcome and if you listen regularly, thank you!

Well, there is a lot going on in the world isn't there? And we know we can't control anybody else but ourselves, right? What I've learned is sometimes the best response is no response. Trust me I have learned this the hard way… talking way too much. Lol.

It feels like we're able to see so much of other people's lives, because we are. Technology allows us to see what other people are doing, or at least what we think they are doing on many levels. It can be frightening. Whether it's watching someone do a live stream, a short on YouTube, or something on TikTok; we think we know what's happening in other people's lives. Do we, really?

I'm reminding myself more and more to step away from so much of the busyness and noise of daily life. Even if it's stepping outside for five minutes to look at a tree or a flower to take a few breaths. Being in nature is very calming and soothing for the body and our nervous system. Even if you can’t step outside, look out the window or find an image only of something in nature that you find beautiful or breathtaking. Taking a few breaths and being in nature is something you can aspire to do daily.

Recently I have had comments or messages sharing how much you enjoy the breathing practices I share. I really enjoy hearing from you all, and thank you so much for listening and taking time to share your thoughts and feelings with me.

One thing I love about breathwork is that you can do it anytime, anywhere and no one has to know. And it is also free, simple and easy. You know that means we have to practice, right?

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On Thursday last week, I was out running errands before my part-time job at the Stockbridge local library and I had a taste for Cracker Barrel pancakes so I decided I would stop there before I went to work. I didn't have to be at work until 4 PM so I was having a late breakfast.

As I walked up to the hostess stand another woman walked up exactly at the same time. We greeted the hostess, and said one when she asked how many people were in our party. She said she would seat us at the same time and we followed her into the restaurant.

The other woman being seated turned around to me and said something like do you feel weird like me, when you eat by yourself? I don't mind eating alone, it gives me an opportunity to do my word search or read or just be. I said “Do you wanna join me for lunch?”

We sat down, and Sandy and I had a delightful lunch/breakfast. Interestingly enough, the food inspectors were there so our food was delayed by quite a few minutes which gave us even more time to chat and enjoy our adventure. I asked Sandy a question and she continued sharing information about herself. At one point, she did say I've been talking a lot, tell me something about you.

We chatted about work, family, and life in general. When the food finally came, I was able to eat a little bit before I had to leave to go to work. I said my goodbyes and smiled at Adventure #1.

At the library we have monthly programs for adults, young adults, and children. On this day, we were doing Mahjong. One of the games I play online is Mahjong, it is different playing on the computer than in person. In person there needs to be four people, and I volunteered if they needed additional people/staff for the program.

I was really excited when they needed a fourth. I sat down and learned how to play American Mahjong. I really enjoyed it, it's stimulating and fun. We played three games and although I didn't win, I had a blast. Adventure #2 complete.

On Saturday afternoon, my husband, TD and I drove down to Albany, Georgia, my hometown. We attended game night as part of my 45th high school reunion activities. I don't remember the last one I went to, I know it's been about 10 years. Thanks to Facebook and Instagram I have several classmates that follow me and join me on my breath breaks and some may even listen to my podcast. Lol. Thanks to all that do!

It was a blast! We played games, laughed, had school trivia, food, and fellowship. I am so glad I went. Adventure #3!

Lunch with a stranger, playing a new game in person, Mahjong, and going to my 45th High School reunion. And we stopped by the Bass Pro Shop in Macon, Ga on the way back… that was sort of an adventure, so I’ll call it 3.5 adventures in four days! lol

Did I start the week planning those adventures? I did not... I just let life do what life does... and I said yes!

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Earlier this year, I said I wanted to do at least one sentence as a journal entry every day. Until a few weeks ago, I'd only missed maybe one or two days this year.

When I opened my journal on June 7th, the last dated Entry was May 30th. I looked at the date and smiled. I had given myself grace. And I did not write a journal entry that day.
I have never been that committed to journaling. And I noticed lately my entries were very basic. If I journaled at the beginning of the day, it was more engaging and active, and I laid out my desire for the day. If I
journaled at the end of the day, it was a quick recap of what it happened. As I looked at my entry on May 30th I thought to myself, why am I doing this right now?
I decided to give myself a break from daily journaling. I mean, who is it benefiting, anyone? Every now and then when I'm doing some cleaning and organizing, I will pull out a journal from the past and read through it and I do take note of the growth I have experienced. And that's about it. My observations may make it in a podcast or not. I gave myself GRACE.

Why was I doing this? What was I getting out of it? Do I want to continue to spend my time, energy, or make the effort to do this daily? Right now, the answer is no. Right now I find myself being even more intentional with my money, energy, efforts, and Time. The
clock is ticking. Life and time are finite for me as a person having a physical experience here on planet earth.
How do I want spend this precious time I have left? I do love a good acronym. lol I ask myself how I want to M.E.E.T. this moment or experience. What will I have to invest; my Money, Energy, Efforts, And/or Time? Most things require one or all of these. Am I willing to commit money, energy, effort or time to do whatever it is? This question helps me prioritize my time, experiences and memories I am creating.
I will continue to journal when I feel called to do so. Releasing the daily commitment to journal felt just right.
Where can you give yourself grace? Is it in saying no to something you really don't want to do? Maybe you started reading a book you don't wanna finish reading because you're simply not interested. I did that
earlier this year, it felt great to release the "requirement" to finish that book. Lol Are you spending time with peopled and you really don't enjoy their company?
I invite you to join me now for the M.E.E.T. (MEET) Clarity Practice. I'll ask you the question and give you some time to allow a response to come to you and you will respond out loud with your answer.
My intention with this practice is to offer a way to prioritize and to be intentional about where you're focusing in your life.