Ever had a meltdown?!

MELTDOWN

MELTDOWN
MELTDown
meltdown
meltdown

meltdown

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Ever have one of these? Yes? You must be a normal person then. It's a big drag to get to that place. One of the ways you can prevent it is by shifting your expectations. Another way you can help yourself is to ASK FOR HELP. It's okay to ask for help, it really is. Another way is to let go of your idea of how something should go. Can you take yourself a "time out?" Can you add something to make the scene funny for you?

Remember in the Harry Potter story when the students were taught to take the thing that's the scariest for them and make it funny? Guess what? That's a technique in a form of therapy called NLP and it really works.

Put that in your "toolbox" of coping skills and take it out when ever you need it.

Love,
Aunt Laya

Who or what do you blame?

The traffic? Your mother? Your age? Your school? The president? The weather? The town you live in? Your religion? God?

If you didn't blame anyone else, how would you do your life differently?

What's one small thing you can do that will help you be who you want to be? Or one small thing that will help you realize a dream?

It's all in your hands.

Love,
Aunt Laya

The fruits of your growth

An apple tree blossoms in spring. It's a big investment. The tree must have enough rain, sun, and water. If the conditions are right, the blossoms will turn into sweet, crisp apples. But the process will take months. The tree must grow at its own pace; the fruits ripen in their own time. You just can’t push or pull those blossoms to grow faster.

It's like that for each one of us. You need to invest in yourself and trust that with your efforts, you will blossom. And the blossoms will turn into wonderful fruit! It doesn't happen all at once but it does happen. And if for some reason, a season doesn't turn out like you want, that's okay... Every year is another season of spring! Be patient (with yourself and others), the flowers will bear fruit.

Thought for the day: You are not a tree, you can get up and move if you’re in a place where conditions are not safe or healthy for you.

Love,
Aunt Laya

Not JUST a test

Most things that bug you are a test. Not JUST a test, but a test to help you grow. If life is a game, how do you get to the next level? Tag! You're it!

(see previous post)

love,
Aunt Laya

Tag! You're it!

"I've always been the opposite of a paranoid. I operate as if everyone is part of a plot to enhance my well-being." -- Stan Dale

What if EVERYTHING that happens to you is designed to improve you? What if the things that look like obstacles are about giving you a boost? What if whacking your head on an open cupboard door is about waking you up to your own thoughts? What if you could find something funny about things that usually get you bummed?

When I was actively studying karate, I learned a great lesson from a friend who was a black belt. He taught me to think of sparring as a game of tag. If your opponent gets in a hit, he did you a favor by showing you where you were open. If you get mad, you lose your clarity and balance, but if you say “thanks” you get stronger and more aware. It doesn't mean you leave yourself open for getting hit on purpose! It means when you do get hit you allow it to help you improve and get better.

You can see all of life as this “game of tag”. Have a sense of humor. It’s all about growing into the best you ever. You can do this!

Love,
Aunt Laya

Say Cheese! ;-)

You can change the world with your smile!

You must know the story about the toll booth guy who was feeing so sad and invisible until one day he was greeted with a great smile. He felt so good that he passed it to the next driver, who passed it along, who passed it along…

There’s a children’s picture book called “I like your buttons” which has the same kind of message. A child tells her teacher that she likes the buttons on her blouse. The teacher passes the compliment on until it reaches the little girls father—who then brings the little girl a kitten because he’s feeling so happy.

Don’t underestimate the power of your smile.

Experiment for the day: Smile sincerely or give a sincere compliment to several people during your day. Try this with lots of people (like someone who helps you at the store, a waiter, someone at the bank, etc.), and also with people who you are close to (like your parents or kids, close friends, even neighbors). Let the kindness go like a helium balloon you’d release into the sky. How do YOU feel at the end of the day?

Love,
Aunt Laya

Start Over

"Start over" means that even if you made a mistake or made a choice that didn't have the outcome you wanted, you can start over. Right now. Just start over. And you can start over any moment that you need to. You still have to deal with the consequences of a not-so-great decision or action or whatever. So? So, that's okay, deal with it, move on, and take the next step. You’re a little bit wiser and you know what you want a little more clearly.

This is a photo of a blossoming walnut tree. It's starting over after a dormant winter of bare branches. It will take the whole summer for the walnuts to grow and ripen until they are ready to eat near the fall.

Blessing of the day: Start over where you need to and enjoy the miracles that surprise you along the way.

Love,
Aunt Laya

Do you believe in miracles?

The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common. --Ralph Waldo Emerson

Where I live there are signs of spring everywhere. The walnut and fig (photo) trees I can see are giving birth to tiny bits of green life through bear, brown branches. Just have a look at each new moon, which starts fresh as a tiny sliver each month and renews itself into a full celebration of time and opportunity.

If “you see what you look for” and you look for miracles, then what are the miracles you notice? Where is the opportunity to renew—or recreate—in your life, right now?

The miracles of nature do not seem miraculous because they are so common. If no one had ever seen a flower, even a dandelion would be the most startling event in the world. --Author unknown


Blessing for the day: May your eyes be open to the small miracles of each day and may your heart be open to the big ones.

Love, Aunt Laya