Gratitude.....makes the world go round....

Tonight I am feeling 'gratitude' and realizing that we often get so busy with our lives we forget the things for which we should be grateful!



A call from a friend, a note in the mail, an email from someone we knew years ago, a child who holds our hand, a teenager who gives us a hug (in public!).......gratitude.......



It is so easy to get caught up in our routines and activities......juggling too many things in too little time......we get busy 'reacting' and wondering how we can get everything in with so little time......one thing leads to another and before we know it the day....the week...the month.....the year has gone by and we have forgotten to be grateful for where we are, who we are with, what we have....right here...and right now.....



Today I am grateful...grateful for good friends in my life! Grateful for caring children! Grateful for health and well-being! Grateful that the phone rings and it's the caring voice of a friend. Grateful for being alive to be able to enjoy the beauties of the world around me.....my family, my friends.....it's a wonderful place to be!!

The Gift of Laughter!

Have you ever had the experience of laughing so hard your sides hurt? Have you laughed so hard you couldn't catch your breath?

Today I had that experience. Today I had the experience of 'gut-busting' laughter! It was wonderful! In themiddle of a hectic and busy day a friend started down the path of cracking one joke after another......before we knew it we were both overwhelmed with 'gut-busting' laughter! I'm not sure if we were simply at a point of being over-tired or overwhelmed with the amount of work on our plates, however once the giggles struck we couldn't stop them!!! We found ourselves connecting one thing to another and delighting in non-stop glee! We laughed! We held our sides! We giggled and guffawed!!!!

Of course we eventually settled down and returned to the task at hand.....now however I pause to reflect on the wonderful release and effect the 'gut-busting laughter' had on my day.......

The laughing cleared my mind. The laughing cleared my heart. The laughing cleared my soul! It was almost like the laughing had perfect timing in the middle of a crazy day to allow for a fresh breath of energy!

I'm not sure we value the effect of laughter! We curtail it....we push it aside....we disapprove of the co-worker who is giggling outloud........I question why! Laughter is contagious! Laughter is healthy! Laughter is an activity that connects us to our sense of reality!

Life should be so serious all the time. Life should have moments to laugh about and to laugh 'at'....sometimes we just have to laugh at the things we don't understand! After all......isn't it sometimes just FUNNY?

I wish you all a moment of pure 'gut-busting' laughter in the days ahead! Revel in the pure joy it creates!!!

Glenna Griffin, Remarkability Expert
Speak America
Speaker, Author, Person who loves to laugh!!!!

I'm curious......

What is it that PREVENTS us from feeling worthy of the feelings of happiness, gratitude, and joy? I'm not sure....I simply know that so many of us work so hard for the feelings of happiness, gratitude, and joy yet never feel like we attain them.....however they are in front of us every day!

Recently a friend and I spoke on the phone while I was simultaneously watching my 9 year old and her friends joyfully push mini-shopping carts through the grocery store...narrowly missing the tender ankles of all they passed! They were giggling with delight at their antics while I was trying to corral their energies when my friend called. I excused my laughter and explained to her the situation........she paused and asked me, "How can you possibly forget the other things you're dealing with right now and take such joy from the moment?" I responded with, "How can I NOT?"

What other way is there to be? What other way is there to function? I may have a very full plate right now of things that are not so pleasant, but should those things detract from my joy of the moment? Should what I am carrying on my shoulders keep me from enjoying the moments of what life is truly all about? Should the moments of pain and frustration when dealing with other things in my life prevent me from feeling worthy of the joy of seeing my child delight in the activities with her friends? I would have to say, "Not"!

The little moments of true joy are around us every day......the child who brings home a drawing from school.....the co-worker who stops by our office just to say hello.......the friend who calls to touch base......the teenager who stops and does the dishes without being asked.....these are all moments to stop and appreciate....yet we so often look the other way and forget that we are worthy of accepting the joy of the moment....of the experience. We get caught up in what the moment 'prevented' us from doing (such as completing a task, finishing a phone call, leaving something to the next day) that we lose sight of the fact that the moment is what made our day worthwhile...not getting the task done.......that part of the day will still be there tomorrow.......the moment of accepting the joy of the experience will not....

During a particularly trying time recently, a friend of mine was travelling to the other side of the world. We had a brief moment to catch up on the phone and my friend got me laughing.....laughing until my sides hurt...laughing until I thought I simply couldn't stand it any longer........laughing until I thought I couldn't stop!!!! When we finished our call I stopped and felt such immense gratitude.....gratitude that my friend took the time, the expense, the effort to connect with ME.....gratitude........gratitude for such friends in my life.......the gratitude of the experience truly is priceless!!

I've decided that we can make up our minds pretty much to be how we want to be.....if we want to be miserable we can pretty easily accomplish being miserable.....if we want to be sad, we can be sad.....if we want to be cynical, no problem.....why is it then that it is so difficult for some to CHOOSE to be happy? Why is it so difficult for some to CHOOSE to find delight in simple things around them? Why is it so difficult for some to CHOOSE to see the true joy and value of life? The answer? It's NOT difficult.....we just need to TRY IT!!!!!!! The more we try it, the easier it becomes!!!!

I challenge you! When faced with an obstacle this week, look hard at your options...find the option to be positive about. Find the option that is positive...not negative. Focus on the POSITIVE and see what happens......I believe it will all fall into place....you simply have to BELIEVE and be DETERMINED to make it so........YOU can make any life you imagine......Start today!!!! Start this very moment!!!!! ..........why not? What do you have to lose?

Please share with me your success!! I know you can do it!!!

Glenna

The Wonder of the Red Shoe!

Today I had the experience of watching a little girl try on red ruby slippers in the middle of a shoe department. I sat and watched and smiled as the 'Power of the Red Shoe' was as exciting for the 9 year old as it is for adult women!! There is something exilerating about looking at your feet and seeing red shiny shoes!

It's hard to explain, however I believe it comes back to the sense of personal choice. Whether we are 9 years old, 39 years old or 79 years old.....CHOOSING the red shoes to try on admist the rows of brown and black shoes just makes us smile.

Isn't this reflective of the choices we make in our daily lives? When we exercise the power of our personal choice admist the routine decisions we face every day, we smile. When we exercise the power of our ability to make a personal choice about what WE want it simply feels good! The power of personal choice feels as good as slipping into a pair of wonderful red shoes!

I would encourage you to try an experiment. On a particular day when you are feeling overwhelmed by decisions you feel are out of your control, when you are looking at the prospect of a long day of routine, when you're dreading the schedule of the day......pull out your secret weapon. Pull out your red shoes and wear them!!! It doesn't matter if they match your outfit! It doesn't matter if they're heels or flats!! The only thing that matters is that you slip them on and go after your day!!! Try it!! Let me know how it feels! I'd love to hear!!

Let me know if you felt as excited as the 9 year old trying on ruby red sparkly slippers today. Let me know if you felt armed with the knowledge of your ability to make the Personal Intentional Choice (your PIC!) and the wonders of your strength!

What PIC will you make today about other things in your lives?

New Perspectives!

Where does the time go? Somehow I just realized that it has been ten months since I last posted anything on this blog? Have I been on vacation? No...... Have I been blogging on another site? No..... Have I been simply bogged down with "life"? YES! Sometimes "life" just needs to be lived and we get so busy doing just that! It always amazes me however to realize how quickly the days and months can go by!

One of the most exciting things that I did over the past 10 months was to go on a 2 week mission trip to Africa in July. I was part of the "Mission Africa: Let Your Life Speak" team who travelled to Kenya. (You can read all about the mission and our travels at http://www.missionafricaletyourlifespeak.blogspot.com/) .

The trip to Kenya was a program designed as part of an over all goal to give 1 million people their "voice"....their COMMUNICATION voice...their ability to communicate to be able to move their lives in positive directions, change the world around them, and succeed at achieving their goals. We worked with a political caucus group in Nairobi where we provided 3 days of communication training, then traveled to the remote village of Wikondeik to work with teachers and students in an orphanage/school for a week. What an amazing experience!

It was amazing to me to interract with so many people in a third-world country where they have so little and yet they are so welcoming, inquisitive, curious, gracious and hospitable.........and return home to a country where we have so very much but hardly take the time to say "hello" to a neighbor. It was an interesting perspective!

Returning to a world of running water and electricity on demand, refridgerators full of food, clothes on every child, easy access to vehicles for transport, and attitudes of excess has been difficult. The sights and sounds of Kenya were humbling.

I have found myself wondering what additional ways I can make a difference here......what ways I can encourage my children to make a difference here......what ways I can encourage others around me to make a difference........ Make a difference today by reaching out to someone in need.....make a difference today by conserving resources........make a difference today to look for a way to give back to your community. Those small changes will make a ripple effect of change around the world! Please.....pass it on......

The JOY of Aging......Really!!

Like millions of people on Friday, I too braved the stores for "Black Friday"......yet instead of discovering the perfect gift for a loved one, I discovered something about myself!!

While visiting with relatives for Thanksgiving, my sister and I decided to see what we could find in the stores on Friday. As neither of us had our "lists" or any real desire for particular items, it was more of an opportunity to spend some time together than it was to get some "real deals" for the holidays.

We headed out to the local stores and wandered......literally wandered through the stores looking at the piles and mountains of products and the throngs of people clamoring for the items that were "one day sale specials". Not having participated on the Black Friday Frenzy for years, I was amazed. It reminded me of a sad remake of the movie "Night of the Living Dead"..........people wandering, as if in a daze..........tired, cranky, moving from store to store......simply with the goal of filling their carts. I'm certain many of these people simply wanted to be at home enjoying a well-deserved and long-overdue day off with their families, eating left-over turkey and stuffing, yet here they were......

While it amazed me at how the stores had all geared up for this day so far in advance, how the buying public was participating in the hoopla, and of course at the sheer volume of things to be purchased, I was amazed at something else.....something inside of me.

I felt so removed from the process of it all......I had no desire to purchase anything! My thoughts wandered to some of the decorations and how I wanted to create a special holiday atmosphere and mood in our home, but I wasn't processing what items the kids or I "needed" to be happy this holiday season. My wish list became populated by other things that morning. Here are the first several items:

1. Time to make holiday cookies with the kids
2. Remember to get that family recipe for my grandmother's applesauce cake
3. Find the kids' favorite holiday music CD that got put away with last year's decorations....the one they knew all the words to so we could sing along
4. Cut the construction paper so we could make paper chains for the tree
5. Clear the afternoon after-school schedule so we could go ice-skating
6. Stop by the library for a stock-pile of holiday stories to read in front of the fireplace

My list grew as I wandered along. The true JOY of the holidays for me was not to be about finding the perfect gift. My list didn't cost much money either! My list was about making the TIME with those who are most important to me in my life......it was about making MEMORIES of an unhurried holiday season.......it was about creating TRADITIONS for my children that hopefully would carry over to their adulthood and they would not become one of the wandering zombies at the mall on Black Friday!

I see this as a true joy of aging.....sure I have a few more aches and pains with each passing year.....but I also have a greater sense of the real me and what is important in my life! I'm embracing the wisdom that the aging process brings! Realizing what is truly important is a joy of aging!! I have the courage, wisdom and capability to make the holiday season what I WANT it to be......not what I've been told it should be!

What is it you wish your holiday season to be? What is important to you? What brings you JOY?

Glenna Sanford
Speaker / Author / LifePower Coach
glenna@glennasanford.com

Red Shoes in the Workplace....it's a Revolution!

I had to chuckle as I was looking through this morning's paper's sales flyers......either it's the time of year or the stores are catching on......RED SHOES are everywhere!! Trying to take a "scientific" approach, I placed every flyer in the Sunday paper around me on the table to see how many stores had red shoes or boots in their advertisements and how many did not. It was amazing....every single flyer had at least one pair of red shoes in it!! Perhaps the revolution is beginning!! Women are starting to request red shoes and the marketplace is responding!!

I have started receiving emails from women at work sharing their red shoe stories with me....fabulous!! I'm getting emails from men asking where to get their wives or girlfriends a pair of red shoes........wonderful! I'm seeing women wearing red shoes and boots not just on weekends......but also in the workplace! Fantastic!!

A woman wearing a pair of red shoes makes a statement! My red shoes are my exclamation point.......they simply make me feel GOOD! I have witnessed the transformation of women in the workplace as they walk into meetings more confident, composed, and ready to voice their opinions and ideas! Watch out corporate America.....women in the workplace have started launching a revolution.....the revolution of the red shoes!

It's curious to me how simply changing the color of the shoes on our feet can make such a change in our confidence, composure and attitude. Imagine the power we have available by making other changes in our lives. Imagine the empowerment of believing in ourselves and making the choices and changes that we've been putting off for so long! What's stopping you? Recognizing your personal strength is much like a child learning to walk.....once you recognize it, you want more . Once you practice it, you can't be stopped! Greater confidence and power builds with each use of your personal power and strength! Use it! Practice it! Grow with it!

What changes in your life could you start making today that would reinforce YOU? Do you need a pair of red shoes in your life? They're available everywhere!

Glenna Sanford
glenna@glennasanford.com
Author / Speaker / LifePower Coach