Archive for October, 2008
It’s autumn, leaves are falling, weather here in Chicago is getting breezy….and life is great. What I am learing is that it’s so easy to go to the dark side, and I think it’s because it seems easier, more dramatic and interesting. It’s amazing that novels, plays, movies etc., are all about conflict….which is defined as want–obstacle–action. And isn’t that what happens in life? We want something that we can’t have and then we take action to go, get it.
It’s how we solve problems. It’s why we set goals and have visions. We want something, but we have to overcome something to get it….and take action.
The important thing about it is, that we also have to enjoy what we are doing right now, in this present moment, no matter what the moment is like.
So whatever you are doing right now at this very moment, take a breath and give thanks. You are alive. You can take action. You can solve problems and most importantly, you can enjoy your life.
Life is a brief candle and if we don’t allow ourselves to shine in every moment, then we will have walked on this earth for no reason. Shine your light. Be in the moment. Love your life. Be responsible for bringing great energy to every moment and have an amazing life. Rock N Roll Val & Jeff
October 23rd, 2008
Jeff and I went for a walk today with our two daughters. We got to talking about change, and is it possible to change your life, your habits, the way you think….and the good news is, Yes! It absolutely is possible to change your way of thinking. And the even better news: its free! And the even better than better news is: it just takes commitment, and a dash of passion and optimism.
Here’s how you do it.
Step One: Become Aware: What is it you want to change? Be aware of it, because if you don’t know what you want to change, then how can you change it?
Step Two: Commitment: Be committed to make the change. That means being committed to do it. You want this change so much that you are willing to do anything to get it.
Step Three: Take Action: What do you have to do to make the change? Exercise, eat differently, smile every day, not take things personally, count to ten instead of reacting with anger, meditate every day, pray…what do you have to do, to make this action take root?
Step Four: Faith: You must know that it is possible.
Step Five: Passion: When you have passion to make a change, your brain will be fired up to make different synapse connections that will last. It’s like taking a walk through the park and being excited about going a different way. When you keep going the different route, eventually, that’s the route you will be used to going. But if, every time you go the new route, you dislike it and grumble and moan, then eventually, you will go back to the old route. So enjoy the change! Know that this change will last for ever…no going back! Rock N Roll Val & Jeff
October 21st, 2008
I was in church yesterday, and the minister talked about John Winthrop, one of the first pilgrims to come to America….and how they were in the middle of the sea when he gave a sermon about how everyone would be looking at them and how they would become the city set on a hill.
And many presidents have talked about this idea of America being a city of light…an inspiration to the world.
And in the middle of this voting frenzie….who will lead our country….who will be best? We hear negative things, and positive things. I loved what the democratic, socialist senator from Vermont said when he was on the Bill Maher show; America needs to be in the light, if America goes dark, the whole world will go dark. We need American optimism.
We have a lot to live up to, and a lot of responsibility. Yet it seems to me, that oftentimes, we focus on ’the city of light’ instead of ‘the individual of light’. It’s so easy to look at the people who run our country and talk about how they haven’t got it right….they need to do this….and they need to do that….and if only we had this….and if only we had that….then everything would be alright.
It’s so much easier to point the finger, and what we really need to do is to bring the finger back and turn it round on ourselves. We need to be pointing to ourselves and asking the question, ‘what am I willing to do to bring light to the situation?’
Whether it’s light to the home, family, work, whatever it is and whereever we are, we need to be thinking about bringing light. Waking up and being alive. Having great energy. Being the light and shining our light.
So for today, be the shining light. Be the one who looks for solutions instead of problems. Be the one who is optmistic, the one who has great ideas to share, the one who says, “yes and…”
America isn’t a city of light without having people who are willing to shine their light. So here’s to you…the one who is willing to shine your light. Rock N Roll, Val & Jeff
October 20th, 2008
Maybe you’ve heard of the monk who goes to his spiritual teacher and says, “I feel like I’ve finally reached enlightenment, what do I do now?”
The teacher answers back, “Chop wood, carry water” or in another version of the story, the teacher says, “Clean your rice bowl.”
In other words, we just keep on doing what we do. We clean one area of the office or home, and the other area looks dirty, and screams to be cleaned too. Or we get one relationship on track, and another relationship becomes problematic. It’s just life keeping on lifing.
You may have heard that one of the definitions of the word problem, is ‘to throw forward,’ it comes from the latin word problema! So whenever we handle a problem in one area of life, it moves us forward in all the other areas of our life that have similar problems.
We pay off one credit card, and maybe there is another one to pay off, but now we know how to do it!
We forgive one person, and realize there is another person in our life that we need to forgive.
I sometimes think, we expect too much of life. That we are going to finish doing what we are doing, and go spend the rest of our life spread out on a beach sipping martinis. It sounds luxurious, but in reality, it’s not. You probably know of people who go on vactaion, and come back with horror stories. This wasn’t right, that wasn’t right.
Not that you are like this. Not that I am. But some people are. So let’s lead the way for our amazing nation…for our wonderful planet. Let’s let go of fear and live from a place of acceptance and love. Let’s be happy with what we have right now. Let’s let go of the victim mentality, and the fear of financial downfall. Cut back on what you can, re-cycle, be happy with what you have. Do things great. Smile, be the leader of change. It’s time for us to evolve and get out of the cycle of fear. We have an amazing opportunity you and I right now, to be amazing. Rock N Roll Val & Jeff
October 9th, 2008
Have you been watching the presidential debates? Jeff and I have been watching, although I almost turned it off last night. It’s pretty much the same stuff, and so I got to wondering…how much of us have the same stuff rolling round our heads about who we are, what we want to do, and how we’re going to do it.
We say that we want change…but do we really? Change means doing things in a different way. You’ve heard the old saying, ‘the definition of madness is to keep doing the same thing over and over and expect different results.’ I think it happens with most of what we do. We learn to do something a certain way, and even if it works against us, we keep on doing it the same way because it’s easier than changing.
Take dieting for example. Have you ever been on a diet, hoping to lose all the weight so that you can go back to your life as it was before, only looking much slimmer! I guess that’s why most diets don’t work. We’re willing to do something differently for a certain time, but when we’ve reached our goal…we go back to the way it was before.
That’s why maintaining a goal weight is as important as losing it in the first place.
Or, have you noticed how many people get divorced and then you see them re-married to the same version of the person they just divorced?
We want our new president–whoever it may be–to be smart, to keep us on track, to stop spending our money on useless things, to stop the war, to create jobs, health plans, environmentally sound energy and on and on. And yet we….don’t really want change. Or, we want change but to keep everything we like the same.
I don’t think it’s possible. When we want things to be different, we have to change some things…and when we change some of the things….that means most of the things change.
Like for example, I was talking to someone this morning who gets depressed easily, and I said, “What about you have a purpose in life to see the light. To look for the good in life. To view the cup as half full. To feed the ‘light angel’ instead of the dark one.”
It seems a simple thing to do, and yet it isn’t. Because to look for the good, when you are used to looking for the bad, means that everything will change. Discussions about how bad things are can no longer take place….because you are looking for the good. Getting sympathy for something bad that happened in the past can no longer happen, because you are only looking at the good things that happened in your life.
The great thing is that it’s all a choice. Just like your vote for who you want to run the country. It’s your choice. So make the choice a good one. Choose the things that will make you look for the good in your life. Remember your good deeds when you think back over your past….and your future will be blessed with more good things than you can ever possibly imagine. Rock N Roll Val & Jeff
October 8th, 2008
Being healthy is so important to our well-being that I’ve decided to bring my juicer out. If you’ve ever done any juicing, you will know that it is quite a process. You have to have lots of vegatables to juice, and then be prepared to run them through the machine and clean up afterwards. I remember a friend of mine once talkig about a relative who was visiting, “I don’t mind her staying with me, but she’s a juicer! She leaves such a big mess all over the kitchen!”
So, yes, clean-up is a big part of juicing.
And it’s great. It’s made me aware of what foods I’m eating. What’s organic and what’s not. Do I want to pay extra for organic? Is it really organic? And all that kind of talking in the head that me Val does from time to time.
And did I say it’s great? It really is. It puts a burst of energy into the body to begin the day on a great footing. I’m off for a run/walk now. That’s one block running, one block walking. I’m going to be out in nature and breathing in fresh air for a while and when I come back I’ll feel refreshed and ready to work on my new book, the 2nd edition of Super Service published by McGraw-Hill!
And here’s what happens when I take care of myself in this way. I sleep well, I feel great and at the end of the day, no matter what has happened, I know I’ve taken good care of my body….and guess what, the mind will automatically follow. Rock N Roll Val & Jeff
October 7th, 2008