Lamisha Serf-Walls

Gratitude: Rest and Confidence

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With yesterday being Thanksgiving in the United States, there are many things to be grateful for, yet I find this week I am grateful for two things that may seem overly simple, yet make a huge difference in my day-to-day life.

 

This week I am grateful for rest.  Rest doesn’t always mean sleep, though for me it is certainly a large part of it, but this week I am grateful for other examples of rest.  After a busy and short week at work, a lot of cooking for the holiday, and a busy day shopping today, I am grateful for just sitting and resting my body and mind.  For me resting can entail sleep (which I love), sitting with my feet propped up, meditation, or simply reading.  I love all of these things and am reminded of how great it feels to rest after an especially busy time like this week.

 

I am also grateful for confidence, something that comes easily in some areas of my life, and may be more challenging in others.  Confidence in my writing is one area that I am working on each and every time I write.  Instead of thinking “can I do this”, I instantly change that thought to “of course I can”.  I have learned over the years confidence doesn’t appear overnight and like many things in life, it just takes time, but I am finding that little by little my writing is getting better and my confidence grows.  I am finding that progress is always a good thing, no matter how slow it may seem.

 

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and I promise to be back to a more regular posting schedule next week, somehow with the holiday and work, my days just got away from me.

More Inspiration: Oriah Mountain Dreamer

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As a writer, I tend to look for inspiration in all sorts of places and many times it comes from other writers.  Today I read a post on Facebook by Oriah Mountain Dreamer entitled The Blessings of Things Gone “Wrong” and if you haven’t read her work, you are in for a treat.  I was just recently introduced to her writing this year, and I am dying to read more.

 

Her post got me thinking of how the things in life that seem to go “wrong” are simply leading us in a different direction, or putting us in a better position for something else.  For instance, being let go from a job, may seem like a terrible thing at first, but when it gives you the opportunity to live your dream then wasn’t the “wrong” really right?  It sheds new light on the frustrations and annoyances in everyday life.  In the moment they may feel yucky and simply like we have a bit of bad luck, but what if we changed our perception of these moments and looked for the blessing in them?

Have you ever been late for a meeting, or delayed for your travels only to later hear of a tragic car accident that occurred around the time you would have been driving?  Or maybe you miss a deadline only to find out there were major errors in your report and you are provided an extension to fix them?  The list could go on and on, but the moral of the story is that no matter how bad something seems, your situation may very well be working in your favor, and you have yet to see the blessing in it.

 
So as we enter into the holiday season, a time that can get even the best of us frazzled and frustrated, look for the blessings in every moment, but especially when things feel like they are going “wrong”.  When you change you perspective, not only your mood, but your reality tends to change as well.

Safe travels to those that are traveling, and if you are like myself and enjoying a nice Thanksgiving at home, enjoy!

Gratitude: Democracy and Books

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As I continue to do my daily (and weekly) gratitude practices, I am finding not only am I beyond blessed in my life, but I may be taking far too much for granted.  I am much better at noticing the little things that make my life easier, more beautiful, and sometimes just plain interesting.  I guess you could say I am much more aware of the little joys in life and it allows for a happier disposition over all.  Additionally the frustrating things in life (you know like waiting in a long line for 3 hours to vote-type of things) don’t seem as frustrating when you look at all of the wonderful blessings around you.  So without further ado, here is my latest installment of gratitude.

 

This week I am grateful for democracy.  With the election this week, my dedication and appreciation of democracy was taken to a whole new level.  I have been much more aware and involved with politics this year than ever before and the main reason is because I am thinking beyond my own limited vision of life and future.  I am thinking of the life of my son and other children to come.  The decisions I make today have an impact on the future of this country and ultimately the life of my children and grandchildren.  I was reminded of that this week as I stood in a ridiculously long line to cast my vote.  Yes the line was long, and I spent one of the three hours it took me to vote outside in the cold, but all the while I was very aware and thankful to have the opportunity to cast my vote.  I was proud to see so many people turn out regardless of who they were voting for, because too often people believe their voice, their vote, and their opinion doesn’t matter.  But if you don’t cast your vote, use your voice, etc., then it will never matter.  I am both humbled and grateful for the democracy we have in this country and the continued progress we are making.  Don’t get me wrong we still have far to go and the system is far from perfect, but we are far better off in many ways than hundreds of countries around the world and for that I am grateful.  With a grateful heart for what is, I have high hopes that we will continue to move as a country towards a more united nation with equality for all and that I will live long enough to see it.

I am also grateful for books.  I love the adventures, knowledge, and occasional reprieve from everyday life you can get by simply opening the pages of a good book.  Not to downplay technology and the new readers that are out there, but I love reading books I can hold and carry with me.  In the last two years there hasn’t been a time when I wasn’t in the middle of 2 or 3 books at a time, enjoying every moment of it.  It is one of the things I do to escape the stresses of life, to learn and grow as a person, and to relax.  There is nothing better than a warm snuggly blanket, rainfall outside, and a good book.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and find some down time yourself, no matter how you choose to spend it.

Remembering Self-Care

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I have said before that when I see, hear, or read the same message or theme in life, I tend to take notice.  It has happened again and this time the topic is self-care.  I have read many posts over the last few weeks about people trying to get back to taking care of themselves in the midst of the hustle and bustle of everyday life.  I can certainly relate to this, though I thought I had somewhat of a handle on it.

I was wrong.

I have found over the past week or so that I am taking much less time for me, and doing many other things that while they need to be done, (i.e. work, house chores, appointments, etc.), sometimes something just has to give.  There are only 24 hours in a day and while I could fill every bit of those hours being “productive”, the reality of the matter is I probably wouldn’t be all that productive without a bit of self-care added to the mix.

What is self-care?

I guess it depends on the person.  For me it is rest, relaxation, meditation, exercise, reading, writing, and just some general down time.  It also involves spending some time in nature either exercising, or just being outside (one of my favorite things to do).  Lately all of that has taken a back seat to work, getting caught up on things around the house, and other projects that I see daily that need to be done.  I know that I am far more stressed when I skip out on my self-care, but sometimes I get caught in this rut of being on the go, go, go, that I forget that if I don’t take the much-needed downtime then I won’t be go, go, going anywhere.

Point taken.

A dear friend of mine reminded me today that even squeezing a little bit of down time into my schedule could help me immensely.  She was right (as she is almost always).  So I am setting a new intention of doing at least one self-care item for myself each day.  This may involve a bubble bath, a long walk, extended meditation, or simply reading for 30 minutes, but I will fit it in.  Besides in the end the work, laundry, and my long list of to-do’s will be there when I am finished and I know I will come back feeling refreshed, and ready to focus.  In fact I know this to be true, because I tried it out already today.

I decided to take a 10 minute walk.  It wasn’t long and not enough to get my heart rate up, but just enough to get my blood pressure down (I’m assuming, I didn’t actually measure it), by being out in nature and enjoying some fresh air.  Combine the fresh air, a little walking, and the beauty of the clear skies and I am feeling like a new woman, so much that it makes me wonder why I let my self-care go for so long?  I guess the reason doesn’t matter because none of the reasons I can come up with will be good enough to let my health, (both mental and physical) suffer.

So there you have it.  As my work schedule gets a little more crazed I am going to make sure I work in those moments of self-care to ensure that I am not only taking time for me, but also not neglecting the people who mean the world to me (my son and partner).  Because let’s face it, life without joy and family, is not a life well-lived.

 

 

Winds Of Change

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My how the winds of change sweep in so quickly, or so it has seemed recently.  I mentioned last week how I had some good feelings about the rest of the year.  I felt like something was on the verge of happening in my writing world and it was going to be great.  I also mentioned that what I thought was going to happen didn’t.  With that said the winds of change are blowing and they are blowing in an unexpected, unforeseen opportunity that will help me move forward towards beginning my life coach training program.

What is it you ask?

This week I was notified of a change in some of my work responsibilities at my day job that will mean more work, more hours, but some extra income as well.  Doesn’t sound like a good change does it? Actually it is a good thing because the added income will be just what I need to move towards setting a date to begin my life coach training (more on that later).  It is also a reason to celebrate because I feel like I am truly making progress and progress is always a good thing.

I am also seeing change  in a new light.

Change and I have never been friends, in fact change is something that I both crave and fear.  Not knowing where my path may lead fills me with both excitement and dread as I begin to think of all of the possibilities that can come from it.  I guess it also depends on what type of change we are talking about, but this type of change that allows me to move forward towards my dreams is a change I am ready to make.  And while the added income will be great, there are some other trade offs I have to be willing to make in the short-term.

One of which is more work and potentially more stress.  More items on my to-do list that will require more organization and balance of my time.  Add to that weekend hours that I am not used to and the potential for a very chaotic, stress-filled experience.  But, since I know this ahead of time I am choosing to be proactive in my efforts.  Planning my time accordingly and remembering the benefits of this current sacrifice.  More money and more savings mean I can begin my training much sooner.

In addition to that, the more time I spend in a job that I don’t love is more motivation to work on getting my ducks in a row to begin my journey towards my life coaching business.  This may be a mini step and a little sacrifice, but in my book it is also a huge opportunity to move forward.  And for that I am thankful as I welcome the winds of change, for they are not only changing this moment, but have the opportunity to change the rest of my life.

Maybe change isn’t so bad after all.