Lamisha Serf-Walls

Gratitude: Patience & Clarity

by

gratitude

I can’t tell you how happy I am that today is Friday.  This has certainly been one kind of week.  From financial mishaps that I thought were cleared up to even more confusion, I am ready to change my focus a little bit this weekend and relax.

Often when we are in the midst of the proverbial storm, it can be difficult to see beyond the mayhem.  Finding the silver lining in the middle of a chaotic situation can be darn near impossible, yet once the dust has settled a bit we realize there really is a positive side to every seemingly negative situation.

This week I was hit with a bit of a storm.  Not a huge, rock-my-entire-world-kind of storm, but a sort of chaotic-lift-me-out-of-my-comfort-zone kind of storm.  My personal financial mishap that I thought had been fixed, reared its ugly head again.  After a few more calls (hopefully the last calls on this issue) and a lot of patience, I think I have it taken care of.

I learned this week that like many other unexpected situations that arise in life, this particular situation could have caused me major anxiety, frustration, and possibly anger.  But with a little patience and calm thinking, I was able to handle the situation not once, but twice.  And what is even more interesting is the fact that one of the books I am reading in order to review is titled The Power of Patience by M.J. Ryan.  Coincidence?? I think not.

It seems that with each new batch of books I receive for review (books I don’t select myself), they are almost always the exact books I need to read at that moment in my life.  Books that speak to my soul and assist me in whatever I am dealing with at the time.  And since patience is one of the things I am growing everyday, it is so nice to see it go to good use.  Especially over a pretty large mistake.  So for that, I am so grateful and appreciative.

The other thing that hit me this week is the idea of clarity.  When negative things come into our lives or situations arise that are less than desirable, we have an opportunity to be more clear about what we would like instead.  Basically, when you know what you don’t want, you know what you do want.  (Something Michael Losier and Abraham Hicks speak on quite a bit.)  Sounds simple right?  It can be, however we often get so caught up in the thing that we don’t want, that we forget to switch our focus to what we want.

The difficult situations, frustrations, and negative things in our lives provide clarity for our desires.  It is that simple.  So instead of harping on the negative, lets turn our focus to the feelings, circumstances, and situations we want in our lives.  This week was a very good example of me focusing a bit too much on the not wanted instead of focusing on what is wanted and I am grateful for the lesson.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend full of all the things that bring you joy.

As always, thanks for reading!

Gratitude: Progress and Motherhood

by

gratitude

Too often when we are on this journey called life, we are so focused on the ultimate outcome of various goals that we miss the beautiful progression along the way.  The stepping-stones that lead us up the mountain to our dreams are what keep us going.  They too must be celebrated.

With that said, I am so very grateful for progress.  In just a few conversations this week I have received some much-needed knowledge that is one of the many stepping-stones along my journey.  The information I received came in the natural flow of conversation with a friend and I love how those little inspirational nuggets pop up so organically.  It seems that when you take a breather from trying to figure it all out, you make the most progress and I am so grateful for the wonderful progress I made this week.  I look forward to continuing my journey with more breathes in between to allow more of the details to fill in naturally.  I don’t have to have it all figured out now, and neither do you.  Just be grateful for the wonderful flow and progress of life.  It’s the flow that makes life so sweet.

In addition to being grateful for progress this week, I am also so very grateful for the journey of motherhood.  While Mother’s Day is typically a time for appreciating the mothers in our lives, I find that it is also a time where mothers are grateful for having the incredible opportunity of mothering a child.  I find that it is an incredible blessing that I don’t take for granted.  Time flies when you are having fun and it seems that before you know it little ones are towering over you.  Luckily enough my little one is far from towering over me, but he certainly is growing like a little weed.  Knowing that time doesn’t exactly slow down, I am savoring the wonderful moments we have together now.

I hope you find many things to savor and be grateful for this weekend and a very Happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms out there!

Gratitude: Abundance In All Things

by

Photo courtesy of calmtoday.com
Photo courtesy of calmtoday.com

It seems like a common theme in today’s society for us to focus on the things that we lack.  We are constantly bombarded with advertisements for the latest fashions and gadgets that are just the “thing” to make us happy.  It seems those ideas have festered within us to a point that we feel so much lack in our lives, that we miss the magnificent abundance that exists in spite of the things we think are missing.

Today I wanted to take the focus away from the idea of “lack” and place it on abundance.  While I have often thought I needed more knowledge, information, training, or money to do various things in my life (including start my coaching business), I am realize now more than ever before that I have an abundance of all of those things and then some.

I live in an area with gorgeous trees, lakes, and wonderful weather most of the year.  I am close to the beach and the mountains and am blessed to have a beautiful home to share with my family.  We have enough money to take care of all of our needs and an abundance of love to share between the three of us.  We have great neighbors, jobs that provide for us, and dreams, goals, and inspirations that fuel our imaginations.  We have more than enough “things”, but beyond that we have each other.  We delight in time spent as a family and appreciate the quiet time alone.  We are blessed beyond measure.

Instead of focusing on the things that I sometimes feel like I need more of, I am focusing on the things that I have.  The things that mean the world to me and the things that make my life incredible.

Today I am so grateful for the magnificent abundance that is in my life right this very moment.  I hope you take a moment today or this weekend to take stock of the abundance that surrounds you too.  I promise it is an instant mood enhancer.

Have a great weekend and thanks for reading!

Gratitude: Beginning and Ending With Peace

by

This week has been a week of lessons.  Lessons about work, personal life, and finding balance with it all.  Along with those lessons came a much-needed epiphany of which I am grateful.  That epiphany is the importance of beginning and ending with peace.

This week was a little crazy in terms of my schedule and getting everything accomplished, but I began my week with a pause.  Knowing all I had to accomplish and ready to take it all on.  I took a deep breath and dove in and while the middle of the week got a little hairy, I am back to the place I started.  Peaceful.

It seems beginning each day with peace in my meditation practice sets the tone for the rest of the day and if things tend to get a little crazy, I can find my center again at the end of the day with more meditation, yoga, or some quiet time.  Beginning and ending with peace is essential for me to be the best me.  I am so grateful for that realization.

I believe I can apply the same concept to beginning and ending my week.  I can begin each week with an intention for how the week will go in terms of my schedule, work, and appointments.  As things come up (and I am sure they will) I can handle them accordingly.  In the event things get a bit busy or overwhelming, I can find my center and balance by ending the week with some mindful reflection, similar to what I do with my gratitude posts each week.

There is something about the idea of beginning and ending with peace that I think will ultimately bring more peace to the time in between.  As I am mindful of the beginning of each day and at the end of each day, I believe the peace will become a habit and as a result, I will feel much more centered and balanced.

I hope you too begin and end your weekend with peace.  Have a great weekend!

Milking The (Happy) Moments

by

I have been spending a lot of time in the last few weeks thinking about happiness and the components that make for a happy life.  I have also thought about the unique experiences we all have of what “happiness” means for us.  For some it may be a day full of productive activities while others view it as time spent with family, friends and what I have found is that happiness truly depends on one person alone and that is YOU.

We live in a society that often places emphasis on particular possessions, qualities, and other various things with the assumption that if only we had them we would finally be happy.  The flaw in this thought is that no matter what you have or how much money you have, happiness is not something you reach and maintain forever more.  The truth is that life happens and we have ups and downs.  We have good times and not so good times that are less than what we believe to be as “happy” and we find ourselves blaming circumstances or people for our change in how happy we are.  I am realizing that my happiness depends on me and it is something that not only takes practice, but it requires a certain amount of presence in order to maintain it.

For much of my life I wanted a life that would bring me love, a career with a purpose, and family and I thought once I had those things I would live “happily ever after”.  How many of us have wanted a life similar to that right? Some look for their knight on a white horse, while others are searching for a pile of money to take all their worries away.

I am guilty of that way of thinking too.  I have spent a good portion of my life looking toward a future event thinking that if only that happened then I would be happy only to find it didn’t exactly work out that way.  I am learning each and every day to not only live in the moment, but to milk the happy moments as much as possible.

Take this weekend for instance.  I had quite possibly one of the best weekends in a very long time.  We celebrated our son’s 3rd birthday with his friends at daycare, had a fun party for him, and enjoyed Easter festivities as a family.  My son laughed, smiled, and played all weekend while intermittently yelling “Birthday!” and singing “Happy Birthday” to himself.  The weather was perfect and I couldn’t have been more grateful.  I realized that while it was a special weekend for us, there was a lesson to be learned.

During one of the slower moments this weekend, I took our dogs out for a little walk and found myself looking at the world from a different view.  The clouds were gorgeous, the trees were swaying in the perfect breeze, and the sun was warm on my face.  I was at peace.  Complete and total peace.  For this moment, I didn’t have a care in the world.  My list of never ending “to do’s” didn’t exist and worries about work, finances, or whatever else we worry about on a day to day basis disappeared.  All I had in that moment was a full heart and an open and quiet mind.  I was living a moment of gratitude.  I gave a quiet thank you to the Universe for the moment, my son, and the beautiful weather we were having.  I admired my surroundings and took a deep breath and as I was moving back toward our house it hit me.  Every time we are feeling happy, joyful, grateful, loving, etc. we should take a moment to be fully in that moment.  Feel it with our entire being and milk it for what it’s worth.

I could have rushed to take the dogs for a walk without being aware of my beautiful surroundings.  I could have simply focused on what was next on our agenda in order to get it done, but then I would have not only missed this epiphany, but also an incredible connection to my happiness.  If I had skimmed over the moment as we sometimes do, I would have likely been so caught up in the activities we had scheduled that I would have missed a wonderful opportunity to give thanks, be grateful, and fully in tune with the moment.

This weekend changed my thoughts on happiness.  Not only do I truly understand the importance of being responsible for our own happiness, but I also value the importance of milking the happy moments for what they are.  For if we are constantly rushing from one moment to the next without truly experiencing what this moment has to offer us, we are going to allow our lives (happiness and all) to slip through our fingers.  And let’s face it, life is about living, loving, and learning on our journey, it is not a race to see who can make it to the end first.

If you don’t do so regularly, I challenge you to be more mindful of your happy moments this week and sit with those feelings for a while.  Milk your happy moments for all they are worth.