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I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving; spent with
family, with friends, in whatever way is best for you. I
had a wonderful weekend. And it's been hard to get
back to work today, as you can tell by the lateness of
this newsletter.
I enjoyed the few chilly days
we had and the dusting of snow. Today it didn't seem
like winter, sunny and warm. However, I know it is
winter by
the darkness descending so early in the evening. As
much as I
dislike the darkness, I love the lights that are
springing up on houses. It always makes me smile.
But this is also the time of year when I get caught up
in holiday celebrations. I scurry about trying to do
everything; buying presents, cooking, sending out
cards as well as all of the regular things I do.
Sometimes it can drive me to insanity. I have to make
an effort to stay in the moment, be grounded, eat right,
exercise and get a massage!
This month I
will follow some Advice from a Squirrel
- Look Both Ways When You Cross the Road
- Plan Ahead
- Stay Active
- Eat Plenty of Fiber
- Spend Time in the Woods
- Go out on a Limb
- It's OK to be a Little Nuts!
Have a great week.
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The Fragrance of Life.
Add some scents to your life.
As I am sitting here writing this I have a candle lit in
the corner of the room. I like the flickering of the flame,
but I also like the scent, French Vanilla. In reality,
fragrances have an impact on us. Everyone has a
cache of fragrant memories stored in our brains. For
instance, the smell of lilacs reminds me of my
childhood and my mom. There was a big lilac bush
outside my bedroom window and I remember waking
to the fragrance of lilacs filling my room. And I love the
fresh smell of the air after a rainfall.
In fact,
research shows that some fragrances have a
therapeutic effect on the body and mind. The smell of
lavender and oranges has been proven to calm
people. Participates in the study reported feeling less
anxious and more positive and relaxed after smelling
orange or lavender.
After Hamlet drive
Ophelia off the
deep end (remember your Shakespeare?), she went
around the castle picking rosemary, muttering "That's
for remembrance." After exposure to rosemary oil,
college students performed better on memory tests
than the control group and reported feeling more
alert. I love to gently rub my hands around the
rosemary plant to release the fragrance. After all, who
needs oil when you can get a little plant?
And
what about that headache from sitting at the computer
too long? Studies show that the scent of peppermint
can ease pain. When I have a headache, I put a few
drops of peppermint oil on my fingertips, inhale and
then rub the base of my skull with my peppermint oil -
covered fingers. In seconds I can feel the warmth
spreading out from the base of my skull and the
headache goes away.
I remember my
Grandma Alma use to have lavender sachets in her
drawers and by her pillow. I always thought that it was
just because she liked the scent. The scent of
lavender increases deep slow-wave sleep and helps
people with mild insomnia.
So feel free to
treat yourself to spritzers, candles and oil. Not only
does science say it works, but you deserve it too.
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Not Creative?
Think again.
Everybody is creative. You may not feel that way
sometimes. Maybe you feel like your in a rut, or just
can't come up with a creative idea. Your creativity is in
you somewhere. It just may be hard to find. It is
something that anyone can cultivate using a variety of
methods.
There are four core competencies
of creative expression. The first is to learn to capture
new ideas. How many ideas have been lost because
they have not been recorded? Keep paper and pencil
handy or have a voice recorder with you (and an extra
battery). So when you have an idea you can capture it
quickly. I have paper and writing utensils spread all
over the house so I can write down ideas as they enter
my cluttered head. It may be an idea for this
newsletter, something to add to the grocery list, or
something to add to my to-do list. You can even get
creative during sleep. When I was taking Calculus in
college, I was struggling with a problem. No matter
how I looked at it, I could not figure it out. My only
choice was frustration or sleep. I choose the latter. At
about three in the morning, I woke up and knew how
to
solve the problem. I got out of bed right away, went to
my desk and finished the problem. Had I waited until
morning, I would have forgotten. Don't let that idea
slip away.
The second competency is
surrounding yourself with interesting people and
things. Listen to someone in a different field, from a
different culture, with a different opinion. Read a
different genre of literature. If you normally read
mysteries, try reading a biography. I saw a biography
of Albert Einstein I would love to dig into. Visit
museums and listen to music.
The third
competency is challenge, tackling tough problems.
Learn new things. I'm learning to play the piano,
something I have always wanted to do. I'm past the
easy part where I could rely on what I already knew
about music and now it's hard. So I think about the
new neural pathways I am developing when I get
discouraged. Learning a new skill requires the brain
to think differently which, in turn, stimulates creativity.
The last competency is to expand the
knowledge you have. Learn more about your job or
your hobby, something you are passionate about. I
love to read about the brain, which is where I got the
information for this article. The more you learn about
a subject, the more material your mind has for
creativity.
There are also obstacles to
creativity. We learn early that creative people are
different and odd. Look at Van Gogh. When we go to
school we are taught to color inside the lines and our
art projects are suppose to be done a certain way.
And often times we are criticized for being outside the
box. So we must learn to work through criticism and
rejection to face our fears
Go ahead and be
creative. Think and behave like creative people do.
Don't let criticism stop you from expressing your
ideas. Be sure to take breaks and use them for your
creative benefit. Daydreams can be a source of new
ideas.
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Bolt.
You are great just as you are.
The day after Thanksgiving, since I refused to go
shopping, Malaika and I went to see the movie
Bolt. Isn't it remarkable that an adolescent girl
will still go to the movie with her mom?
Bolt is the story of a dog who believes
he is a super-hero with amazing powers because he
is on a TV show. He is never allowed to go home with
Penny, his co-star. He just goes to his trailer after
filming and Penny says good-bye.
One day,
because of the script, Penny is not allowed to say
good-bye to Bolt and Bolt believes she has been
kidnapped. He escapes from his trailer, falls into a
box and gets sent to New York, where he begins his
search to find Penny.
Along the way, Bolt
discovers that he does not have amazing powers and
that he is not a super-hero. But he remains
determined to find Penny. I won't tell you any more
except to say that the movie has a happy ending and
is well worth seeing.
As I was watching the
movie, I was thinking about me and people in
general. I'm not a super-hero and I don't have
amazing powers. But I am smart, determined and
loving, just like Bolt.
Who you are is
amazing. You have many gifts and talents to share
with those around you. And what you do each day is
important and makes a difference. You don't need to
be a super-hero with amazing powers. The person
you are makes you a super-hero. So find a cape and
try it on for size.
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Grace and Peace,
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