Soul Essentials Lesson 2: Belief in God as my Higher Power

Who is God? Elohim is used frequently in Hebrew. Allah is the Arabic name for God. In Christianity, God is Jehovah. And in 12 Step programs, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, the title Higher Power is a common reference. Maybe you have different names or definitions for God. Theologians and philosophers have studied countless conceptions of who God is. For the purpose of this session, I will use the term God. Your own understanding, opinion and definitions of God are welcomed.  This curriculum is intended to add to what you may or may not already believe.

Recently, I read a blog of an agnostic mom. I know there are many out there that don’t believe in God. To you I ask the question ‘can you at least believe that there is a power greater than yourself?’ Maybe it is just the belief in the force of gravity. Maybe your Higher Power is in the friendship you share with a neighbor. Whatever you subscribe to – the starting point in any study of spirituality or soul development must begin with the basic belief that there is something beyond you in the universe.

For many people around the world, God is real. I asked my son to show me evidence of God. He said, “Look at the world Mom. Who could have made all of this except for God?”  I know there may be a scientific theories that dispute the claim of a child; but faith is the principle of hope in things not seen but felt. He has the simple faith of a child.

Your relationship with God may feel strained. Like any relationship – having an intimate connection with God is largely based on communication and trust. Through prayer and quiet time your constant contact with God can be improved. The trust you feel is knowing that He is in charge. Someone or something is greater than you. As you go to Him with concerns and worries – remember He is bigger than the problem in front of you. The burden of the world does not rest on your shoulders alone. He will carry for you what is too heavy to handle and make broader your shoulders to withstand the forces of your daily life. You are a friend of God.

Some people have argued that if there was a God then He would not allow the bad things of the world to happen. Faith in a loving God may have wavered as you experience heartache. God is both loving and just. He lives by the laws of agency and so the choices of one person may hurt the life of another. He can strengthen the weak and the lonely even when the pain is real.

So if God is in charge – guess what? You don’t have to be! That is the secret. When you are starting to feel the anxiety and stress that comes from constant worry – look around you and realize you did not make the trees and the birds. God is the author of these everyday miracles and He can have power to guide your life if you let Him. Let God slip into the driver’s seat of your life. He built the car and He knows how it works. Don’t get out and stand on the side of the road experience a focused journey of faith.  Listen to the impressions you get during your quiet time. Take action when nudged to do so. As you participate in manifesting a life with God you will see that situations that used to baffle you – now can be handled.

Go to Him like you would your hair stylist. Just because your hair has grown long and unruly doesn’t mean that your stylist doesn’t exist. It just may be time to schedule an appointment. Hair technicians don’t walk the streets forcing people to get their hair cut, the client makes the appointment and then the relationship can exist. Where is God? God is there. He is waiting for your to call.

• Exercise faith that God is real.
• He is in charge so you don’t have to be.
• Like an appointment with your hair stylist, God is there but you need to make the appointment to meet with God.
• Practice communication through daily prayer and quiet time.
• Recognize evidence of God in your life and express gratitude.

Ganel-Lyn Condie

Founder – 5000moms.com

I help facilitate weight release for women and the one request I get most often is help with quick, on-the-go meals and snacks. Many moms don’t take the time to sit down with their kids to eat breakfast and lunch, but take advantage of this time that their kids are preoccupied to tackle more important tasks – such as cleaning up, making important phone calls, taking care of organizing the pile of paperwork, etc. We are also often on the run, playing taxi cab for our children and their many activities. While I do talk a lot about the importance of conscious eating, and by that, I mean, experiencing your food when you eat. Not just wolfing something down absent-mindedly. However, as a busy mom of two myself, I realize the importance of having a few go-to options that will not only satisfy hunger, but also provide much needed nourishment and energy. The stores are filled with a plethora of options that WON’T provide that – frozen meals, power bars, even dried meals – just add water! But, these options are so processed that we burn through them quickly and are left hungry again, just an hour later.

Here are a few options for you to help you get the balance of fiber, protein, and good fats quickly.

1. Keep canned chicken and canned tuna in your storage for quick protein options to throw on salad, or in a wrap. One of my favorite wraps consists of thick sliced lean turkey (from the deli, not prepackaged), avocado spread on that, spinach leaves laid down the center along with a cheesestick. Roll up and enjoy! There you have protein, fiber (use lots of spinach leaves) and your good fat! It’s also delicious. You could also use a large Romaine lettuce leaf as the wrap and fill it with sliced veggies, canned chicken, and your favorite vinaigrette.
2. When I’m totally in a hurry or it’s the end of the week and I’m running out of fresh produce, I turn to USANA Nutrimeal. Nutrimeal provides the perfect balance of protein, fiber, and good fats to give you a satisfying meal. They also taste great, satisfying my sweet tooth. All you need is a shaker bottle (also called blender bottle) and water. If I’m heading out for a day of errands, I’ll take Nutrimeal with me to save me the expense and time of pulling through a drive through. My kids also love Nutrimeal, so I usually throw in an extra scoop of powder and a few extra ounces of water to share.
3. Leftovers! I always make an extra serving of dinner for my husband’s lunch for the following day and am always grateful when we have enough for my lunch too. I often make a few extra veggie side dishes and use those as my snacks for the following day.

What are some of your go-to meals? Do you throw together quick salads or wraps? Do you make green smoothies or meal replacement shakes when you are in a hurry to get in your nutrients?

You might be well aware that you become like the people you spend the most time with. You earn about as much money, have a similar level of fitness and your philosophy on life is pretty much aligned with those you spend the majority of your time with.

If that has proven to be true over and over again, take a look at who your friends are, and how they could be influencing your life. It is one thing to be happy where you are in life, but if you are interested in directing your life in a new way, it may be of benefit to take a closer look at not just what you do, but who you do it with.

I have three important questions for you to consider based upon what type of results you are shooting for in your future.

1) Who do I hang around with?

2) What is that doing to me?

3) Is that okay?

It is easy to get complaciant when you participate in the game of life with people who only give 50%. It would be very hard not to thrive when you play with people who hold the standards very high. People who try to give 100% effort to all areas of their life are more likely to get high outcomes. In simple terms, you get what you give. Please share what you learn as you reflect upon the last question.

Jeffrey St.Laurent

Body Essentials Contributor

TrueYouNow.com

Andrea Notes: This post is from my mother-in-law. Without going into detail, she has been through more than practically any other woman I know. As a single mom she knows and can empathize with any woman in practically any hardship. If anyone reads this who needs more help as a single mom, she is a wonderful resource for you. Let us know with your comments!

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I’ve been a single mom for 24 years (raised five kids through those years) and I guess Andrea thinks I might have learned a thing or two along the way – and she asked me to share, which I’m happy to do.

First of all, I want to follow Andrea’s topic in her last posting, but with the bent that comes from being single instead of married. When I was first divorced, and I think this holds true for most of us who go through this experience, I erroneously thought that I had to pay all my attention, my money and my time to my kids – and I did that religiously for the first couple of years. Finally, a very wise friend said to me one day “Gayle, if you don’t stop to fill your own bucket occasionally, you’ll have nothing to give to anyone else, even your kids”. That statement really struck a cord with me. I knew it was truth I was hearing and I made up my mind I had to change that in order to be healthier for my kids.

So, I shifted, ever so slightly, into being a little more selfish (and that is EXACTLY how it felt to me – like everything I did for myself was completely motivated by self –interest). But, fortunately, I learned pretty quickly that what my friend had told me was completely accurate. I had real battles with myself about spending time and/or money away from my kids, but I found that I was able to give SO much more when I ventured out on my own to do something just for ME!

And that’s where the similarity comes to Andrea’s post, with this twist. As single moms, we have to focus on US occasionally, put ourselves ‘first’, because it’s a sure bet that no one else is going to. The demands placed on single moms are often crippling, at best. Financially, the day we divorce, we often sink to previously unknown levels of poverty. We have to work because “he” isn’t fulfilling his responsibility to pay child support, which, at best, is often a pittance and would NEVER support as many children as we have.

So, how do we carve out the time OR the finances to be able to do something necessary for OUR well-being? Well, it takes some creativity but it can and MUST be done in order for us to maintain our equilibrium and be what we need to be for ourselves and for others. Even if it’s a short drive (and with gas prices what they are today, it had BETTER be short) followed by an ice cream cone, it will refill that important bucket and shift the focus, even temporarily, to that very important person in a child’s life: MOM!

We deserve US and our kids deserve to have us healthy and productive. We can’t do that if we constantly do everything for everyone else while we’re ignoring our own needs. Ladies, it’s time to be SELFISH – and healthy!! Fill that bucket and feel the joy of life, for maybe the first time in a long time. We deserve it!

Gayle DeGraff

5000moms Contributor

5 ideas for a single mom to put herself first:

1. Go on a hike. Enjoy nature, especially because it is the perfect place to use quiet time -reconnect with your soul and with God. Take your prayer time away from your home so you can go back to your home ready to give back to your kids.

2. Plan a girls night out with your good friends. Go get a pedicure together, or if funds are low, gather at one house and give yourselves pedicures.

3. Go to Barnes and Noble – even if you can drop by for 10 minutes right after work – to just sit and read through a book or magazine to unwind.

4. Look at the community classes in your area. Many times there are various kinds of art classes you can take just one time for free. Great way to express yourself.

5. After kids are in bed – DON’T go watch TV. Go to the bubble bath instead. Listen to music or read a book. Making this a nightly ritual INSTEAD of the TV will make all the difference in the world to you.

PLEASE NOTE: The intention of this post is NOT to leave out single women. It is to shake up and remind wives what our most important relationship is that we can’t afford to neglect. My husband was raised by a single mom – more posts specifically for you will also be coming soon .

When it comes to our home we women are doing so many things… cleaning the table 5 times a day, organizing kids stuff, helping with homework, directing traffic, running around like a taxi… you name it, and we do it! Let alone if you are a woman who is also working in or out of the home, that just adds to the time that you don’t have.

But the sad part about all this is, too much of the time the most important part of our home is neglected. That most important part I am talking about is our HUSBANDS.

We can talk about meal planning all we want, or how to better plan our time, or how to have more fun, or how to have more balance, but if our relationship with our husband is not stable, fun and passionate all the other things in our home don’t matter much. We live in a world that is bombarding us from all sides with so many various ploys and ‘eye-catching’ language. We live in times that are more often than not, tearing families apart.

As a couple, are you ‘movie’ rich but ‘conversation’ poor? As a couple, are you ‘busy’ rich but ‘quality time’ poor? As a couple, are you ‘criticism’ rich but ‘praising’ poor? You love your husband… but can you say that you are truly still IN LOVE with him? Do you look at him and ‘find’ yourself again because he helps you live, breathe easier and love life more? Are you living life because your love for HIM is so immense and deep?

Building a firm relationship with your spouse doesn’t just ‘happen’. As jobs come and go, money comes and goes, children join your family, you are part of community projects and business increases, the time spent with your spouse easily fizzles out and will eventually die if you don’t pay very close attention. The passion you felt for each other while you were dating is a powerful tool to remember because it is possible to keep your passion and love for each other while all the craziness is happening all around you.

Your relationship with your husband IS the most important part of your ‘home essentials’. There are principles that are universal which we must apply in order to cultivate a relationship and marriage that will be ever-lasting. Here are some places to start:

1. Commit to each other to communicate and talk together for 10 minutes each day IN FRONT of your children. Your close communication should be happening much more than this, but your children need to see you talking and interacting, especially seeing that you are SPECIFICALLY making it a point to communicate. As a couple before or after dinner set aside 10 minute to sit on the couch and talk about your day. If your children come to you and interrupt tell them, “I will help you in a minute, this is your father’s time right now.”
2. There was a couple that I know that have been married for over 50 years and are extremely passionate about each other. I asked them how they kept their passion alive and they said their formula was… “we take one night a week, one day a month and one week a year to be with JUST each other.” They talked about this being sacred time because it was when they could talk, touch, love and DATE each other again. If you are already doing date nights once a week – GREAT! Spice them up, don’t just do dinner and movie. Plan a fun time (date night ideas here). Add to your date nights by planning one day a month to spend together and one week a year. Sometimes money is an issue – but if you are committed you can find very cheap and fun vacations to take. When we haven’t been able to take a week off, we will make sure and do ‘overnighters’ once a quarter for one or 2 nights when family can come and be with our kids.
3. Each week have ‘couple inventory’. For us it has worked to do this on Sunday night after our kids are in bed. We go over our schedule for the week for a few minutes, but then we mainly set goals together for the week. How we are going to improve, what we want to change, how our communication needed help during the week, what we want to do as parents better, goals for businesses, reading a book together, etc. Then each week during ‘couple inventory’ follow up on the goals you set from the last week. Hold each other accountable!
4. Have Fun and know your spouses ‘love language’. Every person understands and receives love in different ways. Some respond to touch, others to quality time, others to acts of service… etc. Once you know what fills your spouses ‘love bucket’ plan special things that will speak them him and have fun with it! Just remember while you were dating the fun things you would plan just for him… for some reason when we get married we stop doing those things and planning fun surprises for him. Now if you are thinking, “Well he doesn’t do those cute things for me any more either!” – that is a dangerous way of thinking and very selfish. It might be true that he isn’t doing anything that fills your love bucket up, but if you start putting him first and doing things for him, you will soon find he is going to do everything he can to fill yours as well.
5. Let him be the ‘man’. Let him be your knight in shining armor again. Let him be a gentleman for you. In our culture and our society we women have taken on a lot of ‘masculine’ roles and traits. These are great for some things… but not so great in others. Your man wants to protect you, he wants to love you, he wants to ‘conquer’ the world for you… but too often we women do not allow him to do these things. Really start to notice where he is trying to impress you and tell him you notice it and appreciate it! Praise him for his ‘manly’ ways and appreciate how he is already protecting you, how he is already working for you, and how he is already ‘conquering’ the world for you (while touching his strong biceps … add some flirting!). Then allow yourself to be as feminine as possible for him. Allow your relationship to have the proper ‘Masculine and Feminine’ roles and you will find magical harmony.

Don’t neglect your husband. Love him first and watch how your ‘home essentials’ life will come into balance.

Andrea

Project Manager, 5000moms.com 

When it comes to eating, lets face it, we’re all on a diet.

We may not be ‘dieting’ per se, but the choice of foods we put into our bodies does constitute our daily ‘diet’. When it comes to eating a perfectly well-balanced diet, wouldn’t it be great if you could buy a book that would help you purchase and prepare the most delicious and nutritious meals for you and your family? Could it be that easy? I wish I could say yes it is. But in my experience I have found that it’s more complicated than that. To be successful in improving your family’s health, you have to take a much deeper look at the art of eating.

Each family and each person in that family has certain foods and flavors they like and dislike. Unfortunately, some of those likes don’t add quality or nourishment to one’s life. In fact, there are many food choices which can make us sick or take strength and energy away from our body.

How would your life be different if you were perfectly healthy? If you had the energy, clarity, focus and productivity that you wished for, how would your life change? If you were at the ideal size, weight and fitness level that you desire, would it enhance your life in any way? Do you realize that by eating healthy, you can achieve all of those things? One can never achieve those ideal factors by eating a diet that is filled with junk and processed foods. Exercise may be able to get you to an optimal fitness level, but it can’t help you maintain the mental clarity and focus that clean eating can offer. Being healthy is something that goes beyond the surface of the kitchen table. It starts with a more thoughtful approach in the way and the why of how you use food.

Would you agree that the choices in foods we eat affect our day? And is it true that our day can often affect our food choices? Instead of thinking of food as that which you eat, what would happen if you thought of food as fuel for your body? Would it change your diet at all? When you look at fueling your body, you discover ways to optimize the performance of your brain, emotions, moods, energy levels, and stress levels. People who eat natural and nutritious foods tend to be healthier, clearer, and happier. Instead of dreaming of the vision of being happier and healthier, with the food choices they make, they live the vision. Take a moment to picture yourself living that vision, then find a way to go in that direction.

It doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s like watching your children learn to walk. It all begins with one step. For today, decide to improve your family’s health and vitality by taking one step in a better direction. It could be as simple as adding more fresh fruit and vegetables to your daily diet. It could be as easy as limiting salt and junk food your daily routine. If it’s cutting out sugar, just work on that step. Whatever first step it is you choose, applaud it with as much pride as you did with your children’s first accomplishments.

Remember the thoughts from Dr. Myron Wentz who said in the book Invisible Miracles, “True health is not just the absence of disease. It is empowering our bodies to perform at their optimum level.”

5 reasons to eat healthy
• Greater sense of balance
• For improved energy throughout the day
• To be healthy is a gift only you can give yourself
• To attain an optimal sense of wellbeing
• For an improved sense of strength and joy

5 ways to get healthier
• Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables
• Limit white sugar and white flour
• Eliminate excess and toxic calories that come from soda and alcohol
• Eat 4-6 small meals every 2.5-3 hours
• Have one USANA shake each day as a meal replacement

 Jennifer St. Laurent

Founder – 5000moms.com

The most powerful tool I can share with you will come from stopping. It will not be found in action but in stillness. Daily thirty minute quiet time is the greatest step you can take in manifesting health, peace and joy. It is the vehicle to discover balance for life and strengthen your mind, body, soul connection.

We live in a world that is anything but quiet. With cell phones, computers, iPods and television we seem to always have messages coming at us. We become immune to the stimulus and start to develop spiritual calluses.  We make choices based on marketing campaigns and stop considering the human soul. We drowned out that inner voice that is connected to something bigger and greater than ourselves, becoming reactionary instead of living at peace.

Spirituality is defined as “concerned with or affecting the soul; from or relating to God” (Merriam-Webster). Soul Essentials teaches you about spiritual connections. This is not a specific religious practice but is available to anyone ready to find more inner peace.

Any anxiety you may feel of being still will begin to disappear as you learn to meditate. Trust that as you schedule this daily quiet time it will become your favorite time of the day. It is needed soul healing oxygen. You will wake up one day and wonder how you could have made it so long in life without quiet time.

Beginners Essentials

• Decide that your quiet time will be your first priority each day. Get up early. This is when everyone else in the house is quiet so you can be as well.
• Decide where your Quiet Time place will be:_________________________
• Start small. Begin with 5 minutes just breathing in and out. Clear your mind. Then build up by increasing your time each day.
• Read a book of meditations, daily thoughts or scripture to help you center and clear your mind.
• No agendas. You don’t have to go to your quiet time with something to accomplish. Just be willing to show up.

Essentials to Having Daily Quiet Time

• Decide that your quiet time will be your first priority each day. Get up early. This is when everyone else in the house is quiet so you can be as well.
• Go to bed earlier so that you can get up earlier.
• Decide that each day you will avoid the thought “after a while, I will have my quiet time. But first, I must . . .”
• Decide where your quiet time place will be:_________________________
• Get a digital kitchen timer so you will be less likely to check the clock.
• Start small. Begin with 5 minutes just breathing in and out. Clear your mind. Then build up by increasing your time each day.
• Turn off all noise (no music, no television)
• No agendas. You don’t have to go to your quiet time with something to accomplish. Just be willing to show up.
• Start with prayer which is a conversation with God as you understand Him to be. Open your prayer with a greeting to God and share your willingness to connect with Him during the next thirty minutes. You are a friend of God so talk with Him as you would a friend.
• For the agnostic – quiet time can be based purely on meditation and stillness.
• Read a book of meditation, daily thoughts or scripture to help you center and clear your mind.
• Be still. Look out your window or at a picture on the wall that brings you peace and joy. Try not to scan the room you are in just quiet your thoughts and feel a sense of rest.
• Focus on emptying your mind by keeping an empty dish by your quiet time place. This will allow you to visualize letting go of your agenda or a ‘to do list’. Instead open up to whatever thoughts or impressions may come to you.
• Keep a piece of paper nearby so that if you have impressions or thoughts that come to you during your quiet time you can quickly write them down and go back to being still.
• Keep going. If you miss a quiet time one morning set aside time during the day. If you miss a day start again the next day. If you miss eating lunch one day you don’t say ‘I guess I won’t ever eat lunch again.’ Making changes takes time before it feels like a new habit has been established.
• Take extra quiet times during the day as the need arises. If you are faced with a conflict or crisis, slipping away to a quiet room for a few minutes can reconnect you and real solutions will come.
• You aren’t doing anything wrong. Remember there is no right or wrong way to have quiet time. These guild lines are suggestions so stay consistent and open.

Ganel-Lyn Condie
Founder 5000moms.com

I was in the office last week finalizing some numbers when I realized that to date, I have coached live with clients 2652 hours over the past six years. (yes I keep track) Later I received a client e-mail asking me what I have learned about people from coaching them and my own experience. Rather big question, to summarize 2652 hours in a few paragraphs… so I
just began to write a response…

For what it is worth, I wanted to share what I wrote. Also take note that the biggest part of my learning was accepting responsibility that I was one of these people I write about. When I did that… everything changed… because I did. 

FACT: Everybody wants more from some aspect of their life… health, finances and relationships.
Truth is, most don’t ever do much… and if they do, the majority are not successful. Not because “it” (the vehicle) does not work… but because most (96%) are not willing to do what it takes to improve themselves by developing the skills necessary for success, being consistent and doing all this LONG TERM. They can THINK they are doing what it takes, and FEEL they are doing what it takes… but that thought is from what THEY know, which in most cases is limited to their own circle of influence.

Which means they have not read the books, studied success, mentored, coached and collaborated with the people who have created the levels of success they are looking for. Rather these people take financial, health and relationship advice from people in the same condition as they are in.

Most people are shrinking versus expanding. They have shrinking thoughts versus asking expanding questions and stretching themselves beyond discomfort to grow and become more valuable.

These people, when presented with life changing opportunities, in many ways are threatened… not by you or the opportunity, but by themselves. Because deep down there is something inside EVERYONE, a barometer of sorts, that creates an awareness that they are NOT following their dreams, have not done what it takes, that they are far less than they want or hoped to be.

This is VERY uncomfortable and few will ever accept responsibility for themselves that this emotion is TRUE. So they resist this uncomfortable emotion with everything…which is a natural thing to do. This emotion and inner knowing is what they are threatened by, and they then try to control the situation to protect THEMSELVES from feeling that pain. They try and control it by statements/objections/questions that typically contradict what they want. Some will create jokes, some will shut down, some will disappear from the face of the earth and go back to what is comfortable… even though there is an inner knowing of what might be a better choice.

There is about 4% of people who when in that situation will change. They will have a moment that is so impactful… life changing, that they will willingly face the discomfort, seek help and change. 3-4% of the population are 6 figure income earners… have a “six figure” body and relationship… is this because life is too hard? Is it because there is just not that much room at the top?

No. Actually there is more than enough room at the top and EVERY opportunity to get there…fact is, success is a matter of conscious choice and NOT a matter of circumstance.
So what is the success formula summary?

First, surround yourself with the four percenters.

Second, become one mentally… it is all about belief… you have to become a millionaire in mindset and habit FIRST before the tangible riches are yours.

Third, seek others who want to learn what you have learned and align with what you are doing and teach them.

Fourth, stick in it long enough and be patient enough. If you help enough people get what they
want… you can have everything you want.

Create a Magical Week!
Jeffrey St.Laurent – TrueYouNow.com

5000moms Guest Blogger

So I went visiting a lot of different friends today. I have been gardening in my greenhouse for quite a few weeks and I planted WAY too many tomatoe starts! So it gave me a great excuse to visit friends and hand them a tomatoe as a gift (isn’t that what you have always wanted??

It was fascinating visiting that many homes in one day. One had toys all over the yard, another was imaculate inside and out, another was slightly cluttered, yet another that you could eat off the floor, and another that was really dirty… it was amazing to see because all of them had kids about the same ages.

So all of us women and moms want to have a perfectly balanced life all the time right? We have high hopes of vacuum lines in the carpet 24-7, never having dishes in the sink, socially balanced kids, always being 100% patient, that we never get emotionally involved in a tantrum…. You know the drill. But then life happens and stuff gets spilled, things are misplaced, you lose your temper… etc. I think the biggest trick inside of everyday living a balanced life – especially when it comes to our home – is to NOT compare our balanced life to someone else’s…especially when it comes to our home.

Instantly too many of us see another woman’s house that is sparkling clean and compare our house to her perfect example – when in reality just an hour earlier she was probably mopping spilled spaghetti that boiled over so it lead her to clean her whole kitchen at the same time! (or am I the only one who does that?).

My point is – no matter how cluttered your house is, no matter how often it is dirty, no matter how often it is sparkling clean, just make sure your life is a balanced life at the same time. If your house is always dirty – you are out of balance. If your house is always clean - I would dare say that you are also out of balance.

This reminds me of a story. I have a really good friend – and by the way this really good friend is 95 years old. I will go over and visit her and I LOVE her. She teaches me so much about life. One time when I was there with her she took my baby, cuddled her close, rocked for about 5 minutes in silence with her eyes closed. She then sighed, looked at me and said, “Oh Andi – I wish I would have done more cuddling and less scrubbing.”

There is a time to cook, a time to clean, a time to play, a time to cuddle, a time to laugh, a time to discipline – only you can look at your life, and your home, and know where you are in balance and where you need to work. Only you know that truth – and don’t let comparing to someone else tell you otherwise.

From clutter that is around my computer because I had to write this…

Andrea

5000moms.com

Last week while teaching Pilates, I began the class by asking my clients to be grateful for being able to flex, bend, extend and move in all the ways that we do. I think it’s easy to wish and want for more, but what would happen if we took the approach of being grateful for everything that we already have? We may not be able to do EVERYTHING that we want to do in a day or a week, but how do you think it would feel if we looked at our day and appreciated all the greatness we experienced that day? Though we all have things we wish and hope for, lets take a moment to appreciate the little things like our breath, our family, our home and our ability to control our thoughts. How would that make you feel?

The day I taught class with the “Be Grateful Exercise”, it inspired me to take it to the next level. It was such a great experience during class that I wanted to experiment with it throughout the day. When I found myself getting frustrated or stressed, I just stopped, took a breath and said “I am so grateful that I have….” When I got cut off and nearly ran over by another driver, my first instinct was to get annoyed, but I quickly turned that into “Ah, I’m so happy I am a nice person and am so lucky we didn’t get into a car crash”.

It didn’t change the fact that he was acting rude and driving recklessly, but it did change how I felt about the experience.

My hope for you is that you can find some moments throughout your day where you look at your current situation and find the beauty in the moment. Think of the people who love you the most and be grateful that they are in your life.

Jennifer St. Laurent

5000moms Founder