Aware Archives — Page 34 of 53

Getting it ‘Right’: Reflections After A Year in the Woods

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Sustainable

Like I mentioned last week, while I’m out of town I’m happy to introduce all of you to another SMART blogger named T.O. Weller (Tracey) who lives in a tiny town north of Toronto, Canada with her husband Kip and sweet dog George. Not only has Tracey become a close friend, she also lives a SMART and rightsized life. Thanks Tracey for allowing me to share another version of rightsizing!

Me & George staying warm on our first morning in the woods.

Two incredibly significant events took place one year ago: we embarked on our adventure in the woods, and Kathy and I met on Facebook. (Carl Jung would call it synchronicity: the two events have no causal link, but are meaningfully connected.)

Kathy was working on her latest book—Rightsizing—and as I got to know her work, it dawned on me: we were rightsizing! Not only did her philosophy resonate, but I thought the word itself was a perfect way to describe the ‘what’, the ‘how’, and the ‘why’ of it all. [Read more…]

7 Things I Learned To Do, And Not Do, From My Mom

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Thankful

Mom and I during our first trip to Hawaii in 1983

As a kid, I wanted to think of my mother as the most beautiful, loving and witty woman in the world. Didn’t we all? Then as I teenager, I came to the conclusion that she probably didn’t know half as much as I thought I knew about absolutely everything. Finally as an adult, I’ve come to understand that she was just a human being doing the best she could with the awareness and consciousness that she possessed at the time. Thankfully, I no longer need her to be other than who she was, and I can appreciate the love and gifts I learned from her along the way. That’s why in honor of Mother’s Day I decided to look back on the things she taught me to both do, and NOT do, to live a long, happy and healthy life.

[Read more…]

Choosing To Be Time-Rich Instead of House-Broke

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Rightsized, Sustainable

The young couple who live across the street from me are selling their home. I’ll be sad to see them go because they’ve become friends and we’ve watched their son Timmy grow from a toddler to a boy. Where are they going? They’ve decided it’s time for a bigger house in a more affluent neighborhood. Of course, it’s hard to sit in judgment after doing something similar years ago. Still, I hope they never find themselves so pressed for time that they forget what gives life meaning, and instead becoming slaves to a big mortgage and extravagant home expenses. In other words, I hope they never find themselves house-broke and unable to do anything about it. [Read more…]

SMART Thoughts on Birthdays, Blogging and BFFs!

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Thankful

#BAMC16

Last weekend I attended my first ever blogging conference. In many ways, it was my birthday gift to my blog. At the end of April, I will be celebrating the 5th anniversary of SMART Living 365. But what does any of that have to do with you, my dear readers? Just like with so many other SMART topics, when we think about it, we can learn and grow from any situation we experience. Even better, when we open our minds and our hearts, there is a good chance we can also have a fantastic and fun time. With that in mind, I jotted down a few things I learned over the weekend that I thought might prove SMART for us all. [Read more…]

Mindfulness – The Cure For A Busy and Overthinking Mind

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, SMART Book Reviews

Who are you? I mean who are you, really? I think it is easy for all of us to forget sometimes that we are more than the skin-encapsulated egos that we wake up as every morning. Even when we stop and pause to remember that we are more than our minds and egos, it’s far too easy to fall asleep and slip into our frequently unconscious way of living. That’s why the practice of mindfulness holds such promise. In fact, reading the new book The Mindfulness Edge by Matt Tenny and Tim Gard, Ph.D., helped me go beyond merely understanding why heightened awareness is so beneficial, to a deeper edge of the practice itself. [Read more…]

7 Simple Ways We Can All Lean Toward Happiness

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Thankful

Most mornings when I take my walk, I listen to taped talks and lectures I find online. A particular favorite is Abraham-Hicks and their discussion of Law Of Attraction. One thing I’ve always appreciated about them is the constant reminder to us all to recognize how we are feeling at any given moment, and from there to choose a more beneficial thought. On a particular morning last week I heard Abraham say to a deeply unhappy woman, “Just pick a slightly better thought, and slowly lean toward happiness.” That reminded me that while it’s nearly impossible to be happy 100% of the time, most of us have the ability to lean in that direction no matter what. From there, I came up with seven simple things all of us can do to make the leaning easier. [Read more…]

Adventures In Cohousing — It Is About Community And Shared Values

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Rightsized, Sustainable

Last weekend my husband Thom and I drove to Tucson, AZ to visit three thriving cohousing communities. As I wrote about in January, even though the concept of cohousing is still relatively young, it’s appeal is growing as others discover the benefits. Ever since I first heard about them, I recognized how many ways they mimic the advantages I find from rightsizing. After touring all three facilities, it is also evident that they embrace the core values of SMART*. Is cohousing a wave of the future? It likely depends on whether you value community, and if you see them as a path to living your values. [Read more…]

4 SMART Agreements To Master An Awesome Life

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Sustainable

Like millions of other Americans, I first read The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz nearly 20 years ago. According to Wikipedia, the book sold over 5 million copies in just the U.S., was a New York Times bestseller for over seven years, and has been translated into 38 languages. Not a bad run for such a small book. But in spite its success, now might be a good time to update those agreements from a SMART perspective. After all, if life is continually changing as Ruiz says, then, “The best path to happiness is learning to change as rapidly as life does.” [Read more…]

Growing Whole Instead Of Old

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Rightsized, Sustainable

Since turning 60, I’ve been increasingly interested in what it means to grow older in a vibrant and purposeful way. Much like my work with rightsizing, I see aging not as an inevitable loss or sacrifice, but instead as an opportunity to get to the heart of what really matters to each of us as living, breathing beings on this planet—and then sharing that with our community and the world. Plus, with so many of us nearing retirement age, and yet living many years after, isn’t is SMART to recognize that making the most of those years seldom happens by chance? So instead of merely growing old and waiting for the unavoidable, learning what makes us whole and happy is worthy of our attention. [Read more…]

3 Reasons Why Arguments Can Better Your Relationships

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Rightsized, SMART Book Reviews, Sustainable

“…if you are spending more time on Facebook than face-to-face with your partner, you may be yearning for connection, for belonging, or to matter.” ~ J. Wright, EdD

My husband Thom and I married 38 years ago and never once did I think our fights contributed to our great marriage. Until now. Both of us are verbally energetic which is wonderful when we are happy, excited and in harmony. However, just mention the word “no,” or express an opposing opinion, and the words can fly fast and furious. Fortunately, after all these years we’ve learned a great deal about each other and what triggers defensive or aggressive retaliation. These days our energetic discussions usually end quickly, and are far fewer and further between. But now, a new book titled, The Heart Of The Fight by Judith and Bob Wright, EdDs, puts our arguments in a positive new perspective. According to the Wrights, at the heart of the every fight is a tremendous opportunity for all relationships, and for each individual to grow and thrive. Who knew? [Read more…]