Are you facing a transition in your life? If yes, you might be interested in a new book I’ve just finished by a fellow blogger named Patricia West Doyle. Pat is the author of Retirement Transition—An Innovation Approach. And even though I’m not yet retired, I still found a few ideas in it that could prove valuable to others—especially those of us facing a transition. Of course, when you think about it transitions happen repeatedly to all of us over the course of our lives. So why not prepare before we’re in the middle of one? [Read more…]
Torn Between Two Worlds
Thom and I are renting a cottage at the beach until the end of September. Sounds wonderful, right? But I’m torn. Yes, it’s still sizzling hot back home in our desert community, but once September hits things start to kick off. Although not officially the beginning of the “desert season,” once school starts more and more activities pop up on the calendar. Traffic picks up, meetups get scheduled, and friends start calling with plans. So even while I’m loving the cooler weather at the beach, part of me is anticipating seeing those friends and getting involved in social and volunteer events back home.
When I think about it, that tension between what I have and what I’m possibly missing is something that happens to me/us all the time in one form or another. It’s similar to the oxymoron of celebrating life in one moment and yet feeling pain or sadness at the same moment. Or how about feeling optimistically excited, and yet somewhat anxious about what’s ahead? And probably the biggest one, feeling grateful and happy while recognizing deep in our heart that there are huge challenges going on all around us. How do we handle those paradoxes, and where do we go from there? [Read more…]
Kathy’s SMART And Sometimes Frugal Travel Tips
Our vacation rental at the beach for the next 30 days.
Last week I explained how a big part of Thom and my ability to travel frequently comes from living a rightsized life. Yet although that’s the starting point, the successful details of our vacations usually boil down to a few simple tips—or hacks as they are often called these days. While these certainly won’t apply to everyone, they do work for us. And because a number of people seem curious, I decided to share them with you. If I can inspire just one of you to explore your options, not to mention save money, then I’ll consider it worth my time. [Read more…]
A Rightsized Way To Travel Or Vacation
As some of you know, my husband Thom and I took a road trip in July. As usual, we were seeking a way to avoid the summer heat in the desert that we call home. As planned, we figured that a road trip to the Pacific Northwest just might be a great solution for part of that time. It was. Not only was the weather spectacular, we also met with family in Seattle, old friends in Kelowna, B.C., as well as a planned meetup with some of my friends who blog. With a little forethought and design we had a wonderful vacation. However, once we returned people continually questioned how it was possible to spend several months both traveling and renting out-of-town houses for over three months, while most people are stuck at home. And remember, we aren’t retired either. Our go-to answer is always, “Because we rightsized our life.” [Read more…]
Could You Use Some Simple Instructions For Life?
I’ve been a big fan of Mary Oliver’s poetry for most of my adult life. She offers so many great quotes that it is difficult to just pick one. But this one jumped out at me today for two reasons. First off I am drawn to the idea of having an instruction manual for life. And second, I love the idea that life isn’t as complicated as we tend to think. Today, I want to remember to just pay attention, be astonished and then tell about it. How about you?
Ten Things We Should Have Known Before We Started Blogging
Last month I had the deeply satisfying experience of getting together with five friends—who blog. That’s right. Instead of just a meet-up with other bloggers—I now consider them first and foremost to be friends. I walked away knowing that how we each blog is actually just the foundation for who we are as women, and what we value and appreciate. To me it is so interesting that although we are all very different people, with rather extremely different lives (not to mention blogs), we share something fundamental. It’s likely that when you start with such a connection there is almost an immediate sense of belonging. [Read more…]
Three Big Benefits That Yoga Offers Seniors And Everyone Else
Yoga is a benefit for all age groups!
This week I’m again happy to introduce you to another great blogger/writer named Jennifer Koshak. I first started following Jennifer’s blog Unfold and Begin several years ago because so many of her topics are about creativity, starting over, and trying new things–how SMART is that? Jennifer lives in Connecticut where she frequently teaches workshops on creating with Vision Boards. With a strong intention to help others make the most of mid-life and beyond, Jennifer writes with humor, insight and inspiration. A woman with many talents, Jennifer began teaching yoga in her 40s and taught seniors the many benefits of yoga for over ten years. Whether you’ve ever been to a yoga class, or consider yourself a senior or not, her insights are a good introduction to why yoga can be beneficial for us all.
On my blog Unfold & Begin I usually write about creativity, Vision Boards and writing. But because I used to be a yoga teacher, I’ve also written about teaching yoga to seniors. However when I did, it was more about how much I enjoyed teaching the classes—not the actual benefits. So today I am sharing the many values of yoga for seniors. [Read more…]
Sliding Doors – How Would Your Life Be Different If You Had Taken The Other Door?
This week I’m happy to introduce you to Erica Henault as my guest blogger while Thom and I are traveling. I started following Erica’s blog Behind The Scenery about a year ago and quickly discovered how seamlessly she fits into the SMART Living lifestyle. With a strong intention to grow, evolve, create and be thankful, Erica manages to help us all do the same. Thank you, Erica, for filling in for me and sharing some of your ideas about how every one of our choices can have a profound influence on the quality of our lives. Let’s never take any of that for granted!
I think many of us have reflected on the “sliding door” moments in our life. The what ifs? What might have been? How would my life be different now? I know I have. [Read more…]
Could Contentment Be The Treasure We All Seek?
A couple of weeks ago I cohosted a series of four podcasts with Kathe Kline of Rock Your Retirement. Kathe let me pick the topic of each of our discussions. After finding and selecting four articles I thought sounded intriguing, Kathe and I then spent 30 minutes discussing each of them from our individual perspectives. And although the podcasts are currently being edited and won’t be available until August, one of the topics stuck deeply in my mind. That topic is contentment. And while the word and concept sounds vaguely pleasant and benevolent, I must admit that I’m beginning to realize that I’ve overlooked its greater value and importance. [Read more…]
I’m Not As Smart As I Like To Think I Am
Many people who find SMART Living 365 through Google or other online search engines are looking for information about Smart technologies. Others might be attracted to the blog thinking it has to do with intelligence or doing the right thing. Yet, if you stick around and read an article or two, you quickly realize that SMART is actually an acronym for Sustainable-Meaningful-Aware-Responsible and Thankful—and those ideas are what I mainly explore here. Plus, now and then I come across information that ties brain science to awareness. So when I found a book at the library titled, You Are Not So SMART, how could I not check it out? My big take-away? Clearly I am not as smart as I like to think I am (none of us are really!) mainly because who we think we are, our memories, and how we see the world often has very little to do with reality. Another way of looking at it—believe or like it, or not—we are continually making it up! [Read more…]