Meaningful Archives — Page 30 of 41

Halloween—A Fun Way to Meet Your Shadow Side

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful

Halloween 1997

Where I live Halloween is a big deal for both children and adults. Not only does Halloween mark the biggest candy holiday of the year, according to the Christian Science Monitor, this year Americans will spend close to $80 per person to celebrate. Favorite costumes for adults are witches, vampires and pirates. Children prefer princesses, Batman and Spiderman. Yet it doesn’t stop there. Pets (mostly dogs) will go as pumpkins, devils and sandwiches. What we usually ignore is that all these costumes and masks are an opportunity for different parts of our personality to come-out-of-the-closet if only for the night. So maybe it is SMART to take the time to look more closely at those energies within us, and perhaps learn to channel them to help create a more happy and fulfilled life. [Read more…]

36 Relationship Lessons From 36 Years of Marriage

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized, Thankful

Thom & I — 36 years later!

One of my blogging friends named Bethany turned 35 a couple of weeks ago and she wrote a blog post listing 35 different lessons she’s learned during her life. After getting over the shock of realizing I’d been married longer than she’s been on the planet—I realized that with my wedding anniversary happening this week, I had learned a great deal during the last 36 years of marriage. With the hope that some of these might prove useful to others, here’s my list: [Read more…]

How To Feel Rich, Safe & Content—No Matter What

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

Let me state right up front that this article is not about getting rich or making money. It is also not about the latest in security technology or the suggestion that you should be happy just the way you are. Instead, I want to explore the biggest obstacle to why most of us don’t really feel rich, safe or content regardless of how much money we have in the bank, the circumstances surrounding us, or how great things might be at any point. That big “elephant in the room” is an underlying, all-pervasive and largely unconscious belief in scarcity and lack. In fact, whether you are on the path to a simple or minimalist lifestyle—or just trying to get by as you are—I’m convinced that discovering what I mean by that, growing ever more aware of it, and taking steps to counteract it are some of the most important steps we can ever take to increase our individual well being. Interested? [Read more…]

Why Hope Matters In A World Of Uncertainty

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Rightsized

Hope Matters….Got yours?

Stuff happens. Just this last week a good friend shared that her cancer had returned. Another friend has been unemployed for months and is uncertain about if or when another job will show up. And let’s not even start talking about the people touched by the tragedy in Washington D.C. or the floods in Colorado. And what about the rest of the world? Unfortunately, no matter who we are, at some point stuff happens. The question then remains—what happens next? Fortunately, some people seem to bounce back and stay focused and positive about the future regardless of the situation. While many words describe such a person, recent research suggests that anyone who keeps going with a positive attitude, no matter how uncertain their future might appear, is considered a high-hope individual. So if stuff can and will happen to each of us, learning why hope matters and how we too might be one of the highly hopeful is certainly SMART information. [Read more…]

A Variation on A Bucket List—The F*^k It List!

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful

What’s on your list?

A couple of weeks ago Thom and I had lunch with a long-time friend I’ll call Bob. After a great meal our conversation turned to health and successful aging as it sometimes does for people in midlife. We all agreed that we were extremely fortunate to live in an area where we can observe people well into their 90’s who are vibrant, active and younger in mind and heart than many people half their age.

Next we talked about the importance of living each day as a gift, never taking a moment for granted, and fulfilling our bucket list while we were all healthy and financially able. That’s when Bob joked that he recently had dinner with a woman in her late 80’s who had a different take on the idea. She told him very emphatically that she was done with the idea of a bucket list. At her age, she was working on her F*^k It list! And while we all laughed at the spunk of Bob’s friend, that declaration got me thinking.

Sure, it’s healthy to have a bucket list containing all the goals and dreams we hope to accomplish during the remainder of our lives. But maybe a F*^k It list is good as well. After all, at a certain age we should be both willing and able to let go of anything that drags us down and holds us back from living a happy and content life. So, after some time thinking about it—here are a few things I’m putting on my F*^k It list that perhaps might convince some of the rest of you to make such a list as well. [Read more…]

Simple & SMART Living Tips From The Tao Of Pooh

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful, Sustainable

The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff

My husband Thom is much more of a Taoist than I am. In case it’s new to you, Taoism (pronounced Dow-ism) is an ancient Chinese teaching originally developed from a book written over 2,500 years ago by a man named Lao Tzu. Often referred to as “The Way,” Taoism emphasizes a harmonious relationship between nature, humanity and the divine. Put another way, Taoism is a path to simple, SMART and sustainable living. This year Thom decided to make the book The Tao of Pooh part of his summer reading. After quickly absorbing the content, he urged me to read it as well. I was surprised to discover that The Tao of Pooh offered both an entertaining and unique perspective on Taoism, as well as a number of simple living lessons that I thought any minimalist might appreciate.
[Read more…]

Final Thoughts On Right-Sizing Your Life Right Now!

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

Finding peace when you right-size your life.

If you follow my blog you know that a couple of my recent posts feature the practice that I call right-sizing. What I hope you’ve picked up on is that right-sizing is actually a way of life—at any age—not just those entering retirement. For anyone just joining us, I define right-sizing as creating a life that uniquely fits and satisfies you and your family with the greatest amount of joy and contentment and the least amount of stress or worry. While the lifestyle offers tremendous benefits to those of us in midlife or contemplating retirement, every person who is interested in a more simple, meaningful, and happy life will benefit. The first post “Step One” focused on the consciousness behind a right-sized life, while “Step Two” got down to the nitty-gritty of finances. In this, the final step to right-sizing your life, I want to throw out a few random thoughts that can help to increase your understanding and awareness. Finally, I’m hoping that each and every one of you who reads this post will offer at least one small suggestion you already practice, or think will benefit you, so that we can all learn and grow together as we right-size our lives. [Read more…]

Music Can Make You Happy & Healthy—Or Not!

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful

Song Titled “Blessed” by Martina McBride–click to listen

It doesn’t take a genius or a scientist to know that music has the ability to lift our mood and make us feel happier. In fact I’ll bet every single one of us can think of a song that played at a pivotal moment in our lives and be instantly transported back to that time and place the minute it plays. Or I’ll bet you can remember a time when your all-time favorite song spontaneously came over the radio and you burst out in song and/or dance with a smile on your face. But if we all know music can make us happy, why don’t we use music more regularly to experience greater happiness and motivate our actions when necessary? More importantly, are we willing to consider that music might even alter the very chemistry of our bodies and positively influence our overall health. [Read more…]

Is There REALLY Proof of Heaven or Life After Death?

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful

“Doubt everything or believe everything: these are two equally convenient strategies. With either we dispense with the need for reflection.” ~ Henri Poincare

What’s REALLY going on & can we ever know for sure?

Ever had a conversation with someone and realized that no matter what you said, there was no way your companion would grasp what you were trying to say? One time I was talking excitedly to my nephew Mark about some studies I had recently uncovered about how our minds work. In complete seriousness Mark stopped me and said, “Studies, oh you can’t believe studies like that.” In that moment the conversation ended before it began. With that said, if you are convinced that life is finite and there is no heaven or any kind of existence beyond the physical, chances are good that nothing I can write will make any difference. But, if you are open to some ideas that are intriguing, it might be valuable to read a bit about the ongoing debate of life after death before completely making up your mind. [Read more…]

Exploring The Frontiers of Inner Space

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Meaningful

15th International IONS Conference

By now you’ve probably noticed that Thom and I like to do as much traveling as possible during the heat of our intense summers here in the desert. However, even though the majority of our travel is to both scenic and temperate locations, this last week we traveled homeward to attend a conference. That’s because even though we love to travel, oftentimes travel and exploration of the furthest frontiers of inner-space can be the most stimulating of all. As Marcel Proust said, “The real voyage of discovery consists, not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” And I happen to believe that the only way to get those “new eyes” is to stay curious, open and search out and discover new ideas. [Read more…]