A World On Fire—Living In A Time of Vampires & Archetypes

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized

“…the archetypal energy of The Vampire has exploded into the consciousness of our current generation.”

I have been a fan of author Carolyn Myss since reading her first book Anatomy of the Spirit back in the mid-90s. Her clear, humorous, no nonsense style of communicating attracted me—but it is her constant reach for deeper levels of awareness and spirituality that makes me her student. This last week I listened to a recent lecture she offered on the Internet. During the talk Myss pointed out that the world we live in is both physically and spiritually “on fire,” and that one of the best ways to learn to navigate this new world was to learn how to use archetypes. Regardless of whether you’ve heard of Carolyn Myss before, or the “why” of archetypes, a couple of her ideas stuck out that I felt were worthy of discussion. The most important of those were how a couple of today’s common archetypes are a reflection of life in the 21^st Century and what that means to you and me. [Read more…]

Choosing To Thrive and Live The Happiness Advantage

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized, SMART Book Reviews

“…study after study shows that happiness precedes important outcomes and indicators of thriving.” ~ Shawn Achor

As a long-time student of happiness and well-being I had no choice but to buy the book, The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor. Of course the truth is, I did have a choice—just like every single one of you. But as a major focus of the book explains, even though most of us realize we can take steps to improve our ongoing feelings of happiness, and grow a “happiness advantage,” we still sometimes avoid it or resist it altogether. The reason we avoid this type of thriving, and what we can choose instead is well worth the time to explore. [Read more…]

Comparison—A Speed Bump On the Road To Happiness & Simple Living

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized

“Comparison is the death of joy.” ~Mark Twain

Don’t let comparison be a speed bump in your life.

A few months ago some good friends bought a new house. After several months of remodeling they finally moved in and Thom and I were invited over to see how everything came out. It was stunning, as it should be, because my friend is a designer. Everything, from the floor tile, to the kitchen backsplash, to the custom cabinet doors, was stylish and top–of-the-line. It wasn’t until later when I was back at home that I started asking myself what I should do to spruce up my living room. How would it look if that wall was painted another color, and was it time for a new couch? Fortunately after years of working on staying as conscious as possible, I caught myself. What was most interesting of all was how easily and unconsciously I slipped into comparing my surroundings with my friend’s home. Even though I love my current home and have no intention of making big changes, my unconscious mind slipped into an automatic routine of contrast and comparison. That’s when I realized that the seemingly innocent act of comparing can be a big speed bump on the path to happiness and simple living. [Read more…]

The Big Minimalist Question—Kids? Or No Kids?

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Rightsized, Sustainable

I’ve been interested in sustainability, minimalism and simple living for a long time now. But one topic I’ve seen very little written about is the impact that having children has on both the practice of minimalism and the environment. Like a big elephant in the room, this enormous, but highly emotional issue is almost completely ignored on most simple living blogs. Yet when you think about it, until we are willing to talk about it and examine it from a state of awareness and conscious choice, bringing kids into the world becomes just another cultural norm that the majority unconsciously accepts out of habit and societal pressure. For that reason alone, the big question about whether or not to have children (or add to an existing family) should be on every serious young minimalist’s list of important issues to decide.

[Read more…]

Seeking Uncertainty—The Path To Miracles and Unlimited Possibilities

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized

smartliving365.com Last week I published my first eBook novel to Amazon Kindle. I actually wrote the book about ten years ago and when I could not find a publisher for it at the time, I saved it to the archives of my computer and pretty much forgot about it. Then about a year ago Thom and I began reading about the new explosion of ebooks and how that process is revolutionizing the publishing world. Then I remembered my novel and thought—why not? Why not publish it myself? I had everything to gain and absolutely nothing to lose. Although it took a while to get it ready to publish, (that’s another blog post subject!) it’s finally done and available. (*) What struck me the most the morning after the book went “live” on Amazon was the euphoria I got from the uncertainty/possibility of the experience. And that got me wondering—why don’t we all seek uncertainty on a regular basis to capture that feeling? In fact, why do we chase stuff or even experiences when one of the greatest highs around is just a tiny bit beyond what we think, know and expect during the course of a regular day? [Read more…]

Why Can’t We Just Get Along?—And Other Thoughts on Compassion & Communication

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized

SMART Living 365.com Alien Have you ever asked yourself what would happen if aliens ever found our planet and began monitoring our TV networks? Thom and I have asked ourselves that question—especially after hearing about reality shows like “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.” But even if those aliens only tuned into our news channels and programs, what do you think their view of the human race would be? Unfortunately, the day-to-day hostility and aggression frequently viewed on those programs would likely be enough for any alien to determine that our species is egocentric, violent, and highly competitive. In fact, if you watch much TV news at all, the average person would probably be tempted to think the world is a very scary place and that any minute something horrible could happen. But is that true? Are we really that egocentric and violent? Or are we actually much more compassionate and empathetic than we sometimes believe? Maybe exploring those questions is one way to find out why we struggle to get along in this day and age. [Read more…]

Rightsizing Your Finances—A SMART Way To Manage Money

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Rightsized, Sustainable

Got Bills? Maybe it’s time to rightsize your finances!

Last week, after publishing my article on Rightsizing vs. Downsizing, a discussion came up while talking with friends at Happy Hour. I could tell that even though everyone agreed that going debt free was a wonderful element of rightsizing and simple living, most felt it was out of reach for the average family. That was a great reminder that rightsizing isn’t just about the size of your house, your car, or your credit limit—instead, rightsizing touches every area of your life including (and maybe especially) your finances. In fact, once a person learns to manage their money—both expenses and income—rightsizing the other areas of life will come more easily. Down the line, a person can eventually achieve the ultimate goal of rightsizing, which is to live a life that uniquely fits and brings the greatest amount of peace, contentment and joy to that individual and family. [Read more…]

Rightsizing vs. Downsizing—Making A Positive Lifestyle Choice

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized, Sustainable

Can you guess which one gets 12 MPG and which gets 40+ MPG? It’s all about rightsizing!

Last month Thom came across an article in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) with a headline that said, “Everybody Says You Should Downsize. Everybody May Be Wrong.” We both found that statement to be so incredulous that we had to reread it. And we weren’t alone in our surprise. Most of the other comments online also questioned many of the negative points offered in the article. Clearly the author herself had not downsized and it was also obvious that her focus came from an outdated definition of the concept. Naturally that got me thinking that maybe most of us approach the topic from the wrong direction to begin with. Instead of thinking of it as “down” sizing—maybe we should consider it to be “right”-sizing. And once we get the label right—it is much easier to consider the real benefits that come from living a lifestyle that is right-sized from the beginning. [Read more…]

Finding Your W.A.I. (Welcome, Accept, and Intentions) in the Coming Year!

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized

Every New Year most people talk of resolutions. Unfortunately, most of the talk is about how resolutions don’t work and end up causing more frustration and discouragement than any type of help. The thing is, I’m fairly certain that unless we focus on what we do want and what’s important to us, we likely end up with a year that looks similar to the one before, or worse, one that is significantly less fulfilling. In fact, without such clarity we’re like a person starting out on a journey with no purpose or destination in mind, or an airplane taking off without navigation. So rather than eliminate resolutions altogether, I came up with a new W.A.I (Welcome-Accept-Intentions) of looking at hopes and dreams for the coming year so that we may be better able to enjoy the journey for the next 365 days. [Read more…]

Beyond Suffering—What The Buddha Teaches About Tragedy

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized

Something about Buddhism always bugged me. Of course, it wasn’t Buddhism itself, but what I heard. What stood out and bugged me was essentially the statement made by the Buddha that, “Life is suffering.” Not only did I not believe it, I thought the whole of Buddhism revolved around that negative idea. Rather than look deeper, I resisted the thought as though I could control the Universe and keep suffering away from either myself, or those I love. Flash forward about 30 years. Now I not only understand a great deal more about Buddhism, but I also agree that suffering can and does happen every day to scores of people all around the world. In fact, after a tragedy like what happened at the school in Connecticut or recently in Paris, how is it possible to think for a minute that suffering isn’t real? Of course, the lesson taught by the Buddha doesn’t stop there. Instead, the Buddha explained that freedom and peace lie in a space beyond suffering, and that liberation is available to us all. [Read more…]