SMART Living 365

Ideas to create a more happy, peaceful and rewarding life--365!

The Benefits Of Pessimism and the Prevention-Focused Among Us

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Filed under: Aware, Rightsized

There is always more than one way to look at things.

There is always more than one way to look at things.

I’ve been an optimist since the day I was born. If you’ve read my blog for any length of time you probably think I’m either incredibly fortunate or unbelievably naïve depending upon your perspective. Yet after reading a new book, I not only understand a great deal more about what motivates me and why, I’ve also developed a much higher appreciation for those more pessimistic than me. In fact, sometimes the best approach for any of us is to ramp up our prevention-focus and practice a bit of defensive-pessimism depending upon the circumstances. That’s right, I now know that even a diehard optimist like me can benefit from being a little pessimistic. [Read more…]

My Top 10 Favorite Quotes From Abraham-Hicks

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Filed under: Aware, Meaningful

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What do you see reflected in the world around you?

For the last couple of years one of my favorite speakers to listen to when taking my morning walk is Abraham-Hicks.   Regardless of whether the source of their inspiration comes from one woman’s mind or channeled spirits from a higher realm, I find much of it to be an empowering way to look at life. With a big emphasis on finding happiness and feeling good about life in general, what I hear during my morning walk is both healthy for my body and good for my soul. This week I heard Esther Hicks say something that made me stop, pause and make a note to myself as a reminder. That’s when I realized it might be good for me to share other favorites that prove beneficial to me on a regular basis. [Read more…]

Do My Hearing Aids Make Me Look Fat?

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SMART Living 365

Kathy modeling her new hearing aids.

I don’t know any woman who doesn’t care, at least a little bit, about how they look to others. Maybe it exists in our DNA or the way we are raised. Hopefully though, by the time we get to my age we care far less how others judge us, especially our looks.   And equally important, hopefully by my age we stop letting the opinions of others make critical life decisions for us.   That of course leads to my recent decision to purchase and wear hearing aids. [Read more…]

7 Pitfalls To Avoid When Rightsizing Your Home

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Filed under: Aware, Rightsized, Sustainable

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A friend of mine is currently in the midst of selling her long-time family home and moving. Yet while I believe she “gets” the many benefits of rightsizing, I can tell after talking with her that several issues keep popping up that make her hesitant. That’s completely normal, because in many ways, rightsizing is contrary to what most of us have been taught. The good news is that once you know what to keep in mind, rightsizing not only becomes the easiest choice, it is also the one that leads to the greatest benefits.

What do we need to remember when it’s time to make a move? [Read more…]

17 Ways To Deal With The Blahs

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Kloe with the blahs…

My dog Kloe is normally one of the happiest and perkiest dogs alive. Most of the time if just mention the “w” word (as in walk) she starts spinning and doing her happy dance. I’m sort of the same way. Most days I wake up and am convinced that something wonderful is about to happen and I am incredibly fortunate just to be alive. But to be honest, there are days for both Kloe and I when one or the other of us wakes in a funk. We aren’t feeling necessarily bad, just blah. What I’ve gradually learned is that the blahs aren’t usually something to fear, fix or fight. Instead, the SMART thing to do is remember we always have more options than we know and sometimes relaxing into the moment is the best antidote. [Read more…]

How Is Your Hearing? 5 Reasons It Matters!

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SMART Living 365.comDuring the last several years I knew that my hearing wasn’t as good as it used to be. But like millions of other baby boomers I told myself I was far too young to worry about it. But because I prefer preventative medicine to reactionary medicine, I decided to get a hearing test just to check things out. Even then I was somewhat shocked and dismayed to learn just how bad my hearing really was. After digging around on the Internet I was equally shocked to find out how common impaired hearing is for millions of Americans. Even more important is why the denial of it can become such a huge problem if left untreated.  [Read more…]

7 Life Lessons From An Episode of Chopped!

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Filed under: Aware

Chopped--food Network My husband Thom and I have watched Chopped for several years now. Even though we are not big fans of reality TV, there is something about the mix of tasty food, cooking, creativity, and drama that caught our attention. If you haven’t seen it, Chopped is a weekly program on the Food Network that showcases four different chefs each week as they compete to create the most artistic and flavorful dishes in a set amount of time. After watching dozens of episodes, it occurred to me that many of the things we witness week after week is similar to what we all face on a regular basis. That’s when I came up with seven life lessons contained in every episode of Chopped. [Read more…]

Tai Chi – The Path To A Moving Meditation On Life

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Tai chi in the park

Thom and I toyed with meditation on and off for several decades until we finally committed to a daily practice a little over four years ago.  Then a couple of months ago Thom suggested we take a tai chi class together, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that tai chi is considered to be a “moving meditation.”   In many ways, the experience of tai chi manages to broaden, deepen and enhance what we are already doing. But even more surprising, is how the practice of tai chi can help any of us create a very SMART, happy and harmonious way of life—365. [Read more…]

Birdman, Relevancy and A Life That Matters

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SMART Living 365.comSeveral months ago Thom and I went to see the movie Birdman. The plot, the symbolism, the acting, the humor and cinematography all create a movie with enough going for it to have won the Academy Award for Best Picture of the Year. But while all the elements made for an entertaining movie experience, what attracted me most were the questions it raises about the universal quest for relevancy. After all, don’t we all want to believe our lives matter? Don’t we all want to grow older thinking we’ve achieved something of distinction? And if yes, what steps are we willing to take to insure it happens? [Read more…]

Namaste’—The Spirit Behind Compassion

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#1000 Voices For Compassion

#1000 Voices For Compassion

On Friday, February 20th, all around the world thousands of people came together to write, tweet, sing, paint and speak out in the name and practice of compassion. The idea started a couple of months ago when several bloggers were sharing ideas of gratitude and began wondering what would happen if they gathered a 1,000 (or more) voices together to write about compassion and focus on the good in the world. On that day, compassion and #1000Speak showed just what can happen when thousands of us come together for good. And at the core of that compassion, I can’t help but believe it all boils down to the spirit behind the word Namaste’. [Read more…]