One of the advantages of being a writer for many years is that you have decades of writing to look back on as your age creeps upwards. I have been writing for over 40 years now and putting out articles on this blog for nearly 15. Through the years I have shared hundreds of ideas and curiosities with anyone who wanted to read along. Some of those thoughts I even put into books. At the same time I have been journalling for at least 30 years now so if anyone wanted to blackmail me, there is all the evidence they would need to judge me for my thoughts and actions. Fortunately, what’s most interesting at least to me, is that I can see how I have gradually grown and evolved through the years. So here are the top ten bits of wisdom I think I’ve gained the most. [Read more…]
Thoughts On Overcoming Fear And The Work of Byron Katie
This morning I listened to a podcast created by author and speaker Byron Katie about overcoming our fears. I realize that writing about fear isn’t always popular. In fact, some people are adamant that they don’t have any fear to begin with. But I’m convinced that much of the current anger, outrage, hatred, and denial coming out of the news, on social media, and in conversation, is grounded in fear. So, when Byron Katie applied her “work” on a willing participant in the aforementioned podcast around the subject of current events, the foundation of fear was evident. I found her solution helpful. And perhaps because it so applied to some of my own shadow thoughts, I thought today was a perfect opportunity to bring them out in the open.
Flexible Is My Word For 2018
A common practice for bloggers and other lifelong learners is to pick one word to focus on as an intention for each new year. For some reason, the word “flexible” or flexibility popped into my mind within the first couple of days of 2018. Ever since then I’ve been playing with the idea. Like buying a new outfit, it’s important to see if your word fits you—to see if it has a hold of you. Now, with January quickly coming to an end, I decided it was time to reveal my word for 2018 to the world. Plus, I want to invite any of you who haven’t yet picked a word, to join me in allowing one word to mold your life in a more positive and SMART way for the remainder of the year.
21 Quotes To Start Your New Year In A Positive and Hopeful Way
There is something about the beginning of a new year that fills me with even more optimism than usual. I won’t deny that last year was challenging on many levels for many people around the world. But that simple digit change on the end of the date invites the potential for something different—something better—something hopeful. And as a person who believes in the power of affirmations to help direct our thoughts in positive ways—I decided to go through a few of my favorite quotes to see which ones I want to focus on as 2018 gets underway. [Read more…]
10 Ways You Can Live A Life Of Soulful Simplicity
Around ten years ago my husband Thom and I got serious about living a more simple, minimal and rightsized life. But as most of us know, a simple life isn’t like a college degree where once you have it, you hang it on the wall and never think about it again. So, when offered a review copy of the book, Soulful Simplicity—How Living With Less Can Lead To So Much More—I eagerly accepted. The book not only reinforces many of the practices I’ve learned along the way, it also gently shares a number of new and soulful ideas about how living with less truly leads to a life of living so much more. [Read more…]
Be On The Lookout For Sparkles
This week SMART Living 365 is pleased to introduce you to Bob Lowry as our guest blogger. I have been reading Bob’s blog A Satisfying Retirement for over a year and believe he offers ideas that are practical and SMART regardless of whether you are retired or not. Thank you, Bob, for filling in and sharing your thoughts with us this week.
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The sky was beginning to cloud over, kids were playing, ducks were looking for bread crumbs, bikers rolled by while teens on skateboards defied gravity. Sitting in a folding chair and watching the scene my eyes were drawn to the surface of the lake. The sun was at just the right angle to cover the water with sparkles. It was beautiful. I was enjoying a satisfying retirement day.
Within a few minutes, the sun’s angle had changed and the sparkles were gone. Or, were they? From someone else’s viewpoint they probably were just as fabulous. They were simply gone from my view. [Read more…]
How To Create Your Own Blue Zone For A Long, Healthy And Happy Life
Did you know there are several unique locations in the world where people typically live to be over 100 years old? Not only do the majority of the residents live past 100, they also remain physically active, mentally sharp, and are remarkably free from common diseases. Best of all they rate themselves happy. Called Blue Zones, these regions offer one of the most intriguing formulas for a long, healthy and vibrant life. Surely it’s SMART to explore the identifiable traits found in several Blue Zones to see how they might help us all create our own zone no matter where we live? [Read more…]
3 Important Steps To Make Minimalism and Simple Living A Habit
My husband Thom and I began living a more simple and sustainable life over ten years ago. In the beginning, the practice felt a bit awkward and required our conscious focus and intention to make the necessary changes. Gradually our actions became fluid and felt more natural. Most excuses and resistance simply faded away. Finally, after all these years I believe that our path to simple living is so deeply ingrained in us that it has become a habit that adds value to our lives every single day. Are we experts? Not hardly. But if we can do it, anyone can. So what if you’re just starting on the journey? My advice is to make the practice a habit as quickly as possible.
Here are three critical steps I believe are necessary: [Read more…]
Designing A Fulfilling Life Matters Long Before Retirement
Recently I watched a new documentary entitled Coming Of Age In Aging America. I expected the focus of the film to be similar to much of the other information I read almost daily on the Internet. Sure the movie covers a few of those common themes prevalent in the positive aging message. But more importantly, the major focus is a deep inquiry into the sustainability of how most of us view the overall life-progression or life-course of all Americans as we age. What do they mean by that? And why do I believe it is important for all of us to begin to rethink the current model of aging and retirement that most of us unconsciously hold as sacred? [Read more…]
30 Days At The Beach Or Why We All Need To Take A Break
Like I said in my post last week, Thom and I are spending the month at the beach. Our primary excuse is to escape the heat of our desert home. But frankly, what we really needed is an experience away from the habits and routines of daily life. And because this works so well for us, I feel fairly confident that it just might be what we all need now and then to really appreciate the life we have created. Don’t believe me? How about I give you a few reasons why we find it so beneficial and you can then decide for yourself? [Read more…]
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