SMART Living 365

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

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Ignoring the Black Dots and Seeing The Good

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Rightsized, Thankful

What do you see when you look at this photo?

This last weekend Thom, Kloe and I took a short trip down to Baja Mexico to visit friends.  We hadn’t been to Rosarito in years and we hadn’t visited our longtime friends Larry & Jose since they bought their stunning condo perched on the rugged coastline.  We had a wonderful time—lots of great conversation, plenty of laughter, tasty food, soaking in the hot tub, playtime with Kloe and her new dog girlfriend Tasha, a couple of bottles of nice wine and even a sip or two of the “new” almond tequila.  But toward the end of the mini-vacation we hit a slight “hitch.”  Luckily, we both quickly remembered that we “get to make it up” and decided to ignore the hitch and focus on the good.   After all, did we want to remember the fun from the amazing previous four days, or the small “black dot” towards the end?  And as usual, what we chose to focus on and remember, is up to us. [Read more…]

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If You’re Going to Give—Give SMART—SMART Living Recommends Three Such Sites 12/12/11

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Rightsized, Sustainable

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

Our last SMART Living 365 blog post suggested that we all reconsider or “rethink” the Christmas gifting process in a way that enriches both the giver and the receiver.  When any of us routinely buys gifts without having a clue what the other needs or wants, we are like sheep falling over a cliff just because those in front of us fall first.  If we want our gift to truly enrich someone we care for and love, it is SMART of us to stay awake, aware and conscious to their needs and motivations before making a purchase.  But what about a gift or donation to a charity?  What about if we want to donate money to a worthy cause in someone’s name?   How do we know what is “worthy” and where do we go to find out?   There are at least three websites that you might want to consider before making your decision.  They are:

GiveWell

Charity Navigator

Philanthropedia

[Read more…]

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SMART Living 365 Recommends You Stay Grateful By Visiting Gratefulness.org

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Thankful

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

One of the core elements of living SMART 365 is practicing a thankful awareness on a daily basis.  That’s why this week we are recommending Gratefulness.org.  This website offers several touching and free ways to practice gratitude as well as education and support for anyone who wants to use gratitude as a regular spiritual practice.    Just one of the goals of the website and organization is “to promote public awareness of gratefulness as a power for change in areas such as ecology, religious tolerance and intergenerational respect.”   Surely, such a focus on gratitude can benefit each and every one of us every single day. [Read more…]

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SMART Living 365 Recommends Your Local Public Library—For Free!

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Sustainable, Thankful

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

During the last couple of months SMART Living 365 has made it a habit to recommend a website or resource that brings richness to our lives.  Most of our recommendations have been online businesses or charities—but today’s recommendation is something many people (at least those that live in the US) take for granted.  And while some of our readers are international, and not every US citizen lives in an area with a large library system, we still want to point out the amazing benefits many of us can regularly use to increase the quality of our lives—and it’s mostly free!  That resource is your local public library.

[Read more…]

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Monday’s Website of The Week 10/3/11—Thanks to Gary for Thx,thx,thx!

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Thankful

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

A great big “thank you” to our friend and SMART Living 365 reader Gary for his recommendation of the thxthxthx.com website.   I’d read about it before but until Gary sent me the link, I never took the time actually check it out.  In case you don’t recall, each week we want to reach out across the web and share good and inspiring websites with one another and thanks to Gary this is a short, but very sweet website that helps keep things in perspective.  That’s right—thxthxthx is all about gratitude—and remembering how everything works together for good.

[Read more…]

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Why We Need Changes To Facebook; Or The Value of Mixing Things Up

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Rightsized

We are all creatures of habit.  Don’t believe me?  This morning Facebook came out with yet another change to its layout and the comments are:  “If I was Facebook’s mom I would ground it for a month.”   Or:  “HATE: the new Facebook Newsfeed,” or  “How do you like the new Facebook layout?  So far I can’t stand it! Boooo Hiss Facebook, Boooo Hiss!”  Unfortunately, while habits can make our lives easier in many cases, it is also a recipe for a life of boredom, routine and a diminished creativity and brain capacity.  When you know the facts, you might consider that Facebook is doing us all a favor.  

[Read more…]

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A Simple Prescription For Happiness–Get a Dog!

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Rightsized, Thankful

SMART LIving 365.com

Kathy, Kloe & Thom

Just over six months ago Thom and I added a new family member to our household—a puppy we named Kloe. To be sure, a puppy ads havoc, lots more work and a great deal of responsibility to anyone who cares for them.  However, the increased value and joy Kloe brings to our lives more than compensates for any inconvenience.  Not only does Kloe make us laugh on a daily basis, there is plenty of proof that she is also good for our health.

[Read more…]

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Don’t Take Anything For Granted & Share Your Love—365!

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Meaningful, Thankful

 

Kloe

This week Thom and I experienced a dramatic reminder of this truth—don’t take anyone for granted and share your love with those you love every single day.   While most all of us would agree that this is an important part of SMART Living, everyone—me included, can use a reminder

Our “lesson” in this regard came this past Monday evening.  There was nothing special about the day—nothing bad, but nothing amazingly wonderful either.   We’d finished dinner and Thom was in the kitchen doing dishes.  I could see that the sun had finally set so I knew it would be getting cooler outside.  Our small mixed-terrier dog Kloe was watching me closely to see if it was time to go to the dog park before dark.  But right before we did, Thom decided to take the garbage out to the trash bins with Kloe trailing behind. [Read more…]

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SMART Living is seeing the Good AND Laughing on A Regular Basis

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Thankful

Let’s face it.  We live in an amazing world filled with all sorts of incredible things.  Yet, because humans tend to adjust to just about anything very quickly, we usually forget how great our lives are.  SMART Living asks us to slow down, look around and pay attention—and then be thankful.   I found this great short comedy video on FaceBook today and I think it says something very important in a short, funny and irreverent way.  What do you think?

 

 

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The “T” in Thankful Completes The Path To SMART Living 365

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Thankful

Happy SMART Day Everyone!

The most important practice to living SMART 365 is to feel thankful and grateful on a daily basis.   Luckily, it is also one of the easiest.  Once you begin to put gratitude at the top of your daily to-do list, you will immediately begin to see positive changes in the way you look at your life.   My own experience shows it is impossible to be truly grateful and unhappy at the same time.  But I’m not alone in my thinking; these days there are books and studies that prove that the science of gratitude can profoundly increase the quality of your life. [Read more…]

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About

Kathy Gottberg is an author with seven published books and hundreds of articles covering dozens of topics in the last 35 years. Along with her books, her passion today is SMART Living 365 where she explores ideas and experiences that help to create a meaningful, sustainable, compassionate and rewarding life for herself and others. Beyond that, she lives with Thom, her best friend and soul mate in Tucson, AZ.

To contact Kathy: click here

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