Snow Day

Growing up in New York, I always looked forward to “snow days” when I would be off from school or later when the university I worked for would be closed and I would have a whole day to play.

This weekend in North Carolina we had two such snow days.  Yes, it was the weekend so I was already “off”, but a nice thing happened on Sunday – our power went out just as we were starting our day.  How is having no power nice?    It brought us to a halt with our usual “to do” list for our day off.  My husband and I love being busy and productive so we often spend our Sundays cooking or doing home projects.  This time we could do neither –  we could not even shovel the snow since it was a sheet of ice! 

What did we do instead?  We sat looking out the window at the pretty snowy landscape.  We talked for a while as we sat in front of the fireplace keeping warm (no power meant no heat for us).  We played Monopoly for several hours – something we had not done for years! 

The power came back on in the middle of all of this, but we stayed where we were playing since we were having so much fun!  What I learned this weekend was just how much we need to create our own “snow days” once a month.  A day with no technology, no television, no projects.  Just pure play!

Saying Yes

In the movie Yes Man with Jim Carrey – he starts out as a “No Man”, saying no to every request, opportunity and offer from his boss, his clients (he is a loan officer so it’s easy to say no) and his friends.  

I was suprised by how much I saw myself in this character.  Though I don’t always say no I find myself wanting to, especially when I overschedule my days….

As the title implies, Jim Carrey soon becomes a Yes Man, this time saying yes to every opportunity and question that comes his way, nomatter who or where it comes from…and he truly begins experiencing his life like never before.

When we say Yes to opportunity, expecially opportunity that looks, sounds or feels very different than our norm, it opens up a part of ourselves and brings an aliveness to our existence. 

Can we truly say yes to everything, nomatter what it is?  That’s not the idea.  The idea is to consider saying Yes to what initially may seem uncomfortable or different, especially if it may bring us closer to our vision for what we want in life.  What we are saying is Yes to life!

What would you like to say Yes to?

Spreading our roots

My husband and I love plants.  We have an abundance of them in our home, some close to 30 years old (started by my mother).

Indoor plants get potbound, meaning they have outgrown the container they are living in and need more room to grow.   When transplanting, the norm is choosing one pot size larger, giving the plant just enough space to spread it’s roots and continue to thrive.

As humans, we all need that too.  When we begin to feel stifled (see 7 Clues You are Ready to Stretch) we droop and may feel thwarted – and we know it’s time to spread our wings a bit. 

Our equivalent of one pot size bigger?  Small steps outside our comfort zone to breathe, stretch and grow… 

How will you stretch this week?