Sharing the gift of memories

My china cabinet is full - full of things that I love and things that connect me to special people in my life. My son looked at it the other day and sighed . . . .

I decided to take the opportunity to tell him a few stories about some of the things on the shelves that evoked special memories. My 12-year-old granddaughter listened with interest, and I decided that it was time to start sharing the things as well as the stories. She was thrilled to take home her dad's Bunnykins cereal bowl and a ceramic cup that her great-grandmother had made for her dad in 1974. To her, these things were special because she had heard the stories that were a part of them. 

I asked my son if there was anything he would like to have at some time, and it became a running joke for the rest of the weekend. He suggested the fridge and my husband's truck!

5 Best Ways to Lose the Clutter for Keeps

We have a LOT of stuff that we have accumulated over the years. I am working hard at filling a box a week - that's 52 boxes in a year, right?

"We spend the first half of our lives acquiring things, and the second half getting rid of them. 

Sound familiar?"

Suzanne Gerber, in an article on Next Avenue, says:
 
"If your home is overflowing withstuff, you’re not alone. It’s all too easy to accumulate worldly goods. And while many of those things are probably lovely and full of emotional resonance, in the aggregate, they’re cluttering your life physically and energetically. It’s hard to move forward (let alone move) when your home resembles a well-packed self-storage unit.
 
There are all sorts of strategies to clearing out your possessions, ranging from doing it in one fell swoop to hiring a professional organizer to doing it in increments, like getting a big box and one by one, placing in it items you might be willing to part with. All of these approaches can work — once you’ve flipped the mental switch.
 
While that sounds simple, anyone who’s struggled with this understands the psychological and emotional challenges of throwing out, giving away or selling beloved possessions. (And simply reminding ourselves that we “can’t take it with us” doesn’t help.)"

Gerber recounts five stories, that could help you take your first, or next step. The first step might not be as hard as you think!

13 Ways to Live Happier

A recent article in the World Observer Online says that, “without realising it, many of our thought habits get in the way of our happiness and cause us to get stuck into negative patterns of thinking.”

The article suggests that we can rewire our thoughts and minds into allowing ourselves to feel the happiness that we deserve, freeing us to live, love and be happy. When we “liberate ourselves from those thoughts and mental habits that hold us back and hold us down, we will look forward to a better, happier and more positive new us.”

I have provided their list of 13 negative mental habits; I recommend reading the full article to get the rationale for each one. They’re all worth thinking about.

1.       Let go of your complaining


2.       Let go of having to always be right.

3.       Let go of any self defeating ideas
.

4.       Let go of your fears
.

5.       Let go of attachment
.

6.       Let go of making criticism.


7.       Let go of blaming. 


8.       Let go of trying to impress other people
.

9.       Let go of your excuses
.

10.   Let go of trying to always control.


11.   Let go of the past.


12.   Let go of resisting change
.

13.   Let go of living life to other people’s expectations
.

An entire sea of water can’t sink a ship unless it gets inside the ship. Similarly, the negativity of the world can’t put you down unless you allow it to get inside you.

– Goi Nasu

The Top Five Regrets of the Dying

After too many years of unfulfilling work, Bronnie Ware began searching for a job with heart. Despite having no formal qualifications or experience, she found herself working in palliative care.

Over the years she spent tending to the needs of those who were dying, Bronnie's life was transformed. Later, she wrote an Internet blog about the most common regrets expressed to her by the people she had cared for. The article, also called The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, gained so much momentum that it was read by more than three million people around the globe in its first year. 

On her blog, Bonnie says:

People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learnt never to underestimate someone's capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them. 

When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five: 

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

2. I wish I didn't work so hard. 

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. 

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier. 
Life is a choice. It is YOUR life. Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happiness.


Bonnie's key learnings can be expressed in these five simple guidelines for life.