Remembering JOY

This kind of goes with what happened a lot in the ...

2011-10-02T16:35:56.717-07:00

This kind of goes with what happened a lot in the military (since we moved around so much), people expecting to be different when they got to their next command. I guess it happens when most people start anything new, new year, new school, new job, etc. But not long after the new starts, it becomes old as well as everything that was planned for it.

I thought yesterday about resolutions. What if people actually planned realistic resolutions? An example: I plan on losing 20 pounds, but I'll give up after 5 pounds and keep about the same or gain those 5 pounds back. I plan on exercising every day, but as soon as the weather turns bad or an illness comes along, I'll give up on the exercise and won't start it back up when things are good again.
Taking a moment to look at how we are realistically can help us to plan better and know what gets in the way of our goals. I think that has a deep effect on our happiness.
I guess the golden ticket I'm talking about is goal setting. Or maybe it's setting goals that are not realistic or not maintainable... something along those lines. There's a lot of life being missed because I'm too caught up in how pathetic I am because I can't keep my goals. So, it's not goal setting that is getting me down. I'm not a lazy person. So, I'm looking at life differently. I'm looking at the goals I set. I'm looking at what motivates me, and when I feel great. I decided this morning to set goals that I won't give up on, because I know where my inspiration comes from and it's there constantly.

I had a powerful moment recently. I was going through a bout of sciatica. I had stayed home from work and laid in bed all day. I was paralyzed with fear of causing any pain. I didn't want to feel that way. I asked God what I could do. The answer was to move. Moving was exactly what I didn't want to do. But I knew that moving was the only way to heal from sciatica (at least for me). Run towards the fear. Ever feel that kind of crazy rush of deciding to do something that usually frightens the willies out of you? Sounds strange for this instance, but that's what I felt. I decided to get up and go to work. The pain came from time to time, but less and less. Any other pain was ignorable in comparison. Fear was all a mindset. Pain can be lived with. Fear is immobilizing. It gave me quite a sense of new life. Fear didn't have to be a part of it.

Wonderful Tausha! You are a great writer keep it u...

2011-09-28T08:05:36.159-07:00

Wonderful Tausha! You are a great writer keep it up. Connie shared this on Facebook for others to enjoy. You should send it in to Sugardoodle- It is ever as good as the ones about the for-get-me-nots! Trim it up a bit and send it in!!!!

Well Tausha, you've really had me thinking abo...

2011-09-28T06:46:23.117-07:00

Well Tausha, you've really had me thinking about what my golden tickets are and I have to say it took me a few minutes. Here's what I'm usually waiting for to be happy: weight loss, clear skin, feeling rested, perfect relationships, having a house of our own, feeling worthy... It comes and it goes. Thankfully it's not a constant state of being as it once was. This is a priority of mine, making room for joy. Which is why I so love these posts.
I think for me savoring the chocolates in my life comes from making a choice to do just that, and accepting that life will never be perfect. Specifically: save money for that home, go to bed at a decent time, eat well & be active doing things I enjoy, generally take care of myself and remember that I deserve happiness.

This is such an important point to remember! This ...

2011-08-04T07:38:16.459-07:00

This is such an important point to remember! This post came at just the right time for me. I so appreciate your posts and I always look forward to them :) Love ya sista!

I can't watch that with out crying...amazing. ...

2011-06-16T12:32:16.473-07:00

I can't watch that with out crying...amazing. It helps me remember that a few zits probable aren't that big of a deal...

I've been checking here for a while to see if ...

2011-06-14T17:05:34.025-07:00

I've been checking here for a while to see if you've posted anything new. I enjoy this blog. ((HUG))
For me, it's so much easier to catch ugly thoughts as they start. Letting them grow even a few minutes makes it so much harder to change. When I'm paying attention and want to keep good, I can sense an energy change in my body when bad thoughts start. That's the key time for me to change or flip.

We all have to deal with stress. Things don't ...

2011-06-08T16:36:28.948-07:00

We all have to deal with stress. Things don't always go the way we plan (or seldom go the way we plan). The fist thing I would recommend is to stop thinking about the negative. When we say things (out loud or just in our minds) like, "Work is so stressful" all we are going to see is the stress 100% of the time. Tell your friend that to worry about things out of their control serves no purpose.

The process is a little different when we have no control of a physical situation like the people we work with or our work load. But we absolutely have control over our thoughts and our outlook. Work will probably still be stressful for this friend, but it won't seem as hard to deal with. Your friend may even want to start a list of all of the good things about their job. Gratitude changes everything.

Take me, for instance. My job as a Mom is hard. I have a million and one things to do everyday. I can either wake up with a negative attitude and treat everyone nasty and take my frustrations out on them, or I can appreciate everything that I have take pleasure in my kids and husband and see each meal, each spill and each diaper change as a blessing. My situation doesn't change. My children are just as demanding and the laundry doesn't wash it self, it just changes how I look at things.

I think maybe I should try that scale thing...watc...

2011-06-08T12:49:26.350-07:00

I think maybe I should try that scale thing...watching my weight go up and up at a rapid rate is not my favorite thing.

So lets just say that a friend of mine has to deal with a lot of stress at work. How do you think this person could use these steps to help them?

I'm so glad you're back! I missed you :) ...

2011-06-07T22:14:50.835-07:00

I'm so glad you're back! I missed you :)

I too have no inclination to run a marathon. Triathlon I would do. Marathon I would rather eat dirt.

I really appreciate this post because you put all of that great information from Carol's book into an easy to follow step-by-step set of directions. I was just thinking the other day how nice it would be to have that. So thanks for reading my mind :) Or maybe by thinking the thought I put it out in the Universe and therefore into your mind, and you should be thanking me? LOL! Great post!

I'm a little late to the party, but better lat...

2011-05-17T06:27:51.397-07:00

I'm a little late to the party, but better late than never! Right?

I find joy in a good book, watching my boys play, peace & quiet during nap time, sleeping-in, a clean kitchen, watching snow fall, green grass & blue skies, dancing to music, a good sweat and snuggling with my husband.

I think once you understand this concept and can p...

2011-04-18T12:13:13.569-07:00

I think once you understand this concept and can put it in practice, it is very powerful and life changing...thanks taush

Wow, I need to remember that quote!

2011-04-06T12:23:35.266-07:00

Wow, I need to remember that quote!

LOVE IT!!! Very thought provoking! I can totally r...

2011-04-06T11:51:22.963-07:00

LOVE IT!!! Very thought provoking! I can totally relate to having that fear and anxiety. I didn't ever think about how I might be doing them a disservice though. Challenge accepted.

"... these trials were not intended to rob us...

2011-04-03T09:44:34.151-07:00

"... these trials were not intended to rob us of our JOY. They were intended to humble us and remind us that JOY is all around us."

I have been reminded of this a lot lately! More specifically to look more inward than outward for joy in my life. By inward I mean myself, my husband and children. My inner circle is where I will find the most joy.

THANK YOU for this blog and post. I look forward to it and love it for the honest revelations that you share.

I have seen a lot being said about the laws of att...

2011-04-01T08:43:29.933-07:00

I have seen a lot being said about the laws of attraction and abundance. Not so much about intention, and very very little about the several other laws that play out in our lives. Most people are aware of karma, but they don't think of it as a law (in my view, karma is what tries to set an individual up right, it'll knock you down if you get too high, but it will also lift you up if you are too low). There's the law of 10-fold return (what you put out comes back to you 10-fold) which is sometimes confused with karma. There's the law of change which is simply put as everything changes, we can adapt and flow or we can hold on to some past and be miserable.
And several more.

One thing of note about the law of attraction and the law of intention: we don't usually expect that there is good and bad associated with all the things we desire in life. For instance: money has both good and bad properties, so when exercising the law of attraction with regards to money we should plan on the problems to come along with the benefits of money. I imagine most people only think of wanting the good benefits. They don't understand the trials that are preparing them for what they want. They feel their intentions and thoughts are attracting bad things. They give up on their desire or think it doesn't work for them. Sometimes our desire requires some payment in advance. This is how I imagine the idea of selling your soul to gain some reward. To take another example: heaven. All the same apply to it as above. We just don't think of heaven as being a quick reward. It takes a life of dedication. If the same process was applied to all our desires, that it takes more than a few moments of dedication, and that it is something we truly, truly want, it would make the process more bearable.

I was thinking this morning of what I read in War and Peace last night. One of the main characters, Natasha, has given up society to live for her family. She used to be so involved in high society, invited to parties, the beauty of any dance, etc. And then she got married. The people of society despised her change (not that she got married, but how it changed her). They thought a married woman should still live for the pleasure in life, continue to be coquettish. Natasha changed and made family the goal of her life instead of pleasure.
It made me think. What are my goals in life? Is my goal to be happy or is my goal to live? By giving up trying to be happy, happiness comes more easily. I'm not chasing after it. It's there and all around.

Best education in life is... life! I'm finding...

2011-03-28T17:12:58.130-07:00

Best education in life is... life!
I'm finding out how much work is teaching me. It's teaching me why I get flustered. It's teaching me how to defuse anger so I don't take it out on coworkers or customers or managers.

This is amazing to read your process on this path! I learn much from this.

I was babysitting some kids overnight, part of a s...

2011-03-28T17:00:12.803-07:00

I was babysitting some kids overnight, part of a service project the young singles were doing. One of the kids, aged 10, came into the room I was sleeping in and asked if he could sleep on the floor. He was scared of noises he heard on the roof. In my state of mind I imagined all sorts of horrors. It was a rich neighborhood, so I suspected burglary most of all. The noise was probably just the wind blowing on the shingles, but my mind couldn't let go of the fear. I couldn't think to pray or do anything rational. I just laid on my bed and wanted to hide. Then a thought process began. I asked myself what I was afraid of. Pain? Death? Not being able to protect the kids I was watching? The worst that could happen would still not get me to not believe in God. I grabbed onto that feeling of trusting in Jesus. That even if all my fears came about I would still be able to trust in him. My fear left me.

What a wonderful thing for you! I am so happy for ...

2011-03-23T19:33:45.760-07:00

What a wonderful thing for you! I am so happy for you after having read this story. Thank you for sharing and I hope Mr.d Dalin gets feeling better so you both can get to sleeping better. Love you Taush!

That picture of Malia is SO sweet. How could you e...

2011-03-09T12:20:52.421-08:00

That picture of Malia is SO sweet. How could you ever get mad at a face like that? :) Man Spencer has been G.R.U.M.P.Y lately...I need to pay more attention to what I need to be learning from this...sigh....I will give it a try! Thanks Taush!

The new internal dialogue that I have been adding ...

2011-03-03T09:41:43.782-08:00

The new internal dialogue that I have been adding to my collection of positive thoughts is: "I deserve my full attention." I'm not going to busy myself so much that I can not focus on the things I enjoy doing, the inner growth that I need to work on or the relationships with people I love. Basically, I'm putting myself at the top of my priority list. When I focus more on my own joy than I am more able to give the gift of joy to those around me. I love this week's challenge because I can't stand listening to other people one-up each others story of misery.

When I was younger I use to think that people in g...

2011-03-03T09:20:58.749-08:00

When I was younger I use to think that people in general were either sad or happy. It was black or white. What's worse is I thought for a long time that I was a sad person and most everyone else was happy. Thankfully I realized that life was more like a rainbow with varying shades of colors. So when you wrote "sadness is a part of the human experience", I really appreciated that simple statement. I think there are other people who may think like I did and no one should have to live with that unrealistic way of thinking.

I also absolutely agree with and love when you said "We are creators of our own lives." Another simple yet powerful truth. We all participate in what unfolds in our lives. There is always a choice to make, no matter how small it may seem.

"Let's stop magnifying the negative things that are in our lives." I truly believe that is one of the most important ways of allowing space for joy in our lives. This post is amazing, Tausha! I love that you are putting this out into the world.

you know what? it is amazing to look back and see ...

2011-02-24T08:45:40.469-08:00

you know what? it is amazing to look back and see that there were probably lots of times that God was trying to tell you such things. think about what made it different this time. what made you open to it?

I've been aware of my internal dialogue for a ...

2011-02-24T08:09:40.751-08:00

I've been aware of my internal dialogue for a few years now. I've been over and over what kinds of things to replace the thoughts I don't want. Very little works for a long time. I've found it best to be as simple and honest as possible. Instead replacing "I'm fat" with "I want to be healthy" say "I'm a child of God" It's much more powerful and simple and allows the Spirit to guide us to how we really need to be and do. Not that I'm an expert of any kind. Just a bit of experience. It is an amazing journey of learning oneself. Staying positive isn't possible, but knowing how to get there is like a great relief. Being able to say: "I know where happiness is." is a powerful thing.

This is so very true and something I have been wor...

2011-02-24T06:57:23.680-08:00

This is so very true and something I have been working very hard on myself. I feel like a lot of personal successes have not been accomplished because of negative internal dialogue that I have allowed to hold me back in the past. It's a challenge to change years of bad habits like this, but completely worth it! Thank you for these beautiful reminders.

Count me in! I will be joining you on this journey...

2011-02-24T06:50:26.346-08:00

Count me in! I will be joining you on this journey! I love everything you said.