Art

I am really consumed with painting!  I get so energized by painting plein air!  It is so excilerating to be outside when the sun comes up anticipating a new painting!  What a joy to be outside in the sunshine with a little breeze, even with a leaf or bug on your canvas, it's all good! 

Please click the link to see my recent paintings.  The landscapes are all painted from using my plein air paintings.  Thanks for looking, I appreciate any feedback!  I hope you are enjoying your life and sharing your love with others!

http://hillcountryartist03.shutterfly.com/pictures/102?eid=112

God bless you!
Sharon

Life is Precious

As I finished my last blog I came back to what is real at this moment.  It's not about me, but my nephew's wife Yumi.  She is critical in the hospital at this time and only 40 years old.  Her family is faced with the bleakness of her recovery.  After suffering a severe stroke, she is a 5 on a scale of 1-5.  They are in Japan with their Japanese family surrounding them, but  half way around the world from their American family. Jarrett continues to call his father in America with updates and need for support. The brain is such an "unknown" for doctors, even in this day.

Our only hope is in what God will do for Yumi and the comfort that He gives this family in waiting. Lord, please guide the doctors and give them wisdom.  Lord, please send your angels to comfort Jarrett, their two daughters and Yumi's parents. Give provision as needed.
This is a reminder, once again, of how precious and fragile life is. Lord help me to live in the moment and love the people in my life.

PEACE

I feel so anxious about what I am "supposed" to be doing with my life right now.  It's wonderful to have options, but I find myself in the "what if" mode, rather than living today!

•  I am looking at getting my LPC, which will be about a 3 year process, but at least it will provide an option on how to make money.  It's not just about making more money, but a provision for future needs.
•  I am painting, somewhat...why somewhat? Because I haven't painted in over 2 weeks! There is no way to improve my skills if I'm not actively in the studio.
• We have a new granddaughter, 6 hours away...should we move to be closer to her and be a more active part of her life and our children's?  Or is it better for them to be more long distance.  If I knew it would be a good thing for everyone to move, I would do it in a hearbeat!
• We talk about getting a small acreage to grow an orchard and veggies, maybe raise a head or two of livestock.  If so, where?  That would hinge on the above...so many things to consider!

This anxiety almost stiffles me!  I feel my heart rate increase and a foreboding feeling overwhelm me.  What to do?  What to do?  Well, last night before I went to sleep it came to me!  I just need to make my best effort each day, but ask God for peace in my life. Peace, what a beautiful word and feeling that showers down on me. It's calm, it's a cool breeze, it's comfort.  Peace only comes from God.  I find that I have to keep taking my thoughts captive and asking God again and again for His Peace that passes all understanding.  I will have to train my thoughts to stay my mind on Him and to relax a little....He is the one to complete the good work in me and to guide my footsteps.  Yes, I still have to use my mind to think, He gave it to me for that purpose. Also, it's not just MY decision, I need to just rest a little and pray that Keith's logical mind will come up with a plan.

Becoming healthier and happier!

I am getting my health back! I have started working out and trying to eat better and promoting more positive thinking so I can be a happier person! I am using the prevention website to be intentional about improving my health. I have always been concerned with my weight and have lost and gained MANY pounds over my lifetime. At this point in my life I want to be a healthy person to enjoy my remaining years. And, yes I still want to look good in my clothes and attractive to my husband. This website is a cool way to keep up with the food you eat, the calories you burn through exercise, your mood and goals. Research shows that when you write all of these things down you are more likely to accomplish your goals. I have intentions of losing 27 pounds by my birthday. It will be a reasonable way to lose weight, 4 lbs a month along with exercise. I would like you to hold me accountable. If you would like to be a part of this, so we can help encourage each other just let me know....e-mail or blog.

The website which I have place on the desktop of my computer for easy access is
http://www.prevention.com/health/

Just click on My Health Trackers. Yes TrackerS...helps in all the areas of the mind and body. Also, would be good to print off reports when you go visit your doctor for your annual check up.

Also, I have been studying a bit on meditation. I am really working on myself to reduce the stress and anxiety I have been overloaded with this past year in my job (aren't we all?).  I am a strong believer in prayer, which I do on a regular basis, so meditation does not replace prayer. But meditation is calming your body and focusing on one thing. I have started a blog where I have started concentrating on "Happiness".  In the April 2010 Prevention Magazine there was an article titled "Happiness Is a Choice." The author, Ann Patchett stated that in the way that physical exercise can change your body, regular mental exercises can change how we see and engage with the world and the people you love.  I have started the exercise she illustrated, but it could be anything that helps you change your outlook and the people you are in relationship with. 

The meditation was like this:

• Sit for 11 minutes with your hands in front of your heart, palms facing each other a few inches apart. Visualize the person you love inside the space between your hands. Think of them happy, see them bathed in light, see them as their best selves. (She was given a little song to sing, but stated it was no necessary to the exercise, I hummed a happy tune.) The point is to see the person you loved as happy for 11 minutes everyday.

Ann meditated on her husband and what a good person he was, his laugh, the good things about him.  She stated she had a good marriage to start with, but there where small traces of impatience or judgment that she brought to the relationship. Through these exercises she felt her feelings for her husband renewed. The little pet peeves didn't matter anymore, and were replaced with an excitement to see him come home from work. She was more grateful for him and saw his goodness. Her husband even responded to the way she responded to him and the relationship grew.  He even thanked her for the change in her view of him. 

The exercise was designed for 40 days, not skipping....if she did she would have to start over. She asked the teacher if people ever decided to push on and do more days. The teacher told her that 40 days requested a change, 80 days formed a new pattern, and 120 days sealed your intention. She admitted she didn't change her husband, she changed herself. In the exercise she opened her eyes to what had been there all along!

OK, happy health to you! Be aware that your mental state directly influences your physical health! Do a little research on cortisol and the damage it can do to your heart, the visual indicator is belly fat.

I hope you will join me! Even if you are at your perfect weight, are you healthy? I have been at my perfect weight and was not physically fit, so evaluate yourself!

Love and blessings,

Sharon

Goals for Retirement....Happiness, exercise number !

Who doesn't want to be happy?  I don't know anyone who would actually say I don't!!!  But, one thing I have learned in my work as a counselor is that many people don't take actual steps to BE happy. I've even fallen into that trap:  when I'm through with this work project I will be happy, when I have a new house, I will be happy, when my kids are older, I will be happy....the day is lost on BEING happy.

While scrolling through my perscription website I found a special report on "Positive Psychology: A New Approach to Mental Health" by Chris Woolston.  Although I am retiring from the school system as a school counselor, I am keeping a small part-time contract job with a juvenile detention facility. I thought this resource would help me help my clients in that facility.  But, as I read the article I thought that it could even help me attain higher levels of happiness.  As a person enters retirement, there is a realization that time is running through the hour glass and one must focus on what one wants to attain in this life. So, my number one goal is to increase my level and duration of happiness....and to recognize it in that moment!  In the article reference was made to psychologist Ben-Shahar's book Happier.  The first thing Ben-Shahar recommends is to make a list of things that are most meaningul and pleasurable for you. Ask yourself, what makes you the happiest? These are called "energy boosers".  Create another column that describes how much time you spend in that activity. Repeat this excercise regularly and observe what activity takes you away from projects and people you really enjoy.  These lists are another way to remember what boosts your spirit.

OK, I'm on to the first excercise!  I hope you will join me in this quest to be a happier person.

Anticipating Retirement....#2

I am preparing for retirment #2 as a high school counselor, June 14th. I'm really looking forward to it, but I didn't know how much until I did a little art excercise. Yes, I am an aspiring artist and read my "Artist Magazine" faithfully as soon as it hits my mailbox! In the August 2010 edition I enjoyed the Creative Workout article by Betsy Dillard Stroud. As a counselor I enjoy using art therapy with some of my clients. The excercise directed an artist to use the medium of your choice and create a visual expression to answer the question "Where am I?" So I grabbed an art pad and a black ink pen to sketch an interpretation of where I see myself. I really didn't know where to start, so I just started using a box which would represent moving out of my office. What transpired next was one thing after another that depicted how stressed and "burdened" I felt! But, it wasn't all doom and gloom, my eyes where focused on a huge calendar which depicted the days to follow "the" retirement day as very pleasant and joyful.