Mental health – Page 16

LOL!

Joe and Joan were sitting down to their usual morning cup of coffee listening to the weather report on the radio. “There will be 3 to 5 inches of snow today, and a snow emergency has been declared,” the weather report said. “You must park your cars on the odd numbered side of the streets.” Joe said, “Jeez, okay,” and got up from his coffee.

The next day they were sitting down with their morning cups of coffee. The weather forecast was, “There will be 2 to 4 inches of snow today, and a snow emergency has been declared. You must park your cars on the even numbered side of the streets.” Again Joe replied, “Jeez, okay,” and got up from his coffee.

Two days later, again they’re sitting down with their cups of coffee and the weather forecast said, “There will be 6 to 8 inches of snow today, and a snow emergency has been declared. You must park your cars on the …..” and the power went out and Joe didn’t get the rest of the instructions. He turned to Joan, “Jeez, what am I going to do now, Joan?”

Joan replied, “Aw, Joe, just leave the car in the darned garage today!”

Methinks they’ve got too much time on their hands!

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Behind every successful man is a woman. Behind the downfall of every successful man is usually another woman.

I know this one way too well!

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“I think my wife is selling drugs,” a man told his friend.

“Yesterday I was running late for work and the phone rang. I answered it, but before I could say anything, a guy said, “Hey honey, is that dope gone yet?”

Methinks, well never mind!

JUST AS I AM

“My mission, should I choose to accept it, is to find peace with exactly who and what I am. To take pride in my thoughts, my appearance, my talents, my flaws and to stop this incessant worrying that I can’t be loved as I am.” Anais Nin

MISSION ACCEPTED!

Right now, I’m choosing….

to believe that everything is working out in my favor

to focus on what I can control

to release what does not align with my vision of the future

to spend time with the people that make me feel safe

to meet my own needs

to take steps outside of my comfort zone

to find the good in every moment

to honor my boundaries

to stay in my own lane

to reflect on my life choices and choose better ones.

to stay consistent with the goals I set for myself

to be accepting of change

to prioritize my peace and happiness

to release unhealthy attachments

to enjoy the journey of life

to love myself exactly as I am

Unknown

That folks is exactly how you do it! Now, I have to convince this other me to get in sync and get with the program!

Have an amazing day.

WHAT NOW?!!

“What now is not just a panic-striken question tossed into a dark unknown. What now can also be our joy. It is a declaration of possibility of promise, of chance. It acknowledges that our future is open, that we may well do more than anyone expected of us, that at every point in our development we are still striving to grow.” Ann Patchett

However, I am at a point where I feel like I’m stuck in mud or more appropriately moving through thick gooey mud and each excruciating step forward is a struggle in itself. The cowardly me wants to throw up her hands and to stop, take a breath and spend the days sitting in the garden with only the birds, bees and the insects for company. I am SAFE.

That’s the conundrum right there. It is not about feeling safe. It is about finding that right guy and making the right decisions for my life. It takes work to get to the end goal and I know that the right person is not just going to fall into my lap like manna from heaven. It takes working on me, knowing what I want, what I won’t tolerate and when to say NO to those who are just a waste of time and a drain on my emotional resources. So far so good. Then the doubts started creeping in and along came the fears, the uncertainties but most of all not knowing where to go next has been bugging me for the last week or so. I’m where Alice was when she had that conversation with the Cheshire Cat. It goes like this:

Alice: “Would you tell me please, which way I ought to go from here?”

Cheshire Cat: “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.”

Alice: “I don’t much care where.”

Cheshire Cat: “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.”

Alice: “So long as I get somewhere.”

Cheshire Cat: “Oh, you’re sure to do that, if only you walk long enough.”

I don’t want to keep moving forward if “somewhere” is going to be good enough. It isn’t and neither is aimless wandering. I have a specific goal in mind. Perhaps, this wading through mud is normal in the grand scheme of things and not everything is going to go as smoothly as I want it to go. When has it ever? So why not stop and take that well-deserved break? I’ve been working hard on discarding the “old me” and I see someone new emerging from the shadows. She is stronger, more decisive and she knows what she wants. There is still work to be done but I have a feeling it will all fall in place when the time is right. The end goal is to get to the other side of the here and now. What would be waiting there? I don’t know but unlike Alice in Wonderland, this much I know. I care about where I’m headed.

“Sometimes not having any idea where we’re going works out better than we could possibly have imagined.” Unknown

Fingers and toes crossed!

Have an amazing day.

LOL!

A doctor started having an affair with his nurse. Shortly after this started, she announced that she had become pregnant. Not wanting his wife to find out, he gave her a large amount of money and asked her to go out of the country to Germany to wait out the pregnancy and have the baby over there.

“But how will you know when our baby is born?” she asked.

“Well,” he said, “after you’ve had the baby, just send me a postcard and write ‘sauerkraut’ on the back.”

Not knowing what else to do, she took the money and went off to Germany. Six months went by and then one day the doctor’s wife called him at his office.

“Dear, you received a very strange postcard in the mail today,” she explained. “I don’t understand what it means!”

“Just wait until I get home and I’ll read it,” he replied. Later that evening, the doctor came home and read his postcard, which said:

“Sauerkraut, Sauerkraut, Sauerkraut. Two with wieners. One without!”

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Relationship Arithmetic:

Smart man + smart woman = romance.

Smart man + dumb woman = affair.

Dumb man + smart woman = marriage.

Dumb man + dumb woman = pregnancy.

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Guess I should go back to writing something productive?

LIVING LIFE

Photo by Natasha Fernandez on Pexels.com

I don’t know who wrote this but I find these 7 rules to be very helpful in my life so thought I’d share.

7 RULES OF LIFE

LET IT GO

Never ruin a good day by thinking about a bad yesterday.

IGNORE THEM

Don’t listen to other people. Live a life that’s empowering to you.

GIVE IT TIME

Time heals everything.

DON’T COMPARE

The only person you should try to beat is the person you were yesterday.

STAY CALM

It’s okay not to have everything figured out. Know that in time, you’ll get there.

IT’S ON YOU

Only you are in charge of your happiness.

SMILE

Life is short. Enjoy it while you have it.

I like the last one a lot!

Have an amazing day.

Five Ways to Transform

If you’re looking for ways to transform your life, here are five tips that will get you on your way. These five rules come from Buddhist teachings and if applied daily and in the mornings before your daily grind starts or even before having your first cup of coffee, they will help you to see life in a different light. I’ve been practicing these five rules for about a week now and it has made me calmer, more in tune with myself and believe it or not, my mind is under control as well!

Find a quiet spot and take three deep breaths to center yourself. Repeat each affirmation two or three times to let it sink in and take hold.

I am grateful for this new day.

Really simple but not so simple for some of us. Gratefulness needs to be learned and if practiced daily, it can transform your life in a positive way. Come up with one or two things you are grateful for and go from there.

Let go of yesterday.

This is a hard one. How often do we carry “yesterday” and all its disappointments, anger and sadness like an albatross around our necks? More often than not is the answer. Let go and let yesterday lie where it should. It is done with and today is a brand new day to make it all better.

I am calm and in control of my mind.

It has been said, “Rule your mind or it will rule you.” This simply means, “you have the power to train your thoughts and control your mental state, rather then being controlled by your thoughts and emotions.” Be in the present and use conscious effort to train your mind to shape the thoughts you entertain. “Nothing can harm you as much as your own thoughts unguarded.” Guard them with care.

I will respond with kindness today.

Listen without judgment or interruption. Show appreciation for the people around you and an act of goodwill doesn’t hurt either. Wear a smile while you’re doing it and change the world one act at a time.

Everything is temporary.

Know that change is inevitable, it will come whether you want it or not. Nothing is forever except change so learn to let go when it happens. Accepting impermanence can help you to appreciate the present moment and adjust to new situations as they happen.

Five rules to live by but it takes practice to get it down pat and to apply it to your life. Not easy but with practice it is doable. Good luck and see you on the other side of a life well-lived! 👍

LOL!

It’s Saturday and time for another dose of laughter. Enjoy!

A husband and his wife were sound asleep when suddenly the phone rang. The husband picked up the phone and said, “Hello? How the heck do I know? What do I look like, a weatherman?” He then slammed the phone down and settled into bed.

“Who was that?” asked his wife.

“I don’t know. It was some guy who wanted to know if the coast was clear”

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A husband walks into Victoria’s Secret to purchase a sheer negligee for his wife. He is shown several possibilities that range from $250 to $500 in price –the more sheer, the higher the price. Naturally, he opts for the most sheer item, pays the $500 and takes it home. He presents it to his wife and asks her to go upstairs, put it on, and model it for him.

Upstairs the wife thinks (she’s no dummy), ‘I have an idea. It’s so sheer that it might as well be nothing. I won’t put it on, but I’ll do the modeling naked, return it tomorrow, and keep the $500 refund for myself.’

She appears naked on the balcony and strikes a pose. The husband says, “Good grief! You’d think for $500, they’d at least iron it!”

He never heard the shot. Funeral on Thursday at noon.

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Have an amazing day.

The Poem

I’m not big on poems but this one touched a chord within me. It talks about all the things we do when “struggling with loss, pain, grief, change and transition.” It also talks about how releasing the need to control situations and emotions can be liberating. We often hold on when we should let go and we have those memories on speed redial. The wound never heals but what if we can just let it go “like a leaf falling from a tree?” Anyway, this poem is about letting go and learning to move on.

SHE LET GO

Without a thought or a word, she let go.

She let go of the fear, she let go of the judgments. She let go of the opinions swarming around her head. She let go of the committee of indecision within her. She let go of all the ‘right’ reasons. Wholly and completely, without hesitation or worry, she just let go…….

No one was around when it happened. There was no applause or congratulations. No one thanked her or praised her. No one noticed a thing. Like a leaf falling from a tree, she just let go.

There was no effort. There was no struggle. It wasn’t good and it wasn’t bad. It was what it was, and it is just that. In the space of letting go, she let it all be.

A small smile came over her face. A light breeze blew through her. And the sun and the moon shone forevermore.

Rev. Safire Rose

LET IT GO (whatever it is) and have an amazing day.

LOL!

Photo by Vinicius Wiesehofer on Pexels.com

Ten Things You’ll Never Hear a Man Say.

Here honey, you use the remote.

You know, I’d like to see her again, but her breasts are just too big.

Ooh, Antonio Banderas AND Brad Pitt? That’s one movie I gotta see!

While, I’m up, can I get you anything?

Honey, since we don’t have anything else planned, will you go to the wallpaper store with me?

Sex isn’t that important; sometimes I just want to be held.

Why don’t you go to the mall with me and help me pick out a pair of shoes?

Aww, forget Monday night football, let’s watch Melrose Place.

Hey, let me hold your purse while you try that on.

We never talk anymore.

Ten Things You’ll Never Hear a Woman Say.

What do you mean today’s our anniversary?

Can we not talk to each other tonight?

I’d rather just watch TV.

Ooh, this diamond ring is way too big!!

And for our honeymoon we’re going fishing in Alaska!

Can our relationship get a little more physical?

I’m tired of being “just friends.”

Honey, does this outfit make my butt look too small?

Aww, don’t stop for directions. I’m sure you’ll be able to figure out how to get there.

Is that phone for me? Tell ’em I’m not here.

I don’t care if it is on sale, 300 dollars is too much for a designer dress!

There you have it. Men are from Mars and women are from Venus!

The Search for Happiness

A man asked Gautama Buddha, “I want happiness.”

Buddha said, First remove, “I” that’s EGO, then remove , “WANT,” that’s DESIRE. See now you are left with only, “HAPPINESS.”

Is it really that simple to find happiness? Okay, I can give this method a try BUT I find that when I remove “EGO” and “WANT,” there is something else glaring me in the face! It is, “WHAT NOW?!!!”

According to Buddhist wisdom, there are 5 steps to happiness. They are:

SMILE MORE

WORRY LESS

BE PRESENT

GIVE MORE

EXPECT LESS

I believe in the smiling more part. No problems there. Worrying less is almost a no go with me. Being present, I am working on. Giving more…..it is a work in progress and expecting less always gets me in trouble. Basically, I’m not quite there yet. Finding that happiness path that is.

What else?

“A disciplined mind brings happiness.”

Oh Gawd! This is even worse. Tell that “monkey” I call my mind to take orders and you’ll see what I mean! Marching on to the next happiness mantra.

“Happiness does not depend on what you have or who you are….

It solely relies on what you think.”

WHAT?!!! I give up!

No more searching for happiness wisdom today. I’ll do it my way. The sun is shining and I’m going to slip into my flip-flops, go to the garden and let the sun warm my face and listen to the birdsong to calm my mind and to let happiness seep in. Sorry Buddha but maybe next time around.

There will be no more thinking, no more telling my mind to do something it doesn’t want to do and I’ll just let the day go as it wants to. How’s that for a happiness mantra?

Have an amazing day.