What 3 things are you grateful for today? Please share in the comments below. Thank you!
I believe in you!
Your Friend and Pep Pal,
Lauren
It’s Day 2 of 30 Days of Gratitude and today I am grateful for:
~The pretty wreath I hung on my front door;
~The sparkly red and gold bows on my mailbox;
~Attending a new meditation group on zoom.
What are 3 things you’re grateful for today? Please share in the comments below. Thank you!
Your Friend and Pep Pal,
Lauren
We all agree that 2020 has been the weirdest year ever! In spite of it all, please join me in finishing out the year with a daily gratitude practice.
Each day for 30 days jot down 3 things for which you are grateful. It’s quick and easy and yes, you really can do this!
I am grateful for:
Hearing a hawk calling when I woke up this morning;
Working from home today instead of having to go into the office;
Being able to finally open the jar of organic bread and butter pickles so I could have a few with my turkey sandwich–yum!
What are your 3 gratitudes? Feel free to share in the comments below!
You can do this!
Your Friend and Pep Pal,
Lauren
You’re feeling discouraged that your efforts didn’t pan out.
You’re disappointed because you thought for sure you would move a head, just a little bit, this time.
Now you’re depressed because it seems there is nothing you can do to help yourself.
You’re feeling hopeless and helpless
You’re stuck. Yippee!!
That means you didn’t go backward!
You haven’t lost ground!
You aren’t at square one–you don’t have to start over from scratch!
You lived to tell about it, which means it wasn’t fatal!
Need help getting into the spirit of celebrating? Go to YouTube and listen to these songs:
Celebrate, celebrate! Dance to the music! ~3 Dog Night (at about 1:24 the second half of the song will really get you going!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rO_R5puXs6E
And, whether the words resonate with you or not, this song will get you going, too:
Oh Happy Day ~Edwin Hawkins & Northern California Youth Choir https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tSyzTIJ82g
Oh Happy Day ~ Sister Act 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLY7yI1xV-M
How about a little Ray Charles doing Oh Happy Day:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv5n_eCGkvM
CELEBRATE, my Pep Pal Friend! Keep telling yourself, “Yes I Can” because it’sTRUE!
Your Friend and Pep Pal,
Lauren
Today begins the first phase of re-opening in the state in which I live.
Recently, I listened to an interview with Matt Kahn who is a lightworker, empath, and spiritual teacher. He was recently interviewed by Janneke Øinæs, the host of Wisdom From North . I found what he said to be very interesting and a healthy way to look at our current world and the changes that may be in store.
I’ve paraphrased here, but these are the points Matt made in the interview that I found thought-provoking and, in a way, comforting. I believe you’ll find them helpful, too:
◊The Universe has your back;
◊The Universe has a plan for you; you don’t have to worry and you don’t have to struggle to qualify for it. It’s yours right now;
◊This time in which you find yourself is not a punishment. This is just the next step in your—and humanity’s—ascension;
◊With sheltering at home, your life has simplified. This is an opportunity for you to evolve into a higher consciousness;
◊Some thing(s) must be taken away so that so much more can be given to you;
◊This is not bad karma or Mother Nature’s revenge but rather it’s the Universe telling you that you have done such a good job in your healing journey that you’ve qualified for the next level.
These thoughts are an intriguing way to think of the pandemic and lock-down we’re experiencing—and the gradual re-opening that’s starting. These ideas re-frame the negative and fearful thoughts that are rampant right now and give us a road map to help us become spiritually deeper and richer and well-able to walk a new path in the world.
Here is the link to the interview.
Let me know what you think!
We got this!
Your Friend and Pep Pal,
Lauren
Happy Mother’s Day to all.
Thank you for the times you:
~reached out a helping hand to others;
~sat with a friend as they went through a rough patch;
~encouraged someone and helped them see that they have valuable gifts and talents;
~mentored loved ones, friends, colleagues, and even strangers;
~prayed, meditated, and sent out good thoughts to people and the world.
Thank you!
Happy Mother’s Day!
Your Friend and Pep Pal,
Lauren
Even though our world has turned upside down with quarantines, social distancing, and making fashion statements with our personal protective clothing choices, there are still old fashioned promises we can rely on:
~There are always helpers. Mr. Rogers and his mother were right to counsel us to look for them in any crisis. There’s always someone who is reaching out a helping hand.
~Crisis and opportunity, obstacles and innovation, disaster and inventiveness cannot be separated; they are actually different perceptions of the exact same circumstance.
~Life goes on. Life always manages to find a way to survive and to thrive. Even the harshest environments are jam-packed full of vibrant life.
Keep telling yourself “Yes I Can!” because it’s true.
I believe in you!
Your Friend and Pep Pal,
Lauren
March. We’re entering the third month of the year.
By now you may be thinking that the resolutions you made and goals you set back in the early days of January are hopelessly lost. You haven’t thought of them in weeks or, if you have, you’ve thought of them with a heaping serving—or two—of guilt at how quickly you abandoned them.
It isn’t too late! You can press the reset button and start where you are.
Take a moment to review your resolutions and goals—especially in light of how the year is shaping up so far. Take your time with this. Sit quietly with it. Listen to your heart and soul. You will most likely find that you’ll need to put some goals and resolutions to the side; right now they aren’t as important to accomplish or you aren’t in a position to work on them.
Out of the goals and resolutions that are still important to you and you think you have a shot at accomplishing—or that you can make progress on them—listen closely because one will stand out to you. Make that one your top priority this month and focus on it. Don’t be surprised if it’s one that your logical mind tells you is really dopey and unimportant. Your heart and spirit know best so follow their counsel.
For instance, a friend of mine recently did this and the word “rest” kept popping up. She discounted it at first because there were other more important goals such as finding balance in her life between building up her business yet still spending time with family and friends. She decided to listen and follow her heart and soul and put more rest periods into each day.
She was surprised to find that these rest periods gave her clarity to identify customers that were unprofitable, which she gently dropped. This gave her a new burst of energy and creativity for her business. Also, during her daily rest periods she discovered that stepping back from activities she no longer enjoyed would give her the extra time she wanted to spend with her family and friends.
Of course my friend had to recommit daily to her rest periods because other things tugged at her. Yes, she felt guilty at taking the rest periods instead of working on “more important” goals. But she stuck with the rest periods and it paid off for her.
The same will happen for you. When you sit quietly with your resolutions and goals and listen with your heart and soul, you will find one that stands out. Make this your top priority in March and stick with it. As with my friend, you may find that you feel guilty or others pooh-pooh your choice, but it’s your life. You know what’s best for yourself so you get to make the choice and you get to stick to it!
It isn’t too late! Choose one goal and make it your top priority this month to work on it a little bit each day.
You can do it, I know you can!
Your friend and pep pal,
Lauren
Studies have shown that the next few days in this New Year can be rough–January 8 through January 12. It’s at this point that people abandon their New Year resolutions.
The New Year isn’t even two weeks old and people are giving up!
DON’T LET THIS BE YOU!
Perhaps you’re feeling dismayed because you had such high hopes on January 1st. You thought that this year for sure you’d be able to carve out time to go after your dreams. Maybe you’re finding, though, that responsibilities and obligations still require much more of your time than you’d like. This results in not having the elbow room you thought you would so you haven’t had a chance to devote time and energy to your dreams.
Wisps of discouragement enter your thoughts.
Fight this by pressing the reset button and remind yourself of this week’s thought: YES I CAN!
It’s quite okay to make adjustments such as more reasonable expectations of the time you have available to devote to making your dreams come true. It’s much better to take smaller baby steps than to give up all together. Small baby steps will still get you to your dreams while giving up will never get you there at all.
So remember: YES I CAN!!!
You can do it, I believe in you!
Your Friend and Pep Pal,
Lauren
You made it through the first weekend of the New Year and you may be finding that your resolve to make 2020 different–better–than previous years might be getting wobbly. This week keep reminding yourself that YES I CAN.
Put a sticky note with YES I CAN written on it on your alarm. This will remind you to have YES I CAN be the first thought you think.
Put a sticky note with YES I CAN on your bathroom mirror. Again, this will remind you to continue thinking YES I CAN as you shower and get ready for your day.
Put other YES I CAN notes in strategic places that you’ll see during the day. It’s very important to keep your thoughts focused on YES I CAN–to flood your mind with YES I CAN so that discouraging thoughts don’ t have room to enter your mind.
YES I CAN!
I know you can do this–I believe in you!
Your Friend and Pep Pal,
Lauren
