There's nothing like a party to get you to clean your house and yard! It's almost a sub-conscience aching inside that tells us to invite people into the "DOME" so we will be forced to finish our projects and shake up our stagnant life! My husband and I love it and I know a few others who do too! The only problem is that when the party is over and company leaves...we crash of exhaustion! Why is it that most of us live lives of highs and lows, busy or bored, happy or sad...
How about a high school reunion to get your butt to the gym and hand staying away from your mouth. How hard we work to lose weight when in the back of our mind is only one thought, "When can I stop depriving myself." Up and down, up and down we go. Sometimes we scream, "I'm done! I'm just going to live a balanced life and no more diets!" but then we gain 15 pounds or more. So, we then say, "I am starting a new life today! I am going to manage all aspects of my life and get healthy and thin." Then, we either live a strict life becoming our own Drill Sgt. (Which can't last a lifetime) or we crumble under the pressure because we soon discover how depriving it is. Where is a happy middle?
The old saying, "When it rains it pours." is typically true. But I think there's more to it than meets the eye. Deep down in our psyches most people have a desperate desire to feel alive, excited and hopeful. We may take time to center ourselves and restore peace to our lives but then there is this twinge that prods us to start thirsting for challenge and change again! Everyone treats this desire differently but we rise to its occasion. Some plan a trip, others have a party. There are people who sky-dive, have affairs, change their appearance with dramatic weight-loss or surgical procedures. Thinking that one change is going to make everything better. We all know that it's only temporary but the high of it gives them false hope.
The question isn't how do we live a more balanced life but how do we handle the ups and downs that this life inevitably brings. You know what I'm talking about, just when we think we're happy, we either need to ramp it up again or dial it down. There doesn't seem to be a HAPPY MIDDLE!
Our happy middle will not be a lifestyle but a moment by moment exercise. Life just brings too many variables for mere humans to tame. Have you ever seen those people who seem to be living a life of pure discipline and order! They are out running every day no matter what the weather, they eat a balanced diet of healthy foods, once a week they knock out a 400 page book, their weight never fluctuates and so on. Well, I couldn't be more opposite and it frustrates me and often depresses me that I am not like that. I'm discovering that for those of us that are not like that, we are just setting ourselves up to think that we can tame life into a box.
The simple truth is, we don't have that power. But we can take each moment in sections and win several small battles a day. Each thought, each meal, each choice can be a victory. When we lump all the moments into one 24 hour period, we have given ourselves only one proclamation for that one day, success or failure. When we take our day in segments then we have much more balance and it enables us to be kinder to ourselves and live several daily victories.
Beating ourselves up everyday because we didn't do EVERY THING right is defeating and demoralizing. God is showing me more and more that our lives are segmented pieces that make up a day, a month and a life. Manageable steps rather than one big project! For those of us seeking more balance in our life, this is a beautiful concept and action plan. We can choose each battle and regulate our responses to achieve more of a happy middle. Even our desires for adrenaline and rest will be on a more level playing field. No more crazy day vs. uneventful day, but a day filled with hills and dips instead of mountains and valleys.
Now, in all truthfulness, there are people who want their lives hitting the ceiling and crashing to the floor daily. I don't believe God desires that but it's their journey. Someday, when they're worn out I hope they remember these truths and find some peace. Each of us has to find our own happy middle. A good start is to not leave things to the last minute. Try doing that with just one thing this week and see if it helps to diminish the craziness. Each segment we practise will become a part of our new way of thinking (notice I didn't say, "New life.") Stating that we are going to start our "new life" is just setting ourselves up. A better broadcast would be, "Today, I'm going to make a lot of good choices."
I plan on writing on this topic for awhile as God's unfolds deeper truths. This world is crazy and it's not easy living in it. You can't just send your kids or grand-kids out to play anymore because of all the evil. So, where parents in prior generations got more time and rest, this generation is on constant alert which is exhausting. Jobs and careers are not lifetime appointments anymore where there's a pension at the end. They are places riddled with stress and uncertainty. Technology has not made everything easier but rather added an albatrose around our sub-consciense of passwords, tech- support calls, chargers, smart tv's... Life is not easy and one thing we can be certain of is that it is constantly changing and we need to keep up. So what better choice do we have than to manage it better by finding our "Happy Middle". Bit by bit, step by step and moment by moment.
Finding "your" happy middle should be something that you enjoy each day, not a hammer to the head if you don't have a completely successful and perfect day! Small steps make up a mile and there are lots of fun places along the way. Each moment is a choice and we will make some good choices and some bad. Our goal is to make more good ones and let the peace and joy of those good choices settle our minds and spirits. I used to put either a smiley face or sad face icon on my calender each day depending on whether I felt it was a successful day or not. It became a very depressing overview, so now each day I just put a peace sign and say, "Good day Dee!, You made a lot of good choices!"
May the Lord bless you, and keep you; may He make His face to shine on you, and be gracious to you; may He lift His countenance on you, and give you peace." Numbers 6:24-26
How about a high school reunion to get your butt to the gym and hand staying away from your mouth. How hard we work to lose weight when in the back of our mind is only one thought, "When can I stop depriving myself." Up and down, up and down we go. Sometimes we scream, "I'm done! I'm just going to live a balanced life and no more diets!" but then we gain 15 pounds or more. So, we then say, "I am starting a new life today! I am going to manage all aspects of my life and get healthy and thin." Then, we either live a strict life becoming our own Drill Sgt. (Which can't last a lifetime) or we crumble under the pressure because we soon discover how depriving it is. Where is a happy middle?
The old saying, "When it rains it pours." is typically true. But I think there's more to it than meets the eye. Deep down in our psyches most people have a desperate desire to feel alive, excited and hopeful. We may take time to center ourselves and restore peace to our lives but then there is this twinge that prods us to start thirsting for challenge and change again! Everyone treats this desire differently but we rise to its occasion. Some plan a trip, others have a party. There are people who sky-dive, have affairs, change their appearance with dramatic weight-loss or surgical procedures. Thinking that one change is going to make everything better. We all know that it's only temporary but the high of it gives them false hope.
The question isn't how do we live a more balanced life but how do we handle the ups and downs that this life inevitably brings. You know what I'm talking about, just when we think we're happy, we either need to ramp it up again or dial it down. There doesn't seem to be a HAPPY MIDDLE!
Our happy middle will not be a lifestyle but a moment by moment exercise. Life just brings too many variables for mere humans to tame. Have you ever seen those people who seem to be living a life of pure discipline and order! They are out running every day no matter what the weather, they eat a balanced diet of healthy foods, once a week they knock out a 400 page book, their weight never fluctuates and so on. Well, I couldn't be more opposite and it frustrates me and often depresses me that I am not like that. I'm discovering that for those of us that are not like that, we are just setting ourselves up to think that we can tame life into a box.
The simple truth is, we don't have that power. But we can take each moment in sections and win several small battles a day. Each thought, each meal, each choice can be a victory. When we lump all the moments into one 24 hour period, we have given ourselves only one proclamation for that one day, success or failure. When we take our day in segments then we have much more balance and it enables us to be kinder to ourselves and live several daily victories.
Beating ourselves up everyday because we didn't do EVERY THING right is defeating and demoralizing. God is showing me more and more that our lives are segmented pieces that make up a day, a month and a life. Manageable steps rather than one big project! For those of us seeking more balance in our life, this is a beautiful concept and action plan. We can choose each battle and regulate our responses to achieve more of a happy middle. Even our desires for adrenaline and rest will be on a more level playing field. No more crazy day vs. uneventful day, but a day filled with hills and dips instead of mountains and valleys.
Now, in all truthfulness, there are people who want their lives hitting the ceiling and crashing to the floor daily. I don't believe God desires that but it's their journey. Someday, when they're worn out I hope they remember these truths and find some peace. Each of us has to find our own happy middle. A good start is to not leave things to the last minute. Try doing that with just one thing this week and see if it helps to diminish the craziness. Each segment we practise will become a part of our new way of thinking (notice I didn't say, "New life.") Stating that we are going to start our "new life" is just setting ourselves up. A better broadcast would be, "Today, I'm going to make a lot of good choices."
I plan on writing on this topic for awhile as God's unfolds deeper truths. This world is crazy and it's not easy living in it. You can't just send your kids or grand-kids out to play anymore because of all the evil. So, where parents in prior generations got more time and rest, this generation is on constant alert which is exhausting. Jobs and careers are not lifetime appointments anymore where there's a pension at the end. They are places riddled with stress and uncertainty. Technology has not made everything easier but rather added an albatrose around our sub-consciense of passwords, tech- support calls, chargers, smart tv's... Life is not easy and one thing we can be certain of is that it is constantly changing and we need to keep up. So what better choice do we have than to manage it better by finding our "Happy Middle". Bit by bit, step by step and moment by moment.
Finding "your" happy middle should be something that you enjoy each day, not a hammer to the head if you don't have a completely successful and perfect day! Small steps make up a mile and there are lots of fun places along the way. Each moment is a choice and we will make some good choices and some bad. Our goal is to make more good ones and let the peace and joy of those good choices settle our minds and spirits. I used to put either a smiley face or sad face icon on my calender each day depending on whether I felt it was a successful day or not. It became a very depressing overview, so now each day I just put a peace sign and say, "Good day Dee!, You made a lot of good choices!"
May the Lord bless you, and keep you; may He make His face to shine on you, and be gracious to you; may He lift His countenance on you, and give you peace." Numbers 6:24-26
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