April 21, 2005 Issue #16

IN THIS ISSUE...

1) Welcome!
2) My Playground
3) Check it Out
4) Giggles & Guffaws
5) Ways to Play Today!
6) Random Musings
7) Something to ponder
8) Shameless Promotional Plug

A playful welcome to my new subscribers!
This *free* monthly newsletter is written with the intention to help you live life with more fun and joy and less stress and worry. With informative articles, humorous insights and great resources, "Lighten Up!" is guaranteed to provide you a motivational kick in the butt while giving you a giggle or two along the way.

"A glimpse of blue
in a palette of dark grays
Hope plays amongst clouds" ~The Playful Spirit

I never knew what I was missing. I had only seen pictures and heard stories from other people, but I hadn't experienced her myself until last month. She was more beautiful, more ancient, more intoxicating than I'd ever imagined. I've had the opportunity to travel to some pretty amazing places so far this year, but I had no idea how powerful Paris would be for me until I stepped inside of Notre Dame. She literally took my breath away and then she gave me a few other things to consider.

What was apparent to the eye was an incredible sight to behold. The exquisite details of stories carved in stone, the flying buttresses that kept her aloft, the hues of blue and red stained glass that sparkled in the flickering of a thousand candles, these were all amazing things to see. It wasn't until I closed my eyes though that I got what she gave me, what I suspect she's given millions of people over hundreds of years. Beyond her size and beauty and even her history, I discovered grace and peace. What surprised me most though was finding hope. Whether or not you feel despair about the current affairs of our world, it's likely that at some point in your life your sense of hope has been challenged or diminished in some way. Read on to discover how you can find hope even in the darkest of places. I have to make good on my promise of giving you ways to lighten up, right? Otherwise this newsletter wouldn't be called what it is. Well...duh.

My Playground
The article, the message, the thing to make you go hmmm...

~A Hopeful Heart~
I was inspired to write the above haiku a few mornings ago while I was drinking my coffee. I got tired of staring at a blank computer screen so I focused my attention outside and watched the colors of the day begin to appear. I mentioned a couple newsletters ago that Oregon was having an unseasonably warm winter and I was pretty darn happy about the daily dose of sunshine we were getting. We're now experiencing the kind of weather we normally have in February. So the other morning as I sat watching the gray clouds swirl about, I felt a tad bit irked that it was cold and raining. The hope I'd had for our warm winter to transform into a warm spring had dimmed considerably until I saw a bit of brilliant blue. Suddenly, it was as though the temperature in the room had increased ten degrees. I thought maybe it was the slurp of hot coffee that warmed me up, but the warm fuzzy feeling wasn't in my mouth or my stomach, it was emanating from my chest. I was surprised by how quickly hope had returned and all it took was a glance out the window that morning.

I'm a pretty positive person most of the time. One would think a life coach and aspiring self-help author would be, however there are times when even an optimistic go-getter like myself can turn into Oscar the Grouch in a heartbeat. If I don't eat on a regular basis and my blood sugar takes a nosedive so does my enthusiasm for liking anyone or anything around me except for food. If there's a slow, I mean really slow driver in front of me and there are ten cars behind me helping to prove my point that this person should pull over, I tend to get a little cranky. If I see someone yelling or even worse, hitting a child in public, I not only become angry, I lose faith in people's ability to be loving parents. When I happen to glance at a newspaper box and read the headline that says how many people to date have been killed by this insane war, my sense of hope pretty much goes out the window.

I think hope and faith play in the same circles. They both involve a sense of trust. They both keep us believing that when the world is unkind and life isn't going the way we particularly want it to, we can fall back on what can be felt in our hearts, but not necessarily seen with our eyes. It takes some effort on our parts to remain open whenever life smacks us around a bit with things we don't like or agree with, but the truth is...the only way hope can stay alive is if we notice the moments when it greets us and we allow it in. More simply put, when your hunger comes a calling, feed it. When your anger gets the best of you, question why that is and do something about it. Here are a few ways to invite hope back into your heart if it's taken a downturn. If you're full of hope, but you know someone who's a bit down in the dumps, perhaps you'll inspire them by sharing a few of these suggestions.

5 Ways How Hope Can Enter Your Day

1) Notice beauty -Whether it's something in nature like a new bud bloomed or it's something man-made like a smile from a stranger, become aware that the subtlest of things can create a hopeful heart again.

2) Believe -If you've been a Doubting Thomas lately, there's a good chance that it's not just the day's headlines that have caused hope to disappear. Having hope is a daily practice of remembering what you believe in and letting go of the thoughts and feelings that diminish your faith.

3) Be grateful -Consider the many blessings in your life. One of the best ways to renew a sense of hope is to remind yourself of all that you have and all that you are. Saying thank you to others works wonders as well.

4) Share your concerns -Receiving validation for our thoughts and feelings from people makes us feel good. Hope exists within you, but can grow exponentially when it's united with others.

5) Do something -Engage in an activity or have a conversation that inspires hope to emerge within you and for others.

Even if we only get to catch a glimpse of blue amongst the grays, it's something. Perhaps it's not the sunny day we wished for, but it's enough to keep us believing in something greater than ourselves. And that's what I think hope and its cousin faith really are. They are anything and everything that we can possibly imagine we want and then some more. So whether you hope for a fabulous relationship or a better paying job or more considerate drivers or world peace, your ability to believe in having those things begins with you. Take notice of how you can let hope enter your life today. When hope showed up for me in a 900 year-old church, I let it in. I'm going to keep looking out the window and trust that hope can be found even amongst our newspaper's headlines. I encourage you to look out your own window today and see how hope shows up for you.

Check it Out
Personal Recommendations for books, music, websites and all resources fun!

Pathways to Peace I encourage you to sit back and watch the beautiful flash presentation this sweet little website has to offer. A few words, incredible photographs and a simple musical score will touch your heart and possibly bring a tear or two to your eye. It's a powerful reminder that hope, peace and love can exist easily in our world if we allow them to. May this short clip heighten your awareness and soothe your soul.

Anne Lamott - "Plan B Further Thoughts on Faith"
A good friend of mine who's also an aspiring author introduced me to this woman's work. The first book I read of Anne's was called Bird by Bird and it was a funny and poignant tale of the trials and tribulations of being a writer. I fell in love not only with what she had to say, but how she said it. Her writing style is conversational, completely authentic and has you laughing out loud every few paragraphs. She's just as honest, real and funny in her latest book that shares how her faith in a variety of things has been tested over the years. For example, she discusses how her relationship with her son has been one of her greatest joys in her life while at the same time it's one of her greatest challenges. She writes quite a bit on how disappointed she is with the current government of the United States and how she's doing her best to keep hope alive in her heart despite what's going on in our world right now. The barbs she made about Bush got me giggling, but it was her courage to open up and write about the things in life that scare her that made me cry. If you're in need of a good dose of laughter that will also remind you of the importance of having faith in something larger than yourself, I encourage you to read this book.

Giggles & Guffaws
An amusing story, joke, anecdote or picture to tickle your funnybone

I got a pretty funny email the other day and thought I'd share a few of the "You've got to be kidding me" statements. No offense to any attorneys out there who may be reading this.

Things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and published by court reporters who had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were actually taking place:

Q: What is your date of birth?
A: July 15th.
Q: What year?
A: Every year.

Q: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
A: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
Q: And Mr. Dennington was dead at the time?
A: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy.

Q: What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke up that morning?
A: He said, "Where am I, Cathy?"
Q: And why did that upset you?
A: My name is Susan.

Q: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
A: Did you actually pass the bar exam?

Ways to Play Today!

Why not...get up one hour earlier than you normally do?
Many of you may be wondering why on earth would I be making such a silly suggestion as this one. A few years back I probably would have been shaking my head in disbelief as well, but now I highly recommend it. My cat has helped turn my early mornings into a habit with his 5am ritual of clawing my nicest furniture. Even though he's the little punk (apparently I still feel a little resentment some mornings) that gets me up, it's my writing and plenty of coffee that keep me up. If you've ever wished for more hours in the day, here's a way you can get one in. This is YOUR hour to engage in something that brings you joy. Writing, reading, exercising are all good ideas. Doing last night's dishes, worrying about the day ahead or sleeping with your eyes open are not what this hour is designed for. Getting up before the sun may sound ridiculous, but if you give it a whirl you might just find it becomes one of the highlights of your day. Perhaps you'll even thank me when you start looking forward to seeing the first pink and orange hues of the morning.

Why not...learn a second language?
It really is a sad thing that a majority of Americans never learn to speak another language other than English. Learning another language is not only a tremendous personal accomplishment, but you'll discover it comes in quite handy when you're traveling in a different country where it's the way most people communicate with each other. It's true that language is most easily acquired at the age when we're still playing in the dirt and with dolls, but just because you're no longer six years old doesn't mean it's a lost cause. Of course you could just move to the country where the language you want to learn is spoken, but that's usually not the most affordable option. What's a little more reasonable is getting your hands on a textbook or two and signing up for a class. It might take a little more time for a grown up to get it, but trust me, you'll appreciate having a lot less of those "lost in translation moments" when you travel. And just in case you're wondering about which language to take on, sign language counts. Pig Latin doesn't.

Random Musings
Miscellaneous thoughts of mine with hints of truth and wisdom

A love lesson from the French: Kiss your partner passionately in public.

A better future depends on the hope you have for a better today.

Even if you don't like the smell of vanilla, buy a vanilla candle, light it then sniff. You'll change your mind.

Something to Ponder
Questions designed to stimulate your thinking AND encourage you to take action towards what you want.

What gets in the way of you having and maintaining hope?
How will you invite hope into your life today?

Care to share what these questions stir up in you? Need some support around renewing your sense of hope? Send me an e-mail. I welcome your thoughts and will respond to all e-mails received.

Shameless Promotional Plug

I mentioned a few issues back I was going to step up this year and begin offering more FR*E STUFF to my readers. Well, I came up with a wild and wonderful idea the other day while I was jogging and I've decided to run with it. (I couldn't help slipping in the obvious pun.) It's pretty simple. Every so often in this part of the newsletter, I'll ask a trivia question and the first email I receive from the person who answers it correctly will win a month's complimentary coaching with The Playful Spirit. How cool is that you're wondering? Pretty darn cool because it's not only a $350 value, it's guaranteed to be 30 days worth of fun because you get to go after something you want in your life and have help getting it. In addition to the coaching, if you have a website that you'd like to a have a little press about, you'll get it mentioned in the next issue of Lighten Up. Ready to play some U2 trivia? I'm heading up to Seattle this weekend to see them in concert and thought I'd ask a pretty easy question to begin with. Many of us know the band's lead singer as Bono. What's his real name? On your mark, get set, go, push send.

If you want to find out more about the work I do as a coach, facilitator and writer check out Playful Spirit Make sure you come back and visit again as more resources and fun stuff will be added to the website every month.

Thanks for reading this issue of Lighten Up! If you enjoyed it, please pass it along to your friends, your family, your co-workers...You get the idea. See you on or about May 23rd! Until that time, be well, be happy and play more.

May you be reminded that the hope you have in your heart DOES make a difference in the world every day.
Lisa

She's big and bold and beautiful!