Celebrate your accomplishments today. You have achieved more than you realize. Stop being so hard on yourself! If you have made others laugh, comforted someone, or dried tears, then you have contributed to the human race.
Take time to pat yourself on the back today. Life is not the money in your bank account. Life is about how you make other people feel about themselves.
Kindness begins at home. Be careful not to rush into healing the world before you heal yourself. That will create imbalance within your world and leads to resentment within.
It’s taken me a long time to understand this message. Learning how to slow down, not fill my days with extra “stuff to do” (even though I always have stuff to do), and turning off the TV (see my most recent Year of Living Without post), are slowly teaching me to be kind to myself.
More on this topic tomorrow.
Saying “thank you” to God ahead of time is the easiest prayer because it works two ways. You can thank God in advance for the answer to your prayers. In other words, expect your prayers to be answered.
Also, say “thank you” for what you already have. I spent this past weekend silently thanking God for my legs, my sight, my health, my children, my mind, my connection with Angels, my friends, my family, and all the love in my life. I appreciate all of those things, and more.
Focusing on the good things in your life magnifies them. So continue to say “thank you” for the goodness in life as well as the prayers you have put out into the Universe.
Looking for great holiday presents for kids? I’ve got three great board games for you. Me and my teenagers love these games.
Q-bitz. 2-4 players. Ages 8+
This is a game of visual dexterity. It’s a simple concept: Match your 16-colored cubes to the pattern on the black and white game cards. This is how you play the game.
Round 1
With 2 to 4 players, each person gets 16 colored dice. Look at one black and white game card. Race to recreate the pattern on the card. Be the first player to complete the pattern and you win the card. This is the easiest way to play. You can always stop here because it’s challenging enough.
Round 2
Roll all the cubes on the table like dice and use as many cubes as possible to recreate the pattern the pattern shown on the card. Be the first player to complete the pattern, and you win the card.
Round 3
Players have 10 seconds to study the card. Race to see who can recreate the pattern from memory. If you have all, or most, cubes in the right place, you win the card. The object is to collect the most cards, and you win.
Korner’d 2-3 players. Ages 8+
Another visual dexterity game. Simple yet difficult. Each player gets 3 to 4 multi-colored pieces. Be the first person to match all your pieces on the puzzle board. It’s so much harder than it looks. My 14-year old can match all his pieces in about 60 seconds. Me and the 17-year-old, not so much. Every adult I’ve seen play this game has a hard time. It never gets boring. I love this game!
Qwirkle 2-4 players. Ages 6+
The object of the game is to make lines of tiles that are either all one color or all one shape. There are 108 tiles of 6 different colors and 6 different shapes. Score points for every tile played. Whenever you complete a line of all six colors or shapes, you have made a Qwirkle. The player with the most points wins the game. This game takes 30-60 minutes to play.
These three are wonderful games. Let me know if you buy them for the holiday season.
Do this any time of the day.
When you are stressed.
When you are worried.
When you are happy.
When chaos is swirling around you.
When you are about to go to sleep.
When you are at work.
Writing a gratitude list redirects your thinking. That list helps you focus on the good in your life.
Cultivate peace through non-violent communication, meditation, yoga, tai chi, qi gong, yoga nidra (yogic sleep), exercise, fasting, prayer, whatever works for you.
Let me know what you do to cultivate inner peace.
Be open to miracles. They happen all the time. Why can’t they happen to you?
It’s Black Friday in the United States. “Black Friday” refers to retail stores slashing their prices for the start of the holiday shopping season, which ends on Christmas Day. Stores hope they end the season “in the black,” meaning they have made a profit, rather than “in the red” which means they have lost money.
My picture is red on purpose. Too many consumers end their holiday season in debt aka “in the red.” When those credit card bills arrive in January, it stings. Debt is the worst.
Don’t do that anymore. Talk to your family and make new traditions. Do a secret Santa. One gift per person. I’m getting my kids one gift each. However, I know their gifts will mean something to them because I’m listening for what they really want for Christmas.
Let me know how you are handling holiday gifts and spending this year.
Happy Thanksgiving to my readers in the United States. It’s a day for thankfulness and family. Too often Thanksgiving is about stress, politics, strife, arguments, exhaustion, and now shopping. (Retail stores being open on that day is the worst idea ever! Remember when everything except restaurants and gas stations were closed on Thanksgiving?)
When you feel stressed, breathe.
Inhale peace. Exhale stress.
Inhale love. Exhale worry.
Inhale light. Exhale Trump. (Kidding! That was a joke…well, not really).
Taking small breaks from the noise in your house makes all the difference.
Safe travels. Don’t eat too much. Happy Turkey day, y’all.
When you are feeling down, just say, “Angels help me.” They are already there. Talk to them. Ask for help. Consider your request already done. The help may not come the way you expect, so release your expectations. Trust that you will get the help you need.
Ms. Mocha Angel 