rainy day at airport A rainy day delay helps grow patience.

I try too hard sometimes. Like right now. I’m trying to get home.

If I had just waited the weather out, I’d probably be boarding my Seattle flight to Denver right now, arriving home by 5. Well, land at 5:00 which puts me home at 7 p.m. But instead, I listened to the Weather Channel, got a 30 minute flight delay notice, checked Raindar, saw a HUGE storm over Seattle.

Then I read of tornados in Portland, checked Raindar again, boarded my flight to Seattle just to be grounded for an hour and a half and then dumped in the terminal to wait it out. After checking Raindar again, I called Travel.

Thanks goodness I have a go-to person at the office; I didn’t have to stand behind fifty other people trying to find a different way out. John swiftly and graciously got me down the road 90 miles to the closest airport, and a guaranteed flight to Salt Lake City, then home to Denver, arriving by 10 p.m. Weather looked good. It was guaranteed.

So now I’m at the Pasco airport, waiting, watching the planes go by, listening to their Seattle flight being called, and wondering, would I be on that Seattle-to-Denver flight home right now, if I hadn’t been proactive and found myself a different route home.

¯_( )_/¯

Who knows. I should stop trying so hard, pushing so much. I think that’s the “lesson,” if there is one.

I seldom sit down and enjoy, relax, just be. I’m doing something 90% of the time I’m not sleeping. That usually involves pushing hard to make money to pay the bills. I need to let more come to me. I’d better reread the book The Law of Attraction, by Ester and Jerry Hicks.

In lieu of that, I’m just going to sit here awhile, very still, very quiet and think good thoughts. Okay, first I’m going to finish this blog, then sit here, very quietly, thinking good thoughts. I’m going to slow down, enjoy the travel day, and get home when I get home. There is no problem I have to deal with, everyone is taken care of, my sweetheart is waiting for me. And he’ll be there when I get there.

Hmmm, maybe being proactive and pushing too hard wasn’t such a bad thing. It gave me time to sit down and write after all, and that always helps me let the good in.

Oh, I just heard someone say their flight was cancelled into Seattle earlier today and now they are waiting for another!

Vindicated!!! Keep on pushin’!

#LoquaciousLindee

I’m implementing a Mishap Management Plan. That means I’m being proactive; I’m preparing for trouble before it happens.

I’m a First Class Girl Scout, the equivalent of an Eagle Boy Scout. “Be Prepared,” was a part of my high school education. I was a Brownie in Kindergarten and worked my way through Juniors, Cadets, and finally to Seniors in my Senior year of high school. I earned over 50 badges, patches, and pins on topics such as: hospitality, sewing, cooking, camping, hiking, and first aid. Earning Girl Scout badges gave me information, skills, tools, and most importantly, confidence.

I was a Brownie in 1966; a Senior in 1980. It’s was a different world, a safer world, in my mind. That’s probably my perspective and age talking, but while I’m writing this, California just experienced another mass shooting at a government agency. Over 20 fatalities…this is so sad. And scary. Even more so today, a girl needs to be prepared.

In 2009, the Girl Scouts addressed that by adding the Emergency Preparedness Patch which they developed in conjunction with FEMA’s Citizen Corps. Their motto: Don’t be scared; be prepared.

Life is unpredictable, but with proper training—the right Girl Scout patch–and the right attitude, I can handle anything with grace, strength, and humor. With that in mind, I’ve created my own Mishap Management Patch so I can travel the country confidently knowing I’ve compiled the information I’ll need if I “trip and fall.”

Here are 8 Mishaps that could ruin a girl’s day—unless she was prepared:

  1. Missed flight
  2. Car accident or break down
  3. Lost or stolen wallet
  4. Lost or stolen phone
  5. Lost or stolen computer or locked out of an account
  6. Got hurt or sick
  7. Pulled over
  8. Someone’s got a gun

Follow along and create your own Mishap Management Plan.

Here is the information you’ll need to gather. Store information in your phone, on your laptop, on a thumb drive, and online. Consider carrying printed copies of the information as well.

 

  1. Missed flight
  • Company Contact (trainer) #:
  • Company Emergency travel #:
  • After hours emergency travel #:
  • Traveler card customer service #:
  • Download company travel app:
  • Download airline apps:

 

  1. Car accident or car break down
  • Driver’s license:
  • Registration: hard copy
  • Proof of insurance: card and app
  • Download insurance app:
  • Insurance: Progressive Report a Claim:
  • Insurance: Progressive Roadside Assist:
  • Traveler card customer service #:
  • Download Car Rental app

 

  1. Lost or stolen wallet
  • $40 in cash stash
  • Copy of driver’s license
  • Report bank and credit cards stolen: numbers in PW doc and home
  • Report to police

 

  1. Lost or stolen phone
  • Trip tickets and itineraries printed
  • Google maps printed
  • Important contacts: #s in PW doc
  • Backup:
  • Facebook as alternative contact method

 

  1. Lost or stolen computer or locked out of important account
  • Dropbox: training files and PW doc
  • Thumb drive: training files and PW doc
  • Email myself PW doc
  • Report to police
  • Serial #:
  • Serial #:
  • Last Pass app

 

  1. Got hurt or sick
  • Insurance:
  • Doctor:
  • Dentist:
  • ICE info on phone
  • Update my will

 

  1. Got pulled over
  • Driver’s license:
  • Registration: hard copy
  • Proof of insurance: card and app
  • Download insurance app:
  • Rental car papers
  • National Car app
  • Attorney #:

 

  1. Someone’s got a gun
  • Drop back; observe
  • Locate nearest exit
  • Locate nearest police or security officer
  • Leave

 

Hopefully I won’t be experiencing ANY of that above situations. But if I do, I’ve thought about it, prepared for it, and should come out unscathed—lookin’ and feelin’ fine.

So, there you have it, an outline for creating your own personal Mishap Management Plan. All you need to do now is fill in the blanks and collect the information.

Motivational speaker Brian Tracy says, “Prepare for the worst and then expect the best.” Basically, figure out the worst case scenario and then do everything within your power to make sure that worst case scenario doesn’t happen. Laying this solid foundation helps me feel capable and comfortable. It allows me to walk forward with faith, knowing I can handle whatever is coming my way.

And now, with all of our business taken care of, let’s look forward to what’s next! But that’s a different list. Stay tuned.

#loquaciouslindee

I find myself worrying about my dad today. He’s 82, in the hospital, and recovering from surgery. This is day 24.

The time for worry should be over. He’s made it through the tough part, the surgery; now, he’s just waiting for all the vital organs to wake-up. He’s on the mend. But I find myself worrying regardless.

Regardless, being the key. Regardless of looking at the situation logically and calmly, I’m looking past the good news and dwelling on the bad. That’s what worry is: a thought of bad things unwanted.

So instead of focusing on my feelings or thoughts of my dad’s recovery, I’ve begun thinking about what I’m worried about. “I’m worried” has become “I think.” If I’m free to truly think anything I want—and of course I am—in this case, today, I’ve been thinking about all the bad things that could happen. What would happen if I focused on the good? I wonder.

I wonder when Dad will be released from the hospital? I wonder what his faithful nurse, companion, and wife–aka MOM–are doing right now? I wonder how he’s getting through his Father’s Day in the hospital?

I worry, I think, I wonder. All questions of what will happen in the future. Bad, neutral, good. For me, thinking, focusing-in on my thoughts, expectations and outcomes makes it easier to think positively, optimistically, and hopefully.

We know things in life will go wrong, but why not focus on what could go right?

Why worry when you can wonder?

 

 

I’m in a “universal time-out.” I’m flat on my back, unable to put pressure on my spine due to searing back pain. No more work or play. Time to be still. Time-out.

I didn’t have a lot of things I had left to do this week. I accomplished a lion’s share, a whole pride of lions’ share of activities this week already: rearranging and spring cleaning my small place, two hot power fusion yoga classes, a dozen laps around the lake outside my house. All of that after two hours of hand-snapping fresh asparagus–after a twenty hour car ride to and from Iowa! I like to get things done, and I’d checked more than a few items off the to-do list.

And, I was just thinking last evening how strong I felt. I was trouncing my horseshoes opponent solidly 7 to 1.  Hmmm, could have been the horseshoes that put me over. Those lucky shoes were a bit harder than usual to heave. And in hind-sight, not such a great idea. Just thinking about them sets my back aflame.

So now, it is time to rest, and time to write.

There certainly are benefits from being in a universal time-out. I hadn’t updated my blog in months. I guess those horseshoes were lucky after all. I’m lucky to have this time, time to recover, and time-out.

#LoquaciousLindee

I’m reading Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself by Dr. Joe Dispernza.

Dr. Joe’s a master at simplifying quantum physics so we can understand HOW energy creates our realities. I’m half-way through the book and I’m excited to get to the “how to” exercises. (There are a few realities I’m planning on creating.)

As Yoda would say, “You must unlearn what you have learned.”Breaking the Habit is teaching me why my heart, mind, and body hang on to past experiences—especially the hurts—and continue a feedback loop of stinkin’ thinkin’ (#stinkingthinking) that cripples my progress forward. Dispernza refers to it as “re-mind”;when your mind plays the same story again and again.

“The difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.”Who said that?

Dipernza’s view is that change creates quantum surprises (#quantumsurprises). And quantum surprises are the Universe’s way of honoring your intention. But you can’t be too specific. You have to anticipate in thought and with feeling specifically what you want, but then you have to let the Universe fill the need.

Break the habit of old thoughts, become very clear in your intent, and stand back and let the energy fall together.

“You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might get what you need.”

That was Mick. 😉

#loquaciouslindee

For more thoughts on moving forward, read Don’t Quit Now; Do It Now.

I want this to be a joke. An impractical joke on us. But it’s not. …

Or…maybe it is?

What if Robin Williams knew more than us?

He was certainly more talented than most of us. And those who knew him can’t speak highly enough of his compassionate heart. Maybe he really did come from another planet, and his mission here is up? He’s like Truman who just walked out of one world and into the next. In sports vernacular, he got called-up by the Majors.

Just maybe, then, the joke would be on us.

“Comedy is acting out optimism,” he said. And quite often tragedy proceeds comedy. It’s one harsh reality of this world.

But, maybe Robin Williams is waiting on the other side; waiting for the day we arrive. Robin Williams, now an angel, welcoming each of us at the pearly gates in a character and voice improvised on the spot, with a punchline we never saw coming.

That’s how I prefer to see it. The joke’s on us. And the punchline is yet to come.

Oh Captain, my Captain. Your spirit lives on. Thank you for your brilliance.

#RIPRobbinWilliams

water-drop.jpg 

 

 

New Year’s Resolutions, 2013: 

 

No. 1           Just Add Water

 

A woman’s body is 50% water; a man’s body 60%.

Your brain can be up to 75% water—a literal sponge!

 

Water is vital to all of our bodily functions. It plumps up our cells, lubes our joints, regulates our body temp, carries oxygen and nutrients to every cell of our body, assists with vital chemical processes, and flushes out waste and toxins.

 

Water helps us lose weight, restore balance, and feel satisfied.

 

Water nourishes from the inside out and replenishes from the outside in. There’s nothing like a swim to energize body and spirit, or a soak in a warm bath to soothe and relax a bruised psyche. Its cleansing affect can be felt by both skin and brain.

 

My son, Kyle, a Cross Fit advocate, uses this equation to determine his daily intake of water:

 

½ your body weight in ounces + 10 ounces for every ½ hour of exercise = daily water intake

 

Me? Just a glass or two more will make all the difference. It’s time to add water—and grow!

 

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Anger Goes Down with the Sun     Gretchen Rubin, author of the #1 New York Times Bestseller, The Happiness Project, wonders “should you ever let the sun go down on an argument” and decides Yes!

     Arguments are anger expressed–think the earthquake scale, 1-10. I’ve never been much for arguing and I haven’t allowed myself to explore the hollowing and healing powers of anger. It’s been a “negative” emotion to work through quickly on the road to feeling positive and “happy.”  And I’m afraid I’ve been judging others using anger as a way to resolve their internal dialogs. I now understand. Anger etches it’s own pattern in the sands of our brains; and thoughts and beliefs we know to be true simply wash from beneath us like sand moving out with the tide. The shift in energy–and footing–makes for a powerful conviction of step. Anger makes you stop, take notice and declare an allegiance to yourself.

     Anger is good. Anger makes you strong, sharp and clear. Anger chisels away what doesn’t serve you; sculpts, molds and defines what thoughts now do. Anger is a motivator, a driver, an insistent, sometimes prickly nudge in a new direction. It turns upside down energy on end and demands you step in the opposite direction. Anger is GOOD on so many levels.

     And then, once you’ve polished and honed your beliefs and you’re rock solid again in who you are, anger is a needy emotion that can hang on too long. It’ll cling to you like cellophane so gently squeeze out or shimmy out, unroll out, or slice that wrapper open knees to nose;  but wiggle free and step aside. No need to express anger, you’ve left it, allowed it to be, walked away from it.

     Let the sun go down on it. Thank you Gretchen Rubin for the spin. Oh, and Sir Elton John as well. 

2. Do let the sun go down on anger.

I had always scrupulously aired every irritation as soon as possible, to make sure I vented all bad feelings before bedtime. Studies show, however, that the notion of anger catharsis is poppycock. Expressing anger related to minor, fleeting annoyances just amplifies bad feelings, while not expressing anger often allows it to dissipate.

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party.gifSurprise! It’s a party!…

      It’s a typical Wednesday morning work day. You’ve been at your 8:00-4:00 job for the last six months but today is different—a company picnic you knew nothing about! You’re getting a three-hour lunch break that includes a short presentation by the CEO and staff, and a catered B-B-Q.

 Here’s what happens:

      The Boxes begrudgingly show up…then disappear. They slip slowly into the background, sit in the back row, avoid chatting with others. The b-b-q buffet, a pleasant surprise for most, isn’t fully appreciated by the Boxes who have packed their own lunch. They just want the party to be over so they can return to their routine.

      The Squiggles?! SHINE! They love surprise parties–anything to disrupt the monotony of another day in the office. They’ll flit from table-to-table, chat with everyone, and, when it’s time to go back to work, will figure out a way to keep the festivities going…into Thursday, Friday, and the weekend.

      The Triangles, ever-focused on getting tasks done, will arrive late and leave early—of course checking things off their “to do” lists coming and going. Efficient to the core, the Triangles will use this party time to speak with people about projects. They’ll figure out a way to keep working.

      The Circles, only slightly perturbed they weren’t consulted to help plan the party, will play hostess to all those around them. They’ll show smiling faces to the presenters and clap loudly in the appropriate places. They’ll make sure everyone gets seconds, help pack the left-overs, and send everyone off with a hug. They’ll spend the rest of their work day sharing stories about the other people at the picnic.

      Surprise parties? Great for Squiggles and Circles. Triangles appreciate them occasionally. Boxes…not so much.