photo credit: PLCMC training account
My eyes opened wider as she continued. The cards she was reading directly related to things that were happening in her life and many of the personal challenges she was having. I was blown away at their accuracy. Several times I raised my eyebrows at her to hear, "Mommmm!" She knew they were hitting the nail on the head too. The messages were making her angry because she knew they were areas she struggled with daily.
That experience helped me see my own lack of balance. Spinning here and there has taken a huge toll. Partially, that's why I stepped away from this blog for a few days, to get perspective. The vastness that is the internet is totally overwhelming when you feel you're in a losing game of "catch-up." Rather than speed up more if that's even possible, the need was to step away.
I'm looking forward to growing this site with the help and feedback of every single reader who is willing to share. Let me know what challenges you're facing in your own lives, I'll always be here to offer encouragement and support. As Bryce, one of my new online friends says, sometimes you just need to know someone else cares.
I'm not sure where this new journey of discovery will take us, or how long it will take. I'm totally following the Universe on this one. You can be sure of this however, it's going to be wicked fun so stay tuned...

Personal Growth and Blogging Success Image from Flickr Success, personal growth and I have at times appeared to be on a collision course. Lately, that feeling has intensified so I am looking at many new options for my blog baby, Success Chronicle, which I'm reasonably proud of. Of course there's always room for growth, but isn't that the same with life? I've learned so much this past year about nurturing my own inner dreams and goals. It's been a great joy to re-discover my love of sculpting, dancing and sketching. In fact, I might just show off the first piece I ever sculpted (not having a clue how to make a porcelain doll or what the heck I was doing). Somehow, the clay block just felt like a part of me, so it was fun anyway. Alright, I can't help showing it to you so look through the flickr images at the end of this post. The bottom line I suppose, is that I needed to see that this search for self discovery and Financial Freedom comes in many shapes, sizes and time frames. Each of us will have our own unique definition for what that means. Our life challenges are varied, our degrees of commitment to relationships and significant others are different, and the levels of experience and frustrations we bring will not be the same. In order to define our own versions of success, sometimes it's critical to slow down to speed up. Over the next few months, Success Chronicle will be making many behind the scenes changes and upgrades so that I can make your visiting experience here even richer. **This is what happened the first time I ever sculpted anything. They've been sitting in a box in my closet since 1997.

How To Measure Your Health And Happiness

What if there were a way to measure how healthy and happy you are as compared to the rest of the population? Would you be interested in knowing how you rate? I've got to admit my curiosity was peaked by an article in Tuesday's Associated Press written by Kevin Freking.

• Based on research data, at least half of Americans are fighting the battle to maintain their happiness and general state of health
• Out of 100,000 people who agreed to interviews for a project called the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index (wow, that's a mouthful), 47 percent stated they were managing but it was still a struggle, and 4 percent were feeling the pain and suffering side of life
• Personal assessments taken reported 49 percent of respondents thrived, were content where they were right now in their lives, and were on track for where they would like to be five years into the future
• Characteristics of the "active thrivers" included less time spent being sick, higher wages and they were better educated
• Characteristics of the "struggling to thrives" included, obviously, the flip side of those things the "thrivers" had overcome. Things such as inability to meet basic needs and expenses, inadequate funds for proper medication, food or shelter.
• To see who's happier and healthier than we are, we can look at Denmark with only 1 percent of respondents experiencing suffering
• Wrap your mind around this, now researchers are attempting to measure health and happiness levels by using your zip code (with all the political implications), your occupation, how long it takes you to commute, and even how much or how little you are exercising
• The project performed by Healthways also benefits employers showing which employees or industries are more likely to have workers unhappy with the work environment
• Another area which can be measured is how performance is affected if an ill worker reports to work anyway. The research can even pinpoint how many days of work a person will most likely miss based on what's wrong with them and what they think about the environment they are working in
• With a price tag of more than $20 million a year, Freking reports that the project interviews more than 1,000 individuals a day.
• You can see the complete details by visiting the Gallup or Healthways websites

What's the harm in having a fresh lemon in your drink?
Are you putting your child's life in danger with lunch?
Why could you be jeopardizing your health by entertaining or eating out often?
I could go on but let's just cut to the chase. All of these situations and more are very real.
Stay safe. Be health aware. I just learned a few things here and all I can say is read it. Read it now!
Visit http://www.healthinspections.com before you put another bite of food in your mouth!

When "educators" feel a study is needed to determine if bullying is wrong, and are now actively studying early sexual activity as a deterrent to teen delinquency, I feel our society is sometimes going to heck in the proverbial hand basket."We got a very surprising finding, particularly that early sex seems to forecast less antisocial behavior a few years later, rather than more," lead researcher Kathryn Paige Harden, a Ph.D. candidate in clinical psychology at the University of Virginia, said in a prepared statement.
Read the rest of this entry »

Today is the day many blogs and bloggers unite for a common good. We're all concerned about our environment and are using whatever levels of influence we can to raise the awareness of others around the globe. Environmental Tidbit:

"Our favorite bottled water contributes to about 800,000 tons of global warming pollutions per year because of the plastic used. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, this is equal to the amount produced by 140,000 automobiles or 8 power plants."

Save Our Environment

Second Life (SL) is a virtual world with almost 3 million members since it opened in 2003. When you consider a cause like "Blog Action Day" and the fact that a million people are said to have visited Second Life in a three month period, that equals massive possibilities to garner support. "Better World" provides the backdrop for "The Center for Water Studies," a SL place offering environmental education. Can the masses be correct? Is it possible that the virtual online community of activists can positively influence their Real Life (RL) counterparts? One can only hope so. No matter how much other universes continue to be debated, in our lifetimes, we only get this one planet. It's everyone's responsibility to do their part to care for "Mother Earth." 15 Awesome Ways YOU Can Help

1. Take This 365 Day Pledge
2. Help Save The Birdsong
3. Diaper Dilligence
4. Prevent Global Warming
5. Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions- Walk
6. Reduce Waste Through Recycling
7. Saving Energy In Your Home
8. Fun Ways To Teach Conservation To Your Kids
9. Plant A Tree
10. Read "365 Ways to Save The Earth" by Philippe Bourseiller
11. Become An Energy Leak Seeker
12. Donate Items When Possible Rather Than Tossing Out
13. Buy Items In Bulk To Reduce Packaging Waste
14. Increase Your Awareness To Toxins And Pesticides In Products
15. 

 

(Image source: learningtogive.org)

Learning To Give is an organization that can help everyone to learn more! A great resource tool for educators, parents and community workers everywhere.