Good things to love by

Mama Braun forwarded me this e-mail today, and several of the items here are just fantastic advice. As I am not feeling terribly chatty today, I thought this would be a great post. We all need to be reminded of what really counts sometimes - so why not today?? (I posted a few comments in yellow.)

Advice to Live By:

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.

3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today.'
There are times in my life where I have decided to consciously do this every morning. It has helped me get through some very tough times.

4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
...damn you Kraft Mac and Cheese for being so tasty!

5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.
I recommend against the salmon, but again, I'm one of those veggie people.

6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
Whenever I start becoming a control freak, which is often enough, I always think about this quote: Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
Amen to that.

11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
You are one person on the planet. To you, your problems are huge - to the rest of us, they aren't. We have our own things to worry about.

12. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

14. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
You also have no idea what their journey was like before you knew them.

15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
Too many people forget this. We try to find acceptance and happiness in others - but the truth is, you will not find happiness with ANYONE until you have found happiness with YOURSELF.

16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'
And 9 times out of ten, the answer is NO.

17. Forgive everyone for everything.
Much easier said than done...

18. What other people think of you is none of your business.
I am still learning this lesson - most days I am good at it, but other days I am not.

19. GOD heals almost everything.
...or for those of us nonreligious types, our faith in all that is good in the world and those around us will get us through anything. See #9 on this list.

20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
Nothing is ever stagnant.

21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
...unless you have some sort of nasty bug that they don't want to catch. But we will send you good vibes :p

22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
...and if you REALLY need something else, quit bitching and do what you need to do to get it!

23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.

24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
( a bit cheesy for me, but hey, whatever works for ya...)

25. Please Forward this to everyone you care about.
...or don't. But I am glad you read through this!