We are just about two weeks away from the end of the year. Now is the perfect time to take inventory of what worked for you this year and what you should consider changing for next year. I like to call it, The Year End Reflection. This is also a great time to plan out your goals for next year, both professional or personal. Let’s bring in 2017 with gratitude in our hearts and goals on our minds.
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I learned to celebrate the victories no matter the size. It is the little victories along the way that provide the motivation to keep going. Yesterday, I reached 50 likes on this blog site. When I started, I could not even come up with a steady topic to write about. I know that every little victory is leading to a big win. The hardest part is just to start!
Thank you to those who stop in and visit. I really appreciate the support.
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One of my top priorities is to always take care of the people or things that take care of me. Whether it is making sure the family is taken care of, the park passes are current or the car needs maintenance, whatever allows me to keep moving forward in doing what I do best is what I take care first. Take care of those things that take care of you. Focus on what makes you happy and brings you peace and fulfillment.
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I wanted to say Happy Friday to everyone today. As this week winds down I wanted to take a moment and share some of the great moments I had over the week.
On Monday I was able to get my car back from the repair shop. I started having problems with my car’s cooling system in May but I didn’t make getting it a repaired a big priority since I still had my husband’s car to use. Now that the car is repaired and back on the road, I am able to take my son to school and then head to the park to get my morning walks in. I love this time of the year because of the leaves turning colors and the cool crisp morning air. Here is a picture I took of the walking trail.
Since, I take my son to school each morning and we have two lovely dogs, I have the honor of putting them outside each morning. I love watching the sunrise each morning. It’s just a beautiful reminder that each morning is a fresh start, a new beginning.
One of the best things I love to see on my walks is the morning dew dripping from the leaves.
Here is a picture of the boat house.
I wanted to share some of my favorite highlights of the week. Please feel free to comment and share some of yours. -Tonia
“We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.” ― Dalai Lama XIV
By meditating on a regular basis I become aware of my thoughts. The more aware I became of my thoughts the more I started making wiser choices on what I paid attention to and where I focused my efforts.
The first thing that captured my attention was the commercials during television shows. I started paying more attention to what was being advertised and I realized that most of the commercials are fear-based messages that try to coerce you into some type of action, which is primarily to sell their product like the latest dish washing liquid doesn’t kill enough germ causing bacteria. Another thing I started noticing was a commercial with a catchy jingle isn’t quite so annoying by the 3rd time you hear it. I started putting the commercials on mute.
The next thing that I started noticing was the amount of negativity in everyday conversation. The more I tried to focus on eliminating negativity from my conversations the more I found reasons to celebrate even the littlest things. I found myself singing to the radio and actually dancing around the house as I did such things like vacuuming and cooking. I eventually stopped watching TV all together.
My days have been more productive and less stressful. I have more time to relax and enjoy things like lying in my hammock, taking morning walks in the park and spending quality time with my family. I started exercising and found a desire to start cleaning out my garage that has been on my to-do list for two years.
What I found is that when you find the joy and appreciation for who you are there is no way anyone can steal that joy from you because it comes from deep within.
A gift resides in every moment. -Deepak Chopra
One year ago today, I was involved in a car accident. It was a rainy Halloween night, so we didn’t have many “trick or treaters” come to the house. I didn’t have to rush out to pick up my husband from work that night, and since it was raining I knew I had to take a little extra time to make it there. Before I got on the highway, I was on my cell phone talking with a friend and I remember saying I needed to get off and concentrate on the road. She said be safe!
As I got close to my exit, I went to switch lanes. The back end of my car started to swerve and I could feel myself starting to lose control of the vehicle. The car started to hydroplane and I knew I was not going to be able to just stop. I saw the concrete barrier, “Brace for impact” was the only thought that came to mind as I saw the car heading towards the wall. BOOM…the car stopped, the air bag deployed and I saw nothing but smoke.
I was able to get out the car. I remember a gentleman yelling at me from the underpass if I had a cell phone and then a woman came running over to my car and asked if I was hurt. I had to take a quick assessment and realized that my arm was hurt due to the air bag deploying. It took a minute for me to realize that I was standing out in the rain, but I was ok. I got back in the car, and called my husband. The ambulance showed up along with the police. By this time the woman had left. 
I was checked out by the EMT’s and then placed in the police car until the tow truck showed up. As I sat in the police car, a calming presence came over me and I knew everything was going to be alright.
From that day forward, I thank God the moment my eyes open up each morning because I know that each day is a gift. I am blessed to say, I walked away!
Quote Source: Destiny and Desire 21 Day Meditation Challenge https://chopracentermeditation.com/
Sweet N Social 