Upbeat Living: A Real Day Off

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A real day off, DHEA, energy, Kebba Buckley Button, let go, stress, Take a break, UpBeat Living

© 2016 Kebba Buckley Button, MS, OM.  World Rights Reserved. http://www.kebba.com

If you feel stressed and tired, and you can’t remember the last time you didn’t feel that way, maybe you need a real day off.  In my natural healing practice, I often work with clients whose stress is unceasing.  Couple that with the heavy world news and the overburden of politichatter—the inevitable election cycle events and conversation—whatever family issues you have, any career decisions on the horizon, and the electrochemistry and noise of the urban environment… well, maybe you need to take a break!

Maybe you’re thinking, no way!  The cost, the time off work, the yard growing out of control and ruining my neighborhood reputation… A two-week vacation was a standard, decades ago.  Then professionals decided those caused more stress than they cured.  So people shifted to taking long weekends.  This trend was so strong that the Federal Government moved most of the federal holidays to Mondays.  That Monday Holiday Law, passed in 1968, was meant to “bring substantial benefits to both the spiritual and economic life of the Nation.”  Wow!

But then everyone was driving out of town at the end of the week and returning Monday night.  More stress.  Now many are discovering the joys of midweek 2-day timeouts or even a single midweek overnight-plus-one-day timeout.  The key is to really take a break, a genuinely refreshing change day. Or two.  Just 24 hours can give you a re-set.  And you need it!

Your thoughts and attitude can get stale without change.  Your brain can actually get channels worn in it, from reviewing the same worries all the time. So change your channel, change your scene. Find a place to go to where there is a low level of electromagnetic frequencies (EMF); possibly a cabin or bed and breakfast in a small town.  Use your computer as little as possible.  This will refresh your nervous system.  Pick a place with natural beauty where you would be very tempted to go walking.  This will repump your DHEA, the master hormone.  If you can go to a beach, that’s the highest natural-energy environment, and you will absorb a lot of energy there.  Turn off your phone and don’t think about your usual concerns.  When you think of something that you ought to do, put it on a list in the Memo section of your phone; then forget it until you’re back at your desk.  Let go of all the Usual.

Eat dark green leafy salad and have very little sugar.  This will bring your vital life force energy up very fast.  Try to get berries for breakfast.  Those will raise your antioxidant levels quickly and refresh your attitudes. Move around.  Do yoga in your room or go for walks.  Go swimming, if you have found a place with a beach or pool.  A business owner I knew used to go to a small motel in Yuma, Arizona, where no one would recognize her.  It was inexpensive, there was no traffic noise, and no one could call her.  She ate produce (her business ), walked and swam and closed out all business thoughts for 2 days at a time.  She said it was like Heaven, a real day off and then another.  She totally relaxed.

Come up with your own formula.  Give yourself the elements you need to have a real day off, to really take a break.  Savor every moment.  Then let me know what worked for you.  And that’s Upbeat Living^sm!

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Energy – Peace – Meditation

• Kebba Buckley Button is a stress management expert and award-winning author.  She also is an ordained minister and has a natural healing practice. Among her books are:Discover The Secret Energized You (http://tinyurl.com/b44v3br),and Peace Within:  Your Peaceful Inner Core, Second Edition. Her newest book is Sacred Meditation: Embracing the Divine.  That book and Peace Within are available through her office.  Just email books@kebba.com or call the office at 480-250-1177.
• For an appointment or to book Rev. Kebba to speak for your group, email calendar@kebba.com

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Upbeat Living: Happy World Day of Peace!

Tags

Jeremy Gilley, Kebba Buckley Button, Peace Day, peace within, Pray, stress, The life you want, UpBeat Living, World Day of Peace

© 2016 Kebba Buckley Button, MS, OM.  World Rights Reserved. http://www.kebba.com

Today is World Day of Peace, appointed by the United Nations as an annual day of peace and ceasefire.  Even the Taliban has been cooperating with taking a day off from war, allowing humanitarian aid to flow into strife-torn areas.  For more on activities for this annual day, use your search bar to learn more about Jeremy Gilley, the founder and probably Chief Optimist of the movement, “Peace One Day”.  Many of us believe we can have peace in our time.  Today, in Phoenix, Arizona, about 250 people will gather at 6 pm, at the Franciscan Renewal Center, dressed in purple.  We will form the word, “MERCY”.  Like the word HOPE, in the photo above, our stubborn hearts believe that we are moving forward and helping to build the peace we wish to see.

Our beautiful planet and its 7 billion human tenants need peace now.  The other beings on the Planet need peace now.  The plant systems and climate systems on this extraordinary world need peace now.  There has been much upheaval lately, in climatic and human affairs.

We are at choice as to how we can help this peace come about.  We need to be good global citizens, work for social justice, develop our individual Peace Within, and pray often.  Number one is to keep ourselves grounded in our Peace Within, so we can keep up with the other needs.  Even prayer must come from a peaceful, hopeful, trusting heart.

With so many people so stressed out today, and with so many social issues hurting large numbers, it is crucial to stay as grounded and clear as you can, even joyful and grateful.  This is a major way you can help the Planet, and it’s a skill set.  Study positive ideas and books (such as Peace Within: Your Peaceful Inner Core), explore your faith, and keep returning to positive languaging and beliefs.  Learn to meditate, taking classes and increasing your personal peace-maintaining skills.  The more Peace Within you cultivate, the better your relationships will be, and the better able you will be to do what you can to help bring forth peace in our time.   Gandhi said,

If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. … We need not wait to see what others do.

For more on what you can do to bring about world peace, read the article Peace In Our Time: 3 Ways You Can Help ( http://wp.me/pyEwf-6C ) .  Then work on your Peace Within, and choose some other simple ways to help the World.  You can be a part of building the world your children will inherit.  And that’s Upbeat Living!

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Energy – Peace – Meditation

• Kebba Buckley Button is a stress management expert and award-winning author.  She also is an ordained minister and has a natural healing practice. Among her books are:  Discover The Secret Energized You (http://tinyurl.com/b44v3br),and Peace Within:  Your Peaceful Inner Core, Second Edition. Her newest book is Sacred Meditation: Embracing the Divine.  That book and Peace Within are available through her office.  Just email books@kebba.com or call the office at 480-250-1177.
• For an appointment or to book Rev. Kebba to speak for your group, email calendar@kebba.com

 

Upbeat Living: Does Rage Help?

Tags

at choice, Charlie Sheen, Kebba Buckley Button, Rage, stress, The life you want, UpBeat Living

© 2016 Kebba Buckley Button, MS, OM.  www.kebba.com

© eelsonova – Fotolia

Does rage help?  In Upbeat Living(sm), we do what is most effective for the way we want to live.  Usually, that’s happy holistic living.  Sometimes we see events in the news that show us again how very important it is to live the Upbeat Living way.  Let’s consider a couple of situations.

If you had “upset” a vase full of flowers, what would that look like?  It might look like the vase was now on its side, or smashed on the ground, with the flowers and water all over.  Would it help the vase, the flowers, or the water, to be “upset”?  Maybe your cat knocked the vase over, probably without intending to.  Every element would now be in disarray, none fulfilling its purpose or providing any joy.  There is no benefit in the vase being “upset”.

The same is true of humans.  We have a choice as to whether something will “upset” us, or turn us on our side.  Would you be upset if a cat knocked over your vase of flowers?  Would you be less upset if the cat were your favorite, the vase generic, and the flowers from someone you detested?  What if you learned, right after the vase was smashed, that the flowers were a rare, expensive type, sent by a dear loved one who you just learned had gone into hospice this morning?  Would you feel more grief over the same scene?  The scene would be the same, but your interpretation would be different.  You would react differently, based on your ideas about the same scene.  What would be the most effective way to respond?  Calmly and quickly?

Celebrity news is great for illustrating basics of living, at a dramatic level.  Awhile ago, we read that Charlie Sheen went into a rage and trashed a hotel room.  The damage, including a broken chandelier, is said by USAToday.com to have been about $7000.  And why was this successful actor so upset that he was actually in a rage, tearing up his hotel room at the Plaza Hotel in New York?  Police called to the scene said he was having trouble finding his wallet and cellphone after spending time with a professional purveyor of sexual pleasure.  His response was to rip apart various things in the room.

Did he really think the chandelier was hiding his wallet and cellphone, thus deserving to be punched out?  Famous for spending time with, um, purveyors, did he not yet have a procedure to protect himself?  Does he not always leave the cash in the bedside table and tuck his wallet and phone in the lining of his suitcase, or in the room safe?  He was at choice when he hired the, um, purveyor.  He was at choice when he put his objects wherever in the room.  He was at choice getting drunk or taking drugs.  He was at choice when he realized his objects were in no obvious location.  He was at choice when he went into a rage and chose to tear up hotel property.  He would also have been at choice, had he quietly called hotel security to assist him, his cel company to turn off his phone, and the, um, purveyor’s provider to report the issue.

Charlie Sheen’s choices resulted in police being called and Charlie owing the hotel thousands of dollars.  In addition, he is seen again as a person who has no control, or rather, a person who makes lousy choices that work for no one.  And the worst effect?  His ex-wife and their two daughters were staying in the same hotel.  While Charlie was choosing his behaviors, was he considering what his daughters would think of him?  You decide.  And you choose your behavior.  And that’s Upbeat Living.

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Energy – Peace – Meditation

• Kebba Buckley Button is a stress management expert and award-winning author.  She also is an ordained minister and has a natural healing practice. Among her books are: Discover The Secret Energized You (http://tinyurl.com/b44v3br),and Peace Within:  Your Peaceful Inner Core, Second Edition. Her newest book is Sacred Meditation: Embracing the Divine.  That book and Peace Within are available through her office.  Just email books@kebba.com or call the office at 480-250-1177.
• For an appointment or to book Rev. Kebba to speak for your group, email calendar@kebba.com

Upbeat Living: 8 Easy Steps to Clear the Energy of Your Home or Office

Tags

Clear the energy of your home, Effective living, Energy of your home, Feeling energized, Feng Shui, Kebba Buckley Button, peace within, stress, UpBeat Living

© 2016 Kebba Buckley Button, MS, OM.  World Rights Reserved.  

In Upbeat Living^sm, we want our lifestyle to be energized and joyful.  To feel our best, we should regularly check on and tune up the energy of our spaces.  So today’s topic is the energy of your home or office.  By now, you’ve probably heard of the idea of Feng Shui, the art of placing objects in your home, office, or other space, to optimize the energy in the space and in your life.  Maybe you’ve even dabbled in adding certain colors or objects to your space.  If so, you already believe in subtle energy fields, the circulating energy patterns that you can’t see.

But you don’t need to understand the complex details of the discipline of Feng Shui, to clear or otherwise adjust your home or office energy.  Especially if you are feeling stuck in any way, there are quick and simple things you can do to raise the energy, the feeling, of your space. At this writing, we are at the end of Summer and almost at the beginning of Fall.  This is a natural time of transition and evaluation. The other natural time of home energy transition is in the Spring, when people launch into Spring cleaning.  That is at time when people in cold areas open their doors and windows for the first time in months.  They “air out” their homes, and they clean and freshen all the surfaces and contents.  Perhaps they take a fresh look at what they own and what they would like to donate or replace.  Perhaps they add some bright seasonal décor. In hot areas like Phoenix, this naturally happens at the end of Summer.

When outside temperatures finally descend to below 80 degrees, people may suddenly open their front doors and find the air is cooler outside than inside—a pleasant, refreshing shock.  At that point, the home or office energy has been stale for a half year, and it’s time for a re-set.  Junk energy has been accumulating all during the closed-window season.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said,

Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine.

Shadow energy builds up when we don’t air out or tune up our space.  Now that the weather is mild, all the energy of stress, illness, fatigue, and discouragement can be aired out and cleansed away.  This is simple. It can take about 10 minutes of your time, plus an hour to continue letting the space air out!  Just follow these 8 easy steps.

1. Set your intention to clear and lighten up the energy of your space.
2. Open all the doors and windows. Leave the screen doors closed.
3. Light an incense stick or sage bundle. You’ll carry it around over a pan that catches the ash.  Any incense will do, coupled with your intention.  My favorite is Nag Champa.
4. Declare your intention and/or say a prayer. Try this traditional one, or write your own: “Visit, we beseech Thee, O Lord, this dwelling, and drive far from it all snares of the enemy.  Let Thy holy Angels dwell herein, to preserve us in peace. And let Thy blessing be upon us forever.  Through Christ our Lord, Amen.”
5. Go around your space repeating phrases about release, such as: “I bless and release all tired, ill, old, or stale energy.  I bless and release all pain, all emotional sludge, all discouragement, all stuck/ness, all unclarity, all brain fog, all distraction, and all outdated ideas of life and who I should be”.  Picture stale energy leaving through the open windows and doors.
6. Go around again, still holding the pan with burning incense or sage, and repeat phrases like this: “I refill this space with new, fresh, upbeat, encouraged, optimistic, can-do energy.  I declare this to be a space filled with radiance and wellness, vitality, fresh ideas, easy concentration, right action, inspiration, and best relationships.  I declare that this space draws the ideal friends, (clients, if applicable,) loved ones, energy, and income.  This is a place of peace, joy, and balance!”
7. Thank God/the Universe/Jesus/the Angels. According to your belief system, express great gratitude that these things are so.
8. Give the space an hour to air out, or more if climate and schedule permit.

Now simply repeat as desired.  You’ll notice the space feels lighter, and everything you do is easier.  And that’s Upbeat  Living!

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Energy – Peace – Meditation

• Kebba Buckley Button is a stress management expert and award-winning author.  She also is an ordained minister and has a natural healing practice. Among her books are: Discover The Secret Energized You (http://tinyurl.com/b44v3br),and Peace Within:  Your Peaceful Inner Core, Second Edition(http://tinyurl.com/mqg3uvc ). Her newest book is Sacred Meditation: Embracing the Divine, available through her office.  Just email SacredMeditation@kebba.com.  
• For an appointment or to book Rev. Kebba to speak for your group, email calendar@kebba.com

 

Upbeat Living: Chocolate for Your Health!

Tags

chocolate, Dark chocolate, Feeling energized, Health, Kebba Buckley Button, UpBeat Living

© 2016 Kebba Buckley Button, MS, OM.  World Rights Reserved. In Upbeat Living^sm, we emphasize the positive in all possible ways; today, we celebrate the health benefits of chocolate!  Yes, it’s true.  When you think of chocolate, you can think of it—dark chocolate, anyway—as a health food.  Remember, the Inca Indians discovered it and drank it hot, without sweetening, hundreds of years ago.

A number of medical studies have shown that modern people can use it for health.  Without being too technical, here are some of the great ways dark chocolate serves the body:

• Provides antioxidant power, which fights free radicals, thus reducing risk of heart disease. Note that milk may interfere with the absorption of the antioxidants.
• Lowers mild high blood pressure.
• Is associated with drastically lower occurrence of major diseases, when consumed as natural hot cocoa. These diseases include: stroke, heart failure, cancer, and diabetes.  Natural cocoa has a very high level of epicatchin, a type of antioxidant that some believe should be classified as a vitamin.  Epicatachin is also found in some teas, wine, and some fruits and vegetables.
• Can strengthen tissue and help build muscle, due to the epicatachin.

You people who love white chocolate or milk chocolate can keep eating it as a treat.  Dark chocolate lovers, this is your time!  Snack on dark chocolate bars and put dark chocolate chips in those cookies.  Stir natural cocoa powder into your smoothies, and make your own low-fat snack bars.  Enjoy your increased vitality!  Are you feeling energized now?  That feeling is part of  Upbeat Living!

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• If you enjoy this post, please click “like” in the FB widget in the right hand column! You’ll have our undying gratitude plus a huge rise in your Good Karma! Due to a recent FB change, our “likes” look low.  Thanks for your help!

Energy – Peace – Meditation

• Kebba Buckley Button is a stress management expert.  She also has a natural healing practice and is an ordained minister. She is the author of the award-winning book, Discover The Secret Energized You (http://tinyurl.com/b44v3br), plus the 2013 book, Peace Within:  Your Peaceful Inner Core, Second Edition(http://tinyurl.com/mqg3uvc ). Her newest book is Sacred Meditation: Embracing the Divine, available through her office.  Just email SacredMeditation@kebba.com. 
• For an appointment or to ask Kebba to speak for your group: calendar@kebba.com .

 

Upbeat Living: Gratitude for a Writing Challenge

Tags

Gratitude, Kebba Buckley Button, stress, The life you want, UpBeat Living, Writing a blog

© 2016 Kebba Buckley Button, MS, OM.  World Rights Reserved.

 

In Upbeat Living^sm, gratitude is a major dimension of living, creating, and getting the life you want.  As it happens, today, I am completing a 31-day writing challenge, the Ultimate Blog Challenge, and I am feeling overwhelming gratitude.  Here is some of what I’m experiencing gratitude for.

• The organizers of the Ultimate Blog Challenge, Paul Taubman and Danni Ackerman, for setting it up again and running it every 3 months, for a full month each time.
• The discipline of assembling the components of an article every day: theme, photo or 2, poster, quotes, text, format, publishing, sharing. I can see that time and structure translating to my next project:  getting my new website done.  That seems much easier now.  Bite off, chew, bite off, chew.
• The core participants, who teamed along most steadily and supported each other throughout. I will miss interacting with them, but I’ll keep up with some who have become friends.  I am grateful to have gotten to know them better, and to count on their values and sensibilities.  A few of these are Ken Weliever, Jeanine Byers, Vicki Maheu, Cindy Browning O’Donnell, Martha DeMeo, Tammy Rome, Karen Lee Banks, Alice Gerard, Maria Silvo, Nick Roseblade, Alana Mautone, Nicole Bianchi, and Paul Taubman.
• An odd feeling of being motivated by my success in systematically completing this Challenge. So often we think motivation breeds success.  But I’m very present, just now, to the opposite effect:  success breeds motivation.
• A new cheery comfort with using only closed-top mugs in my office. It may sound minor, but it eliminates a possible repeat of the Great Hot Chocolate Incident of 2011.  It’s saving massive future time and money.
• A refreshed collection of articles on my blog. Blog visitors will generally start from the most recent article, and even if they read through 31 articles, they will be seeing my freshest and best work.  I expect to continue blogging weekly, midweek, with my spiritual email still going out on Sunday evenings.
• Google listings! Google has picked up some of my articles and a number of my images!  It’s the articles with the most comments that it shows.  So those comments, friends, are literally very valuable.  Huge thanks to anyone who read and commented on my articles this month, and always.

So I’m whelmed with joy and overwhelmed with gratitude.  Thank you!  I look forward to our further adventures.  Will you keep me posted on your journey?  And in gratitude, that’s Upbeat Living!

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Energy – Peace – Meditation

• If you enjoy this post, please click “like” in the FB widget in the right hand column! You’ll have our undying gratitude plus a huge rise in your Good Karma! Due to a recent FB change, our “likes” look low.  Thanks for your help!
• Kebba Buckley Button is a stress management expert.  She also has a natural healing practice and is an ordained minister. She is the author of the award-winning book, Discover The Secret Energized You (http://tinyurl.com/b44v3br), plus the 2013 book, Peace Within:  Your Peaceful Inner Core, Second Edition(http://tinyurl.com/mqg3uvc ). Her newest book is Sacred Meditation: Embracing the Divine, available through her office.  Just email SacredMeditation@kebba.com. 
• For an appointment or to ask Kebba to speak for your group: calendar@kebba.com .

Upbeat Living: Happy National Cheesecake Day!

Tags

cheesecake, Health, health food, Kebba Buckley Button, National Cheesecake Day, pleasure, Relax, stress, UpBeat Living

© 2016 Kebba Buckley Button, MS, OM.  World Rights Reserved.

In recent years, health pundits would not have called cheesecake a “health food”; but today is National Cheesecake Day!  So relax and take a time-out from worrying about fats, and celebrate the pure pleasure of this family of deserts.  In fact, cream cheese is loaded with Vitamin A and fatty acids that help our health.  And a key dimension of Upbeat Living is enjoying your life!

Want to make your own cheesecake? Here is my own recipe for an Irish Cream Cheesecake, no technical skills required.

KEBBA’S IRISH CREAM CHEESECAKE

For filling:

3 x 8-oz. bricks of cream cheese, room temperature
½ c Irish Cream liqueur (Kebba’s favorite: Carolan’s, available at Trader Joe’s)
½ c heavy cream
3 eggs
3 T flour (GF if you like, rice flour or oat flour if you like)
1 c organic sugar
1 t vanilla or almond extract
1/8 t sea salt

For crust:

1 ¼ c graham crumbs + 3 T butter + 3 T organic sugar + 1/8 t sea salt
OR use 1 2/3 c honey corn chex crumbs + ¼ c butter + ¼ c organic sugar
OR use 2 frozen GF pie crusts, following package directions

If making your own crust, blend the ingredients with a fork and press into an 8” springform pan, pressing up sides.  The Chex formula can fit a 9” springform pan. (Ever try to buy an 8” springform pan?)  This may sound dumb, but wrap the bottom of the springform pan firmly with foil, as the melted butter may leak.  Now put the cheesecake on a cookie sheet.

Blend the filling ingredients.  In springform pan or pie crusts, bake at 425 for 25 minutes.  Take it out for 10 minutes and finish baking at 350 for 15 more minutes. In the pie crusts, test for firmness after 5 more minutes. Of course, note variations needed with your stove.

Chill the cake/s before serving, for 2 hours or even overnight.  Dust lightly with cocoa powder and drizzle with favorite fudge sauce, just before serving.  Next time, make 2 and freeze some.

Now sit down with your cheesecake and enjoy every bite slowly.  Savoring causes a food to fill us up sooner.  And relaxing with a pleasure is also stress-dissolving.

So Happy National Cheesecake Day, my friends!  Enjoy, and let me know how you like this cheesecake!  And that’s Upbeat Living.

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• If you enjoy this post, please click “like” in the FB widget in the right hand column! You’ll have our undying gratitude plus a huge rise in your Good Karma! Due to a recent FB change, our “likes” look low.  Thanks for your help!

Energy – Peace – Meditation

• Kebba Buckley Button is a stress management expert.  She also has a natural healing practice and is an ordained minister. She is the author of the award-winning book, Discover The Secret Energized You (http://tinyurl.com/b44v3br), plus the 2013 book, Peace Within:  Your Peaceful Inner Core, Second Edition(http://tinyurl.com/mqg3uvc ). Her newest book is Sacred Meditation: Embracing the Divine, available through her office.  Just email SacredMeditation@kebba.com. 
• For an appointment or to ask Kebba to speak for your group: calendar@kebba.com .

Upbeat Living: Rudeness Stress and How to Handle It

Tags

at choice, Kebba Buckley Button, Rude, Rudeness Stress, stress, UpBeat Living

© 2016 Kebba Buckley Button, MS, OM.  World Rights Reserved.

Rudeness Stress is all too prevalent now, as more people are stressed out than ever before, and it seems “reasonable” to them to be rude, nasty, and profane to you.  Of course you feel stressed by someone being rude, but you’ve come to the right place.  This column is committed to helping you live with the most joy and satisfaction you can.  Science and reason come together here, to give you the best ways to have the best life you can: best relationships, improved health and less aging.  We call this Upbeat Living^sm.

So when you inevitably get rude and nasty behavior aimed at you, know this:

• Difficult people are a very common source of stress. They can totally suck your energy and leave you exhausted and frustrated– if you let them.
• And that is what they want! Some are insecure and trying to bring others down to their level.
• Some see your light shining and are jealous, so they want to dim your light, if they can.
• Some simply enjoy others’ pain, and they hope to hurt you, especially in front of others.
• Your best response is usually no response. And others will give YOU credit.
• And you are always at choice about how you respond.

An unknown writer said,

Be thankful for the difficult people.  They have shown you exactly who you don’t want to be. 

 

Famous motivational pastor, Joel Osteen, said,

Sometimes, God uses difficult people, like sandpaper, to rub the rough edges off of us. 

 

So, for example, if someone has just made you the butt of a joke in front of others, keep smiling.  They gave you a gag award for talking too much?  Here’s your strategy.  With a cheerful smile on your face, and possibly a little laugh, say, “Isn’t it wonderful we all have such a great sense of humor!”  Then quietly, peacefully, walk away.  No rolling your eyes. Portray pleasant happiness.  Smile as you walk away.  If you think they were trying to humiliate you, they were.  If you can pretend you found the humiliating circumstance funny, do that, laugh, and again, walk away, because you are very busy and need to get to your next meeting/deadline/appointment. If it was at a company party, never go again.  You are so busy, you can’t think what your calendar holds for that day, when they ask you to the next company party.  A lot of people never go to company parties, and now you are one of them.

Are there experiences you have had with rude and/or nasty people?  How did you deal with it?  What now seems like the most effective way to deal with it?

A fractured Latin phrase advises us:  Nil Illegitimi Carborundum, or “Don’t let the bastards wear you down”.  Again, don’t give them energy.  You have a right to lead a healthy and happy life. When you encounter Rudeness Stress next time, be brief in dealing with anything negative. Soon, you will notice your stamina rising and your happiness taking over.  And that’s Upbeat Living!

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• If you enjoy this post, please click “like” in the FB widget in the right hand column! You’ll have our undying gratitude plus a huge rise in your Good Karma! Due  to a recent FB change, our “likes” look low.  Thanks for your help!

Energy – Peace – Meditation

• Kebba Buckley Button is a stress management expert.  She also has a natural healing practice and is an ordained minister. She is the author of the award-winning book, Discover The Secret Energized You (http://tinyurl.com/b44v3br), plus the 2013 book, Peace Within:  Your Peaceful Inner Core, Second Edition(http://tinyurl.com/mqg3uvc ). Her newest book is Sacred Meditation: Embracing the Divine, available through her office.  Just email SacredMeditation@kebba.com. 
• For an appointment or to ask Kebba to speak for your group: calendar@kebba.com .

UpBeat Living: Heaven’s Thoughts on Landscaping

Tags

God, Kebba Buckley Button, resource use, St. Francis of Assisi, stress, UpBeat Living

© 2016 Kebba Buckley Button, M.S., O.M.  World Rights Reserved.

What does Heaven think of the way we use our gifts?  What are Heaven’s Thoughts on how we use the incredible array of resources we have been blessed with? Here’s a light look at how the conversation might go, if God and a couple of saints were talking about it.   And you don’t have to be a person of faith to enjoy it.  I found this piece circulating the Internet, Author Unknown.  Enjoy!

GOD (to St. Francis of Assisi):
Frank, you know all about gardens and  nature. What in the world is going on down there on the planet? What happened to the dandelions, violets, milkweeds and stuff I  started eons ago? I had a perfect no-maintenance garden plan. Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with abandon. The nectar from the long-lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honey bees and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of colors by now. But, all I see are these green rectangles.

ST.  FRANCIS:
It’s  the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers ‘weeds’ and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass.

GOD:
Grass? But, it’s so boring. It’s not colorful. It doesn’t attract butterflies, birds and bees; only grubs and sod worms. It’s sensitive to temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want all that grass growing there?

ST.  FRANCIS:
Apparently so, Lord. They go to great pains to grow it and keep it green. They begin each spring by fertilizing grass and poisoning any other plant that crops up in the  lawn.

GOD:
The  spring rains and warm weather probably make  grass grow really fast. That must make the Suburbanites happy.

ST.  FRANCIS:
Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it grows a little, they cut it– sometimes twice a week.

GOD:
They cut it? Do they then bale it like hay?

ST.  FRANCIS:
Not  exactly, Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in bags.

GOD:
They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?

ST.  FRANCIS:
No, Sir, just the opposite. They pay to throw it away.

GOD:
Now,  let me get this straight. They fertilize grass so it will grow. And, when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw it away?

ST.  FRANCIS:   Yes, Sir.

GOD:
These Suburbanites must be relieved in the  summer when we cut back on the rain and turn up  the heat. That surely slows the growth and saves them a lot of work.

FRANCIS:You  aren’t going to believe this, Lord. When the grass stops growing so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more money to water it, so they can continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it.

GOD:
What  nonsense. At least they kept some of the trees.  That was a sheer stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. The trees grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty and shade in the summer. In the autumn, they fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep moisture in the soil and protect the trees and bushes. It’s a natural cycle of life.

ST.  FRANCIS:
You  better sit down, Lord. The Suburbanites have drawn a new circle. As soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into great piles and pay to have them hauled away.

GOD:
No!?  What do they do to protect the shrub and tree roots in the winter to keep the soil moist and loose?

ST.  FRANCIS:
After throwing away the leaves, they go out and buy something which they call mulch.  They haul it home and spread it around in place of the leaves.

GOD:
And where do they get this mulch?

ST.  FRANCIS:
They cut down trees and grind them up to make the  mulch.

GOD:
Enough! I don’t want to think about this anymore. St. Catherine, you’re in charge of the arts. What movie have you scheduled for us tonight?

CATHERINE:

‘Dumb and Dumber’, Lord.  It’s a story about….

GOD:
Never mind, I think I just heard the whole story from St. Francis.

So: how are you using your gifts and resources?  Could you be doing more?  Recycling?  Growing veggies? Wrapping gifts with reuseable bags?  The list goes on, and so can you, in helping the Planet.  And that’s Upbeat Living!

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• If you enjoy this post, please click “like” in the FB widget in the right hand column. You’ll have our undying gratitude plus a huge rise in your Good Karma! Due to a recent FB change, our “likes” look low.  Thanks for your help!

Energy – Peace – Meditation

• Kebba Buckley Button is a stress management expert.  She also has a natural healing practice and is an ordained minister. She is the author of the award-winning book, Discover The Secret Energized You (http://tinyurl.com/b44v3br), plus the 2013 book, Peace Within:  Your Peaceful Inner Core, Second Edition(http://tinyurl.com/mqg3uvc ). Her newest book is Sacred Meditation: Embracing the Divine, available through her office.  Just email SacredMeditation@kebba.com. 
• For an appointment or to ask Kebba to speak for your group: bookings@kebba.com .

 

Upbeat Living: 25 Ways to Use Chopsticks

Tags

chopsticks, Creativity, Kebba Buckley Button, stress, UpBeat Living

© 2016 Kebba Buckley Button, MS, OM.  World Rights Reserved.  

Part of the Upbeat Living^sm philosophy is that we need to use our creativity to keep our thinking and our lifestyles fresh; for example, how many ways can you repurpose the simple, disposable chopsticks from an Asian eatery?  I have found chopsticks are terrific tools, without even painting them glossy or trimming them to use as dowels.  I was awakened to the incredible versatility of these humble devices, when one day, I looked at my water crock (held a 3-gallon bottle) and suddenly saw it needed…something.

My crock had a blue line but no other decoration.  I pulled out a box with about 30 craft paint bottles in it, and I stared at the crock.  It was glossy.  A brush wouldn’t work.  So I reached for a chopstick, dipped the large end in paint, and began making colorful lines of dots, parallel to the blue line.  When I was done, there were about 6 lines of dots, and both the look and the energy of the crock were completely different.   Since that fateful day, I have seen chopsticks turn into tools for all kinds of jobs.  And no guilt:  you were going to throw them away anyway, weren’t you?  Here is a list of 25 of my favorite uses for chopsticks.  See if this list inspires you.  

• Pick up food to eat
• Pick up noodles, from pot or bowl
• Style hair
• Build into art projects
• Small end- clean pesto from threads of rocket blender
• Large end- stir pesto through noodles, tube pasta, or fusilli
• Either end- paint impressionist art one dot at a time
• Small end- pierce foil seal of yogurt when seal refuses to politely roll off when tab is pulled
• Small end- break vacuum seal on pound jar of nuts so you can pull pieces of the seal away
• Lift hot teabag out of a tall mug or teapot
• Large end- Stir/whip protein powder into moo in tall glass for protein shake
• Large end- stir powdered Vitamin C drink-  [dissolves better due to square end]
• Large end, or 2 chopsticks held together with large ends 1/4” apart- briskly beat one or 2 eggs
• Large end- reach, snag, and pull watch or glasses which are otherwise out of reach on your desk
• Large end- make hole in center of beef patty to broil evenly
• Small end on its side- crimp edges of pie crust before baking
• Pop bubble when frittata or omelette forms one.
• Small end stuck in soil, fasten plant that needs support
• Separate spaghetti or fettuccine while cooking
• Adjust food presentation on plate by tiny distances, to perfect the look for photography or Mom
• Small end covered by dust cloth, run along inner edges of picture frames or smartphone/smart pad screens to get that last dust out of there
• Small end- apply single drops of glue or cement to repair torn leather
• Small end- make 1-3 punctures in top of banana to help snap stem end off
• Mix tiny amounts of craft paints to get perfect match for furniture touch-ups
• [What else can you think of?]

In what other ways have you ever used chopsticks?  May I add those to my collection?  Do you have a picture?  Has this piece “about chopsticks” made any other kinds of creativity or repurposing ideas flow into your mind?  Yes, that’s Upbeat Living!  And I hope you have a joyful day!

———————————————————–

• If you enjoy this post, please click “like” in the FB widget in the right hand column. You’ll have our undying gratitude plus a huge rise in your Good Karma! Due to a recent FB change, our “likes” look low.  Thanks for your help!

Energy – Peace – Meditation

• Kebba Buckley Button is a stress management expert.  She also has a natural healing practice and is an ordained minister. She is the author of the award-winning book, Discover The Secret Energized You (http://tinyurl.com/b44v3br), plus the 2013 book, Peace Within:  Your Peaceful Inner Core, Second Edition(http://tinyurl.com/mqg3uvc ). Her newest book is Sacred Meditation: Embracing the Divine, available through her office.  Just email SacredMeditation@kebba.com. 
• For an appointment or to ask Kebba to speak for your group: bookings@kebba.com .