Healthy Happy Loving Life: Writing is Fun–and Huck the Roof Dog

31 Sunday Jul 2022

Posted by Kebba Buckley Button in Feeling energized, Fun Things, Health, Healthy Happy Loving Life, Huck the Rooftop Dog, in the Flow, Kebba Buckley Button, Paul Taubman, stress, Stress Management, the life you want

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Discover The Secret Energized You, Feeling energized, Fun Things, Healthy Happy Loving Life, Huck the Rooftop Dog, joy, Paul Taubman

Photo by MJ Lindenmuth

As a writer, one of the best Fun Things I do is write for the Ultimate Blog Challenge every 3 months. I create and post an article with photos and social media links every day, for 31 days! Then I read and comment on the other writers’ blog posts, and my world opens up more each day. And I make wonderful friends. I hope my writings will entertain my readers and sometimes make them go “hmmmm”, prompting changes in habits that help them enjoy their lives more. At this point, I have over 600 articles on my blog, representing my natural healing and coaching practice. Today is the last piece of the July 2022 series.

Part of the fun of being in a blog challenge is the creativity of coming up with a topic every day. So I collect topics all the time, and they’re stored in a Secret Stash in my electronics. The UBC organizer, Digital Maestro Paul Taubman, provides a prompt each day during the challenge. Sometimes I use it, and sometimes I am more drawn to something else.

One of the Fun Things I found this month was an item featured in a British newspaper I read, The Telegraph. It seems, in Austin, Texas, USA, there is a golden retriever that just loves to let himself up on his family’s roof! Then he stays for hours, depending on the weather. His name is Huckleberry, or Huck for every day. Huck has been amazing passersby with his rooftop sentry mode now, since 2017. Huck is on Facebook, Instagram, The Dodo, and his own website. He has been featured on major news shows. Just search “Huck the Roof Dog” to see more images and videos. He draws enough concerned attention that his family had to post a sign saying not to worry about the dog on the roof. He figured out how to get up there, and he loves it. When the family expanded their house, they made sure to maintain Huck’s access, and he now has his own ramp.

Are you smiling now? Fill your mind with positive news and the negative news will be much less distressing! This will also let your nervous system reset, and you will literally feel better. And that would be you, even more awesome, and ever more Healthy Happy and Loving Life^sm!

In my daily series this month, I have hoped to strongly convince you that positive living is the way to be, and that it results in greater health and happiness and joy. Plus, it’s more fun! And that would be me and you, shaping our lives as we want them, ever more Healthy Happy and Loving Life^sm!

And–wouldn’t you like to subscribe? See you in the next post!

Kebba Buckley Button is a stress/energy management expert, holistic healer, and award-winning author who celebrates life. She has a longtime natural healing practice and is an ordained minister. Among her books are: Discover The Secret Energized You (http://tinyurl.com/b44v3br), Inspirations for Peace Within: Quotes and Images to Uplift and Inspire, and Sacred Meditation: Embracing the Divine. The books are available on Amazon and through Kebba’s office. They are also available in Scottsdale, Arizona, at the Franciscan Renewal Center bookstore and at the bookstore at St. Barnabas on the Desert Episcopal Church. Or simply email us to order: kebba@kebba.com . Thank you!

Books by Kebba Buckley Button

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Chemo Mission Complete!

30 Saturday Jul 2022

Posted by Kebba Buckley Button in beating cancer, chemo, chemotherapy, Dealing with stress, rainbows, stress, Stress Management, the life you want

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beating cancer, chemo, chemotherapy, Grief, Kebba Buckley Button, rainbows, The life you want, UpBeat Living

Last July, I was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer. I suddenly began a journey with Mayo Clinic, involving surgery and chemotherapy. Mayo is very serious about beating cancer. Within days of the diagnosis, I was in surgery, then chemo every 4 weeks for a year, plus many blood draws and scans to see how I was doing. Friends gave me many rides to my many appointments.

Here, I am sharing 4 images that are very important to me. After those many visits to the chemo unit, I wanted a photo of me in the chair. And I love the image of the drip monitor saying, “INFUSION COMPLETE”. Yes! The series is complete, and I will never need to be in that room again. We did the work. The colorful certificate, above, was provided by the nurses, a team of whom presented themselves cheerfully at the completion of my last infusion. They were wearing sparkly hats and carrying quiet noisemakers, jumping up and down, celebrating my success.

Finally, I love rainbows and their meaning as God’s promise/s that all will be well, starting now. And here is one that God offered me a few days ago, after a PET scan showed there is no longer any cancer!!

Mayo will continue to draw my blood and scan me, for several years. But now I focus on getting my strength back and enjoying my life and loved ones, my work and my clients. And that is me, shaping the new life I want, ever more Healthy Happy and Loving Life^sm!

In my daily series this month, I hope to strongly convince you that positive living is the way to be, and that it results in greater health and happiness and joy. Plus, it’s more fun! And that would be me and you, shaping our lives anew, ever more Healthy Happy and Loving Life^sm!

Kebba Buckley Button is a stress management expert, holistic healer, and award-winning author who celebrates life. She has a longtime natural healing practice and is an ordained minister. Among her books are: Discover The Secret Energized You (http://tinyurl.com/b44v3br), Inspirations for Peace Within: Quotes and Images to Uplift and Inspire, and Sacred Meditation: Embracing the Divine. The books are available on Amazon and through Kebba’s office. They are also available in Scottsdale, Arizona, at the Franciscan Renewal Center bookstore and at the bookstore at St. Barnabas on the Desert Episcopal Church. Or simply email us to order: kebba@kebba.com . Thank you!

Books by Kebba Buckley Button

Healthy Happy Loving Life: My Ridiculous Year Since My Life Turned On A Dime

28 Thursday Jul 2022

Posted by Kebba Buckley Button in beating cancer, Dealing with stress, loss of a spouse, stress, Stress Management, the life you want

≈ 18 Comments

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beating cancer, Grief, Grieving, Kebba Buckley Button, loss of a spouse, The life you want, UpBeat Living

Ron and Kebba Button. Image by Judy Mangino.

Today marks the milestone of one year since my life became ridiculous. One year ago, I suddenly became a chemo patient, a widow, and a home flood survivor. My husband was 19 years older than me, and he preferred not to have any medical help. As he had been very ill, I was not surprised when he began vomiting blood. There is no sight like 6 buff paramedics in your front hallway, each holding strange boxes and parcels of equipment. They quickly determined Hunky Husband needed to go immediately to a certain hospital– the nearest, and a fantastic emergency/trauma center. He would never come home again.

My identity as wife changed to my identity as widow in days. Most of the time I was going through chemo, I was a widow. I had his wedding band resized for me, and I wore it all the time. But now, stepping over the threshold into my new life, it no longer works to define myself in relation to that chapter of my life. It no longer works to define myself by the post-surgical pain, the chemo pain, or the pain of mourning. My husband and I each did our best in the number of years we had together. It’s time to bless and release those years. Now it’s time for me to take care of myself and do and be what I am called to do and be.

For me, as a person of faith, I saw God was clearing the decks for me to move into my New Life. It hasn’t been easy. But there was one direction in which to move: forward.

I am so grateful for the staffs of the facilities that treated my husband, and the Mayo Clinic, which has been treating me. I am grateful for the friends who took me to frequent appointments and to pick up my husband’s ashes. I am grateful for all those who helped me celebrate Hunky Husband’s life, on his 88th birthday, in September. I am grateful to my writer friends in the Ultimate Blog Challenge, who gave my life rhythm during the August, November, January, April, and (now) July blog challenges. Writing has been great therapy! So great for keeping the mind and heart fresh! And the friendships have bolstered me more than you may all know. I am so grateful for everyone who helped me, prayed for me, sent kind notes, included me in events, and rushed to hug me.

I am especially grateful for my husband’s son, who teamed with me to oversee my husband’s care in his last few weeks. Also for my Hospice counselor friend who gives me regular grief counseling, keeping my perspective ticking.

After my Ridiculous Year, I am a deeper person. I laugh if someone tries to be rude– I just don’t care. Such things are not “of me”, and they do not matter. I am more calmly caring, my rough edges worn away by pain and trials. Every good thing seems so sweet. I greet my house when I come home: hello, sweet house! I savor the friendships that have become more deep and textured in the last year.

I am grateful for the love of friends, some of whom sent cards, and some whom texted their love and support and prayers daily. I am grateful for my home prayer team, the Order of Saint Luke (OSL), whose love and compassion and prayers kept me going when I could hardly walk, and since. I am grateful for relatives understanding I needed tons of extra rest and quiet, not gatherings and calls. I am grateful to the Masonic and Shrine families, who declared their undying love and support for me, together with permanent invitations to all events.

I am grateful for the beautiful skies, sunny days and rainy ones. I treasure the miraculous sky photos I am able to capture. I give thanks for many goofy little things, like a perfectly ripe avocado, California rolls, and a new Mickey Mouse mug brought by friends from Disney Orlando. I am grateful for my conversations with blogger friends, their articles taking me where I would not have thought to go during these months of shock and juggling widowy paperwork. I am grateful that my healing clients are coming back; I love serving them. I love this one-year milestone and all of my progress. It is a huge blessing to feel my vitality and enthusiasm coming back. I have taken my wedding rings off, for embarking on this new time in my life. My Ridiculous Year is giving way, with grace, to my New Beautiful Life.

I had set the goal of not carrying this story beyond one year. So this piece is the end of my telling this story. Now I focus on my health and re-setting my home, and enjoying my life and loved ones, my work and my clients. And that is me, shaping the new life I want, ever more Healthy Happy and Loving Life^sm!

Books by Kebba Buckley Button

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Wordless Wednesday God Rays and Sunrise Bright

27 Wednesday Jul 2022

Posted by Kebba Buckley Button in Effective Living, Feeling energized, Health, Healthy Happy Loving Life, in the Flow, Kebba Buckley Button, skygazing, stress, Stress Management, the life you want

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Discover The Secret Energized You, Feeling energized, Healthy Happy Loving Life, joy, skygazing, UpBeat Living

Phoenix image by Kebba Buckley Button–

NW Las Vegas image by Marcia Griffeth, used by permission–

Look at both these images as large/ly as you can. Skygazing is fun! Plus, it resets your brain. And that would be you, even more awesome, and ever more Healthy Happy and Loving Life^sm!

Books by Kebba Buckley Button

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Sunrise Sunday

24 Sunday Jul 2022

Posted by Kebba Buckley Button in Effective Living, Feeling energized, Health, Healthy Happy Loving Life, in the Flow, Kebba Buckley Button, skygazing, stress, Stress Management, the life you want

≈ 8 Comments

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Discover The Secret Energized You, Healthy Happy Loving Life, skygazing, UpBeat Living

This image is the Sun rising over Cabo, this week. A friend was celebrating a big birthday and photographer Carol Young managed to capture this! Skygazing is fun! Plus, it resets your DHEA, the master hormone, and your brain. And that would be you, ever more Healthy Happy and Loving Life^sm!

Books by Kebba Buckley Button

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Life as Art

21 Thursday Jul 2022

Posted by Kebba Buckley Button in Feeling energized, Effective Living, stress, Lifestyle, Feng Shui, art, life as art

≈ 5 Comments

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energy, choices, at choice, Feng Shui, life as art

We have sometimes heard the expression, “Life imitates art.” But what if Life itself is the art of the individual? A dictionary definition offers this:

“[Art is] the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.”

An artist friend, Lily Leung, is a very creative woman I met through the Ultimate Blog Challenge. Lily bakes, gardens, skis, writes, sketches, and paints. Today, she shared this quote from Helena Bonham Carter:

“I think everything in life is art. What you do. How you dress. The way you love someone, and how you talk. Your smile and your personality. What you believe in, and all your dreams. The way you drink your tea. How you decorate your home. Or party. Your grocery list. The food you make. How your writing looks. And the way you feel. Life is art.”

Somehow, this Carter quote reminded me of the experiences I have had with light moving through my living space of 18 years. Each hour the light is different, as my home is oriented West-to-East. There is a huge park, Pierce Park, on the east side of my home, with my Feng Shui Garden between the house and the Park. The sun rises in the morning and moves across the living room, changing the shadows, colors, and energy as it goes. At nightfall, the back side of sunset filters in from the Park, painting its own colors across the living room. I could not help but paint the great beauty of the moving light: Pierce Park Evening, in acrylics on wood. I hope you enjoy it. Notice the light moving from right to left, from the Park through the house, as the sunset backlighting fades.

Since we are always at choice, does it make sense to you that we are actually creating our lives as we go? And isn’t that art? I hope you engage more and more, as creator, with the art of your life– and enjoy it thoroughly. And that will be you, ever more Healthy Happy and Loving Life^sm!

Books by Kebba Buckley Button

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Wordless Wednesday Sky Curves

20 Wednesday Jul 2022

Posted by Kebba Buckley Button in Effective Living, Feeling energized, Health, Healthy Happy Loving Life, in the Flow, Kebba Buckley Button, skygazing, stress, Stress Management, the life you want

≈ 2 Comments

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Discover The Secret Energized You, Healthy Happy Loving Life, skygazing, UpBeat Living

Images by Kebba Buckley Button.

Skygazing is fun! Plus, it resets your brain. And that would be you, ever more Healthy Happy and Loving Life^sm!

Books by Kebba Buckley Button

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Some Mistakes Can Be Corrected

19 Tuesday Jul 2022

Posted by Kebba Buckley Button in apologizing, Dealing with stress, Effective Living, Feeling energized, Feng Shui, Guilt, Lifestyle, mistakes, stress

≈ 8 Comments

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apologizing, choices, energy, Feng Shui, Guilt, mistakes, stress, Stress Management

-Image by megapixl

From the time we were very young, we have understood the power of “OOPS!” Sometimes tiny children, who otherwise only know the word “NO”, have caught onto the idea of “OOPS!”, the thing that is a mistake. Sometimes the glass of juice is knocked over. Sometimes the cat goes in the garbage can. Sometimes candy gets melded with a small toy, and the toy can’t operate right now, with all that sticky goodness all over it. We parent types spin around fast when we hear a tiny voice saying “OOPS!” or even “UH_OH!” Those are our clues to come running and fix the mistake.

However, for adults, we may sometimes make mistakes we don’t even realize are mistakes. I will share two of mine now. Fortunately, I realized they were mistakes!

I was visiting my mother in Denver, while she had some serious surgery. I was treating her with energy healing, ahead of and after the surgery, to shorten the recovery time–which worked! I was staying in her house, for a week, while she was in the hospital 3 minutes away. MISTAKE #1: I realized Mom had a magazine photo cutout, taped to her bedroom wall, slightly rumpled, of polar bears relaxing together. I thought it would look so much nicer in a frame. So out of love and good intentions, I purchased a frame and put the relaxing polar bears in it (as below- original photographer unknown). I then found what I thought was a great spot, and I placed the framed photo there. I was so pleased!

But when Mom came home, and I proudly showed her my gift of love, she said, “but before, they were right where I could see them every morning when I woke up. They lifted my day.” OOPS! Fortunately, I was able to not only apologize and explain myself, but to correct this mistake. And after Mom passed, the Estate gave me the polar bears. Now they are in my bedroom, and I see them, with love, when I wake up each morning.

During that same week of Mom’s surgery, I made MISTAKE #2, which revolved around furniture. Sometimes, you cannot repair a mistake, but you can apologize. Mom’s house was very clean and neat. I knew it was going on the market soon. So, being familiar with Feng Shui, I began absent-mindedly adjusting the positions of the living room chairs. They had been placed to roughly form a social square, but at strange angles. I started correcting them to face in the 8 Feng Shui Directions, and I got into a snarl. I got to a point where two lamps could no longer be plugged in, so there was no local lighting in that area. OH maybe that’s why the arrangement had been done the way it had? And there were a couple of other problems I created with my well-meaning, helpful efforts. I tried to put the furniture back and simply could not restore the strange angles. OOPS! I did the best I could, but I felt terribly guilty. I was due back at the hospital, and I confessed all to Mom, saying I was out of line and I was SO SORRY. I was astonished that she waved her hand casually and said, “oh, that’s fine—don’t worry about it.” She really was unconcerned. Whew!

By the way, I did a clearly Good Thing that week. I found the correct color paint in the basement and repainted a wall that somehow was only half painted. Score 1 for helpfulness!

So when you make a mistake, do you admit it and try to fix it? And apologize? If you don’t do these things, you’ll feel guilty. And guilt depresses the parasympathetic nervous system for hours after one guilty thought! So handle it as well as you can, for both good relationships and good health. And that will be you, ever more Healthy Happy and Loving Life^sm!

Books by Kebba Buckley Button

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Beat Stress With Laughs

15 Friday Jul 2022

Posted by Kebba Buckley Button in Dealing with stress, Effective Living, Feeling energized, Humor, Laughing, Laughing at stress, Lifestyle, No Stress Entrepreneurship, stress, Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

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Beat stress, choices, energy, Feeling energized, joy, Laughing, laughing at stress, laughs, stress, Stress Management

Photographer unknown

One of the funniest and most endearing videos rippling around the Internet currently is a tiny movie about the tiniest black pig (“Kingsford the Piglet Goes for a Swim”). The piglet is smaller than a woman’s foot, jet black, eager, and passionate to be included with his humans. Watch this video once, and you’ll feel so charmed, you’ll have to watch it again. The piglet’s antics make you laugh. Another video is YouTube’s “Dancing Bulldog”, in which a small bulldog is evidently boogeying to some fun music. Of all the videos I have seen in recent months, I laughed the hardest at “Silent Monks Hallelujah Chorus”, in which cards are held up to encourage the audience to sing along. Impish variations surprise and make you laugh. What videos or movies have made you laugh?

-Image by megapixl

Laughter feels good! It makes you relax, from your muscles to your skin to your attitude. Laughing very hard can cause you to clutch your spasming abdomen, gasp for breath, drool a bit, and wipe your teary eyes. A good, hearty laugh can make you feel refreshed, even totally rested. And there are medical benefits: higher DHEA, improved immune function (fewer allergies and illnesses with regular laughter) and better blood vessel function leading to better blood pressure than when you are stressed. However, researchers say the medical benefits are hard to measure. Rather, it is easier to observe the social benefits of laughter: it is both symptomatic of happy relationships and contagious, creating more social connection and happiness (Robert Provine, Laughter: A Scientific Investigation, Penguin Books, 2001). Women laugh about a quarter more than men. Those who say they laugh a lot also tend to be in good health. Laughter therapy is used for cancer patients, who find it helps their quality of life. Laughter can increase the release of endorphins, the anti-stress brain chemicals that can lessen pain and stiffness.

Laughter is a part of our makeup. Babies start laughing when they are as young as 10 weeks. And adults are immediately drawn in, trying to see what they can do to get the baby to laugh again. Watch a normally calm parent of a 3-month-old, making faces and tickling the baby, producing any noise or gesture that will make the little one laugh. The urge to get a laugh is right up there with the urge to laugh.

Yet there can be a poignant edge to humor—a place where discomfort can be portrayed in a way that makes us laugh and discharge that discomfort. A popular expression is, “You have to laugh to keep from crying!” Folk wisdom advises us to shrug off or laugh off our troubles. Comedienne Ellen Degeneres made her early career describing uncomfortable events from everyday life, in a comical way, with a mournful look. She delivered her vignettes in ways that made people laugh, and laugh, and laugh. In recent years, she has had a top-rated television show, Ellen, many endorsements and guest host opportunities, and an estimated income of $45 million per year. People can relate to her humor. She makes them laugh, and this has built her success. People need to laugh at their troubles.

Not long ago, Dr. Phil McGraw ran a show about comedians who transformed terrible personal pain into comedy. The episode of Dr. Phil highlighted two comedians, Darrell Hammond and Chris Titus. Each overcame horrific backgrounds to become well-known and successful in comedy. Darrell Hammond is now the author of a book, God, If You’re Not Up There, I’m F***ed. His humor has helped many to laugh at their troubles and take a lighter view. Chris Titus knows humor can literally be lifesaving: a fan who was about to kill himself accidentally sat on his TV controller, and the TV popped on to a Chris Titus performance. The fan began to laugh and changed his mind about killing himself.

What makes you laugh until you cry? Do that more! And that will be you, ever more Healthy Happy and Loving Life^sm!

Books by Kebba Buckley Button

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Clouds After A Storm for Wordless Wednesday

13 Wednesday Jul 2022

Posted by Kebba Buckley Button in Effective Living, Feeling energized, Health, Healthy Happy Loving Life, in the Flow, Kebba Buckley Button, skygazing, stress, Stress Management, the life you want

≈ 11 Comments

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Discover The Secret Energized You, Healthy Happy Loving Life, skygazing, UpBeat Living

After a recent storm, I was blessed to catch this view of “God Rays” breaking through the clouds. Have a beautiful day wherever you are!

Skygazing is fun! Plus, it resets your brain. And that would be you, ever more Healthy Happy and Loving Life^sm!

Books by Kebba Buckley Button

Healthy Happy Loving Life!

~ Your source for energized, fulfilled, joyous living!

Category Archives: stress

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Writing is Fun–and Huck the Roof Dog

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Chemo Mission Complete!

Healthy Happy Loving Life: My Ridiculous Year Since My Life Turned On A Dime

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Wordless Wednesday God Rays and Sunrise Bright

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Sunrise Sunday

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Life as Art

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Wordless Wednesday Sky Curves

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Some Mistakes Can Be Corrected

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Beat Stress With Laughs

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Clouds After A Storm for Wordless Wednesday

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