Healthy Happy Loving Life: Life as Art

21 Thursday Jul 2022

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

Tags

at choice, choices, energy, 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!

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/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: Happy Bastille (Freedom) Day, July 14th!

14 Thursday Jul 2022

Posted by Kebba Buckley Button in Bastille Day, Feeling energized, French National Day July 14th, Healthy Happy Loving Life, Kebba Buckley Button

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

at choice, Bastille Day, freedom, French National Day July 14th, Healthy Happy Loving Life, positive living, UpBeat Living

Image by megapixl

Happy Bastille Day! July 14^th is the anniversary of the storming of a fortress called The Bastille, in Paris, in 1789. This day has become a freedom holiday, celebrated with fireworks the night before, and on the 14^th, every festival activity you can think of. This holiday is also called French National Day (Fete Nationale), or The Fourteenth of July (Quatorze Juillet).

Many have passed the story that the Bastille was a prison, and a mob broke into the prison to set political and economic prisoners free. However, at that time, the Bastille was mainly a fortress where munitions were stored, and only a few political prisoners were typically held. On the day of the storming of the Bastille, there were exactly 7 prisoners: four forgers, the Comte de Solanges (being held for a “sexual misdemeanor”), and two mentally ill men. One of the two mentally ill men was an English or Irish man who had a very long beard and thought he was Julius Caesar. Yes, the prisoners were set free, with the overtaking of the fortress.

However, think of this day more as the 1789 kickoff of the French Revolution and a new life for France. The economy under King Louis XVI (Sixteenth) was suffering, and Louis was a weak king. The rich were deep in financial excess and luxury living, while the general populace was suffering. So what the stormers of the Bastille really wanted was to seize the munitions, to stage a coup. Eventually, they not only took over the country, but they beheaded King Louis, and later they beheaded his famous wife, Marie Antoinette.

Today, you cannot go visit the Bastille. It was completely dismantled and the stones dispersed! Some of the stones went into street paving and some into other buildings. Some stones were taken as souvenirs (and I would have taken one for sure). Today there is an elegant monument where the fortress stood. And pieces of the stone works are highlighted around the City, for example, in a subway station.

So this day is the day when the life of France pivoted on an action by the people. The monarchy was out, and popular rule was in. Some see this movement as related to the momentum for the American Colonies to separate from England, a few years earlier. And look what happened on that continent!

So happy French National Day! Think of your own freedoms, and give thanks for them! And that will be you, ever more Healthy Happy and Loving Life^sm!

Books by Kebba Buckley Button

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Happy Freedom Day!

04 Monday Jul 2022

Posted by Kebba Buckley Button in at choice, Effective Living, Feeling energized, Healthy Happy Loving Life, Kebba Buckley Button, the life you want

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

at choice, freedom, Healthy Happy Loving Life, positive living, UpBeat Living

stress, Upbeat Living, Kebba Buckley Button, freedom

Today we celebrate USA independence from British rule. Shall we call this the “AmerExit“? Our forefathers felt so strongly about crafting our country and our lifestyles as we prefer, that they fought a war for it. They signed a Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, 246 years ago. It outlined their intentions and values for this country. Freedom is the greatest underlying value we have.

Yet there are different levels of freedom. Today, we have the greatest freedom ever known, to each choose our lifestyles. We are free to follow any religion and to read the Bible, for example, in any translation– a freedom denied in many countries. We can wear pants or skirts, natural hair or purple, and we only cover our faces in case of a dust storm or a medical need.

Our country is a massive economic and political power in the global community. This has emerged in great part due to the spirit of freedom in this country, which fosters innovation and initiative.

As you celebrate with food, fun, and fireworks, think about all the ways in which you are free and at choice. And in what ways you would like to exercise that freedom more in your life, family, and work. And that’s you, living positively! Happy Fourth!

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. It’s more fun! And that would be me and you, shaping our lives anew, ever more Healthy Happy and Loving Life^sm!

Books by Kebba Buckley Button

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Pray and Believe

19 Wednesday Jan 2022

Posted by Kebba Buckley Button in Divine, knowing our Good is manifesting, Spirit, stress, Stress Management, the life you want, UpBeat Living, Upbeat Spiritual Living

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

at choice, Divine, Healthy Happy Loving Life, Kebba Buckley Button, Prayer, Spirit, spiritual stress management, UpBeat Living, Upbeat Spiritual Living

What have you prayed for lately? Are you perhaps praying for the New Year 2022 to have the qualities you want? Many people think prayer is asking God/Heaven/Spirit/Jesus/Buddha/Allah/Krishna for something. Or pleading, if the need is great. But there are a few forms of prayer, and you can choose. It’s your prayer.

Consider a prayer in which you celebrate your Good, celebrate all that is busy manifesting in your life. New Thought churches say, if you don’t like what’s happening in your life, choose a new thought. Many people are affirming their issues, not living in ways such that they are open to their Good. Thought attracts, but not just psychologically. Your Good is coming in all the time. You need to notice and welcome it and say, “Thank You!” to the Divine.

The Divine is always smarter, knows more, sees more, knows what has been, and knows what is to come. God knows the desires of your heart! How could God not know?

Years ago, I worked with a Greek engineer, whose faith was that of the Greek Orthodox Church. Speaking about prayer one day, he asked me, “but doesn’t any prayer indicate uncertainty?” I was rocked! He was saying, since there is nothing hidden from God, and since God loves us, how would we not believe that God was/is taking care of things?

In fact, Romans 8:28 (KJV) offers this:

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

So God is looking out for us. And who, with what smarts and skills, would you rather have looking out for you?

So, what if you do pray, that is, ask God to direct His particular attention to your finances, or your cancer, or your brother’s marriage-on-the-rocks, or your Mom’s malfunctioning knee? He already knows about it. So go ahead, pray, and KNOW that God knows, God loves you, and God is taking care of it, usually in ways beyond our imagining. Print this, from Mark 11:24, for your bathroom mirror, and ponder it often:

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

So if you want to have faith in your faith, ponder this astonishing thunderclap advice: God loves you, God is for you and God is taking care of things. Believe it to be true. The answers to your prayers are busy manifesting. Believe that to be true. Repeat. Amen. And the more deeply you take in these principles, the more joyfully you will be in Upbeat Spiritual Living!^sm

And that would be you, increasingly 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. Email us to order: kebba@kebba.com .

Books by Kebba Buckley Button

Healthy Happy Loving Life: A Coffee Prayer

18 Tuesday Jan 2022

Posted by Kebba Buckley Button in Coffee Prayer, Divine, Spirit, stress, Stress Management, the life you want, UpBeat Living, Upbeat Spiritual Living

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

at choice, Divine, Healthy Happy Loving Life, Kebba Buckley Button, Spirit, spiritual stress management, UpBeat Living, Upbeat Spiritual Living

When your feet hit the floor in the morning, what are your first thoughts? Do you ever greet the Divine/ God/ the Universe/ Spirit in the morning? If you don’t, have you ever thought of doing that? Reaching out to the Divine as soon as you come to some consciousness when you rise– this will set your whole day in motion. It will calibrate you with God, with Jesus, with the Living, Loving, Spirit of All Life, by whatever name/s you call the Divine. You will feel more “in the groove” if you take a couple of minutes to do this before launching into your normal busy day.

I start early. I like to step outside, whatever the weather, for a couple of minutes, and greet God and pray a bit. I like to feel the weather, listen to the birds, look up at the sky and give thanks for the beauty of God’s Universe. I also pray for blessings and uplift/meant for several groups of people.

But perhaps you would like to sit in your prayer chair and read something quietly. Here is a short prayer I call “The Coffee Prayer”, that you can use and edit as you find most meaningful. While you sip your morning beverage, you might like to read this prayer over a few times, then start adjusting the words to work best for you. Ready? Here it is:

The Coffee Prayer

Good morning, Lord! I love you so much. I just feel the fullness of Your love and grace in every hour. I feel Your hand in everything that happens. At the same time, I know that you have gifted us each with certain intelligence and abilities. I know it’s my responsibility to hold up my end–to do my best every day to be the person you want me to be. I lift my coffee mug to you in awe and thanks and praise. In Jesus’ Name I pray: together, LET’S MAKE IT A GREAT DAY. Amen.

Let me know how you liked this idea, and what edits you made for it to feel just right for you.

And if you don’t believe in prayer, is there another way you set yourself up for a great day? I would love to hear about it.

And that would be you, increasingly Healthy Happy and Loving Life^sm!

Books by Kebba Buckley Button

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Be a Piece of Peace in Our Time

17 Monday Jan 2022

Posted by Kebba Buckley Button in At choice, Peace in our time, stress, Stress Management, the life you want, UpBeat Living

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

at choice, Healthy Happy Loving Life, Kebba Buckley Button, peace, Peace in our time, peace within, stress, Stress Management, UpBeat Living

Our beautiful Planet of 7.9 billion souls intensely needs peace in our time. Many of us have that forefront in our hearts and minds today, as we think of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King committed his life to social justice, and he literally gave his life for his beliefs.

Our World now has large civil wars, mass migrations, religious persecutions, mass shootings, urban crime, police attacking innocents, extensive cybercrime, and a lot of people stressed enough to blow up any second. It is clear we need some peace, some balance, and some harmony. My stubborn heart believes we can achieve peace in our time. So how can we get there?

Does this resonate for you: No one would make war if everyone were happy, had enough water, sanitation, food, income, education, and community connection. To get to that enoughness, we all can help, in 3 areas: social justice, personal peace within, and prayer:

Social justice. Do what you can to make a difference. Take bags to the food bank, and volunteer to pack food backpacks for “food insecure” children. Spend 3 Saturdays with your church’s Habitat for Humanity team. Speak kindly. Wait for the other car to pull out of its parking space. When someone drops something, pick it up for them. If someone appears to be in financial need, pull money from your pocket, hand it to them, and say, “I think you dropped this.” Donate to local and international NGOs (Non-Government Organizations), including favorite ministries, that have programs for feeding, clothing, housing, educating, and even rescuing youth from prostitution and child marriages. Give to NGOs that work to save habitat and environment, as creature habitats are being lost to cheap-food farming in a number of countries. Healthy habitat one place means healthy land-sea-air Planet-wide. Support legislation that helps correct social wrongs, support voting rights, and build strong communities. Find out what your church’s Faith in Action programs are up to, and help a little as you can.

Peace Within. 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. Be peaceful as you drive to the store or walk through the shops. This is a major way you can help the Planet, and it’s a skill set. Study positive ideas and books (such as Inspirations for Peace Within: Quotes and Images to Uplift and Inspire), 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.

Mahatma 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.

Prayer. Pray often. Maintain your hope. Go to your peace within and go to your house of worship. Read meditative and prayer-rich writings. Perhaps collect your own group of positive prayers that you read to yourself every morning and evening, along with your meditation practice. Visualize peace. Practice knowing that you are the soul of peace. Know that peace is in your heart, which overflows to help others be peaceful. Pray for the least peaceful people and leaders you know: they are actually broken-hearted. Pray for anyone and any creature who is suffering anywhere. Pray for those who don’t realize there is any reason to pray. Pray for all the good people of the Planet who are saving lives and encouraging people and animals. Pray gratitude for every lovely and good thing that you can think of.

While Gandhi probably never actually said “Be the change you wish to see”, you can certainly say, “Be the peace you would like to see.” Be a little individual hub of peace in our time. Throw your arms around your life and find yourself Loving Life^sm!

And that would be you, increasingly Healthy Happy and Loving Life^sm!

Books by Kebba Buckley Button

Healthy Happy Loving Life: A Story in One Image

16 Sunday Jan 2022

Posted by Kebba Buckley Button in At choice, Peace Day, stress, Stress Management, the life you want, UpBeat Living

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

at choice, Healthy Happy Loving Life, Kebba Buckley Button, peace, Peace Day, stress, Stress Management, UpBeat Living

Image by Peter Jordan

This image of 200 people was taken on Peace Day 2013, at the Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale, Arizona. I am the fourth person from the left, just behind the child. [I give programs at the Center from time to time.] The figures in brown robes are Franciscan Friars who live at the Franciscan Renewal Center. We gathered to make our statement of HOPE for the Planet. We hope. We pray. We join hearts with anyone anywhere who wants peace and good for the Planet.

What would your statement for the Planet be? In what ways can you make your statement?

And that would be you, increasingly Healthy Happy and Loving Life^sm!

Books by Kebba Buckley Button

Healthy Happy Loving Life: 5 Steps to Access Your Peace Within

14 Sunday Nov 2021

Posted by Kebba Buckley Button in At choice, Effective Living, inner peace, Kebba Buckley Button, Peace Within, stress, the life you want

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

at choice, effective living strategies, Healthy Happy Loving Life, inner peace, Kebba Buckley Button, peace within, stress, The life you want

Image by Megapixl

In my last post, I described Peace Within, and I shared the many names it goes by. I said how important it is to have a solid inner habit of Peace Within, so that no matter what happens, you are peaceful and effective. Nasty people will not upset you, noise and bustle will not upset you, and rude news headlines will not rock your internal boat. Instead, you will remain internally serene, like the seated woman in traffic, in the image above. So how exactly do you get to your personal Peace Within?

FIRST: Choose that you want to have this deeply calm inner core. Set your intention. Write it down, journal about it, and/or post it. This will change your life.

SECOND: Check your spiritual belief system. Remind yourself that the Divine is greater than any issues that would normally shake you. Divine Love is infinite. We simply are out of touch with it so much of the time. Journal about your beliefs.

THIRD: Become aware of your tense body posture, drop your shoulders, and choose a relaxed and casual posture, checking a few times a day. Your relaxed, even serene, body positioning will signal your nervous system and brain that you have Peace Within. You will begin being less reactive to whatever unpleasant news or happenings. Look how serene the woman in the above picture is!

FOURTH: Become aware of how you are talking to yourself, and start replacing negative phrases with new, peaceful scripts. Anytime you hear yourself thinking a negative or stressed phrase, substitute a positive one. This is not the same as affirmations. This is deeper.

FIFTH: Support your new resolve by the media you feed yourself. Switch off video war games, war movies and tense TV/movie dramas; they are designed to hook your fear, not help you be peaceful and centered. Watch TV shows about beautiful landscapes and cute animals and fun travels. Read books that make you feel good. Read poetry that makes you feel good and peaceful. Pull out your books of daily inspirations, designed to strengthen your heart and increase your confidence. A great one of these books is my latest book, Inspirations for Peace Within–Quotes and Images to Uplift and Inspire. Designed to fit easily in your laptop case, in your purse, or on your bedside table, this is the 100-page book to pour into your head, with hundreds of quotes, encouragements, and beautiful images that transport. Read the quotes and poems often. Start anywhere in the book, and pick it up again, reading any pages. Do this on rising and as you’re going to sleep at night. In 3 days, you will notice a terrific transformation. To get either the full-color pdf ebook ($10 per copy) or the softback book ($20 per copy, which includes postage), simply PayPal your payment to kebba@kebba.com. If you prefer an invoice, just let us know. We want to support your Peace Within! (Yes, you can see our books and reviews on Amazon.com, but they are out of stock and copies are only available through the office. Contact us!)

And that will be you, 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 , Inspirations for Peace Within: Quotes and Images to Uplift and Inspire, and Sacred Meditation: Embracing the Divine. The books are shown and reviewed on Amazon (http://tinyurl.com/b44v3br) and can be obtained through Kebba’s office ($10 pdf, $20 softback–includes postage). Our email/PayPal is: kebba@kebba.com .

Books by Kebba Buckley Button

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Wouldn’t You Like Peace Within?

13 Saturday Nov 2021

Posted by Kebba Buckley Button in At choice, Effective Living, inner peace, Kebba Buckley Button, stress, the life you want

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

at choice, effective living strategies, Healthy Happy Loving Life, inner peace, Kebba Buckley Button, peace within, stress, The life you want

Image by Megapixl

My first book, Discover The Secret Energized You, exposed the ongoing exhaustion people have from a stress-accumulating lifestyle. It covered causes and solutions for stress. It offered that people can actually trade in their stress habits for energizing habits and end up feeling younger, healthier, happier and more vital. In taking this material to groups, I was surprised to find most people don’t have a calm center to touch in with. Most people don’t have peace within. While my book offered ways to calm down, to feel more centered, and to release stress, it did not cover in detail how to create and build up a personal inner reservoir of utterly serene, grounded centeredness. I have heard motivational speakers and pastors exhort people: “Don’t let anyone steal your peace!” But what if a person has no fundamental inner peace and perhaps never did? What if you had ways to discover that calm, sure center, or build it, or strengthen deeply the peace within you already have?

The bodymind system craves what will help it. We know from medical studies that there are many benefits of managing stress through relaxation. The renowned Mayo Clinic lists some of these positive health changes as: slowing heart rate, lowering blood pressure, slowing breathing, increasing blood flow to major muscles, reducing muscle tension and chronic pain, improving concentration, reducing anger and frustration, and boosting confidence to handle problems. Clearly, relaxing feels better than stressing over negatives. A number of approaches can help a person to achieve a state of physical relaxation.

Relaxing the body is not the same as peace within, but it can help get you there. Peace within is something more: a soul peace, a calm knowingness, a fully heart-installed faith that God is there and all is truly well, whatever the appearance of things. So, what if your relaxation efforts were coupled with terrific internal surety and serenity? What if your heart, mind, and soul were on board with your relaxation quest? What is this state that people seek? I call it simply peace within. However, it goes by various names: serenity, soul ease, contentment, personal peace, sweet relief, inner peace, tranquility, peace of mind, soul peace, a calm heart, certainty, centeredness, wellbeing, mental peace, and State of Grace. Perhaps you have heard other expressions for it.

By whatever name, this is the state I would like to help you find, or deepen. Would you like to experience that? We’ll say more in tomorrow’s article. And that will be you, ever more Healthy Happy and Loving Life^sm!

Books by Kebba Buckley Button

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Beat Holiday Stress with 4 Top Tips!

12 Friday Nov 2021

Posted by Kebba Buckley Button in At choice, Effective Living, holiday stress, Holiday stress tips, Kebba Buckley Button, stress, the life you want

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

at choice, effective living strategies, Healthy Happy Loving Life, holiday stress, Kebba Buckley Button, stress, The life you want

–A version of this article appeared on our Upbeat Spiritual Living blog in November 2017.–

Image by Megapixl

In the USA, “The Holidays” now means the entire season from before Halloween to after Christmas and New Year’s Day. This season sweeps through Yule, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, HumanLight, and Ramadan, with Boxing Day on December 26th. This year, The Holidays seemed to start before Halloween: I saw my first red- and green-labeled carton of eggnog around October 25. Then Hanukkah begins Thanksgiving weekend, Sunday November 28th! We are now in the peak frenzy of The Holidays, with Christmas only 42 days away.

In this country’s popular culture, The Holidays are supposed to be a happy, bustling time when people love to buy gifts, decorate seasonally, have large gatherings, play and sing seasonal music, go to church, and eat and drink copious quantities of rich and sweet foods. Yet many feel mildly stressed, bluesy, or even totally stressed during this time! If you are one of those who get stressed, these tips are for you.

First, simplify, and select how you will spend your energy. It’s important to realize The Holiday Season now reaches over almost a 3-month period, so you need a strategy other than trying to ignore it. So write down everything you usually expect from yourself, such as:

o Buy seasonal candy

o Put it in seasonal candy dishes in home and office

o Buy cards and mail

o Play holiday music in your home, go caroling with a group

o Buy gifts for 10 relatives and wrap, take or ship

o Attend 4 parties with special appetizers you make

o Attend 3 holiday concerts or dance performances

o Attend 2 on-holiday family dinners

o Go to church services wearing red and your happiest face

o Go to a sing-along of The Messiah and sing your heart out

o Take the kids for a carriage ride around Kierland or Central Park, or to a Disneyland event, depending on your area

o Take holiday photos

o Post all those activities on FaceBook and Instagram

o Help feed the homeless at St. Vincent de Paul or Salvation Army on Christmas Day

o Buy larger pants in New Year’s sales.

Whew! Did you feel energized, or did you feel tired and worn after reading this expectations list? Now that you have written it all down, try cutting those expectations and events by two thirds. Now order the gifts and have them shipped. Use a card service to get the cards out, or email your good wishes, or skip the cards altogether this year. Take the photos with your phone or your kid’s phone, and post them and your holiday wishes on Instagram and Facebook. Play only music YOU have chosen. Don’t let the TV run, with the constant messages of “Buy! Buy! Buy!”

Second, take timeouts. Even if you cut to one third your expectations of yourself, there is a lot of busy activity around you, wherever you go. It’s a very stimulating time of year, and now it’s a quarter of the year. It’s like the anti-vacation! So you need microvacations to see you through.

o Take quiet moments in a still area of your home.

o Exhale and drop your shoulders, imagining quiet energy moving from your head down to your toes; picture your body’s cells holding onto that quiet.

o If you enjoy praying or sitting in contemplation, take time for those regularly, giving them your full attention.

o If you like to read fiction, take two hours at a time to get totally involved in a good novel.

o Practice totally letting go of the hustle and bustle around you. Nurture your Peace Within.

Third, give your body extra support. Drink extra water between holiday beverages. Eat salads, fresh fruit, and lean protein. These will strengthen you between sweet and rich holiday meals. Add ginger to your chicken soup to counter the effects of sugar. If you can nap, take naps. Different lengths of naps work for different people, but research has shown that naps as short as 20 minutes can totally refresh you. Create time to walk, hike, or work out, to flush the toxins and clear your mind.

Fourth, enjoy what nurtures you. Are your spiritual values getting towed under during The Holidays? Whatever there is about The Holidays that fills you, uplifts you, or restores you, keep those pieces. If spending a day with Grandma makes you feel great, be sure to spend a day with Grandma. If video chatting with your niece or grandchild leaves you joyful all day, make time to be fully present for that. If the Messiah Sing-Along thrills you, go! If walking alone in the labyrinth, or attending Midnight Mass, or journaling, or practicing your guitar, leaves you feeling calm and happy, make those priorities.

Take these tips to heart, and you will beat stress during The Holidays. Remember, it’s your life, and you are always at choice. Will you choose to take care of yourself during this season? You are a precious child of God, and you deserve to enjoy the true gifts of this season. And that’s you, choosing to be 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. To email us, kebba@kebba.com .

Books by Kebba Buckley Button

Healthy Happy Loving Life!

~ Your source for energized, fulfilled, joyous living!

Tag Archives: at choice

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Life as Art

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Happy Bastille (Freedom) Day, July 14th!

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Happy Freedom Day!

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Pray and Believe

Healthy Happy Loving Life: A Coffee Prayer

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Be a Piece of Peace in Our Time

Healthy Happy Loving Life: A Story in One Image

Healthy Happy Loving Life: 5 Steps to Access Your Peace Within

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Wouldn’t You Like Peace Within?

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Beat Holiday Stress with 4 Top Tips!

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: