Healthy Happy Loving Life: Life in Snow

08 Friday Apr 2022

Posted by Kebba Buckley Button in Effective Living, Kebba Buckley Button, snow, the life you want, UpBeat Living

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choosing happiness, Healthy Happy Loving Life, Kebba Buckley Button, snow, The life you want, UpBeat Living

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

Photographer unknown

For each of us, our view of our life determines our joy. Our satisfaction with our lives determines our happiness. Our circumstances do NOT determine our happiness, rather our view of our circumstances does.

Let’s take the example of weather. Today it was 95 degrees in Phoenix, with a blazing blue sky. Cars left with their windows up quickly got to be 110 degrees inside. My hair was sweaty-wet. Some people are craving cold weather, wishing for snow. I was glad to be driving on dry pavement. I was glad for the sunny skies and blossoming trees everywhere.

At the same time, there are people currently dealing with snow. One year, in Denver, in mid-April, it was 70 degrees most of the week. But a sudden winter storm blew in and blanketed downtown Denver with 4 inches of snow. The blizzard winds were so strong that they whipped my glasses off my face! The temperature dropped to zero. Just before the storm really hit, I took an Uber to REI and bought a blizzard jacket, hat, gloves, and weatherproof Canadian boots (thank you, Canada!). Saved by REI and Uber!

Our ambivalence about weather is illustrated, above, by a snowman trying to get to Florida. He is not going to thrive in Florida. In contrast, in the two images below (photographers unknown), everyone is having a great time in the snow. They have made peace with where they are. They are enjoying where they are. Life is good.

Take a portion of your journal in which you’ll list the conditions of your ideal life. Sleep on it. Think about snow, and how much snow you want in your life. Think about the choices you make about being unhappy and dissatisfied, or happy and satisfied. As you write, be open to what you learn about yourself. And remember, you can always make changes. 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 (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: 5 Happiness Quotes on Wordless Wednesday

12 Wednesday Jan 2022

Posted by Kebba Buckley Button in Effective Living, happiness, happy, Kebba Buckley Button, the life you want

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choosing happiness, happiness, happy, Healthy Happy Loving Life, The life you want

These quotes remind me to be deeply happy; if you want to see more, I have hundreds of my quote posters on Pinterest. What reminds you to be happy? Then 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 (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: Message Mugs We Love

23 Tuesday Feb 2021

Posted by Kebba Buckley Button in cast your cares, choosing happiness, Effective Living, favorite mugs, Feeling energized, fulfilled, Kebba Buckley Button, living beyond, message mugs, stress, the life you want, uncertainty

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cast your cares, choosing happiness, energy, favorite mugs, Feeling energized, fulfilled, Healthy Happy Loving Life, Kebba, living beyond, message mugs

I was excited to get all the responses to my favorite-mug sharing a few days ago! I want you to have the healthiest, happiest life that you absolutely love! And mugs can be a supporting player in that life. Mugs comfort and reassure. They transport liquids that wake us up, that revive us, and that warm us up. Sometimes a mug even gets commandeered to hold soup, chili, or cereal. Even pencils!

Some mugs remind us of a place we’ve been, like the Starbucks in Cabo San Lucas. Or the street fair where we found the array of lovingly hand-crafted ceramicware. Some mugs are simply beautiful, and they create points of color in our office or living room. There are mugs that represent a company or candidate, or even a city. I once received a mug that said, “Genuine Souvenir of Israel”; on the bottom, it said “Made in Hong Kong”. Plus, it was the ugliest mug I have ever seen.

One of the greatest delights of a mug is that it may remind us of something important– a value, a goal, a mood we aspire to. These are the message mugs. Today, I’m sharing 5 of my favorite message mugs, collected over the years.

The first I actually found in a Walgreens. In 5 words, it reminds us that we all have limits, and our job is to do our best, that’s all: DON’T STRESS- DO YOUR BEST. Great advice for anyone.

2. For this red mug, the message is in the shape. It’s a heart! This was unusual when I found it about 10 years ago. When I sip from this mug, I remember all the people who love me, and I remember God’s love. (To find a heart-shaped mug today, just ask your search bar– there are hundreds now.)

3. This is the mug that reminds you your burdens are not yours alone. God is taking care of things on a much more profound level than we can imagine. We are only responsible to do our part. The reverse side of this mug reminds us of Ps. 55:22, “Cast all your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you.” (These are available online in several styles.)

4. The message of this one is clear. It also reminds me of all the love that surrounds us all the time. It’s from an Ellen Degeneres design line and probably still available.

5. This last one is from Taliesin, the Frank Lloyd Wright school of architecture. “Love is the virtue of the heart…Decision the virtue of the will.” I like to drink from this one when I want to feel strong and motivated.

So there you have some of my favorite message mugs. Do you have some that are meaningful or motivating for you? There are so many opportunities to feel bad in this world. Use the tools you have to comfort, uplift, and motivate yourself to create the life you want!

The more we are in step with the positive and the supportive, the inspirational and the motivational, the more we find we’re Healthy, Happy, and Loving Life^sm! The choices are up to you!

Kebba Buckley Button is a stress solutions expert, holistic guide, and award-winning author who celebrates life. She has a longtime energy 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: We Must Let Go of the Past

22 Monday Feb 2021

Posted by Kebba Buckley Button in choosing happiness, Effective Living, fulfilled, Kebba Buckley Button, let go of the Past, stress, the life you want, we must let go of the past

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choosing happiness, crying, Healthy Happy Loving Life, Kebba, let go of the Past, we must let go of the past

Photo by Yuvraj Singh on Unsplash

In grad school, I had a cohort who was very productive. Each morning, he would come in, get coffee, and make a prioritized list of everything he needed to take care of for the day. But here was his special secret: at the end of the day, he would tear up and throw away the list! He was a master at this principle: we must let go of the past. He did what he could and then he would let the rest go.

Years ago, when my uncle died, his spirit came to me the next day, saying “forget the past!” I was so astonished. First, how could a spirit be speaking to me at all? (That’s another article.) He was almost shouting, as if to say, “I have just one minute to speak through the Veil, there is one secret I want to share, and this is it!” I have puzzled over that short warning many times. I do love to ponder and analyze, and too often I wonder Where They Are Now, both old school friends and famous people. But wouldn’t my energy be better spent on the warp and woof of my own life and that of my husband? On cultivating the fun, friends and clients I have now? On enjoying the relationships and projects I have now? On tending The Feng Shui Garden?

Photo by Sheri Hooley on Unsplash

We can’t live in both the present and the past at the same time. Consider the stages a butterfly goes through, until it shows up on our flowers as that delicate flying thing: it’s an egg, a caterpillar, a pupa/chrysalis, and then…an emergent beautiful creature that can fly. It’s doubtful the butterfly ponders how lovely it would be to go back to a pre-flight form. It can only be one form, and it can only move forward in its life, never backward.

So it must be with the former relationships, people, and perhaps habits, of the past. You can’t have the new if you don’t let go of the old. So: where is your energy going each day? We must let go of the past to be thinking about the Now. All those relationships that went by the wayside–there were reasons. You are different now. There are many new friendships waiting to be forged, new projects to be fulfilled, new goals to be met.

Now is now, and to live in the Now, we need to keep releasing the Past and turning our attention back to present things, present questions, present love, present enjoyment. The more we seek our best balance, let go of the Past and focus on the Now, the more we find we’re Healthy, Happy, and Loving Life^sm! It’s up to you!

Books by Kebba Buckley Button

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Crying is Good!

21 Sunday Feb 2021

Posted by Kebba Buckley Button in choosing happiness, cry, crying, Effective Living, Feeling energized, fulfilled, Kebba Buckley Button, stress, tears, the life you want, uncertainty

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choosing happiness, cry, crying, energy, Feeling energized, Healthy Happy Loving Life, Kebba, tears

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

Crying is natural. Babies cry when they are hungry, need a change, or simply want to be held; we’ve all seen those tiny faces crumble as the crying comes. People cry at funerals because they are sad. People cry because they are happily shocked, like when a young puppy is handed to them. People cry when they are frustrated, as when they’ve just found out they’ve been betrayed. People cry for joy, as when their beloved just proposed. And people cry in relief, as when they have just come through tough challenges, now over. An elephant in India (#RajuTheElephant) was seen clearly crying when its shackles of many years were removed, and good people relocated him to an elephant sanctuary; Raju is doing wonderfully, 6 years after his rescue. I cry with compassion and relief when I think of his journey and his final rescue and retirement.

2021 Photo by Ema Studios on Unsplash

The eyes tear up for non-emotional reasons also. The tear glands release reflex tears when you get something irritating in your eye. And the routine moisturizing tears are called basal tears.

Science has found that other tears have different compositions, depending on why the person is crying. According to WebMD, UCLA clinical psychologist Stephen Sideroff says, “Crying activates the body in a healthy way…[stress] Stress “tightens muscles and heightens tension, so when you cry you release some of that,” Sideroff says. “[Crying] activates the parasympathetic nervous system and restores the body to a state of balance.” And we always want to seek the best balance!

Seeing a movie that touches us can cause tears to well up. I’ve been in theaters where everyone was clearly crying, or nearly crying. In Japan, there are even clubs where people go to cry together. Some find crying with others makes it easier to cry their own tears. Is that true for you?

The more we seek our best balance, release the unhappy and take in the happy, the more we find we’re Healthy, Happy, and Loving Life^sm! It’s up to you!

Books by Kebba Buckley Button

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Your Credo for the Year

20 Saturday Feb 2021

Posted by Kebba Buckley Button in choosing happiness, Effective Living, Feeling energized, fulfilled, Goethe, Kebba Buckley Button, New Year's Resolutions, Personal credo, stress, the life you want, uncertainty

≈ 5 Comments

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choosing happiness, energy, Feeling energized, fulfilled, Goethe, Healthy Happy Loving Life, Kebba, New Year's Resolutions, Personal credo

Photo by Edgar Chaparro on Unsplash

In the effective living side of my stress management programs, I always recommend people skip the New Year’s Resolutions so many believe in. Instead, I recommend listing the qualities we want to embody in the New Year: vitality, integrity, faith, consistency…fill in your own.

I bring this up now, 50 days into the New Year, because it’s about the right time to ask ourselves: how are my New Year’s Resolutions going? Am I keeping my resolutions and making progress with my goals?

The German poet/playwright Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, usually referred to simply as “Goethe”, said:

Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.

Now how do you think you’re doing with your New Year’s Resolutions?

A personal credo can include all the qualities you want to embody for the year.

Goethe said:

“For the New Year, I would wish to have

Strength enough to battle with difficulties and overcome them,

Love enough to move me to be useful and helpful to others,

Faith enough to make real the things of God, and

Hope enough to remove all anxious fears concerning the future.”

So what would your personal credo be? How would your credo compare with his? The more we are in step with our values and desired qualities, the more we find we’re Healthy, Happy, and Loving Life^sm? It’s up to you!

Books by Kebba Buckley Button

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Mugs We Love

18 Thursday Feb 2021

Posted by Kebba Buckley Button in choosing happiness, Effective Living, favorite mugs, Feeling energized, fulfilled, Kebba Buckley Button, living beyond, stress, the life you want, uncertainty

≈ 5 Comments

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choosing happiness, energy, favorite mugs, Feeling energized, fulfilled, Healthy Happy Loving Life, Kebba, living beyond

Today I’m sharing 5 of my favorite mugs, each for a different reason. And while you’re looking at mine, would you please think about what your favorite mugs are? To me, the humble mug is a symbol of comfort and joy, that vessel that holds our comforting or uplifting beverage, as we shift gears for the day. Aside from breakfast time, maybe we are re-setting ourselves at the end of an afternoon. Or maybe we are shifting down from the day to relax on our way to bed.

Today, a vast array of mugs are available to enjoy. We have personalized photo mugs, initial mugs, and slogan mugs. We have art mugs and souvenir mugs, even plaid mugs and mugs that come in a little sweater (Target). We have mass-produced mugs, hand-painted mugs, and mugs in many different shapes. I love mugs that remind me to set my mood on “great”, in any of several ways. Here are my top favorite mugs at the moment.

This “Happy Happy Happy” mug was produced by the Robertsons of Duck Dynasty fame. Phil Robertson said basically, you can choose to be happy, whether you have a little or a lot. [See Philippians 4:11.] It just reminds me, each time I lift it: oh yeah! Let’s be in our Happy! Sweet.

2. This oriental mug is just pretty. My holistic practice is based on oriental energy medicine, and I tend to be attracted to oriental designs. This mug is also a tribute to our loveliest and dearest things not needing to be expensive: I found it in a market in the $1 mug section, 35 years ago. I’ve sipped a thousand cups of tea and coffee from this one.

3. This mug is special because it’s a dream-reminder mug. You can get the plastic kit from a craft store for about $1 (Michaels). Pull out the white liner, then pull out the paper insert. Then glue whatever inspiring words and images you like onto the paper insert, in the spirit of a dream board. Mine says, “Beyond Expectation” “Imagine a place that arouses your senses” “Imagine” “Dream” “Wealth”. The background is lush desert landscaping and a pine with long needles; a mountain vista is on the other side. So every time you lift this mug, you are reminding yourself of your dreams. Btw, I now have a beautifully landscaped Feng Shui Garden with a giant long-needle pine, in my own southwest-style home. Pundits would say I called it in with my little dream board.

4. This little pair of history mugs each hold about 5 ounces. My husband and I stayed on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California, a few times, and we bought the demitasse mugs there. I love to think about the heyday of luxury cruising: people strolling around the decks in leisurely fashion, taking in the sea air, dancing in the ballrooms to live music at night. So I love staying in a Queen Mary stateroom and exploring the huge, historic vastness of the ship. What sweet memories these little mugs evoke!

5. The final mug I’m sharing today is the most special one I’ve ever had. I purchased it at a massive arts festival around 20 years ago, in the heyday of street fairs. It was probably about $20. I am always thrilled by the colors, the layering of the enamels, the gesture of the elephant, the curves of the piece. For me, it’s elegant artistry, and I feel elegant when I hold it. If you want to see more elegant artistry, look for FoxLo ceramics online. You’ll gasp for joy at their images.

So, how about you? What are your favorite mugs, and what do they evoke for you? Why do you enjoy them? Would you send me an image for a future column?

The World holds so many opportunities for hurt and ugliness. It’s crucial that we nurture the Good and the beautiful in our lives as we are able. The more we are in step with the good feelings of life, the more we find we’re Healthy, Happy, and Loving Life^sm? It’s up to you!

Books by Kebba Buckley Button

Healthy Happy Loving Life!

~ Your source for energized, fulfilled, joyous living!

Tag Archives: choosing happiness

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Life in Snow

Healthy Happy Loving Life: 5 Happiness Quotes on Wordless Wednesday

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Message Mugs We Love

Healthy Happy Loving Life: We Must Let Go of the Past

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Crying is Good!

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Your Credo for the Year

Healthy Happy Loving Life: Mugs We Love

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