Holly and Heather’s Helpful Hint: Get Over the Guilt

As an addition to last week’s blog to living mindfully, in the present, letting go of past guilt is essential to freeing your soul.  That is easier said than done!  And what about not just getting over past guilt, but continuing to do things out of guilt in the present? There are many ways guilt can play a role in your life. For instance, a co-worker may ask you to dinner constantly but you really want to spend your off time with your family.  You go out with her anyway out of guilt because you don’t want to hurt her feelings. If you say “yes”, whatever the reason, now enjoy that dinner joyfully.  Living an authentic life and doing so mindfully is what’s important.

Whether it is a friend, family member or anyone in your life, there is a difference between helping someone in need and that feeling that you are being taken advantage of. Trust your gut with how you are living your life. It is easy for boundaries to get crossed when you are giving your time to others. It is up to you to learn how to put your foot down when it comes to living your life meaningfully. Saying no directly is honest, but very hard to do.

Holly & Heather’s Helpful Hint: Be Mindful

On Mother’s Day, we always try to give our mother lovely, thoughtful gifts and in return, she continually out-does us. This year, among her myriad gifts to us was a book called, “The One Plan”. When she saw it in the store, she was attracted to it because its yogic theme reminded her of us (we both practice although we consider ourselves amateurs). And yes, the book is about yoga but also about many topics that most would not consider a typical “yoga” book. The book contains a year-long plan that promises a happier, healthier life. Who wouldn’t be interested in how to obtain that?

Although we are only two weeks past mother’s day and thus only two weeks into the fifty-two week plan, the topic of mindfulness has been discussed. The practice of mindfulness is a newly growing trend that has actually been around for thousands of years. What’s interesting is that schools are trying to adopt the practice as a means of helping children to focus better, help reduce anxiety, reduce difficulty with peers and to become better listeners. The research trend seems to be positive and according to different articles written on the topic, better test scores have been a by-product.

So what is mindfulness? In its simplest form, it means staying aware in the present moment. We have blogged in the past about the importance of “being present” especially when discussing how to enjoy life and reduce worries about the future or guilt from the past. But becoming truly mindful in your day to day life is something that you can practice every day, throughout the day and as you get better and better at it hopefully you too will see the fruits of your labor!  More to follow in blogs to come…

Holly and Heather’s Helpful Hint: Shake It Up!

Are you in a rut with anything in your life? Most of us live on routine schedules – work Monday thru Friday, grocery shop on Saturday…exercise class every Tuesday night…mow the lawn on Sunday…laundry on Wednesday, sometimes it is so darn boring! Of course routines are needed, even mandatory when you have kids (be home for the bus, time for homework, time for lessons) but year after year with the same schedule can make you numb.

Sometimes something not so great comes along that throws you for a loop, like car problems or the flu and all things come to a stop while you take care of the problem. But wouldn’t it be nice to shake things up a little on purpose for enjoyment?  Do you have to take vacation time every year in the month of February?  What about making something different for dinner?  How about taking up a new hobby?  Every now and again try to go out of your comfort zone and make a change.  Recently the two of us embarked on a new food journey and for us this is quite a change in lifestyle.  Eating different foods, at different times in different quantities may sound silly but it really upheaved our way of looking at mealtimes.  And having a goal of getting healthier is a bonus.

Change something in your life if you are in a rut or need a new outlook.  It can be refreshing and fun to shake it up a little!

Holly & Heather’s Helpful Hint: Ode to Motherhood

This Sunday is Mother’s Day and we would like to wish our mom a very happy day! Being mothers ourselves, we can truly appreciate how hard it is to be a mom. Not just a mom but a conscientious parent; loving but firm, always there but not hovering, guiding but not dictating. It is a hard balance, to find that mix of just right when it comes to mothering, especially as our kids are all teenagers now and looking for independence but still really needing us. And still needing our advice and help in life.

When our kids were little we spent our days reading, playing with them on the playground and making pudding.  We didn’t go out without them on the weekends; sitters were hard to come by so the occasional “date night” with our husbands was rare but welcomed.  As they got older our days were full of homework help and navigating good friendships for them.  We spent many a day driving to and from all different kinds of lessons; from dance to piano, karate and baseball.  Now that they are teens we are still here, even if they are doing their own thing.  They still need a hot meal and to know you are present.

Mothering never ends, it seems we are destined to always worry about our children, and always love, unconditionally.  Happy Mother’s Day to all of our mom readers.  We hope you have a great day, hopefully celebrating with your kids!  See you Sunday Mom!  xoxo