Mind over Matter: If you dont mind than it doesnt matter

I believe our mind is a very powerful tool. We have the ability to choose our emotions. When we wake up in the morning we can decide how to take on that day.

My Great Aunt Helen lived 94 years, alone in a big old Victorian house in Massachusetts, with out any outside care. She thrived with a healthy mind and body all the way till the end of her days. One day I asked her what her secret was, and she responded with a thoughtful pause and said, "You know, I never worried about anything, I always looked on the positive side of things, and I saw the good in everything. "

WOW, what a tremendous statement to ponder!

Could our minds really effect how we will turn out at the end of our lives?

Can it affect how we live each day?

I believe the answer is YES!

There is a reason for everything,and we can choose to look at the good in all that happens to us.

I, like most of you, have been through my share of trying times. But I try to link the wonderful things with the bad, and see the beautiful purpose of why I was to go through it.

I wake up thankful for another day to enjoy my loved one's and the world around me.

On my last job, a man told me he was annoyed with my happiness. I laughed and said, " I would rather you be annoyed by my joy, than by my mean, bitter, complaining attitude". :)
Researchers have done studies on people who were struggling with the same disease, and the one's with a positive outlook recovered and the one's without did not.
Now I'm not saying this is the case for everyone, and some people do struggle with serious depression. But if we have a choice, why not choose joy?
Wake up singing!
Embrace the good we have, not dwell on the bad.
For me it is a constant thing to be aware of, and I am always stopping to check in with myself, to see if I'm complaining, or if my mind is filling with negative thoughts. And if so I try to flip my state of thinking, and literally say one thing I am thankful for and rid myself of the latter.
We have the ability to choose joy, anger, love, bitterness, kindness, jealousy, forgiveness.

"Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious-the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not the things to curse."
Philippians 4.8-9

Why waste our precious time on anything else?

I am going to challenge myself this week and encourage any one who wants to join me, to think only on these things and be conscious when I'm not.
And see how I feel at the end of each day. I'm wondering if by doing so, can I prevent myself of an illness I might have had in the future? In the mean time I'm hoping to be a more pleasant person to be around and to enjoy every moment to the fullest.

Alexandra :)

what really matters at the end

One of the many jobs I cram in my schedule is being a companion to the elderly.

A job I cherish. Spending time with people who have been in the world fifty-sixty years longer than me, is a pure treat. I love to listen to their stories, all their fascinating life experiences. Things I have only heard about in books, being told first hand to me. But what I hear the most is about all their families, wives, husbands, children, grandchildren. No one ever talks about their careers. I've worked with men who's wall's are lined with plaques from NASA. But all they wanted to talk about was their wife. This has really made me stop and think. A career obsessed person myself since I was in high school, now discovering that at the end of our life all that truly matters is the people around us.

Such a great reminder that we won't be here forever and neither will our loved one's. No better time than the present to tell them you love them, because the present is all we have.

I highly recommend spending time with the elderly. They are so fun, and filled with great stories. Find a nursing home in your area, and spend one day volunteering, you might just get back more than you could ever give away.

Alexandra :)

contiplating vegatarianism

So I have discovered that if you want to eat meat, DON'T do research about meat.
After reading many books and articles on the way meat is processed and how the animals are treated I have not been able to look at meat the same way. For the past month I have eaten little to no meat at all. Now granted I have yet to be able to become a vegan, due to my absolute love of eggs and cheese, plus being a vegan in my opinion is virtually impossible if your not rich.

I have been buying vegetarian burgers, bacon, and chicken nuggets and have found these to be extremely tasty. I do not miss meat all, with all these healthy wonderful ways to substitute it. I believe that we are what we eat, and this goes for anything we put into our body, so the next time you shovel something into your month, take a moment to contemplate WHAT you are putting into your precious body.
I believe everything in moderation is a very valid statement, but i believe it was invented before slaughter houses became only obsessed with the dollar bill and not the growing and selling of healthy animals.

I have to admit, I have felt so much better this month of living a meat free diet, my body seems to be thankful for this change, so I will continue to please it.
I want you to feel better too, so maybe if you have time this week pick up a few books with research on slaughter houses, a few example's are "Skinny Bitch" and "A Kind Diet".
And see for yourself if what you read doesn't make you think twice about devouring that hamburger. Because we ARE what we EAT, so we should be educated on what is going into our beautiful, glorious, God given gift of a body. Trust me, no one else is looking out for you, not the FDA, or any other company that claims they are regulating your food. NOPE. ONLY YOU!!!

Alexandra :)

Get up and go outside

We have become a generation of technology, so much so, that we communicate with the outside
world through our phone's more than even in person. I admit to sitting at a restaurant with real live people, while constantly checking my phone to see who is texting me. Tisk Tisk Tisk to me.
So my suggestion is, turn off the television, close the computer, leave your phone inside, and go for a walk, a long walk. The best walks are the one's that have no destination. Just pick a road and head on down (PS, leave the headphones at home) clear your mind and take in all the beauty that surrounds you. This is the perfect way to meditate, some say you have to sit in a quiet room, but the best meditation for me happens while I am in nature breathing in fresh air, and feeling the world around me. Get lost!! And discover a whole new area near your home. Find a park, or a hiking trail, even a cute little neighborhood to explore. You will be amazed at how refreshed you feel when you return, and how calm you may find yourself to be. I love the expression, "stop and smell the roses" how true this statement is, and how much we need it more and more as the world becomes an even faster paced place to exist in.
So get up and go outside!!!! pronto

Alexandra :)

Getting healthy from the inside out

Hello All
welcome to my blog.
Here I will talk about how to get healthy from the inside out, how to
love life to the absolute fullest.
I will encourage and suggest idea's on how to live the most enriched life possible.
I will share my own personal experiences along with other's I have heard.
So please continue to stop my blog, to get day to day updates and lets enjoy life together.
Don't forget to stop and look around you, you will be amazed at all the beauty that surrounds us :)

Alexandra