Relaxation Archives | Reinvention Playbook

Pausing When Agitated

Sheri Here,

Sometimes things happen in life that leave us stunned and reeling. But when there is a series of passings, accidents or injuries, we are left wondering “What the heck? What the heck is going on? What the heck is the message here?”

Maybe it’s as simple as pausing when agitated.

Pondering Life Priorities

Several of these things happened in my life the last couple of weeks and have left me pondering my life priorities.

Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.

I’ve always acted as if I were “Superwoman” and “I’ve got this! I’ve got all of this!” I’m merely a human being striving to make the most of life, loving those close to me, allowing myself to accept help and seeking to make a difference.

When these life situations happen, I need to stop an make certain my priorities are in order and give myself recovery time.

Lessons from my Higher Power

What I have learned is these situations are lessons from my Higher Power, that I can choose to learn quickly or slowly. If I learn slowly, then the lesson gets repeated with a few more consequences.

My actions, when I realized I was receiving life lessons, was to pause and look around – wonder what I needed to take care of that have been neglected.

Those things that had been untended were some maintenance items that could lead to much graver issues with more serious consequence.

They have since been taken care of.

Where Is Our Focus?

I’ve also been pausing to relook at where I’ve placed my focus.

In this day and age, we’ve been told be efficient and use any number of countless apps and devices to help us. But what are we losing in the process?

Have we lost ourselves? Our relationships with family, friends, and our God?

For me, I know some of those things slipped through the cracks in the busyness, especially my self-nurturing. The older I get the more necessary it is and without appropriate priorities in my life, my life will become a shell of what I want it to be.

Sometimes we need to stop before circumstances stop us. Pause when agitated or perplexed.

Can You Relate?

Does any of this ring true for you? Can you relate to being too busy for the basics of life?

It’s always a good time to stop and take a deep breath or two – enjoy the day we have, hug our loved ones, and rethink our priorities.

If you relate, leave a comment and let me know that I’m not the only one reconsidering the meaning of life! If you’re stuck and need some help – leave a comment and reach out for a conversation.

If it were spring, I’d say stop and smell the roses. Instead, do the winter equivalent and embrace this amazing day.

‘Til the next time.

Ciao,

Sheri

Indulge in Life

Relaxation

Sheri here –

What does vacation mean to you? To me, it means extensive relaxation, pampering, meeting new people, experiencing new places and generally getting out of the ordinary routine.

These all fall under the heading of a rich full life – are ya with me there?

We don’t often get a chance to do an immersion experience, so when the opportunity arises, we need to fully experience and savor it!

There is so much great stuff about vacation. Just imagine, no normal routine, new experiences and fun. Uh oh, that could be scary, the new and different; just try it, you might like it. And for the next several weeks, that’s where you will find me, on vacation!

Prepping for Your Vacation

You may know that I have done a ton of travel, so I’ve got the packing part down to a science. Well sorta. Let’s just say, I have a packing process. But it still takes time, planning and focus – oh but that is a story for another time.

Then there is EVERYTHING that needed to get done before leaving.

Oh, my goodness! That list was endless!! Sometimes, I think we pay the trip forward by working so hard before we leave and all the catchup when we return – you know what I mean??

Traveling with Friends & Indulging in Hobbies

This trip, I’ll be meeting up with old friends on a knitting cruise. A what cruise? There will be a group of us who knit (one of my personal life passions) – knitting is the one with two needles. We use our hobby as a reason to travel as a group with all the advantages: lower costs (generally negotiated by someone else), exciting places to visit and reconnecting with friends.

During the times when we are cruising at sea, we will have the opportunity to gather with Barry Klein, an amazing designer of knitwear for personal coaching and hot tips. He LOVES fiber and is constantly finding new sources, designing new blends that enhance all the things there is to love about making your own hand knit.

Why do I love knitting? The repetitive motion of the needles, I find soothing and meditative, but others might not. Then there is the sensuous feel of the fabulous fabric in your hands, caressing your skin with luscious possibilities. Oh, you didn’t know knitting could be a passionate pastime? Well, we might need to talk!

And in the evenings, many of us gather in our favorite spots aboard ship. Whether it is the library or in the almost empty café or elsewhere on the ship, we settle in, knit, chat, relax and enjoy ourselves.

Change Your Perspective

Ok, so knitting isn’t your thang. That’s cool, but I bet vacation is your thang. Vacation is the time when you get to indulge in your favorite rich full life things. And on vacation you can do anything you choose to do. It can be a go someplace and veg vacation, go explore a new part of the world, go and be super active or not. Maybe it is a stay at home and be tourist.

How you spend your vacation is your choice. Ok, maybe it is a family compromise; but the important thing is to take one. Get away, relax, recharge, refresh.

Sometimes, we just need to get away and change our perspective. Maybe we need to discover something new, to really appreciate what we have or to realize it is time for a few changes.

Vacations Do Not Need to Be Expensive

There are lots of options for lowering the cost of your time spent away from home or the office.

Just as a fun fact, I’ve used a number of the tips we’ve been discussing the last few weeks to help pay for my vacation. This trip has been paid for BEFORE I left. That is so huge – what a relief, not to worry about those bills upon your return! Trust me, that hasn’t always been the case, but it makes things just a tad sweeter.

These tips work, if you haven’t tried them, there is no time like the present to start! Here are this week’s hot tips for keeping more money in your pocket!!

Find a group going where you want to go, generally the cost is lower. There are groups for EVERYTHING: gamers, bridge, knitting, educational, social, spiritual, you name it, there’s a group.
Look for the local flea markets when you are traveling, you never know what you might find. Have a general idea of what you might want, including possible gift shopping. It makes the gift extra special, because you were thinking of them while you were gone.
Resist using your credit card – pay in cash or on your debit card. If you must use a credit card, pay in full when the bill comes. You avoid most interest charges.
Pay your bills online, be green and avoid buying stamps, but be security conscious, protect your passwords.
Look at the software you subscribe to – are you using it? If not, unsubscribe or cancel at the renewal.

We are rapidly moving toward fall and soon we’ll start to prepare for the Fall holidays. With the kids back in school now or soon, things are starting to change – enjoy the changes.

Ciao,

Sheri

P.S. Like these tips? Then you might want to download my free ebook “101 Ways to Save Money” – just click here to download!