Hello everyone! We have reached the midway point of
Challenge #13. The theme for this challenge is all about
PEACE. Today I am going to share a little introspection with you all that I am
also presenting on my own personal blog in my "Motivational Monday"
feature.
PEACE IS POSSIBLE
Ah....peace. There is nothing quite like it, is there? Whether it is the peace that may surround you in the stillness of the day, or the calmness that infuses your heart as you look around and see how truly blessed you are, there is nothing quite like the feeling of peace. Once you've experienced true peace, you tend to spend a lot of time trying to recapture the feeling. If only we could carry it around with us twenty four hours a day, how much lighter we would all feel! However, life just wants to jump in and interfere all the time to disturb that sense of calmness within us. Trying to maintain peace and tranquillity while traversing busy and hectic lives is not an easy task and some may never achieve it fully but there are things you can do to help centre yourself and bring on a sense of calmness even if only for a short period of time. Here are five ways to help you get started on bringing a sense of peace into your everyday life:
- Unplug. Try and unplug every chance you get. Are you one of those people with a cell phone glued to your ear, always checking your Twitter feed, ensuring your email is clear and up to date while checking out everyone's updates on Facebook? How about turning it all off for a little while. When was the last time you put down your E-reader and picked up an actual book or flipped through a magazine? Stepping away from the electrical hum of it all for a short period of time, really can be exhilarating and help to bring stillness back into your day.
- De clutter and organize. Try to maintain a sense of order around you. Doesn't it drive you crazy when you can't find anything you are looking for because you didn't put it back to its proper location in the first place? It is difficult to remain peaceful if you are surrounded by chaos. Of course finding the time you need to bring order to your area can be a challenge but it is worth it. Try and spend a little time each day ensuring that your work or living area is neat and tidy. Sadly, this is the one task that I personally need to work on the most.
- Employ meditation or other relaxation techniques. Now while it might sound like a bit of a cliché, meditation is also helpful for bringing about a sense of peace into your daily life and you don't have to sit cross legged in some yoga pants chanting 'ohm' to achieve it--although there is nothing wrong with doing it that way either. Just find a system that works for you. For some it might be a guided meditation that they listen to on tape. If you are really brave, simply try to empty your mind. No, it isn't an easy task but every time a new thought tries to invade your head space, just take an imaginary chalk brush and wipe the new thoughts away. For others, simply taking ten minutes to practice mindful breathing can do the trick. Even counting can serve as a meditation. Simply find a system that works for you and you'll reap more benefits than you can imagine. One such benefit is that once your mind is calmer, you'll be able to see things with more clarity. Spending even a short amount of time in stillness can help you achieve much more than trying to rush through your day at a frantic pace. Give it a shot, you'll be pleasantly surprised at the results. However, if meditation just isn't right for you, find some other relaxation techniques to help you release tensions and recharge during the day. It doesn't matter whether it is walking, yoga, deep breathing or some other activity that helps you to relax. Just find something you like and stick with it.
- Play some music. It is incredible how easily we can be affected by music. It can take us back in time or help to keep us present. It can even send us forward to think about our future. Hearing a certain song can go a long way to help alleviate stress, centre us and bring true joy into our day. Make note of which songs help pacify your own soul and have them on standby to help you bring a sense of harmony to your life in more ways than one!
- Slow down. Have you ever noticed that the more wound up you get, the faster you move? It may sound silly but simply slowing down while walking, moving your body or even talking, can often times help you to start feeling less stressed. Then try slowing down during other activities as well--driving, riding your bike, working at your desk, housework, etc. Just as importantly, slow down while you are eating too. Try to savour the moments and morsels of your day, not just speed through them in an effort to get them out of the way.
There are many more ways you can work towards bringing a sense of calm, order and peace into your life but these are basic ones that should help you get yourself on the right track. Don't feel that bringing stillness into your life is a hopeless wish -- it's not. You just have to find the right combination of techniques that will work for you. The key is that you keep trying and don't give up. If you stray from the path, don't beat yourself up, just get back on it again. The time and effort will be worth it!
To help inspire you down the path of peace, check out the wonderful
projects a few of my Design Team had the opportunity to create. All the images used in this month's midway projects are from our wonderful guest sponsor for the month...
You can find Sparkle N Sprinkle on line at:
http://sparklensprinkle.com. Clicking on each of the watermarks will take you to their location within the Sparkle N Sprinkle store. First up we have...
Suze used
A Winter Wonderland created by Rosiland Solomon.
Monica has used Eve’s Sunflower in her project.
This image has been in the store for a while and the artist is not know. I don't know about you, but sunflowers are one of my favourite flowers!
Vicky went with the cheeky image named,
Rusty With Flowers created by artist Tom Jones.
Lynda used the wonderful
Dragonfly also created by Rosiland Solomon.
Pat worked with the pretty image called
Winter Cardinal a recent addition to the store, also created by Rosiland Solomon.
Sandy decided to work with the pretty image called
Bahama Woodstar also created by Rosiland Solomon.
Finally, that leaves our...
Annie, from
Memories to Keep, who is our guest designer this month, created this sweet card...
Annie chose to use the image called
Time in a Bottle which is from a brand new artist named Jan Mahew.
Clicking on
the team members name (or in the case of our GDT, the blog name) will take you to their blog where you can check
out the details for their inspirational creations!
So if you haven't entered already, what are you waiting for? Create a project and/or post that is
positive AND relates to
peace, provide an explanation of how your
project and/or post relates to the theme somewhere in your post or come
over and leave a comment with the explanation. Easy, peasy! You can enter our latest challenge by clicking
HERE.
Also,
I know that the participants would love for you to go and pay them a visit. Remember
we're creating a Path of Positivity to follow one project at a time and
we'd love to see you somewhere on that route even if it is just by leaving a
comment on an entry from someone who has touched you somehow with their project and/or post!
If you are new to this unique challenge, you can find out the impetus
behind why I started it under the '
Introductions' tab and all the details you need to know in order to participate, in the '
Challenge Details' tab (both tabs located at the top of the blog).
Don't Forget...
You still have until 11:55 p.m. tonight, to vote on your favourite entry for
Challenge #12.
Voting is quick, easy and painless so I hope
you will consider casting your vote if you haven't already. Don't
forget, if you leave a comment after voting, you have the opportunity to
walk away with a selection of digital papers created especially with your interests in mind.
To check
out the Top Seven and cast your vote, click
HERE. Winners for challenge #12 will be posted next Monday.
LOOKING FOR ANOTHER MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE ON PEACE?
If you need some motivation to get you started, I've provided another sentiment, free for you to download:
Credit Notes For This Creation:
© 2014, Lisa L. Décosse. PUO. However, you are allowed to use the
sentiment on handmade projects that you intend to sell on a small scale
basis provided credit is given. You also need to include a credit note
and a link to this blog should you use any of my images in your
creations and post them on your blog. Please be sure to familiarize
yourself with my full terms of use found in the 'Download
Instructions & T.O.U.' tab at the top
of this page.
Of important note: Please do not share my
images with family, friends, etc. Additionally, do not post any images
to file sharing services like Box®, 4-Shared®, etc. Instead, please
direct people to my blog so they can grab the image for themselves. If
you would like to post a watermarked version of the image, please
contact me to obtain one.
This word art creation is in png format and published at 300 ppi. It is
quite large in order to accommodate different programs that people work
with. If you are a card maker you can always resize it smaller without
distorting the quality.
Font and Image Information:
Click on the font name to take you to a download location. These fonts
were listed as free for commercial use at the time this project was
made.and as such, it is my understanding, that I am within my rights to
use these fonts in my creations and offer them to others. Please refer to
my full terms of service for what you can and cannot do with this
digital creation.
SUMMARY
Whether
you are new and need to familiarize yourself with all the details, or a
returning participant and just need to refresh yourself, you can
always find out everything
you need to know in order to enter this challenge in the
'
Challenge Details' tab at the top of the page. You can enter the challenge by clicking
HERE to take you to the current challenge post where you can also find a
quick summary of the details related to this challenge, towards the
bottom of the post.
GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY...
Please show your support to our fabulous sponsors by going over and
checking out their work and saying hi if you have the chance. In
addition to
Sparkle N Sprinkle, our guest sponsor for the month...
...please be sure to check out our regular sponsors as well:
That is me and I'd love for you to visit me
on my personal blog.
If you ever have any questions be sure to
EMAIL ME or just leave me a comment.
We look forward to seeing you participate!
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