Day Fifty-Five ... Signs

Signs  is one of my favorite movies. It is also the source of one of my favorite inspirational quotes. I have seen it many times. Yes, it is about aliens, but I find it to be very spiritual and also uplifting. Signs embraces the belief that everything, every little thing, happens for a reason. I believe it is true.


If our lives were a movie we would always be able to know the reasons for what happens, nice and neatly, and in perfect order at just the right time.


It doesn't seem to work like that in "real time". Perhaps we are not meant to know the why behind the what. Or perhaps we do know it, subconsciously and our cluttered minds are never quiet enough to allow comprehension. I do not pretend to know the answer to that.


Today is a light work day but a heavy cleaning day. I have been productively cleaning and organizing since early morning. As I clean my mind churns out thoughts. Some have not been models of "Choosing Better Thoughts" and as I catch them I consciously overwrite them with "I don't think that way anymore, I choose to think better thoughts". I can only do that when I'm aware of my thoughts though.


Buried in the mental chatter I picked up my favorite quote flying by ... "Swing away Merrill, swing away." From the first time I heard it in the movie it stuck, if you could etch words on the brain, it would be found there in my mind. Those five words spoke volumes to me. It said don't be afraid, go for it, take a chance, always do your best, just try, take that first step, keep going, don't give up ... You get the picture. It embodies living fully and presently in the moment for me. I simply love it.


In addition to that quote the movie was filled with little quirks that wind up at the end all having very important purposes. Empty glasses of water. Asthma. Swinging away. It all happened for a reason. As I try to understand where I am at in my life, and why I am here, and all that is happening, I remind myself that it all happens for a reason. That must be why I thought of the movie.

Swinging away,
Nicola Byrne


I held a moment in my hand, brilliant as a star, fragile as a flower, a tiny sliver of one hour.  I dripped it carelessly, Ah!  I didn't know, I held opportunity.
-Hazel Lee

Day Fifty-Four ... Strengths and Weaknesses

My first client today came in after having a tough weekend with numerous trials and tribulations both professional and personal. He was very introspective as a result and had a unique insight into happiness and what it takes to feel it. I'm going to try to paraphrase it because I was not able to write it down as he spoke because I was training him and making sure his exercises were in good form.

There are three key components to being happy:

1) Being productive with meaningful work

2) Having a goal

3) Being in love

At this point in my life I can put a check mark next to all of the components.

My work is very meaningful to me. I love helping others. When I make someone smile, it makes me smile. That is a goal of each training session I have, get my client to smile or laugh or both. It isn't always just about giving them a workout or going over food. I want them to leave feeling better than when they came in. No matter how they felt when they came in. Oh they may be tired, but they are hopefully happy and feel they have accomplished something important.

I have several goals. This blog alone is a goal I set fifty-four days ago.

Being in love is obvious. Nothing feels as good as being in love. Unfortunately at some point expectations get in the way of appreciation and gratitude. I begin to take the other person for granted and stop putting as much effort into making my significant other happy. When you're in love you don't keep score and you genuinely want to do things to make someone else happy just for the sake of making them happy. Not to get a single thing in return. It is important that I take the time to appreciate my spouse and see all the good in him, and all the hard work he does, and if there are things I don't like to let them go. Where I put my focus is the key to staying in love and being happy.

Staying on course with my goals,

Nicola Byrne

Happiness is a by-product of an effort to make someone else happy.

-Gretta Brooker Palmer

Day Fifty-Three ... Affirmations

Perhaps I woke up on the wrong side of the bed because I felt a bit low today. Not quite myself and lacking the ability to pull myself out of the funky mood. It was really hard to think of anything to write about today. It was hard to look for things to write about. I felt a little stalled.


Actually, there was no perhaps about it. I woke up on the wrong side of the bed and was in a bad, sad, maudlin mood. Almost all day. The need to write the blog sort of felt like a trip to the dentist. Looming in the background, find something good, find something good ...


As fate would have it inspiration for today's blog comes from Jennifer who mentioned watching this video clip to me this morning. Perfect timing, I really needed a little something to perk me up. I remember having seen it a long while back but forgot the message. It is sweet, it is cute, and it is uplifting. I'm going to borrow Jessica's ebullient attitude until I can return to my own. I love her heartfelt appreciation for every little thing!

It is nice to know that when I thought I was going to have a very tough time finding something good to write about it was dropped into my lap along with a remedy for my icky mood. Both the video and the inspiration from a friend helped me return back to my desire to better myself and see the good around me. It is always there if I just take the time to look for it.

I wish I had gotten to watch it earlier in the day, rather than later, because it really went a long way towards making me smile and shake of the blues.


I'm setting an intention to sleep deep, wake up refreshed and have a great day tomorrow. I can do anything good.


Doing good things,
Nicola Byrne


It’s the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.
–Claude M. Bristol

Day Fifty-Two ... Line Dancing

After having a great day off that consisted of going out for breakfast, some sight seeing, walking around the Strip, Town Square and making a nice dinner we ended it with line dance lessons at Stonies. Doing something physical that requires a lot of mental effort is a sure fire way of tuning out any kind of undesirable thoughts.

Not that I had any after such a nice day but while dancing I thought it would be a great way to eradicate a bad mood or negative thought spiral. There is really no way to think about anything when taking a line dance lesson.

Now I'm home and I can't remember the name of either line dance I learned. I definitely don't have a strong grasp on the steps either. This is the kind of thing that requires regular attendance (much like choosing to think positively requires a daily effort) or you end up forgetting what you learned pretty instantly.

Hopefully in the future I will be able to make it more regularly, because I really do enjoy it. It is downright relaxing, but physical as well. I like the combination of physical exercise paired with mental exercise.

Tomorrow is back to work for the next six days and I'm ready for it. A good day off goes a long way towards recharging and refreshing the mind and body.

Grateful for a great day,

Nicola Byrne

Dance till the stars come down from the rafters
Dance, Dance, Dance till you drop.
~W.H. Auden

Day Fifty-One ... TGIF !

The weeks are flying by, keeping busy at work and at home has a lot to do with it. I almost don't have the chance to get tired because Saturday gets here so fast.


It also goes really fast ...


The weather in Las Vegas is supposed to be gorgeous, as usual. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow and having the day off to relax, take a walk, to sleep in. I never actually do sleep in, as much as I look forward to it. I wake up and that's it, I'm up. Not needing to watch the clock and be out the door by a certain time is right up there on my list next to sleeping in though.


I am grateful for a productive week and grateful for a day off tomorrow.

I saw this picture and had to laugh ... which means it really has to go in here where I choose good thoughts, or a good laugh!


TGIF,
Nicola Byrne‎


I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.
-Charles Swindoll 

Day Fifty ... Question Answered

Since I moved to Las Vegas ten months ago I've been seeing this particular shrub all around that I love. Some are twenty feet tall, some only four feet tall. I have wanted to know what they are so someday I can plant them in the backyard. This shrub has the greatest colors. Pink. Red. White. Magenta.

Anyway, a few weeks ago I was fully expecting to find out what on earth this shrub was when I went to the Springs Preserve. I assumed it would be in their desert gardens. It wasn't. The ice cream festival went a long way to compensate for that disappointment though. At some point in time, walking the dogs, I thought I would see a homeowner out tending their yard and simply ask.

Then on Tuesday I picked up my girlfriend to go for a walk in Pueblo Park. I didn't even think to ask her what the shrub was, but I should have because she always knows what plant is what. It turns out I didn't have to ask, it came out that my mysterious shrub is oleander. I don't remember seeing oleander before, though I may have. It is funny that it seems to be in the scenery all the time when I read a book and I never thought twice about it. Never was curious to go and look it up.

But now I know. Gorgeous oleander is all over the place in Las Vegas and I love it. It is one of my favorite plants to see when I am walking around, the colors are extremely vibrant and it seems to simply thrive everywhere.

I am looking forward to getting some oleander in the backyard now that I know what it is! All different colors.  I hope hummingbirds like it, because I see them all over the place too.

Thank you Michelle,
Nicola Byrne


A day is Eternity's seed, and we are its Gardeners.
-Erika Harris

Day Forty-Nine ... Adversity? Opportunity?

What makes one person perceive situations and incidents so differently from another? An event in their childhood? Perhaps one later in life? Is it just a trait born in them? I'm making the effort to change the way I see things. As a result I am questioning more. Questioning why I feel the way I do about things and how I can improve upon those feelings, and in turn, improve myself.

Today I was talking to someone at work, a client I will be training in the future once they have gotten a few things ironed out. We were very much on the same page and it was great to talk to someone else that embraces appreciating everything. 

Have you ever met a person that had a trauma, be it physical or emotional, and in spite of that they have the best outlook on life? Yet you can meet another person and they have had more opportunities and advantages than most and see nothing good in their life or in the people around them? I've met many of both and I wonder how those paths are chosen. It isn't like there is a fork in the road and a sign that said "Optimism" and "Negativity". If it were only that easy!

I wonder where it all begins. Where is that first incident that the first person sees as an opportunity or a blessing and the other person sees nothing beyond something to complain about? Over time complaining becomes second nature and appreciation is a forgotten talent. Yet improving your life and that of those around you is as simple as appreciating what you have, every day, every moment.

There's a quote I like (I know, there are many that I like):

Happiness is not having what you want. It is wanting what you have. – Anon

However, since I'm being all cerebral and contemplative here I believe I'd like to change 'wanting' to 'appreciating' and that is where true contentment and happiness can be found. Or we can go deeper than appreciating what we have to appreciating who we are. How can you value anything you have or anyone around you if you don't value yourself?

For a great many years of my life I didn't value myself at all and spent a great deal of time lamenting over my flaws. That was comfortable and familiar and I extrapolated it to lamenting over the flaws I saw in others. When you are looking for flaws suddenly they are everywhere.

Now I'm appreciating things about me more. That leads me to seeing and appreciating so much more in everyone around me, and everything around me. It really is an inside job.

Contemplating the choices in life,

Nicola Byrne

I wish I could show you,

When you are lonely or in darkness,

The astonishing light of your own being.

-Hafiz