We all react differently to the events in our day.  Is having an ordinary day a bad thing?  In my opinion not at all, especially if you view each day as a gift.  As I was writing this post, I thought of a song I love by Sarah McLachlan called “Ordinary Miracle.”   In addition to the quote the song lyrics I have in the photo above, I also really think these song lyrics are awesome:

When you wake up every day
Please don’t throw your dreams away
Hold them close to your heart
‘Cause we are all a part
Of the ordinary miracle

Ordinary can be extraordinary if you choose to appreciate it.  Carpe diem!

Okay, now back to my train of thought….When we start conversations most of us start with some sort of greeting and may ask how the person or people you are talking with are doing.   When we are rushed or we don’t know the person, it might be just a quick hello.

Having a conversation with a total stranger can be intimidating, especially if you are an introvert.  I also find it can be difficult to hold conversations with young adults who are used to texting or instant messaging versus face-to-face conversation.  I used to work with someone that would post messages to me on Twitter versus telling me in person and we worked literally 20 feet away from each other.

So how can you have engaging conversations?  Ask good questions and most importantly LISTEN to the person’s answers.  Here are five tips I’ve used and that have been shared with me for starting conversations with someone I didn’t know.

1.  Ask open ended questions that cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.”  Some examples to consider:

• Ask what the person does for a living.  If they are not working, find out more about what they are looking to do, if they are going to school, where, etc.
• Ask where the person lives and what they think of their community

2.  Comment on a topic that is common to you and that person at the moment.  Example, this event location is interesting.  What was your favorite appetizer so far?

3. Ask follow up questions about things you’ve learned with your first question!  The key here is to listen to the person’s answers while you are talking with them to learn more about them.

4. Ask questions to get to know the person.  Examples:  Do you have any hobbies that you enjoy outside of work?  What is their favorite place to go out to for dinner/lunch in the area, etc.

5. Don’t do all the talking and keep asking questions of them – once you’ve gotten the discussion going let the conversation continue and for them to ask questions of you.

Conversations are fun when you connect with people that enjoy meeting other people but sometimes it isn’t always easy.  If you find the person to be agitated or not interested in talking, politely leave the discussion and listen to your “gut.”

If you have helpful tips to share on this topic, please comment below.

The National Sleep Foundation and Values Institute at DGWB recently shared findings for the five top health trends for this year.  One of the top five trends is that seventy-six percent of Americans want to improve the quantity and quality of the sleep they get.

Sleep is a basic human need we neglect when we have a lot going on, have young children, pets, family, when we are sick, studying, having fun and I’m sure a host of other reasons. I often fall into a bit of insomnia when I’m busy and have found some strategies that work for me.  In finding the things that worked for me, I did a bit of research and though I’d share a few resources that helped me:

The National Sleep Foundation has many resources for helping with sleep specific tips

WebMD 10 Tips to Get Better Sleep

The Happiness Project:  14 Tips for Getting More Sleep

Mayo Clinic:  7 Steps to Better Sleep

I hope you are able to sleep well tonight.  If not, hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Did you know that today is National Hug day*?   I just discovered it when I was working on a work project researching interesting holidays/”days” companies have earmarked for particular celebrations. In looking for inspiration on the image front, I found an old photo of my daughter hugging our dog – something she still does quite frequently and we share hugs as often as we can.  We read a lot of Shel Silverstein at our house and thought the poem he wrote on hugs was cute.  Can you imagine if our world approached hugging that way?

In honor of National Hug Day, I’d like to share with you a poem I wrote:

Hugs show someone you care
Open up your heart
Comfort a friend
Show support
Give yourself
Share love
Embrace change
Greet life
Be there

I hope you enjoy hugs every day!!!  Consider this a virtual hug if you are missing them in your life.

So, from this mixture of clay mixed together that my daughter had collected from a previous play session…

I created this simple heart.   I am giving it to my daughter to remind her that I love her and also about the fun we had today.While I created this simple piece, my daughter created an entire scene that she came up with and we played together creating her scene for several hours. She loves to play and came up with a million ideas – it was fun working with her creating some of the pieces.

As adults we tend to refocus our “play” time and are busy doing all the chores, errands, work, volunteering, friends and family obligation, and the slew of other responsibilities we focus on in life.    Fitting in time for play is easier than we think – even when we are busy.  A lot of times it’s just refocusing a part of your day or making it a priority to focus on family time.  Here are a few ideas came top of mind as I was writing this for incorporating play:

• Play with your kids, pets, family or friends
• Join a special interest group – gardening, book club, craft club, art/writing group, church
• Take a few minutes a day to fuel your artistic side even if you design for a living but try something you don’t always do with your day job – paint, draw, sculpt, photograph, knit, craft, scrapbook, etc.
• Exercise can be a form of play – walk, run, bike, hike, play sports, ski, etc.
• Sing or dance

Play is something important for us to find time for as adults.  According to helpguide.org, “Play teaches us how to manage and transform our “negative” emotions and experiences. It supercharges learning, helps us relieve stress, and connects us to others and the world around us. Play can also make work more productive and pleasurable.”

So will I be experimenting more with clay in the future – for sure.  Especially now that my daughter has informed me she has an “idea” for another project;)

This song from Snow White has been stuck in my head all day.  My daughter discovered she could whistle this morning. It has taken her 5+ years of practice and she’s whistling whenever she can now.

Her favorite whistling song is the Snow White song, “Whistle While You Work.”

I used to encounter more people that whistle tunes when they are happy or to just pass the time.  It doesn’t seem to be as common place ‘these days.’  Can you imagine if we all walked around whistling a happy tune?

Music does have an impact on our mood and our brains, whether we realize it or not.  I have fascinated by this fact since I was pregnant with my daughter.  I had read numerous articles on this and recall a discussion on NPR that I tracked down regarding a book by Elena Mannes called The Power of Music.  According to this book, music stimulates more parts of the brain than any other human function. That’s why Elena Mannes sees so much potential in music’s power to change the brain and affect the way it works.  Yes, music is pretty amazing.

Life is full of good and bad situations and circumstances.  How we choose to handle these circumstances or situations lies in the perspective we take on them.  Does the situation control us or do we control the perspective we take on how we choose to deal with it?  I’ve recently had a discussion on this very subject with a close friend which led to this blog post.

I try to see the good in people whenever I can but lately seem to be running into many people so caught up in their own personal life that they cannot see the forest through the trees.  I often find myself listening intently (we all need to vent and just have someone listen to us ) and then saying something about keeping things in perspective.

Keeping things in perspective matters in life and if we can help others take a step back and come back to reality, the forest will be clearer for them and for us for helping.

This image was originally used on Heal Blog.net and I thought it was very cute and fun for this post.

I was talking with my Mom tonight and we were talking about a bunch of things as we often do.  One thing that she credits for her positive disposition and health at her age (77 today – happy birthday Mom!) is the twice a week aerobic exercise sessions she participates in.  She says she feels so much better mentally and physically when she takes time out of her week to go to aerobics.  I couldn’t agree with her more.  Go Mom

Our to-do lists can get long and we often focus so much on other things (family, friends, work, volunteering, school, etc.) that we forget about keeping ourselves healthy.  I know I had been in that boat for many, many years.  I had a wake-up call early last year with my health and decided to take small steps to being healthier. One of them is exercising regularly.

I am not going to sugar coat it – I used to avoid exercising at all costs and just say I didn’t have time.  But once I started making it a regular part of my routine, I noticed I started feeling better and actually looked forward to it.

In order to help others, we have to be healthy ourselves.  If exercise is something that you avoid like I did and you are not sick or recouping, take a few minutes a day and find an exercise you like and start small.

There are so many health benefits to exercising. Just do a search on exercise and the list of articles that come up are astounding.   Here are some resources I use regularly for inspiration, help and have great information.  As always, please share any others you find helpful.

Heal Blog

Mayo Clinic

Live Strong

Biggest Loser

Medicinenet

Kidshealth.org

These are but a few of the my favorite quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.