family values | here i am

Let’s talk about gun control and how to protect our kids, our future, and our society.

The only shooting I ever want to see is this type, someone shooting on goal.

Gun control starts years before anyone even thinks about picking up a gun.

Let’s start with respect. Respect your parents. Respect your elders. Respect yourself and others and others’ property. Respect your teachers.

Partners – respect and love your chosen partner and do your part to create love and peace in your home daily. Honor one another.

Do your work. Always. And stop complaining. Just do it. Doing the work takes discipline and discipline is needed in just about anything you value.

Be more self less and less self entitled.

Hold the door open for others.

Give love and respect freely.

Understand and feel compassion for others.

Practice the art of connection. Smiles are free. Look someone in the eye and greet them. Call your mom. Call your grandmother. Call your best friend. Return a text message or voicemail or email in a reasonable amount of time.

Be friendly. Be a good friend. Celebrate your friends’ gifts.

Call of duty means something significant. A call of duty is to serve and to protect our country. It’s not hours spent in front of a video screen playing a violent game and feeling nothing.

Go outside and play and run around and learn to be responsible and to get along with others in your neighborhood.

Exercise.

Know your neighbors and talk to them.

Give back to your community without expecting anything in return. Help one another.

Mental illness is real and we need to talk about it more. We need better systems to treat and medicate those with this illness and to support the family members who bear the responsibility for their loved ones with this type of incapacitation.

Have empathy and try to understand how lucky you are and how others might not be as fortunate as you.

Make time for family dinners or a family breakfast or a family walk. Make time to see and to listen to each other and to connect with your family members. You are important to them and they are important to you.

Follow your moral compass. Religious institutions provide structure and purpose. Choose yours wisely and give of yourself to your beloved institution.

Be mindful. Think before you act.

Go to bed and sleep 8-10 hours. We are sleep deprived and we need more sleep to be healthier.

Make your bed every morning.

Choose the harder right versus doing what’s instantly satisfying.

Work. Then play. In that order.

Laugh. It feels good.

Be nice.

Be okay.

If we collectively practice what we value, maybe we’ll create more happiness, love and light in this world. One Love.

We’ll practice gun control by keeping them locked up in safes to protect us from evil instead of creating evil acts with them.

The best gun control happens between your ears.

nAMaste

If you were to pick one word to represent your hopes and desires for this new year, what would you pick?

Last year my theme was “let go” which is actually two words, but I came back to these ALL the time. Whenever I lost my focus, I would remind myself to let go and adapt and to accept what was presenting itself to me. I practiced letting go of expectations that stood in the way of my ability to feel joy. By letting go, I freed myself to be ok with what was and not what I was hoping for if that makes any sense. By letting go, I let other people be too. It allowed me to release judgement which was strange and liberating at the same time. Of course, I wasn’t always good at this process, but when I was, it worked to create happiness not only for myself but also for the person who was “disappointing” me.

For example, I let go of the expectation that my husband would be home at a given time. I let go of the need to receive acknowledgement from texts right away and didn’t feel like the other person was ignoring me. I was patient and let go of the imaginary expected time they had to respond. This is liberating! When friends had to change plans at the last minute, I let them do what they needed to do without expressing any regret and made other plans. I think the ability to let go and adapt are critical skills to enabling our happiness.

The year before my word was “flow.” I wanted to learn to flow with whatever came my way and to be less controlling. This worked wonders for creating inner peace. I share these ideas in case they might ignite a spark in you too.

This year I’ve chosen my word to be “togetherness.” I want to be present and enjoy my time with my family and close friends, and put my phone down more often than not.

My challenge is finding the experiences that all 5 of us might be interested in sharing at the same time, which gets more challenging as everyone gets busier. I also want to be more flexible and organic in allowing life to flow and to live in the moment without having to “do” anything, if that makes any sense.

Some of the things we like to do as a family include: driving, going to the beach, barbecuing, traveling, seeing new places, going out to eat, visiting friends, cooking together, tailgating and watching sporting events, entertaining, watching tv, playing on our phones and sharing stories, taking pictures, and hanging out with each other, friends, and family.

What is your word or two that summarizes some of your goals this coming year?

Happy New Year 2015!
Xo