Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means that if you buy the item using the link, you’ll allow me to earn a small commission for the same price that you would pay by going to that site directly. That would be a wonderful way of saying Merry Christmas to me, without it costing you a dime. So THANK YOU in advance for your support!
If there’s a group of people who is really able to see the magic of Christmas in an non-jaded way, it’s children. Therefore, this post is dedicated to the potential toys that they may like.
The Best Tips for Finding the Perfect Gift for Kids
My #1 tip is this: First of all, focus on listening to THEM.
Second of all, listen to their likes.
The Best Gift For Kids
Hands down, the best gift you can give kids, is love. Nothing beats its. NO–THING!
I can’t tell you how many times I hear parents saying how much time they waste in finding “the perfect gift” for their kids and then, when the day comes that their children open the gift, the kids are more interested in the box than in the toy.
Or the other thing that happens is that the kids play with the toy for a total of about 5 seconds and then walk away, want to be carried, play with something else, or start to talk to you.
What if you sat for half an hour and played with them with their new toy?
The interaction would be different.
They most likely wouldn’t just leave you… or if they did, they would do so after at least a good solid 15 minutes of playing.
What does this say?
That children are interested in being with YOU more than enjoying the activity by themselves.
“It’s not the batteries that energize the toys, it’s YOU, as the parent, who makes playing come to life and memorable.” -Haydee Montemayor
Of course, there are exceptions, and there are children who are capable of playing alone really well, and prefer to do so. However, most kids thrive when they receive attention and love. They beam when you you take the time to play with them with something as simple as a balloon or a ball. Try it for yourself and see. 🙂
But it’s really common sense, don’t YOU thrive when someone showers you with love and attention?
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means that if you buy the item using the link, you’ll allow me to earn a small commission for the same price that you would pay by going to that site directly. That would be a wonderful way of saying Merry Christmas to me, without it costing you a dime. So THANK YOU in advance for your support!
Let’s admit it, shopping for guys is often the least rewarding person to shop for. Don’t mean to be mean or anything. The reason that I’m saying this is because even though they might “love” one of your gifts they’re not going to express it the way you’d like them to. (Meaning, they’re more mellow/subtle than ladies in expressing their gratitude).
Think about it…. whenever Oprah had Her Favorite Things Show or she gave away cars, (CARS!) most often, the people who were beside themselves were… ladies. Yeah, there was that one guy who was on his knees and revering the floor he was standing on, but other than him, I don’t remember any guy freaking out over the THOUSANDS of dollars that Oprah gave them in gifts.
Check out the video of Oprah’s Last Favorite Things on The Oprah Winfrey Show below:
Also check out what probably is the best surprise on TV… the time that she had the car giveaway.
Then, there’s the Surprise for the Ultimate Viewers… the ladies take the cake:
As the Holiday Season is approaching, more and more of us are all of a sudden realizing that we need to finish (or start) shopping for our loved ones.
So, today, I’ll be sharing with you a Holiday Gift Guide that can greatly help you buy those presents.
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means that if you buy the item using the link, you’ll allow me to earn a small commission for the same price that you would pay by going to that site directly. That would be a wonderful way of saying Merry Christmas to me, without it costing you a dime. So THANK YOU in advance for your support! 🙂 (Even if you dislike all of my ideas, or you want to buy a few or all of your gifts on Amazon, since I am an Amazon affiliate, feel free to use this link to do all of your Holiday shopping and purchases year-round… and you’ll be supporting this blog in the process).
Before We Kick Off The Love and Treasure Holiday Gift Guide 2015, I Want To Say 3 Things:
1) Giving gifts is a love language. Meaning, that for some people, it’s their way of expressing love and feeling loved. And as you know, anytime someone gifts you anything you can feel that appreciation with which they gave you that gift regardless of wether or not you “LOVED” the gift.
2) Giving gifts is not what the Holiday Season is about. But it’s nice to give and receive them.
3) The price of the item that you decide to give someone is toooootally NOT what it’s about.
“Gifts are either about fulfilling a need, or warming someone else’s heart.”
For example, a brand new car isn’t received in the same exact way by someone who has 10 luxury cars already as by someone who has been in need of a car for years.
As you’re going through the list remember that THE BEST things in life… really, THE BEST things…. the ones that we’ll take with us after we leave the planet are FREE!
And while going to the store and buying “FREE” gifts is not always possible (unless you coupon, of course), make sure that THE GREATEST ingredient, tag or “unspoken hashtag” in any of the gifts you give is LOVE. That means if a gift costs you $1.00 make sure that you give it with love. If a gift costs you $1 million dollars, that it’s also infused with love. The gift, regardless of how expensive or inexpensive it is, does NOT convey all the love that it can unless you do.
It only takes a glimpse of your to-do list, your social media presence, your calendar, your conflicting appointments and the world at large to know that your life is overflowing. It’s full of commitments, full of errands, and the term “scatter-brain” should be your affectionate nickname.
In the grand scheme of things, however, IS your life full? Do all of the things that fill up your to-do list, your social media profiles, your calendar, your time, your life, your heart, your mind and your soul fill you up? Really fill you up? If they don’t, you’re absolutely not alone. There are billions of people who feel this exact same way. We’re focusing on the ingredients of life… the minutia, instead of focusing on the celebration of life cake. We can even throw the cake out of this scenario and know that it’s absolutely enough to just be in the present. But when are we present? Where are we right now? As you know, we are everywhere but here. We are literally, mentally, psychologically and spiritually scattered. Therefore, we are hardly ever present to enjoy our life. You know what also is sad? That we expect to enjoy our life and have joy based on our external circumstances, instead of our internal ones. We’re not valuable because of how many things we checked off our to-do list, how many friends we have on social media, how many people like what we say on social media or how many social invitations we get each weekend. There’s so much more to you than that.
If you really observe your life, you’ll discover that:
“It’s not that you can’t keep up with your to-do list. It’s that your to-do list can’t keep up with you because your mind is constantly creating, thinking, analyzing, envisioning and realizing the hundreds of things you “have” to do.”
And the question is not where your to do list is when you’re getting an avalanche of thoughts of this kind, but where love and doing the things that matter end up. Do they even get a prime spot on your to-do list? Or your life?
What Should Your Life Be Full Of?
You are probably reading this with the hope that I have some magical answer for how to be more present and for how to feel more joy? (After all, if you’ve read this far, it’s almost like a miracle… I know you have so many things “to do” 😉 ). And as simplistic as it may seem I do have an answer that can be magical if you apply it well in all areas of your life. That answer is love.
Why Should You Start Talking About What Your Life Should Be Filled With?
Of course, how you can apply love to your life is too broad of a topic for this one post. For now, though, I want to leave you with 5 do-or-die reasons why having a conversation about love is important:
1. First of all, you need to come to terms with a perhaps rude awakening and that is that you literally have sooooo many things on your to-do list, that even if you did nothing else in life, you would probably still have plenty of things to occupy you the rest of your life. So, the concept of love, as basic or grandiose as you think it is, NEEDS to be part of your life. This means, you have to make time for it. It’s not like you can wait until the rest of your to-do list is finished, before you feel you can focus on love. You need to call the people you love, see them, spend time with them, cherish them, give them you. Give them love. And if they say that they don’t have time for some of your loving. Insist on loving. Making loving them your priority. And analyze this: Why do you think they’re so “addicted” to being busy? Have you ever considered that if they didn’t feel busy, they would probably feel empty? Have you ever considered that that’s the reason why your social calendar is that full? It’s sad and surprising to even come to terms with either one of these rationalizations. The key here is, that instead of being someone who is waiting for LOVE to knock on your door, and rescue you from your to-do list is super naive. It’s not gonna happen. There is no “Love in Shining Armor.” YOU have to create time for what matters.
2. And please, don’t give me the “But really, I don’t have time” excuse. If you find the time to gossip, to talk about the latest reality show, to obsess about cleaning, to argue, to watch sports, to watch movies, to talk about what you’re going to bring to the pot-luck, to engage in politics, to talk about or participate in office politics, the watch or talk about news, to comment on what the latest celebrity said on a social media site, then you certainly have time to make love your priority. Haven’t you heard yourself lately? Haven’t you caught yourself and heard a little voice saying, “I can’t believe I’m talking about this stupid subject” when you’re spending time with your loved ones? That’s your intuition that knows that you’re wasting time.
3. As hard as it is to admit it, you know what your intuition is reminding you of? That we’re not eternal. So either you do and say what you’re meant to say right now or at the next opportunity that the moment is “good enough” instead of waiting for the nonexistent “perfect moment” or you run the risk of never, ever, having the opportunity to say it at all. You can die today. Your loved one could die today! What are you waiting for!?
4. On a larger scale, negative energy is taking this world nowhere productive. Of course, you can say it’s taking us down, but that’s why I specified that it’s taking us nowhere productive. You have two options with every choice you make. Either you take the fear/hate route as you do something or you take the love route.
Which one do you think will take you further in life (not that we’re focusing on your needs right now)?
Which one do you think will make the best difference?
Which will allow you to leave a meaningful imprint or legacy for those that have had the privilege of knowing you and having you in their life?
I know and you know that anybody can act negatively and perpetuate fear and that they’ll instantly feel powerful doing so. That’s what cowards and wimps do. That’s the easy route. Anybody can hate easily, but not everybody can love easily. Yes, they can love, but it takes courage to love. Courage comes from the French word, “coeur” which means “heart.” If your heart keep you alive, why shouldn’t you want to keep the world of our dreams alive? And no matter how impossible it seems to be to attain it, help create it one choice at a time?
5. I hope that all of this is helping you realize that love is the topic that should be trending on your favorite social media sites. You know where else love should be trending? On your everyday day-to-day “mundane” actions, meaning in your life. You maybe think that you’re so insignificant that you choosing to live more love-consciously will not matter. But you know what? You’re wrong. Haven’t you stopped to think about the power of love? Don’t you know that if today you chose to love someone instead of being indifferent, hating or feeling any other not-so-giving feeling, that you would make a difference? You can either make a difference to that one person or (if you can think this highly of yourself) you can make a difference to the whole world. Put another way, when you make a difference to one person, you make a difference to the world. We are all energy. That’s no joke. So either you uplift our collective human consciousness or you bring it down. It’s all based on how you treat one person.
Why Should We Take the Time to Talk About and Apply Love?
We need to address what’s important in our world by talking about love. Love is the common thread and the common denominator in all of our lives. All the political issues that are driving people nuts around the world, boil down to love. Love impacts how a farmer farms and how he treats his animals. That in turn affects the energy that we receive from our nourishment and how healthy we are. Love affects whether or not a doctor does everything in his/her power to keep you or a loved one alive. Love affects our oceans, our pollution, and the people who have just died out of hunger in this short time that you read this post. Love matters to your child who needs your embrace, to your spouse that needs a caress. Love matters to the underdog, but it also matters to the CEO. Love should matter to everyone and matter a whole lot, because it is essentially our best gift, our remedy, our answer and our saving grace. Either we use love to keep our personal and collective well-being afloat, or we don’t use it and sink in misery, despair and indifference. We’ve all experienced both sides of that equation on a microscopic level in our own life and we know that we’re much kinder and much smarter than to let the latter happen, so start seeing love as a unending treasure, because it really is. Without further delay, give it away.
Now It’s Your Turn to Share Your Wisdom Gems
This blog is not my soap box. It’s a platform to honor love and converse about it. So, I’d be thrilled to hear what you have to say about it. Please share this article with your friends so that more people can join in on the conversation.
Do you think that you are ready to learn more about love? Why or why not?
Do you think the world is ready to learn more about love? Why or why not?
Yes, we know that there are tired fathers in delivery rooms.
It’s hard to hold your wife’s hand, tell her that it’s gonna be okay, and to push. Right? 😉 Well, maybe.
But usually it’s external factors that make soon-to-be fathers tired, like the hours that go by waiting for the little one to be born. So yeah, it’s possible that you, as a soon-to-be father, are stressed, but one thing you can bet more money on than you’ve ever been able to in your life, is that the soon-to-be mom is WAaaaaAAAAay more tired than you are.
So having said that, let’s focus our attention on where it really matters: your wife and your baby.
Top 5 Tips to REALLY Take Care of Your New Family from Day 1
1. Get Your NEW Priorities Straight.
We’ve all heard of cavemen.
When you think of a caveman, do you ever imagine him sleeping?
No, right?
So if men are supposedly much more advanced than your historic counterparts, what makes you think that you should sleep more than your wife does that first day?
No excuse that you come up with is good enough, so don’t waste your time even trying to come up with one.
And while we’re on the topic of sleeping… you know that blanket that your wife packed for the hospital after she washed it with her favorite fabric softener?
It’s for her, not for you.
She needs it to be able to sleep as comfortable as possible, for at least tonight, after her efforts in the delivery room, knowing that she’ll have to put in a lot of effort into the sleepless nights that are to come.
2. Hold Yourself Accountable.
If your wife gave birth in any hospital, pay attention to the paperwork you signed, especially the one that you were asked to sign the first day, which says that you (or an adult that’s there with her) need to keep an eye on your wife as she’s feeding the baby to make sure that she doesn’t fall asleep while she’s holding him/her because yes sir, she really can be THAT tired and an extra pair of eyes is highly recommended. Trust me, you don’t want an accident to happen on your watch.
Plus, those ears of yours that hear the baby when it wakes up and wants to be held are more useful now than ever. Don’t wait for your wife to wake up from her sleep in order for you to continue sleeping. It’s your baby, too. 3. Remember Your Role.
Remember, you’re the knight in shining armor and your task is to protect your family unit and shoo and shield away anybody and anything that drains your wife’s energy.
How do you know what does?
Communicate with her flawlessly, listen to her and comply with her requests.
4. Help Her Eat.
Yes, we know that typically you eat more than your wife.
But if she’s breastfeeding, she’ll need about 500 extra calories a day to produce enough milk, so for the sake of your baby’s nourishment, let her eat in peace as best you can.
She literally, and more than ever, needs to eat to replenish herself.
Even more than during the pregnancy, she is eating for two.
5. Become a Mind Reader. (Even if it’s for the 1st Time In Your Life).
Yep, you heard that one right.
Read your wife’s mind to the best of your ability and be as in tune as possible to what she may need.
Challenge yourself to anticipate as many of her needs as you can.
After all, you’ve probably known her for years, right?
And you probably read a parenting book or two that warns you of how much more you’ll have to help your wife which listed for you the specific ways in which you can help.
So don’t think that your wife doesn’t know that you KNOW what to help her with.
And if for some strange reason you haven’t read any book and your baby is on the way any minute now, just know that helping your wife, isn’t rocket science.
Ask yourself:
What do you think she wants that she doesn’t even have enough energy to ask you to do?
How can you come up with answers to such a “hard and vague” question?
EASY! Put yourself in her shoes. If YOU just gave birth, what would YOU want your partner to do for you?
Focusing on her needs as she takes care of the baby will be THE best way for you to let her know that you support her during this newly embarked journey called parenthood.
Which by the way, lasts a lifetime.
Just saying.
What Your Support Boils Down To
Be sure to at least take 50% of her every-day responsibilities that you can do (even if you’ve never done them before) off her plate and do them for her.
She is by design, already giving much more to the baby than you ever will be able to. (Read that again if you need to, let it sink in).
If she thought you were sexy doing laundry, you will blow her away if you do at least these 5 tips for being a good husband and father. You’ll earn points, for later, if you know what I mean. 😉 (But give her time).
To wrap up, your wife feels an immense need and desire to take care of the baby.
During those first few hours, give her the gratification of being the mother she has dreamed of being for years by taking care of her during this time when she really DOES need you to step up and be the best man you’ve EVER been, because she is being the best woman she’s ever been for the child you were blessed to have.
Share Your Wisdom Tokens With Us
Regardless of whether you’re a wife or a fellow dad, do you have any other suggestions for new fathers?
If you found this article useful, share the 5 Points Husbands Can Score 72 Hours After The Baby Is Born with other couples you know. We never know what “good” we can do in the world by helping someone contribute to allowing the best moments in life to flow as smoothly as possible.
No matter how well we think we prepare for childbirth, at the end of the day, it’s not what we plan for that bothers us, it’s what we don’t plan as clearly. This blog, is sort of a to-do list for ways grandmas can help put those last final touches of perfection on the delivery day. Pass it on to a soon-to be-grandma as is or tweak it to fit your needs.
Grandma To Do List & Explanation For Why This List is Essential
Yes, Grandma. We know you’re excited. And so is your daughter who just gave birth. You want to know what the biggest difference between you and her is?
She is using ALL of her energy in trying to keep her balance, composure and grace in this important time of her life. You, on the other hand, can just focus your energy on being happy.
Every birth your daughter gives is an adjustment phase for her that you should be considerate of. Sadly, things are more peachy for you than they are for her, at least for these few hours. Your daughter is probably too out of it, too tired, too focused on the baby or too considerate to tell you, but if she could ask you anything, this is probably what she would ask you for:
1. Mom, let me make the decision as to whether or not you’ll be in the delivery room and never resent me for it.
2. No matter who is anxiously waiting in the waiting room to know how the birth turned out, wait until the nurses call you to come in. Don’t peek in the door/curtain…EVER!
3. As absurd and obvious as it may sound, the first night after delivery, I need as much sleep as I can get. One hour or two isn’t enough because most likely, I haven’t been able to sleep as much or as comfortably as usual in the last few days, weeks or months. So once the baby is born, and as long as I have someone staying with me, leave as early as possible for me to try to get some sleep (especially if you know that I like to go to bed early). And if the baby is born at night or in the wee hours of the morning, rejoice for a little bit with us and leave as soon as possible.
3. The day after the baby is born, when you come to visit, don’t mention that you got more hours of sleep than I did, I’m jealous already.
4. The first day at the hospital, ask at what time the hospital serves me breakfast, lunch and dinner and plan to eat around that time so that I don’t feel guilty that I have food and you don’t.
5. When my food comes… the only thing that should be preventing me from eating should be the baby. And even then, help out with the baby as much as possible especially while I’m eating. How else am I supposed to recover and gain energy to be on standby for the baby 24/7?
6. Before assuming that my answer will be yes, ask me if I will want company at home the day that I bring my baby home.
7. Respect the fact that my husband, my baby and I want to bond as a family… and need time to get our footing away from family and incessant nurse and doctor interruptions at the hospital.
8. Thank you for everything and for respecting these requests, regardless of how you feel about them.
Share Your Wisdom Treasures With Us
So ladies (and gentlemen who support your ladies), have you had to make these types of requests to your mother (i.e. baby’s grandma) in order to enjoy your big day as much as possible?
What have you requested?
How did Grandma react?
Was setting these clear expectations worth it?
If you didn’t make these expectations, did you wish you had, or are you planning on doing so?
Times have changed. The village that used to raise children in multigeneration settings rarely applies nowadays due in part to the the greater emotional distancing between families, physical distancing and family member’s pure disposition to care for a baby (or lack thereof).
Deciding who to take care of your baby if and when you return to work after the maternity leave is over, is a difficult and extremely emotional decision. It is also an important decision because literally, the well-being of your baby will depend on the baby’s caregiver. Although I have my personal bias regarding whether or not grandma should take care of her grandchildren, I’ll limit myself to presenting you all the pros and cons that I could think of for each of the two options.
The Pros of Grandma Taking Care of Her Granchild
1. Baby will have grandma’s love and proximity
2. Baby’s parents will have grandma’s wisdom and childrearing expertise at their disposal (e.g. like having a perpetual doula)
3. Baby’s parents are more likely to have access to grandma not only while at work but for date nights as well
4. Parents can be at ease leaving their baby with someone so trusted and loved.
5. Parents can help grandma earn money. It can be more beneficial to pay grandma instead of paying for someone else for a care provider.
6. Grandma can be more accommodating as to where she’s willing to take care of the baby (either in your house or hers). And if you’re running late, she won’t charge you extra.
7. If you prefer that the baby is taken care of in your house, you would most likely feel more comfortable leaving grandma in your home instead of someone who you don’t know as well.
The Cons of Grandma Taking Care of Her Grandchild
1. Relying on a close third caretaker such as grandma can prevent baby’s parents from fully coming together as a couple and as a 3-person family unit.
2. Baby can get confused as to which discipline he or she should follow: grandma’s or parents, especially when all three people are present.
3. Baby’s parents can learn to depend on grandma for anything and everything.
4. Grandma is unable to enjoy her role as grandma because now, she is essentially being a parent all over again.
5. Grandma will most likely feel obliged to do more than just take care of the baby (i.e. house chores, errands, food preparation).
6. Parents can’t really learn to depend on themselves and one another if they know grandma is always there or a phone call away.
7. Even though grandmas have the best of intentions for taking care of children, children need more intellectual stimulation than some grandmas are able or willing to give
8. By staying at home and being cared for by grandma for several months or years, babies and toddlers often don’t get the opportunity to interact with other children as much.
It’s Your Turn to Share Your Wisdom Treasures
Knowing whom to leave your child with is a very important and your expertise will surely help people make up their mind on this dilemma that will impact a child’s life forever.
So what scenario do you think is best for everyone involved? For what reasons?
How did you decide on what to do? How did that work out?
Do you regret any of the caregiver choices that you’ve made? Why?
Please leave a comment below sharing your experience or expertise.
We’ve all heard it before, and deep down we agree:
If only we knew WHAT we really, really wanted, we would go after it.
Yes, in fact we DO need to be clear on what our wishes are, not only at the beginning of each year, but all throughout the year so that we remain committed to our wishes.
How Can You Stay Committed to Your Wishes?
One way that I’ve been able to achieve many of my wishes and get excitedly close to achieving several others is by creating this wish box that was introduced to me by Hay House author Denise Linn.
On New Year’s, she and her daughter Meadow Linn, who is also an author and who co-wrote The Mystic Cookbook along with Denise, a blogger, a wonderful cook and a lovely person overall, get together to set their intentions for the new year by making several projects. One of these projects entails creating this wish box, which they refer to as a magic box.
My Experience With a Wish Box and How it Can Benefit You
I first created this wish box a couple of years ago. Thankfully, some of the BEST and most important wishes that one can dream of in a lifetime have come true and are coming true for me. I realize that this is in part a combination of various factors, being clear on what i want, working toward my goals, believing in my goals and believing in myself and simply right timing.
Making a wish box is a great family tradition, a family craft activity and a wishing session all in one that I highly recommend. But there is absolutely no shame in doing this box alone. As a matter of fact, don’t beg anyone to do one with you… they’ll most likely ruin the mood. Let me show you how to have fun making one.
How to Make Your Very Own Wish Box
1. Buy a craft boxOR better yet, find a pretty box that you already own that you can use exclusively for this purpose.
2. Find things that you would like to decorate your box with such as stickers, cardstock, photos, magazine clippings, Google printouts, foam shapes, felt shapes, ribbon, glitter or whatever else you want to use.
3. Grab some tape and glue that is capable of pinning down your chosen decorations to the box.
4. Grab pencils, markers, colored pencils and pens
This is mine.
5. Before you start deciding on what decoration goes where, keep in mind that you will need to write “thank you” on all four sides of the box. You can use stickers that say “thank you” or you can print out this phrase with your printer. The idea behind writing “thank you” is that you should already be grateful for the fulfillment of your wishes. You have to have that level of faith.
Like this. 🙂
And Like this… on all sides. 🙂
6. On the inside of the box, incorporate the phrase, “Everything in this box is so” to further promote the faith and confidence that you have that these wishes will be fulfilled.
Anywhere inside the box works.
7. Have FUN decorating the box! Knock yourself out!
Have a good time doing this box.
8. Once you’re happy with how your box looks, because as you know, feelings do matter, decide on which prices of paper you will write your wishes. They can be in any shape. Just consider if you write small, big, short phrases or long phrases to determine the size of your papers. Cut the papers where you’ll write your wishes by hand, by craft punches if you have any, or by electronic cutting machines. You can even use squiggly scissors to be more whimsical, if you like.
Have fun with the papers where you write your wishes on.
9. Now it’s time to really tune within yourself and think about what you really, REALLY wish for. It can be that you desire things for yourself, for your family, for your friends, for your community or for the world. As you write each wish down, write it as though you already have what you’re wishing for.
For example, if you wish for a Twix chocolate bar, say, “I am very happy that I am enjoying this Twix bar as a snack in the park after my workout.” In other words, use words of gratitude or of deep feeling.
Another example would be, “I am so excited that today I am going to my favorite singer, ______ ‘s concert (write the name of the singer).”
Or, “I am so happy to see my best friend’s renewed sense of living now that her illness is gone.”
10. Write each wish in a single piece of paper and put it in the box.
11. Write as many wishes as you like. Dream BIG! Most importantly, B-E-L-I-E-V-E in your heart that what you wish for can come true.
12. It is best to make yourself as comfortable as possible. You can play some comfortable music and make a determination to keep distractions to a minimum. A good resource for relaxing music that allows you to focus is www.focusatwill.com.
12. Once you are done, place this box either in a visible special place or tuck it away somewhere. Decide whether you will revisit the box in 6 months or a year. Write that date on your calendar to remind yourself or set a special day each year to revisit this activity…. like New Years day or your birthday. Most importantly, commit to not opening the box between now and then.
13. When the day to revisit the box arrives, take the box out of where you stored it.
14. Play some nice music in a comfortable setting.
15. Read through your wishes.
16. Divide them in four stacks:
the wishes that didn’t come true yet
the wishes that did come true
the wishes that partially came true
the wishes that came true but that are ongoing.
17. The wishes that haven’t come true yet go directly back into the box with the hope that in 6 months to a year, those wishes will come true. And if they don’t, perhaps it us because more time us needed… so don’t despair.
18. You can share the wishes that came true with whomever you’re doing this activity with… Or if you’re doing it alone, you can journal about which wishes came true. I don’t need to tell you, but be thankful for the wishes that came true. It’s up to you if you want to share the wishes that partially came true or are ongoing.
19. Place the wishes that are ongoing and partially came true back in the box.
20. Have another envelope or ziplock bag where you place the wishes that came true. It’s fun collecting them. Or if you’re a minimalist, and you must, it doesn’t hurt to throw them away.
21. You want to know what the best thing about having a wish box is? That you get to add more wishes on your established date! You get to dream big all over again! 🙂 You get to tap into what you desire. Isn’t this the beauty of life? To grow and to evolve? Yes, there will always be something else to pursue… but it’s the pursuit of that which we think will bring us happiness that will make us the happiest.
It’s Your Turn to Share Your Wisdom Treasures With Us
Try this magic box. Dream. Create, work toward your dreams and release… And in 6-8 months come back and share what your experience was (Include that in your calendar). Better yet, tell me if you liked the experience of at least creating a box.
Do you create wish boxes previously? What has your experience been? Do you have any recommendations that you’d like to give those who are new to wish boxes?
There is a lot of hoopla around New Years Day. For some, this holiday, is the best holiday of the year. For me, it’s my least favorite. I don’t mean to step on anybody’s toes, but in my opinion, many of the best celebrations happen on any given day… on a day that is personally meaningful to you and your loved ones…. not on a day when you’re supposed to feel sad, joyous or excited that we’re moving from one day to the next. The best celebrations are usually not forced.
Regardless of the fact that my family and I don’t usually participate in the traditional New Year traditions, I want to share what I did this morning:
1. I picked up my baby from the crib and said “I love you” with hugs, kisses and all
2. I changed the baby’s diaper
3. We read a book together… one that we both enjoyed. I couldn’t think of any better way to start the year than by cuddling with my baby and reading a book.
It’s a cute pop-up book that teaches the alphabet.
Alpha Bugs is incredibly creative, let me prove it to you:
It is a 3-D versatile pop-up book.Can you believe it? That is really a powder puff!!!
4. We had zucchini bread, baby cereal and cereal for breakfast. If you haven’t tried zucchini bread, you’re missing out.
5. I heard my baby render the baby version of a “woof woof” that sounded more like a huff and a puff than anything but which was precious and priceless.
6. We spent time together.
7. I breast-fed my baby.
8. My baby took a nap, and I’m writing this as my baby naps.
And so our day as a family will continue…with me trying to treasure the little things. I’ll sign off to be able to spend more quality time with them.
