Month: February 2014
Reduce your suffering
Mindfulness teaches us to accept that which we cannot change. Only through acceptance can we be relieved of our suffering and begin to cope with the pain.
Focusing your attention on how miserable you are will do nothing to solve your problems. Turn your mind toward acceptance or problem solving (depending on the situation).
Ten things that my grandmother taught me
Ten things that I learned from my grandmother (who happens to have Alzheimer ’s disease):
1. If someone asks you if you’d rather stay home or _________________(get lunch, run errands, go shopping, etc) ALWAYS choose the later.
2. If you don’t remember who someone is, be nice and pretend like you do.
3. Life passes by too quickly to worry about the small stuff (like making messes)
4. No one cares if your socks match, in fact mismatched socks can bring joy to others.
5. A visitor is the most precious thing one can be to another. 
6. Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity.
7. One should never be deprived of Coke or chocolate.
8. No one is too old to play with toys/stuffed animals, or do crafts.
9. If you don’t know what you’re doing…just smile and fake it!
10. Early to bed, early to wise, makes you healthy, wealthy and wise.
The Last Lecture- A book review.
This book was recommended to me by a client and I am so glad it was! Last Lecture is a phenomenal memoir. It follows the last few months of life for Randy Pausch. He was an esteemed professor at Carnegie Mellon University. When Randy was diagnosed with terminal cancer, he embarked on the journey to write his “Last Lecture” (to an audience of peers and students…although his intended audience is really his three young children).
Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture was focused on helping others achieve their childhood dreams. I was most amazed at the life lessons tied into this lecture. I found myself highlighting, underlining and taking notes throughout.
I recommend you read the book AND watch the last lecture here…
