Friday, October 26, 2018

Fortune Cookie Friday: Dreams

This post may contain affiliate links, by which I may be financially compensated. See Disclosures


Hello and welcome back to Fortune Cookie Friday! 

If you're new here, welcome to you, as well! If you're wondering what Fortune Cookie Friday is, well, you can read more here, but the basic gist is that I crack open a fortune cookie, take a photo of the fortune, and use its message to kick-start an inspirational post. I also love it when readers send in photos of their fortunes, or when they give me their interpretations. So join in the fun and make sure you don't miss out by subscribing


Ok, let's get to this week's fortune!


I grew this tiny plant from a leaf that came off another plant; so proud of myself!
Dreams are like the stars of your destiny.
What are your dreams? 

Don't hesitate: just blurt it out! Speak truth to yourself! It can be something big or small—doesn't matter. Dreams can take any form, and every step we take towards our dreams can open up the universe to us. 

You are capable of doing whatever you put your mind to. We often get caught up in fear or anxiety, or the fear and anxiety of others, though. Why? 

Habit, mostly? That's certainly part of it. We've been conditioned to fear. Look at all of the fear around us all of the time. We often don't even know we're taking all of that in. Fear can cripple even the strongest dreamers out there.

But there is another way: we can reject fear and choose LOVE, starting with loving and believing in ourselves, and then helping others love and believe in themselves, too. The kind of fear that manifests into talking ourselves out of things, or the kind that causes us to speak down to others who are doing their level best to achieve their dream serves NO purpose. We can live with intention and purpose instead of just letting life roll over us and keep us in a fear state.

What fear are you speaking over yourself and others? 

Notice it when it happens, and then STOP resisting. Let go of it! That fear has no hold over you any more. Do what you are made to do in this life and do it with ALL of your heart and soul. Do it with LOVE. Go for those dreams!

I'm throwing a few references down below to help you get there. If you'd like, tell me all about your dreams in the comments, below! :)

Not only are you the star of your own destiny, you might just be a shining light for others, too! After all, together we are all a part of this amazing cosmos of possibility and potential. Chase those dreams and SHINE.🌟🌟🌟

 ~positively b.e.e. is on FacebookInstagramTwitter, and Pinterest. Follow me there!~

Friday, October 19, 2018

Announcing: Ways To Start Your Day

This post may contain affiliate links, by which I may be financially compensated. See Disclosures


Howdy!

Did you notice a slight change on this site?

I have created a new segment of this website called Ways To Start Your Day. Look in the menu at the top of this page, and you will see it.

I'd mentioned in my post about self-care and the news cycle that I refuse to start my day with bad news, choosing instead to immerse myself in something positive or uplifting first thing in the morning, if at all  possible. So, without further adieu...

The first item I'd like to share with you is Shine.

Shine is a unique service where you can sign up either through their app or via your mobile phone number and receive a daily message that is inspirational, actionable, and positive. 

I've been a Shine user for over a year, now, and it's a great way to start the day. Sign up here and start your day on a positive note! 

Meanwhile, every so often, I'll make a post with ways to start your day that don't involve reading the news or getting sucked into social media drama. And keep your eyes peeled on the Ways To Start Your Day page: I will be adding to it as I find more and more resources. 

Please feel free to share your favorite positive ways to start your day, too! Let's make it a group effort!

I hope these suggestions help set you up for more happiness in your lives! 💛🐝


Photo by Laura Pratt on Unsplash






 ~positively b.e.e. is on FacebookInstagramTwitter, and Pinterest. Follow me there!~

Friday, October 12, 2018

Fortune Cookie Friday: Venture Not

This post may contain affiliate links, by which I may be financially compensated. See Disclosures



Hello, everyone! How are you doing? Are you ready for today's fortune cookie? 


Here we go: 

Venture not all in one boat.

This fortune cookie reminds me of that old adage: "Don't put all your eggs in one basket." 

After all, what happens if you drop the basket? You'll break ALL your eggs, right? 

So what's going to happen if you venture "all in one boat"? Is the boat going to sink and you go down with it? 

There is value in being careful with your resources and diversifying your assets, so to speak, but I'm going to turn this fortune on its head and ask a question that, at first, may not seem related:

What is your motivation in not venturing out in all one boat or putting your eggs all in one basket? I want to question this, because I've been thinking a lot about scarcity mindset vs. abundance mindset, lately.

What do I mean by these? 

A scarcity mindset is one in which you believe there isn't enough of something out there for you. Whether it's money, opportunities, or something else, you have the mindset that there are limited resources in one way or other. This is the type of mindset that wants to hoard food or other items, or gets jealous at another's success because for some reason they feel that if someone else is successful, there's less out there for themselves. 

An abundance mindset, on the other hand, is one in which people realize that no matter what is going on with another's success, they can STILL be successful, and there IS plenty out there for them. That it doesn't matter what other people do, because whatever they set themselves to is going to work for them. 

I am in no way saying to throw caution to the wind and stop being careful. I'm just challenging all of us to think differently about WHY we're being careful, if that makes any sense. If we approach life with an abundance mindset—meaning, we know there is plenty out there for us, no matter what other people are doing or saying—then we're already setting ourselves up to succeed because we have an expectation of success for ourselves. We can envision it, mold it, and bring it into this reality.

I've been reading this book lately that is just one out of plenty available, but I've been enjoying it. It's called Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain. (You could get the standalone book, or you could get the 3-in-1 Shakti Gawain Essentials book.*) In it, Ms. Gawain runs us through how to develop an abundance mindset and steer away from the scarcity mindset by using a variety of visualization techniques. 

Anyway, that is the first topic that ran through my mind when I opened this cookie, so I went with it. I think it's because of the visuals that the fortune engenders in my own minds' eye, because I can liken it to giving a project my all, such as putting all of my energy (resources) into what I am doing in order to meet a goal.

I struggled for years with the scarcity vs. abundance mindset, I'll admit, but now that I'm learning to think about things differently, I feel so much more free to pursue what I want to do and not worry so much about eggs and baskets and boats. If I give something my all and it doesn't work out, that's okay. There's still plenty more for me to do. Am I going to be reckless? NO. But I am going to make sure my mindset is not one based in fear.

There is nothing wrong with being careful, or planning, or anything else that is considered wise. I still plan what I'm going to do and how I'm going to get there. I guess I'm saying: if it serves you and your goals, get into that boat of yours and set sail! ⛵

As usual, there are many possible interpretations of this fortune cookie. I'd love to hear what YOU think about it! 🐝


 ~positively b.e.e. is on FacebookInstagramTwitter, and Pinterest. Follow me there!~

*As always,if you choose to support small and local business or patronize your local library, I applaud you. I supply affiliate links because many people, including myself, use Amazon or a kindle device to read, and in the event this is convenient to you, using the link I provide helps support this site. See Disclosures for more information.

Friday, October 5, 2018

Self-Care and the News Cycle

This post may contain affiliate links, by which I may be financially compensated. See Disclosures


How are you doing with the current news cycle? 

I know today would typically be a Fortune Cookie Friday, but given the recent news cycle, it seems important to broach a serious topic, today. It's not that other topics over the past year aren't serious, per se, but I feel like I should try to help with what's going on right now, therefore, Fortune Cookie Friday will resume next week.

When I started this site over a year ago, I did it in response to what I was seeing as constant bombardment from all sides of negative news, constant tragedies, frequent natural disasters, political and other infighting on social media, and a distinct lack of empathy, compassion, and understanding between people of differing backgrounds, political affiliations, and cultures. 

Frankly, it made me sick. Literally.

I am an empath, which means that I feel things very deeply, connect with people on an emotional level, and will exhibit physical symptoms with frequent exposure to human suffering and constant discord. Depending on what I'm exposed to: I've thrown up; I've had fibromyalgia flare-ups; I'll cry til I can't see; I'll get headaches—you name it.

I HAD to find ways to cope with the constant negativity I was being exposed to on a daily basis, and that's why this site began. I disrupt negativity by focusing on positivity, light, joy, and gratitude. If I helped no one else but me, fine, but what I've heard from others is that it's working. This site helps them, too, and I am frequently told that the world needs more attitudes like mine, where people know without a doubt that they hold the power within themselves to disrupt those negative cycles and live happier lives.

So here we are a year later, and it seems that once again, I'm seeing more and more negativity in our news cycle and social media feeds. I've been feeling the stress building in myself, so I can imagine others are feeling it, too.

To that end, I'd like to share an article with you that I came across about a week ago that really helped me. Because, guys, I don't just sit here in some room typing out missives every week as if I haven't actually experienced negative things. No. I've lived through some serious, serious stuff, just like all of you have.

I have been on the journey of a victim to a survivor to a thriver, and while I still sometimes suffer the after-effects, I'm able to get myself back on track more quickly because I have practiced mindset work for years and can recognize patterns and take action to change them. It may not come easily on the really rough days, but I do recognize now that it IS possible to be happy despite it all.

And THAT is how I step into MY power again.

But sometimes we need a little help to get there.

Lifehacker recently posted its article, "How To Cope with the Current News Cycle as a Sexual Abuse Survivor," written by Deb Schwartz, and while it is specifically geared to survivors of sexual assault and abuse who may have been upset by the recent confirmation hearings and testimony, I think there are many helpful coping strategies in this article no matter what it is that is upsetting us.

Below, I paraphrase some high-level points from Ms. Schwartz's article and list my thoughts about them. I encourage you to click on that link above and read the whole thing, as it has excellent advice:

It's okay to need help and ask for it. I have reached out to friends, and friends have reached out to me. Also, I did talk therapy a couple of times in my life with zero regrets. A friend or a professional are both legit ways to get that help, and there is no shame in seeking it.

Set boundaries with media, both traditional and social, to minimize upsetting exposure. I don't start my day with either of them if I can avoid it. I start my day with an uplifting, inspiring message from any number of sources. I will start including those sources on this site so you can subscribe to them if you wish. I set a time limit on news, browse headlines online, avoid comment threads if at all possible, and if I've hit my limit, I stop for the day. The news will still be there tomorrow. I try to strike a balance, aiming for "staying informed" instead of "Oh God, why did I look at the news today?" I seek sources that are not tooled with headlines meant to get an emotional reaction, too, if I can at all find them. Reuters, Christian Science Monitor and the BBC all work better for me than other news media outlets, but it's up to you to decide where to seek your news.

Set boundaries with friends/family/acquaintances/co-workers. If I have to politely change the subject, I do. If my feelings and pain show to them, then it does, but I try to head it off at the pass before it even gets that far by checking in with myself about how I'm feeling along the way. Once I know it's time to change the subject, a simple, "You know, I really enjoy spending time with you/having conversations with you, do you mind if we move to another topic?" is how I do that. The article lists some other segues, too.

Know your triggers and what they look like internally. For me, if my fight or flight response kicks in, I know I'm triggered, in which case I may politely excuse myself and go deal with it for a bit, especially if I'm with people I don't know that well or am in a business setting. I'm at the point now where I don't need to let that show to others, but in my earlier years, I did, because I couldn't help it. But with practice and support networks (again: talk therapy, friends, family) I've been able to recognize it before it gets overwhelming for me, for the most part. Sometimes it still sneaks up on me, and that's okay, too. I try to meet myself where I'm at, and treat myself kindly when those feelings happen.

You are not required to #metoo if you don't want to. You do not have to share, and you are never required to defend your actions, decisions or emotions to anyone. You are not required to relive your victimization, either. Full stop. Do what you need to do to take care of yourself, and don't feel bad about not sharing if that's what you need to do. To that end, don't feel bad about sharing, either. Just know that you are in control of what you share and when.

Breathe. Seriously a life-changer, for me. Meditation and breathing exercises have really helped me during my most panicky, non-functional times. So has Reiki. I rarely have a panic attack any more, and when I do, it's easier for me to get out of it again. But I had to practice at it. Practice will help you learn this, but be kind and patient with yourself if it doesn't come easily, okay? It's a marathon, not a sprint.

Most of all, remember that we will get through this. If we do nothing else but breathe, we're going to be okay.

Photo by Max van den Oetelaar on Unsplash


I very much hope this has helped you in some way. I am sending tons of love and care out to the universe right now. If you want to, and only if you want to, let me know if this article or highlighted points helped you at all. Feel free to share this post with anyone you may know who is suffering. And remember that this, too, shall pass. 💛🐝



 ~positively b.e.e. is on FacebookInstagramTwitter, and Pinterest. Follow me there!~


Reflections on 2020

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, by which I may be financially compensated. See  Disclosures  for more info.  It’s finally...