Abrazandonos

I remember as a child wanting to go out to play with my neighbours and expending most of the time engaging in creating a different world every day. Being playful was the fuel for being creative, and being creative gave me the courage to conquer everything I wanted.

One day, we were playing the rescuer hero, and suddenly, the building became a rocky mountain from where we needed to escape helping each other. We needed to climb down the rope, but not a regular rope, this was a superhero one made by a combination of our skipping ropes, our dad’s belt, and a blanket that we tightened together and attached to the second-floor railing, and started our mission climbing down when one of our neighbours -thank God for neighbours- saw us and run to stop us calling, yelling, at our mother

“Olivia! your kids are about to jump from the second floooooor”

At that moment, my brother was ready for the mission, beginning to go outside the railing when they stopped us, who knows what would have happened to him if he had climbed with this combination of loose knots?

Every time it comes to mind, I can clearly see that we would not achieve it, the rope was already loose and we were heavy, it would not have supported our weight, most likely we would have landed in a disenchanted way.

Anyway, we used to have fun and the link between our imagination and reality was unlimited, we could do and be whatever we wanted, and it felt GOOD. But, at some point that I can’t define, everything started to be difficult or impossible to conquer, my creations started to grow apart from my reality and they would be less frequent. I stopped marvelling, stopped creating, and one day without noticing what was going on I found myself searching for the meaning of things, a purpose, a life.

At that moment I knew I needed to go back to play.

Abrazos!

My first year into this decade is over. honestly, I’m glad I left it behind!
I was ready for something else, ready for a glamorous year. I had idealized my fifty years, therefore was not prepared for this gift: a set of health tests that I did not expect, at least not all at once.

Yes, a set of letters from health Canada, all Cancer Care, made me feel uncomfortable, thinking that something was wrong with me, triggering my anxiety which add a few more test to the pile. I ended up with a panic attack, that I keep blaming my hormones for, but that the hospital thought it could have been related to heart issues, so, more tests… not what I consider glamour!

If you must know, not only my health was an disenchantment, but my finances as well. Last year, I took on the task of mastering bad decisions, I spent my small savings, which took me forever to have, venturing into Florida and taking the year off from work, and I did it all without bothering myself on thinking about it. I still wonder, what in the world was I thinking? What did I eat that poisoned my brain? I should have followed my doctor’s advice and taken hormonal pills. Only if I had known that they would take care of my mind, would I have avoided falling down the cliff where I am now.

Either way, life continues to give me opportunities to correct my mistakes.
I learned the lesson and learned in a difficult way the importance of controlling my emotions, finding meditation first and then the prayers as part of my mental health routine, I also decided to pay attention to what I am eating and be aware of the benefits. from moving, therefore, I managed to adjust an easy exercise routine to regulate my metabolism and slowly return to swimming, diving and running.

Finally, who does know what the future will bring us? No-one!

 #fifties #life #mental-health #prayer-and-meditation #connections

Hola,

You know when you have a thought that seem not to want to leave you alone unless you share it? Well, that is exactly what I have been experiencing in the past few days.

It all started when I said to myself -out loud- I need to stop procrastinating! Yes! I have the habit of postponing thing that is important or wait until last minute to run like if my life depends on it, you procrastinators out there know how it feels.

In case you are curious about how I manage to get things done, I don’t! I always wait until that very last minute, which explains the reason why my postings are very erratic. Of course! There is no deadline for a blogger.

However, I had the desire to work on this blog, the need to express myself and feel that doing so would help another doubtful person, then, no matter what or how to start, just with the response of when which resonated in my head NOW, Now is a perfect time!

Then, after years in my mind, full of fears and in my worst moment of anxiety, one day I did it! I opened my blog!

I never imagined how therapeutic it would be for me. It was liberating and scary, you should know that there were more deleted posts than you can read here, and although my mind kept telling me, can you write in English? My feelings told me to GO! Who cares, express yourself! Then, I stopped thinking and that was the short magic moment when this journey began.

Even so, I have doubts every time I sit down to write, but now I do it anticipating the thrill of feeling satisfied. As my fellow Toastmasters, Joze Piranian, says, the repetitive exposure to the source of fears desensitizes you and make them less threatening.

Finally, my wholeheartedly advice to you is: start NOW, anything you have been wanted for a long time…Now is the time!

Abrazos!

Hola,

My life experience has taught me the importance of surrounding myself with people with positive energy, that is why I decided to start this blog, in search of these incredible women who are willing to be part of a change where we can add, better yet, synergize our Energies in harmony and without rivalry.

I invite you to share your stories, advice, comments on my publications or write about topics in which you are an expert.

I also invite you to participate in healthy debates to improve our tribal communication.
together we can go far

Abrazos!

Hola,

It feels as if my last post was just yesterday! It has been challenging to keep my own promise to post content every week, first I have a life, second, and more honest reason is I am a procrastinator.

Nonetheless my desire of expressing and sharing experiences of this stage of my life with you is firing me up, giving me new ideas, and ways I can communicate my thoughts and experiences with you.

One of the things that I am “cooking” is a notebook with inspirational quotes that define some of my feelings and common experiences of this stage of life, and I found it fun to add coloring pictures.

This little things that I’m creating here and there has given a different meaning to my live, helping me to heal emotional and psychologically, as well as a way to explore my life purpose. It forces me to slow down and take time for myself, to listen to my feelings and learn to be comfortable with them, acknowledging their presence and knowing that they are there for a reason. To guide me, recognize a problem or address a solution..

I keep keep you posted, and happy November.

Abrazos!

3 OCTOBER, 2019 / EMBRACINGMENOW / EDIT

I went to a seminar about start up business where the speaker told us her journey to become an entrepreneur. It was interesting how simple she described the process of putting her idea to work, which made me think why it is so complicated to me to materialize my ideas?

I realized that part of this has to do with my lack of confidence, disguised as perfectionism that makes me think that my ideas are not ready.
It happens that when I wanted to take the next step to carry out my project, I always get distracted by an event. Perhaps I am afraid of ridiculing myself, believing that the project is not complete, it is not perfect. So I leave it, check it, scan it again and stop when I get to the execution point.

Deeply, I knew that all this had to do with the way I saw myself:

an imperfect perfectionist,

what a dilemma!

So, I decided to transform that, which was not an easy task, however, I was determined to reach my potential. First I began my transformation, accepting the fact that it was not perfect, and never would be, that there would always be another level, that life is a process of continuous improvement and that there are several areas to consider in the path of change, I understood that it was a divided whole and that I needed to work in all those parts to function to my full potential.

Once I understood it, I began to educate myself in those areas where I recognize that I needed to work. Registering in Toastmasters (Public speaking and Leadership training) was one of my first strategies, next I started going to seminars, invested in workshops, hired trainers. The only problem was that I wanted everything immediately, so I had lost interest and, when I didn’t see the results on time, I quit.
Then restart everything, in fact, I’m still in the process. But you know what? Now I have the confidence that keeps me on track towards my goal, now I understand that it takes time, and that being patient is key in this transformation process.

Abrazos!

Hola,

El fin de semana del Labor Day se extendió hasta Lunes, así que aproveché para zambullirme en algunas actividades que adoro, como pintar y leer.

Si, me tomé el tiempo para escucharme, dejar de pensar en las mil cosas que dan vuelta en mi cabeza y decidí ser creativa, así que tomé un bloc de dibujo que mi hija no usa y me puse a crear! Mientras coloreaba algunos garabatos que se me ocurrieron, me di cuenta de que no tenía suficientes creyones, y los que tenía estaban en muy malas condiciones.

Así que me aventuré al supermercado. Al llegar a Walmart pase un tiempo en la sección de manualidades y luego en la útiles para oficina y escolares, viendo si algo mas se me antojaba aparte de pintar. Mire la sección de tejidos, pero nah! vi algunos crayones pero no estaban en mi presupuesto, entonces cuando decidí regresar a casa con las manos vacías… algo me obligó a voltear a ver la sección de ofertas y como obra del destino me encontré con mi pasado (mi imaginación voló a la época de “la Senorita Cometa”, una serie animada Japonesa donde todo era mágico; les dejo el link al final de este envío), allí estaban las cajas de Berol Prismacolor que siempre soñé tener de niña, tome una caja de colores y estaban a mitad de precio, aun así fuera de mi super corto presupuesto. Lo pensé por dos segundos y me dije:

“estos son para mi!”

La decisión me llevó a activar una serie de recuerdos agradables de infancia, dibujé todo el fin de semana, entonces se me ocurrió comenzar una serie de garabatos inspiracionales. Si, se me ocurrió escribir una cita y acompañarla con un dibujo relativo a la cita, la experiencia fue terapéutica.

Estuve ensimismada todo el fin de semana y me sentí tan feliz que mi hija me preguntó,

“mami que estas tramando”

La forma en que me preguntó me hizo sentir como si un brillo saliera de mis ojos mientras dibujaba, el mismo brillo que expresaba la mirada de Candy Candy en los dibujos animados japoneses.

Una cosa llevó a la otra y terminé investigando la influencia que las caricaturas y dibujos animados han tenido en las diferentes épocas, en especial la de los dibujos japoneses. En mi infancia series como, Centella, Meteoro, Ultraman, La Senorita Cometa, Candy Candy, Godzilla, Astroboy, Fantasmagorico, entre otras marcaron muchos aspectos de mi vida.

Mi hija se entusiasmó con mi idea de combinar citas con dibujos y quiso colaborar, así que ya está en el horno!

Espero que los disfruten,

Abrazos!

P.S. Aqui les dejo con La Senorita Cometa, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX70Xv16Wmc

Y una muestra de las citas que comencé, en esta el dibujo pertenece a mi hija Cznco Drawings

#poetry #love #life #writers #inspirationalquotes #poems #madres #fifties #art #writing #lovequotes #quote #thoughts #reflectingwriting #quoteoftheday #life #writerscommunity #words #wordsofwisdom #personalblog

Tengo la costumbre de preguntarle a mi Google Home “hey, Google! What is the weather like today?” cada manana antes de salir. Lo hago por razones obvias, para decidir qué vestir, si me aliso mi cabello o me dejo mis rulos naturales, si debo usar mis botas de lluvia, de invierno, o puedo usar mis adoradas sandalias.

Pero sobre todo, en esta época del año le pregunto a Google, porque no quiero dejar mi Hamaca a merced de la lluvia para que se dañe .

De hecho las temporadas del año que me ha tocado argumentar con Google son “la Primavera” y “el Otoño” ya que he tenido algunos inconvenientes anteriores con él/ella por haberme dado información falsa, por ejemplo, “Today it is sunny, with the minimum temperature of 19 degrees and the maximum of 23”, para encontrarme congelada del frío por no vestir apropiadamente, y por supuesto, lejos de casa. Otras veces he querido desnudarme, porque el material que vesti es muy cálido y la temperatura es infernal.

Bueno hoy me lo volvió ha hacer, sólo esta vez llegue a casa a tiempo para probar mi punto,

Yo “Google what is the weather like today?”

Google: “today it is partially cloudy with the minimum temperature of 19 degrees and the maximum of 23”

LLegue a casa a las 9 pm, prepare mi cena, comi, y me puse mi piyama para escribir un rato antes acostarme, y de repente siento un trueno, seguido de una lluvia torrencial, todo en fracciones de segundos.

Salgo corriendo a recoger mi Hamaca, pero es muy tarde, la Hamaca esta totalmente empapada. Frustrada con Google por haberme mentido varias veces me acerque a él/ella y le digo con furia,

Yo: “WHAT IS THE WEATHER LIKE TODAY?”

Google: “today it is partially cloudy with the minimum temperature of 19 degrees and the maximum of 23”

Su respuesta me enfureció mucho más, así que pregunté esta vez,

Yo “Google is it raining now?”

Google: “No, today it is partially cloudy with the minimum temperature of 19 degrees and the maximum of 23”

Perdi el control y comence a gritarle,

“Eres un mentiroso, ya no te voy a creer, ¿cómo me mientes de esta manera? ¡Está lloviendo! No, no, no está lloviendo, estamos en medio de una tormenta y todavía tienes el descaro de decirme NO.

ARRUINASTE MI HAMACA!”

P.S. Estoy pensando seriamente en romper mi relación con Google Home, especialmente si quiero mantener mi sanidad mental 😉

Abrazos!