Tag: patience

Be curious. Be patient. Watch what happens!

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Dear Readers, I am taking a class right now that implores that you “be curious and be patient with yourself and others”

It occurred to me this is excellent life advice. Think about it. If you are curious, you are always learning. If you are patient, you lower your heart rate and your level of stress.

For instance, if you have a bad day or are stressed out about how you did at work, you can take the stance of being curious to figure out what you need to do to improve things. Instead of judging yourself for the difficulty, you can be patient with yourself as you learn about what needs to change.

On a personal note, in the last two weeks, I have gained almost 10 pounds due to an excess of eating foods not on our paleo diet. As my nurse friend pointed out, its easy to pack on the pounds when you go off such a strict diet. In the past, I would have shamed myself and tried to hide it or make excuses or feel guilty but now, with the advent of this advice, I am finding myself to be more patient with myself and forgiving the cheating and have a renewed vigor to resume the lifestyle choice of paleo, and give myself some grace for the past. To be clear, this is not license to continue the cheating, this is an acknowledgment that this is something I am still working on, just like the rest of life, we are all evolving and moving to whatever our next level is going to be. So I implore you, be curious and be patient. The results will surprise you. Think about it! 

brush. floss. rinse. REPEAT

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There is one thing that everyone is embarrassed to talk about or deal with openly.

In hopes that it will help just one of my readers with their own issue, I am going to address one of mine.

I have horrible teeth. I went to the dentist this morning and dreaded it, (like I always do) but was pleasantly surprised to find that my teeth are on the mend and do not need further bridges, fillings and what not. For more background on the past, see this post.

https://jenniferhastonsays.wordpress.com/2013/01/23/flying-in-the-teeth-of-failure/

But with so many things that we are afraid to talk about or address, the first step is admitting that there IS in fact an issue. I had to get over the fact that just brushing once a week wasn’t going to cut it. I have spent almost $7000.00 over the last three years correcting that oversight along with feeling a large amount of shame that I had the issue in the first place.

Its hard to get excited about paying that much money for something people don’t really see. I realized I had to get serious, so after my last appointment and having the hygienist show me how to properly do the things that are needed for a healthy mouth I am proud to report that after six solid months of flossing, brushing and rinsing daily (sometimes twice) I have a healthy mouth. 

In case you didn’t know, here is a 3 minute video about how to floss

How to floss- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfLOgPzwny4

And to follow that, here is a how to on how to brush

In efforts to motivate myself (and others) I spoke to my dentist about some far-reaching effects of bad dental health and he told me it can extend even to having problems with your health up to and including your heart. So think about it, if you don’t take proper care of your teeth, you could die. Yes, that is a MAJOR exaggeration but the point shouldn’t be lost on you.

In his words, “It’s better to do maintenance than repair” If I could, I would have that tattoo placed on the roof of my mouth!

So after reading this, you say to yourself, I probably need to schedule my cleaning for this week, then I have done my job.

If I have made you think about something else you aren’t so keen on discussing, well that’s good too.

Think about it!

 

Patience. Not just an opera

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Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet-Jean-Jacques Rousseau

I tend to rely on quotes for inspiration. Today is no different. As some of you may know, my husband and I decided to adopt a paleo lifestyle (not a diet) at the first of the year and one of the side benefits of this change has been pretty significant weight loss, until now.

Two weeks have gone by and we have not lost weight but gained weight. I noticed that on the whiteboard where we track our weight, my husband had placed a sad face next to his weight gain and I erased it saying, “Don’t think of it like that. Weight loss is supposed to be a side benefit, the main goal is to be in better health” Easy to say, hard to believe.

Patience is necessary for this, because we are only allowed to cheat one meal per week, so you have to constantly turn down Girl Scout cookies, Worlds Finest Chocolate and other temptations wafting about the office. So while I am frustrated by this weight gain, I realize its not a setback but a guidepost in this journey to better health and in a few weeks, when the weight loss has picked up and we are noticing a lack of tightness in our clothing and an extra energy in my step, I will remember the bitter along with the sweet fruits of the patience I have developed.

What is testing your patience in your life, what can you focus on instead?

Patience – June 2012

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I was just going over some of my old production photos and while this could hardly be called old, it WAS just June, it got me to thinking. That was six months ago and so many people have moved away, gotten married, and are having babies!

Life is short and it should be appreciated. Art is one way to appreciate life. Theatre is another. This production of “Patience” embodies both aspects of artistic expression and excellence in execution.