Happy New Year my dears. Life has been crazy but I at least wanted to hop on and share this GREAT ARTICLE. If interested, it's available on audio as well. Appropriate and helpful for all ages. In my experience, orgasms and and exercise are a true gateway to more happiness.
Not a bad thing to begin a new year!
Louise
I swam the 50-yard-freestyle this past weekend and was beat by a 73-year-old very inspirational man. Not as inspirational, however, as 100-year-old marathoner, Mike Freemont, who shares his story below. If interested to hear more of his tale about beating cancer 30 years ago, when he was given only 3 months to live, CLICK HERE.
I've missed writing but life has felt as of late, as it often does, like a bit of whirlwind.
Woven into the chaos of all the crazy things that are happening in the world and in our country, not to mention environment, I have been discovering a new chapter and renewed happiness for myself.
I spent time tonight reading through some old posts here on Lines of Beauty, reflecting back over more than a handful of tumultuous years.
I guess what I want to share the most is that I have found new life & lightness for myself, after all the turmoil.
I was pretty certain that I would reach this clearing although I remember being so afraid to make the JUMP, now almost 3 years ago.
I am here to say, that if you are in a rocky relationship, that you've worked hard to save and simply cannot, trust yourself to find a better place for yourself.
Find the courage. It won't be easy but you will be ok!
Today, I was telling one of my kids that I wanted to go to the movies alone but that it felt kind of scary.
She said, "Mom you always use to love going to the movies alone, what's underneath this?
I stopped and thought. Going to the movies alone never use to make me feel lonely, but I was afraid that it might or retrigger the feelings of loneliness that naturally came with divorce.
So I jumped in the car and WENT TO THE MOVIES ALONE and it was so nice!
Especially having not been in a theatre since covid hit.
Anyway, I love the above quote. It's so true! Let's keep piling on good things. We don't have to solve our whole life, nor can we.
Be organic, let life flow. There is no need to define anything, except for what makes us happy and unhappy.
Life is short, especially now.
Let's get on with doing what we love to do and don't let anyone rock our joy!
If something costs us our peace, it's too expensive.
(and we know if something is right, when it feels good in our bodies).
So stay away from the news, most of the time.
notice beauty,
notice honor
and keep letting our piles of good things grow.
Here's to love!
Spread it everywhere,
like sunshine,
Louise
I've been scanning for the silver linings of Covid, like an inspectress.
What have I learned?
What do I want to share?
I've certainly learned to live more in the moment and I'm letting go of the need for security, with greater ease.
Now 2 years divorced, I see, with ever-growing clarity, that I have chosen the right path forward for myself.
I am so very grateful for my health
and for my children, who inspire me, endlessly.
I am grateful for my female friends whom I hiked with in Iceland and Utah last summer.
Thank HEAVEN for women friends, that's all I have to say.
The ease of intimacy, the nurturing.
And for my 4, much older siblings, who all remain well.
I'm grateful for a magical, two-year romance that has come to a close, but healed me in a profound way, as I hope, in some way, it did for him as well.
In time, may we carry on as friends.
I am grateful for my old running route, that I have circled back around to in the neighborhood, where the kids were raised. For so long it was too painful to return there, but it remains my favorite running route ever, and it's good to be back.
I am grateful that coaching, and learning more about ADHD traits, has helped me better manage my own butterfly ADHD. But between you and me...sometimes I just don’t want to mange it. It makes me feel like I am in straight jacket and I just want to blurt out my thoughts, like jumping beans, or be lost in my own thoughts socially, where I sometimes go :-)
On another note however, I have learned that timing, wording, body language and compassion, is everything in communication.
I am grateful that my coaching practice has blossomed into helping other people manage their ADHD.
And it isn't over yet!
I am working on a post about all the things I am grateful for in 2021 but it isn't fit to print
quite yet.
But I will say this-
I am hopeful for a healthier & more peaceful New Year and wish one for you and yours as well.
In love,
Louise
Last summer, I visited someone who had this message on their fridge. I think of it all the time as it is such a helpful reminder:
Be
In
It
My therapist use to tell me "Put your arm around the hard things that you are struggling with."
Wherever it is that we're struggling.
One of ways out of difficult times is the embrace of them, and then we can begin to let them go, and move through, like rain.
Breath into sadness. Breath into the pain. Breath into harsh energy of resentment and hardship.
And I am here to tell you that it works!
So, if you are walking around knowing that something isn't right, take the time to download it and when you discover what the truth is, put your arm around it and do your best to embrace it.
Because then,
you can begin to heal and allow the light to filter in again. 💓
Beautiful as ever at age 87, Jane Goodall continues to share her wisdom and hope. Still working 300 days a year pre-pandemic, she wants to spread her message, while she can, to advocate for a more sustainable future. She shares that whiskey soothes her vocal cords and her daily walk, soothes everything else. What a force. I love her.
GROWING PAINS (remember a different form of these from childhood)?
Easy to forget this but so good to remember.
The magic formula that I want to pipe in about however is about fitness. What I have been noticing around me, especially with post-menopausal women, is that their heartrates aren't getting up high enough with workout routines, such as yoga and walking, for optimum fitness. There was a formula I learned maybe 30 years ago for getting the heartrate up. You may remember it. You subtract your age from 220 and then take 65-75% of this number to find your optimal maximum heartrate per minute.
So for me being 60-years-old, my maximum heartrate is found here:
220-60= 160 and then 65-75% of this is 104-136 beats per minute. Because I have been a life long athlete I always shoot for at least 136 beats per minute if not much higher
We should be getting our heartrate in this range for at least for 20 minutes, 3 times a week. This may be a slightly outdated formula but for me it has worked really well for years.
To find out what your heartrate is (right when you stop exercising), put a finger on your pulse at your neck and count how many beats you get for 10 seconds. Then multiply this number by 6 to see how many times your heart is beating per minute.
Also, another number to keep our eye is our BMI (body mass index). It should be below 25. You can find out what yours is HERE.
I also want to say that I have heard from 4 people recently that they are having good success with weight loss through intermittent fasting. Fasting for 16 hours and eating only for 8 hours each day. But keeping to the same schedule each day. There is tons of info on the web about this if you are interested and want to trim down.
Have a good long weekend everyone.
Louise 💗
Especially needed with all this rain!
Prayers for western Europe 🙏🏼
Also, another reminder that Google is getting rid of my email subscription service and I’ve switched to Mailchimp. To subscribe for post updates click HERE and put your email into the box at the top right of my website Thank you!
And love to all 🧡
Keep it juicy.
Whatever this is for you.
Also a bit of housekeeping-
My email subscription by Google is being retired.
If you would like to continue to subscribe to my posts,
please add your email address to the little box, on the top right hand side of my website.
Thanks gang and have a nice 4th!
Louise
With a lifetime of experience with ADHD, and as my courage coaching practice grows, I have discovered a big need for ADHD coaching and am now specializing in it.
There is a lot to love and celebrate about having ADHD:
Those with it are usually highly creative, empathic and tenacious.
They are good problem solvers, have great imaginations, a sense of humor and are keen observers.
They are known for their love of, and ability, to multi-task, on a grand scale. When interested in something, ADHDers capability to hyper-focus and accomplish, is like a superpower.
ADHDers are also endlessly curious, with perpetual energy and a real zest for life.They are often big adventurers.
Most ADHDers are warm, loving, caring and wear their heart on their sleeve.
They also have quick minds and tend to be deep thinkers.
These are just a handful of the positive traits of ADHD.
More difficult traits of having ADHD can be:
The emotional volatility, impulsiveness, impatience, hyper-activity and disorganization that some have.
ADHD traits vary greatly between people.
Most however, have the inability to concentrate on things that don't interest them, because they are very easily bored. They have a VERY high need for stimulation and because of this, can be big risk takers.
ADHDers also frequently lack a filter when they speak, because they don't think to pause (oversharing is common).
They can also often feel and appear restless.
Some things that aren't as commonly known about ADHD:
ADHD is a chemical, neurological disorder, as the brain has a dopamine deficiency.
90% of people with ADHD have inherited it from their parents. It's more predominant in families than height.
ADHD can affect the ability to plan, so if people have a great idea, which they often do, it can be difficult to make a plan to accomplish their vision.
They also have a hard time making decisions. Making choices can be very hard and even when they do make them, they often change their minds and don't trust their decision.
It can be hard to make decisions because everything in life appears to be equally important.
Decisions are also often made with emotion, instead of being able to calm the amygdala in the brain down enough to take a pause and think things through.
Some ADHDers also have a hard time seeing their future.
Many ADHDers can be highly sensitive to crowds, over- stimulus, such as light and noise, other people's feelings, personal criticism and pain. They basically have high sensitivity to many kinds of energy.
ADHDers also have a hard time learning from mistakes they have made and can't see the effects that their decisions have on their future.
They also have a hard time changing a bad habit into a good habit. This is why it is hard for ADHDers to stop self-medicating with alcohol, drugs and food etc and make healthy lifestyle changes.
ADHDers usually need to have someone to exercise with, such as a team or fitness coach, or at least a class, because they have a hard time exercising on their own.
Some with ADHD wait (and wait) for the perfect moment to get things done. This is partly because they often are perfectionists. The thing to remember is that getting something 80% done, or even less, is good enough and that nothing needs to be perfect.
ADHD is an issue with the operating system of the brain.
Thoughts and feelings can hold ADHDers hostage and stuck.
Writing down thoughts, feelings and successes can be hugely helpful, as are checklists.
Not having a meal and sleep schedule is also common.
Balancing life can be difficult.
Where having an ADHD coach can help:
As a coach, I help clients realize their incredible strengths and help them problem solve to achieve what they want.
I guide them to connect to their passion and their values, goals and purpose.
I help them to follow their hearts and find what works for them personally.
And find their juice, what lights them up, and let go of things that don't spark joy.
I guide clients to pay attention to what they are always looking for.
I help with self-regulation and structure.
With not giving up.
And the frequently present, negative self-talk.
I help clients become more mindful to quell the intense emotions, energy and ruminations in their brains.
I help them to change the channel.
I especially like coaching because I get to help clients open up their world.
Especially now,
as the world, so thankfully, opens back up.
