Time For What Matters Rotating Header Image

Financial Wellbeing

Financial Wellbeing

New Year’s Resolutions: It’s that TIME again

 

With the holidays fast approaching, I think of  so many people who like me aren’t “buying into” the hooplah of  buying because”more is better”.It’s not that I plan to boycott Macy’s, and Dillard’s and the like, quite the contrary.I also love shopping online and go first to my favorite online  wellness store for all my candle gifts.

I’m not a bah humbug person by any means, in fact, quite the opposite. I am resolved  however much like the words in Grinch mas by Dr Seuss which I recently saw at Universal, in Orlando, Florida  to remember FIRST that”Christmas is always there in your heart”.

I am observing others when I ask about “the holidays” and notice, that many boomers like me are also resolved to enjoy it quietly.

It’s as if the allure of commercialism has lost its lustre, compared to the brilliance of the Light coming from within.

My husband suggested that we see Christmas as the birth of Higher Consciousness with us.I liked that, although many who believe the nativity story is exactly as it is , nothing symbolic, would be challenged by that suggestion I am sure.

So this year, I set out my manger early , I will only decorate a real tree outside my home , and I still have not bought any gifts for my family,but the manger is calling me to nuture the Spirit of Christmas alive within me, and that begins with being mindful of my energy, and caring for myself as well as others.

And next week, I have put  aside time for one afternoon of  ”shopping”, and  that evening I’ll go to a Unity candle service  to bring even more meaning to that activity and make time for what also matters.

My resolutions begin there what about yours?…May your Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa bless you and yours.

 

 

 

 

NEXT

Imagine for a moment that someone sends you a vibe that causes you to experience some dissonance within your being.Maybe that dissonance resounds with a thought going across the screen of your mind  like the ticker tape in the stock market. IT might broadcast a message that your approval rating seems to be  going down.What do you do?

I suggest you use your NEXT card.You might ask, what is that?It is a creative tool that I created , especially for those people who like myself lived many years under the illusion that we gained our value from the response of others.

Enter  a young teen who was struggling with feeling loved because her co -custodial parent seldom called her .

Her mood was determined by whether or not he called.In fact she decided that if she was lovable he would call; therefore she must be unlovable.

While listening to this scenario, I thought of how this relationship could lay the groundwork for future relationships with her future boyfriends, and or as she aged her bosses, whether male or female,or if she is an entrepreneur, her customers, maybe even her spouse!If they would not return her calls or if they did not demonstrate care, she would blame herself and the cycle of devaluing would be perpetuated, perhaps , even passed along to her children…

Contrast that to a conversation between one of my business partners and her daughter. “Who makes you happy?” asked the mom,my business partner.The child responded “I do”.”Who makes you sad?”asked the mom again, “Ido”.”Who is responsible for your happiness?”she asked again of her 5 year old.”I AM”.I gasped, imagine being raised that way!

So in the case of the teen I handed her my now patented super duper NEXT card.I shared that this card gets me into the flow of life and keeps me from getting stuck.I added , “especially in business, when people I call do not return my calls”. I pull out my NEXT card!

“When I moved to this state,  I experienced, for the first time in 20 years of doing business, the phenomenon of  some  people not returning my calls.Where I’m from, we never did that.At times, it got to me. I began to think it was my fault, but then I created the NEXT card.”

I handed her a bright pink magic marker and a 5×8 index card.On the front I asked her to write in huge letters”NEXT”.

Now here is the important question.When someone “disses” you, what is your FIRST thought? In her case, she thought she was unlovable.”Now what is your NEXT thought?”, I asked.She looked puzzled.”Please turn the index card around and at the top write;

‘I AM LOVABLE and it is their problem!’”

Of course, the ultimate next card would say:”what others do is none of my business”,but to me that is NEXT card advanced series.I’ll save that for the next session.

 

Calming the Storms in our Minds

 

This week, I was able to visit one of my favorite Unity churches and stay for the   evening meditation.The music was extraordinary as usual, and that too allowed me to quiet  my mind  and “enter into Divine Presence of God”.

The reflection that followed the meditation had us address the storms in our life and focus upon the “swirling” around inside we experience when we are caught up in them.

I’ve taken time to enjoy summer this summer, after all, my goal when I started my new business 12 years ago was to create time freedom as well as financial freedom and now it is time to enjoy the fruit of our labor.

Having time freedom, after years of prioritizing work,is a blessing, but for me not without its challenges.

I am constantly drawn into the chatter in my mind that drove me to work in the first place.

Now I am setting a new standard for those who like me have generated time freedom as to how to ease into embracing that gift.

In the days , years ahead, I will be walking upon a new path,almost counter cultural for me,blending the opportunity for time freedom with the opportunity to help my colleagues, many of them boomers like I am , create the same in their lives.

Here’s to “Calm the storms” in your lives.May we all  be given the Grace to recognize them as a call to a deeper knowing of our values and priorities-and of course, time for what matters.

 

 

 

 

Opening to Divine Favor

I’ve been traveling this summer  making time for what matters, visiting family and friends.What follows is an experience that led me to acknowledge Divine Favor .May it inspire you to do the same.

Recently, in  preparation for the next chapters of our lives, my family and I had put our home on the market . Our realtor created a lovely portfolio showcasing our home.I brought that portfolio with me and shared it with those who wanted to see it.Our home shows like a palace,complete with  our salt water pool and  backyard lakes and veranda views.

I’ve been watching my response as people ‘ooo and aah” at what we call home,for while compared to some of their homes it is modest, to most it is extraordinary.I continually find myself saying “I’ve been Blessed”.I never want to take my good fortune for granted.

I always want to thank God for what is in my life, and recognize the power of Divine Favor.

Life has had its challenges, and those challenges have been my guide.. But lately, with discipline and practice I find myself affirming Divine Favor more than ever before.

I once remember  reading about “setpoints”.Setpoints are those  ”bars” that we set for ourselves as perceived  possible “limits”.  I think of  how I have had to counter the setpoints regarding wealth, especially after having been raised in a church which likened money to “the root of all evil”.

Today I am blessed to respond more to affirmative action and positive thinking, and I am careful to eliminate negative thoughts and fill that seeming void with “being still and knowing Divine Favor”.

This morning I read Joel Osteen’s blog about Divine Favor,it spoke of judgements others may have towards those who demonstrate financial success.I find my greatest work is in meeting and eliminating the  judgements I may still have towards myself.

My hope is that I will continue to influence lives with this knowing, as they in turn influence mine,And that we continue to influence others to experience the same.

I include a blessing video of  a great preacher, Joel Osteen. May you live in the conscious presence of Divine Favor daily!Receive a Blessing of Divine Favor by Joel Osteen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to our Green Solutions blog!

May our articles add a dimension of hope and faith and prosperity to your lives.
 
We believe in the resilience of the human spirit to continue to reach for life, despite outward seeming circumstances.
 
And we hope that these insights will restore your faith in yourself and your future.We especially welcome boomers like ourselves, and we welcome your feedback and wisdom.
 
Here you will find articles focused upon attaining and enjoying  physical, environmental, spiritual,  and financial wellbeing.
 
Time for What matters is more than a company name,it’s a way of life for us. We hope we help you to create more of whatever you want to create life to the fullest!
 

Yours,

Cynthia and the TEAM at Time for What Matters

Solutions for Health and Financial Wellbeing