Stop and smell the roses
This is my Mum. Mum is one of the most positive people you’ll ever meet. She had a very challenging childhood but chose to surround herself with friends and all the right people and she came out the other side feeling thankful.
I always think of Mum when I’m in a rut and wonder how she’d behave. I wonder how she’d feel or work to change her thoughts. It is so important to be aware of your thoughts and ultimately actions.
I’m guilty as hell for being angry about something and then yelling at the kids purely because I’m tired or have something else going on. Completely unrelated and completely unwarranted for them.
Have you even ever stopped and realised how lucky you are? Have you ever stopped and listened to your children talk or watch them try and write their name and just want to cry you’re so proud? Those moment are the ones you need to keep. I wish we could bottle them and keep that feeling forever.
What we need to do however is recreate those feelings often enough that it becomes a habit. I have started doing a grateful circle with my kids (when I remember) and we talk about what we are grateful for. Sounds a bit hippy, but I will pop a few drops of Grounding Essential Oil Blend on or Joy and have Believe in the diffuser, and we light a candle and chat for no more than 30 seconds about what we are grateful for.
My son Thomas is now getting it. The first week he told us “I’m grateful for the candle and watching how the wax melts” haha. Now he talks about love and family and friends, insects, animals and the weather.
Often reminding yourself how grateful you are for such little things is really good way to train yourself to be appreciative. I find the more you are grateful, the easier it is to be positive.
Alright, back to my Mum. She is literally the most beautiful woman you’ll ever meet. She is always positive. She is always helpful. She will always always look on the bright side of life. Mum is thankful every day and will always comment on the weather or the beautiful morning at the beach. She appreciates the new flowers on her orchid or the plants that have grown twice as big as what she expected.
Mum has just finished 5 weeks of radiation treatment for breast cancer after receiving a double mastectomy only 10 weeks ago. This picture above is a photo of her 4 weeks after being diagnosed with breast cancer, 2.5 weeks after a double mastectomy, a week after they told her she has cancer in her lymph nodes and a week before starting radiation. How awesome does she look.
Her mindset is the best cancer fighting tool one could ever wish for. If she wanted to be a victim to it all she has that choice. But, she also has a choice to fight it, to continue to be positive and thankful despite having hard days and not feeling thankful at all.
She has looked after herself and still done all the things each day that make her happy like going to the beach for a swim, gardening and walking the dog.
Mum has also embraced the Young Living journey by using the Seedlings range of products such as baby lotion and diaper cream with a drop of Sacred Frankincense on her scars and where she received radiation. Knowing she was not pouring more chemicals into her body was really important to all of us. To assist her with general wellness and energy she had 2 x 30ml shots of Ningxia Red daily. I know this isn’t a magic attitude adjuster but if you’re healing well and are well rested then you’ve got a better chance of higher self esteem which in turn helps to be in a better frame of mind to be thankful.
Moral of this story? Find something small each day to be thankful for. Stop and smell those dam roses. Train your brain to be positive. It’s never too late to teach an old dog new tricks!