Archive for Love
Letters to Mothers
That special day is coming up very soon.
The day in which we honour mothers around the world! (I’m looking forward to my special breakfast in bed, and lots of cuddles and handmade-with-love gifts and cards.)
If you’re a mum (or mom), or you have a mum, or you know a mum, you’ll want to check out a very, very special book called Mother Letters: Sharing the Mess and Glory.
It’s a compilation of letters from mothers, to other mothers.
I’m one of the contributors, so if you’re curious to see what I’ve written, you’ll need to grab yourself a copy! It’s an ebook, so you can instantly download it and start reading… and laughing, and crying.
And the story behind the book is also beautiful – check out ’Our Story’ over at the information page.
This book truly is a work of art, as is motherhood. Just look at this beautiful trailer:
So, if you know someone who would love this ebook, why not gift it as a gift this Mother’s Day? I know I will be. You can also download a gift card to add to a copy of a confirmation email. (And for a limited time, this amazing book is only US$6.99!)
Loving This Planet
Did you know that Earth Hour has come around again?
It’s this Saturday night, from 8.30pm, wherever you are in the world.
I have my candles at the ready, and will convince my husband to join me in a board game called Planet Earth.
What about you? What are your plans for this Earth Hour? Perhaps you’ll just scoot off to bed early?
I LOVE the whole concept of Earth Hour (and I’m so proud of the fact that it began only a few years ago, in Australia).
What better reminder to ourselves that we are here to care for the earth?
A Beautiful Tribute to a Beautiful Person
I just wanted to share this moving tribute with you – given such short notice, Jennifer Hudson did an amazing job with this song.
When someone moves into the next realm it’s always sad for those of us left behind, but when someone leaves as amazing a legacy as did Whitney Houston – affecting millions with the power of her beautiful voice – the sadness around the world is palpable.
Thank you for using and sharing your gifts, Whitney. And thank you, Jennifer, for yours. Both of you remind us to do the same with our own gifts, to make this world an even better place.
A Love Note!
This Valentine’s wish may be a little late for my Aussie readers, but I hope it will catch those of you still experiencing 14 February!
I just wanted to share a beautiful quote with you, by Mother Teresa. I revealed it in my mid-month ezine, but I really want to share it again here:
Love is a fruit in season at all times,
and within reach of every hand.
Isn’t that beautiful? I love that we have a day that celebrates love, but (as with Christmas), we need to take the spirit of love with us throughout the year. And to share it with everyone, whenever we can.
Can you share love with someone today? And every day?
Sending you heaps of love and a big hug…
Do You Love What You Do?
Love is in the air this month because of that special, somewhat schmaltzy, celebration known as Valentine’s Day.
I LOVE that there’s a day dedicated just to love. Do you, too?
Here’s a thought! Why don’t we use the Valentine month as a reminder? Not just about the importance of loving people, but of loving what we do in this world?
Do YOU love what you do? Really?
Do you love your work? The food you eat? The places you go? The sports you play? The hobbies you have?
Or are you just going through the motions, doing activities that you may once have loved, but now leave you feeling a little flat?
I probably don’t need to tell you that the universe responds to our vibration, and when our vibration is high (that is, we’re doing what we love and we therefore feel great), we receive experiences that match that vibration.
Maybe you could use this beautiful month of love to check in with yourself? To question how you feel about the activities that make up your days?
How do you feel about your job, for instance? Is it still fun? (Or was it ever fun?) Do you feel that you’re using your talents, and the skills that come easily to you?
I had an office job in my early 20s, and after the initial fun of starting something new, I began to feel as though I was dying on the inside. I was drifting, having deferred a university journalism degree. I thought that this job, which was in the finance industry, might be interesting and secure (and well paid).
Boy, was I wrong. I tried all sorts of things to gain a promotion (well, not EVERYTHING), but it just never happened. My colleagues were heaps of fun, but the work itself was sapping the life out of me.
I’d been planning to take a year off to go overseas with my then-boyfriend (now husband) Darren, and to come back to that job when we returned. But I remember the day when I decided that, instead, I’d go back to university after our trip. I remember sitting at my desk and feeling absolutely elated, and with such a sense of purpose, clarity and certainty. I knew I was back on the right path, and that I’d be studying something that I loved.
Thank goodness I didn’t ever receive a promotion in that office job, because otherwise I might never have taken the time to think about what I LOVED. Now I get to do work that I love, every day!
I still keep letting myself be pulled towards things that I love. I believe that our intuition – that ‘knowing feeling’ – guides us beautifully. If we listen to it.
Look, it’s OK to outgrow something. You don’t need to love the same job, food or places your entire life. Don’t hang on to an activity just because you’ve ‘always done it’.
Letting go leaves room for the things you really want to do.
So, on 14 February, why not instigate a new Valentine’s ritual, and do a ruthless ‘love review’ of your life’s activities?
This could just be a Valentine’s you’ll never forget…
PS I’d love for you to tell me what you’d love to do! Leave a comment below, or email me at joanne@richradiantreal.com. Just putting it ‘out there’ will show the universe you’re serious about doing what you love.
Goodbye for Now – See You in 2012!
Well, it’s Christmas Eve. (Actually, we’ve taken to calling it Christmas Evie at my house, given that one of my daughters is called Evie.)
It’s time to slow down, savour time with loved ones, feast on rare treats and reflect on the year that was.
I’ll be doing exactly that over the next few weeks, and will be taking a wee break from blogging. I’ll help you start your New Year with an inspirational article (pop back here for that, or sign up for my ezine in the top right corner), but otherwise, things will be quiet here at Rich Radiant Real, while we deeply relax and then return completely rejuvenated!
Thank you for joining me here on the blog this year, and I really look forward to inspiring you in 2012, and beyond!
All the very, very best over this beautiful season, and I’ll see you soon!
10 Ways to Create a Sparkly Christmas
If you’ve found yourself feeling a bit ‘over’ Christmas in recent years, going through the motions with no real joy, then it’s time to ‘sparkle’ things up a bit!
How do I define ‘sparkly’? Well, for me, it means seeing Christmas as the embodiment of all that it is good in the world. Connecting with people you love, and really celebrating life and beauty. A time when all that glitters really is gold!
Here are a few ideas for adding celebration and sparkle to your Christmas. I’ve either ‘done’ these myself, or plan to. Please don’t feel overwhelmed by this list – if you spot a couple of ideas that really resonate with you, why not just give those ones a try this Christmas?
1. Create a beautiful, welcoming wreath for your front door or the inside of your home.
2. Create personalised Christmas cards. We’ve done this every year since our girls were one year old, because I thought it would be easier to have one card that included a photo update of our children, rather than printing and sending photos with conventional cards.
Until last year, I had our DL-sized cards designed and printed at Snap, but last year I created my own and will have fun doing that again this year! I love taking the photos of our girls for these cards – they have a lot of fun!
Here’s a scan of our family Christmas card from a few years ago:
If you live in the US, Pinhole Press has a fantastic range of beautifully designed templates that can be personalised with your photos.
3. Help out at a food shelter – bring your family on board. If you can’t help out in person, perhaps donate some food, or consider donating to Oxfam via its Unwrapped Christmas-gift project.
4. Remember the power of intention, and create an affirmation that helps you attract the type of Christmas you’d love to have (for help with creating affirmations, check out the Affirmations: Your How-to Guide PDF bonus when you invest in Dream Life Affirmations audios.
5. Make a set of special, long-lasting decorations that can become family heirlooms (perhaps some Santa tree ornaments or napkin holders?!).
6. Take healthy sweet treats around to your neighbours on Christmas Eve, beautifully packaged – you could make the White Christmas recipe in this month’s ezine, or check out the recipe for decadent Orange-Choc Bliss Balls in Monkey Mike’s Raw Food Kitchen: An Un-Cookbook for Kids.
7. Watch a suitably Christmassy movie such as the original Miracle on 34th Street, or the Christmas scene from Mr Bean’s Christmas! (And then there’s always Love, Actually.)
8. Add a bitta ‘bling’ to your life with sparkly decorations in your home and office. There’s something so special about glitteriness. Just remember that ‘sparkly’ can be tastefully done (tinsel doesn’t have to feature, if that ain’t your thing). Candlelight makes everything shimmer – and what about adding sparkle to your clothing? Check this out for inspiration!
9. Pretend you’re a child again, and put out a stocking at the end of your bed.
10. Create your own Christmas crackers. We did this for the first time last year, and it was so much fun.
We (my children and I) bought the inner tubes and cracker snaps from Riot, and we filled the crackers with a cracker snap, a wrapped Lindor chocolate ball, a handwritten Christmas joke, and a handmade paper crown. We then wrapped them in tissue paper, tied ribbons on the end, and put a small photo of the recipient on the front of the cracker!
Note: don’t make the tissue paper wrapping too thick. We did, and it was a little difficult to rip the crackers open…
Oh, a bonus tip – if you’re a ‘planner’, like me, you’ll love Alison May’s Brocante Home Christmas Planner, which features heaps of inspiration and dozens of checklists.
I hope this list has inspired you – and if you were feeling a bit jaded about the whole thing, I do hope that it’s reignited your Christmas spirit!
PS I’d love to hear what you love about Christmas – what traditions do you love to repeat every year? What new tradition/s would you like to start? Leave a comment and let me know!
It’s All About Love, Actually…
I was reminded recently of this scene, which appears in one of my favourite films – Love Actually.
It’s simply beautiful, and it really does encapsulate what we’re all about.
L.O.V.E.
See if this scene doesn’t bring a smile to your face and a tear to your eye!
Love you!
Christmas Expectations
I know, I know, it’s not yet December, but you’ve gotta watch this Christmas advertisement (from John Lewis in the UK).
Be sure to watch it to the end.
Simply beautiful.
The Best Thing That Ever Happened…
You know how sometimes you look back at something disappointing – or potentially devastating – that happened in your life, and you now think ‘that was the best thing that ever happened to me’? (Ya gotta love hindsight!)
Today I’d like to share the words of Dr Wayne Dyer with you, in this brief clip – Wayne reassures us that if something unexpected or unwanted happens, just know that it’s the Universe’s way of helping take you to a better place.
Has something like this happened to you? If you’d like to share a story about this with us, I’d love for you to leave a comment below.
Big hugs to you!
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