Challenges

My immune system and health has always been relatively good and I rarely suffer from colds or the flu. Healthy choices and exercise play an important role, but as my grandma used to say "some people are just born with a strong constitution." However as I age, I become more aware of the importance of a healthy lifestyle, a positive attitude and listening to what my body is telling me.

This year has been a much different year for me and a bit challenging health wise. In addition to to having bursitis in both knees I had some lower back issues up earlier this year, shingles at the beginning of September, and dental surgery 10 days ago. As a result of the dental issues my jaw bone on the right side is considerably thinner and I have been told will fracture very easily if I'm not careful. So you will not catch me swinging any type of weapon or sparring, etc. for about 6 months. According to the dental surgeon the bone will rebuild itself, but this process can take up to 1 year. In the meantime I have been restricted to liquids for 2 weeks after which time I get to move onto soft foods. Yum! What I would really like right now is some crunchy potato chips! Oh Well! I am also waiting to see my doctor about an issue with my left leg which randomly likes to partially give out or completely lock on me. Oh what Fun!

It can be very easy to start to wallow in some self pity, but that is not going to get me anywhere I want to be. So what helps with all of this? I really think that it's keeping busy, being creative in order to continue some forward momentum and support from family, friends and the team. Even with everything going on I've done more push ups and sit ups in the past 3 weeks than I've done all summer and work has been very busy in a good way. The sit ups and push ups are meant to be a tool and when used correctly with the right mindset they do whatever job that needs to be done.

Namaste

Michele Ward

Toilet Troubles

Prior to purchasing our new home we had gotten a home inspection done. Everything was great with the exception of a few minor issues. The inspector had noted that all the toilets were a bit loose and should be tightened. Seemed simple enough at the time, but for whatever reason I never got around to getting the bolts tightened. And this is how the trouble started.

Unknown to me the toilet on the main floor continued to loosen over the summer as this is the bathroom that friends and family all use when visiting. I did however start to notice a very small amount of water on the floor in my furnace/laundry room. The leak appeared to coincide with larger amounts of rain and from what I could tell was coming from around the duct work at the top of the ceiling.

The small puddle started to get a bit bigger and so I called the guy that had done our home inspection. He was great and came out to take a look. Thank goodness for professionals! After a bit of investigative work it turns out the toilet in the main bathroom was the culprit. The toilet was so loose that I am surprised it was still attached. I knew the bolts needed to be tightened and yet had done nothing. Thankfully the fix for my toilet troubles was still a relatively minor one. However rather than tighten a few bolts, we now needed to take the toilet off, remove the old wax seal, put on a new wax seal and reattach everything.

I can relate the issues with my toilet to other areas of my life as well. Unfortunately this is not the first time I've had the opportunity for such a lesson and probably won't be the last as I do have a bad habit of procrastinating. The picture is becoming clearer though and I can see where other areas of my life are being affected by inaction. Not putting in the effort or time and addressing issues as they come up tends to create more stress and work similar to my "toilet troubles". Action or inaction is in my control, but needs to be a conscious choice.


Namaste,

Michele Ward

Embracing the Moment

"Embracing the Moment" keeps popping up this year and is something I have given a lot of thought to and have been making an effort towards improving.

I met a very interesting couple on my recent travels who have been fortunate to visit numerous places throughout the world. I was impressed by their positive attitude regarding how they go about their journeys. They talked about being open, friendly and most importantly, willing to embrace the moment rather than forming expectations and being judgemental. As a result their experiences are mostly positive and opportunities often present themselves that wouldn't have been there otherwise.

I know that quite often I get caught up in myself for various reasons or have expectations and preconceived ideas when going into many situations. By not embracing the moment I am limiting myself and loosing out on so much.

Embracing the Moment - Delving into the world around you through active, conscious awareness and participation while keeping a positive and non-judgemental frame of mind.

Namaste,

Michele Ward