Month: June 2017

5 Ways to Celebrate Life Everyday

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Labor-Day-There is much excitement at home as we eagerly prepare for my son’s 6th birthday party. The invitations, the entertainment, the food, the presents and of course – the cake! Balloons, music, dancing and excitement fill the air and for one brief moment I think – wow, what if every day were like this?
Could we possibly be this excited every day?
Could we have something to look forward to everyday?
Could we spoil ourselves every day?
Could we possibly feel this loved and this special every day?
I know there is absolute reason to celebrate life everyday- in fact hundreds of reasons!
Here are just five:
1. Fill your home with flowers, love, and music . We don’t always need a specific reason or date to party. Life’s a party and the fact that we have so much to live for, appreciate and share is reason enough!
2. Spoil yourself. It doesn’t have to be something luxurious and expensive. But small treats and reinforcements for acknowledging how far you have come, how strong you are and how special you are is something we can do every day. Even allocating a few minutes of “me” time is a treasured treat for most of us.
3. Blessings and gratitude. We don’t need to let the people we love know it only once a year. We can make sure that the people who mean the most to us, always know they are valued, appreciated and needed. Not only when we thoughtfully create a birthday card filled with wishes, blessings and thanks – but every day, expressing how lucky we feel to have them in our world.
4. Dance. Moving your body is something we do every anyway so why not do it with style, passion and enthusiasm. The same way we feel free and full of energy on the dance floor, that’s how we can live every day. Play your favorite song and dance like no one’s watching you. Enjoy what you do and have fun!
5. Superpowers. On our birthday we feel special, purposeful, filled with hope and possibility – we are powerful. We forget that we have superpowers that are with us always and it is our choice whether we use them or not to do so much good in this world.
So let’s celebrate everything we are and everything we have with mind, body and soul!
We can’t regenerate time and we do not know how many birth dates we will get to mark off on our calendars. But we can absolutely celebrate our days right now, and not wait for that once a year because there’s no time like the present!

How do we discover greater purpose?

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iStock_000002034604Small-e1400167280675I always loved school.
I was blessed with incredible friendships, a thirst for learning, excellent role-models and a well-rounded education.
And throughout my life I would constantly hear “Andi, you’re so much like your grandmother.”
One of my defining school moments was presenting a project about a person whom I deeply admired, a hero of sorts. I chose my grandmother – an inspirational woman of tremendous principle, whose life stood for care, empowerment, compassion and unwavering values. I recall her passion for beauty, simplicity and priority – her devotion to her marriage, motherhood and professionalism – the same things I strive for today. Her home always filled with flowers, love and literature. She opened my eyes wider to the world of real people, real issues, real pain, real joy. And she was a hero to so many, including myself.
Standing at my grandmother’s funeral, hearing my very sentiments echoed in the words “she truly left this world a better place to how she found it”, elements struck chords deep within – memories, hopes, gratitude for her legacy, and the unprecedented scope of people who came to pay respects.
It was very clear to every single one of us at that moment, that this was a life of dedicated service and contribution and this was a heroic human being who lived with tremendous purpose.
But how does one live fully?
How do we become more of who we are “meant to” become?
That I don’t have an exact answer to, however, there are five things I strongly believe in that I feel can help each and every one of us self-actualize:
1. I believe our talents and passions and our mission or calling in this lifetime are in fact one in the same and we must follow them.
2. I believe there are heroes all around us and there is much greatness we can learn and emulate from others.
3. I believe that if we choose to live with our personal heroes inside of us, not necessarily for what they do, but for who they are – we will live with greater purpose and meaning.
4. I believe that when we are functioning at our very best using everything we have, the world and our experiences in it will be all the more richer for it.
5. I believe we can all be someone’s hero.
What do you think?