The minimalistic movement has captivated me deeply as of late. For years I have lived in a world of constant deadlines, stresses, worries in my work, home and personal lives and a host of other toils and torments. Struggling for a long time with this, I have made it my resolution this year and moving forward to become more minimalistic all around and cut out some excess fat in my life. For some reason, something I dreaded doing for years (cutting back and having/doing less), has been a lot easier to incorporate into my life at this time. Hmmmmm

Minimalism, for those not aware, is more of a way of life than anything. It’s the way to take the complex aspects and avenues in and of your life and shape them into something maintainable and simplistic. Living a minmalistic life as of late has been like a re-cleansing of my mind, body and soul and has allowed me to take a good step back and see what is going on in my life with a new-found patience and outlook. It has allowed me to be a part of things with less stress, frustration and more willingness, patience and joy; these obviously being the qualities of a good life!

But also during this period of transition to more of a minimalistic life, lots has changed. New job, new schedules, new daily tasks/chores/errands, new responsibilies, it has been a new adventure to say the least. An adventure, with bumps thus far and upcoming, I feel stepping up to with excitement instead of fear and an attitude of being as simplistic as possible will make me victorious!

Many of us take life for granted and do not understand what we have until it is gone. I have had, lost, had and lost again, all to continue to press on like a dedicated soldier to my next assignment without pause or complaint. My frame of mind and ethic can be attributed to being more minmalistic in my approach. Because without that approach and mindset, life would be very very hard right now to say the least.

So I want to begin a series called Becoming a Minimalist! here on zenthat. I want the series to help you all understand minimalism and how it can help you and your life! This series will definetly be one that you should check out. So until next time remember….

As of late, it has been a fun journey improving my quality of life. Much has happened that I am very thankful for in life and none of it would have been possible with first and foremost the grace of God to find favor on me and from there my journey to improve my overall quality of life.

I guarantee that those who are looking to genuinely improve their quality of life can do so following these easy steps. Just keep in mind that overall process of improvement is not something that will be instant in your life, but will be something that if nutured correctly, can and will be attained through hard work on your part and the potion of life – H.A.P.P.I.N.E.S.S. (Having All Power and Patience In Never Excluding Simple Serenity)

• TRUST
• ACQUIRE
• PATIENCE
• It is not a quick fix, so don’t force it to be. Develop the trust in yourself and God to be patience and look for the rewards!

• INVOLVE
• NEGATIVITY
• TO
• OVER-EMPHASIZE
• Take the good with the bad and use the bad as the standard for how to NOT live your life and simply do and live the opposite. Look to over emphasize the negativity, that right, in your life and then look at it as an opportunity for improvement in your life. Haven’t you heard that what doesn’t hurt you in life,

  helps you? Doing this will give you the internal burning incentive to exclude it from your life once and for all when it fuels your desire to improve!

• LIVE
• IN
• FELLOWSHIP
• EVERYDAY
• Because if you don’t, you will miss all that God is providing through yourself, others and his mission for your life!

For those that can read between the lines, the key to life is there. When you follow these steps and the one to follow, you will experience the fruits of not only improving your quality of life but your life itself!

It’s not what you look at that matters; it’s what you see. ~ Henry David Thoreau

Until next time,
Mom on a Mission

Well today I can happily, from the other side, say that I Never Settled and I Never Gave Up and I am glad I didn’t!

Never Settle for Life the way it is! Never Give Up on what you are trying achieve. If you believe you WILL achieve!

In life, many of us try to find that perfect norm / medium in our work / home / play life balance so we can develop our/a healthy rut (system) that is the get up and go we depend on in our lives. Some of us have already found it and continue to perfect it daily. Some of us haven’t found it yet but strive to. And yet some of us are just out there still trying to find some kind of direction and motivation. Friends, it is a never-ending struggle, but one that we should never just settle for and give up on!

I had become so set and spoiled in life a little and was a little complacent on change because things were going good for the most part. Everybody was satisfied, I was somewhat satisfied , so why should I mess things up and introduce change and a time that was a little volatile? Well for many reasons friends; family and job security, digging those roots in, trying to establish myself and family in life for the long haul; this has been a journey I have been on as of late and for the last few years that I am trying to satisfy and realize. Well those feelings were on the surface.

Deep underneath the surface is where it matters the most and I knew that things were heading south in life. I was working in a negative and political workplace for starters and the stresses from that began to bear down as I began to accept that as my way of life. My health was failing due to the stress from work and other things happening in life at the time. The perfect storm begins to brew. I have had to deal with ill family members along with myself being ill and having to see doctors. Perfect Storm brews and ready to commence. So like I do, I kept pushing. Pushed so hard until I became physically exhausted and then stress beared in and did me in for the rest! The Perfect Storm strikes!!!!

I went from being a very healthy and active person to very sick and ill in a matter of days to weeks and progressively got worse. Doctors were baffled and did every test and probe known to man to try to figure out what was going on. They came up with nothing. So the Perfect Storm continued to brew because now I think there is something wrong with me and kept throwing money at the cause. Before you know it, I was stressed about the stress and that never-ending vicious cycle had begun. It was all in my head at this point for sure and I knew it!

So because I never give up and constantly stay doing something, I began to lean on God and the medicines to help change my issues and train of thought (something that takes time but is capable if you are willing). Slowly I began and focused on my health and stabled back out some, whew! Next, I got back out there helping out in the different things I volunteer with. I continued to enjoy the simpler things in life even though life around me was still a mess. Next, I was blessed with the opportunity to work for a company that is like family offering what I have considered my “Dream Job” for as long as I have been on this earth. Due to this opportunity, life began to open back up and not seem so negative and the dark clouds of the Perfect Storm started moving more and more into the distance. Weather in my area of life is partly cloudy still but breaking up more and more daily! Life is starting to turn around all because I never settled and turned my outlook around.

I never settled on what the doctors told me was wrong, I accepted the fact and tried to move on as best as I could relying on their expertise.

I never settled on just dealing with negative people at work, I just gave up trying to care for them as they were a lost cause and in return was provided with the job of a lifetime!

I never settled on having a pity party since it felt that everything was falling apart in my life (because it was), I kept on going somehow and have found sunny skies once again!

I STOPPED WORKING AND LET GOD WORK FOR ME!

Life will throw a lot at you. As you all know, stress is not caused by events; it is caused by your response to those events. Sometimes we cannot always be strong and satisfied and have to accept the fact that God is trying to change our lives and that stress is there and not avoid it. Float through it all. Float through what God is helping you with and relinquish control to him. Float through the stress and find a way to effectively and positively deal with it. It is hard to do these thing but trust when I tell you that they become easier with age, experience and growing wisdom.

When things like what happened with me recently occurred in my life once or twice before, it was during major changing times in my life where God was moving me on closer to his plan for me. I did not understand it all until it was halfway through or all over, but eventually I fully understood it. I was rewarded to have taken the journey to get there because it helped me understand what the struggle was for and all about. It also battle-tested me to be ready to not only have more in life but handle more in life as well which is equally as important!

This past week I re-visited the gym and got my groove back. Some people like to listen to music while they exercise. I like to watch television. Well after an hour’s working out and seeing food commercials after food commercials, my stomach started growling and I was ready to eat! I had to think fast on what’s healthy to eat for lunch. Ever tried grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup?

This week I’m going to mix Tae-Bo at home and heading out to the gym. It’s good to spice things up just so you don’t get bored with the same routine. I get bored easily so here’s to getting back on track. You can also go with an exercise buddy. Having a good support system helps and I suggest you have one.

Well I’d better get going and get ready to head out to the gym. I’m taking my baby with me (it always helps when there’s a childcare center at the gym if you don’t have a sitter at home) and we’ll be back home in an hour! Don’t forget to drink lots of water and stay hydrated!

– Mom on a Mission

Physical exercise is just not the only way to lose weight, so don’t feel too bad if you’ve skipped a day or two out of your routine. Don’t forget running after your kids and cleaning house is another way to lose weight, if and only if you end up sweating in the process .

Alright so let’s keep on grinding and see if we could at least lose 1/2 lb per week to start off with. And soon after we’ll focus on loosing 1 lb/wk. And don’t forget to guzzle up to H2O! Stay hydrated, stay healthy and have fun at it!

- Mom on a Mission

Yesterday I weighed myself 144 lbs. This morning when I hopped back on the scale it said 145 lbs! Hmmm… Had to be the pork chili and Pepsi. I rewarded myself too fast too soon. Let’s see what next week brings.

Good luck on your journey to shed excess pounds and don’t forget to guzzle up to lots of H2O. Here’s to staying true to our new year’s resolutions!

- Mom on a mission

Alright here goes:

Starting weight: 145.6 lbs (can’t believe I just said that)

Goal: 125-130 lbs (Let’s face it and I’m just keeping it real. We’re never going to weigh 115lbs like we did in our high school days. But if you’re able to get back to that shape and form more power to you.)

I’ll wish you luck and let me know how you’re progressing. Here’s to losing that excess fat and staying healthy! CHEERS!!!!

Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.

-Steve Jobs