Change Happens…FAST!

Just before Easter something happened.  Things were going to move…shift, and it happened fast.  Stress came in with an intensity I had almost forgotten existed. 

I’m used to things happening, and ending up being the best for me.  This time wasn’t any different, but it hit with such an intensity I reacted strongly.

I sent out an email to my newsletter that I’d be closing my doors for a short period of time to deal with this.

I’m not going to get into any of the details.  There are others involved and I must respect their privacy. 

The thing I didn’t want to do was hide what was going and pretend that everything was roses and sunshine when it was not.  To have done so would have added more stress that I certainly didn’t need.  Besides, I’m not any less human because I teach people how to welcome change.

As fast as the stress came in, the shifts they were meant to trigger began. 

I was reminded again of how I am always cared for.  100% of the stressful changes I have experienced in my life have always turned out to be for my highest good.  None of them have been “easy”.  Some of them have lasted for years.  Others have lasted for months, and sometimes even weeks and days. 

This one was a few weeks.  Thankfully I didn’t stress the whole time.  It was a few days of stress, which included a whole lot of observation of what is. 

No matter what is going on, you have to look at what is.  Nothing moves until you do.

Over the years of being an incurable optimist, I’ve learned that being optimistic is not valuable if it isn’t tempered with a healthy dose of reality.

Hope is the sand an Optimist buries his head in.

Negativity is the sand the Pessimist buries his head in.

Neither works.

Am I out of the woods? Not yet, but that’s OK.  Things ARE moving.  I’ve made some of the shifts I know this was meant to trigger.  I put the inspiration that came in into action.

I still love my life, events and all.  I still feel good about who I am, mistakes and all.

I’m full into spring.  The new growth is happening.  Not everything in my garden made it through the winter, but that’s a natural cycle of life.  What is there I will nurture into bloom.  What’s new I will learn from, and nurture into bloom.  I’m also learning that some of those things I thought were weeds aren’t.  Some of those things I thought were plants are actually weeds. 

Such is the garden of life.  We must tend to it with love on a daily basis.

Dream BIG!

Velma Gallant
The Queen of JOY!

PS ~ Welcome Changes Radio will be back on the air the beginning of May.  Same day same time!  (Tuesdays at 11AM Mountain, in case you didn’t know.)

Should We Raise Our Children to Feel?

Someone emailed this video to me.  It made me think.  Lots of things make me think these days.

So many of us have been raised to be stoic.  We are strong if we do not show our emotions.

The question is, is this a healthy thing to do?  Is this a valuable thing to pass on to our children?  Or is there a better way?

Sadness, frustration, anger.  Each of these emotions is labelled as bad.

Why?

Is it because if someone else is mad or sad, we don’t know how to fix it?  Is it because we may remember our own pain that we are trying to forget?

None of it is healthy.  It’s not valuable to stifle our own emotions, nor is it valuable to teach others to do the same.

How would things change if it was more important to be kind and compassionate?  What if we changed the definition of strong?  What if strong people are those who are kind and compassionate?

Here is the URL for you too, for those who cannot see the video.

It is well worth it to watch the other four videos in the series.  I am doing that now as I write this.

My favourite quote from this first video?

Let People Live in Your Heart.

I love that.

By the way, if you choose to let people live in your heart, don’t forget the most important person to invite in there.  YOU!

Dream BIG!

Velma Gallant
The Queen of JOY!

Easter Break, New Beginnings and Decisions

278701_7595 Easter Break is coming.  We received the notice in our son’s backpack.   Six days off, plus off early on Thursday.  He’s tickled.

He’s looking forward to the Easter Bunny coming too.  He doesn’t get a lot of candy, and he’s OK with that.  When the Easter Bunny comes to our house, he hides plastic eggs with change in them.  He’s hoping for lots of Loonies!  (For those of you who don’t know, that’s the Canadian $1 coin.)  He has such fun, and so do I watching him zip around the house looking for the plastic eggs.

Easter also seems to make Spring official.  Daffodils are at the flower shops, and maybe even peaking up in some gardens too.  (I don’t have any, but I’m looking for signs that my transplanted rose bushes survived the Winter.)

Spring is all about New Beginnings too.

I’m ready for it!

I have made some decisions, and I’m ramping up to make some more decisions.

One decision I made was to ease up on the Welcome Changes Radio schedule for the summer.  There will be no shows for the last week of July and the last two weeks of August.  I felt this would be much more kind to me than trying to pre-record shows, which would require me essentially doing two shows in one week, just to have one pre-recorded show.  That’s a lot of work!  Besides, if I’m not kind to me, how can I expect anyone else to be kind to me? I have to set a good example.  😉

I made a decision to launch a group coaching program in May called “Joy Made Easy…and Fast!” which will be a six month program, limited to 8 individuals.  If there is enough of a response, I’ll create two separate classes.

I also made a decision to close the doors on “Joy Made Easy” Community Coaching.  The program didn’t work out as I had hoped.  This is okay with me.  I received a lot of clarity from this experience. 

I’m flirting with some other decisions, including researching fermented foods, and possibly incorporating more raw food into my diet.

Anyway, enough about me and my decisions.

The question is, are you ready to make some decisions?

Have you already made some decisions?

Are you flirting with some decisions?

If you are flirting with decisions this may be of value for you.  I’ve created an Easter Break Special with two of my favourite products.  Juicy Bites of Welcome Changes, and JOY Journal Audio Program.  I’ve reduced their prices both down to $19.  That’s an $8 savings on the ebook, and $14 on the audio program.  The special is ONLY available here:  http://welcomechanges.com/easter-break.

This special is only available as long as that page is live, which will be until April 16th.

Remember, don’t go to Juicy Bites of Welcome Changes or JOY Journal Audio Program.  If you go there, you’ll be paying full price. 

Go to http://welcomechanges.com/easter-break and you’ll get the special price of $19 each.

Now, I must look for some elbow, knee and wrist pads so I can learn how to Rollerblade.  That’s another one of my decisions. 

Have a FANTASTIC day, and a Fabulous Easter!

I got SPRING FEVER!

Dream BIG!

Velma Gallant
The Queen of JOY!
Host of Welcome Changes Radio

PS ~ If you’ve made some strong decisions and you’d like to plurk (play+work=plurk) together to make it happen, visit here:  http://welcomechanges.com/products-services/private-sessions/.  Request your interview to begin the process.

Going Beyond Stress and Time

“There is more to life than increasing its speed.” ~ Mohandas K. Gandhi

Time.

Most of the time it seems like there’s not enough of it.

We try to squeeze more stuff into the time we have, and then wonder why stress seems to be a normal part of our daily lives.

There’s more work at our jobs than we have hours there.  Many have taken on two, three and even four jobs.  Sometimes it’s to make ends meet, but other times it’s to pay for those things that we think will finally bring us happiness.

Homes have two and three cars.  Kids are enrolled in sports and other activities that seem to be going up and up in price.

We run faster and faster after the carrot.  No matter how hard or fast we run, that carrot stays out there in front of us.  If we happen to get a nibble of the carrot that taste is never enough. 

Exhaustion sets in.  The body breaks down.  The emotions break down.

And from this weakened state, we add one more thing to our already full buckets thinking this will make things all better.

It won’t.   And getting a bigger bucket won’t work either.  The burden will still be just as heavy, and you’ll likely add more thinking that it’s OK because you have a bigger bucket.

We are spending less time with our loved ones.  We are spending less time with ourselves.  We stop eating quality food because we don’t have time for it.  Eating highly processed food is easier and quicker.  It doesn’t take as much time to prepare, which we think is good because it’s like taking something out of the bucket.

We don’t walk or ride a bike anywhere because it takes too much time.  Yet there are those who drive their car to a gym they’ve paid good cash for just to walk on a tread mill.

It seems to me that the world is just a little bit insane.

What if we walked with our family for exercise, and enjoy some conversation while we’re at it? 

What if we cared for a garden? We’d supplement our food bill with “real” food.  We’d get exercise, and experience mindfulness.

What if there was another way to get your carrot without running on the treadmill you paid to use, carrying heavy buckets, and neglecting your spirit, body and mind?

There is.

The first thing is to make sure that the carrot you’re chasing is really what you are looking for.

All too often the carrot is something we’ve been told we want.  Joe next door has one, and he looks happy.  Jane on TV has one, and she looks happy.

That guy over there is a doctor, and look at all the stuff he has.  He must be happy.

Notice, though, that each thing we strive for is ultimately to create happiness?

Perhaps the carrot should be Happiness.

Is running on a treadmill you paid someone else to use, carrying heavy buckets filled with activities that do not fulfil your soul and weigh heavily on your body and emotions making you happy?

If you answered yes to this, great.  I’m truly happy you found your happiness.

If you answered no to this, maybe it’s time to make some changes.

If you agree, the next question becomes, “what would make me happy?”

If you can’t answer that right away, maybe you can answer “what is not making me happy?”

Lightening the load and releasing little bits of unhappiness creates the opening to see what would make you happy.

What if you only filled your bucket with things that made you happy?  I’ll bet that bucket would be easy to carry. And if you jump off the treadmill and go for a walk out in the world you’ll likely find more happy things to put in your bucket too!

Walking and exploring the world with your buckets full of happiness. 

Now that sounds like a LIFE!

I’m in!  Are you?

***

Velma Gallant, The Queen of JOY! is an author, speaker, teacher, and healer.  As the host of “Welcome Changes Radio, she has interviewed over 100 personal growth and development experts.  Between growing up, raising a family, and building her business, she’s come to the conclusion that life is a continuous series of events and transitions.  There were times when she felt lost, broken, and confused, until she realized she wasn’t defined by these events and transitions.  Velma has stopped defining herself by what she does and the events of her life, and invites you to do the same!  JOY comes from within, and has been there all along, waiting to be rediscovered.

Did you enjoy this article? If you’d like to share this in your newsletter or on your website, please let us know!  We do require all reprints to include the biography intact.

Get Rid of Fear with 3 Powerful Words

“Everything has a purpose. There are no freaks, misfits, or accidents. There are only misunderstandings and mysteries not yet revealed to mortal man.” ~ Marlo Morgan, Mutant Message Down Under

There are no coincidences.  I’ve heard this time and time again.  You probably have too.  It’s okay to accept this when the “coincidence” is in our favour, but what if it isn’t?  What if what happened is scary or doesn’t feel good?  There is no comfort in “There are no coincidences.”

This is where I find the second part of Marlo’s quote from her book so valuable.  “…mysteries not yet revealed”.

Often we cannot see what’s on the other end of the experience.  It’s a mystery, and because we can’t see the whole story, the part we experience grows and takes on a terrifying visage.  The dust bunnies under the bed become a monster.

We think that what we don’t know can hurt us.  More often than not, what we make up hurts us more than the reality to come.

The worry creates sleepless nights, ulcers, upsets with our loved ones, body tension, headaches, and more.  Our relationships and our bodies take the hit for our over-active imagination.

We think we have no control over our thoughts.  They scream on like a run-away train on a circular track.

You do have control—more than you are aware of.  The circular track is the neuro-pathway that has burned into place through habitual thinking.  The train’s speed is the brain’s familiarity with that neuro-pathway.

There are three powerful words you can use to shift your train off the circular track it’s so familiar with. 

These three words will pull the brakes for your train, allowing you to move slowly forward onto a different track.

You may be moving into unfamiliar territory, but to be honest, your circular track is taking you nowhere, and it’s damaging your body, your emotions, and your spirit.

These three words are:

What’s the Truth?

The Truth is you don’t know what’s in the future. 

The Truth is not emotionally attached to the present facts.

The Truth is not your past either.  Memories are past facts, not present facts.

When we are riding the train on the circular track, the chances of noticing opportunities and solutions are minimal. 

It’s not until we ask “What’s the Truth” and return to the Now that we can see our next step.

The Mystery is revealed and the value received when we can surrender to the experience, be in the Now, and be open to taking the next step—one step at a time.

***

Velma Gallant, The Queen of JOY! is an author, speaker, teacher, and healer.  As the host of “Welcome Changes Radio, she has interviewed over 100 personal growth and development experts.  Between growing up, raising a family, and building her business, she’s come to the conclusion that life is a continuous series of events and transitions.  There were times when she felt lost, broken, and confused, until she realized she wasn’t defined by these events and transitions.  Velma has stopped defining herself by what she does and the events of her life, and invites you to do the same!  JOY comes from within, and has been there all along, waiting to be rediscovered.

Did you enjoy this article? If you’d like to share this in your newsletter or on your website, please let us know!  We do require all reprints to include the biography intact.