by Tina Greene | Apr 18, 2015 | Self Care
For most of my life, I was a pusher. Whatever the challenge, I could push my way through. Emotional, physical, professional. It didn’t matter. The name of my game was “just get it done.” Worry about the consequences later. Sound familiar? And then, four years ago, in less than the time it takes you to read this post, everything changed. Driving on the freeway. Construction zone. Traffic stopped. The guy behind me didn’t. The damage to my car was easily fixed. The damage to my brain, not so much. In that instant my life turned inside out and upside down. Nothing remained the same. Well, almost nothing. Thankfully, the accident didn’t affect my heart, my soul, and my commitment to grow through, and beyond, whatever curveballs life throws my way. But I’d never seen this pitch before. It didn’t respond to my pushing. In fact, pushing was the very worst thing I could do. Brains are tricky that way. First, they take way, way longer to heal than any other organ. Second, every brain is unique in how it responds to injury and how, when or even if, it heals. What works for one person, doesn’t’ necessarily work for another. In this sense medical advice has something in common with microwave instructions: your experience may vary. My challenge was learning how to live within my new limits, rather than in spite of them. And, as anyone living with chronic pain or illness knows all too well, this is a hard lesson to learn. In the beginning, I was a very reluctant student. I fell...
by Tina Greene | Apr 18, 2015 | Manifesting intentions
How many times have we all heard that our intentions matter? Too many to count, right? If you’re anything like me, there is often a big gulf between what I know intellectually and how I live my life. Bringing these two together is hard work. It requires me to discern, articulate, remember AND ACT on what I want. PHEW. The entire process can be overwhelming and I either give up or “forget” to take the action I know is necessary. Either way, chances are high that I will beat myself up – again – for not following through. UGH. Get me off this treadmill! That’s why I love Patti Digh’s little book “Four Word Self Help, Simple Wisdom for Complex Lives” It’s an easy and quick read with wonderful artwork and fabulous action-oriented reminders like “Give Up Toxic People,” “Ask Why Not How,” and “Live in Present Tense.” Sweet, right? Since being introduced to this practice by my first art teacher, Karen Brooks, I have often used it to help me remember how I want to live my life. Seriously. I have a large portion of wall space in my studio devoted to my personal four word self-help list. It’s one of the easiest and most effective ways I’ve found to create new perspectives and build new habits. And, it’s FUN! This practice is particularly helpful because the result is custom-made for ME – or for YOU when it’s your turn . My dreams. My desires. My words. The fact that I stretch my creative muscles as I find new ways to express my thoughts is...
