We have all heard that saying, “you are what you eat.”  If we are sitting down to a nutritious meal then that cliché may appeal to us.  How about when we decide to take a break from healthy eating?  That may be when the saying mentioned is one we would rather not think about. 

Have you thought about our minds & spirits enjoying feasts as well?  What are we feeding our minds day in & day out?  There is a quote out there that says, “you become most like the 5 people that you spend the most time with.”  If we consider that those 5 or more people that we share the most time with are feeding our minds, then we may decide to ensure that these folks are battle buddies…folks that lift us up & want the best for us.  To me, those Dear Hearts include people who are genuine, caring, compassionate, honest, loving, accepting, inspiring, and sometimes push or pull me to “the next level.”  There are so many people out there who are everyday heroes.  I especially admire people who have gone through challenges & struggles yet they have allowed those experiences to shape them into incredible lights in this world.  Hey, it is so easy to list off the behaviours or qualities that we do not like yet, what about if we decide to shift our thinking to concentrate on the people in our lives that are day in & day out doing the next right thing.

If our minds are what we & others put into it, then what do we do if we are currently experiencing an onslaught of negativity?  It happens to almost everyone at some point in life.  I have been there too.  Yikes, it is a point that I personally do not want to choose to revisit.  My experience has been that in order to not go down that road of getting pulled into a world of negativity, I have had to ensure that I have a proactive plan in place.  Do you ever wish that you could give your younger self some guideposts?  Living in the present with a hopeful future though is what we have to feast on with the beginning of each new day.  What is the first thing that you tell yourself when you wake up in the morning?  Whether this first thought of the day is a “sunny” or “cloudy” thought, the great news is that we can “change the channel” on our thinking.  How great is that! 

Many years ago, my first mentor told me several gems of wisdom that stuck with me.   The first gem was that each one of us benefits in life by having a mentor & being a mentor.  He explained that “we don’t know what we don’t know” so we always benefit from the company of a wise mentor.  He went on to say as well that the way that we show our gratitude for the mentors that we have been given is to pass it on & be a mentor to someone else humbly when the time is right.  You know what, I just love that wise advice!

Do you enjoy reading?  How is the reading that you experience impacting your thoughts & spirit?  Everyone is unique.  Different books will speak to hearts in just the right way.  The food for my mind & spirit is a feast located all over our home, car and in my purse.  I don’t go anywhere without a spirit-building book.  You know what, if you find yourself waiting unexpectedly somewhere, there is nothing like a great book to turn the situation into a positive mini-retreat if you choose to think of it that way.

To share with you, the first thought that I have chosen to have every day since last spring is, “it is not about me.”  That means that instead, my thinking to start the day is focused on touching others’ lives.  There are so many struggles out there.  I know how that feels & don’t you find that if the struggle must happen that having someone there for you makes all the difference? 

Today, I also reflected upon what I would like to have more of in life.  My mind immediately went to peace.  What does peace mean to each of us?  It is sure to mean something specific & precious to each one of us.  When I reflect on peace, I don’t picture the world without strife or struggle.  Instead, it is more a view of a realistic optimist.  The picture is of our human family being at peace even in the middle of chaos.  It is really about each person reaching out with his or her unique gifts just like our mentors do for us.  It is passing on that care, compassion, understanding, belonging & love that we have each received.  It is the giving to others without expectation of reciprocation but rather just giving because it is the next right thing to do that lights up my spirit. 

If we have diabetes or another 365 challenge, there are those days that can be especially heavy & challenging.  Those are the days that we may especially love & appreciate the Dear Heart mentors in our lives & reach out to them for care & support.  We get to choose too to reach out to one another within our community & as they say, “there is strength in numbers.”  Add to that though, strength in spirit, care, compassion & belonging& these are the things that peace is made of.

What are you feeding your mind?  Do you like where your thoughts go or would you like to change them?  What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you wake up in the morning?  What do you want more of in your life?  New food recipes are being created constantly.  The great news is that we each can also create new recipes to feed our minds too.  It is a choice followed by effort.  It is a gift that we decide to give ourselves daily.  Then, we get to share our gifts with others. 

My heart’s hope for you is that you have Dear Heart mentors & battle buddies who feed your mind & spirit in profoundly caring ways.  And may you pass along your gems of wisdom & care & be a mentor to another Dear Heart in your life.

Smiles, Saundie :)

P.S.  Looking forward to sharing time with you again this Friday with the writing entitled, "When Hypo, Hamburger & Gravol Collide"

Thank goodness for organizations that help  us to meet others, social media & other resources that are available to link folks up with information & support.

When you were first diagnosed, did you find that it was an overwhelming experience of figuring out new physical care regiments as well as processing feelings towards this thing called, diabetes?  Have you found that even with the passage of time, that ongoing support is priceless on this diabetes journey?

There are several genuine phrases that can give us each comfort.  Some may include:  “I understand how you feel”, “I have found that to be true too”or simply, “me too.”  Within each of these caring sentences, we find human compassion, caring, belonging & understanding.

Have you found that you want to shout it from the rooftops that your glucose reading at a particular moment is 5.5 & you want to celebrate that with someone who understands what that number means?  How about when our meters register that daunting number of 18.9?  Those are the times when many of us would love to express our frustration & reach out to someone in support who “gets” what that number means.  Please don’t get me wrong.  It is amazing beyond words to have battle buddies who are encouraging who do not have type 1 diabetes on our teams.  We are more apt to have a plethora of non type 1 battle buddies on our teams for logistical reasons alone.  Type 1 is not statistically high in terms of diagnosis in relationship to say type 2 so it is difficult to even meet up with other folks with type 1 frankly.

Do you remember the saying “wallflower” in reference to being at a dance?  It conjures up memories of high school dances of many years ago where the boys sat on one side of the gym & the girls on the other.  Sooner or later, someone would get up enough courage to ask another person to dance.  After a while, the vast majority of the students would be up dancing & having fun.  Being  a type 1 “wallflower” is something that I decided not to be.  What in the world do you mean by that, Saundie?

Being a type 1 “wallflower” to me would mean waiting to somehow, someday by some magical formulation meet another type 1 “Mom” (the mom with type 1).  Five years ago, when I received the diagnosis of type 1 as an adult I was shocked.    It is a diagnosis that at any age has to be a shock initially.  Right away, I began the process of building a support team because I knew that “I do not know what I do not know.”  The part that seemed easier was that of finding an outstanding medical team including an endocrinologist, diabetes centre nurse & dietician.  The next thing that I did was to reach out to our local JDRF Chapter.  Then, I started going out to JDRF Chapter events which are always awesome.  Three years later though I realized that meeting up in person with another adult with type 1 who is a Mom like me was beginning to take on the appearances of the game, “Where’s Waldo.” 

You know something, I started to wonder where adults go at a certain age who have type 1 diabetes.  Everyone is unique yet I wondered how it was that adults with type 1 who are raising families of their own were managing without an encouraging word from another person with type 1.  Once in a great while, I happen upon another adult who is wearing an insulin pump or that other “pumper” notices my pump.  It is like there is an instant connection.  It is like a moment of being in that secret club, “pumpers R us.”  There is an understanding nod & that inevitable question of , “how long have you been pumping?”  Here’s the thing that is strange though.  I have not yet in 5 years met another adult with type 1 who is over 25 years old let alone of “mom age” like me in person.  Stranger than that is the fact that I have tried pretty diligently to find others out there.  The great news is that I have found several “moms with type 1” through social media groups on-line.  That absolutely makes my heart smile.  There are a lot of Moms with type 1 out there that are enjoying encouragement, understanding & a sense of belonging thanks to social media.  My heart goes out to folks in compassion though that either had to go through type 1 before the on surge of social media or even now who have not yet linked up with others. 

Meeting other adults with type 1 parallels that high school dance a bit too I think.  We each have to make an effort to take a chance & find ways to reach out to “friends we don’t know yet.”  It can seem a little like playing a game of “where’s Waldo” because frankly it is not easy finding other adults with type 1 diabetes out there.  The best news is that it is so worth it to take that step outside our comfort zones.  In the past 6 months especially, I have found that there are some amazing new friends out there that I am honoured to know.

My heart’s hope for you is that you go ahead & reach out to folks that you feel would be encouraging, compassionate & understanding.  Where’s Waldo?  Oh, there you are!

Smiles, Saundie :)  Oh, & looking forward to sharing time together next Monday entitled, "If We are What Eat, Then...."

Ah, we have all heard the popular saying, “it is the little moments that are the big moments after all.”  We get to choose to agree with popular says or not & that’s a great thing.  You know that I am just plain excited about having daily choices.

Have you found yourself either realizing through personal reflection or through another person telling you that since you were diagnosed with diabetes or another “365” health challenge that you seem to have a “built in” discernment of what truly matters in life?  For sure, that is a work in progress yet, with the diagnosis of an ongoing illness comes expanded thinking, feeling & everything that goes along with that, don’t you think? 

Whether we are having a “good” or “bad” day, we have the opportunity to look at life through the lens of gratitude for the people or things that are “exactly right” in our lives.  Today, it is blustery & freezing cold outside yet at the same time it is sunny & full of light.  Early in the morning, I went out into the elements & the thought that kept going through my mind was of the comfort of a nice warm fireplace at the end of the day.  The next thought was of putting my jammies on since there are no activities to take the boys or ourselves to tonight.  Great, I thought because that meant that upon returning home at the end of the day, we could lock the door to the gusty winds, put the fireplace on, make dinner, put jammies on & read together all snuggled up.  Those are those “big little moments” that I absolutely love. You will have many “big little moments” that speak to your heart too.

It is so easy to get pulled down by “what is not going right” in a day.  The choice that we get to make though is whether we hang out for long with those thoughts.  We can instead choose to look at the myriad of things that went right that day.  If it is an especially challenging day, then as Emeril says, we may need to “kick it up a notch” & concentrate on the people that make all the difference.  That is the path back to remembering what truly matters in life.

My “mathlete” Dear Heart husband is not fond of going to stores.  He avoids them the majority of the time.  Last week, I realized that I was out of the mini juice boxes that are the “exact” right size to get out of the low blood sugars for me.  It was a traditional winters evening in Ontario…pretty darned cold & snowy.  I knew though that I may need a juice box potentially during the overnight hours if I went into low blood sugar.  Drat, it meant that I was going to have to go out into the cold & off to the store to replenish my juice supply.  As I started to put my winter coat on, my husband asked me where I was going.  I told him about the juice box dilemma.  He insisted that I stay home & that he instead would go to the store to stock up.  The first store did not have the usual juice boxes yet my husband decided to go to another store to get them instead of simply grabbing a different brand & size.  You know what, he would have gone to countless stores to get the “exact juice” that we keep on hand.  That is an act of love that feels so “big” to my heart.

This morning, both my husband & I were chaotically going through our routines.  As we both left the house to start our days, my husband stopped, looked me in the eye & asked if I had enough insulin in my pump for the rest of the day.  One of the things that he does for me is to “refill my insulin tankard.”  It is a little like when he holds the door or another act of being a gentleman.  We both know that I am physically & intellectually capable of “refilling my insulin tankard” however, it is something that he likes to do to show an act of care.  It is appreciated too because he has a magical way of getting every single potential bubble out of that cartridge.  He is very detailed & well, I am not organized most of the time.

One of the things that I like to say at home is that “love is a well travelled 2 way street.”  My Dear Hearts create these loving big, little moments for the sake of love.  My heart finds ways as well (but not because) to create big, little moments for the sake of love each day too.

Don’t you find that the “big little moments” sustain us especially during challenging times.  When we are feeling unwell, our minds may not automatically go to the euphoric feeling that we had the last time we went to Disney World however, our minds can certainly go to the place within our hearts that tells us that without question, we are loved in the “big little moments” & all the moments in between.

My heart’s hope for you is that you are blessed with an infinite number of the “big little moments.”  May those moments overflow…be in abundance…may you need a saucer to catch them & keep them. 

Smiles, Saundie :)

Picture that we are all on a train trip together & there are some unexpected delays, detainments, and derailments.  If we have either CAA or AAA for our personal vehicles, what do we have as “insurance” for life’s derailments?

Although, I find that my natural state of being is to be somewhat disorganized in many ways, it is something that in specific areas of life, I have had to make a choice to find the resources & points of action that help me to overcome this.  Life is all about choices.  There are times when we choose to do nothing about certain things in our lives.  We cannot do everything in a day that we want to so the things that matter most to us are the activities that we try our best to focus on during the majority of the time.  The choice comes in when & whether I de-clutter (for the zillioneth time) the rooms in our home or other household tasks on the weekends or if the choice is to get outside with our sons.  Well, from the state of our home, it is evident which choice is most often made.  Frankly, I can afford to be less organized with “stuff” around the house however in other areas of life, the cost of not having some order is a price too high to pay.

The area of life that is provided with attention & course correction in my life is health.  Whether you have diabetes or another “365” health struggle, you may find that you too are finding your way  when it comes to your health.  It would be amazing to give the health challenge a “time out” but alas, there is a natural consequence that stems from that choice.  The “I don’t feel like it” thinking becomes a thing of the past once you have a “365 challenge.”  If we have type 1 diabetes & we tell ourselves that we either don’t feel like checking our blood sugars or carb counting or changing our infusion sites, exercising, or any of the other aspects of 24/7 care, what is the natural outcome of that choice?  Is the price too high we each ask ourselves?  That is a question & choice that we make day in & day out.

On those inevitable days when we feel physically & in other ways tired from & of looking after this thing called diabetes, what can we choose to do to stay on that “train ride” & not derail?  Maybe, we need in advance, a “D-Emergency” kit.  I have found that the first thing that I choose to keep continuously in my “D-Emergency” kit is “a bigger yes” so that I then say no automatically to that voice that sometimes screams out, “don’t worry about diabetes today because I don’t feel like looking after that just for today.”  My belief is that if each one of us spends at least a wee bit of time in silence & reflection, that we will know exactly what our personal “bigger yes” is.  Have you found that your “bigger yes” is a person or group of loved ones?  Me too, big time!  We look & think about our loved ones & the future that we want with them & we are way beyond, “motivated.”  Okay, diabetes, what do we have to do to make sure that we each get to be in those future memories with our Dear Hearts we may find ourselves asking from time to time.  Do we want to be bothered with the time, energy & effort it takes to day in & day out look after diabetes?  What is the price of not looking after this though?  How big is our “yes?”    My heart’s hope is that your “bigger yes” is so huge that on those days where you find yourself tired out from the challenges, that you find the exact strength you need for the day to care for you. 

In my “D-Emergency” kit, it contains the reminders of what it feels like to not feel well.  That reminder serves as a guidepost I find to propel me into caring for doing the pancreas’ job because I want to feel as well as possible.  Let’s face it, high blood sugar is not only exhausting, but it also carries with it nothing but negatives.  On the other side of things, being “shakey Mommy” is also another part of life that is best minimized.  Sometimes, knowing what we don’t want is another way of getting us to do what it takes to put in the activities needed to care for ourselves.

If we know ourselves, then we sure know that what works for me will not necessarily be the answer for you & vice versa.  I admire folks who have a commitment to the gym or a running regime.  The reality is though  that it is not a lifestyle choice that long-term I am realistically going to stick with.  I found that I do however love walking & the best part is that my “personal trainer” is always all in for a walk.  Structure is something that I don’t fancy much & I love to change things up daily yet discipline & accountability are personally important.  You may be able to say that you too are accountable to your dog to take the furry friend for a daily walk.  Well, that’s a win-win!  I love being outdoors so a walk outside is medicinal & as I like to say, “the more trees, the more medicinal!”  There is the next thing in the “D-Emergency” kit & that is discipline.  That is my antidote as well to the “I don’t feel like it today” type of thinking.

What else can we add to our “D-Emergency” kits?  As Dr. Seuss says, maybe it is “a who,not a what” a lot of the times.  Do we have friends, family, other community members that have diabetes too, or mentors that we can call upon for encouragement, informed advice, care & support?  I find that I cannot have too many “whos” in my emergency kit.  Each “who” gives a unique & beautiful gift.

How about music & humour?  Is there music that lifts your spirit?  There are many songs that I will blast if I need a lift.  Here are a number of songs that “get me back on track”:  “Tubthumping” by Chumbawumba, “Who Let the Dogs Out”, “Atomic Dog”, “Mambo Number 5”, “Meant to Fly”, “Shine”, “Welcome to Wherever You Are”& “A Song for Mama” & "Pocketful of Sunshine."  As a little aside, one of our sons last week added a new song to my iPod music & mentioned that the song would remind me “to do what is needed each day” & then he laughed & winked.  I checked to see what the song was & what title did I see?  It was “Stayin Alive!”  Great sense of humour with love & care, right?  Music & humour definitely are in abundance in my “D-Emergency” kit!

What can we “wrap”  our “D-Emergency” kit in to make it worth keeping on hand?  The answer may be different for each one of us.  I have found that the “wrapping” of knowing with every fibre of our being that we belong & are loved & cared about makes me want to go to the emergency kit when needed. 

My heart’s hope for you is that you have all the loved ones, resources & needs unique to you within your “D-Emergency” kit.  Best of all, may your kit be wrapped with the absolute knowledge that you belong to a community that cares & loves you.

Smiles, Saundie :)

It’s that time of year again when we are hearing from Dear Hearts about either vacations that they are currently enjoying or soon will be getting away to enjoy.  Something that makes my heart sing amongst many is when you turn your computer on & see an attached photo from a loved one who is having a blast in a warm, sunny little piece of earthly paradise.

We can each choose to define our own versions of vacations any way that we want.  Mini-vacations can be as deluxe or simple as the range of imagination &  budget are.  During the years when our sons were especially young, one form of mini-vacation that I looked forward to was what I called, “the coffee or tea spa getaway.”  It sounds more elaborate than the reality of the “getaway.”  Some coffee or tea “spa getaways” involved a hot beverage in a favourite cup, closing the door to our room, grabbing a book & asking my husband to keep the boys company for an hour.   Other coffee/tea spas included getting out of the house, meeting a friend at a local café & sipping & chatting & laughing.  Going to the hairdresser can be a treat with that feeling of being treated to a half hour of a taste of pampering.  A vacation retreat that feeds my spirit is any walk or hike within nature.  The more trees, the better.  The fall is my favourite walking time of the year yet each season gives us something to appreciate & delight us.  It does not have to be a place to be a vacation.  Don’t you find that it is a state of mind that we give to ourselves?

Parts of life can seem hurried & harried & the gift of a break, a mini-vacation or a big vacation are treasures of time that we give to ourselves to restore our physical, emotional & spiritual selves.

If you & I have either diabetes or another 365 challenge, then mini-vacations may be medicinal when scheduled frequently.  There was a time in my life when I would have a “to do” list that was unrealistic to achieve in any given day.  The worst part though was that I would tell myself that once I got everything done on the “to do” list that I would take some time to re-energize.  Have you ever told yourself that one?  How did that work out for you?  It did not work out at all for me.  Through trial & error & listening to folks that have a peacefulness about them, I learned that the mini-vacation has to go onto the “to do” list closer to the top than the afterthought that it had been.  That old saying about the dust bunnies waiting yet things that are truly important can pass us by is ever so true.  With time come choices.  There is not enough time in the day for any of us to do absolutely everything that we want or need to do.  The gift becomes what we discern to be what truly matters & doing those as often as we possibly can.   Okay, so the weekend comes & the phone rings & it is a Dear Heart.  Do we tell our friend that we wish we could get together but…or do we declare at least silently that we will make time for a “mini-vacation” & go out for a cuppa right then & there.

The best part of having a mini-vacation in whatever form it is in is the thought that someday those of us with diabetes will be able to take something even better than a vacation.  The word that best describes that is , “D-cation.”  That is the word that would capture perfectly the moment when we all find out that diabetes has been cured.  Then we can have the best vacation of all…a permanent vacation from diabetes…from the needles, glucose tests, insulin, blood labs every few months, the shakes from the low blood sugars and the profound loss of energy with high blood sugars.  Yes, a “D-cation”, that’s the vacation that our whole community will get away on together one day.

While we are waiting for the cure, let’s go ahead & fully live our lives with passion & purpose & pizzazz!  Cheers to one day booking that “D-cation” with our whole community!

Smiles, Saundie :)

Have you noticed the tendency of the word “bad” being often placed in front of the word habit?  What if we turned that idea upside down even a wee bit?

In 12 days, I will be entering into my 9^th year of either giving something up or taking something on for six weeks.  Over the years, in preparing for that timeframe, I have looked at the giving up & taking on in many different ways.   That feels “exactly right” that our mindsets change & expand & grow as the years progress.

Nine years ago, honestly, I looked at the six weeks beginning in mid-February as a burden.  Do any of us really want to give something up that we enjoy even if it is for a relatively short period of time?  That first year of doing without something enjoyable was the beginning of the building of the foundation for years to come.

For the first few years during the six week time frame, diligently, I gave something that I really liked up.  Incidentally, it did not take too many cycles of giving something up to realize that there also had to be a positive mindset around that action.  Here’s an example.  A friend decided one year to give up coffee for six weeks.  The friend openly admitted a couple weeks into the six weeks that he would not choose to give up coffee again.  He explained that he was not really being “his best self” attitudinally to those around him especially during the “coffee  detoxing” initial phase.  He admitted that the spirit of the six weeks had been lost since he had complained so much about lack of coffee to everyone that he encountered.  From that friend, I learned that the thing that I would not give up is tea since well, there is something about it that I am convinced gives gentleness to my soul.  It is really cool when we can learn through others what may or may not work for us as well.

From the fourth to the 8^th years of giving up something for six weeks, I turned my mindset upside down.  It occurred to me that instead of giving something up that perhaps taking something additional on would be a better plan.  Each year, there was preparation & reflection to determine what would be the “taking on” for that six weeks.  It became something that was enriching & incredible to experience.  It was tiring too.  Some years, the “taking on” was physically tiring & other years, emotionally tiring.  It was a great kind of “tiring” though & the point was to not complain even once during that time frame.

This year, the “aha moment” hit me in early January.  This is the year to “kick it up a notch” as Emeril Legasse loves to say.  Instead of simply giving something up or taking something on, this is the year that I am ready to both give something up & take something on for six weeks. 

That got me thinking about this word that we all use, “habits.”  The connotation in society largely seems to be that habits need to be broken & that by definition, habits are bad.   What if we do not give habits labels at all?  What if we choose instead to say to ourselves that there are times when we will replace some habits that are not serving us well with habits that will provide us with either physical strength or spiritual or emotional or relational growth? 

Last March, we decided as a family that we would replace driving the car to school with walking.  It took almost two weeks to get into a morning routine that resembled anything short of chaos.  The easy thing to do would be to abandon “mission” & just take the car again.  That’s where a commitment comes in.  The day before we were going to implement the morning routine change, we promised to one another as a family that for 21 days, rain or shine, we would walk to the school.  After that, we would reassess we agreed.  The 21 days did not come out of the “ether”.  A mentor had shared with me years ago that it takes 21 days to replace a habit.  When we tell our minds that we are giving something up, the natural place for our thoughts to go to it seems is to scarcity thinking.  We tend to concentrate on what we cannot have.  With replacing a habit, we are concentrating on what we are doing or having in the present moment instead of what we are giving up.  That kind of takes the labels off of the word, “habit.”

One of the quotes that is taped up in our kitchen is entitled, “A List of Give-Ups.”  The quote is on a small piece of paper & has moved along with us from 2 previous homes.  It has weathered puppyhood by our goldie who decided that paper was delicious so there are a couple of bites out of the paper too.    The title of “Give-Ups” though does not do it justice since it not only speaks to give up s but rather too, what to take on.  The author of the list is unknown.  Let’s share the list together:

“Give up bitterness;  turn to forgiveness, give up negativism;  be positive, give up pessimism;  be an optimist, give up worry;  trust Divine Providence, give up anger;  be more patient, give up gloom;  enjoy the beauty around you, give up gossiping;  control your thoughts, give up hatred;  return good for evil, give up complaining;  be grateful, give up harsh judgements;  think kindly thoughts, give up discouragement;  be full of hope, give up pettiness;  be more mature, give up jealousy;  be more trusting, give up hurting ourselves & others;  turn to virtue.”

For sure, the reason that this list has travelled along with us over the years is because we are a “work in progress.”  The replacing of habits whether they are of a physical or cerebral or spiritual nature takes dedication that goes beyond devotion, steadfastness, energy, accountability, and most of all, a reason that means everything to us.

If we have diabetes or another 365 challenge, we probably share that there are many times throughout each year that we take stock of the habits that are working for us & the ones that need to be replaced.

An author that I respect profoundly is Mathew Kelly.  We have most of his books & they are “dog-eared” & read over by family & friends.  Books are meant to be shared my heart says.  One of the ways that Matthew Kelly describes each one of us at our best is “becoming the best versions of ourselves.”  That is awesome!  We are all originals & working towards being the best “versions of ourselves” each & every day.

My hearts hope for each of us is that we give ourselves the gift of discerning which habits need replacing & then going ahead & doing just that. 

Smiles, Saundie :)

There are times in life that most of us find ourselves hearing something along the lines of, “that’s the way it has always been done.”  It can take the form of an individual providing a reference to policy or tradition in any given environment.  What goes through your mind when you receive the words from someone else that something has always been done a certain way?  What  words do you find yourself using to respond to this?

Let’s concentrate on policies that are either written or unwritten as well as traditions that have been established.  We are not talking about laws obviously which are another thing entirely.  Okay, so something has always been handled or done a certain, same way.  Do we choose to simply “go with the flow” or do we offer thoughtful alternatives? 

Here is an illustration of a tradition that a mentor shared years ago that is totally absurd.  For 2 generations, when preparing a roast for Sunday dinner, the 2 ends of the roast were trimmed off & discarded.  The grown daughter had watched her Mom prepare the Sunday roast & trim & discard the roast ends so she did the same thing.  Once the granddaughter was grown & living on her own, she began to prepare a roast for the 3 generations including her grandmother, mother & her own family.  She too trimmed the ends of the roast & discarded the 2 ends of the roast.  It occurred to her though that she had no idea why this was the tradition.  She asked her mother why she had done this & her mother replied that she had seen her mom do this so she followed in kind.  Finally, the granddaughter asked her grandmother why she had always prepared the roast like this.  The grandmother replied that she had only really done this once & that it was because her roasting pan was too small for the roast.  This is a bit of a silly story in a lot of ways yet it gets at the root of the spirit of how our thinking can become confined or robotic or willing to accept certain ways of doing things simply because that is the way it has always been done.

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The changes that we see dramatically with each passing year are exciting.  In juxtaposition,  we also have some  “dinosaur thinking” out there when it comes to finding creative alternative solutions to challenges. 

Some folks are so resistant to change, to possibly giving that creative brain a work out that they fall prey to clinging at all costs to “the way it has always been done.”  Okay, what do we do “with” & “about” that?

The first thing that comes to my mind is that I ask myself “if it is a hill that I want to die on.”  By this, I mean it does not make sense to me to question or challenge every single person or thing out there.  Instead, I find that it is better for me to make an informed choice.  We can choose to ask ourselves if the situation is something that we can either live with as it is or if it is a situation where a stance is absolutely the best choice.  The point is that we always have a choice.  It is about wise choices.  The first choice then is whether to do something about a circumstance or not.

Once we decide that a challenge is worthy of becoming part of a change agent in, what do we do next?  Have you found that when you try to work towards a different plan that you are challenged by folks clinging to the “old ways?”  That’s a great thing.  I have found that when we are doing the “next right thing”, we will often be challenged.  Do we stop with resistance or do we choose to pole vault if necessary over the barrier or do we build a doorway to enter through the barrier?  Well, that depends on the situation, your level of passion towards the cause & outcome as well as your energy level. 

If we all agree that Albert Einstein was a profoundly intelligent man, then let’s consider two of his famous quotes.  The first one is, “within every challenge lies opportunity” & the second is, “you cannot fix the current problems of today at the same level of thinking that they were originally created.”  Isn’t it incredible that both quotes stretch our thinking & can if we let them permeate our attitudes? 

It would not surprise me if you & I share something in common through our experiences of journeying through life with either diabetes, a 365 health challenge or any significant life or loss challenge that we have endured.  Here’s what we may share in common:  a new way of thinking & a spirit of determination.  Strangely, diabetes has strengthened me along the way.  In talking to other folks with either health or other life challenges, they have shared that they have found this to be the case too.  How amazing is it to take this strength & try with all our spirits to make a small difference in the world.

What can we choose to do about & with a situation with this strength of spirit?  We each get to answer that question with our own hearts.  Recently, I found myself in yet another situation, (we all have these situations perhaps more often than we would like), that my spirit, intuition & being propelled me towards trying to become an agent of change.  It was yet another example of folks saying, “this is the way it has always been done” not literally but certainly this was the spirit of the message.  The trouble with this answer is that the “always has been done this way” of action meant that someone that I love dearly was definitely going to be put in a situation that they were going to be vulnerable to failure.  My philosophy of problem solving has for as long as I can remember been one where I will not approach others with the identifying of the problem unless & until I am prepared to walk in with a list of potential solutions to the challenge.  It is an approach that I hope folks value since they then see that my reason for discussing challenges is not to ever simply complain or  criticize but rather to offer solutions instead. 

For sure it is not easy to try to be a part of changing “the old ways of doing things” since there are still oodles of folks invested in preserving doing things the same way.  Doing things the same way may serve in some cases.  In the situations where we or someone we love are put in to a “square peg, round hole situation” in life & then to be told either through word or action to please accept it…well, what do we choose to do “about” & “with” that?  That is something that we each get to answer for ourselves.  If the cause is something that will make a positive difference in the life of someone that you love or a whole community of people in the  future whose faces you may not even know, well, that may just be “the hill”  to pursue with stedfastness.

We can choose to use our strength, passion & love for others serve to be the compass of how we decide the causes to accept & the ones we attempt to try to change for the better.  When we use our gifts & bring along not just the identifying of a problem but also proposed potential solutions, then we are making a choice to do something “with” our health challenges.  We can use the strength of spirit that we have worked towards growing for a great cause.  Hopefully, we can make a difference in the life of someone else.  It will not be easy to try to encourage changes to “the way it has always been done” thinking & you & I will be challenged.  Let’s face it though, if something truly matters, we cannot afford to not care enough to try to be a peaceful advocate of change.

Whether we each decide to build a doorway through barriers or pole vault over them, my heart’s hope is that we use our strengths & gifts in a way that will bring blessings to others in our human family.

Smiles, Saundie :)

 There are some “chapters” in life that feel especially challenging in each of our lives.  Thankfully, those parts of our journey can be eased at least a little by this word called, “love.”

You know that feeling that you have instantly when you receive news that is distressing to say the least?  For each one of us, those days come upon us like a storm.  What do we do to prepare for the inevitable storms of life?  Do we sometimes ask ourselves how to even begin to prepare for storms in this life?

Last week, one of those storms happened within a community that I love.  The natural reaction was shock & a sense of profound loss.  As a community, we began earnestly to find ways to do something to strengthen one another.   It became evident that each person had something incredibly beautiful to give to strengthen the community.  The extraordinary part was that we got to watch one another light the candle within one another’s spirits.  Each person made use of his or her gifts & gave this part of themselves to strengthening the group.  Individual egos were set aside.  It truly was something special to see the human spirit light up with kindness & concern for one another.

The thing that captivated me most about last week’s experience is that somehow along the way, this community had prepared for an inevitable storm.  You know that we don’t have any way of knowing what storms we will face in life yet the one thing that we can be pretty confident in is that the storms will eventually descend upon us. 

How do we prepare for storms?  What is in our “emergency kit” for the emotional or spiritual storms of life?  It will be different for each person.  For this particular community group, the “emergency kit” includes:  love, genuine care for others, hope, faith, attitudes of fortitude& stedfastness about doing “the next right thing” whether the seas are calm or stormy.  These emergency kits do not happen all by themselves.  It is about building relationships of care & giving encouragement, time & kindness day in & day out.  Then, when the storm hits, it does not mean that a community does not feel initially unsteady, but it does mean that the light of the group can withstand any force.

Quotes are something that I absolutely love.  The hilarious part is when I try to remember them when chatting with a friend & I get the quotation upside down & backwards.  That is just something that we get to laugh about together & that feels “exactly right.”  Each day, new quotes come into my email inbox that I subscribe to.  I love seeing these wee gems each day.  Last week, I could not believe my eyes.  Each & every day, the quotes that appeared in my inbox were all describing the power of light in this world.  There were so many that I simply could not miss the messages within the messages. 

One of the philosophies that I try my best to instill in our sons is that there are no “bad” people out there.  Instead, I explain that there are only “good/right” & “bad/wrong” behaviours/choices.  If we come upon a situation that seems to be filled with darkness, a quote that you may share comfort in is something like this:  “The brightest stars shine most brilliantly against a dark sky.”  (author unknown) If you & I are continuing to do “the next right thing” & we meet up with folks who are making decisions to remain in the dark, then what do we do “about” & “with” that?  One antidote that I have found  for that behavior is making sure that we have “flames” on our battle buddy team.  If your light becomes dim from the storm, the “flames” in your life can re-light your candle. 

When it comes to diabetes or other 365 health challenges, having an “emergency kit” can include more than the physical kit needed.  We are so much more than our physical selves I believe.  We are spiritual beings with beautiful souls that need an emergency care kit.  My heart says that the most important thing in our emergency kit is to feel cared about.  That means that no matter what storms come in life, we absolutely need to make sure well in advance that we have Dear Hearts who are going to be there to re-light our flames when needed.  We do this for others too it goes without saying.  Love is always a well travelled 2 way street.

Light is powerful.  It is life sustaining & this is not by accident.  When we think of lights perhaps we can close our eyes & envision a lighthouse.  Lighthouses shine their lights for miles so that passing ships do not hit the rocks.  The ship still rolls as rapidly as the waves however the ship is provided with a safe haven of knowing the power that is the safety of the lighthouse.

Each of us has an illuminating light within us.  And what is light after all most representative of or metaphorically like?  The answer is love.  Here’s the happy ending (you knew there would have to be one)…light & love absolutely last forever.  May you surround yourself with the caring lights in your life & weather absolutely all of life’s storms with strength.

Smiles, Saundie :)

Years ago when my husband & I were dating, I would visit his family home located over 100kms away from where I was living.  My husband’s Mom & Dad had a book on the bookshelf in their family room that we will paraphrase the title & call it “I’m Fine, You’re Fine”.  Even with my love of books, I did not read that particular one.  Have you had one of those rare occasions where you have found that you literally were repelled by the title of a book?  We do our best to look beyond that cliché of “don’t judge a book by its cover” yet once in a great while that exact thing does happen.

My then boyfriend (now husband) went to the same university.    They are years that we both remember with a smile well.  The fun “rivalry” that the engineering students had with the “arts” students was a source of humour.  Specifically, the two groups would detail reasons why math or the arts would be needed more in life.  Again, this was done in a humourous way.  If an arts student was dating an engineering student, then other friends would declare that “another one had gone to the dark side.” It was fun banter that was said each time with a smile & in friendship.

One of the smile & a wink things that my then boyfriend would say in reference to the book that I mentioned is that he was thinking about also writing a book called, “I am not at all normal & you have even more challenges.”  In fairness again to the book mentioned, neither one of us have ever read it.  It was just the title that got us thinking.  My husband is a person of few words so when I say that we talked about the idea of people proclaiming to be “fine”…well, it was mostly me doing the chatting.

As life went along, the idea of people being “okay” perceptually always got me thinking.  If we choose to put on a mask for the world that everything is “okay with me & by the way, when I ask you how you are…you need to say fine or okay too”, that troubles me.  Please don’t get me wrong.  I am not suggesting that folks wear their emotions perpetually on their sleeves.  It is just that it seems as though there is a lot of “masking” going on these days.  There is the need for some folks to show a mask of perfection or near perfection, or the “I am extremely busy” mask or “I don’t need anyone ever super strong” mask.  It causes me to be hopeful that if we share time with others in the spirit of “we are all human & that is welcome here”(acceptance of others for exactly who they are) that we can start something of a “new normal” way of enjoying one another’s company. 

Emotions are emotions.  The full range offers a feeling of being fully alive I believe.  I am not interested personally in living a life of trying to  keep some emotions out in order to avoid feeling a perceived negative emotion.  I don’t want to live a life that appears to be a long horizontal line.  There is imagery intended.  When we have our heart monitored, the line is up & down & that is what life fully lived feels like to me too diabetes or no diabetes.

The vast majority of the time, I am a “bring the day on in a big way” kind of thinking gal.  This morning, I had one of those time to time, “it is just fine to feel this way” mornings.  This morning, the boys & I discussed upcoming plans that we have to go to Banting House .  It will be our first visit there & the feeling of anticipation that I have about that experience is indescribable.  I know one thing for sure & that is that this is “exactly the right time” for this upcoming visit.

This morning my “low” followed by a “high” were not in the form of hypoglycemia nor hyperglycemia.  As I talked to the boys about our upcoming Banting House visit, the emotions “overflowed”…in the form of tears.  The tears were first sad ones as I thought of the people that lived before 1922, before insulin was created.  Type 1 diabetes was terminal in those pre-1922 days.  I cried tears of sadness for the families that lost children before insulin was a treatment.  This respectful & earnest” low” was followed by an intense “high”.  The life that insulin gave us back is a gift that I don’t take for granted.  Against the odds, Frederick Banting offered those of us living with type 1 diabetes our lives back.  My choice is deciding how to live this life that I still have 5 years post diagnosis.  I choose to live a life of full “aliveness” & thankfulness & hope & compassion with no masks required.  Each person gets to choose how he or she lives life too.  You know what, I don’t want to be “okay” but rather choose instead to be “enthusiastically me”, & I don’t want you to be “okay” either.  For you too, I hope that you are blessed with a full & vivid life…use all the colours in the crayon box of your life too!

Smiles, Saundie :)

Do you think that there may be a conflict within each of us between both being unique individuals while at the same time the pull to be “the same” as others?

When we reflect upon “sameness” what does that mean to us?  Do we look at this through the lens of being pulled to being similar to others or is our feeling more of a non magnetic one?  In looking at things that are the same or similar, we may think of things that can be likened to a cookie cutter or being a “Borg-like” character similar to Star Trek.   Okay, how about the gravitation towards wanting to have that shared feeling of similarity?  The positive side of similarities can be that when we share something in common with others, we feel a sense of belonging.  Is it just plain easier most of the times for others out there to accept you or me into their circle of friends if they view us as similar? 

Have you noticed the need for individuals to feel a sense of uniqueness?  My generation of parents for example has for the most part chosen to name our children names that we had not heard in past generations.  There is nothing right or wrong with that from my way of thinking.  You must know at least a few people in your life that love to stand out in a crowd.  Maybe that is you.  Again, that is exactly right either way.

Okay, how about if you find though that there are many times in life where you feel that sense of conflict of “sameness” & “uniqueness” at the same time?  Here’s where I have found this to be most prevalent, 365 health challenges!  Each of us is more than our challenge whether we have diabetes or another 365 health challenge.  In life, more often than not as the journey of life continues, I find myself as someone that does not “fit the mold.”  You know what…I am totally comfortable with that!  The thing is that, I found that I had to make a decision to get to that comfort of being that “square peg, round hole.”  Along the way, folks have been puzzled by my style, the way I live my life, my outlook, the out of the box choices, my way of thinking & so on.  Some folks have come to understand my style a little better along the way & others have “not gotten it” & that’s okay.  It is not up to any of us to change others’ attitudes by words.  If another person decides to make an attitudinal choice, it will be more likely precipitated by how each of us continue to live our lives day by day…choice by choice, doing our best to simply do the “next right thing.”  Then consider that there are also folks out there that while they may or may not understand us, they accept us either way.  Again, I maintain that it is due to our actions day by day.  Hey, I have made mistakes along the way yet I am committed to learning from these & making better choices…doing my best to with honesty & love simply do “the next right thing.”  Isn’t it neat when we stop focusing on trying to “blend in” & simply instead minute by minute engage in the actions of “next right thing.” behaviours & actions.

You may be wondering if any connection will be made between this conflict of uniqueness, sameness & diabetes/365 health challenges.  It is my feeling that there are times when we may feel like “blending in” at least at times when it comes to our health challenges.  We do not choose to have a health challenge that is for sure!  If you find yourself in a crowd of what appears to be healthy folks, it feels perhaps uncomfortable at times if you or I are the only ones needing to pull out a glucose meter or an insulin syringe or insulin pump or “have the shakes” from low blood sugar.  While you & I may be completely comfortable & at peace with being “exactly ourselves”, perhaps the one area that we gravitate towards sameness is in the need for community of understanding.  During January, I have been very devoted in reaching out to folks with type 1 diabetes so that we each have that “I accept you instantly” community.    Here’s the great news, my heart"s passion is that through our community & as time goes on, we all welcome others while continuing to  shine brilliantly.    There is always room in our community to welcome each & every person not only with type 1 diabetes but also every person with a health challenge as well as folks that support those of us with health challenges.

It is my perspective that we actually may not be as conflicted between sameness & uniqueness after all.  How about if we look at it this way instead:  we are each awesomely unique & we come together like colours of a rainbow instead of the colours being mixed together like from all the paint cans into one.  We can be together creating something incredibly beautiful.  What do you think?  I am all in!

Smiles, Saundie :)