Say YES to Life

Life is Yes, Love is Yes
“A word that frightens me tremendously and I think limits 90% of our population is 'No'. No sends chills up my spine when I hear somebody say ‘No’; and they say No to life and No to love and No to beauty and No to art and No to nature, No to God.

They just 'No, No, No' their way through life and it’s terrifying because life is Yes and love is Yes and beauty is Yes and joy is Yes”. Dr. Leo Buscaglia

Pilgrimage

I believe that Pilgrimage will become a very popular travel trend in the near future. Actress Shirley McLaine popularized her pilgrimage on the Santiago de la Compestela in her book ‘The Camino’.

Why is pilgrimage becoming so popular? Pilgrimage allows the traveler to slow down and smell the roses. The pilgrimage tends to be challenging, the full length of the Camino is 500 kilometers (most travelers tackle one section of the route at a time and complete the journey over several years) and it requires effort, resourcefulness, patience and focus.

What does the pilgrimage give back for all of the hard work? The challenge, the friendship, meeting many locals and other travelers, the peace, the healthy exercise, the accomplishment and the rejuvenating and meditative effects of long distance walking all form a part of the pilgrimage experience. Several almost forgotten pilgrimage routes are being repaired to allow pilgrimagers to travel extensively in Spain, France, Tuscany, Turkey and England.

An advantage of pilgrimaging is that it is basic travel. A backpack, a walking stick, casual clothing and a good pair of walking shoes are the main travel accessories. It is a very affordable way to see a beautiful country.

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Fred B. Bryant and Joseph Veroff of Loyola University are the founders of a small field of study that they call Savoring.

Savoring is the awareness of pleasure and of the deliberate and conscious attention to the experience of pleasure. They say that Savoring is promoted by:

• Sharing with others. This is the single strongest predictor of level of pleasure. We are social animals. We need to share ourselves.
• Memory-building. Take mental photographs or a physical souvenir of the event and reminisce about it later with others.
• Self-congratulations. Don’t be afraid of pride. Focus on your achievement and the fact that others are impressed with your efforts.
• Sharpening your Perceptions. Listen more closely to sounds and voices around you. Notice sounds, sights, smells and your feelings in your daily environment.
• Absorption. Let yourself become totally immersed in your hobbies, work, play or activity. Do not let yourself be half there. Be here now.

There are four kinds of Savoring:

Basking receiving praise and congratulations,

Thanksgiving expressing gratitude for blessings,

Marveling losing yourself in the wonder of the moment, and

Luxuriating indulging your senses.

We Are What We Eat

The best diet by far for energy, good health, vitality, losing weight and living your life to the max is: wait for it ...A balanced diet. Yup, just like mom used to preach. press here to continue

The Pendulum of Emotions states that if we suppress one emotion we suppress a mirror emotion. If we decide to suppress our anger the potential downside is that we may suppress our joy.

Zest Lifestyle
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When we allow fear to hold us back we forego the fabulous opportunity of overcoming that fear. Many adventure writers and explorers have said that fear was a gift. Without it they would never have felt the amazing feelings of accomplishment and success when they overcame their obstacles. Our goals should include facing one of our fears, however small, on a regular basis. If we have a fear of trying something new we should view that as a sign that this is something we need to explore. Anthony Robbins has said, ‘If you can’t, you must’. Mr. Robbins is merely highlighting that if you feel you can’t do something, that ‘can’t’ is a powerful underlying belief that may hold you back from really enjoying your life. You can’t paint your masterpiece if you are afraid of using colours.

Why You Have to Love Your Fear

Phil Keoghan of 'The Amazing Race' has written a book called 'N.O.W. No Opportunity Wasted.' Phil says facing our fears should be at the top of our list for Life.

His N.O.W. philosophy states that we should open up as many new doors as possible in our lives. What stops us from trying new things or facing activities that hold fear for us, is that we are used to experiencing the fear without experiencing the reward.