Tag: Universe

Keep your head up!

emyminzel

 

I talk a lot about the importance of staying positive even on days that aren’t our easiest, or life isn’t going according to the plan. I know there’s plenty of negative happenings in life that shake you up, knocks you off kilter, and make you wonder “What the heck just happened here?” It can be difficult to trust life at times we feel pain so acutely like, suffer a failed marriage, lose a job, succumb to depression or illness, or lose someone we love. You want to know “What is there to be positive about at times like that?” My answer to that is there is always, always, something to be thankful for.

We are not meant to suffer endlessly in our mental prisons of depression or anxiety causing us to worry about what might happen, for endless hours. You deserve to have small joys, and happy times even when life sucks socks. I am not saying that you can’t go ahead, have a small pity party for one. Scream, cry to your favorite heartbreak song while driving down the highway, or be good and pissed off occasionally. There are times that call for these reactions, but there’s no good outcomes of extended periods of wallowing in our misery. There is scientific proof that prolonged stress, and negativity will wreak havoc on our immune systems and state of mind; leading to a lesser quality of life.

I believe in the power of positivity, and that there is always, always, always something to be thankful for. It is in these moments of despair that we need to see what we are thankful for the most. When you have the most terrible week at work and you get to sit down at the dinner table with the family that loves you, be thankful that the love of your family is there to help you get through, and you are blessed with enough to eat. When families fall apart, we are thankful for the blessing of supportive loyal friends. When we lose a loved one, we are reminded to cherish the loved ones you still have standing, making your love seem to grow even deeper. If you lose a job, I believe the Higher Power does that to give you something better, move you forward to something more suitable for you. It maybe a struggle financially, but the perks are getting to see the people you love, hang out with your kids or spouse, and finally give them more of your time, love and attention (all things that money cannot buy.)

In our consumerist money driven society, we often forget that quality time, love, and attention are things you cannot buy in a store or make more of when you want it. Being positive means to me that we focus on the blessings we have here and now, even if you feel you have nothing, you do have yourself and your will to make life look the way you want it to. It is our choices that move us forward or keep us in the same situation. When times are tough it is then when we must look deep within ourselves and ask our soul what we really need.

It is often in times of struggle and pain we are able to ask our higher selves “Well, this sucks, what’s the best plan now? Where should I focus my next steps? What is the best direction for me?” When life makes you uncomfortable it is because it is time to move forward from what is no longer serving your best interest. (Maybe not in the case of death but in most other instances that cause us strife like work, relationships, or dramas; these are signs to work on yourself.)

By being positive during these transitional periods helps us look forward to days with longer stretches of joy. Having something to look forward to, is essential to keeping your head up, keeping your eyes on the prize, helping you put one foot in front of the other. It can be as simple as a dinner date with your best friend, or a vacation that’s eight months away. It is something positive that you can put your energy to as opposed to doing laps around your mind; just stirring up vortex of crazy negativity that even unintentionally, yet undoubtedly will spread through the rest of your life and to the people in it. It is our own responsibility to take ownership of our energy/thoughts and how we use it. If we go around complaining about everything and anything all day long, you will be looking for more things to complain about to keep you in your vibration of unpleasantness. Often trying to bring others down with you, because their joy makes you uncomfortable.

That’s how energy works, there is negative and positive flow, if you touch them together it doesn’t feel good. That’s why happy people avoid negativity and negative people look for more negative situations or news to keep there vibes just where it feels comfortable to them. Joy and positivity take practice, I see that even some people are afraid to be happy because they think it’s too good to be true or it won’t last. That’s a shame that you can’t enjoy the moment when it is offered to them, it is sad that we give our power of joy away to the power of negativity when we do have the ability to choose which one we would rather feel.

Keeping positive takes practice, by purposely adding people or events into your lives, scheduling time doing anything at all that helps you nurture the joy inside of you is the best healthy habit that you can give yourself. Being thankful for a good night’s rest so you can face the day, enjoying the beauty in the sunset/sunrise, really feeling your heart swell when you hear you child belly laugh, or a meaningful conversation that makes you feel heard, are the small golden movements we dismiss for having no value because you can’t buy them, when they should be cherished for the same reason. Money cannot buy happiness, you will not find happiness at the store you must be able to see it, and accept it into your daily practice if you want to cultivate more of it.

Practicing positivity brings you inner joy, inner joy brings outer glow, outer glow vibrations will attract love, luck and situations that pull more good things into your energy field. Simple as that. Practicing positivity, keeping your head up in times of adversity, loving at times you don’t feel loved yourself, will help you be the person you want to be. The Universe/God will not give you more than you can handle, I believe it is how you handle the things that come your way that makes up the quality of your life. Trusting our life path even when it doesn’t go as planned is part of the journey, it is up to us to if we want to sit on the cactus we’ve been given, or we can nurture it and water it until it blooms into something beautiful.

Psalm 23:4 – Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

I am not a religious person, but I do find tremendous value in the core of all religions teachings, it is about love, acceptance and trust of your life path. It is the resistance to change that causes the pain, if we can accept what is, look around to find what is also great, we can choose to move forward by taking purposeful steps toward greatness. That is the whole point of the power of positivity, when you can see it, use it and keep your eye on it, choose to keep your head up and aim right for it you will hit the mark or at least get somewhere closer to it then you were before. I believe that makes all the difference in the world to what kind of day you will have. It’s every single day of choices you make that add up to your life time, what kind of life do you choose to cultivate?

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. ~ Aristotle

Wishing you an abundance of joyful blessings,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

https://emyminzel.com

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/BWCAdventureSisters

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

https://stacycrep.com

The Adventure Sisters on Instagram
@adventuresistersbwca

Asking for help is hard!

emyminzel

Does anyone else hate to ask for help? I do. It is so hard for me often I struggle for a long while trying to ‘do it myself’ before I either just give up completely, or finally with a great deal of hesitation I will ask for the help I need. I am not sure why I have this dislike of asking for help. Most people are happy to help when I ask yet there are times when they are not.

I was raised by a single mother who had to do most everything by herself. For a long while I was a single mother too, is this a side effect of single motherhood? Or is it a side effect of stubbornness? I conclude it is most likely a combination of both. Of course; there are the instances when I do ask for help and do not get the support I need. Is there a reason behind that? Does that mean what I want or need help with isn’t meant for me? Does it mean ask someone else? Or does it mean keep trying to do it yourself because I will eventually figure it out?

The Adventure Sisters are working on three book proposals due in April. We are also working very hard to build the public platform of supportive readers. The platforms are meant to help us reach as many people as possible. The Publishers decide whose books to publish by looking for writers who are willing to do extra work to sell themselves, their books, and their ideas. That is why Stacy and I have started the Adventure Sister social media promotional pages also we’ve started blogs to introduce you to who we are. In our blogs we work on expressing our beliefs to expose readers to the why behind what we are writing about.

It is our hopes and dreams that others will support us in the pursuit of becoming published authors. To do this we need to ask for help from our friends, family, and others who resonate with the message of the Adventure Sisters. My job is to trust in our path, continue to believe that God/Universe will bring us the helpers we need to bring our dream of being published to fruition. I believe that the women I met today at Toast Masters were helping angels that came into my life at the perfect time to help me grow by helping me use my voice. All I had to do was show up and ask.

I believe that every path or event happens to help you grow and learn. I believe life will open the doors that are for you, or not, for reasons I don’t get to know right now. I have found that as I embark on this literary writing adventure, I’ve been forced to ask for help. It’s very uncomfortable feeling for me. Some people are more helpful then others, yet I realize that most people are willing to help when you ask. The only fix to this conundrum is to find the courage to keep asking for the help I need, so that we can keep making progress in pursuit of accomplishing our dreams.

I will take this lesson of asking for help with me to the future, I see it takes courage for everyone to ask for help not just me. I will do my best to help others when they ask because I have compassion for the uncomfortable feelings that can come with asking for help. It is my sincerest gratitude for the people who are reading my blog right now, who help the Adventure Sisters move forward in pursuit of our Joy.

Thank you for reading, sharing, liking, and commenting on our posts, it truly does help us to increase our platform. Thank you for helping me confirm the kindness I believe exists in all people just like you. You are the twinkling street lights of support on the road to our literary escapades that lay ahead. Thank you for your help.

Wishing you an abundance of joyful blessings,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

https://emyminzel.com

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/BWCAdventureSisters

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

https://stacycrep.com

The Adventure Sisters on Instagram
@adventuresistersbwca

What being an Adventure Sister means

emyminzel

Being an Adventure Sister means that I am someone who goes on adventures and also inspires adventure, it means I enjoy encouraging others to inspire themselves. My dream is to motivate others to feel the same sense of delight and satisfaction I feel when doing something I find exciting and invigorating by getting off the couch and jumping into my life. This reminds me of a saying that I love. “The only difference between, fear and excitement is, your attitude about it.” I find this to be true. There are many times I’ve felt frightened, and excited at the same time. The difference in my experience was decided by my attitude while going through the journey.

I became an Adventure Sister when I realized that I was deeply moved by my experiences in nature. I was hooked on the feeling of personal accomplishments, doing things I’ve never done before, addicted to the feeling of pride that adventure provided! Was it the adrenalin of boldly sauntering into the forest of unknown activities and occupants? Was it the excitement of mysterious endeavors and events that kept us on our toes? Not knowing everything that’s going to happen seemed to lend itself to the magic of synchronicities that appear to motivate our fun outcomes.

Adventure Sister Stacy and I have survived waves that were so large when we dipped our paddles into the water it only hit air, then wildly splashed inside the canoe. We’ve battled waves that muted each of our strokes, so powerful they pulled our canoe to the middle of the large lake no matter how hard we tried to keep closer to shore. We’ve survived athletic feats we were in no way prepared for. We’ve even accidentally popped a gas tank on a rental car in Florida, that leaked so profusely the firemen said, it likely could have been very dangerous. Yet we continue to make it home safely and in one piece each time we dared to be brave. I feel like I should give a shout out and giant expression of gratitude to my guardian angels and guides right now, they’ve helped through some wild rides.

Who you choose to accompany you does matter when on an adventure, and Stacy is great because she doesn’t fuss while working as hard as we needed to. We were able to turn hard-core camping excursions into spiritual adventures that helped us gain confidence in ourselves while building trusting supportive relationship with each other. We grew our spiritual practices simultaneously which became a special type of bond like the one lots of people cherish at church. Only our church nature. It is a blessing to have someone to help you grow in meaningful directions, and inspires you to be a better you. The bond of sisterhood that Stacy and I have founded in each other through our expeditions together has added depth that seem to make our adventures more enjoyable and meaningful.

You just never know where you’ll end up on an adventure, that’s what so exciting about it. Leaving your schedule open to be being able to take that invitation, or the scenic route on vacation can be one of the best ways to find excitement. Going off the beaten path leads us to have new experiences lets us see things I would not have if everything was scheduled on a strict itinerary. Support is essential to a joyful adventure, its important bring someone who you like and trust. It helped that I felt supported by my family who had my back when going out of my comfort zone.

I want to inspire others to bring excitement and play back into their lives, by telling them them how I found Joy in my life, that just so happened to be inspired by adventure. What I find exciting may not be to you, or vice versa, I am not recommending you bungee jump off a bridge if you are frightened of heights. Or go ahead if you want to be courageous! I found the feeling of honor in doing something I never thought I could is one of the best feelings to be in my body for. Not all adventures have to be dangerous, thrill seeking events. Finding courage to write that book, to have a baby (or not) to change careers, or make any change that makes you feel good about yourself are adventures. It’s all in the way you look at them.

I believe with all my heart, you’re never too old, too young or too anything to do something that makes your heart sing. It makes your heart sing for a reason, because that’s your song to sing! I want to inspire the bravery in others to find courage you need to sing your song by being fearless in pursing my own unique melody. To be an Adventure Sister means to inspire greatness in all of life’s adventures, from babies to grandbabies, from college to retirement and everything in between or after, it is never too late to feel great!

What makes you feel brave? What makes you feel proud? Are you an Adventure Sister too?

I would love to hear what inspires you to inspire others!

 

Wishing you an abundance of joyful blessings,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

https://emyminzel.com

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/BWCAdventureSisters

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

https://stacycrep.com

The Adventure Sisters on Instagram
@adventuresistersbwca

 

 

 

Ripple of hope

emyminzel

Adventure Sister Stacy has always been like a big sister to me. She isn’t much older, yet she seems to have more kindness and wisdom then the average soul and that makes her someone I look up to. She is a nurse like my grandmother, I admire nurses, I also admire her leadership skills because leads in a positive way. She always encourages others to see things from a different perspective so that they can help themselves. She does not help you, she helps you help yourself. I view this as a gift. They say that you are attracted to the people you need in your life and I am thankful to be blessed to know my soul sister Stacy.

How does she do it? Great leadership skills, kindness, compassion and positive attitude are not always things that go together, in fact I believe it is rare to have all these qualities. I understand why she has excelled in her career, she deserves every opportunity she receives because she’s worked very hard to get there. She’s no slouch, she does her part and expects you to do yours, while also encouraging greatness for both of you. She sees the uniqueness in others, asking questions of you until she finds the rawness underneath of what manifested the perceived problems. Stacy seems to magically pull the truth of the real feelings that are masked by the ego, insecurities or fears, and she does it in a gentle way that makes you feel nurtured not interrogated.

Stacy and I realized that we make a great team not because we play well together but because we complement each other’s strengths and encourage each other in areas that aren’t our strong suites. Astrologically we are exactly 6 months apart to the date, which makes us balance each other like the Yin Yang symbol, our relationship seems to be very easy and complimentary. We tend to see and bring out only the best parts of each other. Isn’t that what friendship should be about?

I can be outspoken, wear my heart on my sleeve, swear more then I should and I am not afraid of conflict. I don’t like conflict, I am just not afraid of it. If I feel there is an injustice happening around me, I will stand up and say so. She has had more practice at expressing herself with diplomacy than I, yet she encourages me to speak up reminding me to keep my vibes positive. Somedays I like to think that it must be easier for her to stay positive, but I know that it is not, it is a habit she is learning to cultivate, just like I am.  I do not compare myself to her, because it would be like comparing apple to bananas, we are different for a good reason.

I try to emulate her positivity that makes feel people feel safe and nurtured so I am able to inspire change not try and demand it. I work very hard at making changes I desire in my own life, so I respect the hard work it takes to change characteristic or habits like trying to stay positive when life and its situations are not always joyous or happy. I believe we do not have to add to the negative, we can choose to bring others up, not let others bring us down.

We can choose to see the pain underneath the bravado of anger, bullying or complaining, by acknowledging it, when we are able to talk about it we are then able change it. Instead of blaming and pointing fingers when we feel wronged seeing the good in others allows us to recognize the motivation under the actions. I truly believe most everyone is good at heart, I believe that there are more humans that are good then ‘bad’.

I see a sad trend in society seemingly assumes that everyone but themselves are dumb, irritating or jerks… am I wrong here? Who thinks not one soul on the road knows how to drive as well as they do? Or who thinks the woman who butted in line a head of you is just rude and selfish, without giving her the benefit of the doubt that just maybe she didn’t even realize she butted?

Stacy isn’t Saint Stacy she is just a woman doing her best to practice joy, kindness and acceptance. She has been practicing longer then I so the practice seems comes a little more naturally to her because she’s been practicing! Look how I have portrayed my friend, as a kind and good person, because that’s what I choose to see and believe to be true in her. When, we choose to look for only the bad, so we have something to complain about, that is all we will see, even in the people we love.

Stacy has taught me in the kindest way, that I cannot change others I can only change myself. In doing so, I can only hope that the positive changes I’ve made in myself ripple out as hope and love into the rest of my life. I believe that I can start a ripple of hope right now. I believe that God knows just where it needs to go, I trust that my hope will get where it’s needed at the right time. I believe that for you too. Raise your vibes, ripple out rays of hope and love friends! It feels good.

Wishing you an abundance of joyful blessings,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

https://emyminzel.com

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/BWCAdventureSisters

Stacy Crep ~ Adventure Sister

https://stacycrep.com

The Adventure Sisters on Instagram
@adventuresistersbwca

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area is a magical place in the forest that teaches people to be better people, this place where God lives, must be cherished, treasured and protected.

Please help me in doing so by signing this petition to Save The Boundary Waters with the link below.

https://www.savetheboundarywaters.org/tell-department-interior-and-bureau-land-management-protect-boundary-waters

How do we honor our inner child?

emyminzel

I am continuing the conversation of honoring different aspect of our personalities that we may not like to acknowledge. The inner child is one part of my personally that intrigues me, maybe because mine seems to be asking a lot of me lately. It demands I spend time doing things that I love, not just the things that the adult part of me thinks need to be done. Like work, laundry, dishes, and other insanely boring chores of life that seem to steal my precious time, keeping me preoccupied with monotony. In short, lately I have found being an ‘adult” alllll the time is horrifically boring!!! This is when I feel the tug of my inner child the most. She seems to say day after day, “Girl, there’s gotta be more to life then this! Let’s go find it!”

“Heck yes. Let’s do this!” I, answer back to that little girl who just wants to have fun.

Then my adult voices says; “Mmmmhmmm sure, right after you vacuum.”

Gah!!!! Round and round we go, match for match, day after day. Until somethings gotta give. It’s odd to talk about playing as an adult, is it not? The adventures I have experienced with my soul sister Stacy in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area have let me feel free enough to remember how to play again. Is it only me? Or do you have days when wearing this adult version of my meat suit/body feels just plain weird?

My body gets older, my hair is graying, and there are life lines around my eyes. Yet there are times I feel so honestly inquisitive, full of love and trusting of life that I can feel the innocence of my childlike soul still shining inside. It makes me feel like playing outside, letting my hair down, and getting creative. At times I yearn to belly laugh until it’s hard to breathe and my face hurts.  Surely this is not too much to ask for?! As Stacy likes to tell me “I make the rules for MY life!”

I like the way you think sister friend. So, this is the new rule. I choose to listen to the little voice calling, I will call her my ‘inner child’ because it seems fitting. I will honor her needs because she is part of me, the best part if you really think about it. The innocence you once had as a child is still in you, it is where your hope lives. You cannot deny the importance of hope!  This is the part of us that if nurtured, will ensure we make the world a kinder place. There is no fear or violence in hope or innocent children, this part still lives in you and we can choose to nurture it.

I do this by adding play and whimsy to my life, in simple ways. I love to write, it feels like creating art and allows me to express myself. When I am with friends and family we like to play board games or interactive games at gatherings, bowling or hiking. It brings us all together to ‘play’ and build relationships with occasional team building skills mixed in. If I am by myself I might embrace the feminine part of my inner child and get girly. I will give myself a pedicure, or a facial, put on a hydrating mask and fully embrace the beauty rituals I use that make me feel good.

When in the Boundary Waters Stacy and I take blow up inner tubes put them around our waist or sit in them and float in the sun giggling and chattering away like best girlfriends do at any age. We would go ‘exploring’ in the forest on trails, hop in the canoe to find what we haven’t seen before just for the sake of pleasing our curious inner child. We often find the beauty in the simple things the Universe offers noticing the wonder of how moss can look like a teeny tiny forest all its own.

I might choose to go outside and play in the garden, well not today, its January in Minnesota. I can plan; scratch that… ‘plan’ sounds too much like work… In the winter I love to take the opportunity to dream and create a beautiful new garden lay out. I love to use color pencils and draw where the plants might go so I can visualize it. I love how each year is different and gives me the ability to get whimsical by using my artistic creativity in a fun playful way.

If I change the way I think about things, the things I think about change. I find how I feel about things is all in the attitude I bring to them. I don’t just have a garden that I must weed. I choose to see and enjoy my garden as a continuous work of art, the effort I put into it or not shows. Isn’t that true of all relationships? Even the relationships we have with ourselves?

If we choose to not nurture any part of ourselves, or relationships we cannot fully enjoy life’s offerings or its many infinite destinies. Why would fun show up for us if we are not able to embrace the richness it brings to our lives? Why deny any parts of yourself by not recognize the vulnerable part of you that needs to be heard, seen or validated in any aspect of your personality?

Aren’t the neediest parts of you the loudest and hardest to ignore anyways? Just possibly could these be the parts of ourselves that cause us to act out as not our best-self, causing unnecessary drama when you ignore it for too long? What if we tried to sooth that inner child, fulfill its needs, so we can move on from these triggers?

What’s the worst that could happen if you looked these tendencies right in the eye and asked. “What do you REALLY mean by that feeling? What do you really need?”

What if you had the courage to wait and listen to the answer? Oh boy! How exciting it could be to find out what it is you truly want and need! After all, you’re an adult now and you get to make the rules for your life. As an adult give yourself permission to admit when we just need a hug, admit when you need to feel validated and heard. It is okay to speak up when we aren’t feeling loved in a way that you can comprehend, or even if you need some attention. Your inner child is part of you, to deny it is to deny yourself.

What does your inner child ask from you? Is it to come out and play or is it demanding more? The inner child in you has plenty of hope and courage for today and the future. I can hear them calling, I know you can too. I’d love to hear your thoughts on inner child work. Feel free to comment below!

Wishing you and abundance of Love, Laughter, and Blessings,

Emy Minzel ~ Adventure Sister

https://emyminzel.com

Follow the Adventure Sisters on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/BWCAdventureSisters