lara simmons

 " Do less, enjoy it more. "  --The Universe It seems like everywhere I go in Seattle these days, I see one of these signs. SLOW. It has happened three times today and it isn't even noon. My first inclination was to be annoyed. WHY are "they" (some anonymous they, probably the government) doing all of this road maintenance during the holiday season when "we" (all the rest of us who are not the government) are all trying to get sh** done? But yesterday, while complaining silently to myself, another voice chimed in, Maybe it's not a hindrance, but a reminder... A reminder to slow down, to take it easy, to enjoy. A few years ago during "the holidays," I was feeling stressed out and overwhelmed. Instead of pushing myself, I decided to lie down and meditate for a few minutes. As I lay there breathing, The Universe sent me this little piece of wisdom, " Do less, enjoy it more. " Do less, enjoy it more. This became m...

Before I took my summer hiatus (which, by the way, lasted longer than I expected, having promised to return in August, sorry about that) I wrote about listening to yourself and for the past few weeks, the phrase "Do you want to be a WRITER or a BLOGGER?"  has been staring at me every time I sit down at my desk. This phrase came to me as I was working on Monday's post, " Harmonizing Yes and No ," which I started before the hiatus. This post was to be a continuation of the listening to yourself theme, specifically addressing the difficulties involved in saying YES or saying NO in specific situations. But what keeps coming up for me as I think about starting to write again is this question: "Do I want to be a WRITER or a BLOGGER?" And the answer for me is clear: WRITER . No question. Conventional wisdom says that these days ("these days" being the days of Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and now Snapchat. Actual serious ADULTS are on ...

"Stress is when your mind says NO, but your mouth says YES." – The Wallingford Sign "Give yourself permission to say 'No.' Reclaim the power of 'No' without guilt. It’s a beautiful thing - for you, for the other person and for the relationship. It offers everyone involved the gift of self responsibility. When you have clear reasons and a clear strategy for saying 'No' it becomes a very positive and empowering experience."  --Ian Lawton on www.soulseeds.com "You have the right to say NO."         --The Universe to ME "The time to say yes is when both your head and your heart freely say yes." -- Frank Andrews PhD in his book "The Art and Practice of Loving"  "...[T]he word 'no' should be the 'end of the discussion, not the beginning of a negotiation.'" -- Amy Poehler  quoting from Gavin de Becker 's book “ The Gift of Fear ” in her book " Yes Please! " "Yes...