People Watching

Sitting in an airport after visiting my parents in Florida.  I must admit, it was tough to leave the beautiful sunshine at the beach.  I told my dad, “I could do this all day,” as we were walking the beach one last time before heading to the airport

 When I’m walking the beach, I am not looking at people.  In fact, the less people the better.  I enjoy the warm breeze, the sound of the waves, looking out at the ocean, and letting my mind wander.

 Here, at the airport, waiting for almost two hours to board, the more people the better.  They give me something to look at, and that can be quite entertaining.  There are as many different “types” of people as you can imagine.  Each one has a story. 

 The styles of dress are all over the place.  I wonder why people dress the way they do to travel.  Some of the ladies look very fancy.  Me, I want to be comfortable when I travel.  Of course, no one is going to turn their head to look at me as I walk by, and that’s fine with me.

 Body types are also across the board from fit to flabby.  I wonder how people got to be the way they are.  Is it genetics, or a choice they are making?  Are they happy with how they look (or more importantly with their level of health)?  Me, I’ve been fighting bronchitis for a couple months now and not exercising at all.  I can see, and feel, the difference and have a plan to get back on track in the new year.

 The looks are people’s faces are all pretty similar.  Traveling tends to not be a lot of fun.  Not too many people are smiling.  I get it, I’m not a fan of traveling either.  When someone finally invents teleportation I will be one of the first people to give it a try.  I love being places, it’s “the going” I don’t enjoy so much.

 I wonder if the people are not smiling because they are traveling, or is it because they don’t have much to smile about.  Maybe they are unhappy people with an unpleasant outlook on life.  I sure hope not.

 2017 is about to come to an end.  Monday is a brand new year.  A perfect opportunity to make a fresh start.  If you are unhappy with the way you look, or feel, or your level of fitness and health, this is a great time to start to make a change.  If you realize your outlook on life does not have you smiling, this is a perfect time to do something about it.  Of course, you can make a change at any time in your life, but often people want a “marker” as their starting point. 

 Is this your time?  When people are watching you in an airport, are they seeing the best you?  I hope so.  If not… it’s time to make the decision to change.  You can do it.

*Pam Horton is a Board Certified Advanced Christian Life Coach, in the Raleigh area.*

Did Mary Know?

This time of year causes people to remember times past and recall favorite things.  Do you have a family tradition at this time of year?  What is your favorite holiday memory?  Name your favorite holiday song!  I have a couple that I like but my all-time favorite Christmas song is, Mary Did You Know.

How difficult it must have been for Mary to watch her first born child suffer such a horrible death.  And yet, she did not try to intervene. Why was that?  Did she know that her son was THE SON, the Son of Man, the Son of God?  Scholars write that she did not know during His upbringing or He would not have been able to live a “human” life.  However, she came to believe it, much as we do today.

Still, He was her first born child. She let Him die, right before her eyes.  Oh, how difficult this must have been, to let this happen to your child for the greater good of mankind.  Mary had to believe that he would rise again, that all believers would have eternal life in heaven, and that she would see her son again one day.  Her great faith must have been what allowed her to stand by and watch Jesus be crucified. 

Do you have such faith?

Ah, but I will get off my soapbox now (but never off my Rock).  Yes, I am a Christian.  No, I will not be in your face about it, but I’m also not going to hide it.  If you would like to talk with me about this further, give me a call – grin.

Have a wonderful week, my friends.  Keep that happy holiday spirit.  Don’t let those ol’ humbug grinches get ya down.

*Pam Horton is a Certified Christian Life Coach in the Raleigh area.*

Christmas Music

Have you noticed that some radio stations play non-stop Christmas music from the day after Thanksgiving through the end of Christmas day? Some of you may think this is fantastic. I like Christmas songs, but round the clock for a month gets to be a little much for me.

I happen to find a couple Christmas songs to be very sad, and I don’t like to be sad. I will turn off “The Christmas Shoes”, “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” and “There’s No Place Like Home For The Holidays” in a heartbeat. I suppose it’s because I know, too often, people are not able to be home for Christmas (i.e., military families, families of divorce, families with a loved one recently deceased) and it makes me sad.

I did hear a song on the radio that I really take to heart each year, and I’m sure you can relate. The chorus of “Grown up Christmas List” is so true, probably for many of us.

No more lives torn apart,
Then wars would never start,
And time would heal all hearts.
And every one would have a friend,
And right would always win,
And love would never end
This is my grown-up Christmas list.

Some of the verses ring especially true, too.

·         Not for myself, but for a world in need:

Some people reach this realization, but for many, we are well into adulthood before we realize that it isn’t all about us and there is, indeed, a big world around us full of people with greater needs than our wants.

·         That packages and bows can never heal a hurting human soul.

A human gift cannot heal the soul (only the gift of God’s grace can do that).  Letting someone know that you care about them, and value them is one way we can help others heal.

·         Maybe only in our blind belief can we ever find the truth!

In John 18:37 Jesus says “I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth.” This verse gets a hardy “AMEN!”  

Christmas is about the birth of Jesus Christ.  Children love the Christmas story, but many of them also love the gifts that “Santa” brings.  Let’s face it, most people enjoy receiving gifts, at any time of the year.  As adults, though, we need to come to a deeper understanding of the world around us, and our purpose in it.  This song is an excellent reminder of that.  Give it a listen…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lXkCfvAHJs

(Songwriters: FOSTER, DAVID / THOMPSON, LINDA N) 

*Pam Horton is a Board Certified Advanced Christian Life Coach, in the Raleigh area.*

Lakawanna

Pennsylvania has some very strange town names. When we used to travel through PA, one of the town we passed was Lackawanna. (I spelled it incorrectly on purpose, I know nothing about the town and don’t mean any offense to those who live there.) We often passed the sign for Lackawanna College. We would tease our boys that it sounded like the perfect college for them, as they weren’t particularly motivated students. 

The other day, I had a “day off” in the middle of the week. I had an evening meeting, but otherwise an open schedule day. The phrase “I don’t want to adult today” went through my head and it occurred to me that I was dealing with a “lakawanna.” I just didn’t feel like doing any of the things on my to-do list. In fact, I didn’t feel like doing anything at all. Have you ever had a day like that?

I happened to have a very long to-do list. That may have contributed to my “lakawanna” attitude. It was a day off for me, and yet it was full of things that needed to be done. Or did they?

I examined my list. There were a couple must do’s on it, but the rest were really should do’s. Time to prioritize.

I should have saved my list to share exactly what I chose not to do that day, just to prove that all things are not must do’s. I know for a fact I didn’t print out our family Christmas newsletter, because I still haven’t done it. I am going to do that tomorrow. Yes, by then it will be a must do and at the top of the list, right after grocery shopping.

So, when you find yourself with a long to-do list and a “lakawanna,” remember that most likely all those things don’t have to get done that day, and prioritize. 

*Note: if they really DO have to get done that day, have a cuppa coffee and get started! Maybe listen to some rockin’ upbeat music to get you motivated to get some work done. Grin.

*Pam Horton is a Certified Stress Management Coach, in the Raleigh area.*