“Wahrer Reichtum besteht nicht im Besitz, sondern im Genießen.“
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Interpretation:
„True wealth is not measured by what we possess, but by our ability to enjoy.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

My Mom loves telling the following story. When my sister and I were small, she used to worry whether we as a family had enough resources to live, or enough money to live a satisfactory life. My father’s answer to this was to nod in my sister’s and my direction, and say: “They are our wealth! What else do we need?”

I agree that children are the true treasure and that pleasure and fun are the best indicators of wealth.

It is quite funny that I discovered the above quote this week, when the episode “The Art of Being Wealthy” of my favourite radio show hosted by Ariel and Shya Kane is aired. If you are interested, tune in on coming Wednesday or listen to it in archives starting with the following day. You can find the link connecting to this the episode by clicking the title of the episode above.

Picture: I used to think that my home is not very elegant and a bit cluttered. Today, I still see what can be changed and done differently, which I do bit by bit in many moves of creative inspiration. At the same time I enjoy it more often than before. Today, I agree with many of our guests, who say that it is cute and cosy. Here is one of its characters, which make it sweet and cosy: my son’s big Teddy borrowing Niklas’ hat.

I discovered this quote on a restaurant’s wall in Aalborg last week:

“Smile is a light in the window. It lets people know you’re at home. “
(Author unknown, might be Chinese wisdom, since on the wall of the restaurant it was shown with its Chinese version)

Many wonderful emotions washed over me when I read and let this quote in. It switched the light on in my home.

Picture: My son in September at Tivoli in Copenhagen. I am so happy to see him smiling and laughing every day. Re-discovering this picture made me think that the brightest light is when we laugh. Did you notice that you can’t laugh before smiling first? I loved realizing this. 🙂

About a week and a half ago I went to buy flowers and found this plaque at the florist’s nearby:

I laughed out loud and realized how transformational this clever combination of phrases is.

I bought this plaque immediately. I had to have it! To make me smile, but also to remind me of the tricks my mind often plays on me.

When I experience transformation and a worry or an upset resolves, I think: “This is it, I’ve made it! This worry will not come back anymore! I am soooo good!” And so on and so on.

And then five minutes later, usually less, the worrying thought comes back. Often from another and much unexpected angle.

This used to irritate me. But awareness, transformation and many illustrations by Ariel and Shya Kane in their books, seminars and online (http://www.transformationmadeeasy.com/ ) helped me to realize that these thoughts are mere pre-recordings from my past life and will always appear when something unexpected is happening.

Life always comes in unexpected ways. So I might as well expect these thoughts appear again and again. They will appear in one form or another. And searching a reason for their appearance will not solve the problems I imagine and associate with them, however my brain will try to convince me otherwise.

This plaque is a true gift, because every time I looked at it during the ten days or so since I have it, it never failed to make me laugh and relax.

I send grateful thoughts to its creator. And hugs and love to all who read this.

“Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process
is the bravest thing that we will ever do.”
From the book
“The Gifts of Imperfection:
Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and
Embrace Who You Are”
by Brené Brown, Ph.D., L.M.S.W.

Yesterday I came from a wonderful weekend I spent in Hamburg. I attended two seminars led by Ariel and Shya Kane: “Freedom to Breathe” and “Living a Complaint Free, Drama Free Life”. Both seminars provided many unforgettable experiences.

I noticed my eagerness to share all the wonderful insights I had both during the seminars and also after with my family and friends. I did share some of my experiences, but this sharing started to look more like sharing vacation photographs. I was talking about the past. Close one but past nonetheless.

Thinking of photographs, I recall what one of my dearest friends, who happens to be my mother-in-law, once told me. Both of us and also our husbands were standing on one of the heights of German Alps. All of us were admiring the amazing view. I made some pictures and complained that I would love to take a picture of every detail, but that it was impossible.

I thought my Mom-in-law would suggest using panorama-setting on my photo camera of that time.

Instead she said,

“You can’t take pictures of everything. Enjoy them and keep them here.”

As she said this, she has put her hand on the spot, under which my heart can be found.

This occurrence often comes to mind. The latest today, when I was sorting out some of my notebooks, time planners and calendars from previous years. At least two of them have wonderful pictures and reproductions of paintings on every page. I started looking at every page, seeing if it contained a note or a quote worth keeping. As I looked through the pictures I could not enjoy them fully, because I was sorry for not being able to keep all of them. If I would, they would lie hidden in some drawers or boxes for more years until I completely discarded them, without looking at them again.

As soon as I noticed this complaint and recalled what my mother-in-law advised me, I started looking at the pictures with the only purpose to enjoy them. And suddenly the heaviness of regret disappeared and I simply let the pleasant imprints settle in my heart. From here it was easy to put the already viewed pictures away and move further.

One thought led to another and I realized that the same is with pleasant memories. If we try to keep them and hold on to them by telling about them again and again to all who want and don’t want to listen, then this will not be different than showing holiday photographs repeatedly to visiting relatives and friends. We can’t keep all the insights imprinted in our memories. Even recording them down would not enable a true reproduction of the wonderful experiences we had. But we can collect these wonderful imprints in our hearts, enjoy them and let go.

Picture: Wonderful view from the hotel room I had while in Hamburg. I don’t remember the things I thought, which prompted me to take this picture. I only remember that they were pleasant and inspiring with a tiny hint of sadness, which I could not explain. Maybe I was sad about the near end of the weekend and the seminars. Maybe I was sad of not being able to hold on to each experienced moment, to each pleasant one. I don’t know. The only thing I know now is that this sadness was sweet and soothing. I smile while writing this.