Monday’s Random Thought: Picture Perfect

My hubby keeps this small glass heart in his pocket. I gave him and each of our two kiddos the same heart a few years back. This morning I found the heart caught in the crack of the driver’s seat of my car. He drove my car this weekend. I found it after I published this blog post. I am editing it and adding this photo, kind of appropriate for the topic I’d say. Kinda perfect.

Sunday was sacred. No plans for this on-the-go-all-summer family. Exhausted from attending a family wedding the night before, swim and dive meets all week long, all four of us were happy to have nothing on the docket.

Big home cooked breakfast, reading in bed for me, Pan Am games on TV for hubby and kiddos, a second pot of coffee, all still in pjs at noon. Slow. Easy. Perfect. Like I said, sacred.

Somewhere around three in the afternoon hubby proposes a family walk with our dog. We all agree. In between putting on our shoes, getting the dog leash and figuring out our plan a fight insues. The kind with words and attitudes, snappy tones and snarly remarks. Somehow we all cracked. Next thing I know I am telling my son, “You are acting like a little shit.” So much for sacred. So much for winning Mother-of-the-Year.

We agree to walk anyway. Son and hubby linked in arms behind daughter and me. We head down the sidewalk. Daughter grabs my hand. Full of gratitude that my thirteen year old even wants to hold my hand after I was nothing near my best self moments earlier. With the temporary ugly parts of the day melting away with each step I turn around and see my boys smiling. Full of more gratitde I am struck by the beauty of this messy life. The spills of family hearts, splayed open, vulnerable, raw, imperfect.

“Look at us the perfect family walking down the street all linked together.” We all laugh. Hubby starts skipping. There we are skipping and laughing.

“No one would know I swore at my youngest just minutes ago. Everyone knows we are the perfect family, never fighting, always getting along. Look at us, the picture of perfection.” We all grin cheesy smiles at one another. I lock eyes with my son as he untangles hands with his papa and in unison we apologize. I tell him he is not a shit. He says his behavior was and that he is so sorry. We figure it out, we forgive, we walk with hands joined skipping and laughing.

The perfect family with warts and all. Stumbling, getting back up, doing it all over, finding our better selves, beginning again. And again and again. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Jenny Gwinn McGlothern is a Certified Transformational Master Life and Spiritual Coach, Retreat Leader and Writer. As founder of Mama Needs A Refill, LLC, she is passionate about all people, not just mamas, receiving an authentic physical, mental, emotional, spiritual refill. She says, “One cannot pour from an empty cup,” and offers her clients the possibility and power of pouring for themselves, first. She is also a Transformational Educator at Seattle Life Coach Training (www.seattlelifecoachtraining.com), where the school “trains to transform lives” both personally and professionally. You can find her on FaceBook, www.FaceBook.com/MamaNeedsARefill and visit her website: www.mamaneedsarefill.com)

Monday’s Random Thought: Surrender

Yesterday, although preparing for a family gathering at our house with a list of things I needed to get done, I wasn’t going to skip my Bikram yoga. I have committed to going three times a week this summer and skipping yesterday would have put me at two for the week. I could have let it slide, cut myself some slack but I was only hurting myself. I needed what yoga provides me. Balance, centering, focus, a mental, spiritual, emotional and physical refill. Family gatherings take effort, planning, time and lots of energy. I needed more energy before I gave out any more.

That morning I chose “surrender” as one of my anchor words for the day to keep me connected to God, my higher self and to what matters most. The word reminds me to let go. Rooting me in the fact that when I control everything, I get in my own way of life unfolding organically.

I refer to my anchor words during my yoga practice when my mind wanders out of the room. Recalling my intention to surrender brings me back to my mat, to the present moment. At the end of class Sunday morning laying flat on my back, finding my breath, my mind wandered to what I needed to get done before family party guests arrived in four hours. I was contemplating making one more stop at the store for one lemon to add to alll the iced tea I had brewed that morning and one more head of cabbage, just in case I hadn’t made enough cole slaw. Do I need to go? Should I stay or should I go now? It played like a song in my mind.

As I pondered the choice of store or no store I turned my head to the left and was transfixed by the tatoo on the woman next to me. Standing next to her for 90 minutes facing the mirror I didn’t see the right side of her torso. Now I stared trying to make out the cursive word. Was it in another language? Funny how long it took me to decipher for it was the word I had been seeking all morning long. My anchor to stay connected and grounded to God, to my best self.

My answer to go to the store or not was right in front of me. Surrender. Let go. Quit controlling every detail, stop over thinking, get out of your own way. The tattooed word “surrender” was difficult for me to identify because I am so use to planning every detail for family gatherings. Letting go doesn’t come easily.

Although surrendering was my desire I was resisting, hanging on to it by personal tradition of over doing. I took the tatoo as a sign to NOT go to the store. And guess what? The tea didn’t need the lemon and I still have left over cole slaw in my fridge.The best part is that the party was a success on many levels, probably because I took the time to let go and attend yoga that morning, filling up with what I needed first. I was present to my family, able to BE with them when they arrived because everything was done. If it hadn’t gotten done, I surrendered it the Heavens. Whatever didn’t get done, no one noticed.

We are drawn to what we need but we are also drawn to what needs us. That morning Surrender and I needed each other and find each other we did.

Jenny Gwinn McGlothern is a Certified Transformational Master Life and Spiritual Coach, Retreat Leader and Writer. As founder of Mama Needs A Refill, LLC, she is passionate about all people, not just mamas, receiving an authentic physical, mental, emotional, spiritual refill. She says, “One cannot pour from an empty cup,” and offers her clients the possibility and power of pouring for themselves, first. She is also a Transformational Educator at Seattle Life Coach Training (www.seattlelifecoachtraining.com), where the school “trains to transform lives” both personally and professionally. You can find her on FaceBook, www.FaceBook.com/MamaNeedsARefill and visit her website: www.mamaneedsarefill.com)

Monday’s Random Thought: Listen from Within

Listening from within requires faith and trust and letting go of outside circumstances as being your truth.

On Friday morning another heart rock found me on my morning walk with my dog and instead of bringing it home to put with my growing rock collection, I had another idea.

Walking with my rock in my pocket, I thought, Pass it on. You don’t need this rock, share it with someone who does. I touched the rock in my pocket assuring myself it hadn’t fallen out and that it was indeed still in my pocket.

My mind got thinking, like my always active mind does, and I began to question, Should I really pass this on? But to whom?

That is when I woke up and remembered that another part of me, not just my mind, but my heart holds answers to my ever wondering mind.

So this time, intentionally, I focused my concentration within, Do I pass this rock on?

The answer came quickly and peacefully, Yes.

Great, there was my answer. I touched the rock again and this time pulled it out of my pocket. Looking at its shape I smiled and simply uttered, Then show me, show me who to pass this on to and thank you for making it obvious.

The events of the day continued and within a couple of hours I was indeed in a conversation with someone who revealed their struggle with making decisions and a deep desire of wanting to listen from her heart. She used the word “heart” twice and that is when I heard, This is the one. My clue that I was hearing correctly was my overall sense of confidence and peace. When I gave her the heart shaped rock her tears were added confirmation. My tears sealed the deal. Moving from our hearts produces tears, just a little liquid love releasing from within.

On Sunday I was given another opportunity to ask and listen from within. Daughter’s soccer tournament brought me to a full, over crowded, parking lot. After dropping her off I began the routine of circling the lot, waiting for games to finish from the ten fields. End of a game meant cars would be leaving the lot. After fifteen minutes of circling it was clear no games were over yet.

I asked the question, What should I do? Instead of listening to my impatient mind and driving to an open lot a half a mile away I listened to the wisdom within. Stop here and wait.

Really? Again the peaceful feeling, no tears, just a little laughter and a strong feeling of confidence. Yep, really.

I checked my rearview mirror repeatedly. No one was coming, I wasn’t blocking a soul, so I waited. I cracked open a book occaisionally glancing around me. Just be still and wait.

I trusted the voice coming from a place deep within and believed a parking spot would soon be mine. After waiting maybe ten minutes, what to my wondering eye appear should appear but a family with armloads of soccer gear. Sure enough, I was parked two cars from theirs and they said I could have their spot. Of course they did. I wasn’t late for the kickoff of my daughter’s game and I was calm and relaxed because finding a parking spot was easy not hectic.

Something told me to pass on the rock on Friday, the same something that told me to just park and wait on Sunday. The answers are here for us, waiting for us to ask, all the time, every day of the week. We need only to get out of our heads and listen. Listen deeply from our hearts.

Jenny Gwinn McGlothern is a Certified Transformational Master Life and Spiritual Coach, Retreat Leader and Writer. As founder of Mama Needs A Refill, LLC, she is passionate about all people, not just mamas, receiving an authentic physical, mental, emotional, spiritual refill. She says, “One cannot pour from an empty cup,” and offers her clients the possibility and power of pouring for themselves, first. She is also a Transformational Educator at Seattle Life Coach Training (www.seattlelifecoachtraining.com), where the school “trains to transform lives” both personally and professionally. You can find her on FaceBook, www.FaceBook.com/MamaNeedsARefill and visit her website: www.mamaneedsarefill.com)

Monday’s Random Thought: GOOOOAAAALLLL

If you know where I live (and that would be weird if you do, particularly if I don’t know you) you would have heard a lot of yelling from our house yesterday. Good yelling. The US Women’s National soccer team won the World Cup and set some amazing records along the way.

We gathered around the TV with family and friends, viewing ready with our sushi, chicken and berry pie. All set to honor both teams in cuisine but with one final winner in mind. And mostly hoping for a good match. US vs. Japan. I used my chopsticks to eat and even shouted at the screen in Japanese as if the US team could hear me, Ganbatte. Ganbatte mas.

Translation of this very common Japanese pharase, Ganbatte, means stubborn perseverence, an encouragement to hang in there without giving up, sticking to it no matter what and to try harder and harder.

At the end of the exciting match with a US victory, I was struck by the US players words who were interviewed. When congratulated and asked how they did it they contributed all their personal achievments to their coach and to their team.

Traditionally a mid-fielder, the US teams’s Carli Lloyd played in the striker position scoring three of the five winning goals, making history. I was in total awe of her completely humble response. She gave her team credit. Her words lifted up those on the field with her, recognizing her team as the source of her strength. Constantly bringing it back to her team mates.

Talk about total encouragement. A true representation of what can happen if you support one another. When you know someone has your back, believes in you, that leaves you with only one choice. To push harder. To keep going.

Although I am not a professional athlete and don’t even play one on TV, this Ganbatte attitude keeps me going in my own life. I am grateful to have my own support team of friends and family who believe in me, rooting for me no matter what. When others shout to us from the sidelines, believing in our efforts we not only score goals we reach our goals.

I invite you to look at your support team. Your peeps. Who supports you and encourages you to keep you going? And of course there is always the other side to that question. Who do you support and shout out your cheers of encouragement?

In the end, we can’t do it alone. We need each other. On and off the field.

Jenny Gwinn McGlothern is a Certified Transformational Master Life Coach, Retreat Leader and Writer. As founder of Mama Needs A Refill, LLC, she is passionate about all people, not just mamas, receiving an authentic physical, mental, emotional, spiritual refill. She says, “One cannot pour from an empty cup,” and offers her clients the possibility and power of pouring for themselves, first. She is also a Transformational Educator at Seattle Life Coach Training (www.seattlelifecoachtraining.com), where the school “trains to transform lives” both personally and professionally. You can find her on FaceBook, www.FaceBook.com/MamaNeedsARefill or visit her website: www.mamaneedsarefill.com)