by Mary Claybon | Jan 23, 2011 | Uncategorized |
We just returned from a two week vacation to Louisiana. We spent the first week in an apartment in the French Quarter of New Orleans. What fun! We walked and walked and walked. We also ate and ate and ate. All in all we stayed balanced and totally enjoyed this very cool part of America.
Our second week was spent in Baton Rouge with my brother and his family. We enjoyed our second week in a different way. Sightseeing with our nieces and also visiting the Colonial Days in their classrooms.
We are home now and back to our own reality and ready to get back to work.
It’s time for the post vacation Shifting Gears. I want to share an article I wrote for Infinity Magazine.
SHIFTING GEARS
Your kids are going back to school. You’re in empty nest. You’ve just returned from traveling. You’re starting a new job. Whether you are experiencing any of these transitions or other changes in your life, they all have something in common. They cause us to shift gears or reorient ourselves to our place and time and circumstance.
I travel a lot both for business and pleasure. When I return home it takes me a couple of days to get back into the flow of my routine. I am often tired and feel a bit disorganized. Rather than get upset, I simply listen to my body. Sometimes it needs to rest. Other times I need a good walk. If I just go with the flow I feel much more balanced and productive within a few days.
I remember when my children started school in the Fall. Summer was fun and our schedule was flexible, but by late August even though we still felt the summer heat, it was time to set the alarm and get back into a routine. When they all went away to college, the house felt empty and my husband and I had to reset our priorities. It is all a matter of change and shifting gears.
Shifting gears has an effect on the body, the mind, and the spirit. We have to come up with strategies for easing into our new situation. We have to cope with change.
In the book, Aging Body Timeless Mind ,Deepak Chopra states “An estimated 6 trillion reactions are taking place in each cell every second.…In order to stay alive, your body must live on the wings of change.” Essentially we are always adapting to change.
Your body may respond by feeling a bit off. You may experience fatigue or a sense of restlessness. You may feel like you’re getting a cold or have a run down feeling. Mentally you may feel a sense of disorientation or not knowing what to do next. You may feel unorganized or a lack of focus. You may also have a positive experience of feeling excited, relieved or contentment. Shifting Gears can strengthen or weaken your spirit and sense of connectedness.
Some strategies for dealing with shifting gears or coping with change are first to accept that you need time to readjust. Recognize that a shift is taking place not just outside you, but within you as well. Ease back into your life situation slowly. You may need to take time off work. If you just returned from a vacation it is good to plan for a day off to unpack and prepare to get back to your normal working routine.
It takes time to adapt to a change in your life, and if it is a big change you may need more time to adapt. Give yourself time to adjust to your current situation. Allow your body and mind to relax as needed. Take a nap or take a walk, whichever is most helpful. Most of all, practice mindfulness- staying in the present moment and accepting a short period of chaos while your body, mind and spirit adapt to change.
Happy New Year…….
by Mary Claybon | Dec 21, 2010 | Uncategorized |
Sometimes we lose the holiday spirit by trying to create the perfect holiday. I hope you take time to remember that perfection can kill the spirit of the moment. Relax, enjoy your family, your services, and the peace and joy of the season.
Here's a short poem I wrote to remind us all to relax and enjoy the holiday.
It is days before Christmas
And all through the house
There is stirring and stirring
Who cares if there is a mouse.
The packages are waiting
Downstairs to be wrapped
And there is so much to do
I almost just snapped.
Until I remembered
It's all about joy
It didn't matter
I forgot that last toy.
There are less cookies baked
And more microwaved food.
But I notice our family
Are all in a good mood.
So I accept what I've done
And forget all the rest.
This happy holiday
Will be one of the best.
by Mary Claybon | Dec 21, 2010 | Uncategorized |
These photos are of my little blue tree and our Hanukah menorah and some of our snowmen. I decorate with snowmen all over the house.
This is one of my favorite times of the year, but this year will be different for me. When I married my Jewish husband over 37 years ago (celebrated our anniversary Dec. 9) we agreed to travel to Chicago every year to celebrate with my family. We had moved to Cincinnati, and have never had a tree, since we also agreed to celebrate Hanukah in our house and Christmas at Grandma's.
This year is different. Now I am Grandma and I have some children who have also intermarried and who now want to have their own Christmas. This year we are staying home in Cincinnati. I will miss my family in Chicago, but I look forward to celebrating Christmas in a new way.
We will be waking up in our house with all of my snowmen and blue and white lights. My little tree will represent the holiday, and we will have our annual Christmas Eve lasagna dinner. On Christmas day we will be with our daughter and son in law and son and daughter in law and our two granddaughters and our daughter in law's family. It will be wonderful, and we will experience the joy and happiness of the holiday.
As we grow older, life and holidays change. I love the lesson from A Course in Miracles I give everything all the meaning it has for me. For me Christmas meant love, family, food, gift giving and receiving, attending Mass with lots of singing ( especially with my Mom, who I used to say had the middle name Christmas because she loved it so much-Bless you Mom), and traveling the 5-6 hours to Chicago to celebrate with my parents, brothers and sisters, and our children.
Mom and Dad are gone now. My sister will still have dinner at her house and we will be there in spirit, but as with all things, this part of my life is changing.
The one thing that has not changed is that Christmas is about love, food, gifts, remembering the spirit of the holiday, and celebrating the peace and joy of the season.
May the special gifts of Christmas and the meaning you give it be joyful!
Happy Holidays,
Mary
by Mary Claybon | Dec 8, 2010 | Uncategorized |
This is a photo of my niece and I at Brookfield Zoo. I love that we are holding hands, enjoying each other as we pass under this great sign that symbolizes the power of coaching.
Recently a friend thought she was being funny by joking about coaching, by asking, “Do you die if you don’t have a life coach?” At first I noticed I got a little defensive and quickly responded with the definition of a life coach and how we help people move forward with their lives by listening to what they really want, what they want to change, and serve as a partner and someone they are accountable to for their progress.
I thought about it later that evening and in a way, we really do help people to live, and sometimes we do have clients who feel there is a part of themselves that has died and they want to awaken in that area. Sometimes you just need a partner to remind you of your inner strength and power.
The other thing this friend said is, “ Well, I am a really good listener and I think I could be a good coach.” This is probably true, but it does take a special kind of person with skill, experience, and intuition to listen with a curious, non-judgmental mind, and then when appropriate ask powerful open-ended questions that allow our clients to gain a deeper perspective for the issues in their lives.
You may be a very good listener, and you may be a very good coach to someone, but it’s important to know that coaching is more than listening. Becoming a good coach, takes time in training, practice coaching, and is a continuing journey of learning how best to help people make choices in life without thinking we know what’s best for them or the answers to their deepest questions. As a coach, our role is to help our clients reach their greatest potential in their personal and professional lives.
As a wellness coach, I help my clients with lifestyle changes that enhance their health and wellbeing and reduce their risk of disease. We are still very much a life coach, because wellness is not just about absence of disease and living a long life, but being able to enjoy that life with a sense of energy, contentment, and inner peace.
Coach training programs are all over the world. The training can take years or months, but learning to be a great coach is a never ending. I am a member of The International Coach Federation, an organization of coaches that is working to standardize the profession of coaching. My coach training was with Wellcoaches, a coach training organization working closely with the ICF to collaborate on the credentialing process that assures that coaches are well educated and trained to help people “live” their lives and prosper to their fullest.
If you are interested in learning more about coaching feel free to call me 513-309-8377, send me an e-mail and visit my website.
by Mary Claybon | Dec 5, 2010 | Uncategorized |
I want to wish a Happy Hanukah to all those of you who celebrate. This is the time of year to remember miracles and light in your life.
Blessings,
Mary
by Mary Claybon | Nov 26, 2010 | Uncategorized |
November 26 is the National Day of Listening. When I heard this I thought, " How wonderful, to have a day that reminds us to listen." The idea for this day originated in 2008 (to read more click here) and was meant to encourage us to listen to and record interviews with people we love. I have often thought of how I wished I had recorded my parents sharing stories from their lives. We never did get those recordings, so I hope some of you do.
If not today, sit down with the people you love, and listen to them tell you their stories or something from their life. It's amazing how much we miss when we continue to rush through our days without listening.
I am so much more relaxed and peaceful when I listen, and I always learn something.
So celebrate this day by listening, and preferably recording conversations that can have meaning for a long long time.
