Do you live inside a box?

watch those who are!

Container city –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65C9OLvmjpI

MFD – Mindful Floral Design

In the last year I have been breaking my head trying to figure out a way to combine Floral design (http://www.rellisflowers.com/) and personal development together. I love both and don’t want to give any of them up. I thought and thought about how to do that and one day, few months ago, I received a very surprising email from Margaret. Margaret is the president of SAIFD (American Institute of Floral Designers Students) at CSM (College of San Mateo) .

Margaret was asking me to come and be the featured presenter for one of the SAIFD club meetings. When I got the email I started to cry. I was 8 months pregnant so I guess some of it has to do with a lot of hormones in my body, but I new there was more into it. I felt as if I have finally got a sign, a way to combine both Floral design and personal Development.

Over the last few months I have been thinking a lot about how to create a presentation that will convey mindfulness with flowers. I was constantly thinking about some designs created by Hitomi Gilliam, one of my favorie floral artists. Hitomi is able to creat magnificant designs that moves you, make you think and get a new perspective about what you can create with flowers.

finally, few nights ago at 4:3o am the answer appeared:

A Mindful Floral Design

It felt as if every thing fell into place. I was laying down in bed and in my head I could see all the designs I will create. It felt like magic, a true inspiration to create floral designs with the theme of mindfulness .I felt as if I was able to find the right pieces for a puzzle. I could see the puzzle becoming one piece , one whole.

I am now in the process of building those mindful floral design and I am so excited to share them with wpnderful new and old Friends at the CSM club meeting Feb 4th. ( If you happened to be in town and want to come, drop me a line and I will provide you with the information).

I want to tell you something – If you ever have been thinking of how to combine few things into one, if you know you want to do something different, here is my advice – keep searching for the right answer, the one that feels great and make you jump out of bed , and trust that the answer will be found. The answer will revile itself to you at the right time and at the right place. It always does.

It is my joy and honor to be able to share what I have learned with more people and make a difference in their life!

All my love, Relli

The mom song

to all the moms who are doing the hardest job ever 🙂

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KMhuAtyFCrw

Happy holidays , Relli

Michelle Nichols Goes to Prison…..

Michelle Nichols is an auther and a speaker of Hug your kids today.

I have been following her for the last few months and I love her message. I know that it seems to be obvious that we are hugging our kids, but I know, at least for me, that sometime, we forget to do this free amazing thing.

I just got this email from her, and wanted to share with you. Remember, it is a privilege to hug our loved ones.

” Last night, I went to prison…
Michelle Nichols, wearing her trademark red blazer monogrammed with “Hug Your Kids Today,” outside a Nevada prison.

to judge a prison Toastmaster’s contest. I didn’t go alone; four other fellow speakers joined me at the medium-security prison. The 43 male inmate Toastmasters who attended weren’t jaywalkers and litterbugs; there were several serving multiple life sentences.

Here’s why I’m writing to you. When I speak to corporate audiences, I say that hugging your kids is a privilege. I didn’t need to convince any of the inmates on that point. Every man there desperately wished he could hug his loved ones. While we often take hugging our kids for granted, some there may not get to hug their loved ones for a very long time. Do you ever feel like you’re too busy to hug your kids? I admit, sometimes I do. These prisoners have nothing but time – and we wouldn’t trade places with them for any price. Don’t forget to hug your kids and spouse/partner! Hugging them is a privilege!

http://hugyourkidstoday.com/

Are you being kind?

Lately, I have been dealing with some of my own kindness issues. It seems that it is the easiest for me to tell others to be kind, but it is the hardest to do it by myself. I find myself being unkind and unloving to those who I care the most, and not sure what is going on, and what can I do to shift my attitude.

“Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind.”
Eric Hoffer1902-1983, Author and Philosopher

I feel that I am drifting away from kindness, I feel that I want more for myself, I want others to be kind to me so I can be kind to them. I know it is ridiculous, that it is the other way around, but this is the truth.

I am at a stage of stinginess, of thinking of myself more than thinking of others needs. Why is this happening to me? can I blame the hormones as a mom of a newborn (beside the other three…)?

Can I blame, of use my sleep deprivation as a great excuse for my behavior?

These are all great reasons for me to understand why, but what I really feel is that I need to take myself in two hands and CHANGE MY ATTITUDE!

This is not always so easy for me to do, but I know that I have to do it. I have to find the kindness within me – to myself and to the people who I love the most.

So – I am thinking to myself :” what act of kindness I can do for them?” funny, but often times I will think of something that I would love if someone would do for me, but for the one I am doing it for, it does not seems like a big deal at all. For example – few days ago I went to my kids room and noticed that the closet was a BIG mess. So, I decided to clean it up and organize it so they will see what they have there. The boys were not home at that time, but I expected them to at least say ” thanks mom”. Well, this is not what happened. they didn’t even see/realized/paid attention that their cloths were organized!

I realized that because they don’t really care if their cloths are nice and tidy or not, they don’t really care if I organizing them or not!

Opps, now I get it – I need to make sure that my act of kindness (assuming I want the other person to notice it) should apply to their needs.

So, today, I tried something else. I cooked dinner while the kids where not at home.

When they came home they were so happy to smell dinner and were so grateful for the yummy dishes.

They felt being taken care of, and I could feel their happiness. ‘

so, this is half stingy – make an act of kindness to someone you love, and do it about something that they care about (not me!!!),and it will bring the results I am looking for. Happiness and gratitude.

More to come….