Have Fun with Giving

It's beginning to look a lot like Thanksgiving :) 

As the holidays are upon us, I spend time thinking about the tradition of giving. Most of us are pre-programmed to give. Haven't we learned from a very early age to buy a gift, wrap it up beautifully and share it with friends or family? We've surely learned the art of exchanging gifts, in other words...I gift you and in return you will more then likely gift me.

I'd love to challenge you (and myself) to give this holiday season with purpose and intent. 

Let's set the intention that every day through the end of the year, we are going to be a giver of gifts. We expect nothing in return and we give freely from our heart and soul. Our gift giving could include: 

• Our smile to a stranger
• Holding a door open at the coffee shop
• Tipping a restaurant server more then you normally would
• A hug to your someone special
• A phone call to your grandma
• Flower delivery to a friend for no special reason
• A friendly facebook post to someone who could use your support

I'm super excited with setting this new intention to GIVE freely and can't wait to feel it.  I know that by me learning to give freely, I open my heart for deeper happiness.  

Your comments are welcome. You can contact me at: http://www.facebook.com/debbie.ingle1 or http://debbieingle.ning.com/

Looking forward and up,

Deb

Body Needs?

What does my body need?  How does that fit in to me being comfy in my own skin?

I am a bit hard headed and love to do things "my way". I'm hoping I'm not the only one out there that has that character trait. That being said, I am working diligently on listening to my body and what it needs to feel satisfied. Seems like an easy concept, but oh no, not for a hard headed California Girl.

I struggle with my body image and with my weight. My struggle began in my early 20s. A bit overwhelmed with life and the seriousness of what it was presenting to me, I guess I needed a way to hide. My way to hide was by putting on weight. Going from a small size 5 to a 16 (ok, that was really hard for me to type...I contemplated not saying that truth) provided a way for me to buckle down and face this serious life. And I of course, did just that. I faced things head on, rolled up my sleeves and worked really hard. Along the way, I learned to hide in the body that I had created.

Hmmmm, where did that outgoing, giggling, fun loving girl go?

25 years later and I am uncovering that girl again. It's almost like peeling an onion. It's a layer at a time and a few tears along the way, but I'm up for the challenge.

I'd love you all to come along on the ride with me.

I already know this ride is going to be a bit bumpy from time to time, but...it will be authentic. I am very committed to telling my truth and perhaps you or someone you know can relate.

I've been a bit off course on the whole listening to what my body wants and so now I am bringing myself back to the center. Back to listening....shhhhh, listen, be still. I remind myself of these few simple words often.

So for now, I realize that I am fully satisfied and needing nothing to fill my body other then a multi vitamin. That's simple...a multi vitamin.

It is so interesting to me that when I take the guilt off of the table (that's an interesting play on words) and remove the word diet or depravation that suddenly emotional eating isn't in play.

Today feels like a great day and I love being in this imperfect body and imperfect mind.

Loving the concept of bringing my self back to the body that God intends me to occupy :)

To Be Perfectly Honest

What if...what if there was a place where I was perfectly honest? Where ego didn't get in the way or where I didn't say what you wanted me to say but said what was on my mind, what was true and what was honest. This is my goal. 

There will be readers who are interested in the realness and there will be some of you who aren't and I'm fine with that. So, that is my first posting of honesty. I'm learning to finally accept that everyone doesn't have to like me. YAY ! That takes some of the pressure off. 

This blog will be a place where we can openly discuss how challenging it is to be Comfy In Our Own Skin. Yikes....I said it !  It isn't easy.  Do I have stories to tell about not being comfortable in your own skin. I am the queen, actually I would rather be the princess....of spending years doing what everyone expected of me and not being authentic.

Story of the day - Non Authentic Debbie and The Results 

I won't go so far back that it will bore you, but to say that I had always tried to be the "good girl" is an understatement. I definitely was not always her, but I worked hard to make sure everyone thought I was. One of my major breakthrough moments was:  I'm preparing to attend yet another annual sales conference for a large company that I worked for. I'd been attending and speaking at these conferences for years. They were always at a beautiful destination with lovely accommodations, blah, blah, blah. But this particular year, I sat on my closet floor the night before I had to leave and had a complete melt down. I cried to the point of the hyperventilating - the ugly cry. I begged my husband to not let me go. I said that I couldn't do it one more year. I could not get up and talk to 600 sales people about things that I had absolutely no passion for. My talk every year was on numbers, charts, percentages, yuck.....I was a woman playing in a mans world and at that moment in my closet, I realized one thing for sure....I had sold my sole somewhere along the way. 

Have you ever had those types of moments where you are so keenly aware that something is wrong...no everything is wrong when you realize that you have lost yourself?