Perspective: Collage Jewelry by MiMi

My friend MiMi is very creative.

She taught me how to make some very cool
things using an art style she developed
using previously used goods - in other
words, recycled art.

She has made her own jewelry for years,
as well as other things. The picture
above is one of her pieces. I love it,
and wanted to share some of her work,
because I just love her jewelry, and
the perspective from which she works.

Of course, if anyone also happens to
love it, then all the better for her,
too. Because she is the artist, and
not the business person, I am playing
middle man for anyone who might be
interested in purchasing her jewelry.

I will be putting together a page of
her work, so if you think it will be
of interest - stay tuned.

In the meantime, if you'd like to
purchase this set, email me at
infoATJoLoPe.com for details. Please
put "MiMi" in the Subject Line.

If you would like to get the word out
about what you do (or know of someone
who would like to get the word out
about what they do), let's talk...I'd
be happy to see what I could do to
help! Email, or click the telephone
image just below to call.

Lessons About Life in an Unexpected Place

Here's an article I wrote from the "Archives."
Enjoy.

Lessons About Life in an Unexpected Place
by Elizabeth Alraune

Did you ever receive a gift in an unexpected place?

I did, when I went to McDonald’s recently. My order was mistakenly placed as a Child’s Happy Meal. For some reason, I decided it was worth keeping, and in it was a gift in the form of a Sega game for kids.
After ignoring the game initially, and then haphazardly trying to play, I decided to figure it out. A couple of days passed, and it occurred to me that there were lessons about life in this little hand held game.

In a nutshell, the character of the game is to move up and down on lines, otherwise known as elevators, in its attempt to get diamonds distributed on various landings/floors. One side of the elevators is up, and the other is down. Stay on either too long, and the character gets smushed. If the character misses the elevator, or doesn’t collect the diamonds in time, or stays on the elevator too long, it loses a play. Lose 5 plays on a level, and the game is over. Be successful with the collection of 1 diamond 5 times, then move to the next level for 2, and then 3, 4, and 5. In order to win the game, the player must successfully get to level 5, and be able to successfully complete the diamond collection 5 times.

What lessons could someone take away from this little toy?

For starters, I realized my haphazard approach wasn't getting me anywhere. I realized that I needed to know how to play, needed to be focused, and in the moment. If not, there is a good chance that I will fall into any of the pitfalls. If I get distracted, I can lose a play, and potentially the game.

• Just how many times in your life have you been THAT focused and conscious and intentional about what you have done? Have you taken the time to really engross yourself in what you're doing? What kind of results are you getting? Have you truly been playing “your game”?

Next, while there is some predictability to the game, the starting location varies, and the diamonds are planted in different places each time. As I have played, it has occurred to me that there are different ways to accomplish what needs to be done.

• How often do you miss opportunities because you think the situation is predictable, or (you think) there is only one way to go?

While realizing that there are different ways to get things done, I also realized a second delay in pressing a button might mean that I would lose a play because the character would miss the elevator that seemed to be there.

• How often do you think you’re standing on a firm foundation, only to have a misstep? The great thing about the game is that there is always another chance. Even if the options run out on the level I am on, I can always start over. Just how often are you willing to just pick yourself up and begin again in your “real” life?

Occasionally, while playing, I will think that the character is going to one space, but the game is just a second faster, and the character winds up in a different place than I thought it would be. I then need to reconsider what I am doing, oftentimes working with something better than expected.

• How many times do you think you know where you’re going, only to find yourself somewhere else? Are you flexible enough to adapt to the changes?

Sometimes, I need to use the up elevator to maneuver myself into a place, so that I could go down…and sometimes I need to use the down elevator to maneuver myself to a place, so I can go up.

• How often do you realize that the direction you are headed in is taking you the direction you need to go?

Once one level is completed 5 times, I am bumped into the next level. In the game, it’s the next place to go.

• Once you have mastered something, does it seem that there is always something else? Once growth has been achieved, does a new challenge present itself? At times growth can seem like a lot of work, but it would also seem that each thing that happens comes because it’s time for it to.

As I have continued to play, I realize that I have gotten better at it. What seemed challenging at first, now almost seems too easy.

• How many times have things gotten easier for you, the more you’ve allowed yourself to practice them? How often has a challenge ceased to be one with practice, awareness, and frequency?

Lastly, it’s “just” a game, right? I can’t take it seriously – can I? Well, I could, actually, but because it’s a game, I am willing to give myself space to breathe, and have kept at it.

• Do you take your life seriously sometimes? What if you treated it more like this game? What if you were willing to keep trying because you always knew you had another chance? What if you could see your failures as stepping stones to your ultimate successes?

By the way, I win the game now every time I play it with focus and intention. Sometimes I get distracted, and I need to do something else, at which time I just put it away and start over again another time. Sometimes I’m so close to finishing, too. While it may at times be disappointing to stop, I know I can always to back to it, and build myself up again to hear the sounds that tell me I’ve gotten as far as I can, and that I have succeeded in what I set out to do.

Too bad life doesn’t have the “winning sounds” that this game plays…so that we’d know without a doubt when we’ve won. However, the sounds are still there, they may just come in the form of cheers, clapping, or a friendly, supportive voice. We succeed at something all the time, but are we too busy listening to the sounds of failure to hear our successes?

What truly is success? Is it my ability to win the game? Perhaps. However, I have come to realize that the minute that I did the best I could do in that moment, I was already successful. What perspective this unexpected treasure offered me, a big gift that came in the form of something that fits in the palm of my hand – something that reminds me, too, that whatever I need is well within my grasp.

The next time you are tempted to disregard something that has come your way, consider that it may be a gift that has yet to be unwrapped.

Perspective: On Mourning and Regret

A few years ago, a friend told me that a cousin of hers who was 20 had died due to sleep apnea. I didn’t know what to say, how to be. My heart went out to my friend. I couldn’t possibly comprehend what she must be going through.

The next day I got an email that she was having a tough time. If only she had...

I wrote back a longer reply than I thought possible, and only hoped that it would be something that she could receive in the state she was in. I debated about sending it before hitting the send key. I in no way wanted to take away her grief, but I did want to have her reconsider the guilt she seemed to be feeling.

I wrote, “I am sure your cousin looked up to you, and appreciated all that you were for her. While you now wish you had spent more energy and time with her, I am sure she valued all that he had with you. It is too bad that often people do not communicate what is in their hearts, because I believe that we would hear many things that people take for granted, but don't know because no one tells us. I suspect that she probably would have told you all of this, and then some...had there been, or had she created, the opportunity.

I understand that you are struggling...and that maybe you feel that you haven't been "good enough"...and maybe you have been caught up in your life...but never underestimate the power of what you have done. I have no doubt that you have impacted the lives of those around you, in ways that you may never know or suspect (think George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life).

The true test of life comes in the focus. You will honor your cousin's life more by focusing on what you can put into the lives of those still here, rather than focusing on what you have lacked or what has been missing.

Above all, know that you are human, and with your humanity comes certain strengths and frailties. You have a tremendous heart, and it will help you find the way any time you are willing to listen. Forgive your frailties, focus on your strengths, and give from your heart. Everything will take care of itself from there.”

I hadn’t been sure how to end the letter, but someone, or something did it for me. I was very pleased. It is always interesting to me how “I” will write something and really like it. However, the times I am especially pleased are the times that I know that I felt like I had some "help." How difficult it is to encapsulate those moments of grief that one feels after the death of a loved one.

Beside the letter I included a quote from Buddha that showed up in my mailbox that same week:

Your life is a gift.
Your life is a gift that you give yourself.
Your life is a gift that you give others.
Your life is a gift that you give the world.
Have you forgotten that your life is a gift?
YOU are a gift.
Where could you start giving?
To yourself, to others, and to the world?

The one piece that stuck with me more than others will be the one I will leave you with,

Forgive your frailties,
focus on your strengths,
and give from your heart.
Everything will take care
of itself from there.

Remember,
YOU are a gift.

PS Looking back, I would now say that letter was a forerunner of what I currently call my Letters of Love - letters written for someone specifically, but often have profound universal messages of Love. If interested, see video in left column ("Looking for Answers?") for more details, and for information on where to read more letters, and a special offer, if you'd like to get one of your own. :-)

The Perfect Gift

I just read an article, the content of which came from Sweden (Click Here for Article). It was an interesting article, as it spoke about analysis regarding Santa's Christmas Eve travels. I love how people take the time to figure out these things.

However, more importantly, to me the article provides interesting insight and perspective. It poses two distinct possibilities based on two different analyses of Santa and his sleigh, and his worldly, whirlwind travel over the course of one night.

On one hand, it is estimated that for Santa to visit every home,
he must visit 2.5 billion homes and must spend no more than 34 microseconds at each location to be able to complete his journey in time. In addition to, of course, the reindeer moving fast enough.

On the other hand, a different study quoted says that if Santa
was to be in a sleigh the size it would have to be, in conjunction
with the related physics that go along with it, Santa and his
sleigh and presents would be destroyed, and gone - the actual
term used is - "vaporized" - within 4.26 thousandths of a second.

Both studies are essentially using the same type of data. The difference seems to be the outcome based on the conclusions.

Out of curiousity, which option would you believe to be true, if you had to pick one?

When I thought about this, I felt it was the epitome of what defines
an optimistic or pessimistic point of view. I would almost want to
say an optimist or pessimist. However, a person's point of view
does not necessarily make the person. Or does it?

Think about it for a moment. If what you do creates who you are,
and what you think about affects what you do, which in turn
creates who you are. Then what you think about is what you create
yourself to be.

So if you happen to think that your world is depressing, and that
you are always let down, and that you never get what you want,
then you are likely to be a person with a life in which the world
is depressing, you are always let down, and you never get what you
want.

On the other hand, if you believe that the world is a better place
for those in it. If you feel that others will always look out for you.
If you think you will always get what you need, and/or better, you
will likely be a person who makes the world a better place, and
feels better about the world in which you live.

Now, if your thoughts were indeed you, it is likely that you never
would be able to alter who you are. Notice how above I said,
"what you think about is what you CREATE yourself to be." The
key word? "CREATE". That means that you have a choice. There are
many expressions that are something akin to "change your thinking,
and change your world."

You might wonder why bother? What difference does it make? Does it
really matter what you think, if you aren't a believer in Santa?

The short answer is "YES."

There is a much longer answer that can go with the YES. However, the mini version goes something like this: How you think about anything is how you think about everything. If you, in general, are a half full kind of person, your attitude will likely find you in a world that is a much better place than the world in which a half empty person resides.

The next time you are thinking about something that is something other than what you want it to be, here are a few steps you can take:

1. consider the facts of the situation.

2. analyze the different sides of the equation.

(Remembering that there is always another perspective).

3. pick which side you would rather be on.

4. step to that side.

5. pick actions in accordance with that side.

6. ACT.

The first few times, you may find it difficult, it may even seem like a complex mathematical equation. Getting your mind to be open to other perspectives can sometimes be like learning another language. However difficult it may seem, it is DO-ABLE.

In an extreme sense, the above theories leave Santa as alive or dead. In a way, that is like the life you live. Your choices will leave you alive or dead. In some cases, it might even be literal. Someone who is reading this might quibble about Santa's existence to begin with, and if you are one of them, may I gently remind you that Santa is symbolic of the life that you're living.

This is about your choices, the ones the disempower, and the ones that empower. I am empowered when I can see that I am able to alter my perspectives. A changed perspective has changed my world, on more than one occasion, and in more than one way. Am I perfect in this regard? Hardly. However, the more that I see that I can alter my world with the perspectives I bring to it, the more that I am willing to "play with" altering the perspectives I bring to my life and its situations.

This holiday season, give yourself the perfect gift. Whatever happens in the next few weeks, allow yourself to analyze the situation in a way that empowers you, and act on it. If what you think about is what you bring about, you will be doing yourself a great favor.

And do you know what the best part of this gift is? It is one that will continue to be with you well into the New Year. It could even help with those "pesky" New Year's Resolutions you're thinking of making.

One last thought: You may be wondering if what I am saying is "true." You may be wondering if there is any point in what I have said. I did, after all, say there is always more than one perspective. If you are that person, and you think I could be wrong, I have three questions for you in regard to trying out what I have suggested:

What have you got to lose?

What is the worst thing that could happen?

Is the worst thing that could happen something you could live with?

If you can live with the potential outcome, then consider what your life would be like if "Santa" was alive and well all year round.

In the end, the "facts" will always be tainted by someone. Are you going to use their perspective, and make it your own, or are you going to make and use your own? The difference between the two is a world apart, and the choice you make can make all the difference in the world.

There is a a good chance that if you change your perspective, you will likely experience changes in the world in which you live. Don't take my word for it, though, try it out. See if what I say makes sense for you, and makes a difference for you.

I would love to hear your experience with this mindset. If you decide to take this on, or already have, I would love to hear from you what your experience has been. Write me Here, or feel free to post a comment.

Happy Holidays! (and long live Santa!!)