Love

Mira, Macy and Jessie :)



"The universe is nothing but your love making."
- Deepak Chopra

Peace

This photo was taken in the Olympic National Park in the state of Washington, on the way up to Hurricane Ridge by Scott Faddis.
The poem is part of Desiderata written by Max Ehrmann. I hope you enjoy.

Namaste,
Michele

Namaste!!!

“You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one.
Each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own.
It's just a matter of paying attention to this miracle.”

-Paulo Coelho

New Issue of Balanced Living is Available Now!!

Pick up the Winter 2010 Issue today!

Well, it’s the end of another year, and now is the time to reflect upon what has transpired over the previous months, and set a clear course for the months that lie in front of us.

For me, this year has been one of many professional and personal challenges. I don’t need to go into details, but suffice it to say the circumstances of my life are more difficult than they have ever been at any time in the past.

I could not have navigated the treacherous terrain of the year 2009 without the help of my family and friends. Along the same lines, I can assure you that Balanced Living would not be publishing today without the strong support of its core group of advertisers.

One of my college friends always said, “If we party together when the gettin’ is good, and have each other’s back when the goin’ gets tough, the world will be a better place.” Maybe not as profound as some inspirational statements, but you get the spirit of what he is saying.

It takes a village to survive these days. The holistic health and wellness/sustainable living community of Northeast Ohio is a village, and we all have to help each other survive and thrive in the year ahead.

Balanced Living will do its part to be a hub of activity for the local market. In the year ahead, you will see a new approach to the content of each issue, a new web site, a specialized web portal for consumers and in April, we will sponsor the Gift of Light Expo, a new live event.

There are many days when I wake up in wonder at the world, at the possibilities, opportunities and potential that exists for all of us. In our own way, we have the ability to change the world for the better at any moment, if we choose to do it.

In 2010, I ask you to look for your chance to make the world a better place. You can do it one thought and one action at a time. Have a great holiday season and an exciting start to the new year.

-- Mark S. Kuhar, publisher/editor

Odd :)

"There is a great insight which our culture is deliberately designed to
suppress, distort, and ignore: that Nature is a minded entity; that Nature
is not simply the random flight of atoms through electro-magnetic fields;
that Nature is not the empty, despiritualized lumpen matter that we
inherit from modern physics. But it is instead a kind of intelligence, a kind
of mind."
- Terence McKenna

One Love!!!

Wisdom

I loved the wisdom below...and hope you do too.
My friend, Anna sent it to Mark today.
We got some very generous gifts today from "Santa."
Thank you soooooo sooooo much Santa.
I do believe in Santa Claus.
Enjoy below.
Namaste,
Michele






This is something we should all read at least once a week!!!!!

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland Ohio

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written.


My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and
parents will. Stay in touch..

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey
is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God
never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is
up to you and no one else

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for
an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie.. Don't
save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26... Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will
this matter?'

27. Always choose life..

28. Forgive everyone for everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles..

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did
or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life.. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40.. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd
grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come....

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Merry Christmas.....our e-card :)

Mark, Michele, Mira, Macy, Marko and Mervin


We are doing e-mail cards this year.

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!


This end of the year has been a very stressful time.
I have learned to trust the universe from our mysterious friends
that left us numerous gifts just at the time I was ready to give up.

Below is my favorite Christmas quote!!!!!

Namaste,

Michele





“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow,

stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?
It came without ribbons.
It came without tags.
It came without packages, boxes or bags.

And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore.

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before.

What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.

What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”


-Dr. Suess

The Art of the Possible

above is a picture of Mira and her friends that I really liked.


This afternoon Mark, Mira, Macy, my mom and I went to see the documentary "The Art of the Possible" at the Medina Performing Arts Center.

It was a beautiful documentary following five families through a diagnosis of pediatric cancer. It features Logan Boyd, a Medina High School student who battled cancer over 3 years and recently passed March 09.

Life is a gift.....isn't it????? I need to appreciate it more and fear less :)

Logan was a guy that learned to live life "with reckless abandon" as his doctor put it. He said if he had his life to live over again, he would still not change his cancer diagnosis because of how it changed him. He talked about becoming closer with his parents and having a greater appreciation for them. Towards the end, he was having a hard time letting go and kept asking everyone in the hospital to please take care of his mom. His mom was able to tell him it was okay to go and she would be okay and she would take care of his father and his potbellied pig :)

click on the link below and also hope you like the quote!!
Namaste,
Michele

"This is a perfect moment to take everything less seriously and less personally and less literally." -*PRONOIA*


http://medinagazette.northcoastnow.com/2009/12/08/logan-boyd%e2%80%99s-legacy-lives/

My Stroke of Insight

I am reading a book called My Stroke of Insight right now. My friend Shirley gave it to me to read. Below is a short news segment on her....very cool!!!
Namaste,
Michele

Macy's Eclectic Wisdoms

This picture makes me smile......it is Macy being Macy. :)

Below are 10 Eclectic Wisdoms that Macy said I could share on here :)

Macy's Eclectic Wisdoms

1. Your younger sibling will always get his/her way.

2. Drama is never worth it.

3. When you have 100 reasons to cry, think of 1,000 reasons to smile.

4. Always make sure that there is a way out of a corn maze before entering!

5. It is not a good idea to honk your horn at a skunk.

6. If your friend turns his or her back on you then they weren't really your friend.

7. Enjoy being young while you can.

8. Make sure the iron is off before putting your hand on it.

9. Listen to your doctor or chiropractor.

10. Everything happens for a reason.

Pink Glove Dance

My friend Rick told me about this........it is awesome........in honor of breast cancer awareness.
I hope you enjoy it.
Namaste,
Michele