Day 132 (positive project) Awareness

Posted on February 25, 2012 by alchurchill

Yesterday a friend of mine posted the above Facebook update!

The first thing that came to mind was something similar to, “How can my friend not care about this stuff?” This quickly shifted to, “…his post highlights a lot of positivity in many ways”.

Not only did the post generate a lot of positive comments, be them jokes, or glimmers of humor set in sarcasm, but it also highlighted the need for positivity. I am very happy that someone else is demanding a more positive thread to life.

Not only this, but the content he speaks of, Monsanto, Pipelines and the Harper Government in Canada, are all very important issues that can be looked at with either negativity or as one chooses, with positivity. The fact that the writer of this post is aware of all these issues is a positive in itself, and it highlights the need for the people talking about them to focus on the positive aspect of each subject matter, rather than from a doom and gloom type stance. The very fact that these subject matters are at the forefront, is positive, we just need to see the exposure of these subjects as an opportunity for positive change and a blessing that people want to make a stand for humanity.

This post cries out that the world is changing in a positive way – keep up the good work all and stay positive!

Day 96 (positive project) Art In the Mundane

Posted on January 18, 2012 by alchurchill

Waiting around in an airport is not a pastime I regard in anyway glamorous. Depending on the airport, one could even class it as a rather mundane experience. Gatwick airport in London England, quite comfortably sinks into the lower numbers within the scale of delightful. Blank, hard, expressionless surfaces run from corner to corner in an attempt to assist herding passengers in an orderly manner to their preferred destinations. Garishly colored cordon barriers, laid out in a complicated maze arrangement offer a splash of color to distract your gaze from the melancholy faces that line up beside them.
I agreed to the rules and therefore have plenty of hours before I’m allowed to even see the machine that will hold me prisoner for the next day of my life. But the day has started well and I remembered to pack food. Twenty minutes are enjoyed through the motion of my chewing, after which I conduct and complete a Skype call.
I am now lost for something to fix my attention to, nothing is holding my eyes. I look up, causing Instagram to enter my thoughts; t’s time for some iPhone magic.
Now, here to the positive aspect of my journey and the essence of this particular blog post. The mundane ceiling, dotted with bright incandescent bulbs, becomes a beautiful background for three striking metal railings that were previously my Costa Coffee cage.
A photo is taken and a filter applied.
Art is created from the mundane.
It’s 6am. It’s taken a night of travel and checking in, to get to this point. A nasally flight attendant announces an unintelligible sprouting of words through the speaker system, people shuffle, it’s nearing that time!
Just enough time to write this post and to explain that if you just take time to look around, art exists everywhere.

Day 90 (positive project) Stay Positive

Posted on January 13, 2012 by alchurchill

As today is day ninety of my positive project, I sit in amazement at how far this has gone. Even though I set out to do this for an entire year, I did not have confidence that I would get past two weeks! So to hit the three month mark is astounding.

I wanted to use this milestone as an opportunity to recap and to highlight the changes that have stood strong up until now.

It has now become common practice for me to look for something positive in each day as it passes. I have heard before that it takes ninety days for a habit to take root, or for a new mindset to form. I feel that it didn’t take that long for me, but I can safely say, that there isn’t a day that passes during which I do not find myself searching for positivity. This in itself is a positive change, a way of living that increases your well being and improves health through positive reinforcements. Not one positive change or acknowledgement has had any negative repercussions. Yes, it can be time consuming and occasionally very testing to see positivity on every single day, but if you look for it, you find it.

Maintaining changes
Some of my posts are simply an observation or a minor action of positivity, but others are actual complete changes, I have managed to maintain many of the changes and list a few of them below….

1) Conscious of whether I really need to turn the light on
2) No Beef has been eaten since starting my year of no beef
3) Don’t use paper towels or hand dryers in public washrooms
4) Eat organic where possible
5) Never use a take out cup
6) Stopped taking milk & sugar in coffee
7) Regularly donate to worthy environmental organizations
8) Opening the window during a shower instead of using extractor fan
9) Making certain food from scratch where possible
10) Recycle where possible
11) Following my passions more closely
12) Regularly make a date with nature
13) Regular exercise
14) Remain politically active in trying to shape the future
15) Meditate
16) Continue to minimize belongings
17) I have become more giving
18) Mindful of reducing waste in all areas of life, from plastic forks, to carrier bags, it is at the forefront of my mind.

There are many more changes, my point here, is to simply highlight how it has changed my life and has had such a positive effect. I am also aware that it has had a similar effect on other people that have been reading my words. This proves a point that every change we make in our lives has a knock on effect and we should never underestimate how powerful a small individual change can be.
If we stay positive and focus on a positive change for the world, people will follow suit. If something is so beneficial then why wouldn’t one want to change to make that difference. I have faith that a positive outlook can stretch around the globe and take root. If the drinks brand ‘coke’ or the word ‘iPod’ can become a household name, or the Internet sensation twitter can become common place amongst millions of people, then we can surely change the face of the world.
It all starts with you.

Day 86 (positive project) Grudge

Posted on January 9, 2012 by alchurchill

grudge – a persistent feeling of resentment, bear a grudge; harbor ill feelings

Today, I was exposed to first hand effects of holding a grudge. Holding a grudge is very similar to not forgiving someone. All of us have values, or morals of our own and we often feel that others should hold those same values. This is not always the case though. Not everyone is ‘perfect’ and people make mistakes. It can be very hard to forgive people, but as the definition above reaffirms, to hold a grudge is to harbor ill feelings. I don’t think that it is right to hang on to ill feelings, why would we hold on to these?
I think it is great to have values, but we also need to understand that not everyone can have those same values. It doesn’t make them less of a person, we can all fall victim to circumstance.

I have seen today, the importance of letting go of past hurts and allowing in the fresh perspective of new beginnings.

Day 81 (positive project) Slow Down

Posted on January 4, 2012 by alchurchill

I am currently playing tour guide in my home country. There is clearly a lot to see, with a finite amount of time available. Aside from time available, there is also a finite amount of energy available. We rarely realize how much energy running around consumes. Having moved from a sedentary pace to a fast one in recent days, it has emphasized how some people operate at a higher pace, at a detriment to their health. I have seen commercials that promote the taking of ‘pain killers’ in order to ‘get your Saturday back’! Why should we put ourselves through so much, just so that we can feel crap and then feed the pharmaceutical industry millions of dollars?

Getting stuck in rush hour traffic today, afforded me the opportunity to actually go slow. Whilst sat there, I realized that it was the most relaxing pace I had been since arriving back in England.

It reminded me of a quote made familiar to me by Abraham Hicks. “You can never get it wrong and you’ll never get it done!” taking this into consideration, I realized that it was OK to go slow and, yes, I will never get it all done, it’s just impossible. So, as long as I can stay healthy and enjoy time as it passes, it doesn’t matter what we do or don’t see, ‘cos it’ll never get done anyway.

Discovering Happiness through Purpose in 3 Natural Steps | Tiny Buddha: Wisdom Quotes, Letting Go, Letting Happiness In

Posted on December 20, 2011 by alchurchill

This is an older post from Tiny Buddha, yet a post worthy of sharing. (click the link at the bottom for the full article)

In everything we do, we seek happiness. Or at least what we think will bring happiness.

But this goal can often get us into trouble. It’s how you find yourself in a career that doesn’t represent you, consuming things lacking real value, and living a life that misses its impact on the world.

via Discovering Happiness through Purpose in 3 Natural Steps | Tiny Buddha: Wisdom Quotes, Letting Go, Letting Happiness In.

Day 39 (positive project) Say No to Exercise

Posted on November 23, 2011 by alchurchill

Yes, that’s right, “Say No to Exercise”. It is a catchy title isn’t it? And that’s all it is, a catchy title. Well actually, no it’s not, it’s also a way of emphasizing a point. If the title had said, “Say Yes to Exercise”, you would have probably been less compelled to click it and read the article. The reason for this, I would say, is because we all want to say no to exercise, it’s the easy way out.

“What!!?? A positive way to say no to exercise? I gotta read about this!!”

No, it’s not the case. Saying no to exercise has no positive actions, it’s just easier to say no. But when you actually say ‘Yes’, you start noticing the benefits, instantly.

Exercise = Fun

Until about 4 days ago, I was riding my bike to work, it’s not a very large distance, maybe 2 kms each way. But I was also riding home for lunch too, which therefore made it about 8kms a day. The 2kms each seemed like nothing, but were adding up. Now I am not working, it would be all too easy for me to stop riding, especially if it’s raining. Although I used to bike to work in the rain, so I should also bike to exercise in the rain too.

Today however, was beautifully sunny, so I made the most of it and went for a good ride. Nothing crazy, just a fast 20 minutes, maybe about 8 – 10 kms (I’ll have to check the distance). On my return from the ride, I felt great, so invigorated and refreshed.

People seem to shy away from exercise thinking it’s all about, getting fit, staying in shape, losing weight, building muscle. Well, I feel that it’s none of these, and looking at it like so, just seems to categorize it and separates it from life, as an unnecessary or even unachievable ‘goal’; something to do later. Maybe if we factor exercise into our lives as just something we do, something that makes us feel good, like eating and drinking makes us feel good, then it won’t seem too difficult and will undoubtedly change our outlook on exercise and, I would propose, increase health, wellness, happiness and positivity.

So moving forward, I am factoring excercise into my life as just something I do. I am not trying to acheive anything, not wanting to become a fitness freak, or a muscle man, or wanting to break any records, it’s just doing something that should be naturally included in my daily or weekly activities.

Have fun, stay positive, enjoy life.

Take To Change

What will it take to change your ways?

Tag Archives: positivity