If you give a mom a busy long-weekend, she’s going to ask you for a nap.

She’ll lie down only to be awakened within 15 minutes from her little girl waking up early.

Once out of bed, she will decide to be productive and finish some laundry.

While hanging laundry in the closet, her little girl will suddenly get very quiet. Too quiet.

She’ll sigh, then laugh, then clean everything up, and end up wanting lunch. She will want her favorite fallback meal for lunch.

“Fallback” will make her think of fall and all the wonderful activities she looks forward to – pumpkin patches, some trail hikes, cooler weather, and…candy corn.

She will remember she bought a bag of candy corn pumpkins at the store to munch on here and there. She will have a handful.

She will eat her candy corn as she straightens up the kitchen. The massage awaiting her on Saturday will catch her eye on the calendar…then the dentist appointment three days later.

She will begin to wonder if they will be able to put her to sleep during her appointment. She thinks not. Sleep. Once again she will remember she needs a nap.

While thinking about her need to sleep, she will notice the irony of the diet coke she had with lunch. And she will refuse to laugh at the cruel joke that caffeine is (generally) not allowed during one of the most exhausting life experiences (pregnancy).

After lunch, her daughter will ask her to read books.

She won’t be able to say “no” so she will read the same 3 books over and over again. They will motivate her blogging for the afternoon.

The repetitive nature of the books will make her sleepy. And chance are if you give a mom a busy day and make her tired, she’s going to ask you for a nap….just in time for her sister’s arrival for sister night.

• What’s the strangest place you’ve found blogging inspiration? I think my post today explains itself on this one! LOL
• Is there a holiday candy you can’t refuse? Candy corn anything for me all the way. It will be a regular treat a handful here or there regularly until after Halloween…or whenever it goes away.

Welcome back from the holiday weekend! I look forward to hearing from all of you who unplugged again. Playing catch up? Here are the 30 Days posts from Saturday through Monday.
TRUSTING YOUR BODY   /   LOVE FROM OTHERS   /   DO WE IDOLIZE OUR BODIES?

I hope you take a look at these posts. If you can only pick one, I would say click the “love from others” one. It seemed to really resonate with everyone, including myself. I cried when writing it. Want to catch up with my life from the weekend? Click HERE to hear all about it and see all the fabulous, insanely good, food I ate.

Something else to check out? Michelle from Eating Journey and Heather from Then Heather Said both asked me to write a guest post featuring the 30 Days of Self-Love. Please give them a look!

• Guest Post on Eating Journey
• Guest Post on Then Heather Said

Now that I have bombarded you with given you links to have some fun with ;), let’s move to today’s topic!

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Every day upon arising, we begin a journey led by one choice after another. Those choices add up to the sum total of our lives and whether or not we can claim to live in joy. What is that I hear you saying? Oh…you think that’s ridiculous and that we can’t control everything. You know what I say? You’re right. We can’t control everything. We can, however, control our perspective.

As I discussed yesterday, sometimes we choose to put more emphasis on our body at the expense of fully experiencing the world around us with pleasure. We determine whether or not we live in that manner. In the same fashion, we choose whether or not to succumb to other forces in this world hoping to weaken us. That choice lies in the perspective we adopt.

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When a pair of pants fit too tight, you act out your choice whether you demean yourself the entire day with negativity or actively seek out ways to care for your health. When an insecure friend wants to tap into your insecurities with snide comments, you choose whether or not to listen (or stay friends for that matter). When a challenge arises, such as a lost job or illness/injury or broken heart, you can choose to continue living with the belief it will make you stronger or grab a shovel to dig yourself a hole of regret and self-pity.

Our perspectives don’t always have to shine with rainbows and glitter. No shame should occur in feeling pain, hurt, anger, sadness, etc in particular situations. We’re human and those emotions should not be glossed over or ignored. Sometimes we need such feelings to cloak us like a heavy garment and really feel them before moving on with our lives. Nevertheless, we still control those feelings and keep the perspective in tact.

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All of the above relates to self-love because part of loving ourselves comes in providing the best life possible. That life consists of seeing the glimmers of hope in dark places, the pain of others in their attempts to cause pain, the waste of time in fretting over matters we won’t remember in a few months, and the ongoing list of similar situations. The authority to provide a “best life” comes in a little package called perspective. It’s your choice whether or not to open that gift.

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How do you witness the power of perspective in your life? Do you currently face something where your perspective could make a difference?  

Quote to Reflect On
Be careful how you interpret the world:  It is like that.  ~Erich Heller

We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.  ~Anaïs Nin

*To be added to the email list and receive links to the posts in the morning, please let me know of your interest in a comment below.

*For more 30 Days Inspiration visit these bloggers who shared their personal 30 DSLR messages and let me know if you share anything relating to the 30 DSLR on your blog!

• Healthy Living Adventures
• Running To A Healthy Life
• It All Changes
• The Fitness Dish
• Miranda’s Jeans
• Eat Drink Breathe Sweat
• Making A Change
• Two Feet Ten Toes
• Adventures in Weight Loss, Cooking, & Life
• Adventure Is Out There