Blog - Page 26 of 60 - Sacred Healing of Grief Wounds

Where IS that Newsletter?

Where is that newsletter? I know I signed up with my Gmail account!

Where is that Newsletter?

Gmail – Most Popular Choice

Gmail is often on the top of the list of free email recommendations. After all the Google Suite includes the ability to store contacts, chat, video-conference and share files. But is Gmail the best choice to receive newsletters?

My answer is an emphatic NO.

How many times do you look beyond the Inbox tab on your Gmail? It is a rare occurrence for me, unless I’m hunting for a ‘lost’ email, especially a newsletter. The photo above illustrates that my test emails from my newsletter app, MailerLite, end up in Promotions. That astounds me. Albeit, it’s a different email, but it’s from a name that is my name.

Also, you can see that I haven’t opened all those other emails that DO have a promotional ‘feel’. You know, companies letting you know about their latest deals, things you simply must buy. Indeed, sometimes I could have used the information. What is the solution for always finding my newsletters?

Another Free Email?

I really try to keep up with my inbox. But I have too many different email accounts. I’ve tried to reduce them and have made some progress. At this point I have five active emails compared to eight a year ago. Nevertheless, there is one additional email I value highly. It’s my newsletter email, Yahoo!

Why do I love Yahoo? There is ONE Inbox. Yahoo doesn’t decide where my incoming emails belong. Rather, they are all right there on the left column, waiting for me.

A Specific Email for Newsletters

I can’t take credit for my decision to create an email just for newsletters. Dan Blank suggested this in one of his social media marketing classes. And as usual, he was right.

Advantages for multiple emails:

Compartmentalize my time
Avoid wasting time on trivial emails
Focus my attention
Easily unsubscribe when needed

Other Email Suggestions

Perhaps you wonder why I have kept five different emails. In agreement, I’d like to rid myself of an older one, but it’s like old phone numbers. They are tied to important areas of my life that aren’t easy to extract. Still, I work toward organizing my electronic world thus:

Email associated with my website for business
Mail.com for my Mom’s needs
Gmail for personal (2 for now)
Yahoo strictly for newsletters

If only I had hard and fast rules for Gmail and Mail.com… someday.

Have a stressless day!
Dawn

What is Your Why? – Let’s Explore

What is your why? Why do you want to be a better version of yourself? Has something happened in your life that made you stop, look, and question? Is an event coming up and you want to be your best for that day?

What is Your Why?

My Why is Clear

Yes, I arrived at my over-reaching why last fall… Raise the World’s Vibration to the Tipping Point. That is, I want to increase the positive energy in the world until it becomes contagious, a force impossible to ignore. There, I shared it!

The How is Fuzzy

I’ve been questioning my how. My short answer? I started a business. Won’t a business mean I’m invested in my why? At least I feel I went about creating a business with forethought and intention. Still, there was something missing. My how wasn’t clear enough.

Can I use the knowledge I’ve gained these sixty-seven years to help you find your way to a happier life? Perhaps regrouping my decisions and the consequences will help me understand your challenges. My answer is a resounding, “Yes!”

A Short List of My Recent How

Over the last five years, I invested in a lot of ways to create a better understanding of myself.

- Therapists who helped me understand why I felt ‘less-than’
- Shamanic healings that removed contracts from past lives
- Japanese Reiki certification to heal myself and others
- Masterminds with online communities
- Personal workout trainer, 3 days/week for over two years
- MANY online classes opening the doors to my spiritual guidance
- Integrative Nutrition Health Coach Certification

There’s No Time Like the Present

Here’s the Challenge Behind My How

My integrative nutrition health coach education from IIN strongly suggests it takes six months to make a difference in the life of a client. I’ve chosen my first client…. drum roll… It’s ME!

Most noteworthy, I’m inviting you to join me here… for free. However, the best way to keep up on my bi-weekly check-ins is signing up for my newsletter. In addition to the blogs, I’ll include personal updates on my progress and discounts if you decide you need personal coaching.

What is Your Why?

I challenge you to find your why this week. Why do you want a happier life? Why do you want to feel better? Perhaps you want to prove something to yourself… like I did when I finished my first race.

Are you having difficulty grasping your why? Read my blog on Morning Pages to stir up your subconscious.

Some Reasons for My Why

Since I’m leading this challenge, I’ll lead the way with my why for being healthier.

I love being active, but my arthritic knees hurt.. a lot
The fat folds on my body are uncomfortable
I want to feel better rather than worse with every birthday
If I can’t improve my own health, how can I help you with yours?

So, again…what is your why? Leave a comment as a self motivation to commit to a healthier life.

Loving life,
Dawn

Remembering a Very Special Teacher

Remembering a very special teacher emerged as I started thinking about my scholastic experience. There were ups and downs, but a few teachers really stand out. Today I’m going to tell you about my English teacher from high school, Miss Barbara Clark.

Remembering a Very Special Teacher

First Impressions Aren’t Everything

She certainly looked different than my previous teachers. Her dress was more sophisticated and her size couldn’t be ignored that first day of school over 50 years ago. Yet soon, her words and her smile were all I noticed. As a serious student, I appreciated her innovation. Rather than face the prospect of boring Beowulf in senior English literature, she convinced the curriculum coordinator to offer specialized classes. I quickly signed up for Creative Writing, Humanities, and Contemporary Authors.

Innovation Offered Me a Keen Interest

Although prior to AP classes, these college prep class choices were probably more fun. Can you imagine receiving a grade for reading your favorite author and writing an essay? I chose Ray Bradbury. Although there was a requirement for the number of books or short stories to read, I easily exceeded it as I read all I could find in the school library and the city library within the time period prior to composing my report.

And Miss Clark took us on field trips in Humanities. Architecture as art was the subject of a trip to Tampa, Florida. She opened our minds and hearts to the hidden significance of a rose window in an historic Episcopal church, pointing out other stained glass art as a method to teach scripture to parishioners during the Middle Ages. The knowledge I acquired in her classes enabled me to ace tests for college credit at Polk Community College (Polk State College now) in both Humanities and English.

Sometimes it Takes Time to Bear Fruit

Creative Writing was my first experience with the concept of the power of words. It sparked a hidden talent that smoldered until I found my voice in Julie Colvin’s May 2015 Wellness and Writing Retreat in Sedona, AZ forty-four years later. An exploration of my published works will give you more insight into my life journey between these writing experiences.

While augmenting my memory with research for today’s article, I found another student who admired Miss Clark, Wendi Wooddell. Wendi graduated nearly a decade later than I. She also went on to college where she chose journalism as a way to feed her love of literature. However, when Wendi graduated, the State of Florida was begging for teachers. Although teaching was not her expectation, Wendi applied for an English teacher vacancy at Winter Haven High School. Since she didn’t have any teaching classes during college, she went through her stash of handouts from Miss Clark to plan that first year as a teacher. As her knowledge of teaching increased, Wendi continued to use her stash of gold from Miss Clark, further validated through professional education and district in-service classes.

Excellence Fosters More Excellence

Wendi went on to excel during her 33-yr career at WHHS. Like Miss Clark had in 1991, Wendi also was awarded the English Teacher of the Year by the Florida Council of Teachers of English in 2010. That led to her receiving the Polk County Teacher of the Year, also in 2010. Finally, in 2011, she received a National Teacher of Excellence Award from the National Council on Teachers of English. In contrast, Wendi felt her highest honor came during her retirement party in 2016 when Winter Haven High School named a building after her.

And Your Favorite Teacher?

These are just two stories of the positive impact Miss Barbara Clark had on her students. How many more examples are out there? I’d love to hear about your remembering a very special teacher in the comments below.

Love from a life-long learner,
Dawn