Hi!  Today is the official first day of Spring!  Here in Atlanta, nature is in full bloom and it is beautiful! I love this time of year -- it's all about newness!   What is new with you?

I have some "new news! " I am getting married on April 6, 2002!  My future husband, John, is someone who brings love, joy, and warmth to my family and to my life.   We are both very blessed to have found one another and we are very grateful for our future together!  Please honor us with your prayers, a loving spirit, and a collective, unified energy on April 6.  Thank you so much!

{Note:  By the way, for business purposes, my last name will remain Burns. }

And, we have a birthday!  The Bright Side e-zine will be 3 years old in April!   I am very grateful to you -- my clients, my subscribers and to those who post these articles on their websites or in print.  Thank you!  Please join me and continue to share this message -- I know we make a difference!

Speaking of which, I heard from lots of you in regard to the last e-zine article entitled Spontaneous Living. (see http://www.brightsidecoaching.com/bsarchive.htm, issue #49)   Apparently, the idea of becoming a kid again appeals to many of us!  :-)   I decided to make a growing list of the ways to accomplish this lofty goal of childlike bliss.  You'll find some these thoughts to bring you back to the innocence of childlike wonder in the Soul Restoration Tip.

With love,
Beth

Do you ever feel disconnected from the important people in your life?  You know, you just aren't in sync with someone -- you want to be but there is just this ...   well, this heavy yuckiness between the two of you.  It's not an urgent crisis feeling, but a tension.  I like to call it "the black cloud."

When that happens, what is going on in your head?  What are the mental conversations you are having with yourself?  What are your notions of the other person?  What do you suppose the other person is thinking about you?  How do you get past it all?

A very simple, yet effective method of opening up the conversation is to say:

"You know, _________, what I make up about you is ______________."

Some examples:

"You know, Jane, what I make up about you is that you think I am rigid in my approach with customers."
"You know, Tom, what I make up about you is that you don't like my point of view."
"You know, Alice, what I make up about you is that you look at money in a different way than I do."

It's also effective to use this in partnering situations:

"You know, Bill, what I make up about us is that we are not effective as we could be."
"You know, Debbie, what I make up about us is that we have to work harder than we currently do to achieve this goal."
"You know, Peter, what I make up about us is that we aren't using our time as wisely as we could."

The reason this is effective is that is puts the other person at ease.  "What I make up" does not mean that it is necessarily true.  It's merely a feeling -- a possibility.  This eliminates a spirit of defensiveness and enlists a willingness to understand the other person.

Try this simple technique in your conversations. Begin to open the door to enlightening and empowering conversations!  If you talk about it, you may just find that you quit making stuff up!    :-)

Catch fireflies at nighttime; make snow angels; fly a kite; blow bubbles outside; climb a tree; go on a picnic; dig in the ground; inspect strange bugs; eat dessert first; answer the phone in a goofy voice; have a water fight; have a pillow fight; make lemonade and sell it to the neighbors; make a treasure from clay; jump rope; plant flowers; see how big a bubble you can make with too many pieces of bubble gum in your mouth; go fishing; run like the wind; draw on the sidewalk with chalk; measure how tall you are (you may have shrunk!); pick berries;   play in a creek; jump on a trampoline; catch butterflies; wave to passing cars; play hide-and-seek; read a childhood classic like Charlotte's Web or A Wrinkle in Time; go barefoot in the grass; play in the rain; watch the clouds; swing as high as you can on a swingset; wear your pajamas all day; savor a lollipop; play with a dog;   play hopscotch; color a bright picture (and it's OK to go outside the lines!); play football, basketball, soccer and baseball; build a fort; paint a picture; sing at the top of your lungs; laugh aloud from your belly; and dance in front of the mirror!

Thanks for sharing your time this week with me.  My wish for you is for a time of refection, warm memories from the past and new memories filled with childlike joy!

See you next time on April 3rd!

Beth

Coach / Writer / Human Being