As we acquire knowledge, we want to share this new found information with our family and peers.  In our excitement we sometimes tend to shove it down their throats before we have complete understanding.  New vegetarians may spew all the negatives of eating meat while they continue to eat meat byproducts or highly preserved foods such as french fries, cheese pizza, and potato chips.  New religious converts may denounce all other religious concepts or spiritual beliefs, believing that only they have the true way.  The outcome of these two examples are usually the same:  People don’t want to hear it, or they hear it and wait for you to do anything contrary to what you’ve preached in order to prove you wrong.  A part of growing is coming to the understanding that if you are not perfect in all ways, you are not in the position to judge anyone in anyway.  And if you are perfect in all ways, there is no need to judge.  Though out life we will encounter many lifestyles, beliefs, and convictions.  As we grow, we learn that we can respect these differences without jeopardizing our beliefs.  My father used to say, “The empty wagon makes the most noise.”  I have been that empty wagon, and have been hit by an empty wagon.  A full load is much better.

Regenna 
Want to Grow…. check out www.WhereWomenGrow.com

When my dad wasn’t satisfied with a job he would say, “If you want something done right, do it yourself.”  He’d show us how he wanted it done then make us redo the task to his standard.  My father used all kinds of proverbs when we were growing up, some easier to understand than others but all of them were life lessons.  I sometimes find myself repeating these very proverbs that my siblings and I laughed about, to myself.  My father, with that one statement, taught me that my standards are mine alone, and I should not expect someone else to care as much, to put as much effort in, or be as dedicated to my cause.  With this understanding, I know that if I entrust a task to someone else, I must first choose a person capable of completing the task, give detailed instructions, and be ready and willing to take the blame if it’s not done right, after all, if you want something done right, do it yourself.

Regenna

Ever have something you should have done yesterday hang over you like a cloud in the sky threatening rain on your wedding day?  Or something you know that could have great repercussions if not dealt with, yet you keep wishing for sun, and tipping through that mine field hoping for the best, instead of taking care of business.  What is it about humans that foster this behavior.  Squirrels prepare for the winter by gathering nuts doing autumn.  Are we not as smart?  Why do we wait for the stain to set in before washing?  Or mail our income tax returns at 11:55PM on April fifteenth.  Wouldn’t it be easier to spend that refund check in February.  If our life is full of stress, we can be sure that a great portion of it is our fault.  The good news is that since we created the stress, we can also alleviate it.  Pick one of those clouds, take the necessary action and watch it disappear.  Breathe a sigh of relief when it’s gone, the go on to the next cloud.  Practice stress reduction by practicing that old adage; A stitch in time saves nine. 

Regenna
www.WhereWomenGrow.com
www.CustomCaribbeanVacations.com

One of the pleasures of living in Barbados is it’s amazing sunsets.  I love to watch the colors and patterns the sky creates as the sun descends beyond sea.  This lovely descent takes place over a short period of time,  and I know that if I turn away for just a second, that I may miss something beautiful.  After the sun makes its final dip, it feels like time flew by.  But time doesn’t fly by; we may stop and look away, but minute by minute time continues.   So exactly what istime?  The Internet offers several explanations but one that caught my attention was, “Time concretely represents the  present as being between the past and the future“.  When I apply this theory of time to life, I conclude that we can only live in the time between yesterday and tomorrow.   So if you’re feeling some type of guilt, embarrassment or anger over something that happened in the past, or you’re feeling dread, stress, anxiety over some future event that may or may not happen, then I suggest that you are not living Today.  You might look away for a day, a week, a month, or years, but time never stops.  One day, you look at the clock, or your grown children, or your grey hair and say time flew by.  It didn’t.  Minute by minute it continued, maybe you stopped.  Stopped participating, stopped laughing, stopped having fun, stopped being spontaneous, stopped loving, and started being predictable, safe, stagnate, bored, boring, tired, depressed, stressed, dis-satisfied, resentful.  The motions of the Sun have demonstrated time throughout humanity’s existence.  Once the sun sets , its done.  The time between the past and future sunset is the PRESENT.  We can say that time flies when you having fun and drags when you having none, but know that a minute is a minute, the question is how are you spending your PRESENT minutes?     Barbados is an amazing place to rediscover fun, adventure, excitement, and natural beauty.  I would love to show you my Barbados.  Check out Custom Caribbean Vacations   for an exciting experience.  Another amazing sunset is minutes away.   Life can drag or fly by – You Get To Choose!  

I want to share something with you that I call the 40 day plan.  It all started when I was visiting my hometown church over the holidays.  The sermon was about  WD-40.  The pastor asked if anyone knew what the WD-40 represented.  None of the two hundred or so in attendance knew the answer.  Well he says, “It stands for Water Dispensation, and 40 is the number of times it took to get the formula right”.  He went on to talk about the significance of the number 40 in the bible, and ended the sermon by challenging  us to choose something do it for 40 days.  I decided to start that day.  For the next forty days I pledged to journal everyday, and to work on my business for a minimum of 40 minutes a day for 40 days.  I shared the 40 Day Plan with a close friend and she decided to implement the 40 Day Plan for fitness so I joined her in working out everyday for the next forty days.  I made the commitment to 40 Days and experienced amazing results in all three endeavors.  I was down one dress size.  Journaled everyday for for 40 days, and laid the foundation for my new business – Custom Caribbean Vacations.  I felt incredible to complete not one but three plans.   As I got closer to the end of my forty days I became even more determined to complete the plan.  I wanted to make it to forty days and I did.    Something incredible can happen for you too.  The forty day plan can be adopted to anything you want to accomplish in your life.  That’s not a lot of time to invest in your life is it?  Nobody is going to looking or checking up to see if you’re doing it.    Try the 40 Day Plan and share your story here.  Use this handy link to calculate 40 days from your start day. 
http://www.convertit.com/Go/ConvertIt/Calculators/Date_and_Time/Date_Time_Diff_Calc.ASP

Changing the World Forty Days At A Time

The picture above was taken at River Bay, Barbados. 

Living At Home In Barbados 
People are curious as to how I came to live in Barbados.  My short answer is, “A Man”.  I always receive laughter and nods of understanding from ladies, and  hearty approval from the local guys with that answer.  And while I am here with my American Bajan husband, the journey  from the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia to this exotic island some call paradise, was one of determination, planning, commitment, execution and  faith.  The night I met the man whom I  would eventually marry, he told me three things upfront.  “I have a daughter.  I have my own business, and in three years I’m moving to Barbados”.    At the time I felt none of it had anything to do with me except that it would be nice to have a contact on an island.  I’ve always loved the Caribbean and my dream of owning a spot in Jamaica died when I got divorced.  Anyway he was a man with a plan, and I had a dream, that one day, little black girls …no that was MLK’s dream.  Yes, my dream was to own something overlooking the Caribbean sea and watching the sunset from my patio every night.  Well we liked each other and ended up having a surprise wedding on the island a year and some months later.  Don’t forget…moving to Barbados in three years.  The plan we started out with was not the way we ended up in Barbados but commitment to the goal and faith in the outcome helped us through the drama associated with  selling a house, packing, and moving.  Selling vehicles and eighty percent of all the stuff we individually and together accumulated throughout life.  We did not let fear of being in a foreign place, not knowing anyone, not having a steady paycheck, cultural difference, and being away from family and friends, deter us from the plan. I’m amazed that it’s been over a year and a half now and , we are living at home in Barbados   and loving it, and about to head over to the neighbors for a nightcap.