Guest Blog: Rachel H. Bailey

Rachel Haskins Bailey is a fellow post modern contemporary gypsy and a good friend. She always makes me smile and she has a phenomenal ability to spread love around.

one I'm not trying to get all down in the dumps, but sometimes? When you're really, really sad and feeling really, really hopeless? All you have to do is not die. If you can step back enough to tell yourself that and stick to it, then you're gonna be ok. Stop the racing thoughts, the sobbing, the desperation. You have one goal: Don't die. It may sound silly, but when you find yourself at a certain level of sad, you'll get it. And you'll vibe me thanks once you're through it. And you'll baby step your way back to ok. And you'll pass on this advice, because it actually works.

two Eat right. Cook a lot of beans and vegetables. Don't just push them around your plate and act like you ate them, really do it. They're delicious and so, so good for you. This is important. You don't need meat so much, eating something that once had a face...? Ew. The environment will thank you for doing the best you can.

three Smile at strangers. It makes more of a difference than you will ever realize. It makes their day, it makes them want to return the favor to others. Smiling is so easy, and makes such a difference. Please do it as much as possible. 

copyright 2011 thesethreethings rachelhaskinsbailey

pirates, olives and holidays

one Halloween can be one of the coolest holidays of the year. Lean into it and treat it with Pirate-ish hands. Rough it up and have fun or make it some kind of statement about who you are and how you roll. Just have fun with Halloween, you can be anyone or anything you want to be. Autumn, all by itself, rocks all the way out loud - but to have a holiday where you get to dress up and people give you candy is just about too much to ask. Important side-bar: IF you live in a land where it could be cold or wet, do NOT (I repeat, DO NOT) think you can be a mummy wrapped in toilet paper. That was a really bad idea and I'm still sorry.

two When you're sitting at the Thanksgiving table, surrounded by your family and the people you love, with food that will fill your tummy and make you smile: Put a black olive on each one of your fingers and sing some kind of song like Pee-Wee Herman while you make your digits dance.  

three Instead of getting all wound-up in what you want or what you think you will get for Christmas: Make it a habit to do random nice things for your people (or strangers) as often as you can. This Christmas-time can be a total butt-kicker and buzz-kill for a whole bunch of folks and it's a perfect time to brush up on your Random Acts of Kindness routine. It's all about how easily you can think of ways to make somebody else smile. Few things in the world rock as hard as seeing somebody break into a big ol' heartfelt smile - It's about a million times more satisfying than anything you can buy at Walmart. 

copyright 2010 moemasters thesethreethings