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~ To A Life Worth Living xo

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Tag Archives: Gratitude

Gratitude

Featured

Posted by Irene Ephraim in Life

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Affirm, blogger, death, Gratitude, life, TGIF, Thankful, Weekend

Can you see the heart shape?

This week has been…*deep exhale*
In any case, we made it. And we mustn’t take it lightly.
Someone, before the end of this sentence has left this realm.
We mustn’t take lightly, the gift we’ve been given.

It was 4am and I couldn’t sleep. No surprise there.
I went downstairs and made a cup of chamomile tea.
Embracing the warmth pulsating through my hands, I took a cautious sip and followed the liquid as it travelled down. The heat inflamed my chest. 
What a beautiful feeling. To be alive. To experience. To feel. To be present.

Write down what you are thankful for, so you can visually see all your riches.
These are some of mine in no particular order.

Thankful to be healthy 
Thankful for my family 
Thankful for my brilliant mind 
Thankful for the wisdom instilled in me 
Thankful for a roof over my head 
Thankful for my partner 
Thankful for my friends 
Thankful for waking up this morning
Thankful that I can cook 
Thankful that I can eat what I choose to eat
Thankful that I can give 
Thankful for my vision 
Thankful for all my senses that work together beautifully 
Thankful for my bed and electric blanket
Thankful for my creativity 
Thankful for this blog
Thankful for the ability to write 
Thankful for the money that I have 
Thankful that I am always provided for 
Thankful for my intuition 
Thankful for discernment

Thankful for music
Thankful that things easily work out for me
Thankful for stillness in the midst of chaos 


With everything shifting and things disintegrating around us, I still have so much to be grateful for. I’m sure you do too. Let’s focus on that, and savour the small, almost indistinguishable moments, as those are the things that affirm our lives.

I wish you all an uplifting, rejuvenating & loving weekend

Xo

LATEST POSTS

I Made It

33 held so much for me. I felt like I couldn’t fully exhale for a few reasons.Give or take the inaccuracies of reported history, Jesus was 33 when he ascended. My late friend was also 33 when he ascended. And a small part of me had come to anticipate that this too could be my …

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by Irene Ephraim December 17, 2021

CAN YOU HEAR YOURSELF?

The constant chatter is overwhelming. One person says this, another person says that. Your mum says it’s this way, your brother says it’s the other. Then there’s the people who love to be contrarian with no actual thoughts of their own, just adept at piggybacking off what a group of people might agree upon and finding a …

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by Irene Ephraim December 13, 2021

Cloudy With A Chance Of…

One day you’re fine, life is good and the air is filled with prospects that you could almost pluck them like the squiggly lines you see when you look at a blue sky. The following day however, you’re freezing your bits off, your umbrella is inside out and the contents of your bag have just …

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by Irene Ephraim December 6, 2021

The Improbable Is Still Possible 

Improbable–not likely to be true or to happen.I saw a TikTok of a guy doing the improbable. Getting two basketballs into a hoop using a crutch, throwing a CD into a moving Wii console, releasing ping pong balls with the aim of reaching various points and so on.   It was fascinating to watch. In a different …

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by Irene Ephraim December 2, 2021December 2, 2021

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Nothing Lasts Forever

19 Tuesday Mar 2019

Posted by Irene Ephraim in Experiences, Lessons Learnt, Life

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Frustration, God, Gratitude, Hardships, Higher Power, life, Life Lessons, Meditate, peace, Relationships, Struggle, Tests, Therapy, Trials

facetune_05-03-2019-16-28-25.jpg

Nothing lasts forever and that’s not a bad thing.

I’m in this weird I-don’t-really-know-wtf is happening phase of life. You know the one, the one where things refuse to go the way you want it to and you can’t make sense of it.

Thankfully this won’t be a forever thing. Like the good book says ‘this too shall pass’ and I am clinging to those words fiercely. And you should too.

Knowing that ‘life comes at you fast’ is why I do my best to relish the great things I experience and to find the good things during hard times.

To savour the great times here are a few things I do:

1. Be present. Pay attention to your surroundings. Notice the colours, what you see, smell, who you’re with, where you are. Use all of your senses to interact and connect with the moment.

2. Be thankful. I make seemingly small moments bigger by being grateful for the things I am able to do. I take just a few seconds to be thankful for what I’m experiencing. Things like withdrawing money, buying food, paying a bill, getting my nails done, looking at my family, using my phone. You get my drift. And in doing these things, I notice what I feel about being able to do these things and remember it.

3. Give. Whatever you are able to do no matter how small or big for another person or cause, do it. It does not have to be the obvious things like money, it could be time, encouragement, fixing something, anything you’re led to. I firmly believe that irrespective of your state there’s always something you can do.

To elevate your spirit during difficult times:

Do your best to keep doing the above.

1. With being present, look at the things you typically take for granted and are easily overlooked. Things you always have and do not struggle for and cherish it that much more.

2. Do more of the things you enjoying doing. It could be a hobby or improving a skill you have or even learning a new one. I started cooking more which I hardly did. I’ve made some meals I haven’t made in almost 5 years and I feel much better for it. The idea is to not place so much focus & mental energy on what isn’t working out as doing that only exacerbates the situation in your mind. It’s especially important in cases where it is out of your hands.

3. Meditate everyday. Make time to be quiet and still and…talk to yourself out loud (not loudly). If you believe in a higher power, talk to them instead. You can start with 5 minutes a day and use your phone to set an alarm for this session. I currently don’t use music but when I do it’s either rain sounds or spa music, however silence is my preference. With the busyness of life, having ‘you’ time to reflect and create is essential to being able to function well. Might sound unusual but it actually can be therapeutic to be your own counsellor. I always feel refreshed afterwards.

Hope this helps.

Xo

Happy New Year!

31 Monday Dec 2018

Posted by Irene Ephraim in Life, Manifest

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Tags

Blessings, Gratitude, growth, happiness, joy, Love, new year, Relationships

img_7833I wanted to wish you a Happy New Year and also this:

May this new year be better than the last in every way 

May this new year be filled with a thousand reasons to celebrate 

May this new year make all your previous efforts worth it

May this new year cause you to create new goals for yourself as the old ones have now manifested 

May this new year grant you good heath and wealth 

May this new year be full of wonderful memories that you have created with your loved ones

May love abound you wherever you go

May your relationships flourish and add more meaning to your life

May your purpose be revealed and impact not only your life but the lives of others

May this new year be all that you want it to be and more.

That is my profession for you all this year.

Thank you for your continuous support and readership. Here’s to a fantastic new year ahead 🥂! 

Much love Irene Xo

I Wish It Wasn’t So

05 Monday Nov 2018

Posted by Irene Ephraim in Experiences, Life

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Tags

death, Friendship, Gratitude, Heartbreak, Pain, Sadness

img_5304The last few days have been a whirlwind of emotions. My friend passed away suddenly and it is the most painful experience of my adulthood.

I am not ready to start losing friends yet, we’re in our early 30’s, you die of old age not abruptly.

Franklin was the sweetest, gentlest and caring person and I miss him incredibly. I wish he were still here.

Writing a post has been especially difficult, because as I write I am filled with the memory of his encouraging words and particular appreciation for my writing. He read my posts without being asked and always gave me positive feedback, and that meant everything to me.
Being a writer is an isolating process and whilst I love it, you do write to be read, but that does not always happen, least of all from your family and friends. To have him continuously care and show support not only in this, but in my life as a whole was so appreciated and special to me.

I did have a little bit of change in perspective yesterday, and that was to be grateful to have known him at all, and I was. I valued him when he was here and will forever cherish the moments we had.

There are so many things that I feel and haven’t been able to articulate yet and probably won’t for some time. This is about as much as I can manage writing about him for now.

Through this, I have made a commitment to make sure that his life continues to be meaningful in mine.

Xo

P.s I don’t know if I’ll be posting regularly for now, please bear with.

Gratitude

26 Friday Oct 2018

Posted by Irene Ephraim in Life, Thoughts in motion

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

experience, fear, Friday, Gratitude, Heart, Lessons, Love, Thankful, value, Weekend

img_1716Wait till it’s taken away from you, maybe you’ll remember to be grateful for what you have in future.

It’s so easily done isn’t it? Things are good, every area of your life is booming as you’ve always wanted, ‘you’ve got it like that’…until you don’t, and all hell breaks loose.

Part of the pain we experience when times are rough, is guilt. We experience guilt for not being appreciative of what we had, we reminisce and regret the haughtiness we had in thinking that this will be forever. Still, in those hard times, we should be grateful because there is always something to be thankful for.

I often experience an uncomfortable ease when a terrible thing happens and suddenly there’s an urgent call to love your loved ones as it’s short lived. It does not cultivate the solid essence of being grateful because it stems from fear. And yes I’m definitely a culprit.

Being grateful is to do so irrespective of what you do or don’t have. The benefits are clear.
From the simplest, most mundane and normal things to the major changes and transitions, have gratitude, for the love of it, not for the fear of it, even when it’s tough.

Xo

Don’t Forget to Exhale 

19 Friday Oct 2018

Posted by Irene Ephraim in Experiences, Life, Travel

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Tags

Exhale, Food, Friday Night, Gratitude, Healthy, Leon, life, Love, Meditate, peace, Quiet, Serenity, Weekend

img_3353Hey. Psst. Don’t run off to start your weekend just yet, read me, it’ll only take a couple of minutes.

I love a Friday night just like anyone else except I prefer to stay in to unwind and decompress.

If you’re a Londoner like me or live in a city where the pace is fast, it’s very easy to be always on the go, even when there’s no reason to be. Over time you can become so overwhelmed and bogged down with it all, that you just want to run away.

For some of us, a break means leaving the country, but that isn’t always necessary, you don’t have to run away. You can stay and get the peace of mind that you want right where you live.

You might have lots of ‘busy’ plans this weekend, you know the ones I’m talking about, doing something for doing something sake. Stop. Slow it down and exhale.

When I want a time out from everything (so I don’t lose my entire marbles), there are a few things that I do and I’ll share one, okay maybe two with you.

1. Be in silence

With technology being a huge part of our lives, we’re constantly plugged in from the moment we wake up to the time we lay our heads to rest.

Tonight when you get in after work or over the weekend, lay on your bed, do nothing, listen to nothing, let it be quiet so that all you can hear is white noise or the clock ticking. Don’t have your lights or anything that uses electrical energy on. Allow yourself to recharge whilst you’re awake.

In this stillness you’ll find the chatter in your head will amplify. Notice what you think about and if it’s not harmonious with your wants, gently steer it in the direction you want it go.

You can do this as regularly as you want, for as long as you want. Just be still.

2. Explore your area or an area of your choice, alone.

I do this all the time. I love exploring the places I go to, I find so many gems and have wonderful and enlightening experiences by doing so. Doing things like encourages self-sufficiency and reaffirms that I am enough and don’t require any extra’s.

img_4111Lastly (okay that’s three), eat good. You can buy or make it just as long as you enjoy it. Let it be a moment. There’s something truly humbling about being able to eat what you want. I’m sure most of us can recall being too broke to afford anything but the basics so when you eat, do not forget to be grateful.

This is one of my favourite meals from Leon’s.

Have a fabulous weekend, till next week ciao! xo

They Don’t Support Me

03 Thursday Aug 2017

Posted by Irene Ephraim in Experiences, Life, More Action, Motivational & Intentional

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Tags

focus, Fortunate, Gratitude, life, Live, Love, Positive, Speaker, support, writer

First off, thank you. Thank you to everyone who has ever read, commented, shared, messaged me about my posts, I don’t think I have ever really shown gratitude but I am truly grateful!

I just came across a post of someone laminating about having fake friends, the lack of support and how much they do for others but it’s not reciprocated blah blah blah. Sorry, that’s life. We’re all guilty.

My flesh and blood till date still don’t get the name of blog/company right never mind having read any of my 100+ posts and likewise I am sure there are bunch of things I don’t show my family enough gratitude for.

We don’t always get an equal return on our investment. Could you ever come close to repaying back your mother? I think not.

It’s not your business to pay attention to those that are not interested, your duty is to pay attention to those that ARE vested in you.

For whatever reason we have been wired to focus on all the negatives. We shouldn’t, especially when we are inundated with so many positives.

So what one person didn’t show up to your birthday? There were 10 others that did. Only 5 people liked your blog post, that’s 5 more people than 0. You missed your bus to get to work, at least you have a job to go to, someone else is searching for one as we speak and has bills coming out of their crack and no immediate means to take care of them. You missed an audition, okay are there not others? No matter the circumstance, there are positives, you just have to look for them and FOCUS on that instead.

Would you believe I had a car accident over the weekend worse than the one I had a few weeks ago. Yes you read right a few weeks ago. Talk about a tough break. Was I out of sorts for a couple of days? Sure I was. But guess what? I am alive as is the other driver. It could have been so different, my last blog post could have been the last one forever.

Whatever you focus on EXPANDS. You zone in on the negatives, surprise surprise more negative things come your way. Do the opposite and the same will follow suit.

Take your mind off the things that didn’t work, the people that do not support you, the plans that failed to launch, and look for the positives in all situations.

Love on those that love on you. Show gratitude to those that are there for you and do support you . Appreciate the things you do have and you’ll see that there will be more of these things.

Shift your focus, life is much better that way.

Xo

Petty Bitter Betty

08 Thursday Dec 2016

Posted by Irene Ephraim in Experiences, Life, Thoughts in motion

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Appreciation, Gratitude, Love, Negative, perspective, Positive, Powerful, Thoughts become things, words

We are wired wrong.

There are some things that people are incredibly sensitive about, one of them is birthdays. I think nearly everyone can relate to this.

Mine is coming up and I had sent out invitations last night. Of course, with these things you get an onslaught of ‘I can’t make it’, ‘Sorry’, ‘I have a previous engagement’, blah blah blah! It’s to be expected. However it still doesn’t stop you from being in your feelings.

This was me yesterday, I began to think and feel negative about the fact that some of the invitees could not make it. I thought about the many, many, many times I had shown up for them in different ways and felt slighted that the efforts I make aren’t always reciprocated. This train of thought, coupled with my own other insecurities spell disaster. I even considered from this point onwards, not showing up for people and reducing the ways that I over extend and often times inconvenience myself to support these people. But then I caught myself, pressed pause and checked my thoughts.

This was the conversation I was having in my head and all within a few minutes might I add-Could you imagine, if I allowed this dialogue to continue for hours, days, months? I’d be a lil’ menace and a petty bitter betty. Thankfully, the good voice always reigns supreme so it never wins, but I have had some close calls.

It dawned on me that I was paying way too much unnecessary attention to all the no’s and not valuing and appreciating all the yeses and there were yeses. What the hell is wrong me?!

I know I am not the only one whose wiring is configured to magnify and exacerbate the negatives rather than promote and celebrate the wonderful positives. We have unfortunately been conditioned this way and it serves as our go-to whenever we face something we don’t particularly like and in some cases even when the circumstances are favourable, we find something to be upset about. This disposition is a huge blessing and gratitude blocker too.

It made me realize how deep rooted negative thinking can be and how it shows up even in the small things. It is not only damaging to you, but to the people around you. It’s a condition that needs treatment immediately effectively otherwise it may cause depression, isolation, or worse, death. And I am not kidding either.

It’s this kind of thinking that can eventually lead people to wanting to end it all, or find a destructive vice, like drugs, sex, self-harm, eating disorders and the like. So please don’t take it lightly, for your own good, do something about it.

I am often checking myself and filtering the thoughts that pass through my head, taking the ones that will serve me and ditching the ones that will not, although I am not always successful in respect of the latter, yet, still, I try.

I have to say something else that I don’t think a lot of people are aware of and it’s this: Not every thought that comes to mind is yours or is for you. Sometimes there are thoughts in the ether looking for a mind to stick to (which is why words are powerful, but that’s a topic for another day). There are times I have thoughts and I think ‘hold up, that’s not of me’ and immediately reject it.

Give it a shot, choose to be conscious of your thoughts, even the seemingly insignificant ones and examine if they are helping or destroying you.

As a very AA colloquial saying goes, ‘Check yourself, before you wreck yourself’.

Oh, and don’t be a PBB, it’s not a good look 🙂

XO

Ps You know how I say I am dramatic right?…let me give you a better idea, King Julien IS my spirit animal (He gets me Lol!), nuff said.

Pps The urge to be petty always exists but then again so does Karma and that trumps petty so…erm…think about that.

Tips for a better mood

29 Wednesday Jun 2016

Posted by Irene Ephraim in Experiences, Life, Thoughts in motion

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Attitude, blogger, Environment, Exercise, Gratitude, Happy, life, Mood, Motivation, Music, Positive, Speaker, writer

Yesterday oh yesterday, what a pile of cow dung! In other words it was a crap day. Things were not going in my favour at all. It was one thing after the other and I eventually succumbed to the negativity that surrounded me. As you can imagine from that point onwards my judgement was skewed and everything was bigger and worse than it need be.

I had to check myself and attempt to regulate my attitude.

I find the following things helpful when having a bad day:

  • Music always puts me in a better mood. I must mention that when feeling down, refrain from listening to particularly melancholy songs as that will only heighten your bad mood. Music works because the vibration is higher and quicker, where talking at a steady pace may assist of a longer period of time, the singing, melodies and beat of song is much more intense that you are forced to match its vibration almost instantly. It will be difficult to resist the reverberation and you’ll very soon find yourself in a better mood. Try it, speak to anyone with low energy and see how they respond to you and do the opposite, notice the difference.
  • Exercise, again very similar reasoning as above. In addition to this, you burn calories, and get rid of toxic waste, and the negative energy you hold, you’ll expend.
  • Change of environment. Take a different route home, visit a place you’ve always wanted to, go to the museum, watch a play, attend an event (Eventbrite is a great website to look at), try a different type of food, do an activity that is out of the norm, it will shake things up and give you a new perspective and refresh your mind. Make a habit of introducing yourself to something new.
  • Lastly and most importantly, have an ‘Attitude of Gratitude’. I spent some of yesterday thinking about all the million and one things that I pay for and how I really wasn’t enjoying this period of my life. I walked up to my car and thought, thank God, the insurance and upkeep of the car I pay allows me to get around with ease and style, I value my independence greatly. I was walking around with a fairly expensive camera that someone had gifted to me last Christmas, I get to capture great moments and cherish them forever. My contract phone means I can communicate with my friends and family conveniently throughout the day, month, and year and the list goes on. Focusing and being thankful for the good things, aids in cultivating a more positive mind set. This is part of conditioning, the more you do it, the better you become at being optimistic and effectively productive. This also helps in building your bounce back muscles.

I hope the above gives you some things to think about doing and maybe you can come up with a list of your own.

Please do feel free to share.

XO

 

 

Why Didn’t You Warn Me?!

Why Didn't You Warn Me?!

Why Didn't You Warn Me?! is a podcast speaking on the things you should know, but don't. The things you typically find out after the fact, and it's sometimes too late. Fear not, Why Didn't You Warn Me?! with Irene aka Lipstick, will give you the 411 through story-telling, conversations, and refreshing perspectives.

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