Sunday, February 28, 2010

Lessons from the Irish

One place that's on my bucket list is Ireland.  Besides the scenery being so beautiful, it seems to be such a laid back relaxing place to visit.  The people exude a warmth and playfulness.   When it comes to building meaningful relationships I am reminded of the Irish.  They have such a strong tradition and culture which you can sense in their many blessings and inspirational poems.  Just think what a difference it would make if we treated our business relationships with the same care as our personal relationships.



For one thing, Irish blessings are about welcoming, warmth and turning a negative situation into a positive one.

Here are some examples of Irish Blessings:


May the roads rise to meet you,
May the wind be at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rain fall soft upon your fields,
And, until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

May you be poor in misfortunes,
and rich in blessings,
May you know nothing but happiness,
from this day forward,
May good luck be your friend,
In whatever you do,
And may trouble be always,
A stranger to you.

May you always have work for your hands to do,
May your pockets hold always a coin or two,
May the sun shine bright on your windowpane,
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain,
May the hand of a friend always be near you,
And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day. May songbirds serenade you every step along the way. May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that's always blue. And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through.

May the sun shine all day long, everything go right and nothing wrong.  May those you love bring love back to you, and may all the wishes you wish come true.

May the friendships you make be those which endure and all of your Grey clouds be small ones for sure. And trusting in Him to Whom we all pray, may a song fill your heart every step of the way.

Any of these would make a wonderful greeting to send someone in a greeting card.


We usually think of St. Patrick's day when we think of Ireland, but many of the holidays we celebrate today comes from the Irish.  Even 'spring cleaning' comes from the Irish Easter celebration.

For a list of holidays for the month of March, check out these sites:

Holiday Insights
Web Holidays
Earth Calendar
Brownie Locks
Wellcat - Quirky Holidays

Wherever you go and whatever you do, May the luck of the Irish be there with you.

In gratitude,
Annette
Painted Lady Enterprises
"Helping You and Your Business Look Good"

Source for some of the above information:  YourIrish.com

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Friday, February 5, 2010

Matters of the Heart

Children's Valentine in somewhat questionable ...Image via Wikipedia

February is American Heart Month. This month gives us lots of different ways to celebrate and honor matters of the heart. On the first is Women's Heart Health Day. We have National Wear Red Day, today, Feb. 5, which brings awareness to the Number #1 disease of women, heart disease and Valentine's Day on the 14th.

I attended a luncheon yesterday and the speakers were doctors and representatives from a local clinic that specialize in women's health issues. It was interesting that what they talked about initially was mammograms and the HPV virus. However, when someone asked the question about other diseases that women should be concerned about, the presenter then stated that heart disease was the number one killer of women, not breast cancer. That being the case, why is so much emphasis put on breast cancer rather than heart disease? Don't get me wrong, they are both very serious. I just think that women need to be educated equally on all their risks.

I think the problem with most women is that we are so very busy with family, jobs/businesses, etc. that we tend to ignore our aches and pains. We tolerate more when we should. We should be more aware of what our bodies are telling us, which was the message of one of the presenters. Be aware of changes and seek help if it's something out of the ordinary.

In the past six months I have had two women acquaintances, both in their 40s to pass away. One from complications of what may have been swine flu which developed into phneumoneon. The other colon cancer. And just recently I learned another friend and business associate has been diagnoised with HER2 Stage T-III cancer. So I guess my musing for this blog is take the time to take care of yourself, because you can't take care of anyone else if you're not well. Get regular check ups and not just the pap smear check up, but a complete physical.

And the other part of my musing, let the people who matter most to you, know how much you care. You never know when you won't have that opportunity.

Rather than list all the holidays for February, here are a list of websites that I have discovered that offer listings of just about every holiday and observance imaginable. Also, I do post, almost daily, on Facebook various holidays at 'We Have a Card for That.' Hope you will become a Fan.

Holiday Insights
Web Holidays
Earth Calendar
Wellcat - Quirky Holidays

Celebrate the lives of those you love Everyday! Show them you care. Send them a
H.U. G. - A Heartfelt Greeting.

In gratitude,
Annette
Painted Lady Enterprises
"Helping You and Your Business Look Good"

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