Ce qui fait tourner mon monde!

ceci est une traduction du blogue d'hier.... qui était en fait une reprise d'une publication d'il y a deux ans... qui avait été très populaire! Lorsque je l'ai vue, j'ai été surprise de voir que malgré tous les changements qui ont affectés ma vie au cours des 2 dernières années, ce qui se trouvait sur cette liste était encore vrai...  sauf pour le fait que mon garcon a maintenant 12 ans... et non plus 10! J'ai aussi ajouté quelques items que je juge pertinent à ce point ci de ma vie.

photo prise à l'Ecomuseum en mai 2011 lors d'une visite avec mon fils

Une fleur (il y a une toute petite fleur dans le photo ci-haut)
Un rayon de soleil dans une semaine pluvieuse
Une vacance au SPA
Un sourire
Mon garçon de 12 ans qui me prend la main lorsque nous marchons
Un baiser
Un calin
S'assoir sur le gazon
Les arbres en fleurs
Une brise ensoleillé sur ma jour lorsque je lis
Un enfant riant dans les balançoires
Tenir la porte pour une personne âgée
Rencontrer ma meilleire amie chez Starbucks
Suivre un cours de yoga
Méditer tôt le matin
Un oiseau qui chante
Rire
Des cadeaux fait à la main de mon fils
Une douche chaude
Un papillon
Une coccinnelle
Un repas fait masion que mon fils et mon mari apprecient
Se réveiller au son de la pluie
Sentir les fleurs dans la brise
Marcher sous la pluie
Une randonnée à vélo
Rentrér à la maison avec des sac d'épiceries santé
Mon chat
Le son d'une vague
Un smoothie
Un jus fait maison
Parler de "Life Happens" - OK celui-ci est vraiment nouveau!


 

love and peace,
nath
xox
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What makes my world go round

this is an edit from a post I made 2 years ago that had been very popular...  I saw it and I was amaze to see that no matter how many changes I went thru over the last 2 years this is still all true!!!  (of course my son's age was then 10... )

picture taken at Ecomuseum in May 2011 while visiting with my son

A flower (there is a tiny yellow flower in the picture above)
A ray of sunshine in a rainy week
A spa vacation
A smile
My 12 years old son reaching for my hand when we walk
A kiss
A hug
Sitting in the grass
Flowers blooming in trees
Sunny breeze on my cheek when reading outside
Baby laughing in the swing
Holding the door for an elderly
Meeting my best friend at Starbucks
Attending a yoga class
Meditation early morning
A bird singing
Laughing
Hand made gifts from my son
A hot shower
A butterfly
A lady bug
A home made meal that my son and husband love!

Waking up to the sound of a quiet rain

Smelling the flowers through the breeze

Walking in the rain

A bike ride

Coming home with healthy groceries

My cat

The sound of a wave

A smoothie

A homemade juice

Talking about "Life Happens" - OK this one is new!

 

 

love and peace,
nath
xox
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When I first started doing yoga...

One of my favorite place to do yoga outside - by the water

...I had no idea where it would bring me...  and I certainly did not suspect the total transformation I would undergo....

As you might have seen in "Life Happens" I started doing yoga as a mean to manage my stress and deal with MS (multiple sclerosis). 

As suggested by my psychologist, I bought a yoga DVD and meditation CD 7 years ago....  and slowly started... doing mostly stretches, breathing and meditation....  I was doing it for 10 minutes per day... and it was very demanding!  and then when I was off my mat, I was back to my old self...

Roughly 18 months after that, I needed to know more...  I had no clue why, but something was happening and made me want to know more about yoga... so I started buying books... and more DVDs...  and I read about yoga....  and started doing actual asanas instead of only stretches and breathing... and it felt good!!!  I joined a studio and started taking my first official Hatha yoga introductory class... and all this combined was transformative... and I started to make changes to my life...  doing a little yoga on the mat made me feel good... and off the mat I was reading about it a lot... kind of became an obsession!  At one point I started aligning who I was discovering on the mat with who I was off the mat....

Long story short, as if you already read other posts you know me a little by now, I became who I am today... 

I still love yoga!!!!  But to me yoga is now more a way of living than an exercise like it use to be...  Yes I can still do a headstand, wheel, crow pose or many sun salutations... However this is not what yoga means to me anymore...  And it is not what I like to do on my mat!  I do my yoga routine most days... It includes breathing exercises, meditation, asanas for at least 40 minutes....  I get up at 5am to so... And I have no particular routine I respect...  I follow what my body needs...  more breathing when I am tense...  more stretches when I have been walking a lot and my legs are stiff...  more sun salute when I am really energize... more backbends when I need to let the love in... more tree if I need to root myself furthermore...  It changes... day by day!  I can never predict what it will look like the next day because my body only tells me when I am ON the mat! But I am a yogi ALL the time... on and off the mat!

This is the ONE lesson yoga as thought me:  Let go
I do not need to know exactly when, where and how things will happen...

I did learn that when you are  your own self and follow your ideals and principles... where you are honest with yourself and do what your hearth truly desires you WILL end up in the right place at the right moment!!!  and wonderful things will happen!! people will sense you are authentic and love and respect you for it even if they do not agree completely with your ideals.

And it is the most important lesson I could learn... because I use to have a tendency to want to control everything in my life... and I have probably missed great opportunities/relationship because of that... but that's OK too.. cause it made me who I am today... and brought me where I am now!

It is an important lesson too since when I decided to write a book, I had no clue where it would bring me...  but I knew I wanted and needed to do it... and to this day, almost 3 months after it has been published I still am unsure as to where I am going with this (and probably will always be unsure as it will change over time)... but I am enjoying the ride instead of focusing on the destination...  as there probably is no destination anyway right?  A destination is final... it means the end to something...  as long as I am  enjoying the ride, I am going somewhere... and who needs to know where really???  Surprises are GREAT! As long as I am enjoying the ride, Life Happens is alive...  and been talked about! And I get a chance to talk about it.... and do what I love more.. talk and write about yoga, meditation as well as diet and lifestyle change!

I guess this is what this post is all about....

1) Learn how to LET GO!!!  (you do not need to control everything and everyone... and anyway you can't...  it's a false impression!!!)
2) Do what you really love!!! (life is short why waste it with stuff that doesn't really matter?)
3) Enjoy the RIDE... there is no destination!  (well there is one, and we all have the same one!!!)

and go with my favorite quote from Gandhi (it is my mantra and I repeat it several times a day and it's everywhere in my life - even Life Happens start with it!) :

"Be the change you want to see"

and you... what do you have to let go? what ride are you enjoying??

love and peace,
nath
xox
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Communication and authenticity

As a day job, I am a training program development specialist and I also train people on soft skills: stress management, change management, communication, conflict resolution, team work and so on... This is the best part of my job!!!

I am currently giving a verbal and non-verbal communication courses to a group of distribution center associates (otherwise known as "warehouse guys")... and we are having very interesting discussions....

On today's course, one of my favorite student asked me:  Can the way you dress influence you communication?

VERY smart question... and not simple at all...

The answer is yes and no....  let me explain...

In order for communication to happens, there need to be a sender, a message and a receiver.

Now, the receiver is just as important as the sender in any message been sent!

The way the sender is dressed surely influence the way he's perceived by his receiver...  and hence the "understanding" or "interpretation" of the message.  Unfortunately, people are quick to judge a book cover without actually reading the content....   our clothes are like book covers... and our message the content! 
And because the first impression is ever lasting, or almost, the way we dress do influence our communication.... 

However, I know that unlike a book, we are not waiting to be opened and read passively....  we deliver the message...  so if we have a strong message, strong personalities... we can overcome the first impression and "force" people to forget the container and go with the content.  This, of course, is not THAT easy...   you need to be quite assertive and believe in yourself and your message!  And it will not always work...  but when it does the outcome will be amazing because you will know people "listened" for who you are and not what you look like.  This is what REALLY matters!

I would like to mention that I do NOT suggest you dress "like someone else"...  I truly believe in being authentic...  I am a strong advocate of being one with your heart, your soul and you mind and to actually show that unity and uniqueness to others...  and by that I mean, what you say, what you do and how you dress should reflect who you TRULY are...  at ALL times!!!  I firmly believe that people who play an act to fit in a role have much to loose in the end... even if only themselves!

All that being said, in order to be authentic, you need to know who you are...  and in order to be it all the time, you need to be in the right environment at home AND at work... and most people are not at ease in one of those environment! It's "easy" to play a role, pretend to be someone we are not without even realizing it... because we do not take time to figure out who we are and what we want!

Once that is done (once you figured out who you are and what you want), change will manifest itself in a weird way to bring you where you belong...  and therefore you'll be able to BE yourself at all times... the way you think, the way you act will be united... this will bring peace... this will bring happiness....  maybe not in a way you would have thought off at first... maybe not the way you initially planned it...  but surely MUCH better!!!!

p.s. have you ever seen the dalai-lama where a suit?  do you not respect him?  do people ignore his saying because he's not dress in a certain way?
When you are authentic, you message will be stong and in tune with what you firmly believe and people will respect You...  for who you are!

love and peace,
nath
xox
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Malentendu sur le minimalisme et ses adeptes

(for my English readers - this is Thursday's French post... it is a translation from yesterday's post: Misconception on minimalism)

Dans cette publication, je voudrais parler de certains malentendus autour des minimalistes... et pour être franche, moi aussi j'ai pensé cela avant de bien connaître le principe... alors donnez moi une chance de m'expliquer...

1) Les minimalistes sont "cheap"
2) Les minimalistes vivent pauvrement
3) Les minimalistes ne peuvent prioriser leur dépenses d'où leur constant manque d'argent
4) Les minimalistes ne veulent pas faire partie de cette société
5) Les minimalistes sont ennuyeux

et tout ceci n'a pas besoin d'être adressé séparément... c'est en fait une seule et même chose!!!

Premièrement nous ne sommes pas "cheap" et nous ne vivons pas pauvrement... Ne pas avoir une maison pleine de trucs, un garde-robe plein de vêtements, un garde-manger plein de nourriture, un agenda rempli, un horaire chargé, une longue liste de trucs à faire n'est pas vivre pauvrement ou être "cheap"...

La richesse peut aussi être trouvée dans la simplicité...

Je paierai avec plaisir:

6$ pour un Chai Latte chez Starbucks...
140$ pour des bottes d'hiver faites au Québec ou je vis...
16$ pour une tasse du commerce équitable pour y boire mon thé...
40$ pour un t-shirt fait de cotton organic et fabriqué au USA...
5$ pour des fraises organiques, de la saison et de ma région...

et la liste continue...  vous comprenez?

nous ne vivons pas pauvrement... nous préférons payer plus pour des choses qui nous tiennent à coeur que peu pour un paquet de truc qui ne nous disent rien... nous allons avec la qualité au lieu de la quantité... la qualité n'est pas synonyme de "cheap" ou de pauvreté...

bien entendu une chambre comme la mienne qui ne contient qu'un bureau 4 tiroirs, un lit double (pas queen ou king - juste double), une chaise et une table de nuit peut paraître vide pour certains... mais je n'ai vraiment besoin de rien d'autre dans ma chambre! 

Nous ne "manquons pas d'argent"... en fait la plupart du temps nous avons moins de dettes que la moyenne des citoyens...  et plusieurs d'entre nous n'ont aucune dettes et vivont sans carte de crédit...  

Saviez-vous que 91% des gens qui font une demande de faillite le font à cause de cartes de crédits?   Vivre sans carte de crédit est possible...  on a besoin de planification mais c'est possible!

Et à propos des priorités...C'est quoi prioriser ses dépenses?  Avoir une maison, une voiture de luxe, plein de vêtements, faire plusieurs voyages par années?  Qui dit que ce sont les bonnes priorités?  Les priorités sont personnelles...  il n'y en a pas de bonnes et de mauvaises...

cependant...

l'empreinte moyenne d'émission de CO2 par année est de 27 tonnes au USA
dans le monde, chaque habitant utilise en moyenne 5.5 tonnes de CO2/ année
un minimaliste vegan a une empreinte moyenne de 3 tonnes de CO2/année

il n'y as pas de vrai ou de faux dans les priorites mais certains modes de vies endommangent pas mal moins notre belle planète que d'autres... 
Non je n'ai pas de maison ou de voiture...  ceci diminue mon empreinte de carbone de beaucoup!
Je ne mange aucun produit animal... diminue encore davantage...
et je n'achète pas de chose à moins d'en avoir vraiment besoin...

Ces décisions, ces priorités sont celles qui me font sentir bien...  je les prends pour moi mais aussi pour faire partie de cette société... et non m'en exclure! En utilisant moins de ressources, j'en laisse plus pour les autres... plus pour les générations à venir...

Ca peut paraître ennuyeux pour certains... mais honnêtement...

Je préfère faire une randonnée à vélo avec mon fils et mon mari, s'assoir sur une couverture dans un parc et manger des fruits, légumes, noix et un morceaux de pain tout en écoutant les enfants jouer et le chant des oiseaux que de m'assoir dans un resto chic et bruyant, sans air, sans soleil et sans savoir ce qui compose mon repas...

Je préfère prendre le bus pour aller au travail ou faire des courses que d'être prises dans le traffic et stresser...

Etre minimaliste n'est ni "cheap", ni pauvre, ni ennuyeux.. C'est une question de priorités.. une question de ne pas vouloir utiliser toutes les ressources de la terre immédiatement et en laisser pour les générations à venir... c'est une question de ne pas vouloir être stressé avec trop en trop peu de temps...  une question de vouloir profiter de la vie... au lieu de la subir...

Comme le dit Antoine de St-Exupery: " Nous n'héritons pas la terre de nos ancêtres mais l'empruntons à nos enfants"

Pouvons nous faire en sorte qu'il leur reste quelque chose?

Ne nous regardez pas comme des "weirdos" ou "cheapos" ou des gens ennuyeux... prenez le temps de nous connaître avant de vous faire une opinion...








love and peace,
nath
xox
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Misconception on minimalist

In this post I would like to address some misconceptions I heard on minimalism... and to be honest, I even had some of those ideas before completely understanding the idea.... so bare with me...

1) Minimalist are cheap
2) Minimalist are happy living poorly
3) Minimalist cannot set their priority straight hence their constant lack of money
4) Minimalist do not want to be part of our society
5) Minimalist are boring

and all this do not necessarily need to be addressed separately....  as they are all related....

First of all we are not cheap and we do not live poorly...  Now, not having a house full of stuff, closet full of clothes, pantry full of food, agenda full of social events, busy schedules, long lists of things to do is NOT living poorly... and NOT because we are cheap...

Richness can ALSO be found in simplicity...

I will gladly pay:

6$ for a Chai Latte at Starbucks...
140$ for winter boots made in Quebec where I live...
16$ for a fair trade ethical mug to drink my tea in...
40$ for a t-shirt made of organic cotton in the USA...
5$ for strawberries grown locally and organically in season...

and the list goes on.....  do you get the picture?

we do not live poorly... we rather pay more money for stuff we truly care about and have less then have lots of stuff that do not cost much...  we go with quality rather than quantity...  quality is not cheap or poor...

of course a bedroom like mine with one chest drawer, a double bed, a chair and a nightstand might look empty to some... but I really do not need more than that in my bedroom... 

We do not "lack money"....  as a matter of fact, we often times have much less debt than the average citizen...  and many of us are debt free and do not use credit... 

Did you know that 91% of people filing for bankruptcy need to do so because of credit card debt?  Living credit card free is possible....  it needs planning but it is possible...

And about priorities....  what would be a straight order of priorities?  Having a house, a fancy car, closet full of clothes, travelling a couple of times a year?  Who says these are "straight" priorities?  Priorities are personal... there is not right or wrong...

however,
the average carbon footprint of Americans is:  27 tons of CO2/year... 
the world average carbon footprint per person is: 5.5 tons of CO2/year
the average carbon footprint of a vegan minimalist is 3 tons of CO2/year

there is no right or wrong but there might be some priorities that help the planet we live on a little...

No I do not own a house or a car... this lower my carbon footprint a lot!!!
I do not eat any animal product...  decrease even further more...
I do not buy stuff I do not REALLY need... 

These decisions, these priorities are the ones that make ME feel good... I take them for myself but also as a participation to this SOCIETY... by using less, there is more for others.... more for generations to come...

It may sound boring to some.... but quite frankly...

 I'd rather enjoy a bike ride to the park with my son and husband and sit down on a blanket to have a meal composed of fruits, vegetables, bread and nuts while listening to the sound of kids playing and bird singing than sitting in a fancy restaurant with noise, no sun, no fresh air and not knowing what my meal is composed off...

I'd rather take the bus to run errands and go to work then stress in traffic while driving...

Being minimalist is not cheap, poor, boring...  It's a question of priorities... a question of not wanting to use up all mother's hearth has to offer us right now and leave some for future generation...  it's a question of not wanting to be stress with to much in too little time... a question of wanting to ENJOY life... instead of undergoing it...

Like Antoine de St-Exupery once said:  "We do not inherit the earth from our ancestor but borrow it to our children"

Can we make so that there will be something for them too???

Please do not look at us like weirdos.... or cheapos... or boring people... take the time to get to know a few minimalist before you make up your mind about us...

love and peace,
nath
xox
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Project 333, Life Happens and One month vegan

Today is a big day for me!!!!

It marks 2 months of Life Happens being on sale... thru Amazon, Barnes&Nobles and thru iUniverse my publisher...
It has been an amazing 2 months... I got my Facebook page , my website... new "friends" and new "like".... and I feel this is just the beginning of a great adventure!!!   I have received  nice testimonies from my readers and it just make me feel very lucky to be able to help people this way!!!

It also marks my first month being vegan!
and it is really easy.... surprisingly.... when I tried it last year it was much more difficult.... I guess I was not ready for it yet...  This time around I am not having a hard time except for a few days at the beginning but now I am fine... I guess it also helps that I am surrounded by other vegan thru Facebook and Twitter...  I get encouragement and answers to my questions.... 
I am pretty sure that I will stay vegan after my 3 months challenge this time and not go back! We'll see...  more on that later!

Today also mark a new season of my friend Courtney's Project 333 which I decided to hop on for yet another season....  my 3rd!!! (that is a lot of 3s....)
My list of items for this season beginning today and ending June 30th is:

1)Wide leg jeans
2) Skinny jeans
3) Jeans with flower patch
4) Red pants
5) Navy pants
6) Black pants straight leg
7) Flower skirt
8) Black dress
9) Navy and beige dress
10) Corduroy jacket
11) Brown jacket
12) Grey vest
13) Beige knitted sweater
14) Grey shawl with sleeves
15) Om t-shirt
16) Recycle t-shirt
17) Stripe navy 3/4 sleeve t-shirt
18) Stripe olive 3/4 sleeve t-shirt
19) Long sleeve t-shirt beige
20) 3/4 sleeve t-shirt grey
21) long sleeve t-shirt grey
22) fuchsia cami
23) grey cami
24) white t-shirt
25) red t-shirt
26) long sleeve stripe shirt (white and blue)
27) jean shirt
28) chic, black long sleeve top

now these items will remain in my wardrobe for the month of April....  living in Montreal, it is unrealistic to have one wardrobe from now to the end of June... most likely by beginning or mid-May, I will need to adjust furthermore...  I do have 5 spots left... and I may retire the items in green to replace them with more weather appropriate items when the time comes... but I will keep you updated...
I realized that I almost no longer wear jewelry... aside from what relates me to my yoga practice....  It will soon be time to think about whether or not I include jewelry into my list....  I already no longer own many of them... I have my "yoga" jewelry and what was given to me by my mom, husband and son...  really not that much...  I will have to look deeper into that...  I will also have to look into including outer wear and shoes/boots....  that too is now very limited... I am always reticent to include these in my list as it will restrict the number of items for the other stuff but I know I am getting there.... slowly...  but surely!  And honestly, each step becomes easier... and make me feel lighter!!! And I still feel stylish....  maybe even more so... as I need to use my creativity to dress up each morning and not look exactly the same as the previous day!

what are you doing with your spring wardrobe???  Do you have many items in it? Do you think you can still be stylish with less items?

On that note, Happy Spring!!!

love and peace,
nath
xox
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