It started out like many evenings. We were on the Internet doing some research. The TV was going softly in the background. The AC was providing “white noise” on a hot and humid summer evening. But all that came to an abrupt halt when the power went out in our home. A glance outside revealed our whole neighborhood had also lost power. Our home became very quiet – for a short time.

What’s something you can do to give a boost to your physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing – without negative side effects? As a psychologist, and we are both success coaches, we are always looking for ways to help people have healthier and happier lives. We found numerous studies showing that being in nature can boost people’s health for body, mind and spirit.

The other day I (Lynn) was going down the stairs while carrying scissors. Suddenly I had the memory of my mom’s voice telling me to keep the sharp end of the scissors pointed down. This was a good small life lesson but it got Doug and me thinking about life’s lessons and especially some of the big life lessons that we wish we would have learned long ago.

Are there some areas of your life that you feel could be better and you want to change? Most people, including us, have a few of those areas. There is only so much time in each day and most people want to live life to the fullest and thoroughly enjoy it.
As success coaches, we often ask people, “What do you want to say no to, so that you can say yes to something else.” Sometimes we get so busy that we follow routines without even thinking about how we want our life to be.

While we were at Lake Ann beach today, Doug, who is a terrific singer, spontaneously started singing George Gershwin’s Summertime. The lyrics point out that “the livin’ is easy” – but with today’s fast-paced lifestyle, summertime often seems too rushed. That song got us thinking that summer is a short, beautiful season, worthy of being savored. What does savoring mean? To savor something is to become more aware and thoroughly experience and enjoy it.

What comes to your mind when you think of the Fourth of July? What memories do you have? Doug remembers that, as a child, he decorated his bicycle with red, white and blue crepe paper strips strung between the spokes of the wheels. Kids still do that today, along with decorating wagons and even decorating their dogs. Then everyone marches along together in a parade. There are picnics with friends and family, concerts in the park and fireworks. Doug says, “Fireworks are a blast!” Fourth of July is a lot of fun!

Recently we attended a family reunion in Wanamingo, Minnesota. it was nice to travel a bit and see the rolling fields and meandering streams. It was even more wonderful to see some family members that we don’t see very often. Unfortunately, not all family members were there. Distance and location made it more difficult for some to make the trip. Wanamingo is not the type of town where you fly in and get a cab to your destination.