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Greetings!

Happy Holidays Everyone!
Take care of each other
Keep the faith,
And keep smilin'!
-Beth and the Team

Resilience During Trying Times

We know how we got here. During the last few decades we've been bent on owning everything we can get our hands on; accumulating wealth, debt, and "stuff" at an unprecedented rate. We are inundated daily with ads telling us that we aren't enough; we don't have enough; we aren't beautiful enough; we aren't skinny enough; our teeth aren't white enough; we don't have enough hair or have too much in the wrong places. Advertising and TV shows have worked us into a frenzy of insecurity about the status of our "stuff" compared to the "stuff" of our neighbors and complete strangers in the mall.

We need a road map back to sanity.

So where is sanity? How does one cope? The flood of information (most of it negative) entering our consciousness on a daily basis makes it impossible to think. From mailboxes full of junk to inboxes full of spam and silly jokes, we are too battered to find a moment of peace. We drive in clogged traffic for hours on end and feel pressured to listen to the radio's endless hashing of the day's tragedies. We feel obligated read through every piece of mail and ads, thinking we might miss something. We cast about trying to organize papers that seem to procreate on our office floors while we sleep.

We can't completely shut out the world: we are making a living out there.

The good news? We were blessed with Response-ability. We are able to respond - to choose.

So - Choose Peace. Take a few days off, or listen to the news only at specific times of the day. (Hey, it doesn't change much… someone bought a company, someone sold one, someone was promoted, someone was busted, someone was born, and someone died… )

Listen to soothing music in heavy traffic. Pick songs that make you feel refreshed. Pay attention to melodies that give you a lift. Create a collection of favorite music. When you are stressed, play that. I have few CD's that bring me back home to myself and a few that pick me up. Make this a priority. Music and rhythm are two keys to coping with stress.

The best coping mechanism is detachment. Step back from problems and stressful situations enough to see reality. We are so attached to our issues that we can't see them in context of the bigger world. Are your worries real or are they conjecture? Are you attaching too much importance to this problem? Are you able to find a different way to look at it? To solve it? Can you change any habits that keep you from finding peace?

Take time every day to integrate your brain. Our brains are overwhelmed with data. Pause. Breathe. For a moment, stop and look out the window or at a favorite photograph. Play with your pet. Let your brain sort through the information and make sense of it. Meditate for a moment each day and you will sleep better at night.

Think differently about your "stuff." We fret and worry because we want that new computer. We want that new cell phone. If only we could have that pair of shoes we saw in the window downtown… We yearn for stuff to replace stuff that 90% of the world will never own in their lifetime. Roger von Oech, author of "A Whack on the Side of the Head" put it best:
"Going to a junk yard is a sobering experience. There you can see the ultimate destination of almost everything we desire."

Remember - you have a choice in how you respond. Take on only what you can handle. Take care of your physical, emotional and spiritual well-being and focus on getting healthier each day. The world has enough crazy people.

Take care of yourself… we need you.

We need you healthy.
Beth

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Quote This!

Humor is a form of self-detachment -- a way of looking at one's existence, one's misfortune, or one's discomfort. If you really love, and if you really know how to laugh, the result is the same: you forget yourself.
Claude Roy

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Announcements!

• We are currently building our schedule for 2009. Beth's newest offerings include many presentations on Resilience. Check out Beth's New Topics here
• Contact Beth and get on her calendar.
• Keep an eye on Beth's Store. She is in the studio these days creating audio books and e-books for you! We will keep you posted.
• Want to hear Beth at your next event? What can you do? Maybe you don't hire speakers, but you work at an organization that occasionally brings in speakers for various events.
  1. First, find out who in your organization does arrange for speakers. In many organizations, this goes through the HR department. Not always, but it's a great place to start.
  2. If you have access to that person, give them a quick call or email them. Tell them about Beth and her message of Resilience in Tough Times. Encourage them to read a newsletter or two and to look over Beth's topics.
  3. Find out when the next event might be and follow up months in advance. Many organizations plan ahead 6-12 months or more.
  4. Invite that person to conact Beth directly (Call Beth Toll-Free: 877-672-5008). Your organization may have a unique need in this current state of affairs and Beth will work with them to find the right message and tone.
  5. Feel free to let Beth know (you can email her here) who that person is and we can also follow up from our end!

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Cool (Holiday) Links

This month's cool link is Your FREE Holiday Gift!

I've created two very cool ebooks for you.
If you are a Manager and you are casting about for ways to motivate your employees - I created a short 17 page booklet for you.
If you are fed up, frustrated, worried, not sure what to do next, I created a short 12- page booklet for you, complete with wonderful pictures that I took out on the Sonoran Desert.

Go to http://www.BethTerry.com/gift and download away.

Feel free to share these with anyone who might need them. Make the world a better place one download at a time!

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Fan Mail from Friends!

"Beth, I love your web-site. The message from Xena makes me laugh, of course your message is inspiring!. What a "breather" it is to read your news letters. Of course, it's better to be sitting in your presence, but since that isn't possible, I'll keep reading and smiling!

Keep up the good work of inspiring us to keep going....My 2009 "Learn something new every year" is taking an Improv class! The Speaker's Association of Hawaii had a two-hour "sneak preview" just last week of the classes; never dreamed I'd learn so much and laugh so hard. Soooo, I decided to take the classes beginning 5 January. As I remember from several years ago when I FIRST saw you in action at the Hale Koa in Waikiki.... "learn something new every year"... since then I've kept going!"
-Carolyn Denney

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The Word From Xena!

Stuff stuff stuff. You do have too much stuff. My stuff all fits in one box. I could move on a dime. If Beth had to move, it would take a semi-truck to get all her stuff anywhere. She brought 4,000 pounds with her from Hawaii to Phoenix, and that was just her books!

Since everybody is having such a hard time, think about the people who really don't have things. People who are too poor to even have any four-legged friends around! Why don't you all help yourselves and them out, and spend one afternoon of your Holiday Vacation finding one or two things in every room in the house you don't need. Then toddle on down and drop it off someplace where they help people. Maybe give someone you love some of your stuff now. Don't make them wait for you to kick the bucket!

Go look at all your magazines and plastic containers without lids. Take them to the school for the little kids' craft projects. Take all those cans and bottles to the recycling center. Take old books and CD's to the consignment center. Clear the decks! The less you have, the less you have to clean. And the more time you'll have to play with ME! (that last part was for Beth.)

Hugs,
Have a very merry and uncomplicated Christmas/ Kwanzaa / Hanukkah/ Holiday
Xena

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