Laughing & Learning ~ another perspective

They say that laughter is the best medicine. I don't think it only needs to be used to cure ailments! Whether consciously or unconsciously I take every opportunity I can to laugh; be it at my friends, the situation or myself!  You'd think with all the laughing I do I'd have completely flat abs...but not so much!

In preparation for writing this I was in need of inspiration, Mandy sent me some articles from  her other blog. I read them; then responded "this is why you got learn then laugh & I get laugh then learn."  She then sent me an article that I had written for her blog over a year ago. I read the first sentence and was laughing hysterically. Laughing at what I wrote, laughing at the experience it took me back to and what I'd learned and have carried forward in my life from then onward.  My life seems to be filled with shenanigans that are not always my fault but often orchestrated by me accidentally of course!  And by accident, I've learned something in the midst of my laughter.

With everything that's going on in my life I try my best to see the upside of the situation. I'm the glass is half-full person, always the eternal optimist!

I'm currently taking a pottery class something I haven't done since college. I don't remember throwing clay being this tough previously. I was trying to center clay on the wheel the other day and by the time I finally accomplish this over half of what I started with was in the discard pile. I was covered in slip, it was even in my hair!  What was going to be something large and amazing turned out to be small and so different from my initial vision. I find that working with clay is rather similar to dealing with people. It has to be handled gently, it has a memory and very often you have to go much slower than anticipated (I tend to want to be speed racer; I prefer instant gratification as opposed to waiting patiently). 

I laugh at the process, this has made it easier for me to learn.  Recently, I was thanked by one of my classmates that my laughter has become contagious. I've developed new friendships (I'm now the pseudo daughter for the women in the class) and have learned much more than I would have anticipated. I value the lessons learned.

As long as you're enjoying the process and being in the moment that's the important part! Do you laugh and learn or learn and laugh? We'd love to hear about your process!

Introduction

Join us on our amazing journey which is made for everyone!  Why come along on this adventure?  We're just like you!  We have everyday trials and tribulations.  We've learned that if you embrace and celebrate life's hiccups and triumphs they are much easier to learn from.  Sharing our experiences connects us and helps inspire ourselves and others in all aspects of life.  This change is contagious!

A little about us & our tri-decade connection: Mandy & I met through our mothers who later became best friends.  I can't recall the initial meeting but I do recall babysitting Mandy and her two younger brothers when I was 11.  As our Mothers became closer friends our family got bigger. We were both the oldest female children in the group so of course we became friends.  Almost two decades later, Mandy's Mother married my Uncle, my Mom's brother.  This union made us cousins and more interconnected than before!  Mandy & I are rather different but we compliment each other, this allowed us to be brutally honest without hurt feelings (which in turn became self realization) that both of our lives, for different reasons, at different speeds, had deviated from the life journeys previously envisioned.  Neither one of us was entirely happy about this.  We had to make a change(s) in the direction our lives were going and in that process Exist Connected was created.  Embracing the idea that we were desperately in need of change and if we didn't help ourselves, then how could we expect anyone else too!  By changing what we could and embracing our strengths and the experiences around us, people started to take notice.  We were unknowingly inspiring others.  It was the ripple effect, we were the start.

Honing in on areas of our lives that needed to be changed we kept having the same conversation over and over again in different forms for years.  Change, Embrace, Connect, Inspire, Laugh, Learn and Celebrate kept resonating throughout.  As we started to tell others about what we had learned from our realizations; it became obvious we weren't the only ones striving for change.    

Change what doesn't work both inside and out
Embrace what is, who you are and possibility
Connect with others who are on their journey, yourself and nature
Inspire yourself and others and be open to being inspired
Laugh at life and yourself 
Learn new things, new ideas without prejudice 
Celebrate yourself, others and this journey that is life

Exist Connected will contain insights for making the journey more enjoyable for everyone.  We will be sharing ideas on everyday lifestyle tips,  places, occupations, crafts and who knows what else, we're open to inspiration?!  We are not alone on our journeys we are all connected in more ways than we realize and how we feel connected to one another varies dramatically! 

We want to make this your journey too.  Please let us know how you "connect" with the world around you and in the event you might be reluctant to try something new to connect please send us your ideas!  We'll be embracing them all!

~Heather & Mandy