Tag Archives: Exercise

22

The Room For Improvement

Leave a comment

self improvement “We are either getting better, or we are getting worse. Nobody stays the same.” The truth in this statement permeates all aspects of our lives. In all that you do, you are becoming more active or less vital. What you pursue counts, and how self-improvement enters your life is a simple matter of personal choice.   My three main areas of focus are the physical, mental, and spiritual parts of me. My goal each day is to become at least 0.001% better than I was yesterday. If I can keep growing and becoming a better person, my contribution to the world will build, and my experience will be much more significant. Failure is not to be me, being kind, considerate, caring, and unselfish.

Physical Self Improvement

Improving the material is not tricky. Even though in many ways, I will never be the athlete or as self improvementathletic as I was in my youth, I am better physically in some aspects today than I have ever been before. If you spend time exercising and you are just a little bit stronger or have just a little bit more stamina, then you are on your way to finding self-improvement for that day. I am better today than yesterday, and I can’t do much better than that.

Of course, the other aspects of your physical health can’t be ignored either. Eating a healthy diet and getting the right amount of sleep can also contribute to your improvement each day in the physical area. Be conscious of what you are doing, and you will see growth comes easily. A better body leads to a better mind, thoughts, energy, and mood. You don’t have to run a marathon to be .001% better than you were yesterday. Get started doing something; your life will change positively. We only get one body for this life; take care of it and treat it with the love it deserves. It will love you back. The body is also the conduit between the mental and the spiritual realm of your life.

Grow Mentally for Self Improvement

It seems we often forget that our mind is a learning machine, and just because our organized self improvementeducation is over, the learning should never end. You can improve your brain in several ways. Any method that gives you new information and causes the synapses in your brain to fire in a new direction will be positive for you. Once your mind expands, it will not shrink again. People are capable of developing new thought patterns throughout life.

One of my favorite methods is reading and learning about new ideas and philosophies. This can also come from conversations with people with different beliefs and lifestyles. Our differences can be a real education; the less we judge, the more we listen, and the better it is for your mind and mental state. Anything rigid and not pliable will eventually break under enough pressure when the flexible bends and survives. Our thoughts are like that. Do something that makes you think daily, and you will self-improvement mentally.

Remembering that our minds are just tools to create thoughts, solve problems, and focus is also essential. Our thoughts are not who we are, and our intention is not our identity. If you look closely, you will see that your mind often lies to you and pushes you in the wrong direction. It is best at these times to focus on your heart and see where it takes you.

 My Spiritual Self Improvement

When it comes to your relationship with God or a higher power, that is your spirituality. We all have a philosophy of what this life is about, why we are here, and the purpose of this whole game. To grow spiritually can be self improvementthrough religion, but I don’t look at that area. My thoughts and relationship with God are personal and mine alone. I do not want or need someone else to dictate what is right and wrong with that. Others may be different, and that is their choice. You are moving along the spiritual path each time you practice positive things. Kindness, acceptance, understanding, giving, forgiveness, or caring are always to walk along the spiritual way. Practice any of these from your heart, and your spirituality will increase.

Another way to improve in this realm is to do something creative. It doesn’t matter what you are creating; if it comes from your heart, it will enhance your spirituality. Do something creative that takes your concentration, and you will find that time drifts by without you even knowing it. An hour and a minute seem the same. Get in this zone while painting a picture, writing, planning something, building something, working on a car, knitting, or whatever creative thing you do, and your spirituality will grow. Meditate, pray, visit nature, whatever allows you a connection to a higher power or within yourself.

In the end, these are my thoughts on the subject because I want to improve and discover my capacity. Where are my limits, and what barriers can I cross? I know that to do my best, I must be my best, and that is the most we can do for self-improvement.

 

22

If You Haven’t Got Your Health

Leave a comment

Health-a person’s mental or physical condition

HealthNo matter what things you create in life or how intelligent you are, you don’t have anything if you haven’t got your health. Everything we experience is through the senses of our bodies, and greatness is achieved through the use of a keen mind, a fit body, and a spirit that will guide you in all sorts of weather.  Each day your health should be one of your highest priorities.  To lack health on any side of the sacred triangle of body, mind, and spirit will limit what a person can accomplish and how they experience life.  Work to keep yourself in peak mental and physical condition throughout your years, or your years will be much shorter and less enjoyable than they should be.  My contention is to find a way to improve myself by at least .01% each day. That is to make sure that I am physically, spiritually, and mentally at least .01% better than yesterday. It is a simple philosophy; if you are not getting better, you are getting worse.

The Human Body was Built to Move

You have been given a gift of a body, and through this gift, you experience the world. How well you maintain your gift will determine what you can do and how you can do it.  So it makes sense to treat your body as healththe most valuable asset it is, and this is done by getting regular periods of exercise and eating a reasonably healthy diet.

The human body was designed to move. It enjoys movement and exercise and will respond favorably to this experience. The body releases endorphins that reward exercise, which improves your mood throughout the day. For me, the exercise I love is lifting weights and some cardio.  For you, it may be yoga, running, mixed martial arts, aerobics, or any other workout.  Start doing it today; if you don’t know what you like, start with just walking.  Do something. The human body was not designed to sit down all day and do nothing. Too often, our activities are voluntarily sedentary. In moderation, there is nothing wrong with that.  As a lifestyle, it will lead to poor mental and physical health.  If you want to be sharper mentally, raise your self-esteem, and enjoy life more, participate in regular exercise.   The earlier you start, the easier it will be to maintain throughout life.

You Are what you Eat

Food should be looked at as something that sustains your body and allows you to perform. As Americans, we have an unhealthy attachment to the foods we eat. Eating is a social thing, and certain foods become activities of healthcomfort.  Each time we eat for reasons other than to provide energy, we are in danger of overeating. When you overeat and take in too much food, you will put on weight. When you carry too much weight, the human body starts to break down, the cardiovascular system has to work harder to service the body, the skeletal system is pushed to the limits, and your overall wellness suffers.  Human beings literally wear their decisions about what food they put in their mouth.

There are thousands of diets that people try to sell you, and I am not wise enough to tell you this or that it is the greatest way to lose weight and be healthy. If you are mindful of what you eat, why you are eating, and how much you eat, most diets will provide positive results.  Finding the right mix for yourself will lead to a lifestyle change around food which will be long-lasting. That is the healthy change you are looking for.  What will work for you may not be something that works for everyone.

Make choices today which will benefit your health and allow you to live a life as your best self. Be conscious of your health in thoughts, words, and actions.  Get started on an exercise program and be mindful of how you eat.  The life you improve will be your own.

To enjoy good health, bring true happiness to one’s family, and bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one’s own mind. If a man can control his mind, he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.  ~ Buddha 

 

 

22

Change a Habit

Leave a comment

Habit– a settled or regular tendency or practice, tough to give up. 

Every life contains within it things that are practiced daily. Some are very good for us and the world in general, but many are not good at all. People make willing choices shortening their lives, harming others, and making the world a worse place for everyone to live. Habits are hard to give up, which is a good thing if the pattern is a good one. It can put your health in jeopardy and prematurely end your life if it is terrible. All the while diminishing the enjoyment one can take daily. It all begins with a conscious awareness of how our actions affect us and those we care about. Notice your actions, how they affect your thoughts, emotions, and the words you use. A good habit will positively impact you, and a bad one will do the opposite. Good habits will allow you to become the best version of yourself, whereas bad habits will stunt your personal growth. It is all a matter of choice.

The Exercise Habit

The great thing about a good habit is that its benefits are universally accepted as positive for your life. Exercise is one of these. No debate developing a practice of training is proper for you. We only get one body, and how we use it determines our longevity, the enjoyment we get from life, and much of the physical pain we experience. God built the human body to move. Developing a habit of regularly allowing it to do this can be hard to do but vital to your long-term success in life.

We live in a world where people work time-consuming and sedentary jobs. People sit on their butts all day long and stare at computer screens. That is the way of it, but a body needs exercise. Exercise allows the body to function at or near its optimum level. It helps regulate blood pressure and keeps your weight down to a healthier level. There is nothing negative. I know about exercise. Still, many ignore this habit because it is too hard. It is much more comfortable in the short term to do nothing, but in the long run, it is not. A lack of exercise results in obesity, heart disease, diabetes, lack of mobility, high blood pressure, and death. Exercise can help cure all of those things.

How to build an exercise habit is not complicated. Find an activity that resonates with you, and participate in it regularly and consistently. Walk, jog, run, lift weights, do yoga, practice martial arts, bike, take aerobic classes or any other physical activity that interests you. One day at a time is how you build a habit, good or bad. Make your life as vibrant and disease-free as possible; develop the habit of exercise.

The Eating Habit

All people have a strange relationship with food. Eating is something we do to place nourishment into our bodies. Unfortunately, there are a lot of other attachments to eating. Some overeat. Some don’t eat enough, and we develop a habit of eating that is not healthy for us and keeping our bodies running at their peak efficiency. The tendencies or practices around what we eat can be a massive part of our lives. Developing healthy food habits can be difficult, but it is possible for everyone.

No matter what direction you take. The five primary food groups or a more modern balanced look at your diet. It is healthy means eating a bit less and sticking with grown and not processed things. In the United States, we are surrounded by processed food with excess chemicals and calories nobody can eat. Sugar is the biggest culprit in our diet. It is addictive, fattening, and can cause any number of diseases which will shorten your life. Develop a healthy eating habit, and you will be rewarded with a lower weight and a body full of energy. That is an excellent habit to get into.

Beating a Bad Habit

We have all had bad habits, and I am no different. There have been habits and addictions throughout my life that were not healthy or good for me. Breaking a habit is as simple as choosing not to do what you know isn’t good for you. Many people will say that it is not accurate or tricky, but you can do it when you decide to leave a bad habit because you want to live a happier, healthier life. The most challenging thing is to reprogram yourself around the activities you used to do.

Once a habit is under your control, it is up to you to ensure that you don’t start back up with that habit again. Addictions are never really gone, and you can’t have just one drink or smoke only one cigarette or any other thing you are addicted to. Focus your thoughts on the choice you have every day to make positive and healthy choices or those detrimental to your health and even endanger your life. Beating a bad habit takes an inner strength fueled by a love of something you love more than that habit. Anyone can do it if they want to.

Habits for Success

If you want to know what habits to adopt, follow someone you view as a success in the field you are interested in. Every successful person develops habits that allow them to make the money they do, create the things they do or achieve the greatness they are striving for. Focus your thoughts on the proper habits and notice when you are practicing a pattern that is not allowing you to be your best you. It begins with a conscious awareness of what you allow yourself to accept and the actions you will enable yourself to take daily. Once you start to notice your thoughts and the actions that they lead, the closer you are to building good habits and ridding yourself of the bad habits that have held you back. Raise your consciousness, and your behavior will follow.

“Quality is not an act. It is a habit. “-Aristotle

“Make it a habit to tell people thank you. To express your appreciation sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you’ll soon find many others around you. Truly appreciate life, and you’ll find that you have more of it.”- Ralph Marston

“Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.” George Washington Carver

 

22

Feel Better

Leave a comment

Many times, we all wish we could wave a magic wand and feel better, happier, and more engaged in life. Unfortunately, I don’t have a magic wand, but we all can change our mood from bad to good by making the correct action choices. I can’t guarantee these actions will lead to a better feeling, but they might make you a happier life.

It doesn’t take any specialized training or skill to do this, other than the ability to take the actions at the right time. None of these things are beyond you or me, and that is an excellent thing. So find your way to the enjoyment of life and happiness on the path and follow one of these simple steps. The satisfaction you gain is going to be your own. These are methods to create a definite bounce in your life.

You’ve Got To Move It.

Exercise is important. Not only for the length of your life but the quality

jogging

of living, you are experiencing. We are all given a body at birth, and that mechanism functions best when it has regular exercise. If exercise isn’t a part of your program, that is when many issues with your body crop up. There is a long list of these illnesses, from heart disease to obesity; all of them are going to diminish your quality and enjoyment of life. The sad part is that a simple walk three or four times a week could enhance your physical and mental experience.

The choice to exercise gives immediate and long-term benefits for your body and significant short-term benefits to your mind, mood, and feelings. When you exercise, your body releases endorphins into your system, which leads you to feel good in the short term. There have been studies done where exercise has been proven to decrease feelings of depression over the long run. Your body is a mechanism that was made to move, so move, and you will see your mood enhanced today and for the long-term as well. Any exercise will do, so choose what resonates with you. Biking, jogging, lifting weights, aerobics classes, yoga, martial arts, hiking, or any other physical activity that gets the heart pumping will work. Get active and get happy.

Take Actions Big and Small

This is simple advice, but how many of us do what we love as a mood enhancer. Each of us has things we love to do. For me, it is writing about the things I think about; for others, it may be painting, cooking, tinkering with engines, or anything you connect with. When you do this thing, time will most likely disappear and seem to fly by—feeling low? Take some time to find these activities to carry you through.

Sometimes simple activities can provide us with a sense of happiness as well. Doing chores like making the bed, doing the dishes, or folding laundry can provide people with a sense of satisfaction and even joy. There is peace in doing these activities, a chance to focus your conscious mind on a task. This direct focus allows your subconscious mind to work on and give you answers to issues in your life. So don’t avoid the chores. Use them to make you happier, because believe it or not, they will.

Practice Intentional Kindness

Being kind to others leads to an increase in a positive mood—no doubt about that. When you are not feeling overly optimistic, it is usually because you are trapped in your negative thoughts about life. Something didn’t go right, or that might go wrong, and how will that affect me? Will I experience suffering? When you purposely seek out opportunities to be kind, you move your focus from inside to outside yourself. This change in direction brings a natural evolution in mood and attitude.

A straightforward practice I have heard about is the five acts of kindness. That means that you choose a day and must find at least five specific compassion points for others on that day. You don’t have to make them enormous, grand activities, but simple acts of kindness that enhance the lives of another human being. That act by itself will increase the joy in your life and, of course, make the experience much more enjoyable to you.

Retrain Your Mind

It is estimated that it takes about 21 days to establish a new habit. If you are mentally straying to the negative and want a favorable bounce, then start to notice things to be grateful for. I have heard that seeing and charting just three new things every day to be thankful for will allow you to change the way you think. Your mind will naturally start to look for the positive things and let the negative slide. This bounce can be immediate but will also become that habit after 21 days.

Imagine changing your whole outlook in just 21 days and seeing the world from an overall different perspective. Each moment we have in life is precious, and it is totally up to us if we spend it in anger and misery or joy and happiness.

So there are a few of the positive bounce methods that I have used to improve my outlook and attitude daily. I hope that you can use some of these methods too. Look at your mood and thoughts, and if they continually land on the negative, then it is time to make some changes.

“I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter.” — Walt Disney

“Pessimism leads to weakness, optimism to power.” — William James

“I’m a very positive thinker, and I think that is what helps me the most in difficult moments.” — Roger Federer

21

Balance

Leave a comment

When you break your life down and put all of your activities into a category, all things we do can be placed in the body, mind, or spirit group. Each of these areas makes up the three sides of your person and your life. It is the great challenge of living to learn to develop a balance between these three areas. Taking care of and strengthening your body in physical fitness through some healthy diet and exercise, continually improving your mind through education, and developing your soul through creative activities and the way you treat the world and its people, including yourself. When you look at your life at any point, the times you are close to achieving a balanced life in all three areas are the good times. Of course, life is continually throwing things at you to force you out of balance, so you have to learn more, develop your body differently, or change your perspective on your soul. It is like standing on a skateboard while life is throwing rocks at you. Development is not an easy path but one we are all on, even if we are not consciously aware of it.

Continual Search for Fitness

Fitness is a goal for everyone. Even though we live in a society that seems determined to undermine any of our health-related goals, all people have an inner desire to be in shape. Most wish it would happen magically by taking a pill, but we all know that is not the way it works. Although we all have the desire to be in shape, we see it as stern and distant. When you are overweight, it is straightforward to give up. But don’t! A life of better physical fitness is simple to accomplish, but of course, it is not easy. Put a consistent exercise program in your life and learn to eat a healthier and more proportionally appropriate diet.

Exercise doesn’t have to involve a gym, an expensive online program, or even cost you any money at all. It can be as simple as walking for about 30 minutes a day, five times a week. You can lift weights, do yoga, run, bike, row, paddle, swim, hike, or any other thing getting your body off the couch and moving around. A consistent commitment to physical activity will be the first step in living at a healthy weight. Of course, there are benefits to your entire body. Diet is much the same. To me, portion control is critical. Don’t eat for any other reason than when you are hungry. Eat less food that is processed and more that is natural. It can be as simple as eating more fruits and vegetables. It isn’t complicated; your body will do what you program it to do and be as large or as small as you train it to be. Anyone can do it. A healthy body is a base for a healthy life because this is where your mind and soul reside.

Your Greatest Weapon

The ability to think is the most excellent tool to create any life we choose. Like a computer, the mind creates a program to guide your life. It is estimated we think somewhere around 70,000 thoughts a day. That is amazing until you realize that only between 3-5% of those thoughts are original, and the rest are all repeats, the same thing we think every day. If you look at your life, are there things you do every day without real thought? A routine you follow or a habit you have that you follow almost unconsciously? We all do because routines are great tools to allow us to accomplish many of our daily tasks. I know my workouts would not be possible without routines. Original thought is the key to mental growth, and we are responsible for this.

Changing your thoughts and developing your mind happens by introducing new information into your experience and reading new books, watching educational videos, and having conversations with people allow you to build your brain. It is estimated the bulk of our mental programming took place before we were seven years old as we tried to figure out how the world works and how we fit in it. Too often, limiting beliefs about money, love, and health were developed then and continue to rule our lives now even though they are not valid. We should evaluate the ideas we follow and how they affect our self-esteem and belief in ourselves. All opinions can change with a bit of effort, and the power of this is you can accomplish the things you always dreamed of doing.

Living from Inside Out

Too often, I have looked for happiness and fulfillment from things on the outside. A relationship, a success in my professional life, how someone treated me, or how life’s circumstances were playing out. The problem with this is that when you look to things and people outside of yourself for happiness, you are at the mercy of those things. You have given all of your power away to something you have no control over. The good news is that it is a minor adjustment to start looking inward for the things that will give your life meaning and bring you a life of joy and enjoyment.

Inside each of us is a creator. Bringing something into the realm of the physical world, which once only existed in your mind, is a magical thing. Some write, paint, draw, and create artwork out of scrap metal; whatever it is you feel called to make, do that. Not for recognition or money, but to express the inner light and love you carry inside. Creativity will bring you home to who you are and allow you to understand your soul’s calling, understand yourself, and hopefully find some form of self-love. We are not encouraged to seek our soul song because it often contradicts the script we learn we should be following. Get an education, get a job, have a family, work for 30 years, retire, and then wait to die. Life is more than this, and we are each more than this. Accept who you are and know your inside greatness, and the outside expectations will matter much less.

How is Your Triangle?

Now it is up to you to look at your life and see where your triangle of body, mind, and spirit is today. It is alright if you are not where you ideally want to be because we are all on a journey. Each of us is moving toward something. I have heard it said we are either in a crisis, coming out of trouble, or moving toward crisis all the time. Through all of these journeys lie the opportunities to develop ourselves and learn about the things we love to do and the ideas which make us happy. No two people are the same, and it is in these differences we find the things only we can bring to the world. Yet, we are all connected in our journey as we all seek the same things in life. To enjoy the experience of living aims to balance your body, mind, and spirit. It is a constant journey to find the balance which will bring us fulfillment. No two people are going to have the same ratio of body, mind, and spirit. But we all gain equal value in the pursuit of it. Enjoy the ride.

“The key to keeping your balance is knowing when you’ve lost it.” Anonymous

“You can maintain a work-life balance even while pursuing careers.” Chanda Kochhar

“Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.” Dolly Parton

“It is better to rise from life as from a banquet – neither thirsty nor drunken.” Aristotle

 

Questions

Some Things Worth Remembering

Leave a comment

 Have you done anything lately worth remembering?

21809682_have_you_done_anything_lately_worth_remembering_xlargeby Jon Hilton  – Day 16

Every day there are events that take place in our lives that we experience. Some are things we have to do, like work or eating.  Some are things we choose to do, like exercise or hobbies.

All of these activities combine to provide us with the experiences of our lives. There are some that you will remember always and some that you will forget almost as they occur.

 This is my attempt  to become more mindful of what happens each and every day and to make it so that each day is an event to remember and cherish.

The Power and Problems of Routines

Sometimes a routine can turn you into a sleep walker! Change.
Sometimes a routine can turn you into a sleep-walker! Change.

One of my major weaknesses as a human being is that I always try to put things into a routine. Organizing events in time so that they can be completed in the most efficient manner.

I have noticed the patterns I established in my life to do this.  From the time I wake up, to where I stop on the way to work, routines are good for making you feel secure.

 A routine will allow you to feel like you are in control and make you feel like you have some power, but in reality a routine can really be detrimental to your mindfulness of an experience.

 This is because once you march through life doing the same thing over and over, you start to do it without even thinking about it.  You are thinking about something else and just performing whatever task you are doing.

 People even get into a routine of interaction with others where the same people meet and have the same conversation every day.  You will know if this applies to you if you have a hard time remembering which day was which.

Change it Up and Live

New things can be powerful, but you have to try them.
New things can be powerful, but you have to try them.

Simple changes in your routine can allow you to appreciate the little things that you encounter each and every day.

I pretty much followed the same routine for about ten years at one point in my life. I could not tell you how any day was any different from another, except for the days where something happened to get me out of the normal existence.

Each of these moments I can recall with exact clarity, years later and it is because I was outside of the routine.

Focus on doing things Differently

Doing-Things-DifferentlyI am not able to do it every day but there are some days when I focus on doing things differently.  If I have fallen into a routine I try to do something different.  Wake up early, wake up late, eat a different food for breakfast, take a different route to work or stop somewhere I did not plan on.

The reason that these things will become memorable is because as you experience something for the first time you are mindful of it.  You can’t just go through the motions of something that you are not sure of.  This causes excitement and builds interest in your every day life even if you are not doing anything Earth shattering.

Why Each Day is Special

For each of us there is a clock which starts running the day we are born and runs out when we pass away.  There is no way to know when this clock will stop, it could be any second!

 I have always thought that if we knew we had a few days to live wouldn’t that change the way you existed.  Would you ever eat a meal that was so unmemorable that you can’t recall it two days later?  Or would you cherish and savor every drop of delicious goodness.

If you have ever experienced your own mortality, then you know that each second becomes something wonderful to experience and hold on to.  The sun never felt warmer, you remember the wind on your face. You know that you are lucky to be here and each moment is a gift.

You Choose What to Remember

seeing things differentlyIn the end I think that if there is anything worth remembering it is up to you.  You will always have the choice to remember today as the best day you ever had.

Or if you do not feel that today was a great day, then you have the chance to make changes in what you experience that will greet you on the next day.

I think that all of the things that I have experienced that have been unique, from the moments I spent talking to someone I had never met before to new experiences.

Everything I have done lately is worth remembering to me.

 Have you done anything lately worth remembering?

I Remember YOU!  Yes I am talking to YOU!

Related articles

 

Interests

My Next Step

Leave a comment

by Jonathan Hilton

creative-guru
Click Image to say HI to Raimy-D. She has an entourage and wears jewelry like a rapper. But she is great!

One of my favorite people in the blogisphere is my friend Raimy-D(creative-guru.com).  She spends her time dreaming up stuff for me and others to try to experience. I am two activities behind but I am making an effort to do this one in real-time and let the chips fall where they will. I will take a lot of positive thinking to get this done.

Automatic Writing Assignment

This activity is called automatic writing and I was intrigued because I had such a good time when I tried her automatic drawing exercise, highlighted by Raimy-D and her expert analysis of my very talented drawings.

It was liberating and fun. So automatic writing, no problem, this should spark some positive thinking.

1271254066-writingwithpenThis is how it is supposed to work

So it should work like this:  1. Think of a question you want to have answered in your life.

  1. start writing without a conscious thought. (easier for some than others)
  2. write until you get tired I guess or until you feel like you are done.

The idea is that the subconscious mind will answer the question that you ask.  I have told Raimy-D that I am a little fearful of doing this because what if the answer isn’t something I want to hear?  But bravery is the better part of valor here and I am going to do this right now, right here and you can read my ramblings.

The question: What is my next step supposed to be in life? (Play the song at the bottom when you read, it is neat.)

swansThere were twelve swans that went to a local pond to take a swim. The water was warm but the swans didn’t know about the secret underneath the water. There were worlds that they had never seen. one at a time the swans would dive for food and while under the water they saw what was there and went to investigate each finding their own world to explore for awhile. Until there was only one swan left and he looked around and realized that he was all alone. He called for help, but no one came. He wanted to fly away but also couldn’t leave his companions without knowing their fate.  He had never seen anything but food on his dives so he was unaware of the mysteries below the water. Finally he dove deep and saw out of the corner of his eye a light that he couldn’t resist. He swam as hard a he could toward the light and with all of his effort he made it and emerged into a  totally new world. It was colorful, and full of beautiful trees, sparkling lakes it had a lot of green grass to walk on and beautiful puffy white clouds that the swan couldn’t wait to fly into.  There was no reason he could think of that this place existed but here it was he could touch it with his feet and taste it with his tongue. It seemed real to him and in the end I guess that is all that mattered.

questions
Answer my questions please.

So there you go I am not going to read this until after Raimy-D looks at it and tells me what she thinks. The answer will be in the comments. Feel free to contribute your own interpretation of the story I am open to any and all guidance in this endeavor.  I just want to learn about my next step.

I encourage you to give this a try for yourself and see what happens.  I definitely encourage you to read the Creative Guru so that you can try all of this neat stuff as well.