Appelbaum Wellness LLC

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Cast Bread Upon the Water…

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Welcome to 2020 – A brand new year and the beginning of a new decade. Wow! Sadly, we start in a position of stress due to the world becoming ever more divisive every day. It has become risky to voice opinion in fear of disagreements resulting in more than just an exchange of words. We cannot control the actions of others, but you can control yours. Let’s kick-off 2020 as a period of optimism, healing and rejuvenation – all much needed as we struggle to cope with the current chaos and work to shift it to a more positive tone. It is a time for new beginnings, enthusiasm, mindfulness and gratitude.

This year my newsletter theme will be based on one of my father’s favorite “Bob-isms” which is, Cast Bread Upon the Water and it Comes Back Chocolate Cake. Namely, how can I help you find your unique perspective and purpose (while I search for mine) in order to make a positive difference in the world. Together, let’s actually BE the change and not simply talk about it. As the Talmud states, “He who saves a single life, saves the entire world.”

Together, let’s have meaningful conversations. I will share what’s on my mind and hope that if so inclined, you will share what is on yours. You can do so by posting right here on my blog where others are free to chime in and perhaps some interesting dialogue will ensue. If you wish to receive future newsletters, please sign up on my website – it’s FREE and they only come out once per month.

To begin, today, as I do every day, I count my blessings. I am definitely one of the luckiest people I know. Yes, we do make our own luck, but some things are out of our control. And for those things, I am lucky! My life is filled with goodness and grace. My mission is to share that with others through compassion, kindness, gratitude and forgiveness. When life gets overwhelming, honestly, I do struggle with the gratitude and forgiveness parts and that’s only natural. What’s important is to keep in mind that where we struggle, we learn and grow – hopefully becoming a better version of ourselves.

For this month I challenge you take a few moments out of each and every day to count your blessings. Take note of that for which you are grateful and see if you can pay it forward to influence someone else for the positive. Together, let’s learn to set aside self-judgment (not so easy), truly believe we are “enough” (definitely a challenge) and help others do the same through encouragement and empathy.

Attending Hay House Writer’s Workshop

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Hay House Workshop“When life calls you, you have to answer.” This is the quote that kicked-off one of the most stimulating, compelling and wonderful weekends of my life.  For the first time in a long time I felt like I was exactly where I was meant to be. My anxiety over how I would tolerate sitting for 2 days, 8 hours each, quickly diminishing within the first ½ hour.  And when Reid Tracy, CEO of Hay House, gave an initial brief overview of the Writer’s Contest that workshop attendees can enter, I looked directly at him from my 2nd row seat and said to myself, “This is my time and I’m winning this one!”

I am ready to buckle down and dive into forward momentum with regard to writing and publishing my second book. And what I learned this weekend is that I have built a solid foundation upon which to launch and now I just need to do the work that will catapult me to where I want to be.

The content-rich workshop began with Reid Tracy, CEO of Hay House, discussing how to build a platform. A platform is the way by which I directly communicate with an audience so as to build my tribe. I struggle with this component of my business in that I have over 1,000 followers on each social media site yet only a couple hundred on my actual mailing list. In order to have the financial success I seek, I must create a platform that supports my having a list of at least 5,000.  I definitely have my work cut out for me!

The next speaker was Kelly N. who owns her own editing company. She taught us about book proposals, content editing, outlines, etc. She offered so much useful information plus gave us three free templates of book outlines to follow so as to keep the arc of consistency for our reader. It was at this moment that I finally had a genre name for what I am writing: a Teaching Memoire.

Reid came back to talk about the importance of the book cover. He kept hitting home his point that most self-published titles have very poor covers. A cover needs to attract the reader enough so they purchase. At break I went up and asked him if he’d give me an honest opinion of my cover since I self-published. As he nodded I held out my book. Without a second’s hesitation he smiled and said, “That’s really nice!” Score! I feel validated.

The next topic of discussion was self-publishing. Since I went this route with my first book, much of the information was a good refresher. However, I did learn how I could attempt to get my self-published book picked up by a traditional publisher at some point in the future.  It’s all about proving there is an audience for what I have to say. If the publisher knows a demand exists, they will invest the money and time.

As the next speaker began discussing how to build our platform, I realized that although my conversion rate is small, I am much further ahead than most of the people in the room. Again, I felt as if I had a slight advantage and further owned my confidence and pride in what I am doing.

The final speaker of the first day was a complete turn off to me. People LOVED her and gave her a standing ovation. Me, well, I found her condescending with her demeaning language.  She spent a lot of time telling us what we should not do and how we need to “get over ourselves.” I did try to extrapolate a few nuggets of helpful wisdom such as: my story needs to be greater than me and empathize with other peoples’ pain and help alleviate it; I need to become an escort into the human soul; and I have to be courageous – willing to be uncomfortable to truly share my vision. As I primarily tuned out the speaker and contemplated these juicy nuggets, I felt an energy growing deep inside me finally embracing my message for the gift I believe it to be and truly having faith that I am where I am meant to be right now.  It is time for me to be open to my soul’s true journey; my true Tikkun Olam.

At the end of the final session we were asked to complete several writing exercises. One prompt was “Believe in….” Here is what I wrote:

Believe in yourself, you are the change you wish to see in this world. With it you help others navigate through pain or dis-ease to wellness. You make other people’s lives easier, you matter. You make a difference. Just breathe – trust in the process of your journey. All is as it’s meant to be. God said to me, “I choose you because you can handle it. Now teach others. Remember, I AM.”

With that said, my blog over the next few months will focus on my experiences as I develop my first book proposal to enter the Hay House Writer’s Workshop contest in November. My primary goal of sharing this journey with you is to familiarize you with the book publishing process (in case it’s of interest to you) as well as to bounce ideas off of you, my followers, so that I continue to concentrate on providing information you desire most.

Reflection

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ReflectionSomething happened the other day that caused me to take pause and reflect upon the last 9+ years since my MS diagnosis. The other day I received an email from one of my girlfriends. Since it seemed to be about a medical website I blew it off thinking it was something to do with her work. A day later I received another email so I read it more closely. It talked about her choosing Caring Bridge instead of another, less user-friendly platform. Knowing what Caring Bridge is, I gave her email my full attention although no details were present. Immediately I reached out to her to inquire about what was happening. To my shock, especially since we had all been together only 2 weeks ago and everything was fine, she stated she had been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma and was beginning a 4-round series of oral chemo this week. If that is successful and she goes into remission, she will then have a stem cell transplant which will hopefully “buy her” 10-13 years. That’s not a very long life in my opinion. My heart was heavy as I thought about all her hopes and dreams that may not be given the opportunity to come to fruition.

As is only natural, when I hung up the telephone my thoughts turned to memories of our recent family vacation which have been shadowed by my father’s life-threatening decline in health.  And I’m reminded of a weekend 10 years ago spent with my mother in celebration of her 70th birthday – everyone, to my recollection, was healthy then.  Wandering around my house that afternoon, I reflected on all of my family photographs and what life was like at the time they were taken.  So much has happened over the years. Lots of change; some good, some not so good.

Even when days seem to drag on, the years seemingly fly by faster and faster as I age. I’m told this is common which is personally poignant because lately I find it challenging to make the most of every minute, not wasting precious moments. To lift my father’s spirits, I created a collage of family photographs. It reveals celebrations, parties, jokes, and all the fun we have together. Hidden behind the photographs is the sadness of the people we’ve lost in addition to the pain, anguish, illness, surgeries, diagnoses, etc. that we’ve all experienced.  Sometimes the older we get, the more daunting the future becomes.

This summer my MS has been somewhat of a nuisance; causing vestibular issues that are interfering with my daily life. Although I am not overly concerned with the immediacy of this issue, it does bring to mind the question, “How well will I be in another 10 years?”  People with certain illnesses that are not chronic usually either experience remission, are healed, or pass away.  It’s a bit more finite.  My friend with multiple myeloma and other people like me with chronic diseases learn to live with their illnesses; making friends with the proverbial elephant in the room who never leaves. Regardless, everyone’s got something and life goes on until it doesn’t.

As I anticipate the next decade of my life I am filled with joy, excitement, and a touch of sadness and trepidation.  There is so much potential and I am eager to see what happens.  As my friends and I move toward and through the age of retirement and are exposed to greater loss and illness amongst our families and friends, I hope the most interesting years are still ahead of me. As I’m sliding down the hill of life I will no longer stand in the shadow of those before me; I am now coming into my own with increased confidence and am hopeful that I will remain well.  My vision does leave the door ajar for the limitations of MS and aging although I’m hopeful those will be limited at best.

I guess that my reflection needs to include practicing what I preach; my ‘go to’ mantra of, “overcome adversity and recognize the gift.” Challenges force me to dig deep inside and discover how strong I really am. Over the years I’ve always landed on my feet regardless of the obstacle, and believe me, there have been many.  I realize all of these are stepping stones to having become the person I am today and will become tomorrow. I’m always changing or evolving and that’s a good thing.  Life definitely is a journey filled with lots of potholes as well as smooth pathways. Here’s hoping that my navigation skills continue to improve and that I don’t fall into too many potholes during my next 10 years.

 

 

 

I Hope You Dance

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Yesterday I attended the funeral of a dear friend who succumbed to ovarian cancer at the age of 79 after a 12-year valiant battle.  Her granddaughter, with the voice of an angel, sang her favorite song – her life’s motto – and it was quite poignant.  The song is by Martina McBride entitled, “I Hope You Dance.”  Here is a synopsis of the lyrics that resonated with my spirit.

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean;

Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens;

Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance;

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance;

I hope you dance.

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance;

Never settle for the path of least resistance;

Livin’ might mean takin’ chances but they’re worth takin’;

Lovin’ might be a mistake but it’s worth makin’;

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance;

I hope you dance.

Our lives are filled with constant motion.  We tend to go through each day doing what needs to be done, rarely taking notice of what we’re actually doing and rarely taking chances due to fear of failure.  We tend to be stuck on the hamster wheel of “getting it done faster and/or right;” equating it with being better as well as sticking to our “normal” because it is safe.

When is the last time you stopped, took a breath and actually took notice of your daily routine?  When is the last time you took a risk, no matter how small?  Life is fragile and brief.  Being present helps you to enjoy life to the fullest.  Taking risk adds variety, change and opportunity leading to a purposeful, well life.  No matter your current health situation take notice, take a chance, seize opportunity and, in the words of Martina McBride, I hope you dance.

Be Present | Be Purposeful | Be Well

I hope you dance

Dance

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While listening to music in the car yesterday I heard a song that was quite poignant.  It was sung by Martina McBride entitled, “I Hope You Dance.”  Here is a synopsis of the lyrics that resonated with my spirit.

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean, Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens, Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance, And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.

I hope you dance. I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance, Never settle for the path of least resistance, Livin’ might mean takin’ chances but they’re worth takin’, Lovin’ might be a mistake but it’s worth makin’, And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.

I hope you dance.

Our lives are filled with constant motion.  We tend to go through each day doing what needs to be done, rarely taking notice of what we’re actually doing and rarely taking chances.  We tend to be stuck on the hamster wheel of “getting it done faster” equating it with being better as well as sticking to our “normal” because it is safe. 

When is the last time you stopped, took a breath and actually took notice of your daily routine?  When is the last time you took a risk, no matter how small?  Being present to our lives helps us to enjoy.  Taking risk adds variety, change and opportunity.  Both lead to a purposeful, well life.  So take notice, take a chance, seize opportunity and, in the words of Martina McBride, I hope you dance.

 

 

 

 

 

To Your Wellness!

BE PRESENT | BE PURPOSEFUL | BE WELL