Ah, the Memories

You Know You Grew Up In The 80's or Early 90's If:

1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word SIKE.
2. You watched the Pound Puppies.
3. You can sing the rap to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and can do the Carlton
4. Girls wore biker shorts under their skirts and felt stylishly sexy.
5. You yearned to be a member of the Baby-sitters club and tried to start a club of your own.
6. You owned those lil' Strawberry Shortcake pals scented dolls.
7. You know that "WOAH" comes from Joey on Blossom
8. Two words: Hammer Pants
9. If you ever watched "Fraggle Rock"
10. You had plastic streamers on your handle bars... and spokey-dokes or playing cards on your spokes for that incredible sound effect
11. You can sing the entire theme song to "Duck Tales" (Woo ooh!)
12. It was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.
13. You wore a ponytail on the side of your head.
14. You saw the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the big screen..and still know the turtles names.
15. You got super-excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.
16. You made your mom buy one of those clips that would hold your shirt in a knot on the side.
17. You played the game "MASH"(Mansion,Apartment, Shelter, House)
18. You wore stonewashed Jordache jean jackets and were proud of it.
19. L.A. Gear....need I say more?
20. You wanted to change your name to JEM" in Kindergarten. (She's Truly Outrageous.)
21. You remember reading Tales of a fourth grade nothing and all The Ramona books.
22. You know the profound meaning of "WAX ON, WAX OFF"
23. You wanted to be a Goonie.
24. You ever wore fluorescent clothing.(some of us...head-to-toe)
25. You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off and
his cheeks shifted.
26. You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf.
27. You took lunch boxes to school...and traded Garbage Pailkids in the schoolyard.
28. You remember the CRAZE, then the BANNING of slap bracelets.
29. You still get the urge to say "NOT" after every sentence.
30. You remember Hypercolor t-shirts.
31. Barbie and the Rockers was your favorite band.
32. You thought She-ra (Princess of Power!) and He-Man should hook up.
33. You thought your childhood friends would never leave because you exchanged handmade friendship bracelets.
34. You ever owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes.
35. After you saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure you kept saying "I know you are, but what
am I?"
36. You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up"
37. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates.
38. You ever got seriously injured on a Slip and Slide.
39. You have ever played with a Skip-It.
40. You had or attended a birthday party at McDonalds.
41. You've gone through this nodding your head in agreement.
42. You remember Popples.
43. Don't worry, be happy
44. You wore like, EIGHT pairs of socks over tights with high top Reeboks.
45. You wore socks scrunched down (and sometimes still do..getting yelled at by younger hip members of the family)
46. You remember boom boxes and walking around with one on your shoulder like you were all that.
47. You remember watching both Gremlins movies.
48. You know what it meant to say "Care Bear Stare!!"
49. You remember watching Rainbow Bright and & My Little Pony Tales
50. You thought Doogie Howser/Samantha Micelli was hot.
51. You remember Alf, the lil furry brown alien from Melmac.
52. You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool...and don't even flinch when people refer to them as "NKOTB"
53. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved By The Bell," The ORIGINAL class.
54. You know all the words to Bon Jovi - SHOT THROUGH THE HEART.
55. You just sang those words to yourself.
56. You remember watching Magic vs. Bird.
57. Homemade Levi shorts.. (the shorter the better)
58. You remember when mullets were cool!
59. You had a mullet!
60. You still sing "We are the World"
61. You tight rolled your jeans.
62. You owned a bannana clip.
63. You remember "Where's the Beef?"
64. You used to (and probably still do)say "What you talkin' 'bout Willis?"
65 You had big hair and you knew how to use it.
66. You're still singing shot through the heart in your head, aren't you!

Regarding Contentment

WORDS OF WISDOM:

"Contentment is the greatest treasure."
The Dhammapeda

"Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content."
Helen Keller--deaf and blind

"Anything in life that we don't accept will simply make trouble for us until we make peace with it."
Shakti Gawain

"I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best both for the body and the mind."
Albert Einstein

"Manifest plainness, embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, have few desires."
Lao-Tsu

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."
Leonardo da Vinci

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius-and a lot of courage-to move in the opposite direction."
E. F. Schumacher

"A still mind wants nothing."
Tara Singh, Teacher of A Course in Miracles

Since we cannot get what we like, let us like what we can get.
Spanish Proverb

The most valuable things in life are not measured in monetary terms. The really important things are not houses and lands, stocks and bonds, automobiles and real state, but friendships, trust, confidence, empathy, mercy, love and faith.
Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) British logician and philosopher.

My crown is in my heart, not on my head, Nor decked with diamonds and Indian stones, Nor to be seen: My crown is called content: A crown it is, that seldom kings enjoy.
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) British poet and playwright.

Happy the man who can endure the highest and the lowest fortune. He, who has endured such vicissitudes with equanimity, has deprived misfortune of its power.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 BC-65) Roman philosopher and playwright.

When you can think of yesterday without regret and tomorrow without fear, you are near contentment.
Unknown Source

Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have.
Unknown Source

A contented mind is the greatest blessing a man can enjoy in this world.
Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English essayist, poet, and dramatist

Being ''contented'' ought to mean in English, as it does in French, being pleased. Being content with an attic ought not to mean being unable to move from it and resigned to living in it; it ought to mean appreciating all there is in such a position.
Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) British journalist, novelist and poet.

WAYS TO DEVELOP CONTENTMENT:

*Nourish your spirit with a daily practice of reflection and reverence
*View adversity as an opportunity to learn spiritual truths
*Accept the things you cannot change
*Slow down and appreciate the present moment
*De-clutter your physical environment
*Live within your means
*Think carefully before you say "Yes" to time commitments
*Educate children to be wise consumers
*Turn off commercial advertising
*Decide what really matters and live by your priorities
*Trust a Spiritual Power higher than yourself to assist you

AFFIRMATIONS:

"Simple living brings me freedom and contentment. I keep material things in perspective. I give myself the gift of quiet time. My spirit is happy when I let go of extreme desires. Life's difficulties are teaching me wisdom. I trust my Creator."

Control

A dear friend of mine recently reminded me of a basic principle learned in Psych 101 (Waaayyy to long ago for me) :) The principle is regarding internal/external locus of control.

People tend to ascribe their chances of future successes or failures either to internal or external causes. Persons with an internal locus of control see themselves as responsible for the outcomes of their own actions. These individuals often believe that they control their destiny, and are often observed to excel in educational or vocational realms. Someone with an external locus of control, on the other hand, sees environmental causes and situational factors as being more important than internal ones. These individuals would be more likely to see luck rather than effort as determining whether they succeed or fail in the future, and are more likely to view themselves as the victim in any given situation. http://en.wikipedia.org.

I have always had a really hard time with those with a "victim" mentality; who thinks that the whole world is against them; who work the system and blame everyone else for their troubles.

This has not been me to a large extent. But in some ways, it has. I tend to be a slave to my emotions. I let people make me mad. When I do that, I am giving them power, rather than me being in control of my own emotions. I have never really learned to make wise choices. I have never really seen myself as an indepent woman. So these are the things that I am currently working on.

This is good stuff:

What is self-control?

Self-control is a set of behaviors which:

• Accepts the reality that the only thing in life which you can successfully change and control is yourself.
• Keeps in check all self-destructive, addictive, obsessive, compulsive, irrational, and unacceptable behaviors.
• Gives you a sense of personal mastery, autonomy, and competency over your own life.
• Is under your control and power to direct and orchestrate with no need for interference or manipulation from others.
• Makes you the master of your own destiny because it keeps in check those barriers and obstacles which are a threat to your overall success in life.
• Is a middle ground between perfectionism and laxity in self care.
• Results in your life having a balance and focus by helping you to cope with new challenges in life as they come.
• Helps you to keep your over-emotional responses in check or moderation.
• Helps you to open yourself up from nonfeeling or pulled-in emotions so that you can have a healthy emotional life.
• Is the foundation for healthy coping and contributes to your accepting personal responsibility for your life.
• Keeps your life in moderation, helping you to avoid extremes in any direction.
• Is the focus of the efforts to let go of the uncontrollables and unchangeables in your life so that you can concentrate on yourself.
• Eliminates the need for you to be manipulative, helpless, fixing others, intimidating, overdependent or a caretaker of others.
• Helps you to be detached from others and to keep your relationships in a healthy balance of give and take.
• Reflects your inner desire to grow up into a mature, responsible adult.
  

What are the negative effects of not maintaining self-control?

If you cannot gain self-control in your life, you could:

• Focus all your attention on trying to control, fix, or rescue other persons, places, and things and divert your attention from your own needs.
• Suffer the negative impact of your out of control behaviors such as alcoholism, chemical dependency, overeating, compulsive sex, addictive relationships, compulsive shopping, gambling, smoking, etc.
• Become deeply depressed and despondent over your weakness and inability to get your life into "check'' or 'balance.''
• Prefer to be overly dependent on other helpers, caretakers, fixers, and rescuers to give your life the control it needs.
• Fall prey to an overly perfectionistic and idealistic belief system in which no matter how well you get things in order you see them as being imperfect and not good enough.
• Lose control over the emotional boundaries you need to maintain from becoming over enmeshed or controlled by others.
• Become lost as to where you begin and end and where others in your life begin and end in relationship to you.
• Find yourself responding to situations in your life either in an overly emotional and hysterical way or in a withdrawn, pulled-in and non-emotive way, with neither response being healthy or appropriate at the time.
• Find it impossible to become detached from people, places, or things who are toxic or unhealthy for you.
• Find yourself in a state of powerlessness to effect changes to get your life into moderation or balance.
• Fall into the trap of learned helplessness and convince yourself that you are not capable of taking care of yourself and thus allow your life to get more and more out of control.
• Seek out caretakers, fixers, or rescuers to help you solve your own problems and get your life under control.
• End up convinced that there is no way you can get your life into balance because the amount of work, effort, energy, and resources needed are too great an investment just for you when there are so many other people, places, and things on which you could better focus attention.
• Experience even lower self-esteem because of your inability to believe enough in your worth and value to take action to get your life into control.
  

http://www.coping.org/control/selfcont.htm

I am grateful for my friend who brought this to my mind. This ssite has presented me with a lot of good info. I CAN make positive changes! It is NOT hopeless.