Contemplating Clouds: Thirty-One Days Toward Clarity and Care

By Sherry Ramrattan Smith

Have you considered living your life with more clarity and care? Why not use the month of December for implementing positive changes? This book provides thirty-one creative ideas and actions that will put you in a mindset for many meaningful experiences in the years ahead.

Contemplating Clouds: Thirty-one days toward clarity and care is the seventh book of AConsiderate Curriculum Series by Sherry Ramrattan Smith.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 20, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524625306

Sherry Ramrattan Smith

Sherry Ramrattan Smith has a long standing commitment to social action in equity-based curriculum development. She often uses children's stories to begin conversations about a variety of social justice topics. Sherry believes that by sharing our life experiences and posing critical questions, we can become more accepting of our differences and learn strategies to be more inclusive. Benjamin Eric Smith is a musician. Ben enjoys writing stories and songs.

Book preview

Day One

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Do an attitude check. It is easy to get caught up in negative thinking. What will tomorrow be like? Worries about health, money, and hurt can dominate our thoughts. When we make time for an attitude check we are taking measures to change the direction of our thoughts and actions. The things we say to ourselves play out significantly in our relationships. Choose to be an optimist and search out the bright side of life.

I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it. And so it is with you. (Charles Swindoll in Siegel, 2004)

Day Two

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Choose encouraging and positive words. Words carry power. It makes sense to choose words that reflect our values. When we speak to one another with kind and encouraging words we are uplifted in conversations. We feel motivated, creative, and resourceful.

There are times when our interactions can leave us feeling depleted of energy and stressed. Perhaps we focused on a single negative comment that came up during a brief encounter or unpleasant feelings associated with past experiences surfaced.

Try these steps to regain your grounding:

First, breathe slowly.

Next, respond by giving yourself sometime to think. Say: Wow, I did not expect that – I need to try to make sense of what I just heard in this context.

Use positive framing by re-phrasing what you heard. For example, if the person said: You talk too much and I never get a chance to say anything. In reframing, you might say: I think you would like me to become a better listener or it sounds as if you have some ideas you would like to share with me.

The very words we say and think not only describe our world but actually create it. (Oswald, 2008)

Day Three

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Cultivate patience. We all benefit from becoming more patient. We live in a world where instantaneous communication is the norm. Waiting two minutes for an email response can seem like forever. We shop online and with the click of a mouse demonstrate our purchasing power. Then we have to wait for same day delivery! When new gadgets hit the market – we want them right away. Credit cards become our best friends. Headaches and fever – no problem – pop a pill. There are many varieties