Dear Friend,

Greetings from sunny, beautiful, (sweltering!) Colorado! Welcome back to Sip of Soup, my free bi-monthly E-sip offering a taste of insight and lessons to help you keep caring while living a more balanced life.

Sip of Soup - July/August 2007

Positivity TM Power Mama used to sing, "Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer..." It occurs to me that my summer is a lot more hazy and crazy than lazy. How about yours? Are you so crazy-busy mowing lawn, taxiing to swim lessons, rushing to ballgames, mowing lawn, working extra shifts, reuniting with relatives, mowing lawn, and doing loads of laundry that you don't have time to be lazy? How often, when people ask you how you are, do you answer, "Busy"? We have lots of gadgets and appliances to help our tasks go more quickly, promising that then we'll have time to do the things we love. We have Velcro diapers, faster computers, and microwave ovens that are supposed to make life so much simpler. But, do they? It seems the more time we save, the less we have to spend. The faster and faster and faster we go, the farther and farther and farther it can take us from things that are priorities. These stinging words from Max Lucado reminded me of the danger that: "Busyness rapes relationships. It substitutes shallow frenzy for deep friendships. It promises satisfying dreams but delivers hollow nightmares. It feeds the ego but fractures a family. It cultivates a program, but plows under priorities." We can choose to slow down...be lazy.

Lessons from LeAnn Too frequently, in our flurry to save the children, the whales, and the world, we don’t schedule time for ourselves. We don’t postpone brushing our teeth until next Tuesday when we have more time. That’s how we should approach scheduling downtime…lazy time…just for us. So join me in taking more time to: Rest on fresh mown grass and watch the drifting clouds. Lay on a blanket to count the stars and find the man in the moon. Soak your feet in a mountain stream (or kiddie wading pool.) Sip a cool drink on a swaying porch swing. Rock in a hammock with a good book (or someone you love.)

Soup for the Day; a healthy quote: I had a burlap wall hanging in the sixties (boy, now I'm really dating myself) and the felt letters read, "Take time to smell the flowers." Georgia O'keefe, one of the greatest painters of flowers, said, "Nobody ever really sees a flower, it is so small, they haven't time. And to really see it takes time. Like having a friend, takes time." * to have LeAnn speak at your hospital or organization, see her website at NurseRecruitmentandRetention.com or call her toll-free at 877-THIEMAN (877-844-3626) Nurse Recruitment and Retention

Positively yours,

* to order LeAnn's CDs on relaxation and life balance, see her online shopping cart. Online Shopping Cart

A Sip of Soup is written by LeAnn Thieman; nurse, certified speaking professional and co-author of the New York Times bestseller Chicken Soup for the Nurse's Soul, and also Chicken Soup for the Caregiver's Soul, Chicken Soup for the Christian Woman's Soul, Chicken Soup for the Father and Daughter Soul, Chicken Soup for the Grandma's Soul, Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul 2 and Chicken Soup for the Mother and Son Soul. To have her inspire your team members, or to order her books, CD's and DVD's contact LeAnn at 1-877-THIEMAN or www.LeAnnThieman.com.