Hello everyone,

Welcome to the Extraordinary Women Podcast where we chat about the issues that women just like you, are thinking about, dealing with, and working through in our daily lives. 

For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Sharri Harmel, Editor and Chief Creative of the Extraordinary Women Magazine Community and Podcast. 

The Extraordinary Women Magazine Community and this podcast are hopefully tools to help you on your journey to creating a life that matters. None of us are celebrities or even well-known, but your voice matters in this community and because you are listening to this podcast, my guess is that you are also a real and true extraordinary woman. So welcome and I encourage you to join the EW Magazine Community. 

Last week, we talked about How to Create a Holiday Season that Matters….and we are continuing on that same general topic. 

A friend of mine … Jane Webster of the French Table (check her out on Instagram) has a workshop called “I Want More….” I signed up and ladies, I’ve only completed one week, but I already love it. Jane shared a poem that well, blew me away …. and today, I want to share it with you.

It is titled We’re All In the Same Line …. Ladies, pull over if you’re driving because this is going to draw you in… 

“Every minute someone leaves this world behind.
We are all in the “the line” without knowing it.
We never know how many people are before us.
We cannot move to the back of the line.
We cannot step out of the line.
We cannot avoid the line.
So while we wait in the line…

Make moments count.
Make priorities.
Make the time.
Make your gifts known.
Make a nobody feel like a somebody.
Make your voice heard.
Make the small things big.
Make someone smile.
Make the change.
Make love.
Make up.
Make peace.
Make sure to tell your people they are loved.
Make sure to have no regrets.
Make sure you are ready.”

Well, it’s a gut-wrenching poem, isn’t it? When I first read it, it touched me down to my core. 

It made me think about time … and something about being in a line, like a supermarket line when we do all sorts of things while we wait for our turn … make me think. Really think what am I doing in this line? 

As the poem says, we don’t know when our time is up, how long our wait will be, but what we do know, is that every day, we have just 24 hours, so let’s make the most of it. 

Now every person has the same 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 52 weeks a year. 

No one has more so trying to constantly cram more in a day or in a week is making us crazy. Moving tasks to the next day or sometime in the future is maybe just pushing it to someday… and I ask you, is someday another word for never? 

We have this conversation in my Recapture Your Joy course. This mini- course is now part of our EW Community – the community that has live calls, a magazine and now the Recapture Your Joy course. This little power packed course is all about practical steps to help you to feel less stress and more joy every single day! 

But right now, let’s go back to the poem … and focus on just a few of the points…. 

Make the moments count, make your gifts known, and make the small things big. 

Let’s start with…

Make moments count, Make the time … in the Recapture Your Joy mini-course, we do a time log to first see just where you are spending your time. It’s a super fun task because it’s so visual. 

We all have to sleep, so that takes off 7-8 hours of our 24 hours and ladies if you’re not sleeping, that’s an important issue to address. 

So, assuming we are sleeping, we have maybe 15-16 hours when we are awake in the day. If you do a time log, you will see straight up, how you are you really spending your time. 

You’ll start to ask yourself questions like, do you really want to give one of those precious hours to social media or an hour or more at a lunch with someone who completely drains you? 

Of course not, but frankly, I’ve found that every time I go through this exercise, and I do it whenever I’m feeling like I can’t get anything done …. it’s a wakeup call for me. Wow, I’m wasting my time doing that?? 

Conversely, what am I rushing through that I’d love to savor? A conversation with my child or a neighbor…a quiet walk down my street noticing how the leaves are changing colors or how different fall smells versus summer or … the smile the grocery checkout gal just gave me. 

If we learn to savor and value our time, suddenly it becomes very easy to prioritize how we spend our time. 

As for people- I think you’ll feel just as I do. If you want to make moments count, make the time, you’ll find yourself becoming super vigilant around who and how you spend your time. Saying no to the lunch you really didn’t want to attend or the coffee chats that are rehashing problems or the not necessary, non-productive meeting. It’ll all become really clear. Promise yourself, you’ll make moments count while you wait in the line. 

Make your gifts known… Let’s not be quiet doers over the holidays. It’s easy to take it all on. Martha Stewart no more! Plus, all those lifestyle mavens have a staff…. a HUGE staff. Yet, it’s super easy to get caught up in the decorating, the baking, the organizing, the wrapping, the shopping. basically doing, doing, doing…. It’s time to stop “doing” and make your gifts known and say what they are out loud to the people around you. Then what’s not your gifts- ask for help and let others do it- give them the gift of making their gift known! Another way of paying it forward!! 

For example, if your gifts are not in the realm of cooking…Simplify! Order dessert from a local bakery…or make some bars ahead of time and put them in the freezer…make a one pot meal for Christmas. Now, if cooking and entertaining is your gift, then showcase it and don’t let the present opening get in the way- so shift the schedule around. 

I promise you, if you chose to make your gifts known and ask others to help with what isn’t your gifts, the holidays can become wonderfully enjoyable for you and everyone around you … now that’s a holiday that matters. 

Last, as the poem said…Make the small things big….

I’m all about angels. Call it whatever you wish based on your own beliefs, but I think there are little lovely messages sent to us every day that most of the time we don’t even notice. Well, let’s start to look for them! 

As an example, recently, I was having an emotionally difficult day. Instead of sitting home and succumbing to tears, I chose to take myself out to lunch. Sitting at a café, I tried my hardest to order in French. Now I should tell you I’m a French learner…maybe the equivalent of a third grader…. Well, what did the young, adorable French waiter do? He smiled…helped me through it and then winked! He wasn’t being cheeky…THAT ladies were an angel message to encourage me. So make the small things big and actually look for those little messages.  encouragement. 

In conclusion…

Make moments count, Make the time…

Make your gifts known…

And Last…Make the small things big and look for those lovely little messages. 

_____________________________________________________________

Outro

Ladies, if you are wanting a community, a way to connect with women like yourself who are trying to move forward with their dreams while creating lives that matter, the EW Magazine Community is for you. 

When you subscribe to the magazine- you are welcomed into our private FB group, you’ll get invitations to our coffee chats and champagne soirees (depending on your time zone) where we get together online and talk about whatever issues are coming up for our community right now. 

For instance – very soon we’ll be talking about the book Breath. I’m intrigued by this book and so will you be. I want to explore why breath is important for our bodies and our mindse. I’ve heard it speed ups our metabolism (I’m all for that!) and that breath provides the relaxation in our bodies to help us to truly enjoy the holiday season … so our next Coffee Chat is about a  little breathing and a whole lot of discussion around creating a holiday season we love not just endure. 

This is a community, ladies, with a magazine for fun. 

Wondering if you’ll fit in with the group? Married or solo, kids grown or still at home. Corporate careers, entrepreneurs, a stay-at-home mother or even retired, you’ll fit. We are about appreciating each other, encouraging each other, and inspiring each other to find that secret to your happiness and creating a life that matters. 

Go to EXTRAORDINARY Women Magazine and join us by clicking the subscribe button. It’s a whole lot for $29.99. 

Thank you for your precious time and 

As I say to my friends and neighbors in Paris…. À Bientôt!