Linda(00:00.078)
Hello and welcome to Mini Miracles from Minor Moments. I'm Drew and I'm here to set the stage for a podcast that helps you embrace the small, powerful moments that can transform your life. Get ready to discover fresh insights and practical wisdom for your journey. And now here's your host, Linda Golo. Good morning and welcome to Mini Miracles from Minor Moments, where it's the small, seemingly insignificant things that happen in our lives bring about the greatest blessings ever.

I had a wonderful voxer from a man out east that I happened to know through business. He shared with me moments when things happened to him that seemed so unimportant, but they evolved into things that helped his business, that helped his family, and that helped him. And he said all he could think about was many miracles from minor moments podcast because suddenly all these things that seemed so insignificant were really very, very relevant.

I was so thankful that he shared that with me because sometimes I wonder if what I'm sharing here or what I'm encouraging people to do is really helping them. And when I get this kind of feedback and makes it all worthwhile. Today we're going to be talking about a number of things, about some of the harmful things that are in our environment and some of the things that are not good for us that are all around us and we're not even aware of. Also

I'd like to talk about some of the positive things we can be doing to help ourselves. So hang in there as we proceed and go forward.

Linda(01:45.23)
Well today I want to talk about being aware. Yes, being aware of those mini miracles that are happening in your life, but also being aware of the things that are going on around us that are not necessarily positive for us. For example, we get clothing from the store that we think is absolutely beautiful, we buy cosmetics, we get food packaging, we have all kinds of things in our environment going on that are being taken in

Our skin, we are breathing things, we have chemicals that are hiding in plain sight that we're totally unaware of. And these chemicals are called PFASs. They accumulate in our system, in our blood. And as a result of that, these chemicals are creating great problems for us. So what I'd like to talk about is to be aware of these things. We can't necessarily cut out everything in our lives or

be so uncomfortable that we don't do things, but at the same time we have to be careful that when we see things on advertisements that say grease resistant or waterproof or nonstick, that we're careful about the pans we buy, the things we cook in, different spoons and the different spatulas we use. What are they made of and are they safe for us to be using with our foods? We need to be careful about what we breathe in and what we put on our skin.

So many times cosmetics say they're gonna make you look wrinkle proof or they're gonna do this or they're gonna do that. They're not always safe for us and they can create all kinds of problems, long-term problems, or things that come up later in life. So what we have to do is we have to minimize our exposure to these things and to be aware of them. Many times we can't avoid buying clothing that is not good for us.

But we have to be careful about the fabrics we do buy and be careful that they don't always have stain resistant properties. We have to be careful of the carpeting we buy, the upholstery, the furniture. Remedy is to know that our outdoor clothes can be cotton or linen and they can be safe for us. So we have to always read the labels and be careful about what we put on our bodies. So many times manufactured clothes comes from different parts of the world.

Linda(04:05.516)
And we don't know what their limitations are or what regulations they have to follow. But we have to do be very, very careful. So many times I think about the water we drink. Years ago when I was a kid, we would be on the farm or we'd be somewhere and we'd be pumping water straight from the earth. And many times that water was safer than what we're getting in a plastic bottle or whatever. So I think it's important for us to be very, very careful.

And to avoid regularly putting on stain repellent sprays on our furniture, on our carpets, or to be using different things that are creating chemicals in our system that we're not even aware of. But then that also takes me to our minds. We have negative people around us, we have people that are advertising about everything online nowadays. People lose hope when indeeds their bodies.

break down. And so we have to be very, very careful. Because chemicals can even if in short spots, can create exposure to all kinds of matter that creates depression and anxiety. Also, in the past couple weeks we've had a lot of polluted air, smokiness that's been coming from either Michigan or from Canada or from the fires in Wisconsin. So we have to be very careful what we're breathing in and to make sure

that these short term spikes don't keep increasing our or endangering us in any way. Also, people are not aware that, you know, certain metals that they have in their of environment may be bad for you. So again, we have to be cognitively aware of these things and we have to help each other. When we had the pollution the last week of things coming in from Canada, I was driving down the street

And there's an older man down the block who I happen to know and he was out there just walking around in this smog. And I stopped the car and I said, Are you aware that we are having this polluted air coming from Canada, from the forest fires there? I said, We're not supposed to be outside for the more than a couple of minutes. And he said, he wasn't aware of that at all. And so with that he finally went in the house. So we always have to be concerned and we also have to share these things with other people.

Linda(06:21.038)
Because if I had stopped not stopped to tell the neighbor, he would not have been aware of why it was foggy out or why it looked like it was just a bad morning. The air quality does affect us because when we have higher levels, it affects our children, it affects what we're breathing in. It's important for us in many, many ways to have healthy air for healthy minds. Many people know the effects of outdoor pollution on the heart and the lung.

But fewer people are aware that the air we're breathing in does impact our brain and our long-term mental health. It's important for us to be aware of these things. Research has shown that long-term or even short term exposure to air pollution can have a profound effect on our mental health because breathing in unhealthy air is affecting many anxiety symptoms. And we don't recognize that that's where it's coming from. It isn't always associated with a disease.

But poor air pollution can create dementia or Parkinson's disease or have effects on autism. Children are developing their brains as they grow. And so we need to have air quality that's also very healthy for them so that we don't have elevated risk of bipolar events or depressions or major personality disorders in the future. Our air pollution is not just something that happens outside. It can also happen inside.

We can have things that penetrate into our home through the cracks of the windows and everywhere. From our stoves and from the again, the pots and pans we use. It's really good to have portable air conditioners wherever needed. I think during the COVID time, I used my little air breathing machines in here to remove the pollution that was around the office. Again, it's really important for us to be aware of the fact that

Sometimes the air we breathe or the things we have in our midst is affecting us, whether it's affecting our skin because we're putting on a certain deodorant or because we're putting on a cosmetic on our face or using something in our hair to make us look pretty or to make it something easier for us. We have to be very careful and guard ourselves against the things that are creating difficulty in our lives.

Linda(08:47.854)
Well this little talk is just about the power of waiting. When you don't know what to do, sometimes we just do nothing. And that's a decision too, you know, to do nothing. But sometimes when we hurry up and rush into something we do the wrong thing or we later find out it's not exactly the direction we wanted to go. So it's very important for all of us to understand that there is great joy in the power of waiting.

And I think that that's really good for whether you're a young person or an older person. If you're deciding whether you should go on to school, whether you should finish college, whether you should start a career, whether you should get married or have a family, I know it's very important for all of us to get started in knocking off our goals, but also to find time to rest and to rethink things and how they're going.

Waiting is one of the most powerful tools. And you know, I'm always trying to give people in the office here tools to take forward, to think things through, not to just do something for the sake of doing it, but to take the time and take the tools we have and use them to our advantage. Now one of the greatest things that I have found is important to us is the power of joy. And often we don't know what the power of joy comes from.

It comes from small moments, daily things that make us feel better. I just talked with somebody on the phone who was very encouraging and I really was touched that that person was able to talk to me in a way that other people hadn't affected me. I've also been very grateful for young people in my life. My grandchildren and my great grandchildren are teaching me things that I don't always know if I want to know, but it's really important for me to know them.

So it's noticing all the small daily moments, the simple times of gratitude that people express to us or that we express to other people, and doing the things that make you feel like you are alive and well. Take a look at what you do every day. Is it smelling a cup of coffee? I meet with a friend, I'm gonna say about twice a month, and sometimes we text in between and everything. But we meet at a restaurant that's local that has great fresh coffee.

Linda(11:00.364)
And that's the only time I have coffee is when I go to this particular restaurant, I sit down there and I savor that cup of coffee and I enjoy those moments with that friend. The time when we just stop rushing for a few minutes and share with each other very personal things that maybe we wouldn't share on a text or in an email. But when we're together, we have that opportunity to talk to each other one on one. Also it's important for us to take a quiet walk in the park or to sit in the backyard.

I have found a spot on my picnic table where the sun is at my back and I can see the whole yard and I can watch the dog. Those times out there are great for me because I get to breathe in the fresh air, unless we have the forest fires, you know, coming down from Canada. But I can breathe the fresh air and I can really enjoy the backyard. Now this last week I was wonderfully pleased because I had my landscapers come out.

And they cut back a lot of the peony bushes and all the stuff that had already been blossoming and had died. They also took care of a lot of things that were going to be coming and blossoming. We have along the back side of our yard rose of Sharon bushes. This week they've started blossoming. Now what's so exciting about this is there's maybe twenty of twenty something of Each one is a different color and I never know what colors they're gonna be because I started these from little twigs and I put them in

And I sometimes put two different twigs together. So sometimes the bushes come up and they're multicolored, which is even prettier. But I s I just really enjoy going outside, just sitting there and looking at these beautiful rose of sharing bushes now as they start to blossom in the next few weeks. Also, many of you are spurred on by music or singing or dancing or just doing something like that, or even those people who are really good at drawing. Whether you are a doodler, whether you really are an artistic

person who can sit down and paint something, a person who can somehow express yourself in some kind of creative way it is so important for you to connect with yourself and with the outside world. And something new and something fun that's out of character for you may help you grow. So let's say you never play pickleball. Well now you may want to go play pickleball. Or perhaps you never played ping pong and you want to play ping pong. Or maybe it's something different, totally different.

Linda(13:18.732)
Maybe you really weren't a walker but now you find that walking is a very comforting thing for you to do. So do a fun thing that's out of normal for you, out of your normal character, and grow. Also, if you feel stressed or tired or stuck right now, what are the things you can do? You can do any number of things to help yourself get out of that place. You can talk to somebody who understands the reason we get into those spots, or you can just go ahead and try to attack in some other way.

Also figure out what is the one thing you used to love doing that you stopped doing it. And why did you stop doing it? For me, I've always loved to sew. I was taught to sew when I was four years old on an industrial sewing machine by my mother. I've always enjoyed making things. I enjoyed making clothes for myself when I was in college and as a young mother, I made my daughter's clothes all the time. I made some stuff for my son.

I really've always made things for my home and I enjoy that more than anybody knows. Lately I haven't been doing that. Why did I stop doing that? Well, I guess I didn't feel I had a real purpose in doing it. But now as we enter into the midsummer here, we're in the end of July and entering into August, I feel that there are so many things that I need to make. New banners, new new doilies, different things for my office as well as for my home.

These are things that I can't necessarily buy. I have the materials at home. I have lots of different things I can sew with, and I think I'm going to get back to doing that one thing that I love to do that I stopped doing for some reason. So again, joy is really, really interesting. And it's something that we have to try to return to. If you have had something in your life that you also would like to do that you've never done.

Maybe this is the time to find somebody who has that skill and to learn from them how to do it. Even if you do it one or two times, it's something you can check off your list. I've also had friends who are great travelers. And I traveled at one time in my life. I'm not sure I want to do it again, but I find it so interesting now to watch PBS about traveling. At one time I wanted to physically do it. Now I don't necessarily want to physically do it, but I still want to know.

Linda(15:39.202)
What's new in different countries? I still want to know how people are living their lives and how they're going forward.

Linda(15:59.222)
One of things many of us do is change jobs. I notice that many people coming into my office are changing jobs every two years or every one year they have to do something different. Or they have to try a different sport or they have to accomplish something better. Whatever it is you want to do, I there is great power in seeing patterns, noticing when you do something, how often you do it. What are you changing? What are you adding on? Why are you always trying to be accomplishing something new?

Where did you learn that? Did you learn that from a parent or did you learn that from a sibling? Or were you competitive all your life? What is making you try to see things differently? Why are you trying to change the pattern of your relationships? Maybe you've had two or three different dates in the last month and you just can't seem to find the right kind of person to hang around with. And why is it so hard for us to just rest and do the things we need to do?

We have all been taught to hurry, hurry, hurry and to get things done in a different way. We all have to form some sort of blueprint in our life and we don't even know we're doing it. I look back over the journals that I've written over the last ten years and I see patterns of trying to accomplish things at different times. We are always in transition. We don't stay in one spot. From the time we're little, we're growing, we're learning new things, we're going to schools, we're trying new schools.

We get to the point where we get out of high school, we're trying to find a profession. Perhaps we start writing stories for children or writing poems. We find that music is really engaging to us, yet the kind of music we listened to when we were fifteen is not the music we're listening to when we're thirty. We have different people that we're with right now. Maybe you're enjoying raising children. You're being driven, you're being dedicated and motivated. And a real go getter has functional things going on at the same time.

We need to be grateful for the blessings in our lives and to be aware of all the privileges that have been bestowed upon us as we go forward. We have certain things that we need to do that have been taught culturally put into our lives, culturally developed in us. But we also have the opportunity to learn new things and to talk to people from different perspectives and learn things in a different way. So I hope that helps you just think about things that maybe you weren't thinking about.

Linda(18:21.666)
Draw yourself an arrow and at the end of the arrow think about what it is you want to actually target in your life.

Linda(18:36.866)
Many miracles for minor moments helps us recognize that there are wonderful things happening around us all the time. Let's keep our eyes open for all the wonderful changes that are going to nudge us this week. We are always learning something new and something wonderful. As you walk through the week, remember God often hides graces in the smallest corners of our lives. Bye now and have a great week.

Thank you for listening to Mini Miracles from Minor Moments. Find the archives at lindagulow.com or subscribe for free through the Apple Podcasts. Never miss an issue of this everyday podcast that lends insight and things to think about. Each week, we encourage you to take the next step forward. It may put you on the escalator of success.