Monday, February 23, 2009

What We Must Do to Help Fix Our Country

Each time our new president comments on any aspect of the sobering economic perils we are facing in our country, he also clearly and firmly reminds us that we need to step up and take responsibility for our role in this situation. After his first few weeks in office, the reason for that is obvious. The road ahead isn’t going to be easy for him or for us. If we want to keep America’s hopes and dreams alive for a positive change, it will take a conscious and consistent effort by every one of us. This is the only way it will happen.

The first thing we must do as citizens is stop, take a breath and accept responsibility for our vital part in this historic time. When we consciously choose to move past any anxiety and fear, we can proactively face the challenges. Confidence is contagious. In aligning with the truth of us, instead of giving into fear, we know we have the innate ability to cope with whatever happens.

In order to do this, we must metaphorically take our minds out to the woodshed and do whatever it takes to release blame and recriminations and accept what is. Then we can focus on the desired outcome, which includes facing whatever is before us with a positive attitude to help our country successfully negotiate this time of crisis.

If we constantly focus on worst-case scenarios, and we spew out these thoughts to anyone who will listen, we will attract more of the same negative and undesirable results into our own lives. We will also be spreading negative energy, which is the opposite of what is needed to help our country remain stable during these trying times.

Since I know that it is done unto us as we believe, I much prefer, along with millions of others, the precept that by changing our negative thoughts we can change our lives in positive ways. Collectively, if we as a nation choose to focus only on thoughts that are positive and uplifting for us and our country, it will hasten the healing of our economy.

Second, in acknowledging the reality of this financial crisis, we need to realize that even young children hear the news and know when family members are having a bad time. We need to talk this out with our families and agree on what each can do to reinforce the family unit by working together to keep expenses down, conserve energy, and in general be good citizens. For younger children, it could be reminding others to turn off the lights in rooms that aren’t in use, or helping to tend a vegetable garden and sharing the harvest with neighbors.

If we role model an authentic confident, can-do attitude for our children and grandchildren, this will serve them well throughout their lives, no matter what their future brings.

According to the advice of Suze Orman, the reigning popular guru of money matters and a consummate money saver, we also need to put money into an emergency fund, and start asking ourselves before every purchase whether we really need the item or just want it. I agree. She also suggests getting out of credit card debt by transferring high-interest credit cards to low-interest cards, and paying as much as we can each month until the balance is cleared.

Next, if we’re already stressed over finances, we need to get help quickly before we become so overwhelmed that we feel helpless and hopeless and the stress begins to take a toll on our families, as well as on our physical bodies. The experts say this is never a hopeless situation just a lack of information. Turn to a friend, family member, doctor, minister or debt counselor and don’t stop until you learn the necessary financial skills, have a positive attitude and a set goal.

If we know someone who is experiencing a stressful situation, such as going from a two-income to a one-income or a no-income family, it is important that we support them in finding help. By looking after our fellow Americans, we help bring positive energy into the situation, which also helps steady our country during this transformational time.

It is also important to know that the symptoms of chronic and extreme stress can be dangerous if left untreated. A physician friend told me years ago that when our minds are overwhelmed and we are stressed, we need to move our bodies. It doesn’t cost anything to go for a walk, run or ride a bicycle or to meditate, and they are all immensely helpful in coping with stress. It is also wise to stay in close touch with family and friends as we all need a strong social support system to maintain our mental, emotional and physical well-being.

Most of us have heard the expression: United we stand; divided we fall. It was never more fitting than right now. No matter our political preference, we are all in this together. As citizens who know how blessed we are to be living in this country, it is a privilege to tighten our belts and make any sacrifice necessary to help America in this time of crisis. This is the greatest gift we can give ourselves and the world.

The stakes are extremely high and President Obama can’t do it alone. He needs all the help he can get. If we want this situation to have a positive outcome, the choice is obvious: Either we are part of the solution, or we’re part of the problem.
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Copyright © 2009 by Fern Stewart Welch

The author’s books: “You Can Live A Balanced Life In An Unbalanced World!” and “The Heart Knows the Way – How to Follow Your Heart to a Conscious Connection with the Divine Spirit Within” are available at Amazon.com and other online booksellers, as well as through major bookstores such as Barnes & Noble and Borders.

Monday, February 9, 2009

You Can Live A Balanced Life In An Unbalanced World!

This is the title of my recently released book, which I believe holds insights that will be helpful to many people during these challenging times. Some of you receiving this announcement are among the thousands of individuals who have read my weekly essays over the past two years at www.InsightsOut.blogspot.com. Your responses confirmed my conviction that people are hungry for positive, helpful and hopeful information concerning issues that we face every day.

This is why I decided to publish a collection of 66 selected essays to expand the outreach and help as many people as possible. I thought you would be interested in seeing the PRWeb media release, which goes online today, and in reading just a few of the reviews that readers have graciously provided to accompany the media promotion.

“You Can Live A Balanced Life In An Unbalanced World!” is now available at Amazon.com, as well as other online booksellers and through major bookstores. If you desire to purchase the book, that is great, simply click on the live link to my book site at www.amazon.com. If after reading the book, you would like to post your own review of the book that would be wonderful. If it feels more comfortable for you to support me by simply sending love and blessings, that is also great. I appreciate you!
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Fern Stewart Welch’s New Book Highlights Path to Living A Balanced Life

In a world that is changing fast and filled with uncertainties – Fern Stewart Welch’s new book is a self-help manual for creating a stable, happy and meaningful life no matter what the future holds.

Scottsdale, Arizona [PRWeb] … February 9, 2009 … Author Fern Stewart Welch’s latest book, “You Can Live A Balanced Life In An Unbalanced World!” couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. In this increasingly unbalanced and disconnected world, Fern shares insights and practical guidance in a handbook that will assist experienced seekers as well as novices learn to love healthfully, fulfill their potential and create rich, rewarding and purposeful lives.

For nearly two years, Fern has posted a weekly blog essay at www.InsightsOut.blogspot.com and notes, "The many viewers who discovered the site confirmed my belief that people are hungry for positive, helpful and hopeful information concerning their daily lives, as well as global issues dealing with the future of life on Earth."

Fern decided to publish a selection of the essays to reach out to as many people as possible during this challenging time. This how-to handbook, “You Can Live A Balanced Life In An Unbalanced World!” is a collection of 66 finely crafted and easy-to-read essays on basic issues that confront every single one of us every day of our lives, including health, prosperity and relationships.

The essays include: How to Live a Rich, Rewarding, Joyful, Purposeful Life; Achieving Inner Happiness is Life’s Highest Gift; Creating a New Road Map to Health; The Importance of Keeping a “Soft” Heart; Living Simply and Treading Lightly on the Earth; and An Ode to a Tomato: What Nature Can Teach Us.

Irene Hunter, the author of “The Miracle of Being the Real You,” says “This book reveals the simplicity of taking control of who you are and moving from victimhood to victorious. It’s about accepting the gift of life and through our choice of words and thoughts changing the negative to the positive, the problem to the answer and the darkness to light.”

According to Fern, a veteran writer whose career spans 40 years, she discovered her true “writing voice” through the spiritual experiences she had while assisting her husband through his lengthy decline and subsequent death in 2002.

Since that time, her single life passion has been to write about what she has learned from a lifetime of lessons to help others create better lives for themselves and their loved ones.

Currently Fern is a contributing editor for One Planet Magazine, posts blog essays at www.InsightsOut.blogspot.com and is nearing completion of her next book. She was formerly the editorial director of PHOENIX Magazine, and a freelance international travel correspondent for The Los Angeles Times.

“You Can Live A Balanced Life In An Unbalanced World,” published by InsightsOut Books, is available from Amazon.com, other online booksellers and major bookstore, and to the trade from Ingram Book Co., Baker & Taylor and other wholesalers.
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What people are saying about “You Can Live A Balanced Life In An Unbalanced World!”

“This book reveals the simplicity of taking charge of who you are and moving from victimhood to victorious. It is about accepting the gift of life and through our choice of words and thoughts, changing the negative to the positive, the problem to the answer and the darkness to the light. Fern Stewart Welch takes us through life conditions and situations from birth to death. She helps us master our reality now, this very moment. I love this book.” –Irene Hunter, author of "The Miracle of Being the Real You" and teacher of The Real You Seminars

“In Fern Stewart Welch's insightful new book, she takes slices of everyday life, ponders deeply, and then shares her revelations. She encourages us to choose to see that the happiness we all seek already exists, when we look for it. This is one of those books to randomly open and let the message of the day reveal itself, or to choose a subject, read the author’s thoughts and allow her to inspire new insights in us.” –Rev. Merilyn Chilleen

“In this excellent new book from Fern Stewart Welch, you will learn powerful, practical and sound advice for coping with, and growing through basic life issues. She inspires us to start our own spiritual journey within, where we find the sanctuary of unconditional love and acceptance, joy, peace and wholeness for which every human heart yearns.” –Karen Russo, award-winning author, “The Money Keys: Unlocking Peace, Freedom and Real Financial Power.” www.TheMoneyKeys.com

“Fern expertly crafts a work of substance and heart to lift our spirits, steady our feet and guide us safely back to center. “You Can Live A Balanced Life In An Unbalanced World!” is a wonderful guide for anyone who is seeking a path to happiness and balance. The wisdom she shares is pure and resolute.” –Laura Alden Kamm, author of “Intuitive Wellness.”

"As Fern Stewart Welch opens her heart to divine guidance, she brings us practical wisdom that helps us bring balance into our lives during these troubled times.” –Gladys T. McGarey, M.D., M.D. [H], author of “The Physician Within You,” and the recently released “Living Medicine.”
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Copyright © 2009 by Fern Stewart Welch