No Worries

With a title like that one might think this could be a blog about a sunny beach vacation with some Jimmy Buffet playing in the background and a tropical drink in one's hand. Nope. This is a blog about a very serious topic... the holidays.

Funny how that word can mean different things to different people. For me, it seems like every year they come around faster than I expect. Which in turn causes some people to move into overdrive mode trying to get every little thing done to make sure that the holidays are "perfect". 

Except there is no such thing as"perfect", so now what? For some people without family the holidays are something they want to avoid altogether. For people with large extended families the holidays start practically right after Veterans Day and go nonstop until after New Year. Seems like every year people put their Christmas tree up earlier and earlier. I know people who hardly get any sleep because they are so busy that they run themselves ragged practically making themselves sick trying to do and be everything. So where is the happy medium?

I say the happy medium is you. We are all lights. We all have the ability to either be people lifter's or drags. Opportunities arise each and every day to either build people up or to tear them down. So in this time of year when there are so many extremes all around bombarding us at every turn, from stores to places of employment, we get to choose what we will be in the situations we are faced with.

Every day is a gift whether one has a large extended family with boatloads of holiday activities going on, or for the person living alone without any family. It's a simple choice. It's easy to get wrapped up in making sure everything you want to accomplish get's done and things get marked off the "to do"list. However, I think it's important in the midst of the daily "grind"to be flexible and if everything gets done that's great. On the other hand if every single little thing on that list does not get checked off, not to beat yourself up over it. At the same time, not to be so wrapped up into our own "to do's"that we miss those opportunities where we can be lifters.

My motto is if I see something I "do something". Meaning if I encounter a situation where someone needs something, and I am able to be that something, then I do it. This motto was actually the inspiration for my latest single released to iTunes titled "Don't Walk Away."(Click here to listen on iTunes) Here's a section of the lyrics: 

ARE YOU BUILDING UP OR TEARING DOWN
HEARTS ARE HURTING CAN YOU HEAR THE SOUND
HE SAID WHEN YOU DID IT TO THE LEAST OF THESE
YOU DID IT TO ME

DON’T WALK AWAY, DON’T WALK AWAY
SOMEBODY NEEDS YOU NOW
DON’T WALK AWAY, DON’T WALK AWAY
YOU MIGHT BE THE ANSWER HOW

You get the idea... basically my motto is, if a situation arises and you can do or be that something for someone, I say like the Nike saying goes... "just do it". Which in reading this it might seem like I'm saying to do two opposite things. On the one hand I say don't kill yourself trying to do everything, and then on the other hand I'm saying to do something. Actually it all comes back down to that happy medium again. That's where the no worries mentality comes in.

Let everything roll off like water off of a ducks back. Keeping in mind that every day is a blessing, to count every blessing and when we have the chance, to "be"a blessing to those we encounter. People, animals, whatever the case may be. Not to be so busy that we miss opportunities to be the answer how. If we run into a situation that we can change, don't assume someone else will do it. Just imagine... what a wonderful world it would be.

May your holidays be filled with many many blessings.

Music, Love & Blessings ~
Ava xo
www.avaaston.com

No Excuses

Nothing can stop you unless you let it.

When you get knocked down do you stay down, or do you get back up? Most people like to think they get back up, but the truth is sometimes we don't.

Almost everyone likes to hear about someone taking a bad situation and turning it upside down. Especially if that someone is a hero like a Veteran, media figure, or a person in the public eye. I mean was there ever a greater contestant on "Dancing With the Stars" than Noah Galloway? Sheesh, I don't even watch Reality TV, but I was glued to the tube like millions of other Americans because of his story, determination and passion to give back to people. His strength is unbelievably motivating.

The sad thing though is that some of us enjoy seeing that happen for "other people" but at times in our own lives we think it can't happen for us. That the "thing," challenge, injury, hurdle, whatever seems too big, too hard or just too insurmountable to overcome.

Recently I saw a video that was truly inspiring. Every person in the world struggles with something, no one is perfect. Every human being has an imperfect body. As great as it would be to have everything work perfectly all the time like a well-oiled machine, that's not real life, nor is that how we are designed. Whether it's a goal, a dream, a passion, a physical challenge, everyone has something they want to achieve. Life happens though, things happen, and at times we get knocked down. It can be easy to fall into the excuses game. What we want to accomplish can seem so far off, so daunting that we can find it easier to just think "well so-and-so happened and so I will never be able to reach my goal." 

This video shows that no matter what is thrown at you, there are never any acceptable excuses to not achieve anything. If something happens to you, you have two choices: stay down or get back up. Pain (whether it's emotional, mental, or physical) is temporary, but quitting lasts forever. The only thing that counts is trying to be better than yesterday. Do a little every day, and one day you'll look back and be doing something you once thought was impossible. Doing the thing you thought you couldn't.

Sometimes it may seem like things can happen "to" us. Really though we can look back and realize they actually happened "through" us. Our stories can touch the people around us in ways we may never even know or imagine. So the next time you're down, remember you never know who is watching, or who you may be inspiring. In the words of one of history's smartest men...

"You never fail until you stop trying." ~ Albert Einstein 

Blessings, Love & Music ~
Ava xo
www.avaaston.com

Spring Training

The Doctors Were Wrong... Anything IS Possible!

It's that time again... Time to pack up the winter clothes and get out the warm weather stuff. It's the time of year that can make people start to think about how "out of shape" they have become over the winter. Especially since this has been an extremely long and for many of us a brutal winter. Which only makes me that much more giddy on those days when the thermometer goes above 45 degrees and I can smell that spring is indeed in the air, old man winter is dying, and will soon breathe his last breath for the year.

Like so many others I'm thinking about summer, summer clothes and fitting into them.  Some people might not know this but I used to be a "chunker" as a little Greek Girl. It wasn't until I was an adult that I really got into fitness, healthy eating, working out as a lifestyle and ended up losing over 35 lbs. Now I was never "fat" by any means, I was just well... lets say "well fed". I worked really hard to lose the weight and maintain it for several years, and it was not that difficult, that is until the car accidents.

What car accidents? Some of my blog readers and followers of my music are aware of what happened; For those who are not, my husband and I were in two car accidents two years ago. First we were rear ended by an SUV while stopped at a stop light, pushing us into the car in front of us, totaling my car (RIP "Johnny Jetta" - I had only had about 3 months at the time). Anyway we both suffered several injuries including multiple herniated disks, and probably the most difficult is the Traumatic Brain Injury. Ironically while on the way to the chiropractor less than six months later, we were rear ended again while stopped at a stop light. Which was unbelievable I know, I still can't believe it myself. Needless to say the second rear ending only made everything worse including the TBI.

Now I won't go into the gory details about it because first and foremost we are alive and we have each other. Although we struggle every day just to do things we never even thought about before the accidents, we are thankful for our health and realize that so many other people in the world struggle with worse health problems. Now why am I telling you about all this muckery?... There is a point, bear with me.

See the thing is, my life changed forever that day. It changed for both of us, my husband used to be a fit model, and was even the standing fit model for Marc Jacobs for six seasons. I was in the middle of doing a transformation for a national fitness infomercial for a new product launch. Which I had to drop out of, as I was unable to continue to do hours of high impact cardio and workout to the level required daily. So in the aftermath of trying to recover we both had a choice to make... We have spent the last two years in recovery, doing physical therapy, chiropractic, epidurals, trigger point injections, massage, you name it we have probably tried it.

I even bought a teeter inversion table www.teeter-inversion.com - which is probably one of the reasons I am able to walk around today. I can not say enough about it and it has helped tremendously. But the thing is... everyone at some point in their lives has to struggle with some sort of physical limitations. Weather it be from a car accident, a fall, or weight issues... everyone will at some point, at some time will face something that challenges their physical body. There will come a time when it will literally come down to mind over matter. I know you might be thinking "What are you talking about Greek Girl?... Sounds like gobble goop to me". 

Hear me out. Most people who know me know one thing about me, "Rocky" is one of my favorite movies of all time. I can never tire of watching any of them, and Rocky is one of my heroes. The never give up spirit is something I have always connected with, especially having spent my entire life pursuing my musical dream. However never in my life have I ever really understood what "Never Give Up" meant until now. The TBI is different than the physical stuff, and really besides diet, sleep, and therapy for it, and adjusting how you do things, slowing down ,etc. there is nothing that is going to "make it better". Other than being frustrated when you do something like say leave the stove on for seven hours while you are home and have no idea... it is just frustrating more than anything else, but with it there is no "pain". With the physical things though, there is pain. Your body hurts and the last thing at times you want to do is go "workout".

I've been here, thinking to myself... "I don't need to go exercise I'm injured and I should just relax". This is where so many people get stuck. Stuck to the point where it spirals out of control and their bodies become a prison. I have dealt with it and it takes a conscious effort, choosing every day to do it because it is helping your body to become stronger. Making that choice all starts in the mind. The mind tells your boy what it can and can not do, and your "will" is the gas pedal. Shortly after the second car accident I saw this video on youtube titled "Never Ever Give Up" .

It brought me to tears. It's about a man named Arthur who was a disabled veteran. He was injured from many years of jumping out of airplanes. The doctors told him he would never walk unassisted ever again. He lost hope, and he gained a lot of weight. His story is so incredible and honestly just like Rocky movies I can not get tired of seeing it. I have posted it many times to my Facebook page, but it just seemed so appropriate to spotlight again in relation to "Spring Training".

You see, every single one of us has a struggle. There is something that everyone thinks is out of reach, something that they can never do. The beautiful thing about Arthur's story is he shows us that anyone can change if they put their mind to it. You can change your story and climb your mountain, but you have to make up your mind to do it. You have to tell your body that you will not allow it to keep your spirit locked in a prison. I hope you will enjoy watching his story and seeing where he is today as much as I do, and that you will share it with someone you know who has lost hope. Who thinks they are too far gone, who thinks they can never overcome their obstacle. Arthur shows us that anything is possible, anything... you just have to believe in yourself.

*(If you're reading on a mobile device and video is missing or does not play, click the following link to see - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9FSZJu448 ) 

Blessings, Love & Music ~
Ava xo
www.avaaston.com