Environment is Stronger than Willpower

I remember reading this line in a home study lessons I took by Paramahansa Yogananda.  They were just words. Some part of me hoped it was not true. In fact I would say that a good deal of my life was spent trying to prove this statement wrong.

Every time I went on a vacation to California, after a few days, I would reach a point of clarity about my life and what I wanted to do.   Problem was as soon as I returned home, “home” and “habit” would engulf me back into my old routines and the clarity and the plans I had made while away would be rescheduled, put on hold, lost,and then forgotten.

I just did not get it- How could I be so clear when I was away on a trip, but could not hold on to that when I got home to my comfortable apartment.

It has taken many years for me to finally accept that statement “Environment is stronger than willpower”. I am no longer trying to disprove it.  I see the reality of it and have experienced it many times.

Getting away even for a few days or a few hours into nature can bring me that clarity.

Feeling stuck in a rut?

Take a Vacation!

Just 3 days and 2 nights in a hotel,  a completely different environment,   can help you get clear.  Make some solid plans with dead lines while you are away.  Get an accountability partner to help you stay focused when you return.

Want to give it a try?

contact me  from www.EvelynRosa.com

Ask me how you can qualify to get a 3 day 2 night hotel stay.
Try it for your self and then share your experience.

 

 

Advertisement

The Garden of Eve

I used to have a black thumb. I could kill any plant. Many of my mom’s plants where a victim of this black thumb.

Then in the late 1990’s I signed up to be a Garden Guide at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and was required to take 6 months of training that were equivalent to college level botany.For me that really helped. It also reconnected me to an event in my childhood.

We were in class learning about soil and how to not call it dirt. I got my hands in it, and remembered being a little girl in 1st grade planting in the schools garden program and how I loved it. I loved the feel of the soil and the smell of the soil.

I laughed as I remembered the high school test to determine what we would be happiest doing.  My test results said I should work on a farm! I had been outraged at the test results. I wanted to major in Math, in geometry. I wanted to map the world and every object in it. But yeah, soil, felt so, so good.

I loved numbers, I loved soil and I was about to learn to love plants. There was a scene in the movie POWDER , (I own it on laser disc), where the trees in the entire forest are described as being one single plant, living and breathing.  That scene stayed with me. The connectedness of life astounded me. It was a reminder of how things really are that has been forgotten.

But I’m  a city gal! born and raised in Manhattan. Central Park was my only source of green.  And then I went to Convocation in 1993 and visited Lake Shrine and Mother Center and Encinitas. I came back every single year for 14 years in a row.  The trips got longer from 1 week to 3 weeks at a time. La Joya was a treat on one of the years as was Hidden Valley in Escondido.

The Coastal Vacations Travel membership, which I got so I could work from home, had been appealing because being out in nature, traveling out of NYC was indeed what I wanted to do. I had gone to Puerto Rico a few times by then and I loved it there.  My mom had been spending the entire winter there, only returning to NYC in the spring.  What a great way to live!

But I am still in NYC, and I have no outdoor garden space.  But I do love soil and plants and I have a love affair with seeds.

I eat it, I like it , I plant it.

Yeah that is pretty much how I have been. My window sill is a testament to that.

The Avocado, Mango, Date Palm, Lemon, Lychee, Clementine were all started from seed. And yes I know it will be 5 plus years to get fruit, but I would have had fruit already if the ones from 2009 had not died in the frost in the Poconos.

Lenny makes compost, and I plant seeds. It’s a great combination.

Grounded

Gosh do I miss travelling.

Before 2010 my daughter used to call me her nomad mom.

Then my mom had the first of what would be 4 catastrophic strokes.

The 7 weeks spent in India in 2012 right after mom went into the nursing home were a needed disconnect and break from everything that had been engulfing me.

Its been a long time.

and while central park is nice, camping is even better.

There is some trail calling me.

DC Fire Works

went to DC for 4th of July.  this was a super last minute trip planned by Lenny’s Dad. it was the 3 day two night trip at a local hotel. the hotel was just for sleeping as the days were filled with activity outside of the hotel.

It was 98 degrees outside but the smithsonian museums have great AC! we spent most of the 4th at the museum and then walked to the lincoln memorial by way of the White House ( yeah the really long way).

we ended the day on the steps of the lincoln memorial watching the fireworks.  they were a blast! Dont get me wrong, Macy’s NYC is still the best! but the view, the music, the company, and being so close to the fireworks sure does make for an impressive evening!

Happy New Year and many more Coastal Vacations!

What a year this has been and now at the end of December is my 4th anniversay with Coastal Vacations. It was in December of 2006 that I made the decision to get started in Coastal Vacations. Back then life was very different than it is now. Back them I was $50,000 in debt, I had been downsized on around the time of my birthday ( I thought they called me in for a promotion!) I was in the midst of a horrible divorce, my room  mate had moved out suddenly, my unemployment had run out, and of course the land lord was trying to get me evicted.

To top it all off, my step dad, who had at one point been a NY cabbie among other things, didnt know where he was when we were standing in front of Lord and Taylors on Fifth Ave!  After many test his doctor diagnosed him as having Alzheimer’s and put him on Aricept.

I needed a new life, I needed a source of income, and I needed a lot of flexability. After spending my time researching Coastal Vacations, I took the plung and started at the highest level, Platinum. Like many others starting a business, I borrowed the money. I  got it from my 401K which had been doing a nose dive with the market and had exactly enough left to get me started.

Now? well the divorce is a done deal, the debt is all paid of, wow so great to know when the phone rings its someone I want to talk to! Becuase of Coastal Vacations I truly have the flexibility to be there to support my parents and well, I’m in the travel industry! I teach people to travel for wholesale prices, what better way to learn than to go on vacations! 4-8 vacations per year is getting to be the norm.  when there are less its because they are 3 weeks or more each.

and Ray? my step dad? he is waking up, his docter this year took him off Aricept. I look at him in the eyes and he is there! such joy I have really missed him.  We had a blast in Puerto Rico in November. Went to visit the town he grew up in and he got to talk to the son of his long time friend. Thas was quite a trip.  Get in the car with and person with Alzheimer’s for a 2 hour drive to another town on the other side of the island to find a house he has not been to in over 15 years!  Yep we got to the town, he remembered what should be where and the locals let us know what changed and where folks had moved to.

Hoping 2011 is as magical and wonderful as 2010 has been!

Happy New Year!
Evelyn Rosa

Timeshare VS Coastal Vacations Membership

What do you get with a Timeshare?

Average cost per unit	~$15,000
Financed for 15 years	$2,112/yr
Owner’s Association and Maintenance Fees	$400/yr
Paperwork and Usage Fees	$80/visit
Exchange Company Membership	$125/yr
Upgrades Up to	$1,000
Total per year	$2,717/yr
Annual Cost After Year 15	$605/yr
Total 15 Year Cost	$40,775

High Pressure Sales Presentations
Pay whether or not you use it
Only get one or two weeks per year

VS

What do you get with Coastal Vacations?

Basic Travel Membership	$1,295
Annual Update (optional)	$89.95/yr
1 week per year (optional)	$250.00/yr
Total 15 year cost	$5,374

And get unlimited weeks for as low as $250/week

No High Pressure Sales Meetings

Worldwide Selection and access to identical resorts and condos as offered at high-priced timeshare memberships… for about the cost the timeshare charges just to clean the rooms

Plus, many more benefits that will save you money on every aspect of your travel.. Including recreation, hotels, dining, car rentals, cruises, and much more.

Why pay $400 to $800 a year for maintenance and exchange fees on a timeshare when you can enjoy the same benefits for only $89.95 a year (optional annual renewal fee due at the end of your first year) through Coastal Vacations?

“Why pay retail, when you can travel for wholesale?”

Here are some simple tips to get the best airfare prices.

1)  Just after 911 commissions for travel agents on domestic airfares where removed.

What does that mean?

You can get the same prices that travel agents do for US domestic airfare by going to the airlines website or other websites like Travelocity.com.

2) purchasing on line is cheaper than calling the airline directly over the phone

3) do a flexible date search even if you dates are fixed.

4) consider departing or arriving during the middle of the week instead of the weekend

5) some sites quote the price before tax. Others quote the price with tax.  Always check to make sure what the final price with tax will be regardless

6) check the airlines website for additional fees for baggage, food purchase or other service items

http://www.EvelynRosa.com