Certified Life Coach.org & Coach - Living in the Moment...

When was the last time you saw a butterfly? Can you remember the colors on its? wings? Can you remember what you were doing when you saw it? If you are like most of us today, whether a stay at home mom or a busy executive, the end of the day is signified by a huge sigh of relief just as you hit the couch or even hit your pillow. We find ourselves racing from one task to another as we check off the things we?ve accomplished and gripe about the things still left to do. Unfortunately, though, the quicker we move through the day, the quicker our life passes us by. The truth is that each moment you have in your day, good or bad, will never occur exactly the same again?ever. That?s right. Ever. And although you actually know that, have you ever taken the time to really think about what that means? That means that each day you are missing the very things that make up your life.

Recently a friend of mine was brought to tears by her own two year old and reached out for help. I was thrilled to be the one to help her out, since she?d helped me out so many times before and the thought of watching her son who?d perfected the art of tantrums, seemed like a simple task. Surely I had survived those years with my own two children, and could zip through them now with ease. I mean, I was older and wiser now?and also knew that no matter what happened, he could be returned at the end of the two hours. As I carted her son in and out of the car for the third time, I began to remember how much work it was to go places with a child that couldn?t fasten their own seat belt. Feeling a little warm, I looked at the clock and realized we still had one more hour and had already been to the bakery, Starbucks and the store. Although he seemed unimpressed even with the cookies so far, I knew the park was just the place to go.

When we got there, I began to pat myself on the back about how efficient I had been so far. No tantrums yet. That was the goal, right? So I threw out the blanket, sprawled out and offered a snack. He was not interested. As a matter of fact, he didn?t want to go on the swings, the slide, or the jungle gym. I began to sweat a little more. What were we going to do for one more hour? Suddenly I had a flashback of being with my son when he was that age.

?Let?s go for a walk,? I said confidently. His huge blue eyes lit up as he reached up for my hand and we began down the path. It was a slow pace, since he had very little legs and we had lots of time on our hands, but it seemed just right. As we walked, I could feel my body temperature coming down. I could feel my heart rate decreasing and my breathing becoming easier too. I listened carefully to him as he called out each thing he saw that connected with a word he knew. All the while, we kept walking. I felt amazingly calm.

After a few minutes, he stopped dead in his tracks. I could feel my breathing stop too, worried that this was where he would demand something, hurling himself to the ground perhaps. I watched nervously, as he pointed his tiny finger in the air and began chanting something. Not understanding his words, I squatted beside him and looked carefully into the air. His rhythmic word getting louder and louder as his desire to share it with me grew. I looked in the distance and smiled.

?It?s a butterfly,? I said. ?You see a butterfly.? And with that, we stood still watching it with all of its? grace and beauty and I wondered how long it had been since I had seen one myself. It was in that moment that I wanted to call my girlfriend and thank her for giving me my ?moment?. For letting me borrow her son, so that I could remember not to miss the moments occurring in my life either. Although I didn?t call her, for fear of ruining her ?moment? alone, I was relieved to remember how simple it was to notice the butterflies. That it wasn?t a matter of finding them, but simply a matter of taking the time to notice them!

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Economic Growth Continues - More Than 5.3 Million Jobs Created Since August 2003
On June 2, 2006, The Government Released New Jobs Figures – 75,000 Jobs Created In May. The economy has created about 1.9 million jobs over the past 12 months – and more than 5.3 million since August 2003. The unemployment rate fell to 4.6 percent – lower than the average of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

Revised Report Shows Fastest Real GDP Growth In Two-And-A-Half Years. Real GDP grew at an annual rate of 5.3 percent for the first quarter of this year. This follows our economic growth of 3.5 percent in 2005 – the fastest rate of any major industrialized nation.

Productivity Increased At A Strong Annual Rate Of 3.7 Percent In The First Quarter.

Real Hourly Compensation Rose At A 3.2 Percent Annual Rate In The First Quarter.

Personal Income Increased At An Annual Rate Of 6.7 Percent In April. Since January 2001, real after-tax income has risen by 12.9 percent, or 7.3 percent per person.

Real Consumer Spending Increased At An Annual Rate Of 5.2 Percent In The First Quarter.

Employment Increased In 47 States Over The Past 12 Months Ending In April. Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 41 states in April.

Industrial Production Increased 4.7 Percent Over The Past 12 Months. Over the past 12 months, manufacturing production has increased by 5.5 percent.

This Week, President Bush Nominated Henry Paulson As Treasury Secretary. Paulson has an intimate knowledge of financial markets and an ability to explain economic issues in clear terms. For the past eight years, Paulson has served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Goldman Sachs Group, one of the most respected firms on Wall Street.

The President Has Expanded Tax Relief And Is Working To Make His Tax Relief Permanent. Two weeks ago, President Bush signed into law a bill that extends the tax cuts on dividends and capital gains. This legislation also contains an Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) patch enabling millions of middle-income families to avoid paying higher taxes in 2006.

The President’s Tax Relief Has Helped Spur Growth By Keeping $880 Billion In The Pockets Of American Taxpayers. The Administration reduced taxes for every American who pays income taxes, doubled the child tax credit, reduced the marriage penalty, created investment incentives for small businesses, and put the death tax on the road to extinction.

Growing The Economy And Reducing The Deficit Depend On Controlling The Spending Appetite Of The Federal Government. Every year since the President took office, the Administration has slowed the growth of discretionary spending that is not related to the military or homeland security. The President's last two budgets cut discretionary spending that was unrelated to the military or homeland security, and we are on track to cut the deficit in half by 2009.

If The Emergency Supplemental Bill – Which The President Has Requested To Help Fund The War On Terror And Hurricane Recovery – Includes Non-Emergency Or Wasteful Spending Or Exceeds The President's Set Limit Of $92.2 Billion Plus Funding To Prepare Our Nation For A Pandemic Flu Emergency, He Will Veto It.

In The Long Run, The Biggest Challenge To Our Nation's Budgetary Health Is Entitlement Spending On Programs Such As Social Security And Medicare. We call on members of both parties to join us in a bipartisan commission to address this critical issue.

The President Will Continue Working With Congress To Restrain Spending In Other Ways, Including Passing A Line-Item Veto. A line-item veto would allow us to cut needless spending, reduce the budget deficit, and ensure that every taxpayer dollar is spent wisely – or not at all.