LAFOLOT

I am blessed to have had an AH! HA! Life Changing Moment at age 49 (now age 53). I am now able to appreciate all life expression without fear! I used to have an extreme fear of bees and spiders (as well as other insects) – to the point of almost wrecking my car; or hitting/whacking others if they were nearby when I freaked out!

So, I walked over to our community mailboxes a bit ago. It is overcast and drizzly-rainy out. There tend to be big black and yellow, wood boring bumble bees that live around the mailbox roof covering. I am able to freely walk over, and allow them to BEE *hee hee.

It is interesting that I used to also not relate to the clothing color combination of black and yellow, I didn’t like the way they looked together. Once I had my AH! HA! moment, the IRONY is … my business logo colors ended up being black lettering on yellow background!

I also learned, through color psychology years ago – yellow agitates the brain and inspires learning. It is a good color for schools.

Well, today – when I went to the mailbox, I had mailed a letter and retrieved my incoming mail. As I was walking away from the mailboxes, I heard a familiar ‘HMMMMMMMM’ (buzzzzzz). It wasn’t one of the wood boring bees. I could tell the difference in the hmmmm/buzzzzz.

Listen to me! *hee hee I NOW SPEAK BEE LANGUAGE! HA HA! I realized a little honey bee was ‘checking me out’!

I RESPECTED the BEE, allowing it to EXPRESS its life in its own NATURE – NATURALLY *hee hee

I KNEW it had caught the scent of my hair care products, and was checking to see if I was a flower, etc.

So, I STOPPED
I PAUSED
I SMILED as I listened to its HMMMMM….
I SAW it slowly flying off to my left
I FELT it checking out my hair …

SOMETHING SMELLS ‘FUNNY’ perhaps it was thinking. Well! I AM KNOWN AS HA HA HELEN!

Then, I noticed it flew away.

I SMILED as I continued onward, reviewing my mail, as I walked towards my home.

How wonderful to just BE with the BEE, respect it, and BE at PEACE.

HA HA Helen of LAFOLOT.com
guess I smell FUNNY! HA HA
Outlook Shift Engineer! Hear! Here!

I developed a talk called: ‘WHO? ARE YOU? WHO? WHO? WHO? WHO?’ (thanks to the song by THE WHO!)

It is based on my own life experience, in my own metomorphosis from HELEN to:

HAPPENING HELEN (a nickname given to me by Edwards Holliday, President, Atlantic Leadership Group – back in the late 1990s – when I started to do Public Speaking, Acting, found my Singing voice, etc.)

Growing up, there weren’t any nicknames for HELEN. At a parttime sales job in early 1990s, a coworker nicknamed me ‘HECK’ since the short version of HELEN would be cursing! ha ha ha
I ‘LIKED’ it! I finally had a CASUAL name! HELEN is such a HEAVY-DUTY name!

Later on, as I started to dabble in acting, I nicknamed myself HOLLYWOOD HELEN! When I started to rePHresh my life and grow forward, I called myself: HEALING HELEN or HEALTHY HELEN – as I changed my daily habits!

It only seemed natural, when I started my LAFOLOT.COM business, that I would become: HA HA HELEN!

So, as I looked through my ‘WEBSTER’S DICTIONARY AND ROGET’S THESAURUS’ the other morning, I came across the word: HOLOMETABOLIC It is an Adjective applied to insects who undergo a complete metamorphosis. Think of the caterpillar to the butterfly.

So, now – having gone through a major metamorphosis from age 40 through 53, I now SEE – *hee hee – I AM: HOLOMETABOLIC HELEN! HOLY HECK! for short!

NICE TO MEET YOU!

HA HA Helen Szollosy, Outlook Shift Engineer! Hear! Here!
Creator, Owner and Sole Proprietor of LAFOLOT.COM – providing healthy trigger tools, healthy socialization through laughter wellness, and PHresh Outlooks!

I wrote a book called: Life is a Song in the Key of Love or Growing Up with the Embarrassment of Prejudice. I note that bias, prejudice and stereotype may be ‘handed-down’ through generations; without being questioned. The bias, stereotype, or prejudice statements or actions may be repeated over and over; but not FELT. I suggest doing a self-review of how YOU feel or THINK based on your own life experiences, and not based on something held onto by generations past.

I like using right brain, creative methods to get serious points across. In my book, I make reference to sheet music.

Now, I’d like to suggest another method! WHAT Fairy Tales, Fables or Labels are you receiving or giving out, that you may want to RE-VIEW? rePHresh your thinking, reLOOK, reVIEW, step back and SEE aNEW! WHO are YOU? How do YOU feel?

Get rid of the False Fairy Tales, Fables and Labels, OH MY! Why? Because Fairy Tales and Fables are written to TEACH LIFE LESSONS. Are the ones you are holding onto, or creating, a TRUTH for YOU; or were they handed to you by a peer, family member, etc. who had a life experience that doesn’t resonate with you?

I give a talk called: PEER POSITIVE! I talk about letting go of the PEER PRESSURE and PEER FEAR and becoming PEER POSITIVE! Peers may hold one another back due to personal life experiences that caused them to shrink back or give up a goal. Their own fear translates into an intention to protect you from having their same, fearful or uncomfortable life experience. But! It doesn’t have to be yours.

So, what are your FAIR TALES, FABLES AND LABELS? OH MY! Make a list, check it twice, and see if the Action/Reactions in your life are FALSE Fables or Tales that need to be ‘TAIL WAGGED’ and swiped away from your everyday interactions. Create peace within you, and work towards a world of peace.

… and they lived happily ever after!

HA HA Helen Szollosy, OUTLOOK SHIFT ENGINEER! Hear! Here!
Live Life! Laugh Often!
www.lafolot.com

I work parttime as a greeting card management employee at a local pharmacy. I was near the sound card section one day, and a woman around my age (possibly 50s) said: “I bought my dad one of those sound cards for his birthday, one year. When he opened it, he thought he heard someone screaming outside; and called the police!” It was funny and frustrating for her at the same time.

For an elderly person with slight hearing loss, and brain deterioration, the sound card was a challenge!

Yesterday, I was doing my job when I heard two, senior-women opening sound cards, giggling, gasping and having a joyfull time LISTENING to them! I normally let the customers alone, but saw they were having so much fun, I went over to tell them the above story.

When I got to them, I realized the one woman was PHYSICALLY sightless. They chuckled at the story, and I showed them where they could find additional sound cards, for their enjoyment!

I then thought: ‘Customers look at the cost of the sound cards and walk on by. They are a couple dollars more, and to a PHYSICALLY sighted person, aren’t as valuable. I realized, to a PHYSICALLY sightless person, the SOUND cards are PRICELESS!’

It’s all in HOW you SEE it!

I write about this in my book: LIFE IS A SONG IN THE KEY OF LOVE or Growing Up with the Embarrassment of Prejudice.

I am grateful to Darryl Duke, author of ‘Why I Pray in the Shower’, for being brave at sharing his challenge with color blindness. I had been putting off writing this blog, and his open sharing gave me the boost I needed! I said to Darryl: ‘Who the HECK is ‘NORM’, anyway? DARE to be DIFFERENT! LIFE expresses in a VARIETY of ways, just like MUSIC! Be a SHINING STAR and be OUTSTANDING in the FIELD! Holy COW! Don’t ‘DIS’ yourself stating you are LACKING due to your differences from THE NORM (majority of life expressing in a specific way). I just don’t see any DISabilities. Color or inner sight, which is RIGHT or wrong? NIGHT blindness, COLOR blindness, RIGHT or WRONG blindness, WE ALL just ARE – STARS shining and twinkling in different levels and magnitudes! It’s all in the ATTITUDES; a VARIETY of LIFE EXpression allows for LOVE in the world. We have the ABILITY to be LOVING to use our individual GIFTS and WAYS of EXpressing Life to ASSIST and not DIS one another. … shall I talk ‘futher’?’

Do you SEE, HEAR, FEEL, SENSE my point? There is NO ‘NORM’, NORM lives in the North Pole with Santa and left the building along with ELVIS. We HAVE the ABILITY to ADAPT to ALL ABILITIES of LIFE EXPRESSION!

Instead of using RED to indicate danger, using a sound as well as another visual indicator allows us to ALL be ABLE! Traffic Light intersections now have SOUND indicators to alert persons when it is okay to walk, as well as the GREEN color light, as well as a FLASH indicator on the RED light to indicate the need to STOP.

We are progressively SEEing, through INNER SIGHT the ABILITY we have as HUMANS to SEE the VARIETY of ways we can MAKE LIFE A SONG! Kids have had GERANIMALS with special TAGS to note which shirts and pants LOOK well together – there’s NO reason the SAME shouldn’t be done for ADULT clothing purchases!

Taking it a step further, to a PHYSICALLY sightless person – it doesn’t matter if the shirt colors or patterns match the pants or skirt! SEE! If the majority of the world were PHYSICALLY sightless, we wouldn’t put such an emphasis on THE FASHION INDUSTRY! It would mainly be about comfort and warmth and coolness pertaining to body protection due to climate.

Interesting, when you SEE it with a PHresh outlook!

Helen Marie Szollosy, Outlook Shift Engineer! Hear! Here!
www.lafolot.com

One of the many gifts of life, is to hear/feel the purr of a cat as they appreciate your attention!
My cat, Kitty, is currently walking across my arms and desk as I try to type! PURRfect!

NOTICE ME! APPRECIATE ME! She is saying … (OK – it’s a SCENT and ownership thing, but IT’S ALL IN HOW YOU LOOK AT IT, NO?) YES!

What a purrfectly, purriceless day I have had so far! I stopped at a business associate’s KATHY GEORGE’S SUBWAY at Windsor Park to be serviced exquisitely by familiar, friendly staff! Thanks to CHRIS for making my favorite, flat bread sandwich PURRFECTLY!

While there, a friendly, not afraid to dance to the music customer, noted that he was a teacher and gets his kids to dance with him! As a result, I got to ‘work it’ and ‘network’ by telling him, and demonstrating to him, my Have a Great D.A.Y. (Dance And Yodle) uplift your mood movement! He appreciated it, I gave him two of my LAFOLOT, Yellow Bookmarks/Business Cards! How PURRfect! A Possible Program may be scheduled!

I then headed over to Hampden Center Plaza where I found a PPTP! (Purrfect Place To Park!) next to the DOLLARTREE where I buy my ‘Adult Professional Stress Reliever Tools’. Okay, they are pinwheels to some, but it’s ALL IN HOW YOU LOOK AT THEM! Luckily! They were back in stock after the winter! The friendly, helpful manager/cashier took care of me PURRfectly, gave me further information about getting my BALLET GIRL RHINO TOY – video out on the DOLLARTREE site! I told him how I am improvisational, and to prove it, I bought 3 items from Dollartree and made a LEARNING LESSON-AWARENESS video out of them! It goes with the theme of my book: ‘Life is a Song in the Key of Love’ about appreciating life in all its forms of expression!

When leaving the parking lot, I saw a Purrsonalized License Plate: SMYLE How Purrfect was that?
Going with my LAFOLOT Drive Yourself Happy! motivational method!

When I got home, I checked my mailbox to find an early birthday card from a friend. Friends are PURRFECTLY PURRICELESS! My friend, Dona, had sent me a card noting: ‘Keep in Mind Stressed is Desserts Spelled Backwards!’ How PURRfect was THAT to go with my OUTLOOK SHIFT ENGINEERING lessons on seeing LIFE from a PHresh Outlook! It’s ALL in how you look at it!

When I opened the card, I had a HEALTHY LAUGH OUT LOUD! She had sent a refrigerator magnet with a PURRFECTLY STERN, GRUMPY ‘appearing’ cat with the caption: ‘This IS my happy face…’

How PURRfect to go with my story of how my SMILE CAMPAIGN started, with people assuming I was mad or grumpy just because of my normal facial expression!

A PURRfectly PURRiceless day full of beautiful SERVICE, NETWORKING and PURRecious, PURRiceless friends!

May you have the kind of day that makes you want to PURRRRRR.

Ha Ha Helen of LAFOLOT.COM
Outlook Shift Engineer! Hear! Here!
Live Life! Laugh Often!
It’s ALL in HOW you LOOK at it…

I had to smile and shake my head as I responded: ‘STAY FOCUSED ON THE PRESENT, IT’S A GIFT!’

It’s the middle of winter 2011-12 in Central PA, USA. It is 56 degrees fahrenheit! That’s SPRING weather in my neck of the woods!

I stepped away from my home office computer, and stepped out of the house to SOAK UP THE SUN!
Get my blood flowing through my veins.
Get some exercise.
Take in the fresh air, blue skies and JUST BE!

I encountered a Bush-full of Birdies TOYING with a nearby black cat. He (I’m assuming due to the size) caught my eye, meowed and I invited him over by calling out HELLO! KITTY! He came bounding over to me, greeting me ‘CAT STYLE’ and rolled over for me to pet him! He appeared very healthy, and to belong to a nearby home. He even let out a few MEOWS to chat a bit.

I continued on my walk, smiling and singing in my head ‘WALKING ‘in’ SUNSHINE … oh yeah … and DON’T IT FEEL GOOD!’ .. to paraphrase Katrina and the Waves.

As I came around the bend in my housing community, I saw the school bus dropping off some kids. I eventually encountered them and HAD TO SMILE, as the two pre-teen girls had on shorts, a sleeveless top and had taken off their lightweight jackets.

I said: ‘HOW DO YOU LIKE THIS SPRING WEATHER! I’M 52 AND DON’T RECALL A WINTER SO MILD AS THIS IN ALL MY YEARS!’

The one girl responded as they passed: ‘YEAHBUT, IT’S SUPPOSED TO GET COLD IN FEBRUARY!’

‘STAY FOCUSED ON THE PRESENT, IT’S A GIFT!’ I just had to call back to them, as I shook my head side-to-side. They were only teens and had picked up the familiar follow-up phrase of doom and gloom and dread …. ‘THINGS MAY BE OKAY NOW – BUT JUST YOU WAIT!’

‘YEAHBUT’ isn’t a word. How about RELEARNING and RETEACHING our children: IT’S OKAY TO ENJOY THE PRESENT! IT’S A GIFT!

Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT.COM
OUTLOOK SHIFT ENGINEER! Hear! Here!
Live Life! Laugh Often!
rePHRESHing your thinking with HEALTHY OUTLOOKS!

In honor of all the amazing work and awareness brought by MARTIN LUTHER KING, his family and others of his time period –

I wanted to Honor this day by bringing awareness of my book: LIFE IS A SONG IN THE KEY OF LOVE or Growing Up With the Embarrassment of Prejudice

The ‘thought’ for the book came to me back in 1999 during a New Year’s Church Service – ‘Start the New Year Fresh’ – church prayer/meditation regarding – our New Year focus. I was sitting quietly when the thought: ‘Growing Up With the Embarrassment of Prejudice’ came to mind.

I progressively started to write thoughts, notes, and quotes, etc. as I planned the book. It took me 9 years to write the book – because I wanted it to come from a POSITIVE space and not seem whiny nor negative. In my own growth and awareness – I found MY SINGING VOICE! In the process of finding my voice – I discovered the song from the 30′s: LIFE IS A SONG

There is a line in the song: Let’s Take Our Hearts and Dip them in Rhyme

THAT WAS IT! I thought! THAT’s how I can TURN THIS AROUND!

I wrote this book based on comparing LIFE to SHEET MUSIC! That a prejudiced/biased world would sound MONOTONE!

By Appreciating Life in ALL its forms of EXPRESSION (as well as showing RESPECT) – we can MAKE LIFE A SONG!

My book is available at: www.lulu.com/hszollosy or locally from me at: www.lafolot.com/books/
It is also available on www.AMAZON.COM – books – search on Helen Marie Szollosy.

I know some of you have already read it and given me WONDERFUL feedback! Thank you so much!

The book deals HEALTHILY and CREATIVELY with treating ALL LIFE Expression with respect … noting my oldest sister with brain damage as a result of being hit by a drunk driver … or think of a child from a challenged household – with hygiene issues – being bullied at school for BEING DIFFERENT… or a person with dimentia – not aware of the present … it’s more than just religion, culture, skin color, gender bias …

IF YOU FEEL SO MOVED – PLEASE SHARE MY BLOG … it’s OPTIONAL …

I have seen so much in the news about racist comments, bullying, brain damage, and other bias. I feel there is a stronger need for me to promote my book – and I don’t currently have the funds.

Thank you for any support. Again, it’s OPTIONAL … whatever works for you! IN ACCEPTANCE AND PEACE …

Highlighted Helen Marie Szollosy
Living BOLD and in ITALICS!
Make LIFE a SONG!
Be in AWE of it ALL!

I have a beautifully witty, creative, kind friend who has shared the following story with me:

As a young child, in school, there was a holiday gift exchange. After the class picked their gift packages, another girl in the glass announced to the teacher: ‘I GOT MY OWN GIFT! THE ONE THAT I BROUGHT!’ Without ‘skipping a beat’, ‘without asking’ – the teacher told the girl to ‘JUST TRADE YOUR GIFT WITH (my friend’s name omitted). My friend noted she opened her gift to find A FRUIT CAKE! The girl who had FREELY given up the gift she brought in, got a wonderful, creative kit to play with and have fun!

My friend notes that THAT moment (jokingly) defined her life. My friend has a HIGHLY CREATIVE mind and EXCELLENT WIT!

OUTLOOK SHIFT ENGINEERING, now starts …

As an adult – we wonder WHAT the teacher was thinking!? I often note, just because a person is of a certain age, doesn’t mean they are able to ‘act as an adult’. Not always because of mental/emotional ability. Was the teacher Frazzled? Exhausted? Just wasn’t thinking… ??? who knows? Too bad we can’t ask “WHO” … BECAUSE “WHO” seems to be the one WHO knows the answers … now that I think about it! *smile Wonder where ‘WHO’ lives? Gonna have to look into that. Seems just like SANTA – maybe WHO lives at the South Pole?

As an adult – we look back and see that the ‘Other Girl’ might have known that her gift WAS the FRUITCAKE, and in no way wanted it! Maybe not, maybe her parent didn’t tell her what had been wrapped and she was trying to BE HONEST? Who knows … (I’m being fair in my outlook shift engineering view.)

So we fast forward in life, you have the girl that gave up the fruitcake …
you have my Creative-Minded, Beautiful, Witty ACTRESS friend who is GREAT with seeing life from an INTERESTING perspective, and being able to write and chuckle about it.

We all play these roles in impacting one another’s lives. I had MY instances, as a child, where ‘the other girl’ got the good stuff. I could share many stories. One of those girls in MY childhood, who seemed to ‘have it all’, lost her older brother to drugs in College – so even though she was an Honors student, she went into a clerical field seeing that College does bad things to people. Interesting how life turns out.

These FRUITCAKE Life Lessons – give us the opportunity to look back at this time of year and be GRATEFUL. Even if we are FULL of FRUITCAKE and sick of it.

I’m thinking my friend DIDN’T NEED the CREATIVE FUN KIT – because she was already Witty, and Beautifully Creative! Maybe the other girl needed the kit to boost her creativity? Maybe it helped her parent to see a different take on a gift versus a cake for a kid. Then again there are all the other scenarios that could come into play. I can think of MANY coming from a challenged family, with a mom who couldn’t drive, money being an issue, etc.

Another way of looking at it – it’s not always so bad to KNOW what’s in the package! This applies if you are the type to PREFER A SURPRISE be unwrapped!

Here’s to a new year, a new you and FRUITCAKE LIFE LESSONS! No matter WHAT you GET in LIFE; I think when you are able to do an OUTLOOK SHIFT ENGINEERING process on it all – in the end – you see it actually worked out perfectly!

Ha Ha Helen of LAFOLOT.com
Outlook Shift Engineer! Hear! Here!
Live Life! Laugh Often!

I felt so good yesterday! Before my major AH! HA! HA! HA! Appreciation of all forms of life expression moment – in 2009, I had a terrible fear of bugs!

NOW! I can watch a spider in admiration and gratitude!

NOW! I can allow a bee to breezily buzz by me and SMILE!

NOW! I can pick up an ear whig and take it outside!

YESTERDAY! (It is below freezing winter weather here) – I went to grab hold of a pot handle from my dish drainer at the sink. I felt something sort of crunchy. Not till I put the pot on the counter, did I realize it was a stink bug!

IN THE PAST! I WOULD HAVE SCREAMED! JUMPED! ALMOST HURT MYSELF with unwarranted bug fear.

The new AH! HA! Helen stopped – looked at the bug in distress. It had fallen on it’s back and was wiggling its legs frantically.

I didn’t panic.

I tried to gently help it over with my hand; it didn’t work.

I used a fork to go to help it and the LITTLE STINKER GRABBED ON WITH ALL ITS LEGS! TO ONE OF THE FORK TINES!

What a SMART STINK BUG I had stumbled across!

I SMILED!

I walked it out of the kitchen and put the fork near my umbrella plant so it could have a safe haven (it was way too cold outside and with it surviving this long, it deserved to live out its life!)

It didn’t want to let go of the fork tine.

I tried a new position and held the fork upside down underneath the plant branch and SMART STINK BUG walked onto the branch! This bug DESERVED to live out its life!

Here’s to the WONDERFUL, SMART STINK BUG that allowed me the pleasure to REAFFIRM my AH! HA! release of my bug phobia, appreciation of life in all its forms of expression; and demonstration that I was indeed – LIVING LIFE! AND LAUGHING OFTEN! at the miracle of it all!

Highlighted Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT.COM
Living LIFE in AH! MAZEMENT!
Living BOLD and in ITALICS!

Oh the synchronicity of it all!

Let me run through this quickly:
1) Bought an old piece of sheetmusic when I was in my early 20s, at a shopping mall sidewalk sale; just because it was ‘pretty’ and I could frame it to hang on my wall in my bedroom. It was by Carrie Jacobs Bond.
2) Jump forward 10 years or so… I volunteer to answer phones at our local Public Access TV station for a funraiser.
3) I hear the Classical Music DJ mention he will play a song by: ‘Carrie Jacobs Bond’
4) I tell him, ‘Oh, I have HIS ‘My Soul’ sheetmusic in a frame at my home!
5) He tells me – Carrie Jacobs Bond is a SHE! He proceeds to tell me all about this wonderful SOUL!

Here’s a tidbit from Wikipedia: “Because Jacobs-Bond’s attempts to have her music published were repeatedly turned down by the male-dominated music industry of the day, she resorted to establishing her own sheet music publishing company in 1896. As a result, she was one of very few women in the industry and perhaps the only one to own every word of every song she wrote.” You’ll have to read the full article, this woman was amazing!

WHAT A ROLE MODEL-MENTOR! I unknowingly bought the sheetmusic of a dynamic woman of the 19th century, and had it hanging in my bedroom; ‘just because I liked the artwork on the front’, for 10 years! Turns out, Carrie Jacobs Bond even did the artwork!

It now hangs in my bathroom. The words to the song MY SOUL are so beautiful, and the pastel watercolors are soothing.

Jump forward to me now at age 51; stepping out in daring ways, creating MUSICAL, LAUGHING, AND AUTHORSHIP MAYHEM! HA HA!

I thought of Carrie Jacobs Bond and her stepping out to write music, sing in parlors and starting her own publishing company when I moved forward with setting up my self-published book signing on April 2 and 9, 2010 at a Carlisle PA Thai Cafe! ['Life is a Song in the Key of Love' a book on being in AWE of it ALL. An autobiographical/philosophical discussion on appreciating life in ALL its forms of expression.]

I thought, if I’m going to have a role model or mentor, this is the woman to have! So, in honor of Carrie Jacobs Bond and her inspiration to women all over; I introduced my character ELVISA out on youtube today!

I’ve also jumped full-body into the life pool and started to advertise my: HA HA Helen of LAFOLOT LAF-O-GRAM service. My purpose being to bring positive, healthy outlooks to the folks I’ll be hired to bring CHEER!

Feel free to visit my Youtube page [Helenoflafolot] and relish in a look of shock or hopefully some laughter!

BE BRAVE, BE FREE, BE WHO YOU WERE MEANT TO BE!

Laughingly, Singingly, Speakingly, Writingly … ME!
Ha Ha Helen of LAFOLOT
Living BOLD and in Italics!
Live Life! Laugh Often!
www.lafolot.com
[this post may also be view at Vibrant Nation site by Blogger: Helenoflafolot]