June Soap Notes & GIVE-AWAY!!!

I can hardly believe that summer is upon us. As I age, I can feel the dramatic passing
of time in an almost palpable way. It seems that almost as soon as I say that
we should do {insert any idea here} this summer, it’s all over and time for
school and schedules to begin again. Since I have yet to find a way to slow the
passage of time, I’m taking extra measures to mindfully enter summer and
therefore not let it pass before my eyes.

I believe in the immeasurable power of setting intentions: stating purposes, plans, and hopes in an effort to drive actions towards goals. For instance, if I wake and blindly enter my day as just one like the rest, it most likely will be just like the ones that have come before. But if I wake and
take a few moments to assess what my hopes and visions for that day are, my actions and efforts will be geared towards those specific wishes and therefore I’ll have a better chance at a fulfilling day. I propose that we set those same kinds of intentions for our summer so that we have the best chance of living it fully. {If it’s not summer where you live, these same principles can be applied to any given season or span of time}

I would like to clarify here that by ~intentions~ I do not mean ~expectations~. Due to the unpredictable nature of life, expecting anything often leads to disappointment, then to judgment. These intentions need to be semi-general in nature, flexible in delivery, and more about ethereal outcomes. For example, stating that you’d like to have beautiful landscaping by the end of the summer is an expectation that you’ll have lots of time and resources to devote to working
outside. Then, if after all your hard work, your landscaping doesn’t live up to your visions, you may feel disappointed and unhappy with yourself. However, if your intentions were to spend enjoyable time working in your garden and to plant some things that you’ll be able to take
pleasure in for years to come, most likely you’ll make gardening a priority in your life and you’ll enjoy the relaxed state in which you can work because there’s no added expectation of perfection or completion in the end. Since the true goal of your intention was doing something that brings you joy, you’ll have achieved your goals and you’ll feel good about your efforts.

Do I have you deep in thought over your hearts true and pure desires for summer? Good! Here are my personal intentions:

To enjoy the freshness and vitality of
the season

To encourage my children to cherish
the simple treasures all around us

To fill my body and our house with goodness
and wholesomeness

To fully utilize the freedom of the
season

To teach my children as much as I can

So there they are; pretty general and non-specific yet meaningful enough to guide my actions. I have ideas and wishes for how I’d like to accomplish these goals but they might change and they are not as important as my reasons for doing them. Now it’s your turn: Get ready, set your intentions, and go forth!

All righty; as you’ve come to expect, it’s GIVE-AWAY TIME!!!! Up for grabs this month are some handmade goodies to help you savor the season: a bar of our new Apricot Pear Soap, a set of four Summer Harvest Postcards, & the handmade bookmark featured at the top of this page. All you have to do to enter is comment on this post {or email me} and tell me one of your intentions for summer. I will announce the winner on June 30^th.

April Soap Notes: Leading By Example...

My husband was never a very good photographer. I usually had to prod him into taking shots of {seemingly obvious} photo ops where he would use our very capable camera as if it were one of those one-time-use film cameras with no zoom. I, on the other hand, love taking pictures. I take a million, some good, some bad…but I photograph everything using different angles, different settings on the camera, etc. Recently, after a particularly eventful weekend, I emptied our memory card out into our computer and actually could not be certain which one of us had taken some of the photos. Now, I have never sat down with my husband and instructed him on how I’d like him to sharpen his photography skills, but I realized that by merely watching me and seeing the pictures I was taking and what I was taking them of, he became better at taking pictures! It was at that moment that I realized the power of leading by example.


Once I had wrapped my head around how poignant of a tool it was, I saw how much my children were learning just by watching me. In fact, my eldest daughter will at times care for her younger sister using my exact tone and words. She also frustrates easily and is quick to blame others, just like her mama. However, no matter how many times I ask her to clean up after herself or untie her shoes before she takes them off, my words are so much less effective than my own behavior.
What I learned from this {completely non-scientific} experiment is that we have the power to influence the behavior of those around us: to increase optimism, generosity, kindness, creativity, etc. by merely embodying these qualities ourselves. When I think about this concept, the very popular Gandhi quote comes to mind: “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Although I have read and known this quote for years, it honestly wasn’t until this recent epiphany that I fully understood its significance.

We, as individuals, have the power to make the world a better place simply by living out the postures that we value.

To me, this statement is immensely empowering. It encourages me to be my best self. Just think what great waves we could make in the field of humanity if we were all being our best selves most of the time.

And now for the fun part…
Since I am all about rewarding good behavior, I’d like to help you remember your individual power and aid you in your spreading of essential positivity. We’re giving away a Madeline Bea Soap Co. Lemon Ginger Foot Scrub and a “Be The Change…” handmade bookmark to one lucky reader. Simply comment on this post or shoot me an email telling me what qualities you’d like to spread around a bit to be entered to win! The drawing will be held on Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22nd.

{*Madeline Bea Soap Co. Soap Notes are our version of a monthly newsletter meant to inspire and promote well being. If you would like to recieve our Soap Notes by email each month, please sign up here.*}

***The drawing has been held! Congrats to Patrice McArthy!!!! Thanks to all who played along.***