In Lake Tahoe, residents are mandated to implement what are called BMP’s – Best Management Practices. These practices are what each of us living in the Tahoe basin needs to do to improve and protect the health and clarity of the lake. We menopausal goddesses feel that our personal health and clarity deserve the same attention and with that in mind we shared our BMP’s for this time of life when we gathered together two weeks ago.

In no particular order or emphasis, we offer our Best Management Practices to our sister goddesses.

Happiness – it’s not as elusive as we’ve been led to believe. So many of the goddesses say that happiness IS truly attainable, once we become happy with ourselves. That doesn’t necessarily mean complacency – we are actively creating our lives. While doing so, we are taking time for appreciation and enjoyment of each moment. We’re finding that security is not just financial; but more a state of mind and being.

And speaking of appreciation, gratitude was a Best Practice for many of us – what one Venus refers to as the GRattitude. Turns out the more we PRACTICE or notice being grateful, the more there is to be grateful for. Gratitude is a choice, it seems and a self-perpetuating one at that.

TIME and how we allocate it was a major focus of our BMP’s. Prioritizing and planning ahead helped us be sure to set aside time for what we find most important. Four time compartments we feel are necessary to our lives at this juncture are:
1. Time For ME – time for pursuits, exploration, new ventures and old pleasures. Dancing, reading, vegging – you name it. We need it!

Time for friends: time for our women friends is especially critical for our well-being. Doesn’t matter what we do together: shop, eat, make art, or go off to a spa together. Or simply have coffee. This time fills us up and makes the journey so much richer.

Time for relationships: Time for intimate relationship may actually have to be scheduled and made inviolate. Conscious effort to connect is important when we are developing new interests that take us away from our loved ones, however supportive. (See blog entry of Oct. 24: Good Goddess, It Was A Celebration for more on this.)

Time Alone – Quiet time, time to meditate, silence. All of these are like food to us (and in case we haven’t mentioned it, we all like food.) Even 15 minutes can rejuvenate us – because we are still working on the most important of our relationships – that with ourselves. It helps us to slow down to check in with our feelings and desires, to know where next to proceed on this unmapped journey. We won’t “forget” to take alone time any longer. We can’t afford to.

Exercise and good health habits are important to us. As are wine and chocolate, which we consider to be good medicine. Stress reduction through alone time (see above) and exercise are paramount.

Courtney-Venus says one of her BMP’s is to motivate others and to be motivated by them. She offered us a view of mentoring as a reciprocal relationship – now there’s a Best Management Practice for you.

Other BMP’s? Play more, schedule joy, express ourselves creatively, and simplify our lives (a topic we’ll talk about in greater depth soon because it NEEDS a whole blog entry to itself.)

And we’d love to hear about your Best Management Practices, so please drop us an email or comment. The way we get through this transition is together – sharing our tears, laughter, and BMP’s.

For more BMP’s and insights, pick up a copy of “The Big M”, the chronicle of the Venuses’ travels and travails, shared wit and wisdom – all the synergy of our successive meetings. Click here to purchase or to download the first chapter FREE: The Big M