A NEW YEAR

A NEW YEAR

This evening I will stay awake to welcome in the new calendar year. I will not be part of a large gathering or some grand New Year's Eve party. I won't be with family or friends. My best friend and sweetheart, my wife, is working this evening. She is an Intensive Care Unit nurse at the local medical center. I will, instead, enjoy a quiet, pensive evening reflecting on the past year and contemplating, a little, the year to come. More importantly I will remember and employ some of life's lessons. 

I've learned to keep life simple. Life itself is not complicated, we make it so. I will not live in the past, immersed in regret  or lamentation. I've learned I can choose how I let the past affect me. I will not misuse the present by living in the future through worry, fear or stress. I choose to live in the present moment. After all, we can't really be anywhere else. I'll live my life in day tight compartments, living each day so as to experience it's fullness and enjoy it for the precious gift that it is. I will impact the world each day by committing at least one  simple, random act of kindness. I will continually keep my mind filled with thoughts of that which I desire rather than thoughts of what which I wish to avoid. I will smile a little more, speak kind words more often, love genuinely, and begin and end each day by making a list of at least ten things for which I am grateful. Borrowing from a great father and spiritual leader in history, I will seek to live my life like a great river, continually running into the fountain of all that which is good, and also live like unto a great valley, firm, steadfast and immovable in doing that which I know is right!

May you each have the most phenomenal year of your life! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

LIVE YOUR LIFE!

LIVE YOUR LIFE!

Live your life and forget your age. Another magical quotation and one that many people need to practice. Ask any older person how old they feel, and I guarantee you they feel and think way younger than their real age. Also, when we get older, we are conditioned to "act our age." By following this advice, unhappiness is the result. Life is short, to constantly act according to what others expect of you is sad. Learn to live in the moment and make the most of every moment. If you want to laugh, if you want to scream, then do it! Live life to the fullest. Live YOUR life, not the life others dictate you must lead.

A PERSPECTIVE ON AGE

A PERSPECTIVE ON AGE

Do not regret growing older, it's a privilege denied to many! This is a powerful proverb to start with, so true, but so rarely thought about. Having turned 58 this past year, it's a saying that hits home very powerfully, and yes, maybe it is aimed at the baby boomers and above. But even if you are 25 and reading this, it applies. Whatever your age, consider for a moment the people from your life that are dead today. How many were younger than you? That's when this proverb hits home, when you realise how lucky you are to be the age you are, and healthy. Consider two people in their seventies, one still drives a car and enjoys life, the other has Alzheimer's and needs to be under 24/7 care and supervision. If you are fit and mentally healthy, I suggest you give thanks and smile for every morning you wake up alive and healthy. A perspective on age. 

NEW THINKING

               NEW THINKING

As the New Year approaches people are in a better, positive and optimistic mood. There's more positive energy flowing and you'll find more people in a better mood. So jump in and be part of all the positive, upbeat energy going around. Sure things may not be perfect, but instead of thinking all that's wrong, think about some of the good things and then take a moment to do a random act of kindness. It can be anything, like opening the door for someone, or helping someone with their grocery bags, or helping someone get in their car or get on the bus. Even smiling and offering a pleasant "Hello" can make another person feel better. When you do a random act of kindness you join the pool of positive energy, you spread a little joy, you help someone feel better and you attract more positive situations. Then you can go one step further, and get rid of the negative thoughts or doom and gloom attitude you may be carrying. For just a day, or even a few hours, avoid saying anything negative. If those around you are being negative change the topic of conversation or put a positive spin on things. If you find you're thinking of what's not going well, change your thoughts, think of what you want, look for something positive, or just think of something completely different. There's always something positive, you just have to find it. So today and everyday this week do a few random acts of kindness, and get rid of the negative thoughts that bring you down. Fill your mind with optimism and think about creating a bright new future. The new year will be brighter by doing very simple and very doable things. You can and you will, when you believe you can. 

DOWN NOT OUT

A brief entry today. This is to reassure followers that I haven't quit or stopped blogging. I have had the opportunity to experience the flu the past couple of days. I thought I had prepared myself for the season by getting a preemptive flu shot. Well, there is apparently another strain of the flu the CDC wasn't concerned about that caught everyone by surprise, including me. I'm on the mend and will return tomorrow. Thank you for following! I'm down but not out. 

TIME FOR REFLECTION

TIME FOR REFLECTION 

During this time if year, people around the world are pausing to celebrate events of great spiritual and social significance. These moments of pause remind us to reevaluate our priorities in life. Are the things that were once important to us still as important? Have we remained true to ourselves and our life's purpose? During this time, take a few minutes to sit in quiet solitude and listen. Listen to what your heart is saying. Listen to your inner self.  Then determine to make whatever changes are necessary in order live your life with a purpose and inner peace. 

I KNEW THAT WOULD HAPPEN

I KNEW THAT WOULD HAPPEN 

There was once a young artist who had just received a commissioning to paint the portrait of a local builder. To celebrate, he went to a local cafe to enjoy a nice meal. While he was eating, he noticed the headline on a newspaper that was laying on a nearby table. The headline read,"HARD TIMES ARE COMING" The headline was a little disturbing to him but he continued to eat his meal. While eating, he couldn't help but think,"HARD TIMES ARE COMING!" The words began to weigh on his mind more and more. He began to think, hard times are coming, this is no time for me to be sitting here unnecessarily spending money on a nice meal. I need to get to work. He called to the cafe owner and requested his check. The cafe owner said," you seem upset, is everything okay?" The young artist responded,"hard times are coming and this is no time for me to be unnecessarily spending money like this. I need to get to work!" He paid his check and hurriedly left the cafe. Well, the cafe owner got to thinking, hard times are coming? The more he thought about it the more anxious he became. He picked up his phone and called his wife. He said,"sweetheart I need you to call the tailor shop and cancel that order for your new dress for the chamber of commerce ball. You see, hard times are coming and this is no time for us to be unnecessarily spending money like that." She said,"okay, I'll let them know." She called the local tailor shop and told them,"I need to cancel my order for that new dress for the chamber of commerce ball. You see, my husband the cafe owner said hard times are coming and we shouldn't be unnecessarily spending money like this. I'm sorry." The order was cancelled. The tailor shop owner got to thinking, hard times are coming? The more he thought about it the more anxious he felt. He picked up the phone and called the local builder. He said,"I need to cancel that contract and plans for expanding my tailor shop. You see, hard times are coming and this is no time for me to be unnecessarily spending money like that. I'm sorry." Well,  the local builder got to thinking, hard times are coming? The more he thought about it the more anxious he felt. He picked up the phone and called the young artist. He said,"I need to cancel the commission to have my portrait painted. You see, hard times are coming and this is no time for me to be unnecessarily spending money like that. I'm sorry." The young artist, now discouraged and depressed, went back to the corner cafe to drown his sorrows in some wine. While he was drinking the wine, he saw the newspaper with the headline "HARD TIMES ARE COMING" still sitting on the same table. He picked up the paper and noticed that the date on the paper was ten years old. It had been left on the table when the cafe owner had been unpacking dishes earlier in the day, yet the headline managed to infect the thinking of the young artist and ultimately the entire community. The artist believed hard times were coming and by virtue of his and everyone else's behavior they predicted and then ensured hard times would come. 

How often have we done something like this in our own lives. We tend to get what we expect. If you expect to have a bad experience somewhere, your subconscious mind will trigger the behaviors within you that will ensure you have a bad time.  Change expectations and you can change your life!