The Present

May you always remember that each day is a gift.

Energy

Please take 

RESPONSIBILITY

for the

ENERGY

you     bring    into 

THIS SPACE

~Jill Bolte Taylor                

         We've all felt it...the ENERGY that one person can bring into a room. It's contagious...it can be as wonderful as someone entering a room like a ray of sunshine and filling it with joy and laughter or worse yet, bringing it down with feelings of sorrow, anger and fear. 

         I have always admired individuals old and young who have the ability to be upbeat and positive...even in the face of adversity.  However, what I know for sure is that being positive is a conscious decision, a choice.

        Each one of us has the power within ourselves to choose the energy we bring into a room. It can be POSITIVE or NEGATIVE, and it requires only one simple task...making the decision to fill your mind with one or the other.

May you always be willing to take responsibility for the energy you bring.

Somebody I Used to Know

Who knew that 5 people could play the guitar at once?!

My Kids

They know me in a way no one ever has.
They open me to things I never knew existed. 

They drive me to insanity and push me to my depths.

They are the beat of my heart,

 the pulse of my veins, 

and the energy in my soul. 

They are my kids.

                                                                          ~anonymous

Sweet Nicole, Em-Azing, 
Tim-my-Favorite and Hannah my Heart. 
I am brought to my knees by the power of a mothers love...I am in awe by the blessings of four remarkably individual children who are  passionate, thoughtful and loving...raising you has stretched and exposed my heart to a plethora of emotions...and at the end of the day, when you lay your head on the pillow, I hope you go to sleep knowing that everything I do for you, comes solely from a place of love...my heart.
 

Sonnett XVII

I love you without knowing

how, or when, or from where.

I love you straightforwardly,

without complexities or pride;

so I love you because I know

no other way than this:

where i does not exist, not you.

so close, that your hand

on my chest is my hand.

so close that your eyes close

as i fall asleep.

SONNET XVII

Pablo Neruda

Risky Business

"To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
to reach for another is to risk involvement.
To expose your ideas, your dreams, before a crowd, is to risk their loss.
to love is to risk no being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To believe is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The people who risk nothing do nothing, have nothing, are nothing.
They may avoid suffering and sorrow, but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, live.
Chained by their attitudes, they are slaves; they have forfeited their freedom.
Only a person who risks is free."

~Poem quoted in "Dear Abby"

When you stop and think about it, what greater risk can you face than to look back on your life and realize that had you taken the risks at hand, you might have truly lived. Life is risky business, put yourself out there and live!

May you always be willing to take risks.

Exploring

wanderlust (n):

a strong desire for or

impulse to wander or

travel and explore the world.

“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.”
— Jack Kerouac (On the Road)

Wherever your journey may take you, may you always be willing to explore with open eyes.

Inner Peace

 Understand the Statement

"Wherever You go, There You Are"

This is the title of a super book by Jon Kabat-Zinn. As the title suggests, wherever you go, you take yourself with you! The significance of this statement is that it can teach you to stop constantly wishing you were somewhere else. We tend to believe that if we were somewhere else- on vacation, with another partner,in a different career, a different home, a different circumstance-somehow we would be happier and more content. We wouldn't!

The truth is, if you have destructive mental habits---if you get annoyed and bothered easily, if you feel angry and frustrated a great deal of the time, or if you're constantly wishing things were different, these identical tendencies will follow you, wherever you go. And the reverse is also true. If you are a generally happy person who rarely gets annoyed and bothered, then you can move from place to place, from person to person, with very little negative impact.

Someone once asked me, "What are the people like in California?" I asked  him, "What are the people like in your home state?" He replied, "Selfish and greedy." I told him that he would probably find the people in California to be selfish and greedy.

Something wonderful begins to happen with the simple realization that life, like an automobile, is driven from the inside out, not the other way around. As you focus more on becoming more peaceful with where you are, rather than focusing on where you would rather be, you begin to find peace right now, in the present. Then, as you move around, try new things, and meet new people, you carry that sense of inner peace with you. It's absolutely true that "Wherever you go, there you are."

From the book-"Don't Sweat the Small Stuff..." by Richard Carlson

May you always remember that inner peace is always found in the present, never in the future.

Viola

If you could listen to my soul...you would hear Viola.

Happiness

Sunday's Coming

Tony Campolo is well known for telling the story of one Sunday when he had a little preaching competition with the head pastor at the church where he attends.

Dr. Campolo tells how he preached the perfect sermon in every way and had taken the congregation to ‘the heights of glory’. As he sat down beside his pastor, Dr. Tony patted him on the knee and simply said, “Top that.” The older black pastor looked at him and said, “Boy, watch the master.” The following Utube video of S.M. Lockridge's sermon, combined with footage from the Passion of the Christ delivers the very brilliant message which followed.

 May you always remember that no matter what Friday brings...Sunday's coming.

The Battle

An old Cherokee told his grandson:

"My son, there's a battle between two wolves inside us all.

       

 One is EVIL

It's anger, jealousy, greed, resentment,

 inferiority, lies and ego.

      The other is GOOD.

It's joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness & truth."

The boy thought about it, and asked:

    "Grandfather, which wolf wins?"

The old man quietly replied:

     "The one you feed."

May you always be willing to feed yourself with Goodness.

Are You Listening?

God doesn't give you the people you want, He gives you the people you need. To help you, to hurt you, to leave you, to love you and to make you the person you were meant to be.           ~Anonymous

Be it through strength or adversity, each person 

we encounter has a lesson to teach. 

The question is...are you open to learning the lesson?

May you always be aware, the best lessons 

are often learned through adversity.

I AM

I AM STRONG

because I know my Weaknesses

I AM BEAUTIFUL

because I am aware of my Flaws

I AM FEARLESS

because I learned to recognize, illusion from Real

I AM WISE

because I learn from my Mistakes

I AM A LOVER

 because I have felt Hate

and...

I CAN LAUGH

because I have known sadness    

                                                                      ~Anonymous 

(Photo by Nikki Krecicki)

May you always recognize the true identity of the person within.