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Tumbling

14 Dec

When problems surround us and we’re overwhelmed, it can feel like we’re tumbling in the surf being rolled over and over again by the pounding waves. The undercurrent captures us and pulls us deeper into the struggle and we tire trying to keep our heads above water. Every moment is an endurance test and there are times when it’s hard to find air to breathe. We fight against the power threatening to crush us and we reach for something, anything to grab onto that will give us sufficient stability to continue on. When our world is in turmoil we may feel we’re careening toward catastrophe and it’s hard to make sense of what’s in front of us. Our vision is clouded by the swirling thoughts of where we are and how we’ll find our way through. Although it’s hard to see an end to the struggle, if we hang on and trust our abilities to navigate whatever has taken hold of us, we will prevail. Even the strongest waves must ebb and in time we will find our way to solid ground again. Life is filled with challenge and trials. They rarely come when we’re ready for them but no matter how deep the water is, we can find our way to the surface and get to the shore.

The old adage of Murphy’s Law that if anything can go wrong it will, sometimes seems to be the rule of the day. There may be times where it seems no matter what we do we can’t win. It’s like we’ve somehow gotten out of sync with the universe. Our friends argue with us, our family is frustrated with us, our jobs are driving us nuts, our cars break down, our faucets leak and we can’t find our keys. One thing at a time is easy to face but sometimes everything seems to go wrong at once. The universe really hasn’t turned against us but we may feel inundated with trouble and exhausted trying to handle it all. When that happens, it may be hard to get through each moment trying to figure out what to do next. But we’ve been through enough trials already to know we’ll survive. We have everything we need to overcome whatever problems arise and if we are patient and take our time we’ll find all the answers we need.

Life is all about change and learning to adapt. It’s a constant process of learning to let go and move forward. When we have a lot of challenges and feel overwhelmed it can be hard to find respite and peace. Every problem that comes brings something we must learn and overcome in order to proceed. Every time we solve a complication we have more information and increased understanding that will help us going forward. Even when we feel we can’t manage, we do. Even we feel we’re overcome, we prevail. There really isn’t anything too difficult for us to manage. Nobody wants to go through heavy problems but we have all the courage we need to do so. Confidence will give us the boost we need to move forward and when we trust in our abilities to cope we will have all the confidence we need.

Today if you’re facing a big problem and feel swallowed up by the tide, grab onto the things you already know and begin forward. You have all the wisdom you need to overcome. You are capable and strong. Press forward and have faith. You will prevail. There isn’t anything you can’t do.

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Small World

8 Dec

There are a lot of things we can do in life. There are places to see, people to meet, things to learn and unlimited experiences we can have if we want them. If we want big lives and are open to all kinds of new ideas, we may try many different things. We can travel the world, learn anything that interests us, and do just about anything we dream about. Or we can choose to have a small world by keeping our lives close and only doing what’s comfortable and familiar. If we are brave enough to expand our experiences to new things, we’ll learn more about life and about ourselves. Even if we think something is impossible at first, we often find that once we start we can accomplish far more than we imagined. There is a lot to experience and limitless things to learn. We can only live our days once and then they are gone. Making the most of the time, and stretching our view will create a deeper, richer experience. We can do far more than we think we can. There is so much to see and do and even if we’re intimidated by an experience at first, we can accomplish it. Reaching beyond where we are will teach us new things and broaden our understanding. We may choose a small world where everything is predictable or we may reach further and magnify every single day.

Our lives are ours to design and if we aren’t happy with what we’re doing we can change. We are in control and can do anything we want to do. If we feel unfulfilled or unchallenged, we can choose another path. Our lives are valuable and what we do with them is up to us. We can fill every moment moving toward where we want to be or we can tread water and stay in the same place. It can be scary to try new things and the unknown is often intimidating. But things are only unknown until we open the door and experience them. Then they belong to us. We can reach further than we think we can and do more than we believe. We have enough courage to stretch into the unknown.

If we like, we may keep our lives small and not expand them more than we must. We may stick with what we know and where we feel comfortable. Repetition brings predictability and if we do the same things every day we know what to expect and where the boundaries lie. But repetition may also bring boredom and dissatisfaction. After a time, we may feel unsettled doing the same things over and over again. When we’re ready to venture forward we can open new doors that will bring new experiences and a freshness to our lives. We don’t have to keep our world small to be safe. We can stretch and try new things and expand ourselves to make the unknown ours. There is so much to experience in life. We can do anything we want to do and go as far as we like. If we reach further our lives will be richer and deeper and our understanding will increase.

Today if you’ve been doing the same things for a while and are ready to try something new, go for it. There really isn’t anything you can’t do. This life is the time to experience things and stretch. You can have big, bold experiences beyond what you imagine. Try something new and reach for the stars. They are there for you.

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Jigsaw Puzzle

30 Nov

Most of us have worked on a jigsaw puzzle. It’s fun to dump the pieces out on a big surface and start sorting them. The fewer the pieces the easier the puzzle is to complete. Complicated puzzles with hundreds of pieces take longer and instead of putting them all together at once may take days or weeks to complete. They all differ but they are simply pictures cut up waiting for us to bring them together again. Sometimes our lives feel like jigsaw puzzles. The paths we’ve been on may get cut up, the things we had together may get separated, and we may have to put things back together again piece by piece. When the pieces are jumbled up and upside down it’s hard to figure them out but one by one we can turn them over and decide where to put them. We just need time to find the all the pieces and build the picture.

Life rarely goes the way we think it will. There are a lot of variables in everything. Things move and reshape constantly. As we adjust to each modification we may need to change our direction. The goal may stay the same but the road to it may move a little here and there. When we plot a graph, we make clear, straight lines between the defined locations. It looks nice and it’s easy to understand. Unfortunately, life doesn’t exist on graph paper. It’s more like abstract art. A bit of yellow paint here, a streak of red there, some blue thrown in at random and white space in between we have yet to paint. There’s a lot going on and the more we look at it, the more we see. It’s complicated and can be confusing. But we have the power of discernment and can figure out even the most complex of pictures. Like a jigsaw puzzle we can begin to put it all together and find our way.

If we lived in a vacuum we could make our decisions, plot a course forward and be done. We could be in control of everything. There would be no problems or complications, and other people would never be able to interfere with their opinions and decisions. But there will always be others involved in almost everything we do, there will be issues that gum up the works, and unexpected developments will invariably get in the way. As we go, we learn a lot by working through each situation that arrives, find solutions to the problems we encounter and cope with all the personalities around us. Unlike a jigsaw puzzle where we simply put the pieces together in their pre-determined places to create the picture, we have the opportunity to see all the sides of each piece and determine how best to use it. The goals we set determine the pictures we make. We can live our lives any way we want to and accomplish any goal we set. We just need to decide how all the pieces will come together.

Today if you feel like your life is a puzzle torn apart and disconnected you can begin to put things together. Decide where you want to go and what you want to do. Then choose each piece one by one that will take you there. You already have the picture in your mind. You can put it all together and begin moving forward. There isn’t anything you can’t accomplish and you will be successful. Take it one piece at a time and before you know it your life will be the picture you want to create. Success is waiting for you.

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Overnight Sensation

21 Nov

Overnight Sensation

“Picture an egg. Day after day, it sits there. No one pays attention to it. No one notices it. Certainly no one takes a picture of it or puts it on the cover of a celebrity-focused business magazine. Then one day, the shell cracks and out jumps a chicken.” Good to Great, Jim Collins

When we see famous people who suddenly arrive on the scene they may seem like overnight sensations. One day we never heard of them and the next they’re on the cover of every popular magazine. It’s easy to think of them zooming to the top rung of the ladder all at once but that probably isn’t the truth. Often “overnight sensations” have spent many years pushing forward and working hard to get where they are. Nobody saw them when they were working three jobs to get ahead, or paying their dues for years on end trying to move forward. It’s like an egg. Nobody really pays much attention to them until the day they start to crack and a baby chick presses its way out. Then the egg gets our attention. It seems like a momentous event but in actuality the chicken has been working hard all along. It grows and develops and moves forward each moment until the day comes to break free. Although we may see the hatching as a big deal, it’s just the next step in the process for the chicken. The same is true for success in our lives. It doesn’t usually come overnight and without effort. We must plan and work and prepare for it and once we’ve done what is needed to make it happen, it arrives.

We all have dreams of things we want to accomplish. Some of them are easily attainable and we make plans and get them done. Others are loftier and take more work and time. If we are determined to accomplish a big goal, we must do what is needed to achieve it. We can push through day by day, overcome whatever obstacles stand in our way, and continue forward until we reach success. Once we achieve success it may look to others like it happened overnight. But that isn’t the truth. Nobody will know everything we had to do to get there, or see all the sacrifices we had to make or the problems we had to solve, and there is no way for others to understand all the difficulties we had to face. All they really see is our success.

There are few instances of true overnight successes. While it’s possible that something great could happen to us without any effort that won’t generally happen. We are like the egg working behind the scenes doing what is required to succeed. We have everything we need to accomplish almost anything we desire. It may not happen overnight, but if we work at it and do what we must to move forward, we will achieve success. We can fulfill our dreams step by step and day by day. There really isn’t anything we can’t do and we will succeed.

Today if you’ve been working hard and still haven’t reached your goal, keep moving forward. It may not happen overnight but you have everything you need to win. You will achieve your goal. Success is just around the next turn and you will reach it. Take another step forward. You’re almost there.

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Cracks

17 Nov

Cracks

“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” Leonard Cohen

It seems our lives would be wonderful if everything went the way we wanted it to. It would be so much easier if there were no complications and things always worked out in our favor. When our lives are difficult and there is a lot of static, lots of things going awry and we’re busy trying to sort it all out, we might wish things were different. We understand that nothing is perfect and we cope with problems and obstacles in our way as they come up. We are capable of managing any complication we face but sometimes we wish it was easier. It’s the nature of life to be imperfect. Very few natural things are flawless and there are cracks everywhere. But the cracks aren’t just imperfections, they are also openings that let light shine through. That light can bring us new ideas, show us new roads, or unveil new destinations for us going forward. When we’re stressed and something goes wrong, often we find information that helps us going forward. We gain strength from the conflict, patience from the endurance, and sometimes find new direction in the experience. Cracks in the plan sometimes open up new horizons and take us places we never dreamed of.

Wood grain can be very beautiful. There are many kinds of woods, many colors and hues, many different types of grain and when they are cut and polished they all have a unique beauty. There are imperfect knots in wood which are formed when branches drop off as the trunk of the tree expands and the grain grows around the remaining base of the branch. Knots are usually considered defects and are generally harder than the surrounding grain which can make sawing difficult. But although they are imperfections, they are quite beautiful and add a lot to the finished product. If the wood were completely flawless with all the grain lines running perfectly straight it would be boring. The knots add interest, beauty and character to the wood. Yes, they are imperfect but that imperfection is what makes them so lovely.

Nobody wants a life filled with problems. We all want things to go well and be able to move forward without a lot of drama. Sometimes that happens but most of the time we have to adjust to one thing or another in order to progress. If we can see the complications as opportunities to learn something new and chances to expand our understanding, we will navigate them more easily. There may be cracks in the armor as we go forward but they will open up new ideas that help us continue. There may be knots in the wood as we try to make something happen, but if we polish them and see how they shine we can find new ways to get to the destination. If we can see beauty in the confusion, and possibilities in the problems, we’ll conquer whatever we must face.

Today if you’re in a situation with a lot of complications and feel overwhelmed, look at the possibilities before you. Each difficulty brings new ideas and opportunities to see things differently. Take a good look at everything. There is light shining through to show you the way. You will see it and find success.

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