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Knowing

8 Jan

As we go through all the many experiences in our lives, we sometimes come across situations that confuse us.  Maybe we aren’t sure exactly what’s going on, or something someone says doesn’t agree with what they’re doing.  Because most of the experiences we have involve other people, and they can do anything they like even if it doesn’t make sense, it’s sometimes hard to understand situations.  Some people may pretend that things are different than they really are and try to convince us that everything is one way when in fact it’s the complete opposite.  Some people may even lie to us, and manipulate us into believing things that aren’t true.  When we’re unsure because things aren’t making sense, when we can’t believe something is happening but all the evidence points in that direction, we can feel lost.  We don’t know which way to turn.  We don’t know what to do.

When we’re confused about a situation, it’s helpful to take a step back away from it and see it more objectively.  We can more easily discern truth if our emotions aren’t involved.  When we’re tangled up and enmeshed in a situation, we may be too close to see the whole story.  If we step back just a little our vision will clear, and we may see things we couldn’t before.  People are complicated and make all kinds of decisions – both good and bad.  Their reasons are their own, and if the reason is selfish, it can hurt others.  Sometimes they don’t care if they hurt others and will continue even after they see the pain they’re causing.  And sometimes the pain is just a byproduct of what they’re trying to do.  Either way, if we’re in their crosshairs and are getting hurt, we can find out why.  We can step back and see things clearly, and then we can make the best decision going forward.

There are times when what we think is happening can be an illusion created by a situation or those involved in it.  It’s possible to be manipulated into believing things are very different than they really are.  Perhaps someone wants something from us and knows we will never give it to them unless we believe it’s for someone else so they manufacture a situation that gives that impression.  Or maybe someone wants us to do something they know we won’t agree to and make the request appear to be something entirely different.  If these things happen we can get caught going down a path we never intended to travel.  There really is no limit to what others can do or say to us.  But we can figure out the truth if we step back when we feel something isn’t right.  We can trust our instincts to know what is real, and when we’re ready, we can uncover the truth.  We will know what to do.  We have everything we need to discern the right path, and then go forward.  We can correct our course at any time, and turn back to the right direction to find peace and happiness.

Today if you feel something isn’t quite right in a situation involving you, and if you’re unsure, step back a little and see it more objectively.  Pretend you’re not involved and see everything clearly.  You’ll find the truth and you’ll know what to do.  You are insightful and wise.  You have everything you need to go forward with confidence.

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Baggage

2 Jan

As we navigate through our lives our experiences leave impressions on us. Sometimes they are scars from events that have hurt us, sometimes they are precious memories from times when things were wonderful, and sometimes they are just an accumulation of things we learn. Everything we experience changes us in some way, but when we have bad experiences, they may leave lasting marks that we carry with us. If the scars are painful and heavy, they can impact our lives going forward. Like baggage we can’t abandon, we pull it along with us. It might be small like an overnight bag or we may have a dozen over-sized steamer trunks we drag along. Whatever it is, it takes effort to carry it and can make it hard for us to experience joy or see the possibilities of happiness in front of us. It takes work to carry heavy baggage, it’s strenuous, and it takes concentration. We have to watch where we’re going more carefully, and navigate complicated turns with precision. It’s hard to be spontaneous, or trust that we’ll get through. When we’re carrying a lot behind us our lives are harder and we feel the weight every day.

Nobody has a perfect life. Nobody gets through without some disappointment or pain, sadness or grief. We all suffer and have bad experiences along with the good ones. It’s how we handle them that affects our lives going forward. If we’re suffering and have been hurt, we can hold onto the pain for the rest of our lives. We can carry distrust, bitterness, wariness, anger, and suspicion with us. We can keep ourselves separate from those around us and hold on to our baggage, checking it, making sure it’s still there, and keeping it close. Deep betrayal, loss of faith, intense disappointment, and pain are difficult to go through. They change us and if we let them, can paralyze our lives. We can give our control over to them, lock our security safely away, and allow them to make every personal decision we have. But we don’t have to do that.

We have the power to face whatever comes to us. Bad experiences can be conquered. Even the one thing we think we could never overcome is possible to move past. Our ability to move forward in our lives is only hampered by our own decisions. We can carry our baggage with us for as long as we want to. But when we’re ready to be happy again, we can set it down and walk away. We don’t need it to make any decisions going forward, and we can be happy if we let it go. Leaving it behind does not diminish the pain we suffered when we had it. But if we really want to be happy again, we have to let it go and walk away. We have the power to control our lives. We can’t change what’s already happened, but we can change how much we let the past determine our future. We deserve to be happy. We deserve to be free of pain. We deserve everything we are hoping for. We can do anything we want and we don’t need any previous baggage holding us back. We can leave it behind and move on.

Today if you’ve been letting something from your past determine how you’re living your life, if you’re holding onto pain or disappointment, you can let it go. You can set it down and walk away, leaving it behind as you move forward. You don’t have to carry anything with you. You have all you need to be happy and successful. Let go. You deserve only the best. You have everything you need to be happy. Embrace that.

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Easy Questions Hard Answers

18 Dec

When we’re making decisions about our lives, deciding where we want to go, and what we want to do, we have to answer a lot of questions. Some are quick, and we know the answers before we even think about them but others, although they look easy at first, can be hard to answer. Questions can be deceptive. Something simple like, “What do you want to do now?” seems easy on the surface, but when the answers we choose have far reaching consequences, they can be hard to resolve. We spend so much time doing what others expect from us, what we think we should be doing, and what is required to make things work that when it comes to questions about our personal choices they can be harder to answer than they seem at first. What do we want to do now? Where do we want to go? What do we want to accomplish? How can we make it happen? These all seem like easy questions, but the answers can be elusive.

It seems we sometimes forget who we really are and what we really want. We’re busy, and trying hard to get things done, we have a lot of responsibilities, and at the end of the day we may feel like we’ve been lost in the shuffle. But if we want to be happy, really happy with our lives, and stand on the road we most want to be on, we need to think about what we really want. Do we want to spend time doing the same thing tomorrow we did today? Are we doing what’s most important to us? Are we happy? Do we feel fulfilled with how we’re spending our days? All are important questions. If our lives are too busy, we may not take time to look at them and find the answers. We need to remember what we truly want, and who we really are. Our lives belong to us and we can live them any way we want to.

Sometimes we can tangled up in situations that take us off course. Maybe we commit to a relationship that isn’t working, or we keep a job we hate, or we continue to do something that makes us miserable because others expect it. When that happens, it takes determination and courage to step away and do what is needed to turn things around. But we have sufficient determination and courage to do it. We have everything we need to change our course, and we are the only ones who can make it happen. We don’t have to convince anyone we need to change, we don’t have to come up with a dozen reasons why what we’ve been doing isn’t working, and we don’t have to feel any guilt. If we need to change, we can change. We are in control of our time and our futures. We can have the lives we want most, be the person we want to be, and live happily. The moment we decide is the perfect time to start.

Today if you’ve been doing things that aren’t working and you aren’t happy, think about what you want the most. Remember who you really are and then make the changes necessary to bring happiness into your life. Every day is a precious gift. Your gift is today. Make it work for you. Make it the way you want it to be. You deserve everything you want. Reach for it, and make it yours.

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What Lies Within

15 Dec

As we go through our lives we experience many things. Some are good, some are joyful, some are sad, and some may be destructive. We are an accumulation of all the experiences we have, good or bad, and they color our behavior and perspectives going forward. Emerson said, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” This is a true statement. Although the experiences we’ve already had certainly affect who we are, and the experiences yet to come will impact us in some way, they are never more powerful than who we are inside. We have everything we need to comprehend and process any experience that comes to us, and we have the courage to overcome any obstacle. We have more strength and nobility inside ourselves than we comprehend and they come forward as we need them. What we carry inside us, the courage and honor we hold, is stronger and more powerful than anything that happens to us. What lies within is us can carry us through anything.

When we have bad experiences, when we are hurt, betrayed, or in any way distressed or offended, although we overcome them in time, we carry the scars with us going forward. Sometimes those scars affect our ability to be happy for a time, or prevent us from trusting others. Sometimes they teach us valuable lessons we can draw on later, and sometimes if they are strong enough, they can be crippling. How we handle them determines how we grow as we continue on. If we forget how strong we are inside, if we believe we cannot handle the disappointment and it will never heal, we could get stuck in misery. It’s important to understand there is nothing we will face that we cannot manage. There is nothing that will overcome us if we trust ourselves and draw on the immense reserves of strength we have inside. We can do anything. We can conquer whatever has happened, no matter how trying or difficult it may be.

Nobody knows what our futures will bring. We all hope for the best and plan for success but sometimes things go awry and we crash and burn. But crashing and burning just means we get to start over on a new road. The old path is gone, the old goal is over, and we can begin again to go forward in a new direction. We never reach the end until death arrives. Until then, we have endless opportunities for success every single day. We have everything we need already there inside us to figure things out. What comes to us is small compared to what we can do. We are powerful and strong, and we are invincible. If we remember that, no matter what we face, we will prevail.

Today remember that what lies within you is great. You are capable, noble, and strong. You have everything you need to go forward with joy and success. There isn’t anything you can’t do. You have more courage and strength inside you than you need. You can do anything. Be brave. You will succeed and you will be happy.

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Suddenly

8 Dec

When we’re trying hard to accomplish something very difficult, or trying to change something in our lives that’s hard, it can seem like the road is never ending.  We push, and we inch forward, and then we have a setback, and it seems despite all we’ve done, we’re back at the beginning again.  Change takes time and when we’re trying hard to accomplish it, we can get frustrated and feel stuck.  But if we keep going forward, even when it feels like we’re going nowhere, eventually something happens that breaks us through.  Something finally goes right, and we feel recharged and hopeful again.  It’s like suddenly everything changes and we realize we can do this.  When we get a break, even a small one, we realize we can keep going and when it happens, in that moment everything is different.  If we were discouraged, we feel buoyed up.  If we felt defeated, we feel we can prevail.  It’s amazing when it happens.  Suddenly everything has changed and we’re renewed.

Although we know we can accomplish anything we choose to do, if it’s something big, something far reaching or we’re trying hard to change, it can be daunting and overwhelming at times.  We know what we want to do, and we know how to get there, but the road is long, and filled with detours and complications.  We can get discouraged and sometimes we might even consider giving up.  We might think we should just let it go and move on to something easier.  But accomplishing something difficult isn’t impossible – it’s just difficult.  We are capable of facing difficulties, and we’ve proven that over time.  We can face them, we can process them, we can manage them, and we can overcome them.  If we keep that in mind, if we remember the successes we’ve already had, we can press forward and day by day we will get closer to where we want to go.

That light at the end of the tunnel will come.  That break we’ve needed will finally arrive.  And when it does, everything will change.  Even the smallest gain, or the tiniest encouragement, can change everything.   Perhaps one person notices our efforts and compliments us, or maybe there is one small adjustment that allows us to move up.  Whatever it is, when the positive moment comes, suddenly we can see the road ahead and we know we can traverse it.  We are resilient and capable.  There isn’t anything we can’t do.  We have all the courage and stamina we need to make any change we want to.  And when the blessing finally comes to us, when we achieve the objective and grab the gold ring, it will be worth everything we did to get there.

Today if you’ve been pushing and trying so hard to make a change and it seems like you’ve been constantly going uphill against the wind, hang on.  The break you need is just around the next bend.  It’s right at the doors.  Take another step forward, and hold on for another day.  All the blessings you are seeking are there for you, and will be worth everything you’re facing now.  There is sunshine and light just ahead.  You can do everything you need to get to it.  You are amazing and you have everything you need to succeed.  Just keep going.

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