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Singular

22 Feb

Our birth and death are singular experiences.  No matter who is with us at the time, we experience them alone.  That singular experience remains with us throughout our lives but we may forget it as time moves forward.  Most of us are born into families who love us and care for us, and as we grow we learn to interact with people in our circle.  We extend ourselves beyond our personal spheres and touch others we don’t commonly share our lives with but with whom we come in contact as we proceed forward.  We make connections, learn to communicate, find resolutions to conflict and understand our place in our world.  Much of the time we may be in the company of others but no matter where we are or what we’re doing, our lives are singular to us.  We have personal goals and desires, thoughts we keep to ourselves, and as we pass each day we decide how we will live and who we will be.  It’s easy to blame circumstance or the influence of others when things go awry or we end up on the wrong road, but ultimately everything we choose we decide on our own.  Our lives belong to us completely and we are responsible for everything we do.  We can recognize our singular responsibility to ourselves and accept every choice we make, and confidently go forward to any destination we choose.

When we’re busy and have lots of responsibilities the time rushes on as we push forward to accomplish whatever tasks are before us.  It’s easy to forget the big picture when there are dozens of details capturing our attention.  If we aren’t careful, we may find years have gone by as we’re distracted by one thing or another and we haven’t accomplished what we most wanted to do.  We have limited time in life to do the things most important to us and nobody knows when their time will end.  If we make our personal goals a focus and every day consciously move forward a little closer to them, no matter when our time ends we will be happy with our accomplishments.  It’s not the things we’ve done that we’re likely to regret but the things we didn’t do.  No matter where we are or what’s going on we can set aside personal time to do the things we most want.  Our lives belong to us and we can manage them in ways that are best for us.

Learning to live on purpose requires planning and thought.  There will always be others around us who will want our time and talents and we can share them.  But we don’t need to give away everything.  We can reserve what we need to ensure we are moving forward on the path we’ve chosen for ourselves.  We can accomplish anything we want but we must choose to get it done.  We are the most important people in our lives.   We can make sure we have everything we need to be successful and happy.  We are responsible for making our dreams come true and if we keep our eyes on the goal we’ll achieve them.

Today if you’ve set aside the things you most want to accomplish, reset your plans going forward.  Make time for your personal goals.  You can manage your life in ways that will bring you happiness and joy.  This is your time.  Make the most of it and your dreams will follow.

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Hero Worship

8 Feb

Sometimes we meet people who seem larger than life.  They may be beautiful, talented, and successful and might appear to be close to perfect.  We may believe they are everything we want to be and more.  When we’re with them perhaps we can’t take our eyes off them, or hang onto their every word, and we may think they could never do wrong.  This sort of hero worship can happen to all of us.  While there are some people who have achieved great success, or done things we have only dreamed of, we must remember nothing comes without a cost and nobody is perfect.  Even the most successful among us have shortcomings and personal issues they must deal with.  Although their faults and weaknesses may not be readily apparent, they have them just like we do.  It’s good to admire those who have achieved great success, no matter what that success entails, but it’s important to remember they are just like us.  They may be further down the road than we are, and they may have opened more doors than we have but we are all on the journey together.  We can take from them the lessons that will help us going forward and we can be confident in continuing on our own course to the success waiting for us.

Everyone has personal struggles.  We all pay for our successes in one way or another and even those who seem to have it all have sacrificed something valuable along the way.  Nobody is truly perfect and even when others seem to have it all, there are things we can’t see.  We all have things amiss in our lives and problems we must solve.  Everyone has challenges they must overcome specific to their own circumstances.  We can learn from others’ experiences and they can learn from ours.  Everyone has a unique road to travel and the trials along the way are specific to the goals we are trying to accomplish.  Nobody gets a free ride or a free lunch.  We all have our challenges and issues, and it’s those who refuse to let them overcome the journey who succeed and reach their goals.

Although we may feel others are heroes, the real heroes in our lives are ourselves.  We are the only ones who truly know what we’ve been through, how hard the journey has been, all the detours we’ve had to navigate and the price we’ve paid.  Our determination to continue forward and reach for the next door is heroic and brave.  When we don’t quit and continue to persevere we are courageous.  We can honor the choices we’ve made to stay the course even when it gets hard, and take credit for staying in the game.  If we stay up all night with a sick child, endure a difficult boss, extend ourselves when we feel we have nothing left to give, or share when we don’t have enough, we are heroes.  Choosing to be the best we can be no matter what our circumstance, is the most incredible thing we can do.  And when we make that choice we are the real heroes.

Today if you’ve been admiring someone you think has it all, remember how wonderful you are.  You are the real hero in your life.  You are a blessing to the world and those around you. Remember that today and go forward with increased confidence doing well and changing the world for good.

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Miracles

30 Dec

A lot of things happen in our lives every day. Many of them are expected and explained and we often feel confident in anticipating much of what comes. But sometimes something unusual happens. Sometimes something unexpected and amazing occurs we can’t explain. Perhaps someone suddenly shows up we haven’t spoken to in a long time, and they bring the perfect answer to a problem we’ve been trying to solve. Or driving home we somehow escape a very dangerous situation we couldn’t avoid. Maybe out of the blue the extra money we desperately need is suddenly provided. We’ve all experienced extraordinary events like these at one time or another in our lives. Miracles happen every day and they are not just for parting big seas or creating a new star in the heavens. They are available to all of us. Sometimes when we get a miracle we try to explain it away or find rational explanations for what happened. But miracles are gifts to us. We don’t have to explain them, and we don’t have to know why they came. It’s enough to receive them, and allow them to bless us.

We all dream about all kinds of wonderful things we think we want. We want to meet Mr. or Miss Right – finally. We want to come into a lot of money. We want to land our dream job or travel somewhere we’ve always wanted to go. Some of these dreams are within our reach and with enough planning and work we can make them come true. Others are more elusive and the only way we can imagine getting them is if we get a miracle. However, most of our personal miracles are just that – personal. They reach something inside us we’ve been trying to understand or fulfill a need we are frantic to obtain. When the unexpected breakthrough comes it’s a wonderful feeling. We can’t control much in life but sometimes the things out of our control are exactly what we need. And when they happen we may be in the presence of our own personal miracle.

Many of us are great planners. We plan what we want to get done each day, where we want to go, and what we need to do. When everything goes according to our plans we feel like we’re accomplishing things and moving forward. But sometimes something gets in the way and blocks our path. We have to stop and rethink the way forward. During those moments, we may get inspiration to turn in a new direction. We may completely revise what we thought we wanted to do because we had to stop and think again and were inspired to go another way. Inspiration is a magical thing. It may come to us at any time and when it does if we listen to it our direction often becomes clearer and we achieve more than we thought we could. Personal inspiration brings the miracle of understanding we need. Miracles come in different ways to all of us. If we pay attention, we’ll see them everywhere.

Today if something special has happened, something you can’t explain that has helped you move forward, be grateful. You deserve every happiness and there are miracles available to you all the time. Look for them, listen to them and be thankful for them. Your life is a blessing to share with others. Embrace the miracles that come to you and extend them to those around 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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Name Three

14 Nov

We all have a lot of gifts and abilities. Most of us try to do things well as we go along and sometimes we succeed. But there are times we may face difficulty and feel overwhelmed. When our lives get stressful and things go wrong we may get to the point where we feel we can’t do anything right. If lots of things go awry at the same time it can seem that no matter what we do, nothing works. We may begin to feel like failures and believe we will never succeed. At times like that we can re-focus by simply naming three things that are going right. No matter what’s going on we are successful in at least three areas. When we’re overwhelmed and feel like we’re failing, there are at least three things we’re doing well, and chances are there are many things we are doing well. Even in our darkest moments some things are going right. Perhaps we are facing the situation with patience, or we are able to continue to be kind to those around us, or we didn’t complain all day today. There are things we are doing well all the time and if we look at those instead of all the things that are going wrong we will be uplifted. Hard times take a toll but we are strong and even if we feel defeated for a time we will find our way.

It’s easy to internalize our struggles and make them personal. We may blame ourselves for getting into this mess, for decisions we made that created our situation, or for weaknesses we perceive in ourselves that brought us here. It doesn’t matter how we got into our difficult situation. What matters is how we manage it and how we find our way through. Blame never solves anything. If we made mistakes that brought us hardship, we can learn from them. If we took a wrong turn that created a bad situation, we know the road better now. If we made a choice that opened the wrong door, we won’t make it again next time. We can learn from every step we take and choose differently in the future. In the meantime, we can review our situation and options, and find our way through any difficulty we’re experiencing.

It’s hard to feel confident when we’re suffering. It’s hard to remember we do things well when our lives are in turmoil. But the suffering and turmoil don’t change the fact that we really are good at many things and we can count on those attributes to help us through. Nobody is a failure at everything or without redemption. We all have a lot to draw on, things we know and do well, and we can find our way through any problem that ensnares us. If feelings of failure come, we can step back and remember this is just a passage. We will overcome it, we will survive it, and we will learn new ideas that will help us in the future. We do many things well and we are capable and strong. We can focus on that and continue forward with confidence.

Today if you’re overwhelmed with a big problem and you feel like a failure think of three things you do well. No matter what is happening you are doing things right. This is just a complication and you have all the strength and wisdom you need to navigate it. You will find your way through and learn more to help you going forward. You do so many things well. Remember them and keep moving forward.

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