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Hanging On

13 Mar

Everything we experience in life goes forward with us. Good times and happy moments, or disappointments and catastrophes, come with us as we move ahead. Whatever we experience becomes part of who we are. How much influence our past has over our lives is up to us. Happy times may give us optimism for what lies ahead, and problems may hold us back from venturing forward. The past lies behind us and no matter how events affected us when they occurred, it’s up to us how much power they have going forward. If we’ve been through a heartbreaking and difficult experience and still feel the sting, we may be unable to let go of the pain enough to find joy. We can hold on tight to disappointment and sorrow and drag it through our lives indefinitely. We may keep the reminders of what went wrong bright in our minds until we have the courage to let them go. Letting go of pain will not diminish what has happened. We can understand how our lives have been impacted, accept the changes that have occurred, and still find our way to happiness. We don’t have to hang onto sorrow any longer than we want to. We can let it go, set it down, and walk away knowing what we’ve learned will help us as we move ahead. Life is filled with all kinds of experiences. Some of them may devastate us and at times we may believe we’ll never be happy again. We can’t stop sorrow from coming but happiness is our responsibility and when we’re ready, we will have it again. Our lives are precious and valuable. No matter what we may face, we can find our way to peace and joy. Every day brings new promise and there isn’t anything we can’t do.

Personal heartbreak is a painful and agonizing experience. If we’ve been betrayed, or lied to, or everything we believed turned out to be false, we may be stunned and stopped in our tracks. It’s hard to find our footing when everything we thought was solid turns out to be shifting sand. When we’re slipping around trying to find our way, we can have confidence and trust in our ability to overcome. There isn’t anything powerful enough to hold us in place indefinitely. We know who we are, we know what we want, and we will find our way through.

Intense disappointment and sorrow may make us doubt our personal worth and ability to succeed. We may believe nothing will ever be right again, and we’ll be stuck in misery forever. Nothing in life is permanent and no matter what we’re going through, no matter how fierce it seems right now, it will change. There is no wind strong enough to blow us down. There is no suffering powerful enough to last forever. We have everything we need to step forward and find release. We are in control of our lives and will prevail.

Today if you’ve had a serious disappointment and feel frozen and unable to move, remember how strong and powerful you are. There isn’t anything capable of holding you down. You are wise and strong and have all the confidence you need to overcome anything. Take a step forward toward the light. Great happiness is waiting for you. Everything you need is just ahead. Move toward it and you will succeed.

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Have Mercy

12 Mar

Everyone makes mistakes from time to time.  We don’t know everything and sometimes we choose the wrong path for many different reasons.  When we choose badly and hurt those around us, we may ask for forgiveness in an effort to move forward more easily.  It’s good to forgive others when they’ve hurt us.  Carrying around anger from an issue in the past can hold us back and rob our freedom.  If we hold onto anger and disappointment it may keep us from happiness, and the weight of the load may make us miserable.  Forgiving someone for something egregious doesn’t justify or excuse their behavior, but allows us to let go of the pain and be free of the anger.  It’s good to have mercy on others when they’ve erred, and shake away anything holding us in place.  When we’ve been hurt or offended, when someone has done something to diminish us or harm us, we may forgive them knowing the act of forgiving them is for us, to release us from the pain.  Mercy is an act of compassion and kindness, and we can have mercy even when it’s difficult.  Everyone is responsible for every decision they make and mercy will never remove accountability or justice.  Even if we’ve been forgiven, we must answer for every choice.  Nobody is perfect and there will be times when we all make mistakes.  We can only control our own decisions and if we’ve been hurt, we can forgive and move on.  Life is long and we have unlimited experiences as we navigate forward.  We need not carry any pain along with us.  We can have mercy, let go, and trust that justice will prevail.

Revenge seems like a good idea when we’ve been hurt.  It seems fair to even to the score and inflict on someone else what they’ve done to us – or worse.  We all want life to be fair, and may try hard to make sure we’re always fair and appropriate with those around us.  If we’ve been treated badly, we may be tempted to strike back in an effort to make things right.  But lowering our standards to those who have done something wrong will only prove we can do what they’ve done.  It will never elevate us, or make us better.

Allowing those who choose badly to be accountable for what they’ve done instead of trying to punish them is appropriate.  When we’ve been hurt we can determine to continue to be the best we can be and live up to the personal standard we’ve set.  Our lives belong to us and what we do is our responsibility.  Instead of evening the score when we’ve been hurt, we can choose instead to overcome it.  There is nothing more important or powerful than our personal integrity.  Choosing well, despite the choices of others will bring us satisfaction and happiness.

Today if someone has hurt you or done something untoward or hateful to you, remember who you are and honor your personal standards.  You are capable of greatness and nothing is more important than your personal integrity.  Rise above contention and choose nobility.  Nothing can diminish you or hold you in place.  Move forward with confidence.  You are amazing and incredible, and there is great success ahead.

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Rapids

9 Mar

There are limitless opportunities in life to try new things and push ourselves further.  Each situation pushes us and teaches us new things.  If we go on a canoe trip down a slow moving river and come upon a set of rapids, we may feel concerned and intimidated.  The water may be deep, the current may be powerful, and the rapids may be threatening.  No matter how rough the water, we can navigate through it, and when we reach the other side will feel victorious, having overcome something challenging and new.  Rough water and unexpected turbulence may seem sinister and looming at first, but we are strong and capable of managing whatever we must face.  We can set out to seek new horizons and chance the rapids of the unknown instead of holding onto routine.  When we do, we stretch beyond our current boundaries and discover new things about the world, and about ourselves.  There are millions of new experiences awaiting us.  Every situation teaches us something new and as we push through them and reach further we will gain personal strength and greater confidence moving forward.  We are capable of much more than we recognize and can trust ourselves to manage any new situation and find the way forward.  Life is a great blessing and each time we try something new, we gain a greater understanding of how the world works, and our place in it.  We can look ahead with confidence and reach further to stretch beyond what is comfortable.  We can take new chances, and overcome any obstacle before us.

There are countless roads to travel as we go through our lives, and stepping off our current path may be unsettling at first.  New situations and interactions may feel uncomfortable at the beginning.  Unknown territory presents new situations but if we remain for a time, we learn about it and find a way to work within it.  Once we understand a new situation, it becomes ours and is no longer strange and uncomfortable.  We have the capacity to understand everything.  As we learn new things and they become familiar, we can make them a part of our lives.

Sometimes we want to do something new but don’t think we have enough wisdom or courage to do it.  We don’t have to know everything about a new endeavor before we begin.  We only need the desire to do it and the willingness to learn about it.  Our capacity for learning is unlimited and anything we want to do is possible.  We can begin a new journey at any time.  We can face the rapids that may come and overcome any challenge before us.  Life is an incredible blessing.  Living it to the fullest and taking every opportunity to learn and grow will bring us great satisfaction and happiness.

Today if you’ve been wanting to do something new but have been afraid you might fail, do it anyway.  If you fail the first time, do it again.  Success is always possible and you will prevail.  There isn’t anything you can’t do.  You are strong and capable, and everything is within reach.  Go forward with confidence, embrace the challenge, and you’ll find success.

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Broken Clocks

8 Mar

When we think about our lives and the goals we want to achieve, if we really want to accomplish them we must work to make them a reality. Our dreams are important but life is busy and sometimes with all the responsibilities before us, we set things aside thinking we’ll get to them later. As time goes by, even though we think about the things we really want to do, we may find we’re no closer to them than we were in the beginning. They say a broken clock is right twice a day, or two out of 1440 minutes. So, by doing nothing but staying in place it’s successful about .001 percent of the time. We’re not clocks but our chances of succeeding at anything by doing nothing are probably not much better. Of course, we have responsibilities that must be addressed every day, and there are always complications and unforeseen problems, but if we want to do anything we have to find time for it and do what is necessary to make it happen. It’s like planning to run a race. We can study the course, learn everything possible about the mechanics of running, and read stories about the great runners of our time. But until we actually put our feet on the track, nothing will happen. No goal can be achieved without action. Everything we desire is possible and we can go anywhere we want. Once we decide to move forward, and plan our time around what we want most, every dream we desire can become a reality. There isn’t anything we can’t manage and when we’re ready, nothing can keep us from successfully accomplishing whatever we desire. Our lives belong to us and how we live them is our responsibility. We can purposely move forward toward our goals and find success.

When we have a lot of responsibilities and many people depend on us, taking time for ourselves can feel selfish. We may believe our commitments are more important than what we want do on our own, and push our desires and dreams off until we have time. Additional time will never magically appear, no matter how much we want it. We must work within the boundaries before us and decide on our priorities. Our lives are important and our dreams are precious. We can plan effectively and do what is needed to make them come true.

Time moves forward whether we’re actively engaged in a pursuit or sitting idly by. There is always enough time to do what is most important to us, even if we’re busy. The most hectic day gives way for time to eat when we’re hungry. It’s a priority that presses on us until we address it. Our goals can be as important as any other priority when we decide we value them. The whole world is available to us and there isn’t anything we can’t do. We can choose the best way forward to accomplish anything we desire.

Today if you’ve been putting your dreams on hold thinking you’ll get to them later, take the first step toward them now. Put your feet on the track and start moving toward the goal. You are powerful, wise and capable, and there isn’t anything you can’t accomplish. All your dreams are just ahead waiting to be uncovered, and you will reach them. Begin now and you’ll find success.

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Fair and Even

7 Mar

As we interact with others who come in and out of our lives, we will meet many different kinds of people.  Some will be nice and enhance our experiences, and others may be difficult.  Everyone has their own expressions and ideas about life. We may agree with them at times and or we may be at odds.  There is an old expression, “An eye for an eye,” which loosely means I will give you back what you give to me.  It seems fair to return what we’ve been given and we may want to keep the score even by doing so.  However, if someone does something mean or hateful to us, returning that to them may not serve us well.  We may feel better hitting back, but all we will have accomplished is proving we can go as low as they did.  Who we are is defined by what we do, not what is done to us.  What seems fair may not always be the best choice.  If we want to be the best we can be, we must be willing to reach higher when we’ve been hit below the belt.  When we’ve been betrayed, scorned, cheated on, lied to, or in any other way demeaned, we can step back and decide what is in our best interest going forward.  We need not continue relationships that don’t work.  We can keep a high standard for our behavior and walk away from those who choose another road.  We are always in control of our decisions and can choose the paths that take us where we want to go.  We can be fair and still move forward with grace and dignity.  We deserve the very best of everything.  By choosing well, we will achieve it.

The fight or flight reflex can have a huge influence over us when we’re in situations that are threatening or aggressive.  We may have an almost uncontrollable desire to run from whomever is involved, or we may feel anger rise in us and desire to smash our opponent.  This is a survival mechanism that warns us of impending danger.  However, most of the time we may not be in real danger, but threatened by a situation or person who is bullying and forceful.  If we take a minute to think about how best to proceed instead of simply reacting, we will find greater success moving forward.  We can take a deep breath, recognize the instinctive cues, and then calmly make a decision about how to proceed.  We can be in control of our lives even when things go wrong and choose the best paths ahead.

Sometimes people get ahead and win despite poor decisions and bad behavior.  It’s hard to watch someone succeed by cheating or bullying, and it goes against our ideas of fair play.  When those who are dishonest or unethical win, we may feel burned and angry.  But life has a way of looping around and in the end, there is no way to escape personal accountability.  We can ensure our peace and happiness going forward by making the best choices each day and choosing the paths that will take us where we most want to go.

Today if someone has done something to hurt you and you want to get back at them, remember who you are and what you really want.  Reach higher and choose the road that will take you to excellence.  You are amazing and powerful, and nothing will stop you from succeeding.  Make your best decisions and every road will open ahead.

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