Tag Archives: self care

Uncategorized

Created For So Much More!

Why are you the way you are? If we are honest with ourselves, we all have things we want to be better in our lives, but wanting is not enough. Some where a long the way, we learned that if things are not working the way we want them to, then it must be someone else’s fault. I call this the “BLAME GAME” and we are great at playing it. We’ve gotten so used to doing it, that we don’t even realize we are doing it and this is what so often gets us caught up in a life that is never ever getting any better in the sense that we were created for so much more.

We were created to bless and be blessed. We were created for success, happiness and fulfillment which comes from having a purpose and chasing after it. When we fail to see these things materialize in our own life, then we often shift to our “bad” training and rather than taking responsibility for ourselves, we begin to play the blame game.

The problem with blaming others is that it keeps us from achieving our created purpose and fulfilling the destiny or our soul through this human experience. The fact is: Everyone that is living this human experience is doing what they know how to do, what they’ve been trained to do by their surroundings and upbringing.

I never knew my biological father. My Mom was living in a very unhealthy and dangerous situation, which she eventually found the strength to get out of. Not long after that, my biological father discovered he had leukemia, which in short order took his life. My Mom eventually got back on her feet through hard work and supportive family and friends. She started to do whatever she had to do to make a life for the two of us to survive. It would have been very easy for her to give up, blame others and not take any responsibility, but she had more than herself to take care of, she had a baby boy, so she did what Mom’s do. She got rid of the excuses, didn’t get distracted by blame and did what she had to do to begin building a life and a future for us.

Eventually she would remarry a very kind, humble and decent man. A man who would adopt me as his very own son and raise me as such. They would eventually bless me with a little sister who was ten years younger than me and we would all grow up to be one big happy and often dysfunctional family.

Now what you don’t see, read or understand in that story is that interwoven all through it was a lot of ups and downs. We have had our fair share of mountain tops, but also walked through more valleys than we care to share. Life has been a challenge, but a good challenge as far as any of us are concerned and what hasn’t killed us, most definitely has made us stronger. We have struggled, faced heartache, experienced loss and gone through things that we would rather not talk about, but at the end of the day, it hasn’t been anyone else’s fault, just our experience and we are better, closer and stronger for it.

Life isn’t fair. Sometimes it sucks and many times along the way, it just isn’t any fun at all, but if we choose, we can learn from it all. If we will make sure to not get distracted by playing the blame game and just accept what happens as it happens, then we can learn from it, grow because of it and embrace the challenge that it brings our way, because it’s true – you really were created for so much more…

Advertisement
Uncategorized

Simple Pleasures!

This amazing gift we’ve been given, that most of us call life, is such a wonderful and beautiful thing. We really do fail to appreciate life in it’s simplicity, because somewhere along the way we have become convinced that it just has to be complicated.

I’ve been hanging around this human experience for a little over a half a century and what I have discovered and what I am rediscovering almost everyday is that simple pleasures are such a blessing, if we will just allow ourselves the time and permission to enjoy and be blessed by them.

Here are just a few of the simple pleasures that I am grateful for. These simple pleasure make each day meaningful and help to keep me focused on what really matters. These simple pleasures take me away from my ego and get me in touch with my soul.

1. Going Outside! I love the outdoors. Nature has become one of my best friends. I love to feel the warmth of the sun on my face, the cool from the breeze as it blows through the trees and the sounds of life all around me.

2. Time To Enjoy A Beverage! One of my favorite things is sitting in a comfortable chair and “sipping” on a cup of mocha flavored coffee as I think about the day in front of me and look forward to living it.

3. A Journal To Record, Plan & Dream! Not sure what I would do without paper and pen. I try everyday to write down my Scripture focus for the day, a list of at least three things I am thankful for, my tasks list of things I hope to get accomplished and any thoughts or ideas that are influencing me at the time.

4. My Favorite Pen! I love writing instruments. I love to sketch and draw with pencils, write with different kinds of pens and color with markers, paints and such. I like a pen that allows my thoughts and ideas to freely flow. Sometimes I am totally amazed at what comes out of the pen onto the paper and think: “Was that really me.”

5. Conversations With Friends! Having someone to talk to is a vital part of life, living and growing. It’s also important to have people we listen to, because as we listen, we learn and as we learn, we grow. One of the great blessings of this human experience is that we get to do it with such interesting and amazing people. So many times, we miss this magic…

6. Enjoying The Taste Of Good Food! I love to eat, but even more than eating, I love to cook. When I cook, I like to cook to taste, which means I am trying to create something that I am pretty sure I’m going to enjoy. So many people, grab their food, scarf it down and move on to whatever is next. The tragedy in this rush to feed our face is that we miss the opportunity to savor the flavor of life. I like it all, so the main thing for me is just making sure I slow down and enjoy it.

7. Exercise! This has become a dirty word for a lot of us, but it doesn’t have to be and it shouldn’t be. A few things that make a big difference for me is just keeping it simple. And by the way, we need to exercise physically, mentally and spiritually. Physical exercise for me consists of stretches, walking, some time on an elliptical and a little work with weights. Mental exercise is made up of being open to learning something new and there is education all around us. I enjoy reading, listening to podcasts and even researching the web. Spiritual exercise does not have to be complicated and I like to keep mine going all throughout the day. I try to stay in a spirit of prayer. I read and meditate on scripture. And I look for opportunities to serve and minister for others. When it comes to exercise, remember this: A little is better than none at all.

8. Something To Read! I love to read and we have access to all sorts of material to choose from. Sometimes, I like to have an old fashion book with pages in my hand. At other times, I enjoy reading from the convenience of my smart device. And one of my favorite ways is to listen as the book is read and read along. I love to read history, leadership, biographies, blogs, motivation, how to books and Scripture.

9. Sitting In Solitude! The older I get, the more I really do seem to enjoy and need this one. There are times when I like to sit in a comfortable chair and do absolutely nothing, but enjoy the stillness and silence of the moment.

10. Meaningful Purpose! Getting up everyday energized with something meaningful to do and going to bed bed every night tired because you’ve done it, is a big part of what this human experience is all about to me. I love helping others and I get to do that everyday in a variety of ways. I love my routine and it drives me to try and make this amazing gift called life better for everyone.

So, there you go – that’s a few of my simple pleasures and if you see me with a smile on my face, then you probably know why. I pray that something you’ve read here today, might help you to find and wear a smile on your face too…

Uncategorized

The Thought Monster!

When we are young, we have a way of turning things into monsters that are not really monsters. We can be laying in bed and all of a sudden the shirt we left hanging on the bed post turns into some demonic entity that has escaped the underground prison it’s been caged up in, just to come kill us and destroy our hopes of growing up and one day driving a car to the moon and back. The crazy thing is, the more we look at it, the more real it becomes and the less sleep we get.

When we become adults, it really does not change all that much. The major difference is that we don’t have to be laying in the bed in a dark room. We can be sitting on the beach in the beautiful sunshine and our thoughts become, negative, dark, depressing and before we know it, inside of our heads we find ourselves in the midst of the most viscious storm that it sure to take our lives and ruin everything we have ever counted as dear.

Thoughts are powerful and with them we can imagine the absolute worst or the most magnificent best – the choice is ours! We really do have the power, but we fail to realize it and often empower the wrong side of things, tipping the scales against ourselves, rather than in our favor.

For most of our lives, we are often just one decision away from a totally different life and this can be a negative or a positive, we just have to decide for ourselves. This is why our thoughts are so important, because our thoughts become words, which turn into actions, which grow into habits, which eventually become apart of our character and our character ultimately leads us into our destiny.

It is very important for us to understand: The Battle For Our Heart Is Most Often Fought In Our Mind. It is in fact a battle and it always will be on this side of eternity. This is why it is important to challenge, question, inspect and change the way we think, because when we change the way we think about things, the things we think about change and the goal here is change for the better.

Here are three thoughts to help all of us think better thoughts:

1. Think about what you are thinking about! Is the majority of your thinking negative or positive? Is it building up toward a meaningful goal or tearing down what could really make a difference? Be honest with yourself and when you identify wrong, hurtful and negative thinking, be prepared to take it on and take it out.

2. Make Room For The Right Thinking By Getting Rid Of The Wrong Thinking! We have a limited amount of space in our minds and if we are honest, a lot of that space has been taken over by thoughts that are doing more harm than good, so what can we do about it? Challenge those wrong thoughts so that they change into right thoughts that are taking you closer to where you were created to be, rather than farther away.

3. Increase Your Right Thinking In Every Way You Can Think Of! There are so many different things we can do to increase our right thinking. We can start a gratitude list that helps to remind us of all the amazing blessings we have flowing into and through our lives. We can journal our thoughts, ideas and learning on a daily basis that helps us to get it out of our head, so that we can observe things from a different perspective. We can intentionally set positive reminders by reading, writing, posting, sharing positive thoughts, quotes and ideas in as many different places and in as many diffferent ways as possible…

We can take on the THOUGHT MONSTER and win, we just have to have the thought that this is what we are going to do and then follow through on that thought! Once you’ve taken the step, you will be glad you did…