The light of hope

 

 More South Carolina photos...

Don't be defeated by your circumstances, no matter how difficult it feels. All our lives are messy, at times. The secret to having peace while going through challenge is acceptance. Resistance to any problem keeps us stuck even longer. And so does denying it.

 

Acceptance shines the light of hope.

 

Let's stop judging our feelings and just have them. Let's face our issues honestly to avoid depression. Life is meant to be joyful.

 

Don't spend your energy in resistance. Embrace all your experiences, trusting there is a gift in every one. Don't put your happiness on hold, waiting for life to be perfect. It already is!!!

******

Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
A way above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me.

from the song- Over the Rainbow

 

*****

 

"I will release any resistance to my circumstances"

A shift in attitude

 

 

 

I used to see my challenges as problems rather than opportunities.

 

 Then a wise, evolved woman helped turn my thinking around.

 

I thank God for her! What she taught me was richer than gold.

 

Just a simple twist in my thinking changed my life.

 

 I began to feel empowered instead of being a victim.

 

I learned to search for the blessings/lessons.

 

I saw how challenge made me stronger, more self-assured.

 

I started to say "thank you God" for everything that came my way.

 

I still practice that today...thank you God for this life.

 

My life is good! There is nothing negaitve about it anymore.

 

A change in attitude changed everything!!!

 

*****

 

 

 Oh, my friend,

it's not what they take away from you that counts. 

It's what you do with what you have left. 

 

~Hubert Humphrey

*****

 

 

"I am grateful for every day"



Looking for a miracle

 

 

There's a saying "don't give up until the miracle happens".

 

The first time I heard it, I was puzzled as to what it meant. But these simple words

came at a time when things in my life felt hopeless. Needless to say, I clung to them

like a drowning person to a life rope...trusting that somehow a miracle would occur.

And it did!!!

 

Is life challenging you right at the moment? Maybe illness, loss of someone dear, financial worries, fear of something...If it is, can you trust that your miracle can

happen too?

 

Believe in all possibilities...with your whole heart. 

 

There is no problem too big ...

 

******

 

 

 See every difficulty as a challenge, a stepping stone,

and never be defeated by anything or anyone.

~ Eileen Caddy

 

****

 

 

"I believe in all possibilities"

 

You are enough

 

My word for today is "ENOUGH".

It's taken me a long time to figure out that my core belief "I am not enough" was the driving force behind a lot of poor decision making throughout my life. Because I had low self-esteem, I pushed myself too hard. I was always trying to prove myself. But no matter what I achieved, it never quieted the critical voice in me. My unworthiness was always there to point it's gnarly finger at me.

Yuck! I was so mean to myself...

I feel differently today. My value as a human being has nothing to do with what I do for others, 

what I achieve, or how perfectly I do it. "Being enough" means feeling good about myself without all the other crazy stuff; doing too much, going too fast, buying things I don't need, overworking, overextending myself, using food to medicate my feelings....

Do you know that you are enough? Well, you are. Don't ever lose sight of this truth.

You are a wonderful human being. And you deserve the very best!!!

 

*****

 

 

 If you cannot find happiness along the road,
You will not find it at the end of the road.

~ Author Unknown ~

****

 

"I love and accept myself"

Having healthy relationships

 

 My friend Meg, with her daughter and granddaughter Melissa and Lily.

Visiting family on the other coast, complete with new baby Nicolas.

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 Without relationships, our hearts would wither. I'm not claiming to be a relationship expert,

but there are some fundamental things I've practiced with good success, which may be helpful.

Here are some:

Relationships should nourish, as well as, challenge you.

 

Be honest with your words.

Beware!!! It may get a little messy when you stop people-pleasing.

But messy is underrated. In the long run, it builds intimacy.

I'll let you in on a secret. Put my partner and I in a car together, we resort to acting like

five-year-old siblings. Our road trips entail a lot of harmless childish bickering and finger

   pointing. It's healthy for us to be free to play as children do, with each other.

Don't agree with someone to make them happy unless you want to lose their respect.

Be vulnerable. It's your most endearing asset.

Choose healthy people to have relationships with. You will then avoid unnecessary injury to
yourself later. Also, pick people you already like; then you won't feel a need to change them.

Give those you love, lots of room for error. Keep your heart soft and forgiving.

And most importantly, love yourself first.

*****

 

Our deepest wishes are whispers of our authentic selves.
We must learn to respect them.
We must learn to listen.

~ Sarah Ban Breathnach ~

****

 

"I will express myself with graceful honesty"

 

New possibilities

 

Acceptance is the key to serenity.

No matter what the circumstances are, if you practice acceptance, peace will follow.

How often we try to control things because we're uncomfortable.

 

We put fear in charge.

Learn to sit in the discomfort rather than forcing change.

Perhaps there's a valuable life lesson to be learned.

Life lessons are gifts.

Remember that resistance to any circumstance only causes more pain.

I know it's a lot to embrace, but open your mind to new possibilities....

 

 You will come to know peace.

*****

 

My little buddy Alicia (pic taken at last year's Christmas party with her friends). Her smile can

light up a room. Yesterday was a girl's day so we went to the movies and ate lots of popcorn. Yum!!!

 

*****

 

We turn to God for help
when our foundations are shaking,
only to learn it is God who is shaking them.

~ Charles C West ~

 

*****

 

 

"Life is easy when I let things flow"

 

Things I know for sure

 

   The world is a safe haven so I can let go of trying to control my destiny.

 

We are all doing our best so we must give each other lots of room for error.

 

Being miracle-minded is simply seeing life with a different perspective.

 

When you smile at the world, the world smiles back.

In order to be truly happy, I must be happy with myself first.

 

My words have a lot of power so I need to be mindful how I use them.

 

This journey I'm on is the perfect one for me!!!

 

 Downtown Abbeville, S.C. where my sister lives

*****

There are only two ways to live your life.
One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as if everything is.

~ Albert Einstein ~
 

"All my experiences are joyful and loving"

Feeling connected

 

Many of us were raised to not feel... to repress our natural emotions, which in turn,

 damaged us. Hiding our authentic feelings forced us to wear a mask. Eventually, we

came to believe that the false self we created, was really us. But in truth, we became

separated from who we really are.

 

If this has happened to you, begin to listen more carefully to your "inner voice". Not

the voice in your head, but a voice that comes from your spirit. Get more connected to 

yourself through journaling, sharing honestly with others, meditation, prayer, or

whatever method works for you. Recover your lost self...that's the journey...back to

who we really are...the journey home.

******

FYI- I know I said I was only going to be blogging once a week but I missed it...and you.

 For the moment, I'm still not blogging daily, maybe 2-3 times a week. Happy Holidays!

 

It's not what you call me, but what I answer to.

~ African proverb ~

*****

"I strive to be my authentic self"

Accepting others

One of kindest gifts...

 we can offer those we love...

 is the freedom to live their own lives.

It's not always easy to let go,

especially if we think they're making mistakes.

But remember that mistakes...

can merely be someones opportunity...

 to learn and grow.

*****

Happy Thanksgiving!!!
 

"Real love is accepting others the way they are,
without trying to change them.

Eckhart Tolle

****

"I can only change myself"
 

Speaking up

 

 

Complaining makes us a victim.

 

 Speaking up empowers us.

 

We all have a choice how we handle things in our lives.

 

It's may not always be comfortable speaking up...

 

but we have the choice to take an action...

 

 or find acceptance about our circumstances.

 

 

Speak up.

 

Use your power to take a stand for what you believe in.

 

Be a warrior for your truth.

 

Be an expression of your truest self.

 

 

*****

 

A South Carolina squirrel  playing peek-a-boo

 

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Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams.

Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential.

Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in,

but with what it is still possible for you to do.

 

--Pope John XXIII

 

*****

 

 

"It's important to be honest and direct with others"

 

Finding peace

 

On my walk this morning, after listening for a few minutes to all the negative conversations
in my head, I decided to ask myself the question “can you accept this moment just as it is?”
At first, I felt a lot of resistance to this question…reasons why I couldn’t accept this and that.
But I persistently asked myself the same question over and over “can I accept this moment
 just as it is?” until I felt my resistance weaken.

What followed were tiny moments of being present.

As my mind got quieter, my new focus became my surroundings; feeling the cool welcoming
breeze as I walked, seeing the silhouette of the trees against the sky, enjoying splashes of colorful blossoms among the weeds, the steady rhythm of traffic…

Each time a story aroused in my mind, I would ask myself "can you accept this moment?"

Example: it looked like I might caught in a rain shower on my walk, so I said to myself 
"can you accept this moment?...so what if it rains…what does that mean…it means nothing…
can I accept walking in the rain...yes, I can accept it".

Needless to say, it did rain a bit on my walk. But it felt peaceful and cleansing...

*****

Whenever you can deeply accept this moment as it is... 
you are at peace.

Eckhart Tolle

****

 

"I can trust what life brings me"

Open to life

When you completely accept life just as it is,

 something wonderful happens.

You get a feeling - a feeling of nothingness.

Not the kind of nothingness where you feel empty inside,

but a nothingness that is peaceful, quiet, gentle...

 

You can feel it in the every fiber of your body.

It relaxes your muscles,

warms your heart,

fills you with a deep sense of gratitude.

 

Don't resist what life brings.

Trust the wisdom...

Go with the tide, not against it.

Let life be your teacher...

 

*****

 

 Alone with myself
The trees bend to caress me
The shade hugs my heart

~ Candy Polgar ~

 

 ****

 

 "I am open to what life has to teach me"