Daily Inspiration 5-31-17

"You are a success when

you have made friends with your past, 

are focused on the present, 

and are optimistic about your future."

-- Zig Ziglar

[Classic post from 1-20-10]

Success is one of those words that are problematic because it has so many definitions and shades. The vast majority of the definitions I have seen relate to money in one way or another. This is but one of the ways a person can define success. There is so much more.

I have kept my eyes open for a definition of success that I think is simple and that the vast majority of people could get behind. I think I have found one in the quote above from Zig Ziglar.

In so many, myself included, it is the past that has been a problem. Regretting the past is a complete waste of time and counterproductive in the present. Doing this even creates more of the past in the present, thereby repeating it over and over again. Making friends with the past and letting it be what it is without judgment is critical to success I have found.

Focus on the present. There is only today, this moment, one at a time. Enjoying each moment, each day, each experience as we travel where we will is also critical to success I find. Plus it sure makes life worth living! This cannot be possible without making friends with the past, can it? And, I will say this is my favorite part because now I enjoy it all the time every day no matter what is going on. To me, that is so powerful I want to just jump up and down with joy!

Optimism. The glass is half full. If we don't have something to live for; to work toward; to have desires to be somewhere, there is pretty much nothing worth living for. Einstein said this: "I think the most important question facing humanity is, 'Is the universe a friendly place'. This is the first and most basic question all people must answer for themselves." What you believe about that says what you believe in the future I think.

Making friends with the past, enjoying and living fully in the present, while looking forward to a bright future--that is motivational to me. How about you?

Of course. . . I really do love this quote too: "The secret of success is making your vocation your vacation." -- Mark Twain.

Yeah! That'll work!


I'm Having The Best Time Of My Life Right Now!

Spread Some Joy Today--Look in the mirror. Pretend you're having the best time of your life right now. What would your face look like with that thought and feeling? Ooooo! There it is. . . now wear that all day today!

Daily Inspiration 5-30-17

"The ultimate authority 

must always rest 

with the individual's own reason 

and critical analysis."

-- Dalai Lama

[Classic post from 7-22-12]

There was a short discussion about religion and other topics and because I took a different point of view on something, I was asked by whose authority I know this. It was an interesting question. It was sort of fun to be put on the spot and even outnumbered. I smiled at the challenge. So, I said, "by my inner knowing." So, I was told that this is not an acceptable authority. "On the contrary," I said. "It is the best authority."

What I thought was interesting is how we look to someone else as an authority figure. It doesn't matter what it is. We claim that the doctor has the authority, the teacher, the therapist, the mother, the father, the church, the Bible, the guru, the Internet marketing genius, the person who has written the most books, the movie star, and the list goes on for days. And, in no case, is it ourselves. It is always someone outside of ourselves that is the real and viable authority.

I'm educated sufficiently. I am an avid reader and have read many hundreds of books, and I love learning and I like to follow learning from certain sources deeper than others. It isn't because I consider them an authority or the authority, but simply because of what and how they are saying a thing resonates within me, or my inner being, or inner knowing. It is as if I have only confirmed something that I already knew.

I like how Oscar Wilde said that "education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught." The teachers that I study seem to be teaching me what I already know, and that is how it resonates, along with the fact that it feels right, or more precise, it feels good.

There are many things I've tried to learn, even to the point of memorizing parts of it, and many times that learning never felt right. It didn't really matter the source or how high the authority was, it just didn't resonate truth to me. In fact, most of my life I had a lot of this from a wide variety of sources and I was instructed to trust the authority or respect the authority or believe it because of the authority, and all the while, it just didn't feel right. I couldn't discuss that with those people because to challenge it was to deny it and it offended them. So, many like myself, just clam up and go with the flow.

It's only in the last few years that I've trusted my inner self or inner knowing. Now I trust it more than anything. If it resonates and feels good, I go with it and if it doesn't resonate and feels bad, I let it go. I think that we give up our own authority all too easily when it is there to serve us if we but pay attention to it.

One last thing on this idea is that I have at the same time learned to allow all others to have and use the authority of their choice, to have and choose thoughts as they may and to have joy in that whatever is chosen by them is serving them as they would like. I do as I feel is best and allow and encourage everyone else to do the same.


We All Get To Choose Our Best Authority.

Spread Some Joy Today--Don't label anything today, except to allow yourself to feel good and find ways to feel a little better, and a little better and so on.

Daily Inspiration 5-29-17

"We often see obstacles

as blocking our view

wishing they would go away.

Yet with a little more awareness,

the obstacles can demonstrate

the grand design in

seeing the bigger picture."

-- Albert K. Strong

A clear blue sky is a beautiful thing to view, and yet it grows in size with some obstacles in the way. The sky looks so big--way bigger with some clouds, even when those clouds might seem to hide a great deal of the blue in the sky.

This view of the early morning sky today reminded me of how what we choose to focus on, and what we choose to allow ourselves to see is what we see. We can see so many clouds blocking the view, lowering the temperature, blocking the sun. Or, we can see how those clouds, and especially this morning, cause the sky to look so big that I feel insignificant in size to it and yet delight in the vastness and the beauty, even the beauty that is added by the obstacle itself.

Yesterday, I was sharing a story by Bashar that indicated that events are all neutral and devoid of meaning. It is we who add the meaning to the event, and the most interesting part of that is that we get to always, always, always, choose the meaning we give an event. And, even better is that we can change the meaning when we used to see it one way and now we can see it in a completely different light.

It's the same with so-called obstacles, roadblocks, and other such impediments to our progress toward what we want. Is that the definition of delayed gratification? Hmm. As in yesterday's story, the obstacles we see and feel are actually neutral. We see them as negative, or as blockages, because of the meaning, we have developed over time and the influence of others on our points of view. However, we can change that should we desire to do so.

We can choose to see being fired from a job as being a very negative event, or it can be a joyous event. We can see lack, or we can see abundance. And anywhere in between. Reality is the reality and it is totally up to us what reality means to us. That's when it becomes our reality.


Obstacles Or Gateways? It's All In Our Interpretation Of Our View. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by seeing the bigger picture. Joy is the bigger picture!

Daily Inspiration 5-28-17

"You simply cannot get 

to where you want to be

by controlling

or eliminating

the unwanted."

-- Abraham, Esther Hicks

I was reading some bits from some books this morning surrounding the idea that happiness is experiencing what is wanted and unhappiness is what is not wanted.

Abraham shared a little that I have come to understand with joy and it has completely changed all my relationships:

"The best thing you could do for anyone that you love, is be happy! And the very worst thing that you could do for anyone that you love, is be unhappy, and then ask them to try to change it, when there is nothing that anybody else can do that will make you happy."

In the movies and as we have learned in many ways, we think that another, and especially in a close relationship can cause us to be happy or unhappy. We may even work hard at trying to see that the other is happy so that we can feel good, and when they are not, we feel bad. But, that is too much to ask of another person. Only I can make myself happy or unhappy. It is a choice. The movies make it seem like it is a stimulus and response, but what it really is would be stimulus and choice.

Then I found this delightful little story from Bashar in the book, Bashar: Blueprint For Change, that adds so much to this discussion:

"It is not so much that experience gives rise to meaning; it is that meaning gives rise to experience. . . All circumstances are neutral. The meaning you choose to believe; the meaning you choose to create in life, about your life, is what generates the particular types of circumstances you experience. These reinforce, reflect and represent the meanings you are creating. Giving meaning is the actual act of creation itself! To give meaning to something is to create it into existence in your particular experiential realm."

"Now, to illustrate this idea, let's say you are on your way to the train station to catch a train. You arrive at the station; the train has just left. That is the neutral situation. There is no meaning in it: you are standing on the platform; the train is moving; you are not on it. Period."

"Now the old you might have had a negative reaction. "Oh gosh, oh darn," you might say. "I have done something wrong. This is very bad; I am now very angry. Those train people! They were too early. I was not late; no, no, no. They were too early. I will now go and complain to someone." All right. Your choice."

"Or again: the new person, the person you now know you have changed into, is going for the train. You arrive at the platform; the train has left. Once again, the neutral situation: you are on the platform; the train is moving; you are not on it. But now you know you are different. You know that everything in your life is there for a positive reason; it does not matter that the symbol is the same. Because you now trust that and do not go stomping off to complain, your anger no longer blinds you to the fact that having just stepped off that train is a friend you haven't seen in ten years. If you had reacted in the old way, walking off in anger, you would not have met her. But you will now discover, in the course of subsequent events, that you did need to meet her at that time, and for positive reasons."

This is not only a great story and illustration, it is telling of how one choice closes off other things, and how as we choose our previous trained reactions, we are blinded by that to the best that could have come from the event. As we allow ourselves to realize that things are happening not at random, but in a chorus supporting our point of view, we will make better choices and have more harmonious outcomes.


The Meaning Is Not Put Upon Us, But The Other Way Around. In That, We Create Our Own Reality. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by allowing your life to flow and to find the meaning that creates the best result by your own choosing.

Daily Inspiration 5-27-17

"Research?

Who has the time?"

-- Albert K. Strong

The difference between success and failure of an email is often held in about one minute of research.

I get many requests to allow people to do guest posts on my popular Commercial Truck Success Blog. I have to laugh at most of them at their apparent lack of research and yet seemingly extensive, even obsequious praise of my blogging content. Here's one I received today:

"Hey there

I've been reading a few of your posts, and they're really good - Your blog is really in depth, and it just so happens to be in the same industry as us. Which is why I've approached you for a guest post. Would you be willing to host a guest post on your website which is well written, researched and packed with information for your audience

If you would like to collaborate and host a guest post useful for your audience please feel free to get back to me. I look forward to your reply.

Kind Regards,
Katie"


Often these come from Gmail addresses with unintelligible names, but this one was a company name ending in .com.

Whatever happened to courteous salutations? Most of the ones I receive say, "Hi there," and this one with "Hey there," is a thoughtless approach. They have my email address at tminion@commercialtrucksuccess.com, so that is a clue, but my picture and my name are right on the blog in the sidebar near the top. It would take but a few seconds to learn my name.

Then we have the fluff about how good, and in-depth my blog posts are. Pure dribble.

But, this person and all the others want me to do something for them. What makes them think that this kind of approach would work? It's funny. I've even responded to one or two over the years about their lack of the smallest amount of research to even know my name to use in their salutation. One guy said, "well, every once in a while people will respond just as you did today." That guy even told me they use Hi there because it is more politically correct. Go figure.

This is some silly stuff for a Saturday, but it was fresh in my mind and makes me laugh. Do you get silly stuff like this too? It reminds me of the direct mail addressed to "Occupant."


How About Good Day? I'll Have One Of Those, Thank You! 

Spread Some Joy Today--by letting go of those little pet peeves. Advice for me today!

Daily Inspiration 5-26-17

"Fettuccine Alfredo

is macaroni and cheese for adults."

-- Mitch Hedberg

It's FRIDAY! Well, in this part of the world anyway. Been planning all week for this day? Heck, this day is almost over in Europe. It's been Saturday for a while already in other parts of the world, so they have a jump on us.

It's a 4-day weekend! It's really a 3-day holiday weekend, but many of us started early. It's too hard to wait for it, you know?


There's Nothing Left To Do But Enjoy! 

Spread Some Joy Today--by letting go and going with the flow!

Daily Inspiration 5-25-17

"I exist as I am, that is enough.

If no other in the world be aware

I sit content,

And if each and all be aware

I sit content.

One world is aware,

and by far the largest to me,

and that is myself.

And whether I come to my own today

or in ten thousand or ten million years,

I can cheerfully take it now,

or with equal cheerfulness,

I can wait."

-- Walt Whitman,

from Leaves of Grass

It's been a long time since I've read the Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, and I was reminded of the passage above from the book by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Your Sacred Self.

I was looking for some great points about loving myself from Wayne Dyer because he taught me how to love unconditionally. He did that by giving me his definition of unconditional love for others in this that I have quoted with joy so many times:

"Love is the ability and willingness to allow those that you care for to be what they choose for themselves without any insistence that they satisfy you."

And yet, as many times as I have stated this quote, I have to make a change to it so that it is more unconditional. I need to remove the conditional word phrase, 'those that you care for,' and replace them with two others, 'all others,' or better yet, 'all people,' or simply, 'all.' With the changes:

"Love is the ability and willingness to allow all to be what they choose for themselves without any insistence that they satisfy me."

We all have the ability. That cannot be denied; however, we don't all have the willingness, but it is in the willingness, the act of trust that I can love others and the choices they make, honoring those choices without my having to approve of them, or even like them at all.

So, since Wayne Dyer taught me so much about love (along with a few other awesome people!), I was thinking, is loving myself different or harder than loving others? Can I love others unconditionally and not be loving myself unconditionally? I don't think that is possible.

I met up with a friend and reader recently and we were talking about the changes in him. Then, he told me, "you taught me how to love myself." I cannot even imagine a higher compliment than this, and yet I can only be doing that as a matter of practice, for I don't yet see myself as fully there.

But, you know, that word, practice, is one of my favorites because that is one of the best ideas I've ever come across. To practice is to act, to do, to state, to do again, to continue to improve, to expand, to unfold, and I see learning to love unconditionally as the highest practice I can ever entertain and participate in. Indeed, I see practice is as required as is breathing in and out is required for life in this body. It's not a place we get to and then we are there, it is continually unfolding.

In the Bible, it is stated several times to love your neighbor as you love yourself--even as God has loved us. I don't see anyway, nor any meaning in separating those loves. They are the exact same as we allow that to be. We all have the ability. We may not have the willingness yet. However, we will all know it, whether now or soon, or after we make our transition in death at which point I believe we are welcomed home to unconditional love. Finding it now makes for a far more delightful journey.


Ability? Done! Willingness? Done. Practicing? Absolutely! 

Spread Some Joy Today--by closing your eyes from time to time and allow yourself to feel the depth of God's love for you and feel the joy within that encourages you to share that joy today and every day.

Daily Inspiration 5-24-17

"All the world's a stage." 

-- William Shakespeare 

I was rereading some more of Bashar this morning, and finally allowing it to make more sense to me. This glared at me: "This is why many of you create the seeming contradictions in your lives. You say you wish to change the primary focus, but when you look around, you are continually seeing the same background--in a sense, seeing the idea of your primary focus against the same background, rather than allowing the entire background to be a part of the primary focus, and changing along with it." 

The paragraph before that explains the idea more fully: "Therefore, when you seek to create changes in your own primary belief system focus, often you will only continuously weigh that primary focus or change against a background that you will not allow yourselves to see has changed. But if you are willing to recognize that everything changes when you change anything, then you will not still see the primary background in the same light. You will begin to realize that something is different--somewhere, somehow." 

I was thinking of the primary focus as being the stage of our lives, and that we will only allow ourselves to believe that which is most true about ourselves and our surroundings, or the stage that we stand upon.

As I decide that I want something different, that I want to be something different than I am now or have been, it is easy to make that decision. It is even easy to begin acting upon it. We are, after all, action-oriented beings, so acting on things is easy for us, even without much in the way of thought. So I begin to act the part of that which I have decided that I want to be, to have that which I've decided I want to have, and so on.

But, I forget to change the scene. I'm playing the new part against the old stage set. I'm playing Superman in front of the stage set for Gone With the Wind. Then I wonder why I'm not manifesting what I want. But, once I change the primary belief, or the part I have decided to play, the audience which is only my feedback mechanism is telling me that their laughter at what is being displayed is somehow messed up.

So, I look at the stage set and I start yelling at the stage crew for the inept handling of their duties, all the while realizing that I am the stage crew and I'm yelling at myself, criticizing myself, feeling like such a fool.

Then I realize what went wrong. I must allow my primary belief, my new choice to give instruction to the stage crew so that the background and the foreground match. Then, as I am acting the part in my own play, the audience will see the brilliance of my acting skill and believe it to be true. And with that feedback, I believe it to be true.


Don't Forget To Set The Stage. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by allowing yourself to believe what is most true for you. Feel the joy that is your audience.

Daily Inspiration 5-23-17

"When you are doing what truly represents

the vibration of your reality, 

all the details take care of themselves. 

The things that don't get done, 

if you are truly being 

 who you know you need to be, 

don't need to be done 

to allow you to be that person." 

-- Bashar 

This morning I was reading some passages that I highlighted when I first read the book, Bashar: Blueprint For Change. Two of those passages are above and I wanted to elaborate on this idea of thinking that there is so much to do and we will never get it done and how that can cause all manner of anxiety.

The paragraph that contains the second statement above, which was not highlighted by me then, focused on an idea that I had not given any real thought to. Bashar said this:

"You see, the difficulty you are having is in thinking that your life is a series of separated ideas, rather than one homogenous event in which everything that needs to be done to allow you to be the person you need to be will be taken care of automatically." 

I thought, wow! That whole idea of our lives being pieced together rather than having it be whole as a living organism resonates.

I like how Abraham, Esther Hicks says often that we never get it done. My interpretation of that is to learn to allow more, to not focus on the parts, or the ills, or the lessons, but to live the dynamic that is life as this constantly moving and morphing event, by enjoying the moments of its movement, feeling the feelings that are guiding us without diving into them, and to focus as much as we are willing on what we want now and remaining in joy as we dare allow ourselves to experience, while all the while allowing all others and things to be what they are in respect of their choices.

A couple of days ago, I went for a 4-mile walk. As another would come toward me, I did something different. I put my hands together in front of my heart and I bowed in reverence to each person. Inside I said, Namaste. It's funny the reactions that I noticed, but I loved the practice of honoring the other as I honor myself.

What gets done, gets done, and what doesn't is unnecessary. There are not pieces, it is never done, and nothing is left undone. What there is remains what is important, and that is our choices, our vibration of what reality is for us, and our allowing of each in their own, honoring the light in all of us.


Namaste. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by injoying yourself as if your life depended on it.

Daily Inspiration 5-22-17

"Failure is the foundation of success, 

and the means by which it is achieved." 

-- Lao Tzu 

[Classic post from 9-24-14]

This is one of the best definitions of success I've ever seen. For the moment, let's assume that it is a true statement. This being the case, everyone is either already a success or on their way. If they are on their way, it is a given that they will eventually succeed. This would mean essentially that it is impossible to not succeed, thereby this makes everyone a success. Based on that, why wait to celebrate? Do it now while you're on the way. There's nothing like enjoying your travels.


Since You're Already A Success, Congratulations! 

Spread Some Joy Today--by choosing one single goal today to simply enjoy yourself.

Daily Inspiration 5-21-17

"How often I found where I should be going

only by setting out for somewhere else."

--R Buckminster Fuller

[Classic post from 6-19-12]

There are three important things that this wonderful quote speaks to me. One, movement is important. To get somewhere we must begin the journey. Let, or rather allow your thinking to inspire you, and then take some kind of action. It matters less what the action is at the beginning, but taking action is important.

Two, mistakes happen, but don't focus on them as mistakes. Consider it feedback instead of mistakes. Some of the world's most popular products were not what was set out to make, such as, Post-It Notes. Activity breeds results, and those results are an indication or an indicator of where to go next.

Three, don't get hung up on the objective because the objective may change so much that you wouldn't recognize it. Be flexible, and let, or rather, allow things to unfold. You may find that a far grander realization comes out of allowing a relaxed and flexible focus.


Ready, Set, Chill. Make A Decision. Take Action On Your Inspirations, Don't Get Hung Up On The Outcome.

Spread Some Joy Today--It might be time for the Teaberry Shuffle. . .

Daily Inspiration 5-20-17

"Eventually life comes back to simplicity." 

-- Alan Cohen 

This morning I received this quote above from Alan Cohen, and also this quote from Abraham, Esther Hicks from a seminar in 1999:

"There will be someone who comes from a background of poverty who is influenced to strong wanting. And the rockets of desire will shoot, and then they will find a way to find vibrational harmony with their desire. They will get into this flow in which material things flow into their life at outrageous abundance. And they will feel brief moments of success as it comes until they are eventually buried by the cumbersomeness of it, and then the next rocket of desire that is born is: "I'm wanting a simpler life." 

I printed them out and set them aside. Then, a few hours later, I realized that this is exactly what has occurred in my own life.

I realized that I have been living a simpler life for some time now. As I stood in that realization, I was pleasantly amazed and delighted. How appropriate it is that I received both of these messages today.


I Am Happy With Where I Am And In Whom I Have Become. 

Spread Some Joy Today--As you are happy with who you are now, joy finds you.

Daily Inspiration 5-19-17

"Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. 

And, so is everything else." 

-- Albert K. Strong 

Our perspective is built on beliefs and our beliefs are created with repetitive thoughts, and so what we see is seen through each of our own perspectives.

One can see an opportunity, and another sees nothing but a lack of opportunity. One sees abundance, and another is starved in lack. And there are millions of points in between these opposites that I will call shades of gray.

I was reminded of the fact that our vision is tainted by our perspective this morning and that if what we see is not what we desire, then we must first begin the process of changing the beliefs and that is done by changing the thoughts.

What is, is not real. What is filtered through our consciousness is what is real. If we want to change what is real to us, then we need to change the filter.

However the change may unfold, it is a thought that gets it moving by making a decision to think it and to act on it. Often we may think that we cannot do something, achieve something, and this is only a filtering problem. Once we change the filter, magically, we are able to do and achieve.

Maybe that change is only a step in the direction we intend, but it is motion. I have found that via that motion put in gear by the decision and the desire for change built from the new thoughts, it is amazing how we can see a way to a solution when just a short time ago there was little or no hope of a solution.

The struggle is valuable. If there is a struggle, this is an indication of a desire to not struggle, and this will require a filter change. As it is changed, doors are opened, avenues are clearer. There may be many struggles to continue to move in the direction we want to go. So what? If the struggle is creating a desire for change, then celebrate the struggle.

I was just this morning talking with my main business partner about some things we have changed for the better simply by deciding to do so and then magically, it all worked out. I didn't yet believe, but I thought we would try and so that began the thinking filter change and the decision caused action. Now I have a new belief. It can be done. It will be done. We can do it. We are doing it. It is done.


There's No Such Thing As Problems With No Solutions Except That Thinking Makes It So. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by thinking your way into joy.

Daily Inspiration 5-18-17

"We may 

succumb to circumstances, 

or, via our powers of choice, 

choose otherwise." 

-- Albert K. Strong 

It's amazing how much joy I have received from my Ask and It Is Given Perpetual Calendar from Abraham, Esther Hicks. I think I've had it for about seven years and it is inspiring me every day and I never seem to get tired of its assistance in that task. Rather, I delight in it.

So, I had to share the message from May 17th, which struck me like this: Well, duh! And then I thought how profound it was as a message of a reminder to me. Here is what is written:

"It is not possible to stand still, or be stuck, because Energy, and therefore, life is always in motion. Things are always changing. But the reason it may feel to you as if you are stuck is that while you are continuing to think the same thoughts, things are changing--but they are changing to the same thing, over and over. If you want things to change to different things, you must think different thoughts. And that simply requires finding unfamiliar ways of approaching familiar subjects." 

The one sentence that leaped off that page at me (a figure of speech, of course, because words don't leap. . . or do they?) is this (it's still leaping!):

"If you want things to change to different things, you must think different thoughts." 

Then it leaped again:

"If you want things to change to different things, you must think different thoughts."

I think another way to say that is, "If you want things to be different, you have to change." 

This is even better: "If you want things to be different, you have to change." 

Way better: "If I want things to be different, I have to change!" 

I have to change my thoughts. I have to change my demeanor. I have to change my choices. I have to change my actions. I have to stay focused on the "different" that I want because the "same old" is so solidly planted in my memory and my psyche via habitual patterns of thought.


Do I Want To Keep Getting The Same Difference? 

Spread Some Joy Today--by choosing something different and moving in the direction of it.

Daily Inspiration 5-17-17

"If we knew what it was we were doing, 

it would not be called research, would it?" 

-- Albert Einstein 

I finally figured out what it is about people who think they know what they are doing. It's not that they know what they are doing, but they seem to know how to imply via their actions that they do.

Truth is, they are all only doing research just like you and me. We're all doing research, trying to figure it all out, or at least a part of it. We're experimenting. They're experimenting. We're all doing research into what constitutes a good and fulfilling life within these organic suits.

This whole scene is experiential. Is one experience superior to another? One choice more appropriate than another? One decision that is the most correct of all? One life more worthy than the next? Absolutely not. That is the basis for the experimentation. Billions of experiments are in process at this moment, with billions more coming and going.

The only prize yielded is the experience. The only value is how it feels to you. And me. And they.


We Are Experiential Beings. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by allowing and expecting joy as you move about the cabin.

Daily Inspiration 5-16-17

"Journalists do a better job of 

covering revolution than evolution." 

-- James Reston 

Of course! So don't we all. Revolution is now! It's active. It's excitement. It's moving as we speak. Evolution is sleepy. It's long and slow and boring (at least in this moment).

Another way to look at a revolution is that it is a reality. It is real. It is happening. People are talking about it. People are acting in it and engaged. It demands attention. And, so we think it is real; that it is a reality. There's nothing more real than this that is happening right before our eyes we say.

However, if the revolution is a reality, so is evolution. In our time and space system, we can easily see revolution as here and now while evolution is not begging for attention, and yet it is in process. We may see it as if it is in some other dimension and not in our presence. But it is as much in our presence as anything else.

Revolution demands immediate or near-term response and evolution is only seen with patience and perspective.

And so it is in our thoughts. Our constant inner dialog which is habitual thinking patterns of our ever-helpful ego, few of which are positive and uplifting (if any!) is a revolution. Our Inner Being, our Immanuel, our God Within, our Soul, our Inner Knowing is patient and kind and is only interested in our benefit and the benefit of others in our presence. That part of us is above and can see a far greater perspective. It sees beyond the momentary demands of the revolution because It is focused on evolution, evolving, becoming, unfolding, flowing. It is peace and love. It is Divine and divine.


Here's Where A Deep Breath Is So Empowering. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by expanding your perspective to find the real in reality: LOVE.

Daily Inspiration 5-15-17

"Laughter is carbonated holiness." 

-- Anne Lamott 

These days I crave laughter. Probably what I most love about my main business partner is that he never fails to bring me laughter. We'll be chatting about business and maybe even something that seems semi-serious, and then we'll start laughing at it all. Taking things seriously is so overrated!

I just realized today that I feel as if I have come to a place in my life where hardly anything bothers me, and if it does, it is short-lived. Very little surprises me in the world, and yet I am fascinated with it all. I'm interested but I just don't attach myself to it. This allows me to read the newspaper with joy. In fact, I find a lot of what goes on in the world as described in the newspaper or online brings me laughter, especially in how seriously they are trying to be about it.

I find smiles and laughter on Facebook regardless of what is being posted, and I love funny movies. One that just came out a few weeks ago is Why Him? It's floating in the f-word and all its forms, some parts are a little gross, but it is fricken hilarious! I just rented it for the second time last night and howled all the way through, again. It's a surprisingly good movie too and I think that it's because of the choices of actors and that it has heartfelt moments too.

Whatever brings laughter to me brings me joy. It causes me to feel light, free, happy, optimistic. It makes my world smaller and my God or my Source so much more expansive. It even causes me to feel fear-less, problem-less, stress-less, and without any negativity at all.

What other than laughter can do all of that?


Laughter Is The Ultimate Letting Go! 

Spread Some Joy Today--by finding more and more ways to smile all over your body and let it wiggle with laughing out loud laughter.

Daily Inspiration 5-14-17

"Ku-u-i-po,

I love you more today

more today than yesterday,

But I love you less today,

less than I will tomorrow."

-- First verse of the song Ku-u-i-po
from the movie Blue Hawaii

written by Luigi Creatore,
Hugo Peretti, and George David Weiss

[Classic post from 10-21-13]

I was a bit stuck on memory lane yesterday afternoon and evening and watched a couple of movies on the Internet connection. As I was surfing for something that I wanted to watch, I saw Elvis Presley's Blue Hawaii. So, I watched it. It certainly isn't the cream of the crop as movies go, but entertaining enough. Yet, it was way more to me.

I told the story of how I met my late wife, Nancy, in Hawaii, so that was a connection certainly. I think I also told the story of our wedding with the Hawaiian theme and flowers flown in from Hawaii that day, and that a dear friend brought a musician who played my own guitar and sang the Hawaiian Love Song to us. Here's a photo of that moment.

It was a sucker bet that I would have tears flowing while the Hawaiian Wedding Song was playing on the movie, but the song that I woke up with in my head this morning was the one quoted above. It's such a beautiful song, and the lyrics are equally so. I'll probably have it going in my head all day long. Does that ever happen to you? You just hear a song or remember a song and then it is on constant replay all day long. In this case, that is a good thing.

But, this movie was somewhat more than memories of Nancy. It was memories of my late mother too. My mother was a HUGE Elvis Presley fan. In the fifties, she saw Elvis at the Pan-Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles. I was too young to go, but I heard plenty about it with that dreamy look on her face. My mother found a way to buy every album that Elvis came out with, which ended up being quite a collection! She played them over and over and over again. I loved them too.

I was about 12-years old when Blue Hawaii came out in 1961, my mother took me to see it with her. The theater was very crowded, and we arrived late, so I ended up sitting behind her and watched her swoon through the whole film. We have both seen every Elvis movie and many of the filmed concerts. I'm almost done, I promise. . .

Then when I was about 25, and I think it was 1974, I wanted to give my mother a special gift by getting tickets and taking her on Mother's Day to Del Webb's Sahara Tahoe in Lake Tahoe NV to see Elvis in concert. It was the second time for mom, but my first to see him in person and it was spectacular. I will never forget that moving experience, and it was the best Mother's Day present.

As I skipped lovingly down memory lane, I enjoyed every moment.


Ku-u-i-po, I Love You More Today, More Today Than Yesterday. . .

Happy Mother's Day!

Spread Some Joy Today--That was some of my joy. Now go spread yours!

Daily Inspiration 5-13-17

"If wishes were fishes, 

we'd all cast nets." 

-- Frank Herbert 

I remembered a phrase from my childhood this morning: Wishes are for fishes! It was in the same realm of other edicts I heard such as money doesn't grow on trees, there's only so much to go around, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, and other powerlessness statements. Oh, woe is me! I think I'll eat some worms.

These are the kinds of statements that it is best not to remember, and certainly not helpful to believe!

Then, as one thought so often leads into another and then another, I thought about decisiveness. I thought of this: I wish. I want. I will. I am. Which of those gets results? I am, of course. I wish is such a waste of time. I want is okay, but lacking decision. I will, indicates a decision, but because it is put off into the future, it is also powerless. The only one that works is I am. I am, is abundance. 

If to say, I am is to be, how can I be before the result? We are always before the result. It is the being that creates the result. Empowered people are decisive. They pick and choose because they know that they have to be in alignment or resonate with that which they want. Once they find that place, they are already there.

Unlike so many of us who are waiting for an opportunity to present itself, or to find our calling, or the fish with the coins, powerful people are awash in opportunities because that is how they view life and their job is to have built up their skills in discernment to know which ones to choose, and their abundance mindset gives them the patience to take their time. They also know that things change and that mistakes can be made, and yet they also know that mistakes hold value--maybe even as much value as succeeding.

I think that when we let go of the idea of thinking that external situations and circumstances are what drives our lives, we will see our lives in such a different light. That light I would call the realization that this is an abundant world, and that there is more than enough to not only go around but to reward all who are willing to move into that light.

Next time you may be thinking about lack, whether a lack of opportunity, material resources, skills, knowledge, love, or in any form whatsoever, remember that wishes are for fishes.


I Wish. I Want. I Will. I AM. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by seeing the light of abundance that is all around you and also within.

Daily Inspiration 5-12-17

"Excuse me, 

but I don't think I noticed 

"happy dance" on your "to-do" list. 

You do plan to happy dance today, don't you? 

Get down" 

-- The Universe,
a.k.a., Mike Dooley 

I've been receiving Notes From the Universe by Mike Dooley for many years, and this one made me laugh and feel good, and many minutes later, I am still smiling all over my body. 

It instantly reminded me of The Teaberry Shuffle commercials I saw when I was a young teen in the '60s. The music, popularized by Herb Alpert, and written by Sol Lake, is The Mexican Shuffle. I loved these commercials and they had many different ones. 

Isn't it interesting how something like this still sticks in my head and I have thought of the Teaberry Shuffle so many times over the years? Effective advertising? Absolutely. I haven't seen the gum in many years, but I understand it is still available. 

But, the main message is that it is so easy and fun to begin to feel good. The Universe sends me an idea to include the Happy Dance in my day, and that takes me to the Teaberry Shuffle. Now, I have decided to have a bunch of fun today dancing around and feeling good all day long.

What A Worthy Goal! 

Spread Some Joy Today--There's nothing like being injoy!

Daily Inspiration 5-11-17

"A year from now, you're gonna weigh more

or less than what you do right now."

-- Phil McGraw

"The choice is yours. You hold the tiller.

You can steer the course you choose in the 
direction of where you want to be--today,

tomorrow, or in a distant time to come."

-- W Clement Stone

[Classic post from 7-13-11]

Looking at some quotes by Dr. Phil McGraw, I ran across the one above and I thought, wow! what a great way to look at that. I think it's funny when something that is said is so plain and matter of fact, but the way it is said is so profound. I mean, really--of course we will weigh more or less than we do right now--except, of course, if we weighed the same, I suppose.

But, it's not about that fact at all is it? It's that we have the choice to do or not do as we choose. We can do something about the weight, or not depending on how we really feel about it. The choice is always our own, and what's also interesting about that quote is that a year from now I will arrive--the question is where? Of course, I can just wait and see. . . or make a different choice. . .


It's That Old Free Will Thing Again! What Ever Happened To Good Old Fate And My Destiny?

Spread Some Joy Today--Make a decision of something you've been wanting to do. Make it for a year from now. Then, break it up into pieces so it is so easy, anyone could do it. Start today.

Daily Inspiration 5-10-17

"You can't push on a rope."

-- Persian Proverb

"If someone throws you the ball,

you don't have to catch it."

-- Richard Carlson

[Classic post from 9-25-10]

This is another quote (pushing the rope) that I have grown so fond of. It indicates frustration or futility because as the visual image of the phrase suggests, you cannot push a rope as it is far too flexible; however, it can be pulled effectively.

The other quote indicates that we are each in control of what we choose to do and to whom and what we choose to respond to, or not respond to. I have used these in my life in several ways to help me make sense of things and to help change the way I feel. Where I used to feel guilty about not wanting to do something, now I don't feel that way. I don't have to catch the ball. I can choose to or not and the call is mine alone.

Where the rope is concerned, it has helped me to help others not swim upstream with me. For example, when I was a teenager, I took Judo lessons and in Judo, you learn how to dissipate your opponent's energy by going with it a short way, but at the same time giving it guidance to keep you from harm. It's about balance and energy flow. So, back to the point, if someone is trying to blame me for something, rather than argue my point of view, I accept their assessment--I accept blame. It really doesn't matter to me that I am blamed or not blamed, what matters is diffusing the energy so I can still feel good instead of fighting and feeling bad.

It is amazing how often I have used this technique about the rope. People can only have power over you if you allow it to be so. When you become a rope, they cannot push you, their energy is diffused and they have little or no power to harm you. Now, I am pleased to discuss an issue and share points of view, but arguments incite bad feelings and good conclusions are an extremely rare thing. Refuse to participate in the argument and progress can be made if both parties desire to progress.

You might want to try this approach. It has been extremely effective for me. Next time someone--a spouse, parent, boss, supervisor, whatever wants an argument, become a rope and see what happens. Use your mental Judo and diffuse their energy. It's really kind of fun. I enjoy it immensely!


I Am As Flexible As A Rope And A Willing Dissenter.

Spread Some Joy Today--When someone is yelling at you, there is no requirement that you feel bad. Feel as good as you want to feel. You are not the one out of control. Be a rope.

Daily Inspiration 5-9-17

"When I forget 

 to change my words, 

I get what I get. 

When I remember 

 to change my words, 

I get what I get. 

There is, however, 
one question of importance here: 

Am I liking what I get?" 

-- Albert K. Strong 

Yesterday, I was talking with my business partner and said that I was a bit frustrated by something, and then I heard what I said. In that instant, I revised my statement by saying, I was a little bit tinkled about that. I knew what was going to happen when I changed my words. It meant that it changed my perspective, and it changed how I felt about the subject of discussion.

Often, from habitual patterns of thought and behavior, we seem to be on autopilot, yet we are fully in control of ourselves and the view of what is going on in and around our lives as we choose to exercise our free will. All that means is that I get to choose. I get to choose to be on autopilot, or choosing my words, and ultimately, choosing my entire perspective of my life.

Words are powerful. They have the power to have us connect with something in our lives that we've heard or learned or experienced. They excite memory, and they can stir passion. At the same time, they can diffuse and re-frame as we choose to accept words given to us or choose our own. The word frustration is a powerful word that can incite much negative emotion, and the word tinkled can completely diffuse it, making it so much less powerful that it can become powerless.

I want to remember to choose my words because I will more likely enjoy what I'm getting as a result of using them. As I forget to choose, I get to re-experience the past and the fear that ruled much of that past.

When I watch people expressing being upset, angry, frustrated, I hear the words they use, and I can easily see what they are getting; or rather better expressed, what they are creating. As I watch people in joy, sharing love, in appreciation, I can easily see what they are creating too. It is often as simple as the words they are choosing that is helping them to create what they are getting.

Consider this: Next time you are expressing frustration within yourself, or to someone else, try changing your words. Watch that upset become tame in your new word choices. Watch your frustration turn to fascination, being pissed to tinkled, impatience to anticipation, or overwhelmed to maximized.

Papa-Ooma-Mow-Mow. . . 

Spread Some Joy Today--by spreading some silly words that make people feel silly and good. Turn fear into wonder!

Daily Inspiration 5-8-17

"Sex is good, but not as good  

as fresh, sweet corn."

-- Garrison Keillor

What About Bob? (1991) Bob (Bill Murray) eats dinner...

[Classic post from 6-30-12]

In recent years, I don't just like certain foods, I relish them, adore them, delight in them. Every time I think of enjoying food, I think of a favorite movie, What About Bob? and how Bill Murray is moaning in joy at each and every bite of the meal in the video clip above. It's classic fun. And, that's exactly how I feel and even respond when I am eating something that I just love even when I am alone.

What's interesting about the things that I love in that way is that they are cheap and easy and readily available. They are not gourmet, but common things. They are almost always a certain combination of things rather than something by itself. Here are some examples of my joyful excursions in food-land:

Bacon and orange juice. It just doesn't get any better than eating some nicely cooked bacon and sipping some orange juice. It is the combination of the orange juice acids on the bacon maybe, but I really don't care why. I just love it. I can sit and moan over bacon and orange juice wherever I find myself because it is so easy to get. And the best is freshly squeezed orange juice. Yum!

Of course, while I'm on bacon, I think almost anything with bacon is a joy. BLT's are pretty special. Nation's makes a pretty good one, but nothing holds a candle to the ones I make for myself at home.

Sourdough French Bread and butter. When I was a young boy with my paper route, I would go buy a loaf of unsliced sourdough and some butter and just sit there and enjoy it. Today, I crave and love good sourdough bread toasted with real butter. OMG. What flavor. I chew slowly and it is almost sad to swallow if it weren't for the rest of the toast in my hand. I also love dipping it in olive oil with ground pepper. 

The brand of sourdough makes all the difference. Many don't make the grade, but you'll know when you taste it. FYI--for you Northern California people, Mary's Pizza Shack has always used Boulangerie bread from Sonoma, CA, and it is absolutely the best I've ever had. San Luis brand sourdough bread is my favorite at home.

Black coffee and buttered toast is another great combo, and especially dipping the bread into the coffee and then eating it. I used to love that when I was a kid and still do today.

Sausage gravy. It matters not a bit what I would put it on, it is marvelous. None of that out-of-the-can junk, but the real deal.

Speaking of gravy. . . mashed potatoes and chicken gravy, or any other kind of gravy are superb. I remember going as a young boy to the early Knott's Berry Farm back in the day before they had all the rides and stuff. In fact, there was only one ride then and it was a full-size train. But, they had a huge cafeteria where they served fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy and OMG, it was out of this world. There are still places like that out there.

I don't watch as often as I used to, but I love Guy Fieri's cable-TV show, Drive-in's, Diners, and Dives. I love watching him eat the food and he and Bill Murray have a lot in common with me! Bon Appetit!

Enjoying The Simple Pleasures.

Spread Some Joy Today--go and enjoy some!

Daily Inspiration 5-7-17

"There is only now, 

and each new moment 

can be more of the same, 

a new and different experience, 

or a second chance." 

-- Albert K. Strong 

Each year for the past several years Hay House publishing company of which many of my favorite authors have been represented, such as Wayne Dyer, Alan Cohen, Louise Hay (founder), Anita Moorjani, and a long list of others, holds what they call the Hay House World Summit. It is free and contains such a wealth of wonderful material from most of their authors in the form of audio interviews, pdf downloads, and video. It began on May 6th and runs through the 23rd with releases every three days approximately.

Yesterday, I listened to three one-hour interviews with authors Alan Cohen, Julie Ann Cairns, and Anita Moojani. I loved them all, and this morning I wanted to share a few insights. In case you want to check out the Hay House World Summit 2017 (again, it is free during that time period), you can see more at www.hayhouseworldsummit.com.

Anita Moorjani is the author of one of my all-time favorite books, Dying To Be Me, and her latest book is, What If This Is Heaven? Her books are full of wisdom and hope and potential change. I say potential because she simply shares her story, her thoughts and the change is up to us.

At the end of her interview that I listened to yesterday, she goes through a downloadable single page pdf file that is well worth sharing. In it she asks some great questions that I thought were profound and insightful too.

She suggests that we imagine that we are on our death bed and that we are about to take our last breath. In that long moment, we look back on our life at everything we've done, the work we've done, accomplishments, and look at all the people throughout our life, the people we love and all the varied relationships, and she suggests that we ask these questions:

• Are there things you wish you had more of which you didn't give time to? 
• I want you to ask yourself: Is there anything in your life that you did that you regret doing? 
• Are there things you felt you spent time doing which you wish you hadn't, which you wish you hadn't given so much time to? 
• What are those things that you wish you did? Are there things you wished you'd done which you hadn't? Visualize: What are those things? 
• Are there people who you wished you spent more time with, people you love who you wished you'd spent more time with? Are there things you wished you'd said to them? 

Then she wants you to come back from that death bed scenario and you've been given a second lease on life. Then she says to make a commitment to yourself that you're now going to spend your life doing the things that you'd wished you'd done, that you want to do, and spending your time with people who you want to spend your time with.

As we can imagine this death bed scenario and in that place see the things we wanted to do and didn't, or things we regretted and let it lay in the fallow of our memory, the people we have been with including loved ones and how we feel that we have been to them--as we ask these tough questions, we have the opportunity to know what we truly want and need to do. And, now, with this knowledge, we can take this second chance moment to begin to fulfill all the most important things that we felt we were leaving undone.


Perhaps Now Is That Time. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by loving yourself through all of your processes of living.

Daily Inspiration 5-6-17

"You can't take sides against anything. 

If you would just leave the "against" part out; 

if you would just be one who is for things--

you would live happily ever after. . ."

-- Abraham, Esther Hicks 

It is completely natural to like and dislike, want and not want, but it is a learned action to push against that which we do not like and do not want. Anger can be called a perfect emotion because it quite explicitly tells me where I am. It tells me that there is something that I don't want or like and that I am struggling against it, and the resultant emotion of anger is telling me that I am out of alignment with my Inner Being, my Spiritual Center, my Christ Consciousness, the God within. There are lots of words for that inner knowing and that inner knowing is talking to me through my emotions.

I can feel it so clearly. The discordance within my entire being is telling me. I can feel it physically, and I can feel it emotionally. It is the most perfect guidance system imaginable.

Because it is also natural to want, to desire, to like, I can feel the guidance that comes with that too. I can feel that I am in alignment. There is resonance inside within my physical body and in my emotional feelings. It is a delightful thing to be for something, to find joy in something, to love something or someone.

Hope or despair, pain and suffering or joy and awe. We get to choose all of that. There is one thing that helps me to know this and that is to realize that I am much more than this body, this brain, these thoughts. I am an aspect of the Creator, a part of God. I am a Spiritual Being having a physical experience and as I realize that I am in that position as if I am above myself seeing what I am thinking, seeing what I am doing, I understand better now that I can allow my body and mind to be guided by how I feel.

As I feel that I am alone in the flesh and bone frame and that I have little control over my experience here, I struggle because I don't know any better. Knowledge is power, and awareness is everything.

A few days ago, I was sharing the idea of Unconditional Happiness as touted by Michael A. Singer in The Untethered Soul. It is all about choice. We choose, life happens. Life happens, we choose. In all cases, we can choose, and so we can choose to fight and struggle and push against whatever we want. As we do this, we are guided by our Untethered Soul via how we are feeling in those actions and thoughts. Or, we can choose differently, see a different out-pictured world, and feel delightfully changed emotion indicating our guidance is on track.

Jason Mraz said, "I think it's important and I think it's true that our life experience is going to be about our attitude, our thoughts, our beliefs, our speech, and our actions. We can transform our life experience simply by changing our language." Of course, language is important and since he is a writer and songwriter, language is his communication. I love this quote and the one word that I associate within it is the word attitude. Attitude is another word for perspective. So I would change his last line to this: We can transform our life experience simply by changing our perspective.


It's So Tiring To Always Be Swimming Upstream. Unless, Of Course, You Find Joy In That. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by feeling your joy via your alignment within.

Daily Inspiration 5-5-17

"Strive not to be a success, 

but rather to be of value." 

-- Albert Einstein 

Warren Buffett has said, "Price is what you pay. Value is what you get." Value is our reward in all exchanges. Or, at least we are intending to receive value. Yet, how often are we focused on providing value, being of service, sharing our knowledge, skills, and insights? Or, how about our love, time, energy, attention, touch, patience, kindness, purpose?

John F. Demartini, who wrote an important and extensive book on the subject of values, The Values Factor, The Secret To Creating An Inspired And Fulfilling Life, wrote of what he calls fair exchange. He says, "If you have difficulty receiving from others, this will impede your giving. And if you have difficulty giving, then this affects your receiving." 

He goes on to say, "Any time that you imagine yourself giving something for nothing or getting something for nothing, you lower you perceived self-worth." What an interesting insight, I thought. 

Fair value exchange is an idea. Money is an idea. That's why I put an image of shredded money on this post. I remember going to the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, D.C., to watch money being printed. In the gift shop, I bought several bags of shredded money to give away later. There it was in the bag: money all shredded up into something different than what we think of money being. It was worthless as legal tender, but I paid for it because I saw some kind of value in it. 

There are many 'things' that can be exchanged for products and services, but in the end result, it is always an exchange of value. What I value. What the other values. This applies equally to relationships where we are constantly exchanging values with each other. Are we providing real value at a fair exchange? Or, perhaps one feels slighted in the exchange. The best exchange of value would be win-win, which is a fair exchange.

I could be providing the best value on the planet and have people tell me that they don't value what I have to give. Perceived value is the rule. Again, the shredded money is still money, but it is generally worthless in that form, and yet it is sold in bags to people like me. I perceived value, they provided value, and a fair exchange took place.

Can I influence the perceived value of my products and/or services? Certainly. In a lot of different ways; however, in the end, it is the perceiver who determines the value regardless of the value displayed.


Value For Value. Value Is Given. And, Value Is Received. Fair Exchange. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by thinking less of what you are receiving and more of what you are giving. Through giving, receiving is a fair exchange.

Daily Inspiration 5-4-17

"If you find a path with no obstacles, 

it probably doesn't lead anywhere." 

-- Frank Howard Clark 

"As your faith is strengthened, 

you will find that there is no longer 

the need to have a sense of control, 

that things will flow as they will 

and that you will flow with them 

to your great delight and benefit." 

-- Emmanuel Teney 

Fight. Fight. Fight. Make it happen. The struggle is just part of the game. You must work hard. Action is not everything, the right action is. It's all about winning. You either win or you lose. Winning is the only thing. Blah. Blah. Blah.

I watched a very interesting and powerful documentary on Netflix last night titled, The Mask You Live In. It was focused on men and what being a man is all about to so many, how that is constantly influenced by the media, handed down from parents and culture, and how all of those influences create many serious problems in the world, especially when it comes to boys and men relating to girls and women.

I found myself in tears in several places because I could so relate to much of what the large cast of boys and men said about how they were taught and how they grew up and the masks they wore to hide what they really felt. It was enlightening and expansive to me.

Then this morning, I thought I would look at some images where I buy the photos and other images I share here and that we use in our business. Three images caused me to consider the obstacles that we think are in our way and have to be overcome, and that learning to flow rather than struggle is one of the most valuable things I've ever learned.

Sometimes obstacles are all by themselves and even though we are on our way somewhere, they are pretty easy to go around. In this case, I had so much time seeing it out there that I thought I would have some fun with it and flow around it very closely. Something in our way or even a little out of the way that we think is some kind of barrier can simply be an opportunity to find some enjoyment on our travels to wherever we are heading.

Other times an obstacle may seem large and wide and as if it is doing what it can in its size and shape to foil our attempts at flow. Yet, that is really an illusion and just like a bend in the river can be caused by an object, it doesn't stop the river from flowing as it will. It simply seeks to flow. The river doesn't even need to work at it because it is constantly flowing until it runs out of water, or out of life energy.

Then there are times when the obstacles are many. So many, in fact, that they look like powerful roadblocks to our freedom in travel. But, again, these and all obstacles are simply an illusion in their power. As we trust in our ability to flow, we have no need of control over obstacles, or as Emmanuel Teney said, "As your faith is strengthened, you will find that there is no longer the need to have a sense of control, that things will flow as they will and that you will flow with them to your great delight and benefit." 

The more I learn about life, being a man, or whatever may be going on with my journey, I see no need for struggle, fighting, rowing upstream, fitting into other people's ideas of how I should live or think. Instead, I've learned that letting go, learning to flow, trusting in life; in love; in God; in my ability to become one with all of that is what brings me joy and peace and harmony.

One other key I've learned is to allow the obstacles to be as they choose, and to allow all others to struggle as they choose or whatever they may choose. I can only flow myself in my own choosing, and we are all in that choosing as we see fit. I don't need to change the world to have peace and love and harmony. I simply need to become them.


It's Not About Overcoming. It's About Learning To Flow. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by letting go of the struggle and peace is the natural result. Peace is the antithesis of struggle.