Daily Inspiration 2-28-16

"We don't see things as they are, 

we see them as we are." 

-- Anais Nin 

Many people don't believe that we create our own world, and I respect their beliefs. I, for one, very much believe that we do create our own world, and I have all kinds of evidence of that as I pay attention to the subtle changes that become major changes in my life.

Many people don't believe in the Law of Attraction, and I respect their beliefs. I, for one, know for sure and for certain that the Law of Attraction is not only real but that it is something that rules the entire Universe and that believing in it or not doesn't matter. It simply is. It simply and perfectly does. With or without our belief. With or without our knowledge. With or without our participation. It is in a simple way that gravity is, yet infinitely more powerful and far-reaching. Gravity doesn't care whether we believe in it or not. It simply is.

I didn't decide to change. I don't recall a decision in that way. I was searching, however, for answers, for wisdom, to have a better life. Little decisions, maybe. Like, I would buy a book or something by following my inner guidance, even though at the time, I would not have known it that way so much.

I have a book on my bookshelf by Gloria D. Benish, titled, Go Within or Go Without - A Simple Guide To Self-Healing. Many times I'll walk by my bookshelf and see that title and it reminds me where all of my answers come from. They come from inside me.

Paul Coehlo said, "What is a teacher? I'll tell you: It isn't someone who teaches something, but someone who inspires the student to give of her best in order to discover what she already knows." All of the best external teachers and mentors in my life are good for me because they lead me to my own inner knowing. How do I know this? Because their teaching resonates within me. To me, to resonate means to match vibrations creating resonance or fullness--to vibrate in unison.

But, I said I have evidence. It is this: the people that used to be in my life that seemingly caused confusion, dissonance, argument, bad feelings, anger, frustration, and a long list of other mental and physical ailments, are no longer there. They are not in my world anymore. I used to attract them because, without realizing it, I was a vibrational match to what that person was bringing to me. What I thought was their crap was indeed, my own. What was their anger, I found within myself? Though it doesn't seem logical, our vibrations were resonating or matching. The Law of Attraction is unfailing. It always matches us up with who we are at the moment, and what we have been thinking and feeling leading to that moment. I brought it on myself so to speak.

As I learned more about this and what I was doing to myself, by giving up the blaming of others, I began also to accept responsibility for my own life and those that I come in contact with. As I changed for the better, the strangest secret or the strangest thing happened: the people around me began to change for the better. Now the people around me are generally happy, kind, considerate, thoughtful, loving, inspiring, uplifting because I am those things and as the Law of Attraction matches my vibrations with like vibrations of others, I find more and more joy in my life and I create a better and more enjoyable world within and all around me.


Change Yourself And You Change Those Around You. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Stir it up, spin it like cotton candy, delight in the treat.

Daily Inspiration 2-27-16

"Don't allow your mind 

to tell your heart what to do. 

The mind gives up easily."

-- Paulo Coelho 

I immediately began to laugh when I read this quote. I think that happened because it screams the truth to me.

How many times have you, as I have, tried to use logic and reasoning in matters of the heart? Way too often here. Matters of the heart, I think, do not lend themselves to such trivia as logic and reasoning. You've probably heard that phrase, "the heart knows." What a great way to show the difference. The heart knows and the mind is trying to dissect it, analyze it, restructure it, and explore all the nooks and crannies of it. But the heart knows for sure.

So what is needed then? Trust. When we realize that the heart knows best, and the heart knows the deepest part of us and is connected to All-That-Is as we allow that, then to trust in that is not only a blessing, it is a godsend.

As we catch ourselves trying to figure things out with our thinking, we might pause from time to time and check in with our hearts. There is where the wisdom is. There is where our best interests and best directions are. There is where our real life is. There is where we can dwell as often and as luxuriously as we so choose. There is the best of us, our callings, our passions, and our fullest knowing.

From a practical, living day to day point of view, how do we separate the needs of the mind and the guidance of the heart? Well, that's the problem in a nutshell, don't you think? It is the separation. It is, after all, THE separation. What is true and truer every day from my learning is that the more we desegregate these, the better. Can one live an effective life only from the heart? Absolutely!


And What A Life It Will Be! 

Spread Some Joy Today--by allowing your joy to flow freely. There is no need to save it for special occasions. Let it flow.

Daily Inspiration 2-26-16

"Endings are 

awesome new beginnings 

in disguise." 

-- Karen Salmansohn 

I am more aware of how much I smile and laugh every single day. It didn't use to be that way. I used to be much more serious, focusing on what needs to be done, what hasn't been done yet, on things I couldn't really control, and all that seriousness took a toll on my joy. I would laugh and smile, just nowhere near as much.

Now, I worry very little if at all. I am finally learning that it never ever helped at any point in my life anyway, so why even do it at all? Now, often I will just be enjoying myself sitting on the tailgate of my pickup in my carport and find myself smiling and laughing at thoughts, watching the birds in the courtyard flitting about eating and bathing. It's so interesting how my life has changed.

As I have gotten older, I find more people have passed on, and so I think about that sometimes. Yesterday I was thinking about grief while on my tailgate with a glass of Chardonnay. I recall shedding almost no tears when my wife passed nearing three years ago. Grief is at the same emotional level as depression and shame. Who wants to go there? Besides, I've come to know that everything happens for a reason. There are no such things as random events, and every cloud has a silver lining.

Instead of grieving for my wife, which is more like feeling sorry for myself than anything, I celebrated my grand opportunity in life to know her a little and to share some time with her on this planet and to find joy in her choices and how she lived her life. I'm still celebrating that. She's only physically gone as a human body, but she is all around my home in so many ways. She is reflected in her children and in the lives of those that she touched while here. Why would there be grief?

People don't have to pass to move out of our lives. My first wife and I finally split for good after 16 years in 1986. Both of our lives improved so dramatically by that ending. Endings really are awesome new beginnings. I lost my last job in the car business at the height of my commercial truck success (that must be where that name came from. . .), and the list of benefits and experiences that I have had as a result, including writing a book is very long. Very long.

As I look back with my 20/20 hindsight at so many endings, I see that at the time some of them seemed traumatic, but as I allowed myself to let go of that feeling sorry for myself attitude, I could then see the benefits beginning already. Every single ending that comes to my mind has had awesome--let me repeat appropriately--AWESOME new beginnings. Understanding that this has always been the case as far back as I can remember, not only is there no reason for grief at the bottom of the emotional scale, but there is ample reason for joy at the top of the scale realizing that grand things are about to manifest.


I Find Myself Looking Forward With Anticipation At The Next Ending. . . 

Spread Some Joy Today--by just thinking fun thoughts. It's really that easy.

Daily Inspiration 2-25-16

"When all your desires are distilled; 

You will cast just two votes: 

To love more, 

and be happy." 

-- Hafiz 

Every single thing, and every combined thing that we may want in life, we want because in the getting of it, we think we will be happier, feel better, feel more respected, feel more loved, enjoy ourselves more, enjoy those around us more, feel good about ourselves, feel valued, and a host of other like feelings. Yet, all of these seem to make obvious Hafiz's simple end result of love and joy. 

What is really cool about understanding this is that we can choose those feelings any time we want. Though getting to some point, achieving some desire, becoming something more, may bring feelings related to happiness, joy, love, peace, empowerment, we can allow them, generate them right now. 

Here's an idea: Deciding to experience joy and love on the journey we are on and whatever happens is good and whatever doesn't happen is good. Hmmm.


That Seems To Make The Journey The Real Destination. Which It Is, Of Course! 

Spread Some Joy Today--It's all good. You're soaking in it!

Daily Inspiration 2-24-16

"If in our daily life we can smile, 

if we can be peaceful and happy, 

not only we, but everyone will profit from it. 

This is the most basic kind of peace work." 

-- Thich Nhat Hanh 

Imagine that your thoughts and resultant feelings are transmitted not only around your home or work, but around the world. Imagine what a blessing you give the world by the choices you make. Imagine the power that you have to change. Imagine the joy and peace that you feel deep within yourself. Imagine the benefits leaving you like ripples in a quiet lake, while you gladly accept those similar ripples from others near and far. Imagine thoughts creating calmness, enthusiasm, peace, joy, love, acceptance, empowerment, freedom.


Imagine. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Yes. Great choice.

Daily Inspiration 2-23-16

"You cannot get--cannot get!-- 

a negative result from a positive application." 

-- Bashar, Darryl Anka 

I was re-reading a short bit from Bashar: Blueprint For Change, and this stood apart for me from page 162:

"You have created convenient compartments in which you can place things that for some reason you have been taught are dangerous to look at. . . Why? It's only a portion of you. There is absolutely nothing! you could ever! discover about yourself that cannot be applied in a positive way. Oh yes, you can discover many things and apply all of them in negative ways, but is that what you prefer? Yes or no?

If it's no, then why not assume you have just as much power to decide how to apply what you discover about yourself, just as much power to decide to do that in a positive way, as you have always had in a negative way. You can apply anything you discover in a negative or a positive way. Why not choose to understand that you only prefer to apply it in a positive way; and that you will therefore only get a positive result out of that application. You cannot get--cannot get!--a negative result from a positive application."

He adds this reinforcement: "Let me say again: you cannot experience any reality of which you are not the vibration. If you have a reality you don't prefer, then it's because you are buying into a belief system that supports that reality. It's as plain and simple as that. You have a saying for it: "What you put out is what you get back. What goes in is what comes out." You cannot get the opposite effect; you can only get an equal, corresponding reaction. If you put a positive idea out, positive preferential trust, you can only get a positive reality back. If you put a negative idea out, which you call doubt, you can only get hesitation, guilt, frustration, and all the other symbols your society has created to represent negative trust."

Wow. That is worth reading a few times. . .


What You See Is What You Get. . . . But, Embracing It Is Totally Up To Us. We Get To See As We Choose, As Long As We Choose. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by enjoying yourself. Tuesdays are such great days, don't you agree?

Daily Inspiration 2-22-16

"The realest thing in our lives 

are the stories we invent. 

We live with these stories, 

we remind ourselves of them, 

we perfect them. 

And, happily, 

if you don't like the story 

you're telling yourself, 

you can change it." 

-- Seth Godin 

I am this way because. . .

My mother taught me to. . .

I was born that way. . .

I can't win for losing. . .

I take two steps forward and one back. . .

I believe. . .

I was brought up to believe. . . 

I was the eldest child. . . the middle child. . . the last child. . .

Whatever I do never seems to work out as planned. . .

I hate taking tests. . .

I hate those. . .

I think they should just. . .

I love. . . 

I love to. . . 

There is nothing quite like. . . 

Everyday is new. . . 

Today is another opportunity for me to. . . 

I love my life. 

I love my family. 

Everything is always working out for me. . . 

The best is yet to come. . . 

I am so grateful for. . . 

I am so lucky. . . 

Look at that sky! 

I'm in awe of. . . 

I'm in love with. . . 

There are so many beautiful, wonderful people in the world. . . 

My Point Of View IS My World. I Am What I Say I Am. I See What I Choose To See. I Feel What I Want To Feel. I Love To Choose Love. I AM Love. I AM Joy. I AM. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by choosing on purpose.

Daily Inspiration 2-21-16

"You're so full of yourself!" 

-- Common retort by a conservative soul 

My head was reeling yesterday and this morning. It's sort of a hodgepodge of things that have a common connection--that of life and of living.

Yesterday, I attended a memorial service for a woman whom I have never met, but who I knew a tiny bit about because I am friends with her husband. Her name, Cheryl Sherwood was in the headlines from an attack that led to her death, and there was an outpouring from the community. I attended because Lee is my friend, and to learn more about what to him was his soulmate of twenty-some years.

She was a nurse and worked in the oncology section for Kaiser-Permanente nearby. There were many nurses who spoke at the service and I was delighted to learn of Cheryl's personality. Many others who spoke, told of her being selfless and purpose-driven, but what I learned, and the part that really stood out for me was what I would call her self-fullness.

Yesterday I wrote about being true to yourself, using William Shakespeare's famous quote, "to thine own self be true." The thing that stood out of all that I heard yesterday from a wide variety of people was that this Cheryl was. She was true to herself, to her passions (quite a list of them), to her calling as a nurse, to her joy of cooking, which was not just a passing fancy, but a full-blown studied passion.
At the end of the service, I hugged Lee and told him that the nurses gave me some insight that I was unaware of and he said, "Yes. She was a firecracker." That said it very well based on what I heard. A beautiful woman and a full-of-her-beautiful-self life. A life well-lived that touched so many in many ways.

I was also reeling from that same morning finishing an audiobook about President Eisenhower during the White House Years. Fascinating. You know, I've read many biographies about many presidents, and I am continually fascinated at how much they did, how much it mattered, and each of them had a list of critics a mile long. People, and particularly presidents are much better than so many people make them out to be. There's a certain amount of popularity or unpopularity in any of them, but there is so much that goes on in a life that remains unexposed, and when it is, I for one am amazed and delighted to have enjoyed the knowledge.

I found so many things to appreciate about this man and the tasks that he faced and how he faced them. His courage and conviction, and far-reaching insight were astounding. His personality and communication was his own unique self. He was full of duty and purpose and learned how to enjoy himself in the process.

And, yesterday, I started a new audiobook, Elephant to Hollywood by Michael Caine. It is delightful and especially since it is he who is reading it. What a fascinating life he has lived and since he is still alive at 82 today, he is still living it. The early part of his life is filled with poverty and trauma, and yet he came through. In his book he mentions that this is his success: He survived.

I went to Amazon.com and looked at the book and the reviews. I had a great laugh reading some of them, especially the one, two, and three-star reviews. I'm still laughing at what one of them said. He said, and I quote, "in my view, no one should be able to publish more than one autobiography." This was his second. Every time I read that I break out laughing.

This all ties together with joy for me in that regardless of how people may choose to live, there is always someone or even many in the case of a public persona, who find ways to say things that are interesting. This caused me to think this morning, "who am I to say something negative about how another person has lived or is living?

But, here's what I can do. I can appreciate them. I can appreciate how they have lived; how they are living, the things that they do, and the personality they exude. As I am open to learning about someone, some of the choices they have made, different things they tried, I am certain to find so many ways to love them and appreciate them for being exactly as they are or were.

One thing said at the memorial yesterday, that I have also said many times, is to tell people how you feel--tell them that you appreciate them. Tell them that you love them. Tell them now. Remind them periodically. Let them know how they have touched you and your life. There is power in the telling for you and love in the receiving for them.


I Am Appreciating All Of Those Lives That Find Their Way Into My World. It's A Cast Of Delightful Characters. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by letting your real self out. Let others delight in that sharing. They will, you know. . .

Daily Inspiration 2-20-16

"This above all; 

to thine own self be true." 

-- William Shakespeare 

Yesterday, I mentioned Australian author Bronnie Ware and quoted from her latest book; however, the book that put her high in popularity as a writer was her book, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying. 

For many years she worked with people in the last stages of their lives and became intimate with them and gathered their wisdom in reflecting on their lives. Some of these were regrets.

Regret number one was, "I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me." 

Bronnie states that she heard this same theme with so many of those she cared for and having come to the end of their life, finding that they had the ability to choose differently, and failed to exercise that authority. They went with the training they had received young in life and followed the edicts of those moralistic idealists who claimed they knew the right way to live a life.

Wayne Dyer said in his book, Your Sacred Self, "We've been taught to look outside ourselves for sustenance--to look beyond the self for power, love, prosperity, health, happiness, and spiritual fulfillment. We've been conditioned to believe we get life's bounty from somewhere outside of ourselves. But it's possible to reverse our gaze from outward to inward. And when we do, we find an energy we've sensed but not previously identified." 

He goes on to say, "There dwells within all human beings a driving energy. He said that it comes in two parts. One sort of runs the hardware of our beating heart, breath and so on, and the other is the far more vast inner universe.

He says that "when the divine light within you is experienced directly, it adds a radiance to life, unlike anything that can be described with words or pictures. When you discover your sacred self, you awaken this dormant inner energy and let it guide your life. The word most commonly used to describe this inner force is "spiritual." 

Several days ago, I wrote about accepting versus choosing. In this case, accepting a life that is dictated by others or choosing to live according to your own heart and mind. There's no need to accept, but if that be the case, it is in reality a choosing, for we always have the choice to follow our heart or follow what others think is best for us.

That statement, "I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself," says it all. Courage and change is a choice as is accepting our lot in life.

Why regret? Why be disappointed? Do it now! Life is short, and sometimes much shorter than we might have imagined. I am now imagining myself at death's door and checking on any regrets, and I see none. If a young person was nearby and I was giving my worldly advice, I would say, for them to follow their bliss or their heart, and enjoy themselves to the fullest whatever they are doing and wherever they find themselves, that it is their life and their own choice how to live it.


Be True To Yourself. It Is YOUR Life. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by following your own joys.

Daily Inspiration 2-19-16

"Things won are done, 

joy's soul lies in the doing." 

-- William Shakespeare 

Bronnie Ware, author of Your Year For Change,- 52 Reflections For Regret-Free Living, in number 24 of this book talks about someone who wrote to her pointing out a grammatical error in one of her articles and mentioning that there are some pedantic critics out there. I loved her response and thought it worth sharing.

She said, "That is the nature of human life. We will never all agree and are entitled to individual opinions." Then she added, "Do these things, like perfection and faultless grammatical correctness, truly matter in the end, though? I cannot imagine my dying thought being I wish I would have written that article differently. I do enjoy improving as a writer. I enjoy improving in any field. But in my heart I am happy by expressing myself honestly. That is all I ask of myself--that, and to enjoy the process of growth that accompanies it. The grammar police may not agree with my style, but they don't need to."

And so it is with critics. As Jim Rohn used to say, "Liars are supposed to lie. That's why they call them liars!" So critics are supposed to be critical. That's why they call them critics. Of course, that doesn't mean that we need to pay any attention to them.

It's not about them anyway. It's about us. We do the best we can and then we let it go. We begin. We publish. We make the decision. We act. At some point, we need to let go of it and let it be as it will be. Our joy comes from that doing--that act. What people will think of it is none of our affair. It is theirs. Our affair was the doing.

If something wasn't perfect, we can fix it next time, or ignore it completely as we choose, but to wait until it everything is perfect in order to do will keep us from doing, because perfection is a never-ending task.

In January, I published the 2nd Edition of my book, Commercial Truck Success. I went through it with a fine tooth comb and made numerous corrections, taking out some small portions and adding others in. After I got the proof, I made another few corrections, and finally, I had to say, go with it. I could have nitpicked it for weeks on end. Now it's out there and an improvement from the original from 2012, and that is that.

Whatever is worth doing begs to be done. "Things won are done, joy's soul lies in the doing." 


Crossing Things Off My To-Do List. . . Now My DONE List! 

Spread Some Joy Today--by letting go of stress and worry. Once released, joy no longer has any obstacles.

Daily Inspiration 2-18-16

"There is nothing either good or bad 

but thinking makes it so." 

"There is no darkness but ignorance." 

-- William Shakespeare 

This morning I was reading on the subject of homelessness and watching a portion of a video of the Mayor of Seattle calling a state of emergency to help deal with the problems in their city surrounding this subject. Many things were itemized, and the most basic cause was ignored.

This is true in all of us to one degree or another. Maybe not to the point of causing homelessness, but certainly affecting us in other ways where we end up with less than we desire.

As I have come to see it from my armchair, the problem begins with thinking. It is nurtured and grown in thought, which becomes thought form, then manifestation. No matter how much money we may have, none of us is very far from the feelings of powerlessness, helplessness, hopelessness, despair, depression, unworthiness, guilt, insecurity, grief and fear to name a few. These might be considered the bottom of the emotional scale. Many of us have even visited these places from time to time, yet we found solace in a timely manner that led us out of despair and into hopefulness, then on to optimism, positive expectation, and even back to happiness and joy.

As in the message in Seattle, I know that in my own life, and I can see it in others I meet, I have often sought solutions that is like going to the Doctor's office where they treat the symptoms, and the cause often goes unnoticed and unaddressed. It is often not even looked at. I think this is mainly because we think that thoughts are not things, whereas the things that we treat are physical things. Nonetheless, sometimes treating the symptoms helps us to feel better and we heal even though the cause wasn't touched.

In other words, we seek and utilize action first and thinking goes along for the ride. And, even though thinking was the cause, we cannot seem to relate to its power as being real. But it is very real. Often it is so real that the symptoms come again and again though they may look different. As an example, someone gets ill, the symptoms are treated and they 'come down with' or 'catch' another illness, and another.

We're not surprised when we trust that things will not work out that they don't, but we may rarely trust that things will work out and believe it as it would be so. In both cases in this dichotomy, we believe our action will prevail if anything will. That is a statement of our belief and our trust. Paul Coelho (and many, many others) said, "when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." Yet because we don't see that, or sense the action of it, we put little or no belief in it. But what if it were absolutely true?

It comes down to our focus, which is our trust. When we focus on what we want, and completely, or as completely as possible ignore what we don't want, this opens the communication line to the Universe to help bring it to us. When we continually try to address the problem, we are not focused on the solution as we think we are, but on creating more of the problem.

At the crosswalk, how many times is it necessary to press the button to engage the crosswalk light? Once. How many times need we ask for what we want to begin the process of it coming to us? Once. Pressing the crosswalk button multiple times, not only has no added effect, but it is a sure indicator of lack of trust. The same is true when we ask for what we want and then by continually asking for it, we are acknowledging a lack of trust that it is coming, and we keep starting over.

There are so many ways that we do this in our lives. We keep pressing the button without effect. We demonstrate our lack of trust. We don't believe that the Universe conspires to help us, but believe in our own will and power to make it happen. How interesting it would be to believe and trust and allow. And how much easier too. To ask once, then focus and trust by seeing it as already accomplished, finding joy in the feeling of that, is allowing all of our desire, perhaps even better than imagined to come true. 


Such Is The Power Of Thought. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by allowing your joy to flow freely by trusting your joy has no shortages. It is ever flowing as it is allowed to flow.

Daily Inspiration 2-17-16

"Your living is determined 

not so much by what life brings to you 

as by the attitude you bring to life; 

not so much by what happens to you 

as by the way your mind looks at what happens." 

-- Khalil Gibran 

I don't know about your area of the country or the world, but around here, and for some years now, the grocery stores, banks, and other businesses that we may go to often are trying hard to develop a relationship with us as customers, not by actually developing a relationship, but by asking insincere questions. Some of them are, "so what are your plans for the rest of the day?" at the grocery store, "how was your weekend?" at the bank, and other such dribble. It's as if we really have the time to answer those sincerely and to get into a conversation and exchange something of value. I just want to slap the manager who went to the seminar where they said this was a good thing to do and then came back and gave it out as a task to the people on the front line. Complete silliness.

Yesterday I went to the bank and one girl had been on vacation for a couple of weeks, and I said, "welcome back! I hope you had a great time!" So she says, "Thank you, I did." Then she said, "has anything exciting been going on with you?" I didn't know how to answer that question because I don't think she would understand, so I said, "Not really." Then she said, "just same old, same old, huh?" I said, "No. Have you seen the sky today?" And we were done.

The truth for me is that every minute of every day I have been experiencing life as if I was free to enjoy it all in a special way. I'm in awe of the sky some days. Yesterday was one of those days. It was the most magnificent display of wispy, curly, high white clouds against a blue background. The air was moving slowly. The temperature was like an early Spring. My pace was leisurely. I was enjoying everything around me including traffic with all sorts of people driving all manner of moving vehicles, going wherever they were going. I was thankful that I had money to deposit, and money to withdraw, I enjoyed watching Charlie on the seat sticking his head out of the window smelling the air, then later having him take me for a short walk.

My step-daughter, whom I haven't seen in two years, came to stay for a little over a week. She whipped my place into shape, adding new plants, doing many chores around the place all because she wanted to. I was fine with the way it was, but I was also fine with the way she put things in their place, added a woman's touch long missing from this place, teaching me how to grind coffee correctly with my coffee grinder. I thought I knew how, but I was in an illusion of skill. She had just left yesterday morning, so I was enjoying looking around at all that demonstrated she had passed through.

We got a new client that took many months to come about and my business partner was doing the first interview to get their service going. I was appreciating him and all that he brings to our business. In fact, it really is his business now.

Though we would love to have more rain, the weather for the last week has been in the mid-seventies to the low eighties. Everything is green because we did receive a good deal of rain in the last couple of months. It feels like a rebirth. Hearing lawn mowers going, weed whackers whacking, is an indication of growth. One day last week I didn't go anywhere and pretty much didn't do anything except be home with windows and doors open and just soak in the delight of the weather, the sunny skies, the birds chirping, and so much more. 

Has anything exciting been going on with me? Abso-fricken-lutely! And I gave you the short version. Same old, same old? Absolutely not. Everything was new, different, delightful, and I was in joy the entire time. Small talk is small. Stupid questions are stupid. If we are really interested in connecting with each other, let us ask better questions, and leave space for the real answer, or leave them out entirely.


Anything Exciting Going On? How About Being In Awe Every Single Day! 

Spread Some Joy Today--I will as soon as I find it. Hmmm. Where is that joy? I know it is around here somewhere. . . Oh! There it is! It's inside. Right where I left it.

Daily Inspiration 2-16-16

"Loneliness does not come 

from having no people around you, 

but from being unable to communicate 

the things that seem important to you." 

-- Carl Jung 

Many times I've been in a large room full of people and have felt alone. People are mingling, shooting the breeze, and to me, more often than not, they are saying nothing of significance. I detest small talk. It is so unsatisfying and so impersonal. Consequently, I avoid situations like that in my life now.

Yet, I love to talk to people and to listen to people when significant things are being shared. It is a sharing of a bit of who we are inside, and being increasingly fearless enough to share deeper tidbits that we all carry within.

I can readily think of some people that I could listen to for days. I might say only a handful of words or questions that keep them sharing their knowledge and insights and passions. It is a special thing indeed. Listening to someone who is sharing like that is far better than me talking about my thoughts, ideas, and feelings. I enjoy it so much that it would be great to do only that, though it is also good to be able to share.

Then also, there are a number of ways for me to share. I'm sharing in these Daily Inspirations. And occasionally, I get to share in person with someone who has enough interest to allow that to happen. Still, I don't learn as much from myself talking, and learn a great deal more from others.

This would happen more often if people were more willing to risk. The best way to encourage them to risk is to ask questions. This is true in regular conversations and it is true in sales situations. In sales, we learn almost nothing by telling them what we have to offer, so the best sales situation is asking questions and getting people to open up. It's amazing how many customers then turn out to be good friends because we allowed them to share themselves with us in the process.

This kind of communication probably doesn't happen often enough in romantic relationships and marriages too. Long ago, I remember going to a Marriage Encounter weekend, and the thing that stuck with me from that was each of us writing out our most pure thoughts and reading them without judgment. I think the thing that holds us all back is the fear of judgment. If we can let that go, the roadblocks are gone.

I hope that you allow great conversations to take place, sharing things of great significance, and even enjoying listening more than talking.


There Is Magic In That. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by allowing yourself the freedom to express your joy.

Daily Inspiration 2-15-16

"There is no need to accept 

when we can choose." 

-- Albert K. Strong 

Rumi said, "Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. It doesn't matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. Come even if you have broken your vows a thousand times. Come, yet again. Come, come."

No matter what our situation--no matter what--we need not accept it because we always have the ability to choose. We always, always have the ability to choose a thought, and consequently how we will feel at any given time. It doesn't matter if the world is crumbling around us, we can still choose. It doesn't matter how many times we've failed to do what we thought we wanted to do, or what someone else thought we should do. It just doesn't matter. We can choose again. And again. And again. And again.

Of course, accepting is okay. If that is what we choose, and we know many who do, it is just fine. But, we need not accept just because that situation is what it is right now. We don't have to accept illness, poverty, despair, powerlessness, depression, grief, discouragement. When we have the ability to choose, we can choose these, and we can also choose otherwise.

The world has a long list of those who have chosen again and succeeded, changed their circumstances--even dire circumstances for the better. It's all in allowing ourselves to choose again. Edison chose again 10,000 times it has been said. I smoked cigarettes for 38 years and quit thousands of times, then I chose again and it stuck at age 52 and now it has been 14 years of freedom. It just doesn't matter how many times it didn't work. The next time can. There is no good reason to accept things the way they are except one: Because that is the way you choose it to be--that you desire it, want it. Otherwise, choose again.


You're In Good Company! 

Spread Some Joy Today--Whether you're working the President's Day Sale, or having that coveted three day weekend relaxing, unwinding, having fun, your joy is within not without. Enjoy yourself!