Daily Inspiration 5-7-16

"There is nothing for you 

to go back and live over, 

or fix, or feel regret about now." 

-- Abraham, Esther Hicks 

Continuing the quote above, "Every part of your life has unfolded just right. And so--now--knowing all that you know from where you stand, now what do you want? The answers are coming forth to you. Go forth in joy, and get on with it."

I was reading Seth Godin's blog this morning, titled, Calling Your Finding, about people trying to find their calling--that magical thing that is meant only for us, and it is up to us to find it and do it.

He says, "I'm not sure that anyone has a calling. I think, instead, our culture creates situations where passionate people find a place where they can make an impact. When what you do is something that you make important, it doesn't matter so much what you do. It's not that important where. I matters a lot how. With passion and care."

I really like that line, "When what you do is something that you make important, it doesn't matter so much what you do."

It's been said that everyone has their own calling, and what that means is that we each have our own thoughts and desires, and make our own decisions whether to line up with those desires, or not. It seems that they are saying that there is one singular calling that we must find, and I think that is bunk. I think that if we want to state that it is a "calling" at all, that we can experience as many callings as we want.

I think a calling is simply a desire, that in the doing or the action phase of that, we enjoy ourselves in the process. In other words, we are doing what pleases us, what we feel good doing. It is a joy. A labor of love.

I've had several callings in my life. I had more callings than I responded with action on, but those that I did, were all great experiences.

I think what is really important is chilling out about what has gone before. As Abraham says, "every part of your life has unfolded just right." What a perfect way to quell any issues with the past. Pure acceptance. It was meant to be because that's what I did, and I chose it, and it was perfect. Even if I didn't like it at the time, that not liking it led me to choose something more to my liking and now I am here.

So, now what do I want? as they say. Great question. Whatever it is, I am wanting to feel good doing it. As Seth says, I will choose it and make it important to me, and I do that by recognizing how I feel doing it. If I love it, that makes it important, and if I don't like it so much, it is not very important to me. If I love it, this is my current calling. If I am not liking it so much, I will be searching for something that feels better.


This Is My Calling. For The Time Being. I May Soon Make A Different Call. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Say YES! to joy. How could anyone say no to joy? But they do, don't they? But, you can say YES! today.

Daily Inspiration 5-6-16

"Whenever you feel compelled 

to put others first 

at the expense of yourself, 

you are denying your own reality, 

your own identity." 

-- David Stafford 

This idea of sacrificing self for another is strangely interesting. Richelle Mead in Bloodlines says as Eddie, "I want her to be happy. It's worth sacrificing myself." Oh, and here's a good one: Jodi Picoult in Handle With Care, said, "Doing the right thing for someone else occasionally means doing something that feels wrong to you." Then there is the perfect lover from Kris Vallotton: "You can sacrifice and not love. But you cannot love and not sacrifice." And, I end the selfless quotes with this idealistic bit by Honore de Balzac from Pere Goriot: "Some day you will find out that there is far more happiness in another's happiness than in your own."

This whole idea of selfless sacrifice by living a life of pain in hopes of the promised land in the afterlife is about as strange as it gets, let alone marching through the valley of death toward the mirage we think will save us. Silliness all. In my opinion, of course. I've already shown a number of opinions that disagree with me.

So, I have one question: What about me? What about you? What about us? Not really three questions, just one in three perspectives, all of which are we. What about our own happiness? Do we not count? Or should we wait for the person or persons who will sacrifice themselves for us and save us? Hmmmm. Might be a while.

Getting closer to my point, I state that we are, at the very least, as important as anyone else. And, when it comes to love, or loving others, what about loving ourselves? Even Jesus said to love others as we love ourselves. You know, put your oxygen mask on first, and then help the one next to you--even when they are the closest of family. We count. We matter. It's important to be careful with the whole idea of sacrifice and how far we might go in thinking sacrifice so closely relates how much we love, because loving others more than we love ourselves is not a good thing; albeit, it sounds very altruistic.

I was briefly talking with a friend yesterday about a situation that could very easily be upsetting, causing anger, frustration and more. I laughed and told him that I just don't swim upstream hardly ever anymore. My happiness and feeling good is the most important thing to me now. I love feeling good. I love being happy. So I quickly move away from things, people, situations that will encourage otherwise.

Sometimes it is important to help others, perhaps even putting some of our desires in a temporary holding pattern, yet if we don't pay attention to how we are feeling and find it important to find ways to feel good, the help will be of somewhat less value to the receiver, and very detrimental to ourselves. Love is not sacrifice and sacrifice is not love. Love is much bigger than this. I can love people unconditionally, and not want to be around them because I allow them to be as they choose to be without any insistence that they satisfy me; however, it is my own responsibility to love myself enough to care for myself and my own happiness of which I am equally entitled.


Love Begins Within And Emanates From There. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by loving yourself enough to choose your own happiness, joy and peace.

Daily Inspiration 5-5-16

"No one knows enough 

to be a pessimist." 

-- Wayne Dyer 

As I looked at the quote above, I laughed. I find myself laughing so easily these days. I don't know why, but I think it is simply that I more lighthearted and have less resistance.

My first thought about no one knowing enough to be a pessimist was that being a pessimist is all about not knowing enough, because if enough were known, the optimism of the world would surely shine so brightly as to not see a spec of pessimism.


In Our Resistance Is Our Pessimism. In Our Surrender, Acceptance, Embrace Is Our Joy (Optimism). 

Spread Some Joy Today--by embracing all of life as one.

Daily Inspiration 5-4-16

"Let us remember: 

One book, 

one pen, 

one child, 

and one teacher 

can change the world." 

-- Malala Yousafzai 

This morning I want to celebrate authors. I used to love that word when I was young, and I wanted to be an author. Back then, what that really meant was a published author. Of course this was before computers or the Internet and the main way to have others see your work as an author was in the form of a book, or article in a publication like a magazine. Now, anyone who chooses to can be a published author in a matter of minutes. And I celebrate that for all of us.

What I really want to focus on in my celebration is those who have taken the time to put down in writing, their stories, fiction and non-fiction, their ideas, their expertise, and their teachings. I have been so blessed by each and every one that I have had the honor and pleasure to read.

Early in my twenties, I began reading books by Michael Crichton, Clive Cussler, and others. Then, later, John Grisham caught my eyes and imagination. More than these, I have always loved biographies and autobiographies, telling the story of portions or of an entire life in the space of one book, or in some cases, several volumes, like Abraham Lincoln, and Mark Twain. I've read many classics in literature, and untold numbers of business-related, or more appropriately called, personal development books. Indeed, they have all helped to develop the person I am today.

My favorites are not found in every book store. I have a friend and client named Wendy VanHatten, who has written quite a number of books since I've known her and I've read them all with joy. I especially love her last three novels, plus a fictionalized biography of her father, titled, Dad's Hidden Box. Most of her work is on Amazon. She was also the editor of my own published book, Commercial Truck Success. What a joy to know her and watch her produce these wonderful books.

I love finding obscure books that turn out to be charmers. I'm reading one right now and I'm three-fourths of the way through and don't want the story to end. The book is titled, As Ever, Frank by Frank A. Remley. When I was selling books online, I had two copies of this book, both signed by the author, and now I have only one. It is out of publication, but there are a few copies online. What a story of his life. Makes my life seem completely lame. I delight in every word.

I ran across a few others like that. One is called, Before the Wind, The Memoir of an American Sea Captain 1808-1833 by Charles Tyng. What a story. This one is available on Amazon. Delightful story.

As I was reading aloud, As Ever, Frank, yesterday, I found myself thanking Frank for bothering to write his story down in such fine detail, and for his niece Betty K. Frandsen for helping to get it to publication. It was self-published in 1999 and never saw wide distribution.

In celebrating Frank, I began celebrating all of the authors I've read, along with the many millions I've never and will never read. What a blessing it is to have people bother to record their thoughts, ideas, stories, strategies, successes, failures, and all manner of life experience. I was even thanking myself for bothering to write every single day right here. Just the act of writing our thoughts out is a blessing to us regardless of who may or may not read them.

Everyone has stories worth telling, worth sharing and recording. I celebrate today all who bother to do that in whatever way works for them, and especially those who find a way to share them with others.


Thank You All Who Write And Share With Others. 

Spread Some Joy Today--There is joy in the written word. Write someone a note today in an email, or in a card, or in some other way, and share it. You'll have the joy of doing it, and they will have the joy of receiving it.

Daily Inspiration 5-3-16

"Why is patience so important? 

Because it makes us pay attention." 

-- Paulo Coelho 

If you've been reading these Daily Inspirations for a time, you might have seen one of the several posts I've done about my learning to "practice" patience. It's kind of a fantasy to think that patience will just come to us as some kind of wisdom that sprouts from accumulated knowledge. I found that as I was willing to actually practice patience, that I learned how to have more patience in my life. Alternatively, the lack of willingness to practice it, keeps patience at bay.

This morning, I was looking for something else, and I found this absolutely wonderful quote above by Paulo Coelho. As I absorbed it's concise message, I had a whole new way of understanding and viewing the idea of patience. I said to myself, "Of course! That makes perfect sense. I can see that now."

It had me thinking of patience as a sort of out-of-body experience, as a mind that is viewing the whole scene in and around me, being unattached to any of it, as an observer--no emotion, no judgment. That's really what patience is all about I think, and I've certainly experienced it that way, but really hadn't thought of it in these terms. Previously, it was more like a letting go of my concerns, allowing me to experience some peace where others may be uptight and anxious. And, I found such relief in the practice.

Now, I think, I can take that practice to a whole other level because I can see so much more than I did before. The whole idea of the practice of patience causing me to pay more attention to what is going on around me--or often, in my face, is profound. It makes me independent of the situation, as well as independent of myself, my thoughts, and my emotions. It's like watching from above, like an out-of-body experience.

Patience really is about paying attention, but doing so as from a distance. I'm not so involved as I might have been before, and yet seeing so much more than I would have otherwise seen. This allows me to clearly see multiple points of view. It encourages understanding. And this perspective encourages calmness and brighter presence of mind.


Patience Is Certainly A Worthy Practice. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by seeing life as if you are not engaged, but an observer. See all that joy? Spread some of that.

Daily Inspiration 5-2-16

"It's not your work 

to make anything happen. 

It's your work 

to dream it and let it happen."

-- Abraham, Esther Hicks 

Abraham, Esther Hicks continues: "Law of Attraction will make it happen. In your joy, you create something, and then you maintain your vibrational harmony with it, and the Universe must find a way to bring it about. That's the promise of Law of Attraction."

The idea of the word "work" in this quote from a seminar in 1998, isn't the kind of work that I was brought up to do to create what I wanted. In fact, there was a plethora of teaching to the effect that if I worked hard, kept my nose to the grindstone, I might get lucky and get what I want. Others said, it was all about hard work leading to the right breaks. Others said it was all about how much I was willing to sacrifice to get where I wanted to be. Work, work, work, a little luck, work, work, work, sacrifice, work, work, work. Hmmm. That is a lot of work.

The question I am asking myself today is, though I was taught this from most of my teachers for most of my life, is it really true? I have to admit that it is not only not true, but that it is generally false. It wasn't work or lucky breaks. It was desire, decision, and inspired activity.

I can look back on all of the changes in my life and I can now see how I created them with my thoughts, that led to my decisions, and the activity that followed. It was never about hard work. In fact, the hardest work I ever did was doing things that I didn't want to do. That contrast of doing things I didn't want to do, caused me to think about what I would rather do, and that led to decisions, and activity that caused the situation to change. It wasn't work that caused the change; albeit, it might seem that it was avoiding hard work that caused a more en-lighten-ed desire.

Henry Ford was quoted as saying, "Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason so few engage in it." Not literally, of course, because we have a thought about every 1.2 seconds on average; some 60-80,000 of them each day. We cannot help but have thoughts.

When it comes to change, it is focusing on what we want that leads us down the path to the change itself. As we focus there, the Law of Attraction lines up with our desires opportunities and situations to have our desires come about. However, the Law of Attraction doesn't care what we focus on, in that as we focus on what we do not want, or fear, or worry or any number of negative scenarios, it will always be successful in helping us to what our focus is on, positive or negative, beneficial or otherwise.

If there is any work to it, the work would simply be what it takes to keep our focus on what we want instead of what is, or what we don't want. 

Contrast is all around us. It is not the enemy. On the contrary, it is the inspiration! 

Sometimes we may think it would be best to rid the world, or at least our world, of the volume of contrast. Abraham, Esther Hicks adds some wisdom here: "As you diminish contrast, you diminish your ability to decide, and as you diminish your ability to decide, you diminish your ability to focus, and as you diminish your ability to focus, you do away with your reason for existing."

They add a bit more wisdom with this bit: "You're really not wanting to limit beliefs because belief is just perspective, and the more beliefs or the more perspectives or the more attitudes, the bigger the vibrational kitchen from which you can make your pie. Just get so good at directing your Energy that the belief doesn't dominate."

One of the best questions we can ask ourselves--even multiple times each day--is, "what do I want now?" Celebrate the diversity. "I see all these things that other people find interesting enough to focus on and I applaud their choices; however, their choices are not as interesting to me. I would prefer ____________ instead."


Now Focus Your Energy There Until A More Delightful Inspiration Appears. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by asking, 'would I like some joy in my life today?' If the answer is yes, let go of the rope you were holding on to and watch it flow like a spring upward and out of you.

Daily Inspiration 5-1-16

"Out of the recognition 

of who we really are 

comes the desire to seek 

that which is uplifting." 

-- David R. Hawkins 

Continuing David's quote above from his wonderful book, Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender, "Out of it arises a new meaning and context for life. When that inner emptiness, due to lack of self-worth, is replaced by true self-love, self-respect, and esteem, we no longer have to seek it in the world." 

Though this may well be where we want to be--in perfect acceptance of ourselves, and consequently of those around us, seeking that which is uplifting in the fullness of who we really are--we may be making excellent progress on this journey and yet sometimes feel like it's not happening, or that it's not happening quickly enough.

David adds, "To keep track of progress, many people keep a chart of their gains. This helps to overcome the resistance that usually takes the form, "This isn't working." It is common for people who have made enormous gains to claim, "It just isn't working." We have to remind ourselves sometimes what we were like before we started this process." 

I sometimes have felt, "so near, yet so far," and then I realize (remember) that the best part of life is not any sort of destination, but the journey itself. I have arrived at so many destinations only to find that before even arriving, I've already created a new destination. Without desire, there is no life--or certainly, no need for life in this form. It is contrast around us causing our desires and then moving toward them in some way that is life-giving.

We all need encouragement. We love it when others encourage us, but I think what is even more important is being encouraging to ourselves. Celebrating success. Celebrating progress. Celebrating positive change. Celebrating life. It is certainly one aspect of "true self-love, self-respect, and esteem." So, wherever you are on your journey, take a bit of time and energy to celebrate the distance you've traveled, the hills you've climbed, the progress you've made from where you were at one time to where you are right now. Though the journey still stretches out in front of all of us, it's encouraging to periodically look in the rearview mirror.


Do A Little Dance. Make A Little Love. Get Down Tonight! 

Spread Some Joy Today--because YOU deserve it.

Daily Inspiration 4-30-16

"Let life surprise you." 

-- Albert K. Strong 

Are you open to the unexpected joys of your life--those that are not planned, not even considered? What about just leaving it open to surprise and delight you as it may in its own time? How about an affirmation to begin the day:

I await with eager anticipation all that life has to offer me today. I love being surprised with new appreciations and joy. I am renewed one joy at a time!


Consider Switching Sides From Time To Time. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by giving it and allowing it.

Daily Inspiration 4-29-16

"You're picky about the car you drive. 

You're picky about what you wear. 

You're picky about what you put in your mouth. 

We want you to be pickier 

about what you think." 

-- Abraham, Esther Hicks 

Yesterday, I was floating on air, joyous, grateful for all I saw, and although I have become generally a very happy man, I was at another level yesterday and enjoying every single second of it. I greeted people I was walking by, complimented others, silently appreciated many, and was, as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "drinking the wild air."

I met briefly with a friend for coffee, and enjoying the time spent with him. Then somehow the conversation turned to personal experience of old people, especially relatives, like parents in their 80's and early 90's. The tone changed dramatically as he began talking about dementia, crazy behavior, end of life issues.

In conversations, we normally exchange anecdotes on whatever subject we are on, and it seems to be human nature to chime in. I mentioned a very short bit about an experience with my late wife, Nancy. As it came out of my mouth, I realized that I was encouraging this theme to continue. As he came up with another situation, I felt my happy feeling was waning quickly. I immediately stopped him and said that we have to talk about happier things. He said something about it can't be helped because so many people I know are old or dying. I changed the subject, and shortly after we left and went back to our tasks for the day.

When we pay attention to how we are feeling, as when I was feeling oh so good, totally enjoying the moment, to then feeling tension and sadness about all of these old people and all the problems surrounding that, we can take charge of what we pay attention to and stay on the happy trail instead of going down the unhappy trail. It is so common to get into a conversation, end up going down the unhappy trail, further and further down, until everyone in the conversation is unhappy.

Taking responsibility for how we feel is so empowering. I want to feel good. I was feeling good. I refuse to feel bad, so I am changing the conversation. If I can't change the conversation, I am finding a way to get up and leave. We do not need to go down that unhappy trail, and certainly not very dang far. It is purely a choice. Awareness of how we feel, enlightens us to what is happening so that we can choose on purpose to feel good or to not feel good, to stay on the happy trail. Just because others, regardless of how close they may be in proximity or relationship, are experiencing something, doesn't mean that we need to experience it with them.

Just because others want to talk about everything in the world that is wrong, doesn't mean that we need to join them. Each of us is able to make a choice that is best for us. We choose what we will focus on. We choose then, how we will feel.

Sometimes people say to me, "well, you just can't feel good all the time." I say, "I'm giving it my best shot!" I think I can feel good all the time; albeit, there are many, many different levels of feeling good. There's good, great, happy, joyous, ecstatic, passionate, excited, encouraged, loved, loving, appreciative, in awe, nice, fun, funny, delicious, delightful, delighted, marvelous, breathtaking, remarkable, bewildering, fabulous, astounding, incredible, phenomenal, staggering, striking, alluring, refreshing, captivating, fascinating, rapturous, ravishing, yummy, darling, thrilling, adorable, extravagant, luscious, luxurious, and opulent, just to name a few.


Want To Feel Good? Choose That. Great Choice! 

Spread Some Joy Today--everywhere you go today. You have to have it to share it, so enjoy it within yourself. Roll around in it. Pour it over your head and body. Sprinkle it all around you as you move around today. Share that joy! Be that joy!

Daily Inspiration 4-28-16

"It is not our differences that divide us. 

It is our inability to recognize, accept 

and celebrate those differences." 

-- Audre Lorde 

As you may know, the artist, Prince, died this month. He was never on my radar as a musical artist. I was too busy being focused on the Beatles, the Eagles, Chicago, Jim Croce, Badfinger, Elvis Presley, James Taylor, and many others. I knew of Prince in a basic way in that if you listened to top 40 music, you would hear of Prince. Yet, I never bought one single or album of Prince's. It is only now with all the tributes on Facebook, YouTube and the Internet that I am learning so much more about this wonderful human being, philanthropist, promoter of love and healing, and someone who shared his wealth in so many ways with so many people around the globe.

I recall three short video clips I saw recently of Prince where I was completely amazed and in awe of his talent as a musician. It is said that on his first album recorded in Sausalito CA, there were 27 instruments used and he played them all. A massive talent to be sure.

I saw a quote about popularity this morning by Cyril Connolly: "Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self." There is no doubt that Prince was unique in himself, and yet still had and has a massive public audience.

Each one of us is unique. We are like individual snowflakes, never duplicated, yet all made of the same ingredients. Each one of us is multi-talented, and could be considered experts at something. Sometimes we get hung up on the word expert thinking perhaps there can be only one true expert, but being an expert is something we all are because it only means that we have skills in some area. 

Popularity is a funny thing. It is often something we crave and chase, wanting fame and the fortunes said to come with it, but what we really crave is acceptance. Remember high school? Craving acceptance. Doing crazy things to fit in and be accepted, quickly discarding our uniqueness in the process because the craving is so strong. More often than not, popularity becomes conformity. And though I left high school 49 years ago, I can see the kids in the neighborhood are still very much in touch with that basic craving acceptance strategy of conformity. But, it simply means we have to look a little closer to see more of the uniqueness, and because that is where all the real value is.

To say that it is our differences that divides us, is oh so common, and it is to live in fear and promoting fear. It often directs our politics, locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. The quote at the beginning by Audre Lorde is so perfectly and succinctly stated about we as people in our relationships, intimately and globally. When we can see our differences by recognizing them, accepting them, and celebrating them, we can live as unique snowflakes in a world covered with snow.


Recognize, Accept And Celebrate The Differences In One Or More People In Your Life Today. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by releasing your ego's craving for acceptance by loving yourself exactly, and especially the way you now are.

Daily Inspiration 4-27-16

"Appreciation is always 

the appropriate response." 

-- Rev. Tony Ponticello 

Continuing with part two from yesterday's post.

Yesterday I was writing about how we can know something and yet not be fully living it, in that perhaps it has not yet become habitual in our lives, and then we find ourselves trying to help someone by sharing knowledge we think is of value in the situation they are in, only to realize that I was the one who most needed to be reminded of that very valuable teaching.

As stated yesterday, a very big part of it is understanding that reality is a fluid concept not a static one, and that reality is individual perception and subject to change in numerous ways. Often when people say, "face reality," or "this is what is real," they are merely expressing their immediate opinion of what reality is, but there is no such thing as THE reality. Even if you are looking at something and it causes you to feel such and such, someone else right next to you may see something completely different. That is so common, and clearly points to reality being unique to each person.

So, in a situation where there is interaction with another or others, what we see as the reality is only the choice of our focus at that moment. Granted, our focus may be habitual from past learning, or on auto pilot, so that we are choosing by default, but we are choosing nonetheless.

We also get to choose how we feel by the choices of focus that we make. When we focus on this, we feel bad, and when we focus on that, we feel good. What this comes down to in the end is one of the best questions ever to be asked: Do you want to feel good, or bad? Happy people are only happy because they are choosing to feel good, and we get to choose in any situation.

My advice was to let the other make their own choices because we cannot choose for them, and let go of focusing on what is going wrong, or is not working, or what the other person's attitudes and drama is. That is all conditional love. If you will be this way, I will love you, and if you are that way, you will not fit into my life. Most of the love we experience in our lives is very much conditional love. As long as you fit in, there is love and when you have crossed the line, I can love you no more--in fact, I don't even want to be around you.

It is so easy to focus on what is going wrong, what is not working, the drama. Being right is conditional love, assuming it is love at all. But, being right is not conducive to a happy life. We get to choose to focus on that or we can choose otherwise. It doesn't even matter if the relationship is over, completely broken or just in a temporary state. Focusing there creates drama in our life too, along with all manner of negative feelings. And it doesn't matter if this is a romantic relationship or it is a relationship with a boss or coworker--or even a customer. They are all relationships.

Back to the advice. . . my advice was to focus on the positive aspects of the other person regardless of what is going on now. I suggested thinking what they liked best about that person, how special they are, how attractive they are, how smart they are, how creative they are, and on and on and on, making a list of all the positive aspects of them that they could think of.

I learned this from Abraham, Esther Hicks quite some time back where they suggest that we start a notebook and make lists of the positive aspects of people and situations just to feel good or to feel better even when things are going very well, but it is especially helpful when we want things to improve because they are not going so well.

Appreciation is magic. By finding these positive aspects to appreciate, it may or may not repair what is going wrong in the other, but it absolutely will do so in us. In addition, and here is the best part for me, it allows us to practice UN-conditional love. When we love someone regardless of what is going on, including cutting us loose, or even worse tearing us down, we are in our fullness, complete, whole, loving. That magic may or may not transfer to the other, but chances are it will somehow positively affect them, while it is certain that it will positively affect us.

Unconditional love is something we need to remind ourselves of. I was having an issue with a client where communication was and is terrible and we have not been paid either. After giving this advice, I immediately found my buried-in-the-drawer book of positive aspects and started filling a page of all the positive aspects of the management of that business, and much more. It changed my thoughts from anger and disappointment to unconditional love. Whatever happens is okay now. It is okay. I am good.

Try this magic yourself. There's lots of drama around. Instead of focusing on what is wrong, going wrong, change to focusing on what is right, good, working, perfect. Pay attention to how you feel. When you're feeling upset, angry, disappointed, frustrated, these are signs of where your thoughts are focused. Once you decide you want to feel good instead, begin the appreciation process. Start a notebook. Change a life!


Appreciation Is The Path To Unconditional Love. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by finding appreciation and expressing it.

Daily Inspiration 4-26-16

"Reality is real 

within every perspective. 

It is not static. 

It is fluid." 

-- Albert K. Strong 

This will be in two parts. Part two will continue tomorrow.

Have you ever been talking with someone, subsequently giving them a bit of advice regarding interaction with others, and be so reminded of something that you needed to remember to make better use of in your own life? You knew it, but had temporarily not given it any recent attention until you saw the situation so clearly in your conversation with the other that the advice just flowed out of you and it was so clearly the perfect solution to the situation.

This happened yesterday for me and it brought me such joy as to last all yesterday, and even into this morning just thinking about it. In other words, my teaching lesson wasn't for the other, it was for me. I needed to be reminded and this was a perfect opportunity for me to see it even more clearly than how I knew it before. It was exactly what I needed exactly when I needed it. It is said that we teach that which we crave to learn ourselves.

It has to do with reality. You know. . . that which is in your face, and that which you accept as the way it is, even when you may want it to be something else. It often helps create drama and more focus and holds us away from what we really want because what we don't want demands our fuller attention. Yeah, that reality. The reality that they talk about in the newspaper, on the TV news, radio, tabloids, Internet and in one on one interactions in business, romantic relationships, in fact everything around and about us. Yes, it demands our attention. And so, we comply.

But, it is only A reality. It is not THE reality. Because reality is simply what we choose to focus on. Yes, we often choose to focus on things that cause us to feel negative emotions, to be upset, angry, down. It happens all the time, and yet, we could choose differently if we remembered that we have that power. The power of choice. I get to choose how I want to feel by choosing how I view this situation. I get to choose. And yes again, we often choose to feel bad by choosing how we view a situation. But, it is not the tail wagging the dog, we are wagging the tail. In other words, we are making the choice in every moment of what we will focus on.

The image above shows people in a circle with one inside the circle. This is reality. There they are. Yet, each and every one in the image has a different view. Each and every one has a different reality. Some aspects are similar, but each is unique. So which one is real? They all are. There is no reality. There is only a choice of what we will pay attention to, and in that there are many things that we could pay attention to. For example, we could be one of the outsiders. We could be viewing the most obvious by focusing on the person in the middle. Yet we could also focus on the person opposite us on the outside, or to our left or right. We could also focus on the ground, or the sky. There are so many perspectives. And, if we add more people, we simply add more perspectives. So reality is a fluid concept.

If we accept responsibility for our choices of focus, we may elect to choose a different focus than the most obvious, in-our-face choice, like the person in the middle. We always have a choice of what we will focus on. And, as we focus, we can know by how we feel if the focus we chose is beneficial, or what we would like. If it feels bad, we don't have to stay with that. It should be obvious that this is not beneficial to us, yet our knowledge from the past may indicate that this is the reality that people just have to deal with. I say, crap to that! If it feels crappy it is crappy. Why stay there? All we need do is choose a different perspective--one that causes us to feel better; to feel good. And, we ALWAYS have the choice. We are the choosers.


Reality Is Simply A Choice Of Focus. We Are The Choosers. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by remembering that joy is simply a choice. It is not a result. It is a choice.

Daily Inspiration 4-25-16

"The most interesting thing 

in the environment 

is your own mind." 

-- Sherry Turkle 

James Allen takes that most interesting thing in the environment and expresses how that environment comes about: "He thinks in secret, and it comes to pass: environment is his looking glass."

I've come to believe that there are essentially two ways to see life: One, is that we are here on a ride that someone or something else created for us and it is totally up to us to figure that out and make the best of it. And, two, we are here creating our own environment with the power of our mind; albeit, we may not always be aware of the power that we ultimately control. I have come to know life as the latter, and the more I know about that, the more interesting the whole of it becomes. In fact, I've come to a point in my expansion of having a whole bunch of fun with my environment and my controlling of it or rather learning the allowing of it.

I found one of James Allen's quotes particularly interesting because we often think of hard work and sacrifice as a way through to our objectives, and the bigger the objective, the more sacrifice is required. I especially enjoyed his idea of what that sacrifice is: "There can be no progress nor achievement without sacrifice, and a man's worldly success will be by the measure that he sacrifices his confused animal thoughts, and fixes his mind on the development of his plans, and the strengthening of his resolution and self-reliance." 

As he says, "there can be no progress nor achievement without sacrifice." That is what so many of us have been taught, but we were often led astray in what kind of sacrifice that would be. There was a long list of what kinds of sacrifices we might be obliged to entertain and execute for the privilege of gaining the goal. "and a man's worldly success will be by the measure that he sacrifices. . ." Same old, same old.

The next part is the most interesting: "his confused animal thoughts." Let's just call that in a more modern way, the ego, paying attention to what-is, reacting to all that is already around us, dealing with problems, drama. Of course it is confused. That is easy enough to see by simply standing back for a bit and watching others. The same kind of things keep happening over and over because the "animal thoughts" are in control.

Next is where some clarity enters: "and fixes his mind on the development of his plans." Focusing on what we want as opposed to accepting what is. Fixing our mind on what we want is the guiding star of all of life. It is the change-maker. It is where all progress and expansion are created. It is the real stuff of a purposeful and joyous life.

And, the last bit, "and the strengthening of his resolution and self-reliance." Practice. We get better by doing and by adjusting as we move forward toward our desires. Practice helps enhance our resolution to stay on the path. Self-reliance is our enhanced inner confidence and competence, along with accepting responsibility for our own thoughts, actions, and results on the path of our desires.

The part that jumped out at me was that the sacrifice isn't having to let go of something we want, but letting go of some of our self-defeating thinking that often keeps us where we are even though we can feel that where we are is not really where we would like to be.

Of course, if where we are is where we want to be, we have already arrived.


If It Is Not, There Are Sacrifices To Be Made. (Joyous Ones!) 

Spread Some Joy Today--by letting go of holding on to what is not joy for you.

Daily Inspiration 4-24-16

"Justice that love gives is a surrender, 

justice that law gives is a punishment." 

-- Mahatma Gandhi 

I awoke this morning with my thoughts in overdrive. I slept fitfully, and upon awakening, I was amazed at all the thoughts rushing through my head, and they were all pretty interesting and maybe a little strange. The first one that I recall was about punishment.

I wondered, when has punishment ever satisfied? I could not think of one. That especially, as well as provocatively, applies to me. I realized that I was beating myself up, or punishing myself for eating pizza last night. I had a craving, and many times I will encourage it to pass, but last night, I was in no mood for that. I went for it. Yep. Papa Murphy's Murphy's Combo (they hate selling medium size and are so encouraging to get at least the large for only $1 more), baked in my own oven, cut with my own pizza cutter, enjoyed while watching a movie. Yummmmmmm.

I don't know the exact number, but I might have consumed with glee around 3,000 calories, and probably over 50 grams of fat with all that cheese. Yum. Throwing caution out the window for one night. Such bold disregard for my new body program. So, this morning it was typical to berate myself about my past choices.

Isn't it all about past choices? Of course, it is. All of our berating ourselves or anyone else for that matter is in the past. No, no--that's not quite right--it's also the future, isn't it? Well, no matter, it does no good whatsoever.

That was my next thought before I even left the bathroom. First was beating myself up for my weak-suck, what-the-heck-was-I-thinking (don't you just love those phrases with the dashes?) decision, then the epiphany came next: When did this ever help? In fact, when did punishment ever help? They say it all began with the apple (was it an apple?) and the 'original sin' and the forever more punishment, but I say it never has worked, even then. Maybe even especially then. No matter. I know it has never worked for me. That's enough to deal with.

Loving is what works. And, if there is anything I learned from reading the Bible, it is that. Loving is what works. Loving is what we crave. Mother Teresa said so succinctly, "if you judge people, you have no time to love them." That would include me. As I am judging myself, I have no time left for loving myself.

Wisdom says, what happens on the outside, comes from the inside. This is very easy to observe when we pay the least bit of attention.


Whatever Is Done, Is Done. I Cannot Change It With Punishment. However, I Can Transform It With Love. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by giving yourself a break. Not once. But always. In all ways. You are craving love and joy just like every other person on the planet. So give it first to yourself, then freely to others.