Showing posts with label Inspirational. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Inspirational. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Pay Attention
"You cannot serve two masters. In any moment you are either moving TOWARDS or AWAY from the things you desire based on what you focus your attention on most of the time." – Dr. Robert Anthony
Some years ago I contemplated writing a blog, Musings of a Scattered Mind. At the time I felt and often still feel as if my mind is scattered about in a thousand different places at once—bouncing around from one thought or idea to the next one to the next one and back again. When I was very young, my parents and older siblings were constantly chiding me "Donna, be still, pay attention!"
As I grew older, I assumed it was just my nature to be unfocused, easily distracted and scattered in thought. Concentrating on a single thing at a time seemed hard work for me, if not impossible.That's the story I told myself. I'm realizing now it doesn't have to be my truth and, in fact, wasn't ever really.
Having invested several years now in studying the teachings of metaphysical and spiritual teachers like Neville Goddard and Joseph Murphy and having gained a better understanding of the importance of developing focus, particularly on your aims, it's clear to me why I’ve often felt throughout much of my life that I’ve been bouncing all over the place. I have been—my life, my actions, my behavior have been following the bouncing balls that are my scattered thoughts, the ones I manage to hold fast to, and so many of them contradictory.
It's rather like dancing. In whatever direction I focus my attention (not my eyes, there's a subtlety of dance that requires you focus your attention independent of your physical vision), that’s the direction in which my body moves. If for even one half-second I lose focus on where it is I’m going or desiring to go, I will begin almost immediately moving in another direction entirely causing me to misstep or lose my footing completely and step or fall into my dance partner. Not fun for either one of us (not usually, LOL!).
To be fair to myself, my thoughts aren’t always scattered. There have been, and are, times when I’m able to maintain laser-like focus on a single thing—project, idea, aim—for an extended period without being diverted. There have been moments when I've set out to accomplish something and I'm like a pit bull with a bone. What I’ve noticed is that it is usually those times when I am my most successful and able to achieve precisely what I’ve set out to.
Just this past summer, I lost 20 lbs in just over two months because I was doggedly determined to do so. No matter what the scale read or what I perceived I saw in the mirror, I refused to entertain any thoughts other than "I easily and effortlessly maintain my ideal body weight."
Also to be fair to myself, I know that I’m not alone in entertaining a myriad of scattered thoughts. These days, the ability to multi-task is a highly praised skill. It shouldn’t be.
I used to brag about my multi-tasking prowess as it seemed I was able to accomplish quite a lot of different things at once. The belief being that I was getting more done in less time. However, the question remains: “how well was I, are you, accomplishing these tasks?” Is the end result of the same quality as it might be if we simply focused completing one thing before moving on to the next?
And what of scattered thoughts? Why does it make sense to us that we can scatter our thoughts and energy across even opposing ends and still achieve our desires?
I want to be slim and healthy, yet my mind bounces from being healthy and slim to being out-of-shape and unhealthy. (Exactly what I was doing before I decided to focus solely on slim and healthy, and then lost 20 lbs). I want to live an abundant, opulent life, yet my thoughts bounce from being abundant to "I can't afford" and “why is everything so expensive” and back again.
Other writers on the subject of mind and thoughts have suggested that we have somewhere between 30,000 to 60,000 thoughts a day, most of them random, covering not just recent events, fears, anxieties, joys, or pleasures, but events and non-events throughout the entirety of our lives. Ever have a moment when out of the nowhere you had thought of a song you hadn’t heard since you were five? Ever ask yourself "why"?
While I certainly don’t expect, nor would I attempt, to control 30,000-plus thoughts passing through my mind, I can absolutely choose the ones on which to fix my attention. I can certainly choose to maintain laser-like focus on what I am wanting and disregard anything that doesn't align with that.
Scattered thoughts and attention equal a scattered life, which is why I’m willing to accept as my truth Dr. Robert’s quote about serving to masters that I included at the beginning of this post. Jesus said it this way:
“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.”
Which ever thoughts you choose to give your constant attention are the ones that you love and the ones that you will serve. Choose wisely.
As for me, I’m reigning in my scattered mind and expecting my external world to follow suit as I give primary attention to my dreams and aims.
Some years ago I contemplated writing a blog, Musings of a Scattered Mind. At the time I felt and often still feel as if my mind is scattered about in a thousand different places at once—bouncing around from one thought or idea to the next one to the next one and back again. When I was very young, my parents and older siblings were constantly chiding me "Donna, be still, pay attention!"
As I grew older, I assumed it was just my nature to be unfocused, easily distracted and scattered in thought. Concentrating on a single thing at a time seemed hard work for me, if not impossible.That's the story I told myself. I'm realizing now it doesn't have to be my truth and, in fact, wasn't ever really.
Having invested several years now in studying the teachings of metaphysical and spiritual teachers like Neville Goddard and Joseph Murphy and having gained a better understanding of the importance of developing focus, particularly on your aims, it's clear to me why I’ve often felt throughout much of my life that I’ve been bouncing all over the place. I have been—my life, my actions, my behavior have been following the bouncing balls that are my scattered thoughts, the ones I manage to hold fast to, and so many of them contradictory.
It's rather like dancing. In whatever direction I focus my attention (not my eyes, there's a subtlety of dance that requires you focus your attention independent of your physical vision), that’s the direction in which my body moves. If for even one half-second I lose focus on where it is I’m going or desiring to go, I will begin almost immediately moving in another direction entirely causing me to misstep or lose my footing completely and step or fall into my dance partner. Not fun for either one of us (not usually, LOL!).
To be fair to myself, my thoughts aren’t always scattered. There have been, and are, times when I’m able to maintain laser-like focus on a single thing—project, idea, aim—for an extended period without being diverted. There have been moments when I've set out to accomplish something and I'm like a pit bull with a bone. What I’ve noticed is that it is usually those times when I am my most successful and able to achieve precisely what I’ve set out to.
Just this past summer, I lost 20 lbs in just over two months because I was doggedly determined to do so. No matter what the scale read or what I perceived I saw in the mirror, I refused to entertain any thoughts other than "I easily and effortlessly maintain my ideal body weight."
Also to be fair to myself, I know that I’m not alone in entertaining a myriad of scattered thoughts. These days, the ability to multi-task is a highly praised skill. It shouldn’t be.
I used to brag about my multi-tasking prowess as it seemed I was able to accomplish quite a lot of different things at once. The belief being that I was getting more done in less time. However, the question remains: “how well was I, are you, accomplishing these tasks?” Is the end result of the same quality as it might be if we simply focused completing one thing before moving on to the next?
And what of scattered thoughts? Why does it make sense to us that we can scatter our thoughts and energy across even opposing ends and still achieve our desires?
I want to be slim and healthy, yet my mind bounces from being healthy and slim to being out-of-shape and unhealthy. (Exactly what I was doing before I decided to focus solely on slim and healthy, and then lost 20 lbs). I want to live an abundant, opulent life, yet my thoughts bounce from being abundant to "I can't afford" and “why is everything so expensive” and back again.
Other writers on the subject of mind and thoughts have suggested that we have somewhere between 30,000 to 60,000 thoughts a day, most of them random, covering not just recent events, fears, anxieties, joys, or pleasures, but events and non-events throughout the entirety of our lives. Ever have a moment when out of the nowhere you had thought of a song you hadn’t heard since you were five? Ever ask yourself "why"?
While I certainly don’t expect, nor would I attempt, to control 30,000-plus thoughts passing through my mind, I can absolutely choose the ones on which to fix my attention. I can certainly choose to maintain laser-like focus on what I am wanting and disregard anything that doesn't align with that.
Scattered thoughts and attention equal a scattered life, which is why I’m willing to accept as my truth Dr. Robert’s quote about serving to masters that I included at the beginning of this post. Jesus said it this way:
“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.”
Which ever thoughts you choose to give your constant attention are the ones that you love and the ones that you will serve. Choose wisely.
As for me, I’m reigning in my scattered mind and expecting my external world to follow suit as I give primary attention to my dreams and aims.
Monday, January 1, 2018
Hello 2018!!
"Prayer is nothing more than the subjective appropriation of the objective hope. I hope for so-and-so; I want it as an objective fact. Now, I must go within and appropriate it subjectively."–Neville Goddard
For my first blog post of the new year, I decided to share one of my favorite lectures from Neville Goddard, Catch the Mood.
Relating the story of Jacob and Esau in the book of Genesis, Neville describes how awakening the "Second Man," Christ in us—which is our wonderful human imagination—enables us to fulfill our desires, whatever they be.
Neville also shares in this lecture how he used his imagination to book a return trip from Barbados to the states for him and his family in time for him to meet a speaking engagement, after being told there was no availability on any of the ships out of the islands until several months after the date of his commitment.
Enjoy and have a prosperous and healthy New Year!!
You can read the entire lecture here.
Sunday, December 31, 2017
Saying Good-Bye to 2017!
"If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours."
– Henry David Thoreau
Putting the past twelve months behind me with all its setbacks, disappointments and even its successes, I press forward toward the mark of a higher calling in life, more determined than ever to live the life of my dreams and beyond what I can even now imagine.
As I sit here typing and enjoying my peppermint mocha coffee, I am doggedly determined to end the year on an up note having this morning set my day’s intentions. Choosing to disregard appearances, my own fears and anxieties, I am remaining steadfast in faith/knowing that my intentions—today's and future ones—will all be realized in a perfect and wonderful way. “My Father has ways and means ye know not of” to bring my desires to pass.
Looking forward to an amazing, healthy, prosperous, fun-filled 2018!!
I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 3:13-14 (NKJV)
This is what the Lord says—he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.– Isaiah 43:16, 18-19 (NIV)
Sunday, December 24, 2017
Monday, December 11, 2017
The Price of Fitting In
There isn’t anything wrong at all with the reality in which my friends live. It works for them. It’s what they know and have come to accept is a “normal” way of life. You put in your 40 hours a week, enduring all manner of situations that annoy you, so you can earn money to buy a car, house, clothes, food, etc. That's how life works, right?
As a treat for your hard work and sacrifice, you spend your down time doing things that feel more fun: watching the latest crop of television programming intended to either entertain or infuriate you, going to the movies, maybe, taking a cruise some place when you have vacation time, provided you have enough money, attending church, or checking out a new or familiar restaurant. If you're married or have a family, you might do something with your partner and kids, or not. You stress about bills, the mortgage, car notes, your spouse and/or kids, and you get together to commiserate about your stupid bosses and co-workers, how your partner or kids are making you nuts, or how challenged you are trying to manage all the cadre of ailments you been diagnosed with.
If it seems I’m being judgmental, I’m not. My friends and family are content with their lifestyles—they’ve chosen it, consciously or unconsciously. Doesn’t matter, they seem content to do what they do.
As for me, I’ve always wanted more, or rather, something vastly different, as “more” implies judgment. Ever since I was a teenager, tween even, I've desired and still desire a different way of being, doing, and living my life. I could see it. I could feel it. It moved me to action on the one hand and terrified me on the other. Try as I might, I haven’t been able to let it go. In my imagination, my daydreams, I saw a preview of what my life could be and I cannot let it go.
As I’m pondering all of this, it hit me—the guilt I’ve been carrying with me since my tween, teenage, years for daring to want to be, do, and experience something different.
I have been that double-minded man spoken of in the Bible who asks yet wavers, attempting to walk the fence or tight rope between two worlds/two lives: the one that I truly want to experience and have long dreamed and continue to dream about—the one that keeps me up some nights and terrifies me—and the one that I think I’m supposed to experience because it’s the life that people like me live and it's "just the way things are." That other life, the one that haunts me, that’s for special people, other people, NOT ME people.
Granted, I have come close to stepping into that life in physical reality, damn close, throughout various periods of my adulthood only to watch it collapse like a stack of cards typically because of my actions. I’m only now realizing in this moment, that it hasn’t been so much my actions causing my dreams to collapse before me but my beliefs about what achieving them might mean for me and for those I care about. What will my friends think of me if I...? My family? My parents’ friends and associates?
I am a minister’s daughter after all and many of the dreams and desires for my life aren’t readily accepted among those in my or my family’s social circle of God-fearing Pentecostal Christians. Nor are they readily accepted as being appropriate or even achievable for members of my ethnic group or among the extended family consisting of the people who live/lived in the neighborhood in which I grew up—the people who have known me since my earliest memories of myself.
Fearing rejection, fearing loss of acceptance from my loved ones and, honestly, fearing the responsibility and the public scrutiny that can come with stepping into the spotlight, I self-sabotage. Trust me, this hasn’t been done consciously. Doesn’t matter though, as the results are the same. Rather than confidently heading in the directions of my dreams, I end up far off in the opposite direction.
If I were writing this five years ago, I would believe it’s part of God’s divine plan—that He is or was the one throwing up roadblocks because He wanted me to go in a different direction. I now know better. It is me and only me stopping me.
I want to be loved and accepted by those I love and care for, but at what price? When is the cost of fitting in and conforming too high? When is the sacrificing of your desires to please others too great? When is contracting oneself to avoid standing out so as not to risk being rejected/cut down by your tribe simply not worth the inner pain and suffering? Really, what does it profit a person (me) to gain the love of the whole world (or at least the people I know in this world) and lose her (my) very soul?
These are the questions plaguing my heart today. Truth, whenever I do that fitting in thing or contracting myself to be more acceptable to others, I always feel this “ick” afterward. I believe it’s my inner self’s way of calling me on my BS—“just stop it!”
I know the life I desire is here for me now; it is only waiting for me to choose it and commit to it. I also know that the universe, my external world, only ever reflects back to me what I am feeling or thinking internally. As long as I continue to believe that pursuing my dreams means being alienated from or rejected by those I love and care about, that will be my reality.
I have a choice to make and a life to live. Now's the time to get on with it. Teetering the fence between two lives is no longer a viable option for me.
"All denial is self denial." Stuart Lindell, direct student of Neville Goddard
"If you construct in your mind a wall where there actually is none, you will force yourself to behave as though such a wall is actually pervasively in your way." Kidest Om
Thursday, December 7, 2017
Monday, October 16, 2017
Children are Wonderful Teachers
Children really are wonderful teachers. As adults, we think it’s our job and responsibility to teach them, but children are precious gifts sent to teach us, or rather remind us of who we are and of what we are capable when we allow ourselves to simply imagine and BE.
Keeping in line with the theme of my musings of the past few days about the joys of rediscovering childlike wonder, I received the following feedback from the Universe today via author Pam Grout:
I particularly enjoyed Pam sharing a story about her friend’s granddaughter. While dancing with great abandon one day, the young girl was asked if she wanted to be a dancer when she grew up, to which she replied: “I already am!”
I was once that young girl. I so imagined being a dancer, undeterred by my parents’ refusal to let me take dance lessons, I spent hours dancing in the living room and basement of our home as if I already were one.
My desire was so strong that at age of 6, I attracted into my life another 6-year old, one of my best friends until about age 18, who was studying ballet. During recess she and her older sister would “teach” me everything they were learning in ballet class, which I’d later practice at home. We even devised a plan to convince my parents to let me take lessons, but it didn't go very well.
Years later, as an adult, when I finally took my first formal dance lesson, I plunged in, albeit nervously, and it was among the best things I ever did for myself. Not only have I participated in and won awards at numerous competitions, I've also formed relationships with some pretty awesome people. Best of all, I feel my most happiest and free when dancing just like I did when I was four!
You can read Pam Grout’s full blog post here.
Keeping in line with the theme of my musings of the past few days about the joys of rediscovering childlike wonder, I received the following feedback from the Universe today via author Pam Grout:
“When it comes to creativity, all you have to do is channel your inner four-year-old.
Preschoolers don’t sit in front of a pail of legos thinking, “Nah! Not feeling it today.” They don’t wonder if they’re talented enough. They don’t question their ability, worry what someone will think.
They plunge in, unhindered, free, happy.”
I particularly enjoyed Pam sharing a story about her friend’s granddaughter. While dancing with great abandon one day, the young girl was asked if she wanted to be a dancer when she grew up, to which she replied: “I already am!”
I was once that young girl. I so imagined being a dancer, undeterred by my parents’ refusal to let me take dance lessons, I spent hours dancing in the living room and basement of our home as if I already were one.
My desire was so strong that at age of 6, I attracted into my life another 6-year old, one of my best friends until about age 18, who was studying ballet. During recess she and her older sister would “teach” me everything they were learning in ballet class, which I’d later practice at home. We even devised a plan to convince my parents to let me take lessons, but it didn't go very well.
Years later, as an adult, when I finally took my first formal dance lesson, I plunged in, albeit nervously, and it was among the best things I ever did for myself. Not only have I participated in and won awards at numerous competitions, I've also formed relationships with some pretty awesome people. Best of all, I feel my most happiest and free when dancing just like I did when I was four!
You can read Pam Grout’s full blog post here.
Sunday, October 15, 2017
Life is a Curiosity to Be Explored
"Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3 (NIV)
It really does take adult humans to screw up a world and make things far more complicated than they were intended to or need be.
Children get it. They absolutely get it (until we train them to not get it.) Like the two toddlers, I watched playing together yesterday while attending an event at the National Mall. One black, one white. Both absolutely adorable. It was obvious both had only recently learned to walk as their little legs weren’t quite strong enough to keep them upright, yet they were all bundles of love, joy and play, eager to explore the world around them. They'd walk/run awhile, fall down, get back up again, keeping their parents running to keep up with them. They happily played together. No fear. No guile. No judgments about one being inferior or superior, good or bad, deserving or undeserving of their love or friendship because of their differing hair color, or eye color or skin color. Just all smiles and “hi!” They hug. They share (sometimes!). They kiss. They eagerly play together. They love—everyone and everything around them.
And the way they approach “prayer” is just as innocent, open and allowing. Have you noticed that when a child really wants something, they will ask and ask and keep until they wear a parent or guardian down? Children don’t take “no” for an answer. I’m convinced they honestly don’t understand, can’t relate at all to, the meaning of the word, especially as it pertains to them. Until taught otherwise, it appears children operate under the belief that everything around them is for them. I’m reminded of the story Joseph Prince tells of a 5-year old girl who before praying would say to her family: “I’m about to pray, does anyone want anything?”
Everything is possible in the mind of a child. Everything is wondrous. And the stuff they don’t find joy in? Easily forgotten as they set about finding more stuff to enjoy. Life is one big adventure to them—a curiosity waiting to be explored. As it is intended to be.
It really does take adult humans to screw up a world and make things far more complicated than they were intended to or need be.
Children get it. They absolutely get it (until we train them to not get it.) Like the two toddlers, I watched playing together yesterday while attending an event at the National Mall. One black, one white. Both absolutely adorable. It was obvious both had only recently learned to walk as their little legs weren’t quite strong enough to keep them upright, yet they were all bundles of love, joy and play, eager to explore the world around them. They'd walk/run awhile, fall down, get back up again, keeping their parents running to keep up with them. They happily played together. No fear. No guile. No judgments about one being inferior or superior, good or bad, deserving or undeserving of their love or friendship because of their differing hair color, or eye color or skin color. Just all smiles and “hi!” They hug. They share (sometimes!). They kiss. They eagerly play together. They love—everyone and everything around them.
And the way they approach “prayer” is just as innocent, open and allowing. Have you noticed that when a child really wants something, they will ask and ask and keep until they wear a parent or guardian down? Children don’t take “no” for an answer. I’m convinced they honestly don’t understand, can’t relate at all to, the meaning of the word, especially as it pertains to them. Until taught otherwise, it appears children operate under the belief that everything around them is for them. I’m reminded of the story Joseph Prince tells of a 5-year old girl who before praying would say to her family: “I’m about to pray, does anyone want anything?”
Everything is possible in the mind of a child. Everything is wondrous. And the stuff they don’t find joy in? Easily forgotten as they set about finding more stuff to enjoy. Life is one big adventure to them—a curiosity waiting to be explored. As it is intended to be.
Monday, September 18, 2017
Disregard Appearances—Believe Only
"When it seems like nothing is happening, that is when everything is happening." - Catherine Ponder
Believe only. That was today’s inspirational message from Joel Osteen, based upon the story of the Jairus, the man who sought out Jesus to heal his daughter who was gravely ill.
Jesus was interrupted several times on route to Jairus’ home to heal the young girl, and before reaching their destination, they received word it was too late: the girl had died.
But the story doesn't end there. “Believe only,” was all Jesus said to Jairus in one account of the story. “Believe only.” In spite of what you just heard, in spite of what you might even see later, “Believe only.”
Before Jairus himself could even say to Jesus “never mind, Lord, it’s too late,” effectively cancelling his request, he is told to “Believe only.”
“Disregard appearances, conditions, in fact all evidence of the senses that deny the fulfillment of your desire. Rest in the assumption that you are already what you want to be,” is how Neville Goddard frames it.
I will attest it is so much easier said than done. I am, as most people are, accustomed to judging my circumstances and conditions—whether they’re improving or getting worse or not at all changing—based upon what my five physical senses experience in the external world. It is challenging to accept that my physical senses do not and cannot see the whole truth of what is.
As Paul says: "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:18)
Yet that is what I am determined to do—fix my eyes on what I desire to see and experience and disregard any and all things that don’t conform to that ideal. Believe only. Believe only, and even that which is dead can be restored to life.
Friday, September 15, 2017
It is By Grace
Today I learned an important lesson about grace. Yesterday was my birthday and while I was and am grateful to be celebrating another year of life on this planet we call earth, I was feeling a bit down on myself. Just a few days ago I posted about how I am choosing to be my own best friend rather than my own worst enemy and avoid judging myself harshly for faults, real or imagined. Yet yesterday and today I spent a lot of time in a state of forgetfulness of my previous choice, berating myself for not being more successful as I define success and for not having accomplished all that I had hoped to at this stage of life. In fact, a moment ago I was curled up in bed feeling little motivation to do anything in the middle of a day. I was feeling as if my typical buoyant, over-achiever self had run off for parts unknown.
Based on what I’ve been learning about achieving success and deliberately creating a life you love, this is clearly not the way to accomplish either. Neither supposedly is wallowing in negative, low-vibe emotions and thoughts and I was experiencing plenty of those yesterday and today. So, imagine my surprise when in the middle of this negative spiraling, I received the much-needed financial break through I’d been praying for.
I mean, even though I had prayed and was hoping for a miracle, I was feeling desperate and panicked (more low-vibe emotions that are said to repel your good). All kinds of doubts had set in. The voices in my head were continually whispering to me “you’re screwed,” “it’s not going to happen,” “you are not going to get what you want,” “how can you expect to create anything good in this state?” “you know you don’t deserve it.” etc., etc. Yet...
The voices were wrong!! In spite of me, in spite of my mood, in spite of my doubts, I still received the miracle I had asked for. I am truly awed.
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
Based on what I’ve been learning about achieving success and deliberately creating a life you love, this is clearly not the way to accomplish either. Neither supposedly is wallowing in negative, low-vibe emotions and thoughts and I was experiencing plenty of those yesterday and today. So, imagine my surprise when in the middle of this negative spiraling, I received the much-needed financial break through I’d been praying for.
I mean, even though I had prayed and was hoping for a miracle, I was feeling desperate and panicked (more low-vibe emotions that are said to repel your good). All kinds of doubts had set in. The voices in my head were continually whispering to me “you’re screwed,” “it’s not going to happen,” “you are not going to get what you want,” “how can you expect to create anything good in this state?” “you know you don’t deserve it.” etc., etc. Yet...
The voices were wrong!! In spite of me, in spite of my mood, in spite of my doubts, I still received the miracle I had asked for. I am truly awed.
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
Being Grateful and at Peace Through Life's Storms
Today, I’m thinking of all the people who are suffering because of the hurricane that hit the U.S. Gulf Coast. The hundreds of thousands of people displaced from their homes, and those who have lost their lives. My thoughts and prayers are for grace, calm and safety for those residing in the region, and for strength to rebuild once the storm has passed. And pass it will.
It’s so easy to feel sorry for yourself when things in your life don’t seem to be going as well as you’d like. It’s even easier, it seems, to overlook all that you do have to be grateful for because you’re so fixated on all the problems or things going wrong.
Today, I am choosing to be grateful and know that I am doing well despite what outer circumstances and my beliefs tell me. I am still here. I am still breathing. I have food to eat, clothes to wear, and a roof over my head. Most of all, my mind and body are still active and functioning. As my grandmother used to remind us—loosely quoted from the Bible—“a living dog is better than a dead lion.”
Even when life isn't all that you desire it to be, consider the alternative and you’ll come to realize that you are still blessed.
It’s so easy to feel sorry for yourself when things in your life don’t seem to be going as well as you’d like. It’s even easier, it seems, to overlook all that you do have to be grateful for because you’re so fixated on all the problems or things going wrong.
Today, I am choosing to be grateful and know that I am doing well despite what outer circumstances and my beliefs tell me. I am still here. I am still breathing. I have food to eat, clothes to wear, and a roof over my head. Most of all, my mind and body are still active and functioning. As my grandmother used to remind us—loosely quoted from the Bible—“a living dog is better than a dead lion.”
Even when life isn't all that you desire it to be, consider the alternative and you’ll come to realize that you are still blessed.
Tuesday, August 8, 2017
Set the Course of Your Day Before You Get out of Bed
Despite having experienced a nearly sleepless night, I am feeling inspired and energized today. Funny how that happens.
Admittedly, it took me a while to get going this morning and I had to give myself a serious pep talk about what an awesome day this was going to be. Once up, I was raring to go and got going. I walked my three miles, enjoyed a nice, healthy salad and even did some cleaning.
In every moment of every day, we are given the opportunity to choose our future. And our first thoughts upon waking can be the difference between experiencing a great day or the day seemingly from hell (We’ve all had those days, right?).
Are you waking up excited about the day, knowing it's going to be amazing?
Or, do you get up in dread and fear of what awaits and feeling overwhelmed by all the things you "need" to do?
I’m sharing (with permission) this video link I received today from CrackYourEgg.com to inspire you to begin each day on a high note.
http://www.flickspire.com/m/CrackYourE848/FirstThing
Enjoy, and have an awesome day!
Admittedly, it took me a while to get going this morning and I had to give myself a serious pep talk about what an awesome day this was going to be. Once up, I was raring to go and got going. I walked my three miles, enjoyed a nice, healthy salad and even did some cleaning.
In every moment of every day, we are given the opportunity to choose our future. And our first thoughts upon waking can be the difference between experiencing a great day or the day seemingly from hell (We’ve all had those days, right?).
Are you waking up excited about the day, knowing it's going to be amazing?
Or, do you get up in dread and fear of what awaits and feeling overwhelmed by all the things you "need" to do?
I’m sharing (with permission) this video link I received today from CrackYourEgg.com to inspire you to begin each day on a high note.
http://www.flickspire.com/m/CrackYourE848/FirstThing
Enjoy, and have an awesome day!
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Is it Time to Change Your Story?
“The only thing standing between you and your goal is the bullshit story you keep telling yourself as to why you can't achieve it.” – Jordan Belfort (the Wolf of Wall Street)
I included the above quote at the bottom of my last post, but felt the need to highlight it today after reading an article on LinkedIn about a woman in India, paralyzed from the neck down, who earns R 2,00,000 monthly (the approx. equivalent of $3,111 U.S. dollars).
According to the article, the woman, Sujata, was injured in a car accident while returning home with her family one evening in 2001. The accident caused severe damage to her spinal cord and after months of treatment, doctors determined she would not be able to walk again. She was only 21.
Concerned about becoming a financial burden to her family, Sujata wanted to find a way to earn money while being at home. Based on advice from friends, she decided to begin investing in the stock market. It was difficult at first, she says, to type on her laptop because of her paralysis. She now easily uses her laptop to do trades.
Sujata has become so successful at trading that she is now financially self-reliant, earning R 2,00,000 to R 2,50,000 every month. She has also started an organization to work with children who have spinal cord injuries.
You can read the full story written by Dr. Vivek Bindra on LinkedIn.
It’s well past time I let go of my BS story. How about you?
Need more inspiration? Check this out.
"Change your story, change your life." – Tony Robbins
"You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." – Martin Luther King, Jr.
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
A Word Received in Due Season—He Will Finish
"How good and delightful is a word spoken at the right moment," reads one of the Proverbs recorded in the Bible. A word received via email at the right moment is equally as good and delightful.
I find that often times just a little encouragement is all I need to get going whenever I feel stuck or confused as I navigate life's many twists and turns on the way to living my dreams. Could you use a little encouragement today?
I receive daily messages via email from Joel Osteen Ministries. I enjoy reading them as I find them to be very encouraging and faith building. I've twice had the opportunity to hear him speak in person, once at Lakewood and once in D.C., and both times I left feeling full of hope and re-energized.
Today's message from Joel was very timely and much needed by me, so I decided to share it. Be encouraged.
Are you believing for something that seems like it’s taking longer than you hoped? Maybe you’ve been praying for a loved one. Maybe you’ve believed for a situation to change for years. Don’t get discouraged. God is going to finish what He started! He is a faithful God, and He has something unmatched, unparalleled coming your way—favor, breakthroughs, restoration like you haven’t seen before!
God has been good to all of us in the past, but I believe we’re coming into a time where we will see greater anointing, greater power and greater victories! The key is that we have to stay in agreement with God. We should get up every morning and say, “Father, thank You for Your unprecedented favor. Thank You for the immeasurable, unlimited, surpassing greatness of Your power.” If you keep standing in faith, I believe you’re going to come into more of those days where you stand in utter amazement and say, “Wow, God! I’ve never seen anything like this before!”
Remember, scripture says, “Is there anything too hard for the Lord?” No, nothing is impossible when we put our faith and trust in Him. Today, keep standing, keep believing and keep hoping because God has something astounding in store for your future!
Joel Osteen Ministries
I find that often times just a little encouragement is all I need to get going whenever I feel stuck or confused as I navigate life's many twists and turns on the way to living my dreams. Could you use a little encouragement today?
I receive daily messages via email from Joel Osteen Ministries. I enjoy reading them as I find them to be very encouraging and faith building. I've twice had the opportunity to hear him speak in person, once at Lakewood and once in D.C., and both times I left feeling full of hope and re-energized.
Today's message from Joel was very timely and much needed by me, so I decided to share it. Be encouraged.
He Will Finish
Are you believing for something that seems like it’s taking longer than you hoped? Maybe you’ve been praying for a loved one. Maybe you’ve believed for a situation to change for years. Don’t get discouraged. God is going to finish what He started! He is a faithful God, and He has something unmatched, unparalleled coming your way—favor, breakthroughs, restoration like you haven’t seen before!
God has been good to all of us in the past, but I believe we’re coming into a time where we will see greater anointing, greater power and greater victories! The key is that we have to stay in agreement with God. We should get up every morning and say, “Father, thank You for Your unprecedented favor. Thank You for the immeasurable, unlimited, surpassing greatness of Your power.” If you keep standing in faith, I believe you’re going to come into more of those days where you stand in utter amazement and say, “Wow, God! I’ve never seen anything like this before!”
Remember, scripture says, “Is there anything too hard for the Lord?” No, nothing is impossible when we put our faith and trust in Him. Today, keep standing, keep believing and keep hoping because God has something astounding in store for your future!
Joel Osteen Ministries
Sunday, June 4, 2017
Learning to Ask the Right Questions
Never settle for less, don’t ever think it’s too late, and never, ever, ever compromise a dream. – Mike Dooley
I’ve spent the past six months wondering how did I get into the current hot mess of a situation that appears to be my current reality: How did I end up so far removed from my ideal life? Today as I asked the question, I realized I’ve been asking the wrong question. The more empowering question is how do I step into the life I am meant to live, that I aspire to and dream about—the life of joy, abundance, opulence, and beauty that I’ve imagined since I was a child?
Is it really as easy as just changing my thoughts, beliefs, and feelings about myself? Is it really as easy as learning to ignore current conditions, circumstances, and appearances, knowing all of it is only the result of past thoughts, feelings, and beliefs and must pass as all things are temporary?
Is it really as simple as just drawing a line in the sand and making a freaking decision to “come out from among them,” meaning to let go of the low-level living and ideas that I’ve settled for and bought into as "truth" and simply step into the abundant, opulent life I’ve dreamed about?
Whenever I think of my dreams, whenever I take the slightest step toward them, feelings of insecurity, of fear, of anxiety, of “not good enoughness,” quickly emerge. They are real to me, they are palpable. I feel them now throughout my body. Yet, rather than believing they are intended to and allowing them to stop me from achieving my dreams, today I choose to see them as gifts telling me that there is more inner work to do. But just because I have more inner work to do to reach that place of feeling more secure and confident—the place of knowing that I have value simply because I am—that doesn’t have to mean that I don’t now get to experience, be, do, or have all the good I choose to experience, be, do, and have.
I am a work in progress; yet my good is mine to claim now.
"Beloved, now, children of God are we, and it was not yet manifested what we shall be..." (1 John 3:2 - Young's Literal Translation)
I’ve spent the past six months wondering how did I get into the current hot mess of a situation that appears to be my current reality: How did I end up so far removed from my ideal life? Today as I asked the question, I realized I’ve been asking the wrong question. The more empowering question is how do I step into the life I am meant to live, that I aspire to and dream about—the life of joy, abundance, opulence, and beauty that I’ve imagined since I was a child?
Is it really as easy as just changing my thoughts, beliefs, and feelings about myself? Is it really as easy as learning to ignore current conditions, circumstances, and appearances, knowing all of it is only the result of past thoughts, feelings, and beliefs and must pass as all things are temporary?
Is it really as simple as just drawing a line in the sand and making a freaking decision to “come out from among them,” meaning to let go of the low-level living and ideas that I’ve settled for and bought into as "truth" and simply step into the abundant, opulent life I’ve dreamed about?
Whenever I think of my dreams, whenever I take the slightest step toward them, feelings of insecurity, of fear, of anxiety, of “not good enoughness,” quickly emerge. They are real to me, they are palpable. I feel them now throughout my body. Yet, rather than believing they are intended to and allowing them to stop me from achieving my dreams, today I choose to see them as gifts telling me that there is more inner work to do. But just because I have more inner work to do to reach that place of feeling more secure and confident—the place of knowing that I have value simply because I am—that doesn’t have to mean that I don’t now get to experience, be, do, or have all the good I choose to experience, be, do, and have.
I am a work in progress; yet my good is mine to claim now.
"Beloved, now, children of God are we, and it was not yet manifested what we shall be..." (1 John 3:2 - Young's Literal Translation)
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
15 Life Lessons from Dr. Seuss
 |
| Flowerhorn fish I saw at a local aquarium."Hey there, gorgeous!" |
I'm a Dr. Seuss fan and have been since, well... before I could read. Among the first Seuss books I remember being exposed to are Green Eggs and Ham and The Cat in the Hat.
I don't know that I fully grasped the life lessons he was sharing in his books, but they were so much to fun listen to, and eventually read, when I was a child. "I do not like green eggs and ham! I do not like them, Sam-I-am."
Now, whenever I have the chance to share Dr. Seuss' books with the little ones in my life, I do. And I feel as much joy now reading them to children as I did hearing them as a child with the added advantage of being able to appreciate the life lessons they contain.
For a bit of fun and encouragement, here are 15 more of my favorite sayings from the master of storytelling and poetic meter.
My 15 Favorite Seuss-isms
- You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. (From "Oh, the Places You'll Go")
- You do not like them. So you say. Try them! Try them! And you may!! (From "Green Eggs and Ham")
- Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It is not. And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed! (From "The Lorax")
- You're off to great places. Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So get on your way. (From "Oh, the Places You'll Go!")
- I meant what I said, and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful, one hundred percent. (From "Horton Hatches the Egg")
- Today is gone. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one. Every day, from here to there, funny things are everywhere. (From "One fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish")
- If you never did you should. These things are fun and fun is good! (From "One fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish")
- Why fit in when you were born to stand out?
- It's not about what it is. It's about what it can become. (From "The Lorax")
- I learned there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I’ve bought a big bat. I’m all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me! (From "I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew")
- He puzzled and puzzled till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. Maybe, Christmas, he thought doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more. (From "How the Grinch Stole Christmas")
- In the places I go there are things that I see That I never could spell if I stopped with the Z. I'm telling you this 'cause you're one of my friends. My alphabet starts where your alphabet ends! (From "On Beyond Zebra!")
- You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.
- Think and wonder. Wonder and think.
- You find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax. All you need is a book. (From "The Cat in the Hat")
For added fun, maybe I'll have some green eggs and ham for breakfast tomorrow. (Such is the magic you can make with food coloring!)
Thank you, Dr. Seuss.
Monday, May 22, 2017
Finding Peace in the Midst of a "Storm"
Yesterday evening proved to be a challenging one with my mom who was not in one of her better moods. After attempting a few things to calm her and me, I threw up my hands and retired to (at least attempted to) the guest room. As I lie across the bed I tried again to meditate, and then pray for some peace. Still feeling exasperated, the best I could come up with was "Lord, help!", which I've heard through some spiritual and religious teachings is as effective a prayer as any.
Moments later I remembered a prayer I'd found on the Internet that had helped me through a similar situation a couple of years ago. So I decided to look for it again and found it!!!
It's attributed to the late Raymond Charles Barker, a Religious Science minister and contemporary of New Thought teachers Joseph Murphy, Ernest Holmes, and Neville Goddard,* whose teachings have inspired me.
It's such a beautiful prayer, I want to share it.
* Unlike his many of his New Thought contemporaries, Goddard didn't maintain an affiliation with any particular church. I mention it only because it was something that seemed important to him, based on his teachings, that his ideas not be affiliated with promoting the dogma of any particular church.
Moments later I remembered a prayer I'd found on the Internet that had helped me through a similar situation a couple of years ago. So I decided to look for it again and found it!!!
It's attributed to the late Raymond Charles Barker, a Religious Science minister and contemporary of New Thought teachers Joseph Murphy, Ernest Holmes, and Neville Goddard,* whose teachings have inspired me.
It's such a beautiful prayer, I want to share it.
Glory Lives In My Heart
Warm is the love of the Eternal, and it glows within me, satisfying my soul. I am fed in all my depths of emotional need by this inner well of Compassion. The universe glows with kindliness. Everyone offers me the warmth of love and the joy of friendship. The Glory of God is upon me, and I rest in Its perfect action. This deep inner sense of well-being is now forever established within me.
The expanding Power of God is the joy of my soul. Every good increases, and every good feeling is accentuated. The Holy Spirit of Peace is upon me and resident in me. Glorious is my day, and my heart rejoices. This inner deep feeling of greatness now directs my thought. I not only know the Mind of God, but I feel the Presence of the Spirit. I arise and shine, for the Glory of God is within me, and Peace does fill my world.
I can accomplish my aims. The Holy Spirit is in my mind now. Divine Love floods my emotions. Glorious is my thinking and my experience. God is my all; no more can I seek.I followed it up with meditating on the 23rd Psalm until I drifted off to sleep and had an amazingly restful night's sleep. As for my mother, I suspect she did too as I don't remember hearing another peep out of her until this morning.
* Unlike his many of his New Thought contemporaries, Goddard didn't maintain an affiliation with any particular church. I mention it only because it was something that seemed important to him, based on his teachings, that his ideas not be affiliated with promoting the dogma of any particular church.
Thursday, May 18, 2017
A Magical Moment and A Promise Worth Keeping
"Know
that anytime we exercise our imagination lovingly on behalf of another,
we're actually and literally mediating God to man. So we can sit
quietly in the darkness and listen as though we heard the good report we
want to hear." - Neville Goddard
Every day I set about looking for at least one magical moment and one of today's moments is truly special.
I was browsing the Freeneville website to see if the site's creator, Mr. Twenty Twenty, or Neville Goddard offered any insight on channeled teachings, many of which I’m beginning to suspect are loads of BS and not to be fully believed or relied upon. The only article he has posted on the subject is in response to a woman named Theresa who’s mother was suffering from dementia in a way that is/was similar to the experience of my parents. She had asked his insight on whether it was okay to imagine her mother being healed or if she should accept her sickness as some new age teachings suggest because it may be the path by which her mother has chosen to exit this life. Mr. Twenty responded by offering the Neville Goddard quote noted at the beginning of this post, adding that by taking the time to imagine her mother at peace she was giving both of them a gift.
I actually posted a response to the article in September 2013, sharing my own story as follows:
I needed this magical moment today. So did my mom.
As for the movie quote referenced in my reply, according to Theresa there's a scene in which Jesus heals a blind man and then rebukes an observer for asking what if the man he just healed of blindness wanted to be blind: “the man lives in darkness and while I am on this earth he will see!”
My belief is that Jesus being fully aware of the power within him lived in such a state of perfect faith that sickness simply couldn't exist around him, nor could lack, in the same way that darkness can't exist in the place light is shone.
"He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions." - Psalm 107:20
"We possess the same Spirit, the same power, the same authority; we don't use it, but we possess it." - My dad, Leon Don King, said in remarks given during a Christmas service held in 2006
"God give unto me the grace to accept the things I cannot change. And grant unto me the power to change the things I cannot accept!" - Richard Bartlett, author of "Matrix Energetics"
Every day I set about looking for at least one magical moment and one of today's moments is truly special.
I was browsing the Freeneville website to see if the site's creator, Mr. Twenty Twenty, or Neville Goddard offered any insight on channeled teachings, many of which I’m beginning to suspect are loads of BS and not to be fully believed or relied upon. The only article he has posted on the subject is in response to a woman named Theresa who’s mother was suffering from dementia in a way that is/was similar to the experience of my parents. She had asked his insight on whether it was okay to imagine her mother being healed or if she should accept her sickness as some new age teachings suggest because it may be the path by which her mother has chosen to exit this life. Mr. Twenty responded by offering the Neville Goddard quote noted at the beginning of this post, adding that by taking the time to imagine her mother at peace she was giving both of them a gift.
I actually posted a response to the article in September 2013, sharing my own story as follows:
Thank you so much Theresa for sharing your situation with your mom. I had been going through something very similar with my mom (and dad) where she went from being the most pleasant, jovial, sweetest, generous, peaceful and strong woman I know to someone I hardly recognized. Similar to your experience, the words that would come out of her mouth sometimes were hateful and foul. She's complaining and paranoid and the doctors, friends, my siblings kept saying this is something we just have to accept and deal with.My dad had only recently been "diagnosed" as having dementia when I posted the above. I may no longer be able to help him, although I gave it everything I could up until the very end. I clung to hope like a woman adrift in an ocean clings to a life preserver until the rescue ship comes. Even after I received initial word of his death, my inner being still chose to believe the words Jesus spoke at Lazarus’ tomb: “I am the resurrection and the life...” I will continue to believe for my mom: "He sent His word and healed them….”
I chose from the beginning, like you, not to accept this, but there were days when I thought I might cave. But, I can see in my mother’s eyes who she desires to be—peaceful, loving, calm, gentle, content, trusting—and I can see her looking for someone to help set her free. And there have been more moments recently where she is the person she wants to be.
Hearing your story and your belief “that it doesn’t have to be this way” and then reading Mr. Twenty Twenty’s response only strengthens my resolve that things don’t have to be the way the doctors say for “all things are possible.” I love the statement of Jesus you mentioned from the Greatest Story Ever Told movie. I think that pretty much sums up the attitude I want to have when I see sickness and lack around me.
Thank you Mr. Twenty Twenty for your teachings on Neville and your response to Theresa. You are helping so many people like us become the people we want to be by holding fast to our dreams for ourselves and those we love until they are fully realized.
I needed this magical moment today. So did my mom.
As for the movie quote referenced in my reply, according to Theresa there's a scene in which Jesus heals a blind man and then rebukes an observer for asking what if the man he just healed of blindness wanted to be blind: “the man lives in darkness and while I am on this earth he will see!”
My belief is that Jesus being fully aware of the power within him lived in such a state of perfect faith that sickness simply couldn't exist around him, nor could lack, in the same way that darkness can't exist in the place light is shone.
"He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions." - Psalm 107:20
"We possess the same Spirit, the same power, the same authority; we don't use it, but we possess it." - My dad, Leon Don King, said in remarks given during a Christmas service held in 2006
"God give unto me the grace to accept the things I cannot change. And grant unto me the power to change the things I cannot accept!" - Richard Bartlett, author of "Matrix Energetics"
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
You Have Greatness Within
I’ve been in a mood for four days now, and not a good one, or maybe the better choice of words would be "not an ideal one.”
I decided to spend the evening reading as that helps me relax and came across an article about people's seeming obsession with transformation. According to the writer, the vast majority of people on this earth are in constant search for ways to improve or evolve ourselves, particularly those of us in Western countries. Judging by the number of self-help books on Amazon, I believe it. I own more than my share of them. How about you?
We desire to be bigger, stronger, smarter, prettier, better, more evolved, more enlightened and remain ever on the look out for the more enlightened and greater person, thing, entity “out there” that is going to save us from our "pathetic" selves. Teach us, show us how we can finally be good enough, great enough, worthy of breath. This is our constant cry.
The writer also suggests that our obsession with becoming something better than what we already are is possible only because we’ve been trained NOT to recognize the greatness already within us.
When I was a junior in college, I learned that my oldest brother had been diagnosed with brain cancer and was in the hospital on the campus of the college I was attending. I made a point of visiting with him every day during his stay to keep him encouraged and because I wanted to be with him. I very much enjoyed those visits with my brother as did he, although sometimes he and the nurses would have to throw me out as I would hang out well past visiting hours.
My junior year in college was not my best year. I recall experiencing much stress on a lot of levels, especially academically. I was struggling in four of the five classes I had taken the first semester of that year and in danger of failing two of them. I had always considered myself to be an excellent student and quick learner—heck, I made Dean's list my first four semesters of college—so when I found myself in danger of failing two classes, my self-esteem plummeted. Back then and occasionally now, I had this limiting belief as many others do that our value as humans lies in what we do and what we accomplish. It does not.
There was one day during this time I felt so despondent that I decided to drop out of college. I had concluded, based on my classroom challenges, that I simply wasn’t good enough or smart enough for college. My classmates seemed to be having a much easier time than me.
And that evening when I went to visit with my brother, he immediately sensed something was wrong because he asked mere moments after I sat down, "What's wrong?" Not wanting him to worry, I determined to pretend that all was well and gave him my fake “everything’s lovely” smile and assured him I was fine. He was not convinced and insisted I spill it. “I can see it in your eyes,” I remember him saying. So I spilled it—every fear and anxiety about not being good enough, or smart enough, or worthy enough to graduate. About not deserving to have even been accepted to college in the first place.
My brother listened patiently until I got it all out, and then asked me to sit closer to him, which I did. He leaned over, gave me a big hug, and then looked me straight in the eyes and told me something that has remained in my heart ever since: “There is greatness inside you; don’t ever forget it. You may not see it now, but one day you will.”
It was nearly 30 years ago that my brother spoke those words to me. There was more to that conversation such as him telling me how much he loved and admired me and me telling him the same, and him assuring me that I deserved to be any place I chose to be.
After taking a brief respite from classes with my dean's blessings, I graduated from college—the first of my siblings to do so. Most of my immediate family was at the ceremony, including my oldest brother who had called the night before to say he couldn’t make it because of a speaking engagement he’d previously committed to. He was the first member of my family that I spotted after the ceremony had ended. In fact, he pulled me out of the recessional to give me another big hug. He wasn’t even slightly impressed with the princess wave I gave him trying to look cool in front of my equally as ecstatic classmates as we were walking back to the registrar's building. One year and nearly three months after my graduation, my oldest brother passed away. I have missed his calming presence in my life ever since.
“There is greatness inside you; don’t ever forget it.”
Thirty years ago, my brother saw in me something I couldn't even imagine. And he was right, I couldn't see it then as I was much too busy being pitiful. Even now I feel challenged to see it, but I am beginning to see it. More and more each day, I am realizing who I am.
In life we face many challenges, many of them because of our own actions, our own choices, not knowing who we really are. Yet no matter how painful, frightening, or insurmountable are challenges may seem—they are not intended to break us or prove how pitiful and helpless we are. They are intended to prove to us the greatness we are. No need to evolve; no need to become better. I am already enough. All that is required is for me to allow myself to BE.
Thanks for the reminder big brother!
"What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet…" - Psalm 8:4-6
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure." - Marianne Williamson, author of "Return to Love"
“Know Thyself” written on the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi
I decided to spend the evening reading as that helps me relax and came across an article about people's seeming obsession with transformation. According to the writer, the vast majority of people on this earth are in constant search for ways to improve or evolve ourselves, particularly those of us in Western countries. Judging by the number of self-help books on Amazon, I believe it. I own more than my share of them. How about you?
We desire to be bigger, stronger, smarter, prettier, better, more evolved, more enlightened and remain ever on the look out for the more enlightened and greater person, thing, entity “out there” that is going to save us from our "pathetic" selves. Teach us, show us how we can finally be good enough, great enough, worthy of breath. This is our constant cry.
The writer also suggests that our obsession with becoming something better than what we already are is possible only because we’ve been trained NOT to recognize the greatness already within us.
Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember? Mark 8:18After reading this article, it became clear to me that my current state—one of feeling powerless, anxious, and worried—is a direct result of forgetting the greatness within, of forgetting who I am.
When I was a junior in college, I learned that my oldest brother had been diagnosed with brain cancer and was in the hospital on the campus of the college I was attending. I made a point of visiting with him every day during his stay to keep him encouraged and because I wanted to be with him. I very much enjoyed those visits with my brother as did he, although sometimes he and the nurses would have to throw me out as I would hang out well past visiting hours.
My junior year in college was not my best year. I recall experiencing much stress on a lot of levels, especially academically. I was struggling in four of the five classes I had taken the first semester of that year and in danger of failing two of them. I had always considered myself to be an excellent student and quick learner—heck, I made Dean's list my first four semesters of college—so when I found myself in danger of failing two classes, my self-esteem plummeted. Back then and occasionally now, I had this limiting belief as many others do that our value as humans lies in what we do and what we accomplish. It does not.
There was one day during this time I felt so despondent that I decided to drop out of college. I had concluded, based on my classroom challenges, that I simply wasn’t good enough or smart enough for college. My classmates seemed to be having a much easier time than me.
And that evening when I went to visit with my brother, he immediately sensed something was wrong because he asked mere moments after I sat down, "What's wrong?" Not wanting him to worry, I determined to pretend that all was well and gave him my fake “everything’s lovely” smile and assured him I was fine. He was not convinced and insisted I spill it. “I can see it in your eyes,” I remember him saying. So I spilled it—every fear and anxiety about not being good enough, or smart enough, or worthy enough to graduate. About not deserving to have even been accepted to college in the first place.
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| Great Oak from Wallpaper-Gallery.net |
It was nearly 30 years ago that my brother spoke those words to me. There was more to that conversation such as him telling me how much he loved and admired me and me telling him the same, and him assuring me that I deserved to be any place I chose to be.
After taking a brief respite from classes with my dean's blessings, I graduated from college—the first of my siblings to do so. Most of my immediate family was at the ceremony, including my oldest brother who had called the night before to say he couldn’t make it because of a speaking engagement he’d previously committed to. He was the first member of my family that I spotted after the ceremony had ended. In fact, he pulled me out of the recessional to give me another big hug. He wasn’t even slightly impressed with the princess wave I gave him trying to look cool in front of my equally as ecstatic classmates as we were walking back to the registrar's building. One year and nearly three months after my graduation, my oldest brother passed away. I have missed his calming presence in my life ever since.
“There is greatness inside you; don’t ever forget it.”
Thirty years ago, my brother saw in me something I couldn't even imagine. And he was right, I couldn't see it then as I was much too busy being pitiful. Even now I feel challenged to see it, but I am beginning to see it. More and more each day, I am realizing who I am.
In life we face many challenges, many of them because of our own actions, our own choices, not knowing who we really are. Yet no matter how painful, frightening, or insurmountable are challenges may seem—they are not intended to break us or prove how pitiful and helpless we are. They are intended to prove to us the greatness we are. No need to evolve; no need to become better. I am already enough. All that is required is for me to allow myself to BE.
Thanks for the reminder big brother!
"What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet…" - Psalm 8:4-6
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure." - Marianne Williamson, author of "Return to Love"
“Know Thyself” written on the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi
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