TODAY'S QUOTE:
"The words that enlighten the soul are more precious than jewels... Hazrat Inayat Khan"

Encouraging words often inspire others to do their very best for the sake of the one saying them. But hard phrases gently said often stimulate an enlightened state of mind that will make a person change their reality for their own sake.
Negatives pointed out without spite highlight the obvious to the oblivious in a non-threatening way. Word use and how they are delivered is a subtle art. Considering all aspects often flavors the meaning enough to show you something important in a brand new way, which by rote expands your own understanding. Listening more deeply is always an empowering exercise.
The words said by each of us and how we say them matters in ways we do not always comprehend, especially the ones we use with the internal voice that only we can hear. Echoes of what you tell yourself darken lives or enlighten them, so pick gems to give yourself and enjoy the priceless treasure of an altered reality.
The following text is from an email. Thank you Annie, it's always a pleasure to receive something that makes me think enough to wish to place it here. Think about it... let it ride... then decide!!!

Your words, your dreams, and your thoughts have power to create conditions in your life. What you speak about, you can bring about.
If you keep saying you can't stand your job, you might lose your job. If you keep saying you can't stand your body, your body can become sick. If you keep saying you can't stand your car, your car could be stolen or just stop operating. If you keep saying you're broke, guess what? You'll always be broke.
If you keep saying you can't trust a man or trust a woman, you will always find someone in your life to hurt and betray you. If you keep saying you can't find a job, you will remain unemployed. If you keep saying you can't find someone to love you or believe in you, your very thought will attract more experiences to confirm your beliefs. If you keep talking about a divorce or break up in a relationship, then you might end up with it.
Turn your thoughts and conversations around to be more positive and power packed with faith, hope, love and action. Don't be afraid to believe that you can have what you want and deserve.
Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny
The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settle for.

This Is My Temple

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=ofYrt9ymTRo

Bits & Pieces of This & That

Just Payment
Some things are sad in the extreme, and finding the meaning for them impossible. I let myself feel fully the sadness such events earn, not as punishment, but as the cost we are sometimes asked to pay for the delight of loving someone. My mind was made up long ago about the importance of letting my feelings matter, so even the most painful emotions are embraced as relevent to my wholeness.

If the price I have to pay is, from time-to-time, more than seems quite fair, holding the delight of the rewards close to my heart only serves as a reminder of why the pain is so intense. The pain becomes less of a burden and more of an honor when viewed as just payment for real love.

Believe!!!
Our ability as a species to overcome adversity is what legends are made of. Pick up any history book, and you will find portraits of people who started with nothing and changed the course of human history. A common thread runs through every tale. None of them were content to settle for traveling the easy road. So do not simply settle for less than what life offers. You may not change the world at large, but your personal space will certainly alter in ways never imagined in your wildest dreams.

Draw your own lines. Set your own limits. Do not just stumble blindly when the crossroads of life appear on your horizon. Look without fear down all possible avenues, choosing the one that leads to success no matter how treacherous the road appears to be. In life the easiest paths often lead straight to dead end destinations. I would climb endless mountains to reach happiness, before I would be satisfied to walk even a short distance over smooth roads to arrive at nowhere.

I have been there before, and have no wish to revisit. If a life of circles is enough to amuse you then circle on alone, but I seek a broader path to follow. When I am a very old woman, I want to remember the battles waged to become who I am. Every time I face a fear or heal a pain I grow stronger. I believe in the eternal strength of the human spirit to survive not only in spite of adversity, but also because of it. I beleive in my own ability to face and deal with any situation that really living my life brings. I believe! Believe!

Bootstraps
Finding your bootstraps is a long process, learning to use them takes tons of practice and attention to detail. Any encouragement received oils the wheels, which drive that train, so my gift is the oil of my experience to make your journey smoother.

Like snowflakes we are each different in nature, appearance, and experience. Our struggles follow suit, cut in assorted shapes then stretched to a pattern made unique by the way we wear them. Struggling without hope is a sure road to life's dead-ends, where even turning around is impossible, so I offer what hope I possess as a way to light your way.

Finding your true potential as a human being is a never ending battle to be free of the things, which try to slow us down, but teach us nothing useful in the process. Sometimes we fight others for control, but the hardest battles are often waged against ourselves. Recognizing whom you are struggling with lets you arm yourself with the proper weapons necessary to make all battles fair fights that you have an even chance of winning.

Any life worth living is rich in both pleasure and pain; the real trick is in learning how to avoid letting the pain of today steal the pleasure of tomorrow. Embracing pain when it comes is not the same thing as wallowing in it. Sadness is not banished once you master your bootstraps, but it does not remain an enemy when it is used as a tool to broaden your self awareness. I do not pretend to know all the answers; hell, I am not even sure I ask all the right questions, but I am certain that it is much more important how you face your problems than what face they wear.

Create

TODAY'S QUOTE:
"I do believe it is possible to create, even without ever writing a word or painting a picture, by simply molding one's inner life. And that too is a deed."... Etty Hillesum

Acceptance of the status quo is a kind of zombie walk through life, where you just act upon whatever facts are presented to you. Everyone has an agenda and buying into everyone else's without even knowing what your own is, means you are forever doomed to failure. So many of us have no clue about what we really think or believe. I know because I was once like that in the extreme.

Nowadays, I know more about myself than I often want to, but good or bad at least I have a clue. I have strong opinions about things that affect my soul. Many brutal lessons have taught me to give special honor to the voice that screams when I get too close to the edge of losing self, but I refuse to sweat the small shit.

Ask me where I want to go and I will most often not have a real opinion on that. I am satisfied inside my three feet of personal space. If I am secure linking it to another persons, where I rest at any given time really matters not all that much. I never get bored when I am alone, either. I am excellent company for myself and an undemanding guest inside of the space others invite me into.

Long ago, I erased the graffiti other people had written inside of me. Back then I was not ever at ease. It is truly impossible to find peace when the people you love demand you be a certain pattern to please them and change its style every time you get close to achieving their goal. Shadow boxing is a pain in the ass when the shadow is you and your punches are directed by others. Creation comes from the inside out. The sky is the limit, when you paint your own masterpiece, using colors you create on a canvas that belongs to you alone.

There comes a time when you admit that the flaws are a part of the picture. There comes a point where you learn to like yourself enough to say to the people viewing what you have become... "Take it or leave it, but do not paint your own design over mine." Try creating your own picture. Life is not a paint by numbers experience. Coloring in someone else's book does not make it your creation.

I received the following as an email. Sharing its message here is my delight. Enjoy and pass it on. Pay it forward, folks.

The Daffodil Principle

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead.

"I will come next Tuesday," I promised a little reluctantly on herthird call. Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and reluctantly I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children. I delightedly hugged and greeted my grand children.

"Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in these clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch!"

My daughter smiled calmly and said, "We drive in this all the time, Mother."

"Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home!" I assured her.

"I was hoping you'd take me over to the garage to pick up my car."

"How far will we have to drive?"

"Oh...just a few blocks," Carolyn said. "But I'll drive. I'm used to this."

After several minutes, I had to ask, "Where are we going? This isn't the way to the garage!"

"We're going to my garage the long way," Carolyn smiled, "by wayof the daffodils."

"Carolyn," I said sternly, "please turn around."

"It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience." After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the Church, I saw a hand lettered sign with an arrow that read, "Daffodil Garden."

We got out of the car, each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, as we turned a corner, I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain peak and it's surrounding slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, and saffron and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.

"Who did this?" I asked Carolyn.

"Just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house, small and modestly sitting in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house. On the patio, we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking" was the headline.

The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs," it read.

Thesecond answer was, "One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and one brain."

The third answer was, "Began in 1958."

For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time, to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop. Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. One day at a time, she had created something of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration.

The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration. That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time--often just one baby-step at time--and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time.

When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world.

"It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn. "What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years? Just think what I might have been able to achieve!"

My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual directway. "Start today," she said. She was right. It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use today?"

Use the Daffodil Principle. Stop waiting;

Until your car or home is paid off;

Until you get a new car or home;

Until your kids leave the house;

Until you go back to school;

Until you finish school;

Until you clean the house;

Until you organize the garage;

Until you clean off your desk;

Until you lose 10 lbs;

Until you gain 10 lbs;

Until you get married;

Until you get a divorce;

Until you have kids;

Until the kids go to school;

Until you retire;

Until summer;

Until spring;

Until winter;

Until fall;

Until you die...There is no better time than right now to be happy.THINK ABOUT IT ... LET IT RIDE ... THEN DECIDE ... BUT BEFORE YOU GO CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW AND FINISH THIS MOMENT WITH A WONDERFUL MESSAGE SET TO A SNAPPY TUNE.

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=JHKQECOX8PI

The Very Least

TODAY'S QUOTE:
"The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof."... Barbara Kingsolver

Hope feeds the soul in such a satisfying way. Like music, it has a tempo that keeps our feet marching, even through the most brutal terrain. A dash of hope cures listlessness and strengthens backbones. Life is irritating in the extreme sometimes... but it is also precious enough to treasure by wrapping it with hope, especially when things are less than perfect.

And...face it folks...less than perfect is reality for us all, no matter our situation in life. But hope smooth's the bumpy patches. It gives breath to the winded. It straightens crooked backs and winding thoughts. It is all we have sometimes, but it is always enough to get us across even the widest of chasms if we allow it to lift us up.

I always hope for a better tomorrow, and see the best in even the darkest today. I view hardship as a challenge and sorrow as a lesson that I must master before I can move on. Opportunities are not all dressed in party clothes, some are ragged and tattered. When doubts try to steal my rhythm, I simply wrap myself with hope and dance forward at whatever pace is possible. Think about it... Let it ride... Then decide---what you hope for... cause that truly is the very least a person ought to know about themselves!!!

Important Shoes

I wore important shoes today, even though I went no place of any import. I just needed a friendly reminder that I’m fully capable of striding anywhere in shoes that appear to own any space they inhabit. You know the ones I mean, girls… they tap with authority no matter what speed we travel.

Sassy shoes full of attitude have a habit of transforming the wearer in the most delightful ways. Hell, just gazing at them standing all alone was enough to straighten my back and lift my chin. Once they caught my eye, I instantly started looking for a skirt. By the time I slipped my feet into them I was some kind of reborn.

All dressed up and no place to go? Hardly seems reason to rejoice, but don’t waste any time feeling sorry for me. In the short space it took me to dress my outside I gathered my insides securly together too. I didn’t only alter my costume… I also changed my focus and studied all my options. I discovered true balance somewhere between my skirt and my shoes.

It proved very liberating. Empowerment begins with the most ordinary steps. Change is in the air and I wish to be the wind beneath my own wings. I may take small steps with pauses now and again, but if I wear important shoes likely nobody else will even notice any hesitation.

Putting on a different costume altered my point of view just enough to be of valuable service. In life it’s often the simplest things that do the most to bring clarity to mind and direction to purpose. Sometimes maps are drawn with hearts blood and other times we just use crayons. Today I made strides toward the future, and I wore important shoes that boldly tapped every footstep with a rhythm that made my soul sing along. Think about it... let it ride... then decide!!!

A Real Masterpiece

TODAY'S QUOTE:
"All of us invent ourselves. Some of us just have more imagination than others."... Cher

The wise never settle for what is as being an acceptable stopping spot in life. They always reach for what could be, and it becomes their reality if the proper pressure is applied. The swing toward the next branch of possibilities is almost effortless. Just a firm lean and their momentum does the hardest part. They create, re-create then tweak all settings until best is a solid reality. Sometime they rest there, letting strength rebuild before slowly climbing up a step and beginning again. The speed of ascent is up to each climber to decide.

The wisest among us know this staircase goes on forever, even though some travelers clearly see nothing but a dead-end ahead. I believe if no steps leading upward are visible you must be looking in the wrong direction. In life, if you cannot go forward then you are really going nowhere worth being anyway. Why stand against any obstacle as if you're in time out, waiting for someone to tell you its okay to leave the corner? Listen closely any of you reading this from the corner… turn around… it's truly okay… flip the script… try forward for a bit.

Self-development really should not be left up to chance to decide. Positive alterations may be more costly, yet they are made of material guaranteed to last a lifetime. Whoever or whatever you believe created heaven and earth is not even an issue here. Evolution is universal in the fashion I describe. Adapting to survive is something we can find examples of most anywhere we turn our attention. And nothing is quite as breathtaking as a human who not only knows how to survive, but has also learned how to thrive. I just firmly believe that if we are busy creating something anyway, why not make the extra effort necessary to shape a real masterpiece? Think about it… let it ride… then decide!!!

Grand Obstacles

TODAY'S QUOTE:
"Let a person rejoice when he is confronted with obstacles, for it means that he has reached the end of some particular line of indifference or folly, and is now called upon to summon up all his energy and intelligence in order to extricate himself, and to find a better way; that the powers within him are crying out for greater freedom, for enlarged exercise and scope."... James Allen

Viewing any trouble as treasure is such a difficult task. Even with practice it never becomes a totally automatic response… easier yes… but auto pilot is just too much to expect. Adjusting to whatever is seen from a distance comes closest to being made up of programmable responses.

Tracking its progress gives set boundaries to work within, allowing us to foam the runway to soften its landing. It’s the shit we don’t see coming that tests our real aptitude as well as stretching our fortitude to its outer limits.

Aptitude is defined as an inherent ability. We all have built in power that even the most enlightened often underestimate, and the clueless totally ignore its reality. Aptitude has a lot to do with attitude. I certainly don’t think any of us should search out grief just to prove who is master and who is slave.

I simply know that it isn’t what we carry… but how we balance it that matters most. The right mind set eases even the worst aches and makes some kind of sense out of any suffering. I’ve had plenty in my life to make me bitter, yet I refuse to put that kind of garbage into my system.

I may panic for a time when I get blindsided, but I never stay on wobble for long. I just take my own advice and think about it, let it ride, then decide… and I always choose to keep the price as low as possible and the profit as steep as I can possibly manage.

The Rest Between Breaths

TODAY'S QUOTE:
"Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths."...Etty Hillesum

Boy, that's a truthism if I've ever heard one. Only problem is not enough deep breaths are taken and even when they are the pause between is toooo often all toooo brief. People can only twirl from one thing to another for so long before something gives out, tips over, or locks up. It's the pause between tasks or issues or emotions that makes it a smooth transition.

The interval separating one thing from the next functions like the clutch on a car. You can't get very far without it, and pushing it firmly to its limit gives the best results. If the delay between one location and the next has no gap at all it becomes all tangled and confusing.

Christmas lights may still function in a wad, but what's their point. Fuzzy yarn in a bunch requires lots of untangling before it becomes useable. Wadded up people still function, but untangled folks always excel in some fashion or another. And all it takes is just a bit of rest between breaths. Think about it... Let it ride... Then decide!!!


My thoughts about:
"When a person is writing in anger there is such a deep impression on the page but as the anger is released the pen becomes lighter, leaving hardly any impression. Would love to hear your thoughts on why that happens."... Brenda

Brenda, I think using pen and paper to channel anger is an excellent alternative to most other choices we could make. I use it when necessary to release pressure during irritating situations. Fact is some posts begin with me typing very firmly then as I voice my emotions the need to press hard is removed in equal measure to whatever energy is released.

We travel from our norm to anger at lightning speed; it's a bit like being dropped out of a recliner into the driver's seat of a car going 200 miles an hour. To get through it safely we have to focus on slowing down as smoothly as possible, skidding into a wall is all too easy otherwise.

There just isn't much more pointless a task than cleaning up debris created from a wreck you caused by being a wreck. Our anger hurts us much more than it ever does anyone else. Being mad at any situation we cannot change is quite insane, yet willing lunatics abound. The asylum offers voluntary housing; if you live there it's by choice alone. We all visit from time to time. Better all around to have control of anger instead of letting it have control of you.

Pen in hand.... trembling hand... grip almost fist-like... emotions in turmoil... HARD PRESSURE creating hard pressure on paper. Often the size of script is much larger than it ends up being when all rage is spent. With an outlet the words flow fast and furious then slow as the mind empties its hottest notions and emotions, leaving only cooler thoughts behind. A pen has a small opening and a limit to its speed of use.

A mouth does not. Anger and rage loosened through that opening often spews in directions never dreamed of and cleanup is always difficult. Damage control is much better served by doing some before the damage ever gets done. And a pen and paper is, I have found, a civilized use of a most uncivilized emotion. I have learned more of value about myself while working through my rage than I ever learned in any other way. And.... knowledge is empowering.

Thanks for all your comments and for the opportunity of using this place for a real meeting of minds. I welcome both from any and all who read here.

Simple Philosophy

TODAY'S QUOTE:
"I have a simple philosophy: Fill what's empty. Empty what's full. Scratch where it itches.".... Alice Roosevelt Longworth, daughter of Theodore Roosevelt

Some of this I agree with 100%, some much less so, but doesn't it have a flow that makes you smile? I surely admire any philosopher who not only lives within boundaries they carve, but also takes the time to write it down. This venue is open to everyone in whatever measure they choose to utilize. Written down... or not... at least have one. Announcing it simply takes a different level of commitment to whatever your truth is at any given moment.

Once on paper whatever credit or blame the words earn belongs entirely to their creator. Fact is most often one pocket loads as the other drains when both occur in perfect sync from totally different directions. Anyone brave enough to stand erect on that razors edge has my attention, and if what they say makes me use my brain for thinking they always end up here.

Funny how this format got started to prove I could write about anything, but continued because it became a part of my personal philosophy to demand my head be more than just a not too shabby hat rack. Doing this demands I keep my attention on what I think about, how I process it, and the why of course.

The reason we do, say, or feel anything is one of the most vital keys to our inner kingdom. It takes more than simple thoughts drifting where they will... our brains rotate us all wobbly if given a free hand. I don't tell myself what to think once I assign my mind any given subject, but I do tell it what to think about. Without positive focus bad shit can creep on in, fumigating wastes time and energy better spent elsewhere.

Hell, I drive this lunatic somewhere worth going, or it would surly drive me someplace quite insane. A chauffeur is paid to take you to a destination of your choosing... pick for heavens sake, or be ready to pay a fortune for nothing of much real value. Once upon a time I never gave thinking a second thought. Now I know better. And for ill or good I write it down. I fill and I empty in this twisted way, but I'll leave all notions of scratching itches for close inspection on some other day. Think about it... Let it ride... Then decide!!!

Supersize

TODAY'S QUOTE:
"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction of being loved for yourself, or, more correctly, being loved in spite of yourself."... Victor Hugo

There isn't much glory in only loving the easy to adore. And there isn't all that much pleasure in being loved because its demanded by society per the placement of birth alone. Worst of all is to be little more than a habit someone preforms over and over by rote. Rote learning is programed by repetition. Just because we do the same action again and again doesn't give it more value. Fact is, some habits are extremely harmful.

Habitual emotions don't possess enough substance to keep flowing through anything but the thinnest of times. Get to any thickness, or add any sickness and the outcome is certain. Once used or abused it vanishes as completely as smoke in a stiff wind. The harder it blows, the faster it dissipates.

Very few of us can live a lifetime without being breezy enough to blow away any love without roots that travel soul deep. A robot could do as well as that. Sad really, how often we act robotic enough to be classified as heartless. Humans truly deserve a better love... given or received... than one that is simply habit formed.

It's a fact, we aren't always lovable. Hell, sometimes it's hard to even like ourselves all that much. Given enough time and practice most of us at least attempt to arrange ourselves in a fashion more easily admirable. And one of the things that makes this an easier task is a true love gifted when you least deserve it.

Love has many ingredients, and faith is one of its most invaluable components. When someone else has faith in your ability to alter any unlovable thing then half the battle is won. Whenver that certainty comes from your own soul... the war is almost done. Don't sell yourself short. Don't give or accept less than the real deal. Imitations won't stand the test of time. With luck the love you recieve in spite of yourself will be enough to last a lifetime long. Think about it... Let it ride... Then decide!!!

Sacred Enclosure

TODAY'S QUOTE:
"Your own mind is a sacred enclosure into which nothing harmful can enter except by your promotion."... Ralph Waldo Emerson

This I believe is true... but on bad days things may cross the threshold of even the most well guarded brains. Unwanted notions that take root, build a nest, and raise a family do so by invitation only. Positive can totally fill any depression that negative digs, but we have to man the shovel with all the strength we can manage.

Humans are bundles of nerve endings and offence is easily taken were none is intended. Hell, there are so many variables into every event that occurs in our lifetime. I know what flips my switches and what happens next if I allow human nature to take its course. And knowledge is power.

Knowing the limits of loved ones helps us to separate what should get our goat and what cannot. Teaching them our own limits helps avoid misunderstandings on their side of the relationship. Mind control is the exercise of processing thoughts in a way that eases our soul. Wounded animals are dangerous and the same can be said for humans. We can be satisfied to be simply a blind reaction to events, or we can get hold of ourselves and aim for loftier territory.

It's really our choice. When we truly take responsible for whatever calm or war is going on inside of our own core, we police our brains much differently. The best thing you can do to guarantee a sacred enclosure is to redecorate the temple then don't invite any more squatters to your church. Think about it... Let it ride... Then decide!!!

Just a Day Away

TODAY'S QUOTE:
Life lived for tomorrow will always be just a day away from being realized.... Leo Buscaglia, 1924-1998, American Author

It's always a sure bet to invest some real awareness in the moment... I recommend owning them whenever possible. It guarantees a more balanced orbit through reality, whatever that happens to be at any given time. Life turns on a dime, blindsiding all of us in our turn. One minute we're upright the next prone and dazed. Close attention to detail makes it much safer to rise.
Hell, seems I wasted my entire youth wishing for a better tomorrow... looking to it to save me somehow. Wasn't until after I started fixing today that my tomorrows got any better.

Worst mistake I ever made was thinking any responsibility for my happiness rested in anyone else's hands. Why do we humans wish and wait for the unattainable? If my today's didn't suit me all those years ago, I shouldah'... couldah' altered the pattern, yet I didn't. My fault... my yesterdays were all wasted on tomorrows that never arrived.

I hope the worst of my wasteful days are done and gone. No matter how many times I've fallen off the horse, so far I've always climbed back on. Tell you true... I'm plenty tired of hittin' the dirt, though. Dust is a very poor meal. I do my very best nowadays to keep soil off my plate. And I don't wait for tomorrow to be realized, because I'm too busy living today. Think about it... Let it ride... Then decide!!!

A Successful Formula

TODAY'S QUOTE:
"Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it."... Lou Holtz

Man oh man... wish I'd been the one to say that. I agree with every word and its perfect placement. All of us can use this formula and be successful with whatever we apply it toward. How much success depends on what percentage of each we apply. It differs by speed stirred, temperature used, and how long applied, but every valiant effort is rewarded with a banquet of some sort. This i KNOW to be true.
Directing of feet toward a path of personal victory requires a careful domination of what goes on inside the head doing the navigation. What kind of fuel is it using? If its not fed properly why expect it to function as intended? How bad does it smoke when its pushed to its limit? Mind control is a very good thing when we use it on ourselves. Controlling what enters gives us so much more input into what it does once inserted and what emissions if any exit once processed. Think about it... Let it ride... Then decide!!!
I realize my posts are brief... I'm working on loftier endeavors as well as what I do here... but truly none are more important than touching all who read here. If you're new here hit archives (around 200 posts there) and enjoy, or scroll down and visit my other blog, (over 500 posts there)...

Friendship

TODAY'S QUOTE:

"Friendship with oneself is all important, because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world."... Eleanor Roosevelt

True that... if we cannot even get along with ourselves how can we cope with any other relationship? Each of us possesses such limitless potential, well past what most imagine as their utmost capability. And the times we get short-sheeted the worst it's usually us tucking in the corners. If my worst enemy is me, who can be blamed for taking my lead?
All of us have regrets; none possess any claim to perfection, but that doesn't mean self-hate will correct our blemishes. Bitterness illuminates while forgiveness emancipates, and the most important one to pardon is yourself. We're just as human as the next guy, yet the punishment we suffer at our own hand is always much harsher than what is deemed fair for others.
Intentions matter more than we realize, be worthy of friendship by beginning with yourself. Believe in your power to evolve. Do unto yourself as you want others to do unto you and that practice will extend outward by default.
I received the link posted below from a very wise man. We agree that it really isn't a secret at all... we all should realize our worth and celebrate all blessings great and small. In life things are really much simpler than we make them. Beginning a day with this reminder would enrich every moment that came after. Enjoy it... I certainly did. And ... Think about it... Let it ride... Then decide!!!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKwVlTFjYXo&feature=related

Keep Knocking

TODAY'S QUOTE:
"Keep knocking, and the joy inside will eventually open a window and look out to see who's there."... Rumi

I knocked... and knocked... and knocked... and, oh well you get the picture etc. and such. Hell, I banged on well past the time when someone saner would've surely given up all hope of an answer. As far as I was concerned there were only two options; murder the portion of myself that still believed in happily-ever-after, or continue knocking.
I had no alternative unless I was willing to be zombieized, which simply didn't suit me in the least. My soul demanded what it knew truly existed, even if my mind resisted and my heart wept in frustration. I hammered out what I knew to be my own primal beat for survival.
The snap of the lock was the sweetest sound I've ever heard. I discovered joy intense enough to be damn near indescribable. Suddenly I faced life with more hope than is common and living became a personal challenge. The joy was always there, it only waited for me to free myself from things that muted its song. I found joy in my own company long before I found my soul-mate. He didn't begin this trip with me, yet I can't imagine a life without him as its center.
I view him as a priceless reward. He makes up for the agony of getting this far on a journey that never would've been this kind of adventure if I'd ever lost my fairy-tale faith. Keep banging my friends. Hammer for freedoms sake. Invest your knuckles in a future worthy of countless battle scars. Allow your pain to be a fair price for something worthwhile. Think about it... Let it ride... Then decide!!!

Flip The Script

TODAY'S QUOTE:
"It's never too late—in fiction or in life—to revise." ... Nancy Thayer

Change can occur at any given time, and progress at any speed. Fact is, once it hits full stride it often accelerates past any planned destination, ending up wherever fate decrees. That's not necessarily a bad thing, since we all too often underestimate our own potential. Fear and doubt are common denominators, keeping us stationary when any movement at all would improve our situation in some fashion.

What is seems so much safer to some than what might be; the demon known is preferred to the one imagined. Plodding on in a rut becomes nothing more than habit, done without forethought then easily forgotten. We often program ourselves to keep all expectations low, if we can be bothered to have any at all. We forget that whatever is written is completely controlled by the author. If someone else is doodling in your margins or altering events to suit their own agenda, then gracefully gather up your shit and set it right.   

If it's not penned to suit the plot you created then edit, revise, or flip the script altogether. Being little more than the sum total of things that happen to you isn't ideal; cast yourself a better part in the story that is your life. Begin again until what you wear suits your soul. Think about it... Let it ride... Then decide!!!

Value Yourself

TODAY'S QUOTE:
"If you really do put a small value upon yourself, rest assured that the world will not raise your price."...Anonymous

Oh boy, this quote is a scary kinda true. How we see ourselves is a mirror of our own creation. When others look at us they only see whatever we project. Nowadays folks pick and choose quickly, we just don't have the time or energy to excavate relationships. Sometimes first impressions are all the chance we ever have, once a mind is decided its no easy task to alter. Lots is lost on misconceptions, putting more forethought into our reflection guarantees an unobstructed view.

Our appearance is only a small part of the whole picture. Attitude matters more than attire. A snappy walk, twinkling eyes, and a smile outshine diamonds. We can't always be assured of the best wardrobe, but how we dress our face is certainly under our control.

If you were a product how would you market yourself? Same premise with people... put it at eye level and dress it for success. Be approachable... Be real... Be positive. You can test how well you're doing in the faces all around. Do expressions change when others gaze in your direction? If so in what way are they altered? If you don't like their reflection all that much, soften what they see and perhaps they'll return the favor. Think about it... Let it ride... Then YOU decide!!!

Love Lessons

Today's Quote:
"Every instance of heartbreak can teach us powerful lessons about creating the kind of love we really want." Martha Beck

This is true to an extent we cannot even begin to imagine in our youth. All we know then is that having a broken heart seems fatal. By the time we hit our prime heartache becomes a way of life for some; more of the same is all that's expected... so of course that's mostly what is received.

Standing at the bus stop to catch a plane isn't sane behavior. Retaking the exact steps you've always taken then wondering why you end up in the same place rates about equal on the "DUH" meter. Repetitive motions just deepen our ruts. We've all been guilty of that in one form or another... recognizing our folly is the only avenue toward an alternate route.

Recognizing heartache as the wisest teacher takes some deep thought; thinking is next to impossible when you're so busy feeling. I figure that's why it takes us all so long to get a real clue. It's a catch 22... a blessing and a burden... pain that teaches pleasure.

Any suffering in my lifetime has turned out to be the cost paid for half of the island my soul-mate and I inhabit in perfect peace. I didn't always view my agony as part of the reward. Joy taught me the real value of pain.

If I'd never been abused I wouldn't rest so comfy in my treasured role. If there had never been screams would I value this blessed silence so completely. If having a jailer taught me anything precious its how glorious freedom feels. If I'd never known true agony how much lesser would be my joy???

One taught me what I don't want... the other gave me everything I imagined and more. Bad love shrinks what it touched. Good love expands, always leaving enough room for growth. I cannot thank my abuser for what he took but I thank God that some measure of value came from my pain. Brutal lessons pay hefty dividends, but only if you alter direction and pull out of the 'DUH' lane. Think about it... let it ride... then YOU decide!!!