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You are doing it. You are fielding life’s stuff.
The world doesn’t always work the way you want it to. Stuff happens. And when it happens, your seeds of possibilities begin to grow.
In disappointment and distress are the seeds of wisdom - and the seeds of despair and grief.
In despair are the seeds of acceptance, personal growth and gratitude - and the seeds of helplessness and more despair.
In grief there are the seeds of love, compassion and growth - and the seeds of devastation and hopelessness.
In growth are the seeds of appreciation, gratitude and joy.
In gratitude and joy is the seed of fulfillment and love.
Our expectations and willingness shape these possible sequels to what happened. What we think - feel - do, when stuff happens, determines which seed grows.
Love,
The world doesn’t always work the way you want it to. Stuff happens. And when it happens, your seeds of possibilities begin to grow.
In disappointment and distress are the seeds of wisdom - and the seeds of despair and grief.
In despair are the seeds of acceptance, personal growth and gratitude - and the seeds of helplessness and more despair.
In grief there are the seeds of love, compassion and growth - and the seeds of devastation and hopelessness.
In growth are the seeds of appreciation, gratitude and joy.
In gratitude and joy is the seed of fulfillment and love.
Our expectations and willingness shape these possible sequels to what happened. What we think - feel - do, when stuff happens, determines which seed grows.
Love,
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Difficulties are in the seeing - or not seeing. Perhaps we should say in the not recognizing what is trueabout life.
Think about how frequently you tell yourself, or feel, “I can’t”, vs. how often you think, “I can do this, even though it’s hard.”
You can if you think you can.
And you must if you want change.
Remember that saying, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result.” You can change what you are doing.
Let the connections to why you “can’t” go. Let the too’s go - too old, too young, too poor, too uneducated, too inexperienced.
You are perfectly imperfect, and perfectly capable of changing, one tiny step at a time.
The difficulties will become smaller. You will become bigger. You can. You will.
Start meditating every day. Start saying three gratitudes every morning before you get out of bed. Start eating more vegetables. Start reading a few great pages every day. Start talking to people who motivate you. Start loving people like crazy.
Go out there and start. Life is too good to wait. It’s wonderful to start. It’s wonderful to succeed.
You can.
Love,
Think about how frequently you tell yourself, or feel, “I can’t”, vs. how often you think, “I can do this, even though it’s hard.”
You can if you think you can.
And you must if you want change.
Remember that saying, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result.” You can change what you are doing.
Let the connections to why you “can’t” go. Let the too’s go - too old, too young, too poor, too uneducated, too inexperienced.
You are perfectly imperfect, and perfectly capable of changing, one tiny step at a time.
The difficulties will become smaller. You will become bigger. You can. You will.
Start meditating every day. Start saying three gratitudes every morning before you get out of bed. Start eating more vegetables. Start reading a few great pages every day. Start talking to people who motivate you. Start loving people like crazy.
Go out there and start. Life is too good to wait. It’s wonderful to start. It’s wonderful to succeed.
You can.
Love,
- Published on
1. We want to be able to trust people. Put another way, we want people to make guarantees to us. — Instead, we can work on keeping our promises to ourselves
2. We want love and acceptance from others, so we feel valued and validated. Instead, practicing compassion / love for others makes us feel truly important - because then we are.
3. We want to have the best of everything. But - the happiest people don’t have the best of everything - they make the best of everything.
4. We want to be happy. But - we too often complain, judge others and wish it were different. We call it “being realistic.” Instead, just stop it and be happy.
Here’s a funny take on negativity from Bob Newhart. Enjoy!
https://youtu.be/4BjKS1-vjPs
Claude and I send love,
2. We want love and acceptance from others, so we feel valued and validated. Instead, practicing compassion / love for others makes us feel truly important - because then we are.
3. We want to have the best of everything. But - the happiest people don’t have the best of everything - they make the best of everything.
4. We want to be happy. But - we too often complain, judge others and wish it were different. We call it “being realistic.” Instead, just stop it and be happy.
Here’s a funny take on negativity from Bob Newhart. Enjoy!
https://youtu.be/4BjKS1-vjPs
Claude and I send love,
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My mother and I were listening to songs on the radio while she ironed clothes and I folded. I was 11 years old.
I asked Mother, “Why are all the songs about love?”
Mother said, “Love is what makes our lives wonderful.”
Our deepest needs hinge on being loved.
All warm-blooded animals are born with an innate need to be touched and stroked affectionately. Human babies actually die from lack of touch. Love is life.
In the nineteenth century, most institutionalized infants in the U.S. died of marasmus (severe malnutrition and wasting away, as if they knew no one loved them).
Orphanages reported a majority of infants under the age of two had died due to failure to eat and thrive, related to the lack of touch and affection.
Affection and touch not only help babies thrive and live, but help develop lower levels of adult aggression and higher levels of adult happiness.
Love is what makes our lives wonderful.
This week, see how many people you can tell, “I love you.”
Give hugs. Share smiles. Share songs about love.
Celebrate Valentine’s Day - a great celebration of love.
Love,
I asked Mother, “Why are all the songs about love?”
Mother said, “Love is what makes our lives wonderful.”
Our deepest needs hinge on being loved.
All warm-blooded animals are born with an innate need to be touched and stroked affectionately. Human babies actually die from lack of touch. Love is life.
In the nineteenth century, most institutionalized infants in the U.S. died of marasmus (severe malnutrition and wasting away, as if they knew no one loved them).
Orphanages reported a majority of infants under the age of two had died due to failure to eat and thrive, related to the lack of touch and affection.
Affection and touch not only help babies thrive and live, but help develop lower levels of adult aggression and higher levels of adult happiness.
Love is what makes our lives wonderful.
This week, see how many people you can tell, “I love you.”
Give hugs. Share smiles. Share songs about love.
Celebrate Valentine’s Day - a great celebration of love.
Love,
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"...when our focus stays constantly in the moment, our moments last longer and don't race away from us." - Dr Chris Baker
On a road trip out west, we spent almost all of our drive time on two-lane roads - avoiding the interstate highways.
We wanted to enjoy nature, find the little towns, breathe the fresh air, discover little ice cream stores and sleep already so refreshed that sleep was for dreaming as our bodies didn’t feel tired.
No shortcuts. Our son Trey has been known to call that the“longcut.” The Auto Club calls it the “scenic route,” while the GPS says, “recalculating.”
Thinking of that beautiful three-week trip recently, it dawned on me that it is a great metaphor for life. If we are living in the moment, with intention, being here now, we are on the scenic route.
We enjoy beauty around us, connect with the people in the ‘little towns’ on our journey, breathe deeply, take time for an ice cream, and sleep so refreshed that sleep is full of beautiful dreams, a rest unlike any other.
We know when our focus stays constantly in the moment, our moments last longer and don’t race away from us.
Let’s take the scenic route!
Let’s stay in the moment, savoring EACH one.
To ice cream!
Love,
We wanted to enjoy nature, find the little towns, breathe the fresh air, discover little ice cream stores and sleep already so refreshed that sleep was for dreaming as our bodies didn’t feel tired.
No shortcuts. Our son Trey has been known to call that the“longcut.” The Auto Club calls it the “scenic route,” while the GPS says, “recalculating.”
Thinking of that beautiful three-week trip recently, it dawned on me that it is a great metaphor for life. If we are living in the moment, with intention, being here now, we are on the scenic route.
We enjoy beauty around us, connect with the people in the ‘little towns’ on our journey, breathe deeply, take time for an ice cream, and sleep so refreshed that sleep is full of beautiful dreams, a rest unlike any other.
We know when our focus stays constantly in the moment, our moments last longer and don’t race away from us.
Let’s take the scenic route!
Let’s stay in the moment, savoring EACH one.
To ice cream!
Love,
- Published on
In school, you had regular teachers, substitute teachers, favorite teachers, and not-so-favorite teachers.
You knew where they were. They were in their classrooms; they were in the hallways while you changed classes, on the playground, in the school parking lot to help you get on the right bus, and they were in the teachers’ lounge sometimes.
It is confusing to children to see their teachers in the grocery store. That’s not where their teachers usually are found. Don’t you love hearing a little one say, “Mommy, LOOK! There’s my teacher!” with surprise and excitement.
Where are your teachers now?
Your classroom is your life. Your hallways between classes are your journeys, your vacations, your change in routines.
And the teachers are everywhere. Life is a school.
Now, you are in your Master’s Program of Life — or maybe your PhD! Your courses are much more challenging than in third grade.
Your teachers are in your questions and your confusions. They are in your challenges, your problems. They are getting you on the right bus.
“You’ll find your teachers in life in the most unlikely places and they can be the most unlikely of people.“ ~ Claude Hammond
This week, notice where your teachers show up. Get on the right bus. Enjoy recess when it’s time, and thank your teacher for the lessons.
Study well.
Love,
You knew where they were. They were in their classrooms; they were in the hallways while you changed classes, on the playground, in the school parking lot to help you get on the right bus, and they were in the teachers’ lounge sometimes.
It is confusing to children to see their teachers in the grocery store. That’s not where their teachers usually are found. Don’t you love hearing a little one say, “Mommy, LOOK! There’s my teacher!” with surprise and excitement.
Where are your teachers now?
Your classroom is your life. Your hallways between classes are your journeys, your vacations, your change in routines.
And the teachers are everywhere. Life is a school.
Now, you are in your Master’s Program of Life — or maybe your PhD! Your courses are much more challenging than in third grade.
Your teachers are in your questions and your confusions. They are in your challenges, your problems. They are getting you on the right bus.
“You’ll find your teachers in life in the most unlikely places and they can be the most unlikely of people.“ ~ Claude Hammond
This week, notice where your teachers show up. Get on the right bus. Enjoy recess when it’s time, and thank your teacher for the lessons.
Study well.
Love,
- Published on
"...what makes you think the Universe will orovide more, until you are happy with what you NOW have?" -- Dr Chris Baker
"The opportunities for growth come and go. Life changes and you become." - Dr Chris Baker
Think how it would feel every day to say, ”I am grateful for what I HAVE had, for what I NOW have, and for what I SHALL have.“
Life is amazing in its gift of “many lives” in one.
You live a life as an infant, then several as different age children, then your adolescence, and then you begin your lives as an adult - the lives in various relationships, as a parent, as a friend, and if you are fortunate, as an elder statesman, with experience and compassion to share with the people around you.
During these various “lives”, each having a different scope, a different identity, as people come and go, as you come and go, and as life comes and goes, you change.
You can grow, you can become greater and able to give more - and that is undoubtedly the goal of your time here on the earth.
Even the challenges, the difficulties come and go. I remember hearing from a young lady whose heating system went out in her new-to-her little starter home, and she was panicked about getting through the winter, having no money and now no heat. As she told the story, even the memory of the moment brought tears to her eyes.
“The Rest of the Story” -- Some five years later, the debt for the new heating system was paid off, her two children were five years older and thriving, and she had met a wonderful man with whom to share her previously single life. The challenges come and go.
The opportunities for growth come and go. Life changes and you become.
It’s all what it is supposed to be. It’s all for the good. It’s all worthy of your gratitude. And your gratitude makes it greater.
“Be grateful for what you already have while you pursue your goals.
If you aren’t grateful for what you already have, what makes you think you would be happy with more?” ~ Roy T. Bennett
And, might I add, what makes you think the Universe will provide more, until you are happy with what you NOW have? We just don’t know. But we DO have what we now have.
”I am grateful for what I HAVE had, for what I NOW have, and for what I SHALL have.”
Love,
Life is amazing in its gift of “many lives” in one.
You live a life as an infant, then several as different age children, then your adolescence, and then you begin your lives as an adult - the lives in various relationships, as a parent, as a friend, and if you are fortunate, as an elder statesman, with experience and compassion to share with the people around you.
During these various “lives”, each having a different scope, a different identity, as people come and go, as you come and go, and as life comes and goes, you change.
You can grow, you can become greater and able to give more - and that is undoubtedly the goal of your time here on the earth.
Even the challenges, the difficulties come and go. I remember hearing from a young lady whose heating system went out in her new-to-her little starter home, and she was panicked about getting through the winter, having no money and now no heat. As she told the story, even the memory of the moment brought tears to her eyes.
“The Rest of the Story” -- Some five years later, the debt for the new heating system was paid off, her two children were five years older and thriving, and she had met a wonderful man with whom to share her previously single life. The challenges come and go.
The opportunities for growth come and go. Life changes and you become.
It’s all what it is supposed to be. It’s all for the good. It’s all worthy of your gratitude. And your gratitude makes it greater.
“Be grateful for what you already have while you pursue your goals.
If you aren’t grateful for what you already have, what makes you think you would be happy with more?” ~ Roy T. Bennett
And, might I add, what makes you think the Universe will provide more, until you are happy with what you NOW have? We just don’t know. But we DO have what we now have.
”I am grateful for what I HAVE had, for what I NOW have, and for what I SHALL have.”
Love,
- Published on
Think about significance.
Your deepest needs and fears originate way down in your subconscious mind, in the primitive parts of your brain. They include the need to be significant - the need to be important, and the fear of not mattering.
EVERYONE needs to feel that they matter.
You (and everyone else) are not consciously aware that your need to matter is controlling your behavior. When you are defensive, you are not aware that’s why. When you are angry and needing to be right (feeling as if the other person doesn’t understand that you are right), you are not aware of your need to matter, to have the other person recognize you are right, to be important.
When you are craving praise, hating criticism, feeling very defensive, you are not consciously aware of your need to be important. Think about that. When you feel hurt, you are not consciously aware of your need to matter. Yet that’s what is driving the emotion and your reactions/behavior.
You can learn and become more aware.
You can look for your deep-seated need to matter when you feel hurt, defensive, wronged, not listened-to. You can be quiet and think about your deep primitive instincts. You can know that it is true for every one.
You can look for opportunities to love and help others. As you do, you will feel the love, the significance you crave. As you do, you’ll realize how much you matter.
Compliment that Walmart clerk on doing a great job! Sincerely thank the people who help you - at the office, at your home, out and about in your world.
Let the other driver into the traffic land when it is safe. Pick up an item that has fallen to the floor in Target and put it back on the shelf, as you are shopping.
And the easiest and most rewarding might be - to SMILE at every single person you encounter today! It gives them love.
Significance is achieved by leaving the world better than you found it. People who feel their lives really matter are the happiest people of all!
Love,
Your deepest needs and fears originate way down in your subconscious mind, in the primitive parts of your brain. They include the need to be significant - the need to be important, and the fear of not mattering.
EVERYONE needs to feel that they matter.
You (and everyone else) are not consciously aware that your need to matter is controlling your behavior. When you are defensive, you are not aware that’s why. When you are angry and needing to be right (feeling as if the other person doesn’t understand that you are right), you are not aware of your need to matter, to have the other person recognize you are right, to be important.
When you are craving praise, hating criticism, feeling very defensive, you are not consciously aware of your need to be important. Think about that. When you feel hurt, you are not consciously aware of your need to matter. Yet that’s what is driving the emotion and your reactions/behavior.
You can learn and become more aware.
You can look for your deep-seated need to matter when you feel hurt, defensive, wronged, not listened-to. You can be quiet and think about your deep primitive instincts. You can know that it is true for every one.
You can look for opportunities to love and help others. As you do, you will feel the love, the significance you crave. As you do, you’ll realize how much you matter.
Compliment that Walmart clerk on doing a great job! Sincerely thank the people who help you - at the office, at your home, out and about in your world.
Let the other driver into the traffic land when it is safe. Pick up an item that has fallen to the floor in Target and put it back on the shelf, as you are shopping.
And the easiest and most rewarding might be - to SMILE at every single person you encounter today! It gives them love.
Significance is achieved by leaving the world better than you found it. People who feel their lives really matter are the happiest people of all!
Love,
- Published on
In this New Year we call 2018, you could:
Why write it down?
Because it will help you define your new life. What it looks like. What is in it. What your days will be like. And who you will hang with. (Remember, you are the average of the the five people you spend the most time with.)
Then you will get excited about your new life. It will take on meaning for you. It becomes approachable and reachable because you know what it is you are going for.
Approachable means you start to understand (and write down further) what steps you can take to move toward your new life.
Reachable means you can do it.
Let’s move, people!!
Have the life of your dreams.
Love,
- Decide to make it a new life.
- Write down what your new life looks like.
- Start living your new life.
Why write it down?
Because it will help you define your new life. What it looks like. What is in it. What your days will be like. And who you will hang with. (Remember, you are the average of the the five people you spend the most time with.)
Then you will get excited about your new life. It will take on meaning for you. It becomes approachable and reachable because you know what it is you are going for.
Approachable means you start to understand (and write down further) what steps you can take to move toward your new life.
Reachable means you can do it.
Let’s move, people!!
Have the life of your dreams.
Love,
- Published on
New Year’s resolutions originated a long time ago. Perhaps with the Babylonians who made promises to their gods at the start of each year; perhaps with the Romans who made promises to the god Janus, for whom January is named; perhaps in the Middle Ages when the knights reaffirmed their commitment to chivalry.
Do resolutions help? Do they work?
The answer is, that without a goal to pursue, without a target to shoot toward, it is unlikely that you will hit that goal or target.
However, with a goal, a resolution, your success depends on your recurring, repeating work toward the resolution.
Tony Robbins says to keep on re-visiting the resolution. Every day, for the whole year. Why? Because you reinforce your belief in your goal. You reinforce your thinking toward your goal. You reinforce your actions toward your goal.
You power up!
Gratitude also reinforces your perspective and belief in your goal. It’s amazing. When we are grateful for what we HAVE, we receive more. The Universe is abundant and unlimited. There is enough for everyone. Truly. “Ask and you shall receive.” ~ Matthew 7:7
Do this:
Ask. Tell the Universe your goal. Even write it down and look at it a few times every day.
Be grateful for what you NOW have. You are setting your beliefs, your perspective, to abundance.
Take actions toward your goal. Tiny steps, tiny decisions that work toward your goal.
Go on living life. It’s too good to miss!
You are POWERED UP!
Love,
Do resolutions help? Do they work?
The answer is, that without a goal to pursue, without a target to shoot toward, it is unlikely that you will hit that goal or target.
However, with a goal, a resolution, your success depends on your recurring, repeating work toward the resolution.
Tony Robbins says to keep on re-visiting the resolution. Every day, for the whole year. Why? Because you reinforce your belief in your goal. You reinforce your thinking toward your goal. You reinforce your actions toward your goal.
You power up!
Gratitude also reinforces your perspective and belief in your goal. It’s amazing. When we are grateful for what we HAVE, we receive more. The Universe is abundant and unlimited. There is enough for everyone. Truly. “Ask and you shall receive.” ~ Matthew 7:7
Do this:
Ask. Tell the Universe your goal. Even write it down and look at it a few times every day.
Be grateful for what you NOW have. You are setting your beliefs, your perspective, to abundance.
Take actions toward your goal. Tiny steps, tiny decisions that work toward your goal.
Go on living life. It’s too good to miss!
You are POWERED UP!
Love,
