Monthly Archives: November 2014
Happy Thanksgiving!
Our warmest wishes for you is to have a very Happy Thanksgiving!
It is a day to watch parades on the television, probably overeat from a heavily laden table (if you are lucky), take a nap, enjoy the companionship of loved ones and friends, or perhaps even to just relax and enjoy the peace and quiet.
Whatever your day consists of, we hope that you take the time to list all of the blessings which fill your life. Some are obvious, and others are not. Some you think of frequently, while others pass you by without your noticing. Some do not get any of your attention at all until something negative impacts it. Sometimes, the negative takes it away for a long time, if not forever.
Thanksgiving has always been a day for doing exactly that: Change your focus from what you do not have and are striving for to what you already possess. It does not matter if it is a nickel when you need it, or lots of cash at the right time.
Just notice: Can you walk? Can you talk? Can you sing? Can you use your hands freely? Do you have your health? Are you working your way through a health challenge? Can you eat whatever you like? Can you see? Can you hear? What beauty surrounds you?
There are so many people who do not have those blessings for they are either unable to do them for whatever reason or their life situation prohibits/inhibits it.
Life is made up of a lot of simple things which pass us by like a ship in the night if one does not take time to focus on them. We miss many blessings just because we do not see them. Look at your surroundings to see the beauty, life, and laughter that are there – no matter how small or insignificant it may appear. Just know that what you bless increases.
Gather your loved ones and friends, be they near or far, into your heart and thoughts. Bless them one and all.
How about you? What do you choose to focus on today?
God’s blessings upon your journey!
Beauty from Chihuly Exhibit at Denver Botanical Gardens:
Blue Icicle Towers
Persian Towers
Saffron Tower
White Tower
Mirrored Green Hornets and Gold Waterdrops
Blue and Purple Boat with Walla Wallas
Summer Sun
Heliconia
Orchids
Caterpillar, Cocoon, or Butterfly?
This analogy of choosing between being a caterpillar, cocoon, or butterfly is, in fact, not a nebulous thing — it is a choice we get to make every day of our lives.
How can this be? You may ask that question honestly.
The answer is actually quite simple:
The caterpillar is interested in just crawling along, eating, and doing its thing. How many times have you looked at your life and felt that way? Too much to do and not enough time to do it, as a rule. Each one of us faces the struggles presented by daily life. The boss just reset your deadline, necessitating the need for you to work overtime or at home in order to get it done. Forget attending the daughter’s play tonight, or taking your son to soccer practice. A job is a job in today’s marketplace, no matter whether you like it or not. You sing these same old songs to yourself, day after day, night after night. Whatever vicissitudes happen in a day seem to keep recurring. It changes very little. Can you see the caterpillar now?
The cocoon represents a big change is coming, whether you want it or not, like it or not. Perhaps a relationship is ending. Perhaps a sudden accident has taken a dear one from you, or perhaps you have endured one, causing a physical disability which will take time, effort, and rehabilitation to achieve a modicum of what once was taken for granted. We usually react in anger, taking even more precious energy and wasting it. The cocoon is a time for reflection about what needs to change, contemplating ways to achieve it, and gathering resources to carry you forward into what comes next.
The butterfly is a true metamorphosis. It is becoming who we are meant to be. It is a time of freedom, joy, and looking forward with zest.
We can look back on the past, take from it those lessons which will help us to blossom, and let the rest go.
That is not an easy lesson. If you take a pencil and place it in your palm, gripping it tightly. Ask someone to remove it as you tenaciously cling to it. The likely response is that you get to keep that pencil. You then open your palm, revealing the pencil, and the other person picks it up easily. Letting go is just that easy and that hard, depending on your point of view.
It is up to each one of us to choose to remain a caterpillar, enter the cocoon of change, and emerge as the butterfly into new expressions of life. We might be each one of these stages in different areas of our life. It is up to you to contemplate them, seeking a new way to live your life in lieu of crawling along in the same old way, day after day.
What will your choice be?
God’s blessing upon your journey!
Caterpillar
Caterpillar
From Cocoons into Butterflies
Butterflies, each one unique!
upliftingthoughts4u 