Category Archives: Uplifting Thoughts
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Peace Begins With Me
This new year presents us with a brand new page to begin again, to change what we want to change, to become the person we were meant to be, and one place to start is a song by Vince Gill:
“Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me.
Let there be peace on earth,
The peace that was meant to be.
With God as our Father,
Brothers all are we.
Let me walk with my berother
In perfect harmony.
Let peace begin with me.
Let this be the moment now.
With every step I take,
Let this be my solemn vow:
To take each moment
And live each moment
With peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth,
And let it begin with me.”
Each day, with every word we speak, with every thought we think, we are creating our reality as we know it to be.
We are, indeed, planting the seeds that will bloom in our tomorrows.
Do you want a more peaceful life and experience less chaos?
It all begins with your thoughts and emotions. Do you REACT in lieu of ACT? Did somebody else make you angry?
Do you feel justified in these negative feelings because it is somebody else’s fault?
Guess who pays? It is not the other person, who has moved on and could usually care less.
You baggage just got heavier, didn’t it? Is it worth it to you to drag it around, every moment of every day?
Peace can be maintained as an attitude and a reality if you can truly realize that “Peace begins within you!”
There is nowhere else it can start. Life is so short. Why drag around chaos-creating emotions when you can choose to let it go?
If you could pretend to yourself that you are a spectator on some aggravation going on in your life, would your point of view change?
What advice would you give yourself when you see it from a different point of view? Is it really all that important? Is there something you can actively do to effect a difference in outcome? Are you listening to yourself? Are you listening to others?
Peace is not something that comes wrapped with a bow. It takes work on yourself and your perspective to calm down so you can experience something else that is far more livable and lovable.
Are you interested in PEACE, personally, and moment by moment? Figure out what the price is and pay it in whatever coin required. It could be the coin of forgiveness of self or others, the coin of blessing others on their way, or even the coin of loving yourself enough to be happy anyway. This is not an oxymoron. It is TRUTH.
It is in your hands. What do you choose?
Hibiscus – Adding Beauty
Hibiscus at Christmas
Autumn Seeds
Autumn Seeds
Daily Resolutions vs. New Year’s Resolutions
Newspapers and magazines are filled with articles this time of year about New Year’s Resolutions. Many people make magnificent resolutions that, if carried out, would make a big difference in their lives. Some even take action to make those resolutions come true: They buy a gym membership to be more healthy; they buy a book on “How To…” with the express intent of achieving their goal; they buy exercise equipment; they buy Stop Smoking patches or remedies. Then daily life takes over. Time crunches arrive. Decision time: “Do I take the effort to keep my resolution or do I not?” “I’m tired.” “It’s late.” “I’ve had a hard day.” “I’m so stressed out that I need a cigarette to calm me down.” Almost any excuse becomes a reason to delay working on the resolution. What seemed marvelous as an ideal soon loses its glamour when faced with the price tag attached…and there is always a price tag attached, whether it can be seen or not. Perhaps we like to create mountains that we think we can climb, imagining ourselves overcoming obstacles and ending up victorious. Then, when the energy ebbs away from the initial resolution, disillusionment settles in, accompanied by a feeling of some degree of failure most of the time.
What if, in lieu of sweeping, substantial resolutions, you begin by making a bargain with yourself: Make a simple Daily Resolution that would, if carried out consistently, begin to make a change you can live with and actually achieve? Small steps represent choices you can make. Taken collectively and over time, you can, indeed, create possibilities in your life that could bring you gifts of all kinds…intangibles including joy, peace, laughter, wisdom, understanding, as well as tangible results that are measurable such as the loss of a pound or two, or you actually cut down on the number of cigarettes you smoked that day, or you exercised by taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or you signed up for a yoga class and really enjoyed doing it so you kept at it. No choice is too small to matter. Begin with where you are today and look for a possible step that will take you in the right direction.
It has been asked, How do you eat an elephant? Answer, one bite at a time. So, are you willing to make the effort to make a simple Daily Resolution? Your future is in your capable hands, today.
Whatever this New Year holds for you, may you be blessed with your highest good and an abundance of Life expressing through you as you.
Colorado Mountain
Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is defined as, “Change of form, shape, structure, or substance; transformation; a marked or complete change of character, appearance, condition, etc.”
This happens during Autumn of every year. I revel in the sight of leaves drifting down from the trees and the changing of their colors.
It reminds me that I need to examine my own life to see what is not serving me very well so I can let it go. Amazingly, there is always something to find. Life does it to us, serving up a cup of sad memories, should have’s, shouldn’t have’s, wish I had, wish I hadn’t…you name it. That includes lack of forgiveness for myself and others. We hang onto the memories, both good and bad.By hanging onto the memories, we also hang onto the emotions. In most cases, that gives us more grief than the original occurrence of whatever happened. As usual, it is the bad stuff we hang onto the tightest. We wonder: Why am I so bummed out? Depressed? Sad? Angry?
Like a caterpillar that spins its cocoon so it can morph into a butterfly, we need to examine our attitudes, emotions, thoughts, etc. We cannot become who were meant to be as long as we continue to hang onto whatever is holding us back.
I tell myself that this is a time to accept changes and let go, peacefully and without frustration or gnashing of teeth. It is like putting a leaf into a stream and watch it float away with the current, releasing it.
Life is a journey, not a destination. I would rather enjoy the journey, wouldn’t you?
It is very difficult to enjoy something when you carry so much baggage with you, isn’t it?
Oak Autumn Leaves
Reflection of Autumn Leaves
Magnificent Autumn Leaves – Colorado
Colorful Caterpillar
Blue Morph Butterfly
Yellow Swallowtail on Dianthus (Sweet William)
Thoughts and Feelings
I often ask myself, “What do I choose to be today: bud, blossom, or withered stem?
The thoughts and feelings I dwell on will determine my choice:
The bud is my tomorrow…
The withered stem is my yesterday…
The blossom is NOW — this moment.
The choices I make today will determine what buds are made tomorrow.
Out of the cocoon of my yesterdays
comes what is happening today.
Today, I can choose once again to be reborn
into a new sense of awareness.
Again, I ask myself, “What will I choose?”
What do you want to choose?
Would you rather cling to those withered stems,
refusing to let go because of some worth you attached to them?
Could they ever again produce a bud or blossom?
Not likely.
Remember the good those stems once brought to you,
and choose to begin today to look for buds and blossoms.
They are all around you, if you but look.
They come in all colors, shapes, and sizes.
Widen your horizons and focus!
Quiet Reflections
Quiet Reflections,
Like the image of the candle on the water:
the slightest ripple changes the image.
Our thoughts and emotions do that,
just like the ripples on a calm surface
when a pebble is thrown in.
Some people have really turbulent waters,
and their lives reflect the chaos within.
The answer lies in quieting the mind and emotions.
Do you have the courage to try that?
Reflections
Quiet Reflections
Reflections
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