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Hope Strengthens and Enables
A life without Hope is like a broken-winged bird that cannot fly!
Langston Hughes poem “Dreams” says it well:
“Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
“Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.”
Dreams and hopes go hand in hand daily. Where one is, you will find the other.
Daily life has alterably changed. Where once one could see forever and think change is just a choice, daily life for the whole world has now been transmuted. But if you look carefully, you will see that one still has choices in what thoughts to think, what ideas to concentrate on, and what actions to take.
Know this: Outside stimuli cannot demand what response one takes. Yes, we can just REACT, but we can also choose to ACT after considering our many options. Life goes on, and so must we.
One can choose HOPE that enables good thoughts to come forth. Out of those thoughts, options multiply. Isn’t that worth the effort on your part?
Carpe Diem
The literal translation of carpe diem is “pluck the day,” referring to the gathering of moments like flowers and suggesting the ephemeral quality of life. Commonly understood as “seize the day,” the Latin phrase originated in the “Odes,” a long series of poems composed by the Roman poet Horace in 65 B.C.E
What better way to approach each and every day?
God’s blessings upon your journey!
Sands of Time
What do you most treasure in your life?
Time flows like sand in an hourglass – it is in our attention zone for such a short time, like a second, and then passes beyond our reach where we cannot change anything that just happened. Yes, we can make changes in future seconds in what is about to happen or is pending.
So, I ask you, where is your focus? What are you thinking about or spending time doing? What do you cherish?
If you answered these questions, then you must ask yourself the next question: How am I spending my time, which is so very precious because once that moment is gone, it cannot be changed? Every day counts. Every choice matters.
Are you working so that you might have more stuff, be it a Gucci bag, a Rolex watch, a new home, or a vacation? Or are you working because you are a solid citizen who pays your bills, but in many instances the incoming moneys are not enough to satisfy the outgoing layout? At what point do you draw the line? In this economy, many people are just surviving, working more than one job, and yet do not have enough to pay for necessities, let alone luxuries like steak. Homelessness of individuals and families is growing in this country because the pay for the available jobs is not enough to rent an apartment, let alone own a place to live. Many are eating the foods they can afford, which are the type that not only add weight but also contribute to extremely poor health.
In short, life happens. Dreams can die if you let them. Possibilities are never realized because every day we jump into the hamster cage, going round and round, with nothing changing.
Einstein said the definition of insanity is doing something over and over again and expecting a different result.
Time moves faster as one ages. Days fly by, months evaporate, and years come and go. You can look at the past and wonder where it all went and why. Many times it ends up in castigating oneself because of the negative perceptions/expectations unmet/sad remembrances.
So I ask you, where is your focus? Where do you want to put your energies/time/dollars/goals? Your answer is the essence of the choices you make every single day. So I ask again, What do you most treasure in your life? Are you keeping that in mind when you make your choices? Every act of every minute of the day becomes history, with its impact felt like the ripples that form on the lake when a rock is thrown in.
Time is very, very real. How you spend it – every second of it – really does matter, for one day the sands do run out. There is no turning of the hourglass for you. Do your choices reflect what you want to achieve? If not, a change is required. Are you willing?
God’s blessings on your journey.
The Joy of Life
The Joy of Life is a mysterious thing which you either have, know you have it, and experience it daily if not all the time — or something has caused it to drain away, leaving you with an empty feeling, knowing not what you have lost.
Have you ever watched a dog that knows it is time to go for a walk? They are wagging all over, tail included. As they walk along, their head is up – unless it is down sniffing around at all the other smells. Their excitement does not lag as they go along, either. They are pulling on their leashes as a rule, and it does not matter what size the dog is.
How long has it been since you experienced the excitement of looking forward to something during your day? It could be something as small as a child’s smile or a small hand holding yours, or it could be meeting a friend or loved one for lunch. The possibilities are endless, aren’t they?
Or are they? Have the daily vicissitudes (wear and tear) worn you down to a nubbin? Are you so caught up in what you have to do, what has to be done, and know you cannot do it all that your days disappear? It is like a thief in the night, for when you turn around, time seems to have evaporated before your very eyes. You look back over the last few days, or months, or years, and wonder where it all went.
The solution? Pay attention daily, hourly, and by the minute. Do not let time slip through your fingers like sands in an hourglass.
Be alert! Look for it! Be like the dog who is looking forward to going for a walk. Be enthusiastic! When was the last time you “wagged your tail” over something you wanted to do?
Life comes to us in the present — not tomorrow or yesterday or even five minutes ago. It is the very second you are reading this, only to slip away into the past. What choices you make NOW do make a difference!
Do you have a dream that has dissipated into a ghost of its former self? DREAMS and GOALS help us to achieve more than we deemed possible, because SYNERGY comes into play. When was the last time you thought about your DREAMS or GOALS as a possibility/probability? Have you shelved them as improbable? You shoot yourself down before anyone else has a chance to do it! Perhaps you think you are too old? Too young? Do not have enough money? Do not have any time for such foolishness?
Any step you could take to achieve these dreams and goals is NEVER TOO SMALL! If you would take the step you see, it will lead you on…just like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz did in the “Follow the Yellow Brick Road!” Along the way (where she tried to get back home), she was accompanied by Toto, her little dog, and then the Scarecrow (without a Brain), a Tin Man (without a heart), and the Cowardly Lion (without a medal). The Wizard of Oz came up with a solution, which worked for him just fine. It took the Good Witch of the North to show her that the Red Slippers could take her home if she just thought correctly. Ideas are like that as well. If you have the courage to begin it, life unfolds before you like a flower. Yes, you may have to pay in time and effort, but think of the fun you could have along the way!
Each day should be like a banquet, with the table spread before you containing all you could enjoy. What would your table look like? What do you want from life? Is mere existence enough, with one day melting into all the others along the way? Or do you want more? Define it. Write it down. Think about it. What step would begin it?
The Joy of Life is not afar off. It awaits you…with every choice you make today. Are you willing?
God’s blessings upon your journey!
Picture of Alert/Excitement
Dancing for a Treat
Having Fun, Playing with Paper
upliftingthoughts4u 