Be the change you want to see in the world

"To be nobody but yourself in a world that is doing its best day and night into making you like everybody else, is to fight the hardest battle there is and never stop fighting."  Poet E.E.Cummings


As adults, we are suppose to discover who we really are and do our best to grow into that person. Sometimes life situations or circumstances prevent us from doing that. For some, we are taught that what we think or feel does not matter to the rest of the world. Causing us to be stagnate in life, stuffing our emotions and afraid to discover our true self.  It is when we are able to take a stand, find courage, love and support on our journey that we then blossom into the person we are meant to be in this life. We find our value and self worth, not because others acceptance, but because we finally came to believe. Dr Suess once wrote "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." It takes courage to speak your mind, trust to act on your own intuition and strength to go against the grain of what everyone else is thinking or doing. The end result will be true happiness because you were true to yourself rather than be someone else.

Sometimes we want to be someone else, anyone but who we are. We want to be someone who feels more free and at peace internally. We want to be self sufficient. We want to be free of pain and loneliness. Whether we get what we want or not, what we need is to accept and love ourselves just the way God made us. When we feel lonely, it helps to remember that God is still present in our lives. It does not matter how you define God or if you do at all, just be at peace knowing there is a higher power present in our ever changing life as we transform. For me, it is looking at the beauties of this world and knowing that something or someone more powerful than myself created all this, just as you were created. I choose to believe in a higher power I call God. Just as the cycle of life in the trees and plants, remember that everything changes and that life and beauty are still present if we look for it.

Endings are painful and very necessary in life. Endings give us a chance to begin again. Often times when we are going through an ending we can not see the light at the end of the tunnel or do we feel that it is for our best interest. All things happen for a reason. Good or bad. Believe that!! We may not want to see our new beginnings that lie ahead when we are in the midst of our ending, but we can trust  that they are there waiting for us when we are ready to move on. Just as the leaves fall and flowers die , such is life. And the only thing constant in this ever changing world is change itself my friends. Be the change you want to see in the world. Be that caterpillar that transforms and starts anew. Believe that you are enough!!!

As always please keep all men and woman of the military in your prayers for a safe return home one day soon, as they are out there protecting our HEALTHY FREEDOMS here at home. Also remember take a minute to reflect on their ultimate sacrifice this holiday weekend as you enjoy family and friends. God Bless.

Inside Out

Have you ever struggled with inner peace? Trying to make the inside match the outside? Justifying your behavior because of another's actions? Feeling an overwhelming sense of chaos because things you thought you had control over, you realized you had no control to begin with? I know I do. The first step is to realize that the only thing we have control over is ourselves & our reaction to situations. We can only control the controllable's in our lives. Often times it is our reaction that gets us into the feeling of chaos. As if we thought we could really do something about the situation to begin with. That's not ego driven now is it?! Bottom line is I'm not in control, God is!
We are not responsible for what another person does or does not do. What we are responsible in fact for is our expectation we set upon other's. Reminds me of the pigeon in the park. As you sit on the bench  in the park why would you expect the pigeon to not do what pigeons do?!  HHHMMM That would be a false expectation on the pigeon. Just as people! People are human beings & do what human beings do. Such is life. I have to remind myself of this all the time. Being in the dating world has opened my eyes to this in a big way. I have to realize that I set these expectations on people that maybe some cannot attain or rise up to meet. Is that fair? Would I appreciate someone setting something unattainable for me? Then why would I do it to another?! Goes back to that do unto others as you would have done unto you verse. Mistakes are what shapes us into who we are. Let go & learn from them. For regret is a waste of time & eats at our inner peace. Making it ever so much harder to attain.
In order for our inside to match the outside we must fix more than just the out. The physical appearance hides nothing, only camouflages whats really going on inside. And for some of us this is what we were taught to do. We must learn to let go of betrayal, guilt, anger, anxiety & lack of trust; these are all toxic emotions holding us back. Causing self destruction or reasons to stay "stuck". Also known as EXCUSES. Say good bye to that way of thinking to make room for healthy, positive thoughts. Allow yourself to be vulnerable to new things. Being vulnerable can be very valuable. And thus very healthy.
We are all a work in progress & must remind ourselves that if God brings us to it, he will bring us through it. Having inner peace comes from taking all these steps. Sometimes slowly & often times baby steps. But steps non the less. It is when we give up that we then fail at finding true inner peace & thus becoming whole. Being whole means the inside and the outside will match. Don't let the inner voice telling you "you can't",win. Instead tell it "Watch me"! Every ending brings a new beginning. Life is a journey! Live your life as an experiment & enjoy your journey. We only get one chance at it folks.
As always please keep all men & woman of the military in your prayers for a safe return home one day soon. As they are out there protecting our HEALTHY FREEDOMS here at home. God Bless.

Whispers of the Heart

God blessed us with a gut intuition for a reason. Or little whispers of knowledge. We don't know how or why, we just know we should pay attention to them. So far every time I have listened to mine I have been dead on. Thank God today I know how to pay attention to those little whispers or some times gut kicks.
I once read somewhere to make sure it's intuition not insecurity. Sometimes our insecurities will cause us to look for things that are not really there rather our own fears causing us to confuse the two. And often times can be caused because we are lacking in the trust department. Myself personally I think if there are trust issues in a relationship than we need to address those quickly. I recently went through a situation where I was slightly confused over these very things. Was it because I don't trust or because my gut was kicking the hell out of me? So I did a self check and then sat back and waited. Low and behold it was a combination of both and the truth showed its ugly self. My intuition was dead on with my trust issues and this helped me make an informed and correct decision. There was no denying what was right in front of me. Now, I could of sat back and said "oh poor me, here we go again" and allowed myself to crawl in to a pity party but I choose to rise above it. Thanking God for giving me the wisdom to know the difference and learn from another life lesson. A dear friend of mine said to me "don't give up sweetie, keep on keeping on. You'll get a winner". I thank god that I have the strength and confidence today to know that I WILL be just fine in life and able to do just that, keep on keeping on.
We all have the ability to overcome situations in life if we lean in and press on. Knowing that we are already equipped with the very strength we need to do that very thing. Nothing happens out of coincidence, all things happen for a reason. Good, bad and indifferent. It is how we either embrace or fight the situation that determines how we deal with other life lessons thrown our way. I choose the sunny side of the street today.
"The human heart knows things that the eyes don't see and feels things that the mind cannot understand"  author unknown
As always please keep all men and woman of the military in your prayers for a safe return home one day, as they are out there protecting our HEALTHY FREEDOMS here at home.  God Bless

People come and People go

People come and go in our lives. That's part of life. The important thing is that we don't loose who we are in the process. Don't let things get you down for long. Feel it, hold your head up high, dust yourself off & move along. There are good people still in the world & when the time is right, they will reveal themselves to you.

They say that it is when we are in turmoil that we learn just how strong we are & what we are capable of overcoming. I believe that. Being in the dating world these days and trying to let my guard down just to be disappointed time and time again starts to wear on a person. I just keep reminding myself that it may not be me rather something the other person is going through. I refuse to give up. I'm stronger than the little waves of life. I have over come so much more in life & cannot let something so little hold me under. I try to share my experience, strength and hope with others to help encourage them to never allow life to hold them down. Rather help to hold them up along the way. Life really is a "WE" thing, not a "ME" thing.

Never give up, Never surrender!!!

As always please keep all the men and woman of all branches of the military in your prayers so that they may one day have a safe return home while they are out there protecting our HEALTHY FREEDOMS here at home.

Everything to gain

"The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them"   Ernest Hemingway

That is a tricky one for me. How many times have you said "oh I trust you" and in the back of your head your thinking "can I really?".  For me trust is a hard thing to accept. This comes from many heartbreaks and let downs by several people in my life. I continue to try with trusting people until they let me down and this is a constant struggle for me. But I refuse to give up. I'm not perfect and I'm sure there have been times when I have broken someones trust as well. While it was not intentional or life shattering, it was broken none the less. It's been said; trust is like a crumpled piece of paper. Once straightened out its still crumpled. Rebuilding trust takes time and mutual forgiveness in order to rebuild the trust that has been broken. Forgiveness between all parties involved is required. Just like any repairs, this will take time and patience. 

I believe that nothing happens out of God's plan for us and that all things happen for a reason. We may not like or understand why when we are in the midst of things, but I promise there is ALWAYS a reason for the life lessons we go through. I call those growing pains. Change is sometimes uncomfortable and for some of us very scary. It is when we resist change that we imprison ourselves and hide from God's invitation to grow. Only when we are willing to experience these lessons with trust and faith, and see them as blessings not curses, will we then be able to wholeheartedly join in the stream of life and break free from the chains that bind us. 

Lack of trust and holding on to fear is just as crippling to ourselves as is the act of what caused the mistrust to begin with. Can't is not an option either. We need to realize, that I can't is just another way of saying I fear. If we were to remove fear from the equation, think of all we can accomplish. A great example is getting involved in a new relationship. This requires a lot of trust in the beginning. We are getting to know someone new and really have no choice but to trust that person until they show us other wise. For me, I tend to go into it just waiting for that person to show me that no one is worthy of trust and that it's a matter of time before they hurt me. Because that is what always seems to happen when I allow my guard down. Or so it seems. I have labeled that recently as "self sabotage". What an aahh haa moment that was for me!! I mean; me of all people trying to be the best I can and trying to not compare and trying to be this strong person that I practice to be everyday, having this character defect of self sabotage.  WOW that one hit me hard and made me realize I have a lot of work to do yet. And that's ok. See folks we are all human and we are going to make mistakes in life. It is when you stop trying that you fail and fear has won. 

We can all change our response from I can't to I'll try.  We can all take the first step away from fear and push through the uncomfortable of the unknown towards trying something new. There are no guarantee's that it will all work out in our favor, but if we don't at least try how will we ever know. How will we ever get to see all that God has in store for us?! How will we ever grow in to better, stronger people if we don't at least try?! We owe to ourselves that much at least. The only obstacles in our way are the ones we put there to protect us from the things we fear. So get out of your way and watch as things start to happen in your favor.

As always please keep all men and woman of all branches of the military in your prayers, so that they may one day be home safe with their loved ones as they are out there protecting our HEALTHY FREEDOMS here at home.  Please also keep all effected by the bombings in Boston in your prayers for strength and guidance to get through this time of tragedy. 

 

Head held high...

People said I couldn't, I showed them I could. People said you won't, I showed them I will. People said you can't, I showed them I could!!! NEVER GIVE UP NEVER SURRENDER.

Martina Mcbride "Anyway"

http://youtu.be/QZjTBW-raGw

Remember to do it anyway. Even if your scared of the unknown or how it will turn out.
Do it anyway!!!