Live Unselfishly!

A good thought is to live unselfishly, to give your whole self away to the world!  The best of relationships is when two people are completely unselfish.  They give of themselves without the thought of receiving a reciprocal benefit.  They love and forgive, forgive and love, and give and give.  Love flows easily!  They do not seek perfection in another, nor do they feel the need to always prove themselves to a level of perfection to their lover or friend.  They are able to be themselves in all ways and express all their emotions:  happiness, sadness, ecstatic elation, moments of upset, and feelings of vigor, strength, kindness, amorous feelings and true flowing love.  They are accepted for who they are, and feel compelled to share their mutual feelings of optimism, light, life, and happiness.  They do not trample upon one another’s dreams, rather share true encouragement, and realize not every dream is to always be shared, but definitely supported by their friend.  Two people persuade one another to live their dreams, not allowing the past hold them down like an anchor, but to hoist it away and live expecting this day, today - to be a day of triumph and manifestation of their dreams.

Living unselfishly is to realize we are to be our best, not to worry, hold on to fear, rather faith knowing all things will be as they should.  It comes down to a knowing deep down inside of our souls that giving our best selves always places us in control of creating lives of great destiny.  The destiny we seek is to be our best for ourselves, and in doing so shower others around us with kindness, optimism, feelings of confidence, respectfulness and true love.

All this may seem altruistic for some, but they have not chosen to live up to their best, but rather choose mediocrity over a life seeking excellence.  True fulfillment is choosing to realize our dreams by giving away ourselves to others. 

I write this today, to you my friend, because I know deep inside the core of who I am… when I give myself away, that is when I am best.  And, I know for you, the same holds true.  The true fulfillment of our lives is realized when we think and believe the best of ourselves and others; and when we give away the best of who we are.  In doing so, when we abandon the selfish negative feelings we cling to, we will experience feelings of mutual euphoric pleasure.  A feeling felt only when two souls connect recognizing the best in one another.

When we give ourselves away, we experience the greatest of all feelings including approval, pleasure, happiness, fulfillment, contentment, agreement, true liking and love.

Today is a good day to clean up your soul, forgive and love.  Today is a good day to dress up your soul by respecting yourself.  Today is a good day to share smiles, express your feelings of affection to others with tight embraces, living your lives expressing the truth of who you are and who you are becoming by submitting your life to God to change the world.

Godspeed!

Be Thankful!

Last evening while walking in the woods and high up in the hills, I was pondering many things.  It was apparent to me while hiking down into the valleys between the peaks of the hills, looking down both sides of the trail, there is always a deeper valley below.  The significance of this is no matter how our life situation may feel at a given moment; the valley could be deeper and darker.  As I looked below the ridges where I stood, the valleys seemed much darker below and in some places the forest floor was beyond sight.  It made me realize there are people who have more difficult life situations than me, and with a good mind, physical body and spiritual power there is nothing beyond the realm of achieving.

This past week while shopping for groceries, I was bemoaning a situation like we all do, and then I noticed a message from God.  A man was being helped out of a van, his mother was lowering him down on a ramp, he was in a wheel chair, an empty look upon his face, he was missing a hand and he had very little hair and looked as if his life was totally dependent upon the help of others for his basic functions.  It was at that very moment, I was reminded and realize how God has blessed me.

The message I want to convey is no matter how badly we may feel, someone else may have it worse.  No matter how difficult things may appear, we have the internal power to overcome any situation and live more vigorously.  We must maintain a positive outlook, realize opportunities are everywhere and choose to live with optimism and positive expectancy.  We must only think of what we want, truly want in our lives in regard to everything and in doing so, move closer to living a life of fulfillment in all ways.

We are powerful creatures with much potential, and there is so much more we can accomplish with our lives.  God has great plans for each and every one of us.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for opening our eyes, thank you for the capabilities and power you have instilled in us all to live lives of great expression.  We ask you place your hand upon us as we walk along this day to clearly see how we can make our lives better and help others whom we meet.  In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

You can change the world!

The world needs you!  You are very valuable, you are needed to help change the world.

You must become what you want in this world.

If you want love, you must be love.

If you want to feel cared for, you must express caring.

If you desire peace, then become peaceful.

If you desire honor, then honor others, all life and the earth.

If you need to feel value, then value others and you will become more valuable.

You are precious.  Life is precious… live your life as if it is a precious gift.

Pray with belief and create the world the way you want it to be.

When you seek, you will find.

If you want to be healed, choose to be a healer for others.

Feel peace

Feel love

Feel wealth

Feel health

Feel fulfillment

Feel life flow through you.

Pray for God to empower you with the truth of the power that lies within you.

Love God and you will feel His Love

Love yourself and discover your inner-self and who you are.

You are precious

Feel your value, express your kindness, express your love and you will be showered with real love.

Feel the kindness and tenderness from others and discover peace.

God loves you, He made you and He is within you.

You can change the world!

Forgive and Live...

Life is a learning experience! 

I was listening to a speaker about forgiveness, healing and living and wanted to share some of the insights gained with you.

Some of our greatest set-backs, hurts and heartbreaks are the best of our learning experiences.  The best thing we can do is to forgive and allow our lives to move on quicker.  The faster we forgive the faster we are able to make it out of the valley to a place where we can see clearly.  Forgiveness is about a sense of personal honor and integrity to ourselves and allows us to improve our journey.

The most important point is the five steps of healing according to speaker and author Caroline Myss is as follows.

1.  Force yourself to forgive, holding to hurts, damages you more than the other person

2. Redefine healing for yourself, it is not perfection, but a day to day task and gradual transformation

3. Stop asking why things happen, doing so causes your spirit to not move on

4. Chart a new course for your future

5. Have people witness your wound three times, and then       let it go

When you begin to step outside of yourself and look at your life, you begin to be able to view your life in a more profound way.  The challenges do not seem to be as overwhelming and we are able to move on and live our lives.

All things change when we do!

Sometimes we must decide to change to recover our soul.  Sometimes we must realize the decision to forgive allows us to regain our lives as we cannot live in our past.  The most important thing we can do for ourselves is choose to heal ourselves by diving into a higher understanding of truth.  We are only defeated when we become bitter.  The decision to become more enduring and compassionate is the only choice we must choose.  Forgive those who have harmed you.  It is through forgiveness we find love.  Forgiveness is the most extraordinary healing force in the universe!

Giving up the past is not easy, theoretically, everything we need is right here, now in the present.  We must embrace the moment realizing the future will take care of itself.  We must think about only what we want rather than what we do not want.  Whatever we give attention to manifests itself into our own reality, so therefore, be brave and live a life communicating the full expression of the best within your soul.

There is so much love within, so much incredible passion to release and convey upon the world within ourselves.  We must choose to release it. 

I have a dare for you today, are you up for it?  I dare you to magnify your personality by seven times and see what happens.  I dare you to smile more, smile at everyone you meet, tell everyone you encounter hello.  I dare you to share more hugs and embraces, to touch more, to kiss more and tell those you love, your mate, family members and friends that you love them.  I dare you to say you are sorry more often, to write your feelings and engage your own self to attempt a journey you have longed to take.  Decide today is the day to take that first step.  Dress the way you want to exude confidence and spill the best of who you are over the whole world.

I dare you today to express the best of your emotions, to live as nothing can stop you.  You see my friend, I love you.  I really do, that is why I write these words for you to make an intelligent choice to live a new life.  There is so much that awaits you and of course, you only deserve the best.  We have only one life to live, so make your story beautiful and magnificent.  Write down your dreams, think about them every day and only believe the best about yourself and what you want.  In doing so, each day we live becomes a new adventure, and we find serendipity takes place, and everything we long for begins to manifest itself into our lives.  Make the choice to only concentrate upon what you want in your life.  Choose to make a difference in this world, be true to yourself by excelling at only being your best.  You will then awake to a new reality of which your life, your dreams and those in it exceed your expectations.  Please take my dare, and you will find when you change, so will your life!

“As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” – Proverbs 23:7

Believe

I believe in love

I believe in hope

I believe in possibilities

I believe in miracles, yes they are real

I believe everything I want is coming to me now, and I know why!

I believe in God, I believe in myself and I believe in you.

Life is to be lived

Life is to be embraced

Life is to be cherished

Don’t derail your dreams with unbelief

Dream large and hugely

Dream with abandon

Believe everything is coming together now, and it will

I believe

Believe with me too…

Let Your Soul Shine!

Who I am today may not be who I am tomorrow!  As my life races ahead towards the future, I hope to be someone better.  It is my intent not to live a life concealing my thoughts, talents, love and the expression in my soul.  Rather than to live a suppressed life hiding in the shadows of mediocrity and remaining a latent soul  obscured from the greatness that lies deep within, I would rather emerge from the darkness and reveal the beauty of my light to world.
My light as yours is bright, powerful and vibrant and is able to connect to others in many universes.  This may seem a little too metaphoric for some, but in each of our human minds there are many universes in which we dream of utopic lives. 
My life as yours has meaning, great meaning and it more than just to trudge along in an attempt to procreate and leave some semblance of our lineage’s progeny to prolong a bloodline.  Our lives have so much more incredible value, each of our souls are important.  We must realize the significance of our thoughts, beliefs and actions as the results will spring forth great consequences either positive or negative.  And in my opinion, we each were born for true greatness and rather than decide to merely exist, we must choose to live our vision by the choices we make today.
What is it you seek in your life…. love, happiness, health and wealth?   We all measure our success based upon our own standards, foremost, the greatest quality to possess is peace of mind.  When we are able to possess freedom from fear, anger and guilt, then we have accomplished much.  So many in today’s society hang on to anchors which only hold them back from receiving real joy prevalent in the same universe.  We must decide to live in harmony with ourselves, reconciling with the discord in our life, calling for a true armistice quieting our souls.  There of course, may be many steps to take and some time involved.  But, rather than wait, today is the day to take initiative and to begin a new journey.

Who I want to be is a true adventurer unafraid of great heights or depths, willing to accept and understand many cultures, unafraid to express my feelings regardless of social morays.  I am a great lover, and capable of great compassion, and caring.  We cannot give what we do not have, and it is my contention to attain much to give much.

For you my reader, this day, go and live!   Live with zest, be unafraid, I believe in you, better yet God believes in you!  Go and live, live the life of your dreams by taking the next step.  Be unafraid to change, you do not have to be who you were, decided to be who you want to become and then become that person.  Remember, the light within your soul is bright, vibrant and far reaching.  Let your soul shine and become who you want to be.

Simple Pleasures

Driving Down the Road with the Top Down

High Overlooks

Swimming at Night

Listening to the Crickets

Holding Hands

Kissing in the Rain

Listening to Distant Conversations

Locking onto the Eyes of Someone Special

Gazing at the Moon and the Stars

Long Embraces

3:00 a.m. Thunderstorms
Conversations about Nothing and about Everything

Holding a Baby

Chocolate Anything

Homemade Ice Cream

Riding Horseback through the Woods

Walking in the Forest

Long Naps

Sidewalk Cafés

A Short Funny Story

Laughing

Lying in the Sun

Listening to the Leaves

A Long Hot Shower

Dreaming of Travel

Walking in the water along the Beach

Sunsets

Gazing into a Fire

Special Friends
Sleeping Next to Someone You Love

Caring… Because it is Who You Are

Live Fearlessly!

Every day when we awake, we are recharged with a boundless amount of energy to accomplish something great.  The accomplishments may be large or small, but none the less, they are great accomplishments.  We fool ourselves to believe that small steps are not great accomplishments because it is the small steps that lead us closer to the ultimate goals we hope to attain.  Some of us are more enlightened to realize this-others are still stuck on a track to the oblivion leading to a black hole.  Today, my dear reader, I want you to recognize and appreciate your propensity to achieve.  There is an amazing life awaiting you, it is up to you to make a decision to choose the best path for your life.

We must set get goals and create daily to-do lists to fill our lives with more accomplishment.  Some individuals find making themselves accountable difficult to do; these lists may be written or kept in our mind.  The key is to always remain keenly aware of our goals keeping them top of mind staying conscious to the need to complete our daily lists.  When we strike each item off our list, we begin to find fulfillment in our lives and notice we are on the road to a great discovery.

Harnessing our energy to achieve goals is the key to living with more fulfillments in every area of our lives.  Here are some suggestions to provide a starting point for you.  Begin to remove all clutter from your life, the less clutter you see the easier it is to free your mind to see great possibilities.  There is definitely a correlation, and this is a great suggestion.  Decide to forgive others who have hurt you, this is not always easy, and I realize how difficult this sometimes can be, but at some point we must forgive.  The reason for forgiving is to release our past and the connecting ties which may holding us back keeping the realization of our greatest accomplishments and relationships encumbered in a dark cell to never be revealed.

My point today is we our responsible for messing up our lives, and we are responsible for empowering our lives.  We must make a conscious decision to rise above all things holding us back and forge ahead with a pocketful of dreams and great love in our hearts digging deep to exert more energy acknowledging there is so much more to who we are and make our dreams come true.  We must be unafraid to release our hurt so our true personalities may be uncovered from all the heartbreak, anger, disappointments and other negative baggage.  Today is our day for a great awakening, now is our moment in eternity to live, and live boldly without fear.

We must purge all our hurts from our minds, all self-defeating thoughts and all unbelief in our ability to achieve anything we desire.  There is nothing stopping us, and nobody who truly can stand in our way except ourselves.  Are we moving forward or standing still?  Stagnation is clearly not a choice for those who choose to live boldly.  Today, realize the energy you possess, the power stored within the recesses of your mind and gallantly step forward to be counted as one who chooses to really live. 

The next step is to take action, take action – take action!  We must actually work towards achieving our daily goals.  We must eliminate procrastination from our lives and choose to stretch ourselves in areas where we need to grow, to be daring when we feel fear, and to resolve ourselves to remain confident.  Remember in the story of your life, you are the hero, the one who is brave, fearless, and intrepid living courageously each day.  There is nothing cowardly about you at all, so don’t allow your own thoughts, the hurt you value so much, negativity, or the brutal influence from others to cause you disparagement. You are valiant!   

Believe

It is essential we have faith in our life.  We must recognize the importance of this essential ingredient to lead us down a path of manifesting what we desire and believe.  Too many people allow themselves to think life just happens, life just does not happen.  The intent we place in our minds creates a powerful force to draw what we desire into our lives.  It is so important to be careful of what we think, what we believe because we create the situations in our lives to bring about what we think.

There have been many books written about this subject, teachings and writings throughout the centuries, and during this period of time in which live, we must too harness the power of this truth.  We must only think about what we want and truly desire.  We must cast aside doubts, self-defeating thoughts and negative thinking in exchange for real belief, uplifting thoughts and positive thinking.  The result of changing our expectations in all areas of our life creates an ocean of possibilities to achieve what we desire.  We must overcome our own stumbling blocks to realize this truth.

Today, I want you experiment believing there is a certain goal or desire you long for realized in your life.  Take a moment to visualize this picture of your desire and capture the feeling of all your senses once you have what you want.  Paint a very vivid picture in your mind and using all five senses to  imagine how it feels to touch, taste, smell, see and hear the outcome of your desire, the more vivid detail you create, the more likely you will feel as if you have already experienced the realization of the result.  It is like making a movie of your desires with you as the main character immersing yourself in your feelings of realizing your dream.

Another action step towards developing a mind-set of receiving what we long for and bolstering our faith is to evaluate who supports our dreams.  The most important relationship we have in our life is with ourselves, so we must decide to be positive, optimistic and expectant.  We must choose carefully the relationships we have with others to support our dreams.  Do our co-workers, family members and closest friends support who we want to become and what we want to embrace in our lives, or are they a deterrent to achieving our aspirations?  We need to only associate with people who embrace our dreams and are willing to empower us to move the obstacles out of our lives to manifest our utmost desires.  They are not jealous or envious of what we seek rather realize our achievements elevates our relationships to a higher level of understanding.

We must decide to love, to care and to embrace others and their dreams.  The more we love others, I believe the greater the propensity for us to realize what we seek in our lives.  Love is one of the strongest emotions, and when we decide to love someone we give them a part of ourselves.  It is through this act of giving ourselves away that the universe opens our hearts to receive.  There is no need for us to complicate the understanding of this matter.  All we have to do is believe, feel and love and in doing so, we will initialize the momentum of the realization of our dreams.  It all begins with faith.

Believe!

Some Thoughts...

We cannot have grace if we continue to live in sin.  I read a verse tonight from Romans 6:1-2, where Paul writes how can grace abound if we continue in sin?  During the past few years, I have prayed intently, and realize the outcome of my prayers is due to the fact that in part that I have not lived without sin in my heart.  During my lifetime, I have broken every commandment.  I am not without sin; my heart has held malice towards others of which I have not been ashamed.  But it is wrong, very wrong and unfortunately, I am fool. 

Like all humans it is so much easier to hold resentment rather than to admit our own fault forgiving others so God’s forgiveness may work in our hearts.  It is so easy to become judgmental, rather than to live on a higher plane.  There are times in our lives when we must let go.  We must decide to let go of the past and let go of the hurt relinquishing whatever we feel in our heart and trade it for a new beginning.

For some it seems so easy to toss their past into the fire and walk away, and for others there is a greater struggle to embrace the possibilities of a new future because their vision is so clouded with memories, hopes and possibilities of what could have been.  I am one who has always been counted in the later crowd.  So today, I look ahead with great anticipation to a brighter future based upon the possibilities of what might be as envisioned in my heart, mind and soul.

Living a righteous life or one marred by giving into sin is based upon our daily choices.  God wants us to choose righteousness clinging to faith of what great possibilities lie ahead rather than to stumble into a quagmire which prevents us from receiving the evidence of living with His hand upon us.  We can pray all we want, believe all we want, but if we do not live as He desires, than all the praying and all the believing are for nothing. 

We must have faith that as we walk upon this earth, the greater our trust, the bigger our vision the more likely we will evidence the results of His grace upon us. 

Dear Heavenly Father,

We praise you for your abounding grace, for the miracle of salvation, and for the peace you offer to place in our hearts.  We confess unto you that we are sinful, that we have rendered ourselves powerless by worshiping others rather than you and trusting in our works to bring harmony in our lives.  We have witnessed heartbreak, upset, discouragement, and realize you have something greater in store for us.  We are thankful for your wisdom, for your grace in all areas of our life, and for your son and our salvation.  We pray this day you provide clarity in our hearts so we may release the past. We ask that you give us vision to see the positive possibilities of our future.  We also ask for your strength to propel us to live unflinchingly this day and in the future believing the best for our lives.  In Jesus most holy name we pray, Amen.

New Discoveries!

Discovery… that is a good word discovery!  It is a good descriptor to express a more progressive depiction of living an advanced life.  It is through discovery we learn who we are, where we are going, and what we are seeking.  Sometimes we make discoveries without the intent to even do so, most the time these findings are positive and could be the cause of a breakthrough in our lives.  However, unearthing sorted details of a dark cloud may be cause for undue controversy we never intended to mine.  Needless to say, living an advanced life living on the edge of innovation and discovery is much more interesting than existing in an enclosed universe of nothingness.

I believe you are reading these words because you choose to be an explorer rather than living a life void of creativity, ambition and challenge.  You realize your life is about making a difference, leaving a mark; it is not just about existing, but fulfilling a purpose for your existence.  Of course your days will not be filled only with serious stoic intentions, but smiles, laughter and joy.  You find gratification in pleasure and achievement and base the value of your life upon the realization of your own happiness.

You choose not to be selfish, rather selfless and give the best of yourself to others.  People are thrilled to meet you, excited about working with you and enjoy engaging you in conversation.  These same people feel more successful just knowing you and feel a greater level of encouragement because of your acquaintance.    You bring joy to the world.  In fact, bringing joy to others is one of your mantras.  It is not because you always are bearing gifts, instead it is because you bring many smiles, hope, belief and are convicted to genuinely care for others as it is your true nature.

Being an explorer in life requires we always look for new discoveries.  These discoveries are new friends and acquaintances we meet, ideas we read about, concepts we learn, self-realization of the facts in our life, and of course the influence of others upon our lives to affect positive change.  Today, I want to challenge you to increase the stretch of your reach, to decide to live up to your capabilities, to possess a zest for learning and live with passion fueled by an inner enthusiasm to live voraciously.  Make this your mindset and today you will make a new discovery.

You are Alive!

Life is an adventure!  So many times I hear individuals remark that they really are not that adventurous.  However, we are all explorers living lives of great adventure attached to this rock called the earth. We all are spinning fast around the sun in our galaxy traveling throughout space in our own little part of the universe.  We are all born with only so much time, and in the time we are given, our purpose should be to live all-out full speed ahead!  It is amazing that so many choose to live quiet lives of a mere existence rather than with true bravado.  We owe it to ourselves to live a life filled with adventure.

Our adventures can be many leading us down great paths filled with outrageous love.  So many are scared to reveal the inner nature of who they really are.  They are great lovers who long to pour out the passion in their soul, display their affections and love with true authenticity.  Inside of them is an overflowing spring and those so lucky to encounter these individuals are showered with a cascade of true affection refreshing their hearts with a deluge of caring.  If only these lovers would outwardly reveal their true appearance.

For others, sincerity springs forth from their souls in their attempt to make the world a better place to live and their mark is felt everywhere they trod.  Those who encounter them are filled with peace and long to learn more about them, and are happy to stumble upon their presence.  They build others up, lead with ambition pouring out their energy creating societies and leaving in their wake improved conditions in the hearts and minds of all they meet.

Life is an adventure!  My dear explorer, please choose to live this day and be unafraid to pour out who you are on this world.  You are needed and the love in your heart will never be exhausted.  God will constantly refresh you.  Shower your love everywhere and if you feel it is not reciprocated this day, it is okay, because at some moment if you choose to live expressing the freedom in your heart, you too will feel the rain drops of love upon the aura of your soul.  Your skin will be refreshed and you will be led to a roaring river causing you to stretch yourself and as you move downstream into the delta that leads to the sea where the waters will calm your spirit and you will find yourself in the clutches of another new day.  A day in which you can live with more courage, provide more love and realize your choices will lead you to a greater life.  A life to share with others, a life to dedicated to your own self-improvement in hope to be the change this world so desperately seeks.

Be daring, be bold and live!  You are alive…

Live Courageously!

Courage is to remain true to yourself, to recognize the best of who you are and to be unafraid to reveal yourself to the world.  In doing so, you transform yourself, gain confidence and live a transcended life.  Living true to yourself creates an internal accounting that provides you a freedom experienced by only those who choose to be holy to themselves.  You join an elite club of individuals who have lived throughout different ages in the annals of time, and find yourself a kindred soul to the greatest throughout eternity.  For you, there is no living a partial life, no regrets, you embrace your past no matter the hurt you have experienced realizing it makes who you are in the future that much more remarkable.  You choose to live, learn, travel, love and to do so voraciously, because it is your inherit nature as your personal decision is to live a life embracing freedom.

You have discovered true peace of mind, freedom from fear, anger and guilt.  You daily make choices to live with deep caring dissolving the nagging anxiety from your past, and propelling your mind and soul to a new level thinking and feeling.  You find yourself in love with you causing a tidal wave of passion to be released drawing events and people into your life leading to a real treasure.   You realize the value of the present, and the presence of those that God has brought into your life providing cause to elevate your level of living.

Courage is a product of faith and sometimes faith is the result of courage.  Your choice to live with bravado and great daring removes all anxiety creating a feeling of liberty freeing your soul and gaining self-sovereignty.  You reinvent yourself and find your self-talk more expressive, and with those whom you engage discover your openness and candor to be refreshing, liberating and enlightening.  You finally arrive at a place in your life, holy ground if you will, to stand tall with arms stretched-out reaching to the heavens above in thanksgiving and praise for this moment.  You pray that God continues to bless you with a shower of peace to be shared with all those whom you meet, embrace and love.

It is our free will that enables us to create our own lives, today declare your independence from bad thinking, those who hold you back; and with self-determination run swiftly onto the field.  Feel the breeze upon your skin, the sun as it warms your lips, smile, choose happiness and allow the gratefulness that dwells deep within spill over upon the souls of all you meet.  This is your day my friend, live courageously!

Elevating your Life with Love...

Love elevates your life!

This past year, I wrote a blog post entitled ‘love’, and stated, “love elevates your life!”  So upon pondering this thought wanted to share how love changes us, provides us with faith, anticipation, and provides a platform of optimism in our lives.  I have been deeply in love before in my life, unfortunately the person of my desires was incapable to remain in love with me, and I learned some things.  I believe that love is a choice, we have to decide to be in love with someone.  The greatest moments in our lives is when we meet someone who causes our internal body chemistry to change and our dopamine levels rise and oxytocin flood our brains.  Okay, that is a little too scientific to seem romantic!  The greatest moment of our lives is when we meet someone whose charisma overtakes us and we cannot help to want to listen to every word, see every smile and experience the sparkle in the eyes of our hopeful lover.   Hopefully, that sounds a little more idealistic and passionate.

Love causes us to become starry-eyed, amorous, and more tender-hearted.  We idealize our love interest, we ignore their faults and get caught up in the state of infatuation.  Infatuation is good to a point, however it does not last.  Another state of love can cause us to lose ourselves and to become what our love interest wants and we surrender ourselves and in the process sacrifice our souls.  Then there is the state of love, the best of all ‘unity within duality’, where we maintain our independence but yet are dependent upon our lover.  Instead of forfeiting our souls, together with the one we love our lives are illuminated realizing through a balance of support and challenge we empower one another to live freely and become more.  In this state, we allow our lover the freedom to grow, provide positive encouragement and support them in their quest to be the best person they can become.  Likewise, we are also encouraged with the same enthusiasm to be who we want to be, and not only are we supported, we are challenged to grow and become more.  Infatuation is about nothing but support, however it is in this state of unity with duality that our lover not only supports us, but challenges to be all we can be.  We must maintain a balance; it is not a state of perpetual challenge beyond our means, a cause for resentment or our relationship will die. 

Love elevates our lives because it is not only our one and only that we love, but our parents, children, other relatives, friends, co-workers and others we reach out to.  We are able to affect change upon all those we touch by remaining positive, optimistic and provide a platform for them to realize their internal power to become more.

Love elevates our lives when we learn to forgive, to say we are sorry, please forgive me and to those who ask for the same, to be able to declare with all earnestness, you are forgiven.  We must forgive to forge our relationships into a state of maturity.  It is not like we will never disappoint or hurt the ones we love, because unfortunately we are human and we must choose to live and love on the same level as God Almighty.

Love elevates our lives when we decide upfront how to handle disagreements, how to fight fairly and engage in exchanges which will ultimately empower our relationships.  Disempowerment is not a choice to be considered, and unfortunately in our society, too many people never address this important issue rather to put it off until a threshold of bitterness ensues and it is nearly too late.  Real love is to grow by learning, studying and growing together with the acknowledgement love needs nurturing.  Staying together is a choice based upon realizing a great relationship requires tending and work, but also realizing the end result is so worthwhile.

Love elevates your life because you are able to give the best of yourself to someone, to share who you are, who you want to become and you allow them to impact your life as they also equally are unafraid to reveal themselves.  Love elevates your life by sharing on all levels physically, mentally, spiritually and you dissolve the worst of who you are in exchange for the positive in your lives and believing the best about one another.

Love elevates your life when you reveal your soul, and you are able to also experience the soul of the one you so most deeply care for, and in doing so experience true freedom.

Love elevates our lives, because the more we love, we discover the more love we are provided and become more capable to love more.

      

A Reflection!

Today is the last day of this year, I am satisfied there is much that I learned in the past twelve months and experienced personal growth.  This year was good as I regained confidence, stretched myself to new levels of understanding and made a decision it is okay to reveal my heart to those closest to me.  The quest to conquer Kilimanjaro and experience life in Africa and walk on the ground of another continent, embrace others and to share my life with complete strangers who became my friends was well worthwhile.  I believe when we are able to separate ourselves from our daily lives and the stereotyping others place upon us, without fear of judgment we then can reveal and live as who we really are.  We decide in our anonymity  to be fearless, and in this state of courage we unveil our true selves.

This has been a good year to rediscover the inner recesses of my soul and decide to choose to live more in the moment rather than to continue to live in the past.  I probably feel deeper than most who know me, and because of my true ability to love deeply, care without constraint, I also feel more hurt, more pain.  Conversely, I am also able to love with more passion, care with greater sensitivity and express myself more vividly. 

The message I have for you is this:  Be true to yourself, be true to your soul.

The sparkling of our eyes is a reflection of our soul, we see this when we look into a mirror.  Today is a good day to look into a mirror and mentally capture the twinkling of our eyes and maybe in that moment connect internally with ourselves and rediscover the spark of passion deep within.   We then can carry on with a smile.

In 2012, I plan to reveal  more of my true self, the person who has boundless energy, high ideals, goals to be achieved, and love to release upon my friends, family members and those who do not even know me.  I plan to hug more, kiss more and help those whom I care so deeply to uncover who they want to be.  This is a good year to live without fear.  This is a year to be bold, a year to express who we really are and be true to ourselves.  We owe this to God our creator, we owe this to ourselves.  And as we love more, others will love us more too.

Dream, live and love!

Living to Make a Difference!

Living a visionary life is the real charge that our Lord has given us, to live without restraint in taking His word to the world.  For most Westerners, we are content with living small lives, but living small lives does not create personal fulfillment or for that matter fulfill the true will of God.  He has created us in His own image, we are to be His beacons on this earth to open the minds, hearts and souls of others; and it requires more than a small faith and a small effort.  Today in our world, every six seconds a child dies due to malnutrition or under-nourishment, a horrific sad fact.  The question at hand is what are we doing today in our daily efforts to reverse these statistics?  As sad as this fact is, as much as these physical deaths are such a tragedy, there are so many souls lost due to unbelief in God’s saving grace.  We must question our contribution to this malady.  We must question our efforts to save the souls of others and by what means we can achieve the great charge we have been given by our Savior to reach the world. 

Sitting on the sidelines of life is not an option.  You and I were never created to watch life, rather to live life boldly and to the fullest extent.  We are here to help others.  We are here to create links of understanding between other human beings, between each other and ourselves.  We are here to see the face of Christ in every person we meet.  Now I of all people realize how challenging this sometimes can be, but if we begin to live our lives with this thought, we can begin to make a difference.  We are here to protect those who are not able to stand up for themselves, to feed those who are hungry and engage those who have misguided thoughts to seek understanding by learning of Christ.

I do believe a balance of support and challenge in our lives allow us to live more fully, and today choosing a mission to fulfill the works of God in the hearts of others will provide an avenue to live in this state of equilibrium.  No one ever said life would be easy, on the contrary, people are people and there will be days of heartache and sadness, however living to a higher standard will create a ripple effect that will impact positive change in our world.

Personal leadership requires making decisions, sometimes decisions are not always popular with everyone affected, however choices have to be made.  The choices we make are based upon moving in the direction God has chosen for us as outlined in His word.  It is no easier today than what it was for Abraham or Moses, but possessing a great faith and taking action on our faith is the life we are destined to lead as Christians.  Some may believe our modern day world is so much more sophisticated than that of many centuries ago.  However, every time we watch the news and learn of murder, betrayal, theft, adultery, crime and lies we are reminded how much our world is separated from God.  If our faith is real, then we need to reach out and begin by making a difference every day.

Today, get on your knees and pray for the strength of the Lord to enter your heart, for the Holy Spirit to fill your soul with His presence, and lead you to the path for what you are destined.

God Speed! 

Who do you want to Be?

Who do you want to be?
What do you want to be known for in your life?

What places do you plan to travel and discover?

What kind of a relationship do you want your kids to say you have with them?

Is your love life vibrant, exciting, enticing and exuberant?

Do you enjoy open communication and mutual understanding with those most important to you?

Who do you want in your life?

Who do you break bread with each week?

To whom do you display your greatest kindness?

Do you really want to die with the music left inside of you?

Is where you reside and live holding you back from being all you can be?

Are the people you are surrounded by positive, optimistic, hopeful, possess advancing personalities

and want to live the fullest expressions of who they can be?

Do you value peace of mind?

Do you realize your happiness is dependent upon you?  No one else!

Do you value love?

Who do you embrace and who do you kiss?
Who loves you?

Do you value communication?
Who needs your thoughts?

Who needs you need to drop a note, send a letter or special card?

Do you encourage others to live their full potential?

Real freedom is experienced in letting go?

Do you trust?

Who are you true to?

Real trust is found in being true to yourself.

Who do you want to be?

Are you that person now?
Is there anyone stopping you?
Is it you?

Live Magnificiently!

When we live up to our highest values, we expand our lives and grow our sphere and we become more holy rather than living a life of our lowest thoughts.  Life is to be a quest of magnificence and each day is a new canvass to carry out our highest aspirations.  We must be grateful for the gifts we have been given, and in a state of gratitude we begin to step onto the welcome mat leading to a multiplicity of opportunities and understanding.  We are to transcend past our weakest thoughts and realize the bliss we can choose for ourselves by desiring and living lives exhibiting our best character.  When we live up to our hightest values, we live lives of greatness and express our best and true selves.

Thought for the Day!

This morning while listening to Joseph Prince, he shared some thoughts which I would like to share with you.  These thoughts come from I Timothy and will challenge to think if you focus on the word conscience.  Joseph Prince said, "peace is of the conscience; and joy is of the heart."  The way he related this is when Jesus appeared before the disciples after the ressurection, He said, 'Peace Be With You and that resonated with the conscience of the disciples'.  Jesus then showed them His nail marks and they experienced joy in their hearts. 
Here are the verses for you to reflect upon...
I Timothy 1:5
The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
I Timothy 1:19
..holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith.
When we become discouraged or disoriented with life, we must continue to live to a higher standard in our conscience or we may shipwreck our faith.  In new millenial terms shipwreck could be substituted with plane crash.  We all know very few if any survive a plane crash, so it is important to protect our thoughts, to hold onto our faith and thus we grow in spirit.
There are many of us who face everyday challenges and life does not always present itself as easy, so I hope these words will provide a reflection for you to live a greater life with faith, hope and peace.
May the Peace of the Lord Be With You!

Incorruptible Beauty!

^“Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” -  I Peter 3:4 NIV

^“Rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.”  – I Peter 3:4 KJV

The incorruptible unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit…

Wow!  This scripture, this thought makes one realize we must choose to live our lives on a higher plane, and upon doing so, find ourselves of real value in God’s sight. 

So, here we are asking ourselves: how do we live each day with a gentle and quiet spirit?  It begins with a mindset to realize we are servants.  We are here to serve God and we are here to serve His children, our brothers and sisters in humanity.  We are here to be caretakers, lovers of life, respecting His word and choosing to deeply appreciate others we encounter as a part of our existence.  Now, this may seem a little pollyanna as how are we to truly appreciate and love everyone who becomes a part of our existence, as there are those we rather would not embrace.  God would challenges us to pray for others, accept and love and treat them as if they are our family and very own blood.

Maybe if we decided to commit ourselves to really live with ‘the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit’, then our lives may change.  There are those individuals whom we have met that possess this exact trait.  Upon encountering them, we leave their presence more peaceful and with a refreshing calm which overtakes us.  I know you have experienced this, it is not often, but I know you have.  Most of us would choose not to live with what seems a more passive mindset.  However, is it truly a ‘passive approach’ these remarkable individuals choose as their mode of living?  Perhaps, they have decided to choose a more robust way to live, which includes always seeking peace.

As we reflect on the first three fruits of the spirit, should we find it so surprising it is peace, love and joy.  We ponder: the unfading beauty or the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet soul.  Why do live any other way?  Are we such fools not to realize if living as one who loves, sincerely cares, and seeks to enrich the lives of everyone regardless of who they are, or their lot in life, we ourselves evolve to become more beautiful.

I think of Mother Teresa, is this how she lived her life?  Of course, she is one of many examples; and there are those individuals we have encountered on a more personal level.  And today, taking the lead of these persons, we too choose to live a life of servanthood, and daily fixate ourselves on the choice of living more gently, more caring, more giving.  In doing so, we evolve and our spirit gradually transforms to become more beautiful. 

My hope for you my reader, is that you are able to live a magnificent existence, a superb life filled with joy and happiness.  And, at the end of each day before you lie down to rest find yourself pondering - have I lived this day, today - a life which is precious in the sight of God? 

Peace to you!

Live Brilliantly!

The definition of our lives is dependent on our ability to capture the multiplicity of opportunities which lie before us.  Every day is like a new page in the chapter of our lives, every day is so important to really live rather than to take a casual flippant attitude towards letting it slip by.  Our lives are comprised of years, and years comprised of what we do with each day.  We all should be so wise to not let one day just slip by without making a difference in our own lives.

How do we make a difference in our lives?  We make a difference by deciding who we are, choosing to live a more refined life by resolving to enhance the life of every person we meet.  We are to look upon each person we encounter as the most important person in our lives at that moment, and upon doing so we truly impact them with our presence.  When we are blessed to hold an infant child, every morsel of our attention is placed upon that baby because we want the child to feel loved and special.  In the same manner, if we choose to exhibit that level of caring to others in our life, we impact them, as well as ourselves.

After holding a baby, it changes us.  It is not uncommon after a woman holds a baby that she tells everyone she meets the remainder of the day, guess what I did today? ….I held a baby.  So, the idea I am attempting to impress upon you is treat every person you meet as that special baby, and then see how your life is influenced by others.  And you will also be influencing others as they you.

Truly our life is greater when we realize and embrace the notion that it is the relationships in our lives which allow us to live an enhanced life.  Obviously, we may not have a genuine connection with every person we meet, however if we are sincere in our reaching out and remain true to our cause, we will know the difference.  The difference is vastly more important to ourselves as it is our life we are attempting to always enhance.

Today, notice the sunrise and sunset, be unafraid to gaze into the eyes of those you meet, look into the windows of their soul and take note of their persona.  Be faithful to yourself, take a walk and pray for others, and in your mind list everything of which you are grateful.  Decide to love yourself, and realize that God placed you on this earth to make a difference, and without reservation choose to be that difference in the life of one person each day.  Simply compliment someone, write a note, take a friend to lunch, maybe ask another how they feel. 

By the way, it is okay to live without reservation.  When we have the urge to make a positive remark or compliment, and we choose to rather not say it and keep it to ourselves, we miss out on expressing our true selves in that moment.  It is better to be yourself and live a more extroverted life rather than to live in an internal world which causes one to miss out on real living.  Do not hold back!  Live how you truly want to live, this is your life now… you are the master, remember that and take action!

Decide to be a lover today, love God, love your life, love others, love what you do, and above all choose to really live and not miss out on one opportunity to be your most expressive and creative self, and your life will change.  Live Brilliantly!