Today I am THANKFUL!

I can’t even begin to list why I am so thankful today. What I will say is that most of us have no idea how LUCKY we are and how incredibly grateful most of us should be just to know we get to see tomorrow. Don’t just be thankful on Thanksgiving, be grateful every day. Start a Gratitude Journal; write down 5 things every day that you are grateful for: the nice lady in the store, all green lights on the way to work or, think deeper and be grateful that you have your health and the gift of living another day.

Have a great weekend!

“Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the BRAVEST thing that we will ever do.” – Brene Brown

I just came across this quote from Brene Brown’s The Gifts of Imperfection: Let go of who you think you’re supposed to be and embrace who you are. Looks like this may be a must have! Click below to find out how to purchase it for yourself.  I don’t know about you, but just the title inspires me 🙂

About the Book:

Each day we face a barrage of images and messages from society and the media telling us who, what, and how we should be. We are led to believe that if we could only look perfect and lead perfect lives, we’d no longer feel inadequate. So most of us perform, please, and perfect, all the while thinking,

• What if I can’t keep all of these balls in the air?
• Why isn’t everyone else working harder and living up to my expectations?
• What will people think if I fail or give up?
• When can I stop proving myself?

In THE GIFTS OF IMPERFECTION, Brené Brown, Ph.D., a leading expert on authenticity, shame, and courage shares what she’s learned from a decade of research on the power of Wholehearted Living.

She writes, “Wholehearted living is about engaging in our lives from a place of worthiness. It means cultivating the courage, compassion, and connection to wake up in the morning and think, No matter what gets done and how much is left undone, I am enough. It’s going to bed at night thinking, Yes, I am imperfect and vulnerable and sometimes afraid, but that doesn’t change the truth that I am also brave and worthy of love and belonging.”

Dr. Brown’s most unique contribution comes from her 10-year groundbreaking study on vulnerability and shame. In this new book, she not only gives us direction for living a more authentic life, but courageously talks about “the things that get in the way.”

For example, in the chapter on cultivating rest and play, Brown addresses the challenges of letting go of exhaustion as a status symbol and productivity as self-worth. In her chapter on creativity she explains the paralyzing properties of comparison. Brown may be one of the only writers in this genre that offers us a path for change and an honest look at the obstacles.

As a nationally renowned researcher and speaker, Dr. Brown’s perspective is fresh, honest, and always delivered with warmth and humor. She writes about the experiences we all have, but few of us are willing to discuss. Using personal stories of her own struggle to “embrace vulnerability” she writes about the experiences we all have, but few of us are willing to discuss.

Own Your Story!

“Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster. Your life will never be the same again.” – Og Mandino, The Greatest Miracle in the World

I truly believe in this quote by Of Mandino. Have you ever had a mediocre day, minding your own business and out of nowhere, a stranger is kind to you. Whether it be a nice gesture, a smile, kind words or a lent hand, someone you don’t know has gone out of their way to be kind to you. How do you feel? AMAZING! (Well at least I know I do!) For a moment, when something like this happens to me, just for a moment, I feel at ease, my heart feels warmer and I smile. How awesome is that? And all it took was someone extending me kindness that took all but a few seconds out of their day.

I try to do this with strangers (and obviously friends and acquaintances) as much as possible. Last week I took a cab to the airport. Actually, it was election day and I was exhausted, anxious and a mix of many other emotions had taken over my brain. As we rode along the highway at 5 in the morning the driver struck up a conversation with me about where I was going which led to a conversation about my job. As we got closer to the airport he said, “I know this is a business trip, and they probably give you a credit card to use, but if at all possible you could pay with cash today I would greatly appreciate it. My rent is due and we don’t get paid for credit cards for a bit. If not I completely understand.” I said okay and we continued on in light conversation about his family and my work. I thought to myself, ‘the only cash I have on me is what this ride will cost. What if I need it later?’ And then I thought, ‘If I need more I can go to an ATM, this man seems so sincere and has been so kind to me, he needs it more than I do.’ I handed him the cash as we pulled  up to the terminal and a smile took over his entire face, “You have NO idea what this means to me. You just made my entire day! Thank you so much!” Then he got out of his cab, carried all of my luggage inside the terminal doors (which no one ever does) and gave me a huge smile and a wave, thanking me again, as I walked inside. Now, just THAT, that simple act of kindness, did forever change my life. It’s in moments like this that I realize how alike we all are and how we all just want to be appreciated, understood and respected.

Don’t wait for people to be kind to you, show them how!

Give it a shot!

“Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself.”

– Harvey Fierstein 

“Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your family and friends will. Stay in touch.”

I’m sharing the Moodscope.com blog post again today because it reminded me of this quote and I LOVE it! I may have even used it on here before but I guess that just goes to show how important it is to me. I keep in touch with as many people as I can. Everyone plays a different role in my life and has touched me in some special way that has helped to create who I am. By keeping in touch with them it helps me to feel complete and my friends all over this world constantly remind me who I am and what my goals, dreams and passions are. And, just think how great it feels to hear from some one that you haven’t heard from in a while that holds a special place in your heart. They feel the same way…so reach out and make a friend smile 🙂 Let that piece of you they awaken come alive again, and do the same for them, even if just for a minute.

No reason to beat a dead horse, it’s simple, keep in touch. I’ll let Moodscope say what I’m thinking:

‘Keep in touch.’ How often have you said it, and how often do you carry it out?

Friendships and relationships can be of immense help and support (and even, at times, the source of stress, anger or hurt) but it’s easy to take them for granted.

To appreciate this, you need only think of people to whom you’ve felt great attachment and affection in the past, but with whom you now have little or no contact. Maybe you were friends because you were at school together? Perhaps you got to know one another by working in the same place? Or it could have been that you met when you were geographically close, but then one of you moved away?

Through no fault of either of you, changing circumstances can lead to weakened ties, and eventually to the complete loss of that relationship, particularly if you have no idea where someone is.

Perhaps you’re like me. I often think of friends from my past, who are now no more than memories. I wonder if they still think of me? I wonder if they wistfully recall the friendship that was? I wonder what they’re doing now.

Maintaining all of life’s friendships all of your life is, I’m sure, an impractical goal. Sometimes I think you have to let go and move on. But perhaps there are one or two relationships which really shouldn’t fall into this category. One or two people with whom you’d like to be in more contact than you are. I expect you know who they are.

A valued old friendship is a little like a beautiful vintage car. Both need careful maintenance. Both have the capacity to lift your spirits and give you joy. But both will fall apart if neglected.

Is there someone you really should reach out to? Please don’t put it off. In fact today’s a perfect one to let them know you think of them – more than they think.

“Listen to the mustn’ts, child. Listen to the don’ts. Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me… Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.” – Shel Silverstein

 “There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. … No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.” – Martha Graham

Read that quote over a few times. It says SO much! This is a GREAT reminder to myself for when I want to hold back being me sometimes. Maybe I can be inappropriate, maybe my humor is a little crass or dry, maybe I am a tomboy that doesn’t always dress to impress, but I am ME and there isn’t another ME! So I wouldn’t change that for the world. Don’t hold back, be you, and don’t EVER let anyone take that away from you. If we don’t allow ourselves to be ourselves, the world will never be introduced to certain energy. Who knows how that messes with the balance of this crazy world 🙂 Keep the channel open 🙂

“Never jump into a pile of leaves with a wet sucker.” – Linus, “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” 

It’s funny the things you can learn from a quote in a children’s film. Although, I can’t say that “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” is just for children either. I wanted to use a quote today that is related to Halloween but has a broader meaning, to me at least.

“Never jump into a pile of leaves with a wet sucker,” Linus sys in the movie. For obvious reasons, this is GREAT advice. Your sucker would be covered in leaves and inedible. But what about in real life? This quote, to me, speaks about vulnerability. Never jump into a situation or relationship when you aren’t ready, when you are too vulnerable, when your “sucker is wet.” Give yourself time to approach each new endeavor, each new relationship and each new stage of your life without hesitation. It’s not bad to be a little vulnerable, by nature we all are and I think that beautiful things come out of this, but also be sure to guard your heart until it’s healed and your mind until is clear of unhealthy thoughts and influences.

Click on the picture below to watch this part of the movie 🙂 And have a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

“And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.” ― Haruki Murakami

I found the blog post from Moodscope.com rather perfect for today, and I thought I’d share it withe all of you. I get this in my inbox EVERY morning.  You should too. It’s a great way to start the day. Sign up to receive Jon’s insight here: http://www.moodscope.com/login

“For me, driving through countryside shortly after a devastating fire was a sad experience. Everything was black. The few trees left standing were stunted and bare. The acrid stench of sooty smoke gripped my throat.

It was easy to imagine that there would be no future for this territory, that its end had come.

But so very often this is not the case, because after the rain, after nature has worked its incredible wonders, small shoots of green appear. Then slowly, steadily, gradually, the environment returns to normal. Sometimes it does even better than this – the effects of the fire may enrich the soil, resulting in a greener and more pleasant land one day not so far down the road.

Someone comparing before and after pictures might be led to declare the area resilient, and indeed this is exactly what it has demonstrated.

But note: the fire still happened. If we’d been there when it was burning, we’d have seen only destruction. Resilience didn’t mean the vegetation was fire-proof. It didn’t somehow repel the flames.

No, the resilience is what came later. It’s the way in which the environment dealt with change, accepting it, kind of shrugging its shoulders and saying ‘well that was a mess – better get on with fixing things now though’.

I think we can learn from this. Resilience and being able to bounce back from adversity are tremendous qualities, but usually there’s no way to prevent the bad stuff happening at the time: the storm must simply be weathered. However it’s what comes later that counts, and an acceptance that things are as they are can go a very long way to giving you the strength to believe that they’ll get better again.

Surprisingly, after a forest fire there’s nearly always still a forest.” — Jon Cousins, http://www.moodscope.com

I was talking with a friend this morning about Hurricane Sandy and all natural disasters. I find them humbling. No doubt there is heartache and pain and unbelievable damage to be fixed, but it is also a reminder to all of us on the earth that we are NOT as powerful as we think and we are NOT in charge. Mother Nature rules our lives and we have to remember that, and remember to do our part to respect her and learn from the obstacles she throws at us. Thinking of those around this world who are recovering from ALL of Mother Nature’s natural disasters as well as those that are weathering their own individual storms. Hang on and push forward as you weather the “storm,” because, as Jon Cousins said, “The storm must simply be weathered.”

“When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everybody will respect you.”

–  Lao-Tzu