“Apologizing does not always mean you are wrong, it just means that you value your relationships more than your ego.”

Life’s too short! Put what’s important first, relationships, and your ego second. Sometimes it is okay not to be so proud and realize that while you are busy being angry or holding onto a grudge that you are missing out on building and feeding the relationships that help keep you strong. Apologizing lets the other person know that they mean more to you than some silly argument or disagreement. You never know how much time you have with people, why waste it being angry. Wouldn’t you rather look back and smile? Be the first to step back and agree to disagree!

“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” – Greek Proverb

What are we all living and working towards anyways? Well it’s not only for our future but for the future of those we will never meet. I’m sick of watching and reading the news everyday and learning of all the selfish behavior in this world, the hatred and greed that consumes so many people. Reading this quote really spoke to me today. We cannot grow as a society if we don’t take the rest of society into consideration.

Look at it this way, when you plant a seed to grow a tree, it will be YEARS before that tree will ever be large enough to really be noticed. Shade of that tree and possibly even the fruits of its labor won’t be enjoyed for years to come, possibly even long after we are gone. But we plant it anyway, because it isn’t about us. Because the large trees around us now were planted by those whom which we will never know and it’s time for us to return the favor to those that will walk this earth long after we are gone. We shouldn’t work everyday solely to benefit just ourselves, but with a larger vision of the happiness, prosperity, health and progress of those we shall never have the chance to meet. Find greater meeting in that which you produce, it’s more gratifying that way. We are all connected and what we do, whether we realize it or not, effects everyone else in this world somehow. Make your mark!

“Sometimes you just have to take the leap, and build your wings on the way down.” – Kobi Yamada

New things are scary. I can speak for myself when I say that I have held back from doing or saying things in my life out of fear of the unknown, fear of judgement, fear of rejection, fear of getting hurt, fear of failure. All of these things can be super scary if you let your mind go there. The thing is, you never know the outcome of anything unless you try. Like they say, “The worst thing someone can say is ‘no.'” You have to try, you have to take the leap, because it’s worth knowing the outcome, good or bad. If not, you’ll always wonder ‘what if?’

I was reading through my quotes today and there are so many that say the same thing as this one, just in a different way. Comes to show how important this is. If we spend our life focusing on the negative of what could be or what could happen, we lose out on actually experiencing the rush of the leap into the unknown. We only live once! So, take the leap, learn to fly in the process. The wings you have can’t help you fly unless you open them and let them try. This all reminds me of the song, “Standing Outside the Fire” by Garth Brooks. You can find the video and song linked below. Great song!

“When found with two choices, simply toss a coin. It works not because it settles the question for you, but because in that brief moment when the coin is in the air, you suddenly know what you are hoping for.” – Unknown

It’s funny to read this quote because it’s such an easy way to trick ourselves to think it doesn’t matter if it’s head or tails, that either option is fine, and we just need someone to pick it for us. (Someone being a coin.) We trick ourselves because, like this quote says, deep down inside we know which side of the coin we want it to land on, we actually DO know what we are hoping for and the coin’s answer is unimportant in the end. You just feel it! Try it, flip a coin over a big decision you can’t seem to make. The subconscious mind will amaze you with the power it has.

We already know what we are hoping for, sometimes we are just too scared to make a choice and we doubt that gut feeling. But this quote reminds us to go with our gut, that feeling you sometimes ignore, look past the fear and go with that split second feeling you get with the answer while the decision is in the air. Don’t even look down at the coin once it lands, it’s just metal. And if you want to wait til’ the coin drops, go for it. Because, I can almost bet that if it lands on one end, you’ll feel a little disappointment inside and, if it lands on the other, you will feel some internal relief.

“Wishing is good for us. Daydreams, fantasies, castles in the air, and aspirations all drive us forward, impel us to make things happen. They also tell us a lot about ourselves. Our wishes come straight from our core, and they are loaded with vital info.”

I have this weird attraction and love for dandelions. I just think they are so beautiful and complex yet full of a crazy hope for dreams and fantasies and wishes to come true. We blow on a little flower and put the energy of our biggest wishes into those little “petals” as they fly into the open air of opportunity and the unknown. How cool is that? It’s like making a wish at 11:11. We do it with only faith and hope to go on. And it feels so good to put your wishes out there. The little things that we yearn for inside that no one gets to see, except for this little weed.

To me that represent so many things: hope, faith, wishes, dreams, but, most of all, letting go. Letting things fly away and getting things off your chest. Doing this, like following our dreams, is what helps to make things happen. It’s the little start we need to help us move forward. That all being said always remember the following too:

“Always leave something to wish for; otherwise you will be miserable from your very happiness.” – Baltasar Gracian, Spanish Philosopher and Writer

This beautiful image below is linked to a totally unrelated article I read today about “The Gift of Uncertainty.” Check it out!

Th excerpt below is from a brilliant article I read today which is linked at the end. PLEASE take the time to read. I think this is SO important in today’s society to understand how to manage difficult emotions and the importance of doing so. Enjoy!

True Strength: Learning to Feel What Is – Nancy Colier

“Sadness is part of every single life, with no exceptions. And yet we pretend that a life in which sadness is denied is more admirable or well-lived than one in which it is acknowledged. To feel sadness when something sad is happening is appropriate and truthful…

Strength is a measure of how we handle the challenges of life, not whether they show up. The challenges will come, of that we can be sure. But can we acknowledge the truth, face the hard feelings, work with them, learn from them and ultimately heal from them? These are the markers of strength… 

As a society, we have no idea how to experience and be with sadness — or fear, anxiety, anger or frustration for that matter. We are not educated on how to manage difficult emotions, one of life’s most important skills. Rather, we are taught (and are teaching our children) that sadness is the enemy and that if we allow it to exist, it will destroy us. As a result, we will do anything and everything to avoid feeling it. Even funerals are designed to make us happy, to celebrate the wonderful life the person enjoyed, but certainly not to feel sad that they are no longer here. Our entire self-help industry is tailored to help us avoid feeling sad, to teach us how to arrange our lives so that we never have to feel anything difficult. Where these programs fail however, is when we end up in a situation where we cannot control or deny our sadness. Then what? Then we are deemed weak, and worse — failures for feeling what is actually appropriate.

In truth, we can learn to be with sadness, not to fear it, but to simply accept it as another of life’s experiences that can be lived through. The fact that sadness appears is not a sign of our failure. Its absence is not a sign of strength, other than perhaps the strength of denial. Sadness is simply a part of life. The sooner we allow it a seat at our inner table, the sooner we can get on with the business of living. When we allow ourselves to feel sadness when it arrives, to embrace and bring kindness to it — not judge ourselves for experiencing it — it is then that we grow truly strong. We know that we can confidently face whatever comes. True strength can only arise out of the truth.

So too, when we are able to feel sadness, we are also able to feel joy when it shows up, and the gratitude that accompanies it. We cannot deny the emotions that we don’t want and expect ourselves to be able to fully experience the emotions that we do want. We do not need to expend so much effort trying to control our lives so that sadness is kept out; such is a task for Sisyphus. What we need is to teach ourselves and our children that when sad things happen, we are sad — that sadness comes and goes (as does happiness) and that ultimately, we can stand like the big oak tree and weather whatever winds pass through us. To be strong is not to outrun sadness, but rather to learn to embrace it when it is here, to take good care of it so that it can heal. This is a warrior’s strength, a wise parent’s strength. The sadness will pass, as all emotions do, but we will remain, stronger and more solid in our ability to 
live — and love — with what is.” 

For the full article this came out of please click here.

“Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion’s starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don’t see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it’s not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it’s always there – fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge – they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaking suspicion… love actually is all around.” – Prime Minister, Love Actually

This is, by far, one of my favorite movies of all time. It does an excellent job of following eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives. IMDB defines the story line as the following, “The characters are falling in love, falling out of love, some are with right people, some are with the wrong people, some are looking to have an affair, some are in the period of mourning; a capsule summary of reality. Love begins and love ends. They flirt a lot. They are all flirting with love. At all ages and social levels, love is the theme. Romantic love and brotherly love is the hotchpotch through out the movie.”

It opens your eyes to the many levels of the word “love.” Today, being Valentine’s day and all, I was reminded of this film and pondered the definition of love quite a bit. Yes, to many it is a Hallmark holiday. And, yes, I feel that love should be shared with those you love every day of the year, not just one day. But, having one day when you share this love a little extra can’t hurt right? It reminds you that you can’t escape love. The card aisle of Walgreens, the commercials on tv, the Valentine’s Day episodes of your favorite sitcoms make sure that you don’t miss out on February 14th. So I’ve accepted that, and don’t see it as a day that makes a difference if I’m single or not. It doesn’t matter. Why? Because I am SO loved! By my family, my friends, my dog, my co-workers and possibly even by people I don’t know. I also love SO many people in this world more than I can ever explain to them.

So, for those of you that find this holiday silly and possibly even depressing, take a different perspective and be happy to know that we have a day dedicated to love instead of days dedicated to hate. Take the time to tell your loved ones that you love them and take today as a reminder of how important it is to be and feel loved, and take it with you ever day, sharing your love every chance you get. February 14th? Just another Tuesday this year? Nah, it’s more thought provoking than that. It’s a reminder that love actually is all around!

Happy Love Day Friends!

My favorite scene from the movie is linked to Hugh!

“Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

Simple as that, no thoughts today, just something to think about! She was such a smart woman.

“The greatest love of all, Is easy to achieve , Learning to love yourself , It is the greatest love of all…” – 

“The Greatest Love of All,”  Whitney Houston

Yes, it is sad, devastating, heart-breaking and down-right disappointing to lose a gift like Whitney Houston so young. The energy and sadness expressed on TV, the internet, social media sites, text messages and casual conversations reminds me of almost 3 years ago when we lost Michael Jackson. It makes you wonder the pressure society and the media put on these stars. Would I be able to handle that pressure? Maybe, maybe not. But I think it has a lot to do with the age and maturity of people when they come into the lime light. I guess that’s why Oprah said, “If you come to fame not understanding who you are, it will define who you are.”

I think one of my favorite quotes that defines the good and evil of fame is by William Blake, “The strongest poison ever known came from Caesar’s laurel crown.” I think we forget that even though celebrities are talented beyond our understanding, that they have a gift that most of us will never possess, that they are just people too. We define them by their gift instead of by the people they truly are. Is that society’s fault?  Not 100%, but I think when these stars start so young it is the responsibility of the adults around them to help keep them grounded, reminding them to love themselves and to keep them on a positive track until they grow into self-understanding adults.

The reason this death upsets me the most is the role that drugs play in so many of the deaths of young celebrities. I know it hasn’t been said what killed Whitney, but we do know the role drugs played in her life previously. We accept drug use and fame as two peas in a pod. We see it normal and okay that pop stars, rappers, actors and artists use drugs and we even pride them on how it helps them to create inspiring “art.” This has to stop. It is not okay for anyone to suffer from such an addiction. Addicts are hiding so much deep down and suffering inside from pain we can’t begin to understand. Instead of accepting this and sometimes applauding it or cracking jokes about it, let’s make an active effort as a society to change the image that has become the norm in this world. I’ve personally been affected by drug use in my life and it is unreal the power that drugs have on a person and it’s too painful to watch. I was lucky enough not to lose the one I love to addiction but what about the family, friends, fans and admirers of such talents like: Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, Michael Jackson, Heath Ledger, Whitney Houston, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Brittany Murphy, Jimi Hendrix, Judy Garland, River Phoenix, Anna Nicole Smith, and the list goes on and on.

The song “The Greatest Love of All” by Whitney Houston has a very powerful message. I have pasted half of the song below and linked the performance to her picture. Let’s remind our children about the important things in life and to love themselves. It’s so sad to me that she could sing a song about loving yourself when she struggled with that herself.

“I believe the children are our are future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be
Everybody searching for a hero
People need someone to look up to
I never found anyone who fulfill my needs
A lonely place to be
So I learned to depend on me

I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone’s shadows
If I fail, if I succeed
At least I’ll live as I believe
No matter what they take from me
They can’t take away my dignity
Because the greatest love of all
Is happening to me
I found the greatest love of all
Inside of me
The greatest love of all
Is easy to achieve
Learning to love yourself
It is the greatest love of all”

“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.” – Jim Rohn

I’m one sick puppy right now so I’ll be back soon with GREAT blogs when my head isn’t full of mush. Hope everyone is having a great week!