Embrace today with passion. No matter what you are doing, where you are going or what you need to do embrace it with passion. All that the day has to offer is yours. All you have to do is wrap your arms around it with vigor. Don't even think about it..just do it. Just be passionate about the day. Laugh. Sing. Dance. Play. Love. Smile. Be in passion today...
"People think that a liar gains a victory over his victim. What I've learned is that a lie is an act of self-abdication, because one surrenders one's reality to the person whom one lies, making that person one's master, condemning oneself from then on to faking the sort of reality that person's view requires to be faked. And if one gains the immediate purpose of the lie - the price one pays is the destruction of that which the gain was intended to serve."
~p.788 of Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
~p.788 of Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
We often wonder why people do the things they do in relationships. Why people make certain decisions. Some judge and say that "so and so is stupid for dealing with such and such." It made me wonder about that. The word that kept resounding was hope. Hope - to wish for something with expectation of its fulfillment. Hope springs eternal and because of it we sometimes make decisions that may seem foolish to others but in our minds..the fulfillment of our expectations makes it worth it. When our expectations aren't met we wonder why and then move on to faith. Faith - belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. What we are typically trusting in is blind faith. We have no proof from our partners that they may ever do what it is we would like them to do, be the person we want them to be or meet our expectations. Hope and faith are powerful human beliefs. However, both can lead to unhealthy patterns. In relationships there is nothing wrong with the hope and faith that things will work out; but if the "proof is in the pudding" that things aren't working out it's time to use that same hope and faith that you can leave the relationship with love, heal your wounds and live your life to its fullest.
The quote of the Day is magnificent!
"History never looks like history when you are living through it."John W. Gardner
Isn't that the truth? When we are in the moment we tend to forget that we have lived through the experience before. And if we haven't, someone has. So in the moment we feel as though noone has ever experienced our pain, our heartache, noone has ever had to live through what we are feeling. Noone could possibly understand how we feel. But the beauty of the experience is that you will live through it to see another day and have another experience. It will be your history and in turn you will have the tools necessary to help someone else make theirs....
"History never looks like history when you are living through it."John W. Gardner
Isn't that the truth? When we are in the moment we tend to forget that we have lived through the experience before. And if we haven't, someone has. So in the moment we feel as though noone has ever experienced our pain, our heartache, noone has ever had to live through what we are feeling. Noone could possibly understand how we feel. But the beauty of the experience is that you will live through it to see another day and have another experience. It will be your history and in turn you will have the tools necessary to help someone else make theirs....
Ain't I a Woman
by Sojourner Truth
That man over there say
a woman needs to be helped into carriagesand lifted over ditches
and to have the best place everywhere.Nobody ever helped me into carriages
or over mud puddles
or gives me a best place. . .
And ain't I a woman?
Look at meLook at my arm!
I have plowed and plantedand gathered into barns
and no man could head me. . .
And ain't I a woman?
I could work as muchand eat as much as a man--
when I could get to it--and bear the lash as well
and ain't I a woman?I have born 13 children
and seen most all sold into slaveryand when I cried out a mother's grief
none but Jesus heard me. . .
and ain't I a woman?
that little man in black there saya woman can't have as much rights as a man
cause Christ wasn't a womanWhere did your Christ come from?
From God and a woman!Man had nothing to do with him!
If the first woman God ever madewas strong enough to turn the world
upside down, all alonetogether women ought to be able to turn it
rightside up again.
by Sojourner Truth
That man over there say
a woman needs to be helped into carriagesand lifted over ditches
and to have the best place everywhere.Nobody ever helped me into carriages
or over mud puddles
or gives me a best place. . .
And ain't I a woman?
Look at meLook at my arm!
I have plowed and plantedand gathered into barns
and no man could head me. . .
And ain't I a woman?
I could work as muchand eat as much as a man--
when I could get to it--and bear the lash as well
and ain't I a woman?I have born 13 children
and seen most all sold into slaveryand when I cried out a mother's grief
none but Jesus heard me. . .
and ain't I a woman?
that little man in black there saya woman can't have as much rights as a man
cause Christ wasn't a womanWhere did your Christ come from?
From God and a woman!Man had nothing to do with him!
If the first woman God ever madewas strong enough to turn the world
upside down, all alonetogether women ought to be able to turn it
rightside up again.
My sister has four delicious children and three of them are the prettiest brown girls you'll ever see. I like to think of them as beautiful brown flowers. That's what they look like to me. Of these three brown flowers the middle one is Noni. Noni is petite with a mind of her own and the biggest smile that can hold on the face of a three year old. Normally when I see my sister I give all the kids hugs and kisses and talk to them but I eventually gravitate to the turkey of a baby, Chaeli. She is just delicious! Noni is usually somewhere around playing and doing her own thing. The last time I saw them Noni said, "I have a new dollhouse. You want to see it? Come on!." So of course I went and played with her and we had some quality one on one time. It occurred to me that that was her way of claiming some time with me. She's not quite the baby anymore and not the big sister either so she's in that special position of a middle child. I enjoyed playing with her and it reminded me how much I need to pay attention. Pay attention to all of my nieces and nephew. Pay attention to my son. Pay attention to my sisters. Pay attention to my parents. Pay attention to my friends. Just really stop and pay attention. Noni got my attention through a simple request. Sometimes it's not until something tragic happens that we begin to pay attention and then it can be too late. I'm going to pay attention today to the people that matter...
Can you be happy and energetic if those around you aren't? If your friends or your mate are sulking or hurting about something is it selfish of you to maintain a peacefulness that doesn't allow their mood to affect yours? I think as humans we want to be so empathetic towards our loved ones that we embrace their pain. And while to an extent that is self sacrificing, it can also prove to be unhealthy. In order to help others you have to be centered within and have the ability to maintain your mood. You can be supportive and loving and at the same time set boundaries for yourself. You will be happy even if your mate is in "a mood." You can continue to feel joyful even if a friend is going through difficulties. Help that friend, talk to them, love them and continue to feel your joy. Your joy will likely rub off on them. I believe we take many years off of our lives when we create stress in environments where they aren't there; when you allow someone else's crisis to become yours. Remain in your positive emotional space and be that inspiration to someone....
