Tuesday Words of Wisdom.... Get out in nature!

"You can always find the sun within yourself if you will only search."

— Maxwell Maltz

Yep, you read that right. Get out in nature! Get outside and enjoy the beauty of everything that's bloomed this beautiful Spring. Look at the abundance of leaves on the trees, the abundance of birds singing, the abundance of vibrant green blades of grass, the abundance of the fragrant flowers. etc. This is such a great way to stay grounded and to connect with the amazingly beautiful and abundant Universe. It's also a great way to connect to your Spirit.

Haven't you noticed that when you're outside in nature, you feel so much better? Ideas flow to your heart and mind, your Spirit opens up, your mood lightens, and you have so much more energy! That's what nature was intended for.

If you think about it, those who spend time out in nature tend to be healthier, have less stress, and are happier! So, improve your life by getting outside and communing with the gift of nature. It's a free gift!

My Saturday Words of Wisdom.

We should be mindful of how we treat people because everyone is dealing with something. They could be on the verge of losing their home. They may have just lost their job. They could have just received a bad report from the doctor. They may be on the verge of a divorce. They could have just lost a pet or a loved one, or even a best friend who's stuck by their side thru the darkest time in their life when everyone else turned their back on them. They could have lost a life-long spouse. Someone could have just broke into their home and stolen credit card and banking information. You just never know! So, make it a point to treat others how you want to be treated because one day, you may be going thru something yourself.

Forgive the most important person in your life...YOU!

Last night, I watched Oprah's Life Class. The topic for last night's show was on Forgiveness. When I heard Oprah say they were gonna talk about forgiveness, I thought to myself, "Yeah, right! I don't need to forgive anyone. I've already forgiven everyone I could because I've come to terms with my past. I've accepted it for what it is, learned from it, grew, and moved on."

I learned a few years ago that if you don't forgive people their transgressions, its like you're drinking poison and expecting the other person to die from it. It doesn't work. You have to forgive people in order to heal and move on in your own life. With coming to terms with my past and forgiving people, I feel like it's propelled me to new heights in life. I no longer am an angry and depressed person. I found my smile!

Well, about 3/4 of the way into the show, they started talking about forgiving yourself, and as soon as they said that, it kinda woke me up. Forgive myself??? Hmmm, that's a new concept I'd never explored! As they kept talking, it hit me that I never forgave myself for not ammending my relationship with my real father before he transitioned in October of 2011.

My father and I never really had a solid relationship. Sometimes, we'd go for 10 years without speaking to one another. This was the way it was for my whole life, and I finally accepted it for what it was about 10 years before he transitioned. Long story short, we had a HUGE falling out around that time and I chose not to speak to him ever again. I chose my pride over trying to come from a place of understanding how he thought. I wasn't able to accept him for who he was. I wanted him to be who I wanted him to be, and when he couldn't, it upset me pretty badly.

Then one day, out of the clear blue, I get a message from a friend on Facebook telling me they were sorry to hear about the passing of my father! WHAT THE HELL??? The passing of my father? Are you freaking kidding me? That news definitely threw a wrench into my plans. When I asked my friend how she knew, she said she read it in an obituary from the local newspaper. So I immediately got on the Internet to find out if it was true and sure enough, it was. Not only that, I found out from the obituary that he endured a lengthy battle with cancer and passed on two days before I found out. I never even knew my father was sick. No one told me. If I had known he was sick, I definitely would have put my pride aside and ammended my relationship with him. But I didn't know he was sick, and it was too late! Come to find out from my father's girlfriend who I met via the mortuary, he thought I wouldn't have cared if he was sick, lived, or died, so that's why he never reached out to tell me.

Suddenly, I was riddled with an overwhelming feeling of guilt. In my state of grief, I couldn't get over the fact that I had too much pride to let the past be the past. I also couldn't get over the fact that my father passed on believing that I didn't want anything to do with him. That broke my heart so badly. And as I sit here and type this, it still breaks my heart. I haven't forgiven myself totally and completely for my actions.

I know that if I don't forgive myself and move on from the chains of unforgiveness, I will be bound by this guilt for the rest of my life. I have to be gentle with myself like I was with everyone else. I need to seek God in all of this and allow His wisdom to shine down on my life! I need to open my heart and find peace in the decissions I made not to have my father in my life.

I need to forgive me!

I've got to get out of my own way!

Every time I hear this amazing song, it reminds me that I'm the only one who keeps getting in my own way. I stop myself from moving forward with my own self-talk because I'm afraid of my greatness and of being ridiculed from others. If you deal with getting in your own way, then let this song inspire you, like it does me.

Ready To Fly

Richard Marx

 

I've been trying to open the door

To the secret of my destiny

And every new road I think is the one

Seems to lead right back to me

I've looked for a way to be wiser

A way to be strong

Now I see the answer was hiding

In me all along

[Chorus]

And I'm ready to fly

Over the sun

Like a rocket to heaven

And I'm ready to soar

Right through the sky

Never dreamed I'd find something to lift me so high

I've always had wings

But I wasn't ready to fly

Restless, hopeless, and misunderstood

Like so many others I know

So busy tryin' to keep holdin' on

When I should've been letting go

I was given the gift to find it

The spirit inside me

But I never really imagined

All I could be

[Chorus]

The answer to all of my wonder

Was right in my hands

Now it's time for me to discover

All that I am

[Chorus]

I've always had wings

Now I'm finally ready to fly

Since moving to Ohio, I've had so much more energy to actually get out in nature and walk my doggies. They love it as much as I do. And with the weather being as nice as it's been, I have to take advantage of being outside as much as possible. I'm learning so much about life through being with them. They are such great teachers and I am so grateful that they chose me to be their master! They're teaching me 1) To live life in the moment. Dogs don't worry about tomorrow, or fret over what happened yesterday. There are here and present all of the time. 2) To enjoy the simple things in life. They get a thrill simply from riding in the car to the park, walking in the park, sniffing grass, greeting people, and spending time with me. 3) Have no judgements. My dogs don't judge a soul. They treat everyone and greet them the exact same, every single time, no questions asked. 4) Exercise every day. My dogs absolutely love going for walks and I can easily tell when I start walking them that they have limitless amounts of energy to walk off. Within 10 minutes of walking them, they start to slow down because they've gotten a lot of their energy out. They are both losing weight and they are much calmer as a result of their exercise! And I can tell they feel better, too. 6) Rest. Every time we come home from walking, the first thing they do, after drinking a bowl-full of water is rest. They don't worry about everything they have to get done. They just think about resting and heading to their dog beds for a much-needed nap. 7) Have gratitude. They are so grateful for getting to get out of the house, ride in the car, be around people, be in nature, etc. And they aren't afraid to show it by evidence of their constant tail wagging. It's a sight to see for sure! 8) Never be afraid to express how you feel. My dogs always show me how they are feeling. Although they're mostly happy, they still show me when they're scared, cautious, not feeling well, etc, and they have no problems expressing themselves. 9) Go after the things you want. Sam and Maggie both go after the things they want. When they want some of my food, they beg and have no issues doing so. When they want to sniff a smell, they go after that smell whole-heartedly! When they want to greet someone, they greet them with the same energy as if they're going after that smell. 10) Show unconditional love all of the time. They both show me and everyone they meet unconditional love all of the time. No matter what mood I'm in when I come home from a bad day, they are both there to greet me at the door, tails on a constant wag, and whimpers of delight! They love me the same today as they did yesterday, and there are no conditions placed on me at all. All I have to do is be me, and that's good enough for them! So take your dogs for a walk in the park and find out the many things about life that you can learn from them. Trust me, they are such amazingly great teachers, and I thank God for my doggies. I couldn't imagine life without them!

I've been gone for far too long!!!

WOW!! As I sit here and type, I can't believe I've gone almost two years without writing in my blog. Talk about taking a break!! And with knowing that writing is one of my passions and a great creative outlet for me, I still made the choice to go that long without writing. Why? Maybe it was procrastination. Maybe it was laziness. Maybe it was part of the path I was supposed to travel to get me to this point. I honestly don't know. Kinda sad, really if I sit here and think about it long enough. And even though I made the choice not to write in my blog for almost two years, the desire always stayed with me. But, I let my choices win out over my desires. I let my ego win out over my heart. For my two year break, I was leading with my head and not with my heart. I allowed life to take over instead of me taking over my life. I made going to work and paying bills a priority. I made making others happy a priority. I made doing laundry, washing dishes, grocery shopping, getting oil changes, watching movies, and running errands a priority. While all of those things are important, I forgot about my passion and desire to write. I put nourishing my soul on the back-burner. And, I was merely existing and not living! That's definitely no way to live. Knowing this deep inside of me, a thought keeps playing over and over in my head. The thought is, "When it's my time to transition to the other side, I don't wanna be on my death-bed, laying there with any regrets. I want to know that I did all that I wanted to do. I want to know that I followed my heart. I want to know that I pursued my passions. And I want to know that I did all I could do to impact the world by inspiring people." That's what I want, and that's what I WILL DO! And now that I'm 41, almost 42 years old, I feel like I haven't got one second longer to waste. God gave me the gift of writing to give to the world and I must share it. That's what I believe!! So, with that being said, I'm gonna go sit outside on this amazingly beautiful day, watch my doggies play, listen to the birds and the sounds of the universe, and do some more writing. Maybe do some journaling. Maybe some free-flow writing. Or, maybe starting out on writing the book that's been sitting inside of my belly. And, until next time..... FOLLOW YOUR PASSIONS!!