positivethinking

There are individuals in our lives that are just difficult to love. I would even bet that some of those people are even just hard to like or be nice to on a given day. I read a section of a Max Lucado book yesterday which really resonated within me. It described the story of the leper and how likely it was that this man was without much hope, love, or even like yearned for some compassion or human connection. This man didn’t deserve to have a physical illness that was disgusting to look at and it certainly didn’t make him any less needy of human affection. Yet, he walked without for so long. The quote that spoke so deep to me: “If your fear of doing the wrong thing prevents you from doing anything, keep in mind the perspective of the lepers in the world. Jesus touched the untouchables of the world. Will you do the same?”

Regardless of why people are hard to love, like, or connect with in any way - do they deserve to be untouched and what might we do about it?

“Oh the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour tem allout, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keeping what is worth keeping, and then, with the breath of kindness, blow the rest away.” William Penn

What is worth keeping… and do we give thanks for the blessings in our life that are definitely worth living for? It’s never too late.

Have you ever been exposed to an opportunity that you walked away from? Maybe you didn’t do this intentionally, but nonetheless, the opportunity passed. Now, ponder an opportunity that knocked and you willingly accepted the challenge and journeyed through. I’m pretty certain that we’ve all experienced both of these options when it comes to how opportunities cross our paths. I’ve always wondered if the missed opportunity or the accepted opportunity provide more value to our lives.

Truth flowers in our hearts in many different ways. I can’t fathom an opportunity that doesn’t provide some truth and discernment for us to gain knowledge. Such markers in our lives as failures, successes, trials, and discontent all add to our resources of knowledge. Some might say these experiences were opportunities.

My guess would be that opportunities that we walked away from might have more validity to how we approach new situations and opportunities since we have a hard time not looking back and either feeling remorse at what could have been, or we work harder to ensure that we don’t miss any more opportunities.
What do you think?

A Virtuous Cycle
The Ripple Effect
In a world of six billion people, it’s easy to believe that the only way to initiate profound transformation is to take extreme action. Each of us, however, carries within us the capacity to change the world in small ways for better or worse. Everything we do and think affects the people in our lives, and their reactions in turn affect others. As the effect of a seemingly insignificant word passes from person to person, its impact grows and can become a source of great joy, inspiration, anxiety, or pain. Your thoughts and actions are like stones dropped into still waters, causing ripples to spread and expand as they move outward. The impact you have on the world is greater than you could ever imagine, and the choices you make can have far-reaching consequences. You can use the ripple effect to make a positive difference and spread waves of kindness that will wash over the world.

Should the opportunity arise, the recipient of a good deed will likely feel compelled to do a good deed for someone else. Someone feeling the effects of negative energy will be more likely to pass on that negative energy. One act of charity, one thoughtful deed, or even one positive thought can pass from individual to individual, snowballing until it becomes a group movement or the ray of hope that saves someone’s life. Every transformation, just like every ripple, has a point of origin. You must believe in your ability to be that point of origin if you want to use the ripples you create to spread goodness. Consider the effect of your thoughts and actions, and try to act graciously as much as possible.

A smile directed at a stranger, a compliment given to a friend, an attitude of laughter, or a thoughtful gesture can send ripples that spread among your loved ones and associates, out into your community, and finally throughout the world. You have the power to touch the lives of everyone you come into contact with and everyone those people come into contact with. The momentum of your influence will grow as your ripples moves onward and outward. One of those ripples could become a tidal wave of love and kindness.

Created to Overcome
Today’s Scripture
“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (I John 4:4 NKJ).
Today’s Word from Joel and Victoria
Are you facing a situation today that seems impossible? Even if you don´t see how things will work out, remember, you are created to overcome. As a child of the Most High God, the Greater One lives on the inside of you. There are seeds of faith planted in your heart, and the way you activate those seeds is by the words of your mouth. Begin to declare, “I am bigger than this problem. I am created to overcome. I am destined to live in victory because the Greater One lives inside of me.”

Friend, when you start speaking like that, all of heaven hears you and gets behind what you are saying. That´s why it´s so important to stir up the fire that God has placed on the inside of you. Don´t just sit back and be passive. That obstacle may look impossible, but God wouldn´t have allowed it in your life if He didn´t already know that you could overcome it! Quit looking at your difficulties as obstacles that are going to hold you back and start looking at them as opportunities that are going to push you forward into the live of victory He has in store for you!
A Prayer for Today
Father in heaven, thank You for Your promise of victory. Fill my heart with Your peace and joy today and help me to stay focused on You. In Jesus´ Name. Amen.

In Line With Spirit
Staying On Track
In a world where we have routines for nearly everything—our route to work, our physical fitness regimen, and our weekday schedule—it’s amazing how many people forget to create a routine for meeting their spiritual needs. We run around in an attempt to be at our many appointments on time and meet our many obligations. In our efforts to be as productive as possible, however, our spiritual needs tend to take a backseat. After all, taking care of our spiritual needs doesn’t directly pay the bills or tone our abdominal muscles. We may even wonder who has time to meditate or write in their journal when there are more pressing matters to see to. The truth is that nurturing ourselves spiritually is what gives us the energy and grounding that we need to make sure that our lives stay on track.

How you choose to nurture yourself spiritually is a personal choice. For some people, meditating once a day may be what they need to stay centered. While spending 10-20 minutes with your eyes closed and your brain devoid of thought may seem like a lot of time doing nothing, this state of nothingness actually allows you to stay calm and focused so you can be as productive as possible. Writing in your journal everyday lets you stay in touch with yourself so that you are always tuned in to your feelings. Repeating affirmations for success, happiness, and well-being on a regular basis can help you live with optimism and enthusiasm and create what you want in life.

Having a routine for nurturing your spirit that you do each day lets you feed energy to your soul and can serve you well if your life suddenly takes an unexpected turn into a difficult period. This kind of routine grounds your spirit in your body so that you stay anchored in yourself as you move through each day. Nurturing yourself spiritually allows you to not only stay on track in your life, but it allows for your life to stay on track with what your spirit wants.

Love is love. All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love. Everything is, everything exists, only because I love.
— Leo Tolstoy

This statement truly exemplifies why I believe I participate in the things I do in my life. I’m sure that many people often feel the same way. I’ve reached a point in my life where I truly value my time, and only do the things that I know I truly appreciate and love.

I mean, we all participate in things that aren’t our favorite, but we do them with good intentions, and more than likely because it involves someone that we truly care about.

For Valentine’s Day, we truly share because of the depth that our love has for another individual. Our heart is filled with the blessing of others, and we are able to share our love with these individuals on a special day.

A simple expression goes a long way. I would just not hesitate to remind people that simple expressions can take place on any day, not just on Valentine’s.

Perhaps imagination is only intelligence having fun.
— George Scialabba

I would like to say that this statement has truth, that you’re allowed to have both, intelligence and imagination. They can absolutely work together to benefit others. A work of art, a novel, an eloquently written poem, all must thrive on the ability to utilize both intelligence and imagination.

It is amazing to find pieces of art that hold such essence, whether you’re in a museum, paging through a book, or scanning through your child’s artwork. Beautiful pieces of art can absolutely take your breath away.

This is why I hope that the above quote is true. It’s a valuable statement that syncrhonizes the two.

What do you think?

This is such an incredible message from Daily Om, that I have to share.

As Blessed As You Want to Be
The Power Of Staying Positive
Our thoughts are not simply ethereal pieces of information that enter our minds and then disappear. The words and ideas that we think can shape our lives and drive us toward success and happiness or failure and distress. How you think and feel can have a profound effect on your ability to recognize opportunity, how well you perform, and the outcome of the goals that you’ve set for yourself. When you maintain an optimistic outlook and make an effort to harbor only positive thoughts, you begin to create the circumstances conducive to you achieving what you desire. You feel in control and few of life’s challenges seem truly overwhelming because it is in your nature to expect a positive conclusion. An optimistic mind is also an honest one. Staying positive does not mean that you ignore difficulties or disregard limitations. Instead, it means spending time focusing only on the thoughts that are conducive to your well-being and progress.

Positive thinking dramatically increases your chances of success in any endeavor. When you’re sure that you are worthy and that achievement is within your grasp, you start to relax and look for solutions rather than dwelling on problems. You are more likely to imagine positive situations or outcomes and disregard the thoughts related to giving up, failure, or roadblocks. What the mind expects, it finds. If you anticipate joy, good health, happiness, and accomplishment, then you will experience each one. Thinking positively may sound like a simple shift in attention – and it is – but it is a mind-set that must be developed. Whenever a negative thought enters your mind, try immediately replacing it with a constructive or optimistic one. With persistence, you can condition your mind to judge fleeting, self-defeating thoughts as inconsequential and dismiss them.

It is within your power to become as happy, content, or successful as you make up your mind to be. Staying positive may not have an immediate effect on your situation, but it will likely have a profound and instantaneous effect on your mood and the quality of your experiences. In order for positive thinking to change your life, it must become your predominant mind-set. Once you are committed to embracing positive thinking, you’ll start believing that everything that you want is within your grasp.

What do you think?

A gift-giving virtue is the highest virtue.
— Friedrich Nietzsche

The greatest blessing in my life is when I know I’ve given something special to others. It’s generally shown by the smile on a person’s face, or a hug that is given by a friend, or when notes of gratitude are shared. I keep these treasures in my heart. The notes, I have hanging up around my house as reminders of how a good deed, giving something simple to another person can make them feel special, can enlighten their day, and make the world a better place.

Gifts don’t have to cost anything, the spirit of sharing is free; and is opportune during any moment during the day. These small gestures provide so much to others, and truly are of high value to anyone that is exposed to them.

Letting people know that you value them in your life is extremely important. I’ve lost several people in my life and I regret not being able to tell them how much I appreciated their presence in my life, or how much I enjoyed specific things about them. I try to make it known to those around me what it is about them that I truly appreciate and value. These gestures of gratitude and love are never brushed off, but do help inspire someone, help them to feel better, and allow them to smile or laugh, at least one time that day.

So, spread your positive seeds unto others, and help them smile and laugh too. Chances are you will also benefit from these experiences as well.