positivethinking

We know that pictures are worth 1000 words. What is on the desktop of your computer? Do you have a picture that allows you to feel like you want to walk into the scene? Do you have pictures of a fun event or family?

I love to take pictures of nature. I like to explore through photography. I can capture the essence of a sunrise or a sunset. I can see the beauty in the stillness of water.

I like to take pictures of peole too, preferably candids. I like to steal moments when people least expect to have their pictures taken, when I can truly capture the essence of their personality.

Pictures do speak a lot. I encourage you to find a picture that fills your heart with joy and look at it, whether that be of nature, exploration, or of your family. I like to surround myself with beautiful things, and pictures are an excellent way to do so.

What do you like about pictures?

I know many people do not like to have solitude or silence for long. I have to admit that I absolutely love it. Today is an incredibly gorgeous day. I have my sliding door open so that the breeze can blow into the living room and I can hear the wind chimes strumming. This is just so angelic for me, the peace, quiet, and the solitude. After a busy day, I enjoy nothing more than being able to reflect on my day, stretch, take time to rejuvinate, read, and relax.

I can hear the gentle swaying of the tree leaves, which makes me want to lay down and take a nap, (which unfortunately I can’t) but it provides the same lulling affect for me that waves do at the beach.

It is in these solitary moments that I regroup and focus on what is coming ahead. I allow myself time to plan goals for myself and my family, as well as take in my surroundings one gentle breeze at a time.

How does solitude make you feel? Is it something that you enjoy? Share, please.

I have great appreciation for Henry David Thoreau, who says, “That man is richest whose pleasures are cheapest.” With economy today changing for the worse, we are all restricted financially; but we don’t have to let the financial side of life restrict the pleasure that we have in our lives.

I love the beauty that nature has to provide, and there are endless opportunities for us to explore our surroundings for very limited cost, if not free. My children and I take advantage of local parks and libraries, of board games, and our schools resource library which has computer games, board games, and other learning material. The time that I have with my children can never be replaced, and most of our time together is pleasurable. I want them to realize the importance of their time with others, and to not place so much importance on the materialism that surrounds us.

Pleasure can be found in so many different arenas that vary from costing absolutely nothing, to costing some.

What do you value in your life that is pleasurable? I want to see a variety of items on our comment board, so we can share ideas about how we can spend our time more joyfully.

“The good life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge.” Bertrand Russell

This quote has made me think about the knowledge that I have acquired and how I can relate this to the concept of my life being good because of it. I think this quote is debatable, only because it ties with if people could forget certain memries in their lives, if they should be ablet to choose.

I happen to agree with the fact that all of your memories do shape you as an individual, and I also believe in the quote about good life being inspired by love and guided knowledge. I would have to add that the most important things in life are the people you meet and the books that you read, which does go right along with the quote. I was told this in a conference for future business leaders as a high school student and it is something that really struck my heart and I believed in the power of that statement.

So, I share it with you. Tell me your thoughts on the quote. Do you believer our life is inspired by love and knowledge?

Corita Kent says, “Life is a succession of moments. To live each one is to succeed.”

Have you ever just had a horrible day, yet the following day you were able to laugh at this experience? We learn valuable lessons even in the midst of days that we think are bad at the time.

Have you ever had tremendous feelings of guilt, sadness, or regret? With these feelings, we are able to learn how to overcome them, or how to ensure that we change our behaviors so that we limit these feelings from entering into our lives.

It’s amazing how moments are remarkable, no matter how good or bad the outcome. We definitely do grow from all of our experiences, and are able to learn valuable lessons in every single thing that we do.

We can learn to not take people for granted. We can learn to stop and smell the roses. We can learn to laugh at ourselves and cherish the little things in life. We can value simple pleasures: a walk in the park, the sound of laughter, or a movie. We can do more than we ever imagined if we truly believe that every moment is a success of us as an individual, as a person that can influence ourselves and others.

That is inspirational to me because I know I make mistakes, as I’m sure you do too. Knowing that learning from these mistakes allows for me to find success is an excellent thought, one that is refereshing to my spirit.

How about you? What do you find success in that you can share with us?

Blessings are such a wonderful thing. They come in all different shapes and sizes. Sometimes it is the quietness of the rain when you just need a moment to relax and find some peace. Sometimes it is a person in your life that has allowed you to see what a great blessing you are, or they are.

Flavia says this amazing quote that I immediately related to. ” Some people come into our lives and quickly go, some stay for a while, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same.”

I’m sure we can all relate to Flavia’s point of having someone leave footprints on our hearts. I have several people in my life that have been such positive influences and role-models that they will never be forgotten. I have an incredible high school teacher that made me feel important and intelligent amongst my peers. He inspired me to make the learning process fun.

I have a pastor that has prepared me for trials and tribulations and helped me pave the way to be an incredibly strong individual in the light of Jesus.

Blessings of people are out there. When I read Flavia’s quote, I immediately started to think of people that were significant influences in my life.

I would love to hear about the individuals in your life that left footprints.

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other. “
— Abraham Lincoln

I love this quote from Abraham Lincoln. It is a reminder to me that I should focus on what is important to me and not other people’s expectations of me. I’ve learned how to say no very well to people. I am easily over committed, and I have a tendency (or did) to never say no, which kept me feeling overwhelmed and in the end noncommittal because I had so much stuff on my plate.

Once I gained the ability to understand why my needs were important and what was important for me to spend my time on, I slowly learned how to put what I wanted to succeed before other’s expectations. It wasn’t easy, but I was able to redefine my time, my priorities, and make a more peaceful time for myself.

My first rule was to always be honest with myself.

My second was to never spend more time driving to a place than you’re going to spend there. I will make exceptions to this every once in a while, but I found that I was doing this a lot, spending more time driving, and it really bothered me. So, this rule is important to me, and it allows me to establish some boundaries.

Tell me what rules you can set in place, or have already to help you succeed.

We often take for granted or even sometimes abandon a natural resource that we have to enable ourselves to regroup, refocus, and even help others. I know that when I’m stressed out, I always reach out to help others because it boosts my own ability to also feel better. I love to engage with children and enjoy their innocence and fun that they have in their lives. I recharge by investing time into activities that I also feel like I’m having fun, including singing, dancing, and playing games.

Do you often overlook your own resources? These are essential tools for us, and you might find even for others as well, as we all work off of each other’s energy and intention.

I love the idea of intention when it comes to utilizing your own skills to recharge your batteries. We all get tired, burned out from everyday struggles, and need a reassuring hand; but we can often be our reassuring hand. A small smile in the mirror, a gentle pat on the back, or note in the car can help us boost our own confidence and radiate more peace and vibrance onto others.

Don’t let your own resources wear out, run on empty, or worse, dry up. Utilize what you have and keep your skill in practice for yourself and others.

A lot of us have the ability to focus on more than one thing at a time, because we were taught to do this, and we just multi-task for the necessity of doing it. We value time when we don’t have to multi-task, because we get to enjoy and revel in something; or the extreme occurs, we get bored.

Have you noticed that some items in life can be overlooked because we don’t have enough focus? I’ve noticed this when managing a classroom of children. I value each and every one of them for their own special gifts and talents that they provide to the world, but I forget one individual - my teaching assistant who also helps provide focus and ability. I smile at my own contributions and what I gain from the experience is tremendous, but I know that she needs to be praised as well. I have learned this through my experiences and will make sure that they also receive focus, for their ability.

Don’t let focus be a hindrance in your life, your relationships, or yourself. Be focused and provide yourself with more ability.

I believe we all struggle with patience. In today’s society we live in a fast paced world, where industries push getting as much to us as quickly as possible. I hate to say that it does increase our need for wanting items faster, as well as lower our tolerance for patience.

Patience is a very important part of life, that we all have to struggle internally with, but when we find ourselves waiting patiently for something, or pondering over an issue with patience and gratitude, we find more meaning and value in the outcome because of this patience.

I was struggling myself with attempting to change jobs. I didn’t want to make a hasty move, but I also knew that I didn’t want to stay in the job that I was in. I wasn’t happy. My skills weren’t being utilized, and I felt that I would be better off in a tedious, mundane job, like bagging groceries or preparing french fries.

Of course I realized this wasn’t the best move for me, that I needed to have patience for the right position to come across my path, and it did. A position at my church preschool became available, and I was prepared to fill it. I went in with gusto, filled out an application, interviewed, and was hired in September for the school year.

This never would have happened if I wasn’t patient. I prasie myself and my practical thinking, as well as positive thinking in this situation because it helped me get through. Now, looking back, I’m so grateful that I was patient with myself and sought what was most important.

Have patience. It isn’t easy, but it will provide thousands more in return that if you don’t have any.