positivethinking

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

Virtue is such an interesting word. It has six meanings in the unabridged dictionary. Morality and being a moral individual constitutes most of the meanings of the definition of a virtue. So, as humans, when our reaction is not to give, how can we make giving our virtue? Our natural desires are for safety, needs, socialization, which are really purely selfish needs, as they really only include ourselves. We ultimately want these things for others too, in our immediate family, and perhaps more wide-spread.

The biggest virtue that I teach to others, especially in my own classroom and with my own children is the golden rule, to treat others the way you want to be treated. Personally, I feel this is the beginning of treating others with a giving virtue. You’re showing them so much more when you treat them the way you want to be treated: love, respect, nurturing, and friendship. These are only a few of the gifts you give to others when you provide to them the good old golden rule. It’s something that we can give to others without selfishness.

Ultimately, giving to others feels excellent. It’s the best high that a person can have, when they see a smile on someoen else’s face because they were given something of incredible value to them. I strive for moments like that in my life. They are self-fulfilling gifts, and so much more. I feed off of these moments and use this feeling to propel me to continue to help others, to see a great smile.

What do you think virtue is? Can we as humans all give with virtue?

“Every strike brings me closer to the next home run. “
— Babe Ruth

In everyday situations, we can choose to be proactive and patient, or disgruntled and upset. Babe Ruth’s quote not only shows great sportsmanship, but a willingness to learn and to practice to reach the ultimate title of winner.

How many times in your life have you reached so far that a “home run” seemed unattainable? How many strikes have you hit and felt happy about? What if you had the ability to look at these strikes as an opportunity to reach a home run in the future?

I’m a believer that everything happens for a reason. We might not always understand the meaning behind something, but knowing that all things have a reason can help me ultimately be okay with situations that are daunting, scary, or sometimes just plain unfair. These are all opporltunities for me to grow as an individual, and I know that in a month, six months, or years, I will be a better person because of all of the experiences I indulge in.

So, as I write down my goals for the new year, I’m also going to put a little piece of paper with Babe Ruth’s quote on it. Any small step backwards is not the end of the world, but a situation that can and will make my goals more firm in their standing. I will see that taking a step backwards is not the end of the world, but only a strike on the journey to the ultimate home run destination.

How can you see this philosphy affecting your life in a positive way?

A little neglect may breed mischief.
— Benjamin Franklin

I saw this quote and it immediately reminded me of my inability to plan well for the math class that I just completed. No matter how hard I studied, at the end of the class, I definitely had a lot more left to complete than I really imagined. I can only blame myself for this obviously, as I didn’t plan my time well. I didn’t pace myself as well as i could have, and it really did catch up to me.

I would definitely say that this example really fits the quote about neglect breeding mischief. I was left completeing hours of work in about a week’s time. The good news is, I was determined to make the class work, and I finished the class. I just learned yesterday that I passed that class, halleiluah. I was concerned I would be stuck retaking the class, but to my pleasure, surpirse, and battle with mischief, I came out on top.

In life we do this a lot. Call it procrastination, neglect, whatever you like. It happens to all of us. I aspire to do great things in the year 2009, and the first thing I set out to do is write down goals that I really want to accomplish. This is important to me this year because I really do have attainable goals that I would like to see checked off on paper. I’m accountable only to myself, and not to anyone else, so the person that is going to reward me the most for these accomplished goals is myself.

So, I will set to this today. I hope that you also have great stories to share and tell about moments of mischief.

Have an incredible day. Take a moment to write down some of your goals. Oh, and mental notes aren’t quite the same as taking time to really write them down.

She gives most who gives with joy.
“Mother Teresa”

As a mom, I can truly relate to this quote. There are moments when the kids might as for something, and you huff, thinking, ‘I just sat down,’ so there are two choices in the matter. We can complain, and possibly make our children upset for even asking for help, or we can smile, and help them. When we smile, we offer joy that is in our hearts, even if we were disturbed for just a slight moment in our day. Honestly, how much effort does it take to get up? It might take more effort to put a smile on our face, but our children have a deeper place in our heart that we can summon just one small gesture for them.

Honestly though, when we provide service with joy, others truly do see the giving as far more than than, they see the individual behind the giving, and the love that is provided behind the acts of service. Anyone can shake hands, provide a hug, or help someone in need, but when we are able to do this with joy from our hearts, it is widely known.

I’m sure you’ve heard the expression that if you pick up the phone with a smile on your face, on the other side of the phone, the person can hear your happiness, or the influence of the gesture. It’s true. When you smile, you speak differently. There is a positive pitch in your voice. It’s hard to smile and speak negatively to another person. This could be a tool for dealing with hurt feelings, or when you’re angry at someone. It could even be funny!

The bottom line is the same - acts can be more influential when given with some joy on your part.

I truly enjoy helping out when I can. I enjoy working with chilren and I love assisting in our church’s nursery so parents can attend regular service and know that their children are cared for and loved. This gesture is important to me, it’s something that I can provide to parents with joy in my heart. I believe that the children do feel loved, and the parents see how happy their children are, and continue to attend church services - all because of the initial influence of joy that is left upon a family. It’s not easy for parents to trust others when watching their children - yet it is a simple service that I can provide to families. I understand how important it is to have an hour away, and I understand how great you feel after attending a church service. To me this is an easy combination of something that I can give to others (with joy).

Think of a way that you can either add joy to your life, to help others, or something that you already do that you might be able to think of differently that perhaps has been missing joy.

What do you think?

The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
— Nelson Mandela

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you all. I hope you had a blessed holiday that has brought you much joy.

I sat in church last night, relating very well to the service, which was about being able to connect Christ in our lives at every given moment, and how he has been around in our past, and released us from sins, in our present, and is around in our lives at any given moment if we accept it, and will be around in our past, if we desire him to be. I realized that I really felt as though this Christmas for me was more about the birth of our savior, than any other Christmas has been for me. I was always out to please others, and this year, I really felt a great connection with the purpose of Christmas and the season’s warmth. I have heard from others around me that they saw me blossom as well, so it must have been more outward than I ever expected it to be.

I came to the conclusion that after two years of my own personal struggles, I’m ready to start over, and make the best of my life as I possibly can. I have different goals for my life than I did a few years ago, and more grounded in my ability, faith, love, and knoweldge that I’ve gained from falling down and struggling to climb back up.

We all have our struggles, yet not many of us find value in the times of trouble. Use positive influences, like these quotes to help you when times are down, so that you can find value in strife, and surround yourself with things that can help you conform yourself and others.

I’ve done this and have found myself spiritually, mentally, physically and in so many more ways whole. I hope you find this yourself if you are having a difficult time, or know of someone that might be having a difficult time. Through struggles and obstacles, there is light at the end of the tunnel and you will soon be exposed to the light’s fullness.

Have a blessed day.

I read an incredible story and just had to share it with you. It comes from The Upper Room.
” One dy my uncle’s donkey fell into a well. The well’s owners had intended to cover up that well, but didn’t know how. Now they decided that the easiest thing to do would be to fill up the well with sand - donkey and all. they started throwing sand on the donkey. The donkey brayed pitifully all day long. All of a sudden, the donkey began to shake off all the sand and then step up onto it. The donkey continued to do this and eventually reached the top of the well by climbing up onto the sand.”

This story was truly an example of motivation for me, providing me with a sense of adrenaline rush that would allow this animal to survive, to maintain exposure to the world, and to do what was within his power to help himself. The donkey didn’t think about what he could do to get out of this situation. He was just trying to get some sand off of his body. I can imagine the donkey’s amazement, as well as the well owners as the donkey shook off all of the sand, and started to make his way out of this predicament.

This is an amazing testament to our motivation in life, and how simple some tasks can be when looking from the outside in.

I hope this story also provides you with a positive message for the day. God bless.

“Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the year.” Spanish Proverb

I laughed when I read this proverb. This time of year is always bustling, people around you seem to go in super speed, and the lists are ever-growing. How many times do you hear people say, “Oh, I’ll just do that tomorrow” or “I’ll make room finally to do that tomorrow,” Does tomorrow ever come? Is tomorrow truly the busiest day of the year?

I used to live by the message, Don’t put off to tomorrow what you can do today, but with a plate-ful of tasks, duties, and expectations, I admit that this is not my platform for planning my day. If so, I would never sleep. I do find great irony in the statement of the following day always being the busiest - my question is does that day ever catch up to us?

I have found great peace in writing down things that I need to do. They get done, just at a speed that is more appropriate to my life. I love the satisfaction of crossing off items, and sometiems the list does seem burdensome because of its length. However, every person has their own speed, a pace that suits them, and some items are worth leaving on the to do list for the next day.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is
that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness
that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are
a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is
nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel
insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We
were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s
not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light
shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically
liberates others.”
Marianne Williamson

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
— Mohandas Gandhi

I know that there are things I admit that I wish could change in the world. I also admit to the fact that I often just feel too small to make a big impact. I felt this quote really tied into the post I blogged on just a few days ago, about making small differences in the lives of people.

I believe something we’ve all really had to start to learn the past couple years in this recession is how to spend our money more wisely, and our focus on such tangible items has lessened dramatically, out of necessity. It is my hope that we as a human body have realized because of this action, that our focus should be more directed to the people that are important in our lives.

How can we impact the world, when we feel so small? I know I focus on my family, my church, my community. While this does start small, I think the impact can be big.

At Thanksgiving, our church decided to help out four families in need, that would not have had a Thanksgiving dinner due to poverty. We all took die cut turkeys and feathers with items written on it, and went shopping. Collectively, as a church, we were able to end up feeding 12 families a full complete turkey dinner, with our initial simple actions. I know my act was simple. My kids picked turkey gravy and two liter bottles of soda. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but it obviously made a bid difference. The most important element in that, is that it made a huge impact on my children, who understood how we helped our community.

By obtaining a sense of community, I have grown as an individual, and I can’t wait to see the outcome in my own children. I do see it in the faces of other children, and am filled with delight, when they innocently give of themselves without abandon. Change the world - sure, why not. One step at a time, one project at a time, one smile at a time.

Blessings.

Since Thanksgiving, I’ve really lived in a world of awe and wonder. I have had a difficult year with many challenges, including getting divorced. I didn’t know how I was going to make a life for myself as a single mom, or as a single person. I spent a lot of time crying, sleeping, and just getting to know myself.

Starting the week before Thanksgiving, I’ve really put a lot of thought into how much I have changed for the better, and how much more different my life is today than it was last year at this time. I really am so appreciate of the people in my life that helped support me, who patted me on the back when I didn’t even know I needed it. My friends who would call and have me and my boys over for dinner, or for someone who just sent me a joke in my email box so that I could smile.

My pastor talked to me at the beginning of my rough time and said that I needed to take days in as small chunks as possible, which might be ten minutes, it might be half of the day, but eventually it would be to the point where I would have awesome days and would start to really break free from the struggles I was going through. He was right, but it took a lot of time, and more time than I really wanted to spend in such a down draft of emotion.

Blessings don’t ever leave you. They make a mark on your heart that will never be challenged, and never go away. The influences other people can make on your lives can last a lifetime. I learned to ask for help when I needed it. I learned to just call a friend if I needed to cry, because it was better than crying by myself. My friends were very patient, and they were receptive to my earful of tears. They knew that listening was the best thing they could possibly do for me.

I resolve today to make sure that all of my friends know from my mouth how much their lives have touched mine, howe influential their experience with me was in a positive way. I’m pretty sure they already see the changes in my life for the better, but I don’t want them to ever think that I don’t appreciate the impact that they have had on my life and my epiphany of how much stronger and better I am today because of them.

Count your blessings.