Inspiration

OK, so some of you may know that I get almost daily emails for inspiration or motivation...Kind of like the daily verses or God minutes that some of you may get.... I've been reading them but not using them on my blog, or just forgetting to acknowledge that they reflect me in a way.... Here is a collection of some of these emails that have touched me in one way or another. The black writing is just my little explanation of how I relate to it...

• The face in the mirror "Our inability to see beauty doesn't suggest in the slightest that beauty is not there. Rather, it suggests that we are not looking carefully enough or with broad enough perspective to see the beauty."-- Rabbi Harold Kushner
• "Who are you? You can gaze at your reflection in a mirror but you’re not likely to see your true likeness. You are beautiful, unique, perfect. Do you see that?The world needs you to see how whole and complete you are -- now. Can you begin to own your divinity? The world needs you to know who you really are so you can be the mirror for others.

(Awww..so touching because there are so many times when I feel like I will never live up to the worlds expectations of what I should look like or what pretty is... Mark puts a lot of that into the correct perspective for me. I appreciate him so much for that. I love my man, he makes me feel pretty when the world says otherwise)

• "You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection."-- Buddha

(I try so hard to show everyone love and to be there for everyone else, that sometimes I forget to love myself, and be there for me. Definitely something I am working on lately)

• "It matters not Who you love, Where you love, Why you love, When you love, Or how you love, It matters only that you love."-- John Lennon

(Love is such an amazing part of life. It gives you strength you never knew you had in you, and it can bring such pain that you never imagine will go away. But either way you learn from it, and are better because of it.)

• "Why not go out on a limb? Isn't that where the fruit is?"-- Frank Scully

(I totally agree with this. If you reach further than you thought you could go, you'll probably end up with a reward!!! I love to be adventurous and try new things. I may fail, or look stupid or even get hurt, but at least I tried.)

Step into self-awareness

• "Getting in touch with your true self must be your first priority - Tom Hopkins
• Here are some different aspects of self-awareness

Know yourself - Explore who you are: your defences, your blocks, your talents, your aspirations, etc

Accept yourself - We are at war with ourselves when we resist or deny certain aspects of who we are. Acknowledge the truth of who you are right now - the positives and the negatives. Only when we own our present reality can we change

Control yourself - Set clear, conscious intentions and discipline yourself to meet them

Express yourself - Go to your heart to identify what has meaning and purpose for you. Live your truth. Identify ways you can give back to life and be in service

• We work on each of these aspects all the time. But as our lives go through cycles, we predominantly work on one of them more than the others. Which aspect are you more conscious of lately
• "Our lives improve only when we take chances ... and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves."-- Walter Anderson
• LIFE IS MADE UP OF A SERIES OF EXPERIENCES Each one will make you stronger, even though it may be hard for you to realize it at the time. Life is your classroom in which you're being tested, tried, and passed. Always try to stay in the midst of life and activity. Don't isolate yourself from the action. Your character develops itself in the stream of life. The setbacks and hardships you endure actually help you in your march forward to success. The world was built to develop your character. But, life expects you to make progress in reasonable time. That's why those third grade school chairs are so small
• "When a defining moment comes along, you can do one of two things. Define the moment, or let the moment define you --Tin Cup (the movie)
• "If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice"-- Neil Peart
• "Only those who risk going too far can know how far they can go."-- Unknown source
• "People spend too much time finding other people to blame, too much energy finding excuses for not being what they are capable of being, and not enough energy putting themselves on the line, growing out of the past, and getting on with their lives."-- J. Michael Straczynski
• "So when you are listening to somebody, completely, attentively, then you are listening not only to the words, but also to the feeling of what is being conveyed, to the whole of it, not part of it."-- Jiddu Krishnamurti

(I cannot stress how important listening to others is. It shows respect, and if you take your mind off of responding and truly just listen you will hear so much more....)

• "When we take one step toward God, he takes seven steps toward us."-- Hindu Proverb -If our ego is to know spirit, we must make the first move. Spirit does not come down and knock on our door. It sits waiting for us to acknowledge it. We must want to change and take the initiative and persevere. The love of spirit will embrace us. But we must take the first steps

(All you have to do is accept. And the love is there. Be true to yourself and ask.)

• LET GO OF THE PAST
• "Your journey has molded you for your greater good, and it was exactly what it needed to be. Don't think that you've lost time. There is no short-cutting to life. It took each and every situation you have encountered to bring you to the now. And now is right on time."-- Asha Tyson
• No regrets. As we become more aware, we begin to realize that there’s a purpose to everything that happens. This builds our trust, and supports us in being willing to be more open and daring to really experience life as it unfolds.If we pay attention to what’s happening in each moment, we will discover that life continually brings us opportunities to heal our past wounds. When a painful memory surfaces, we can take the time to feel it fully, give compassion to ourselves and any others and allow the energy to release. As we deal with the past in this way IN THE PRESENT, we free ourselves to more fully connect with life.

(Letting go of any bad past is so crucial to moving forward in your life. Yes it molded you into who you are today, but it must be let go of. I am a believer)

• "As long as you don't forgive, who and whatever it is will occupy rent-free space in your mind."-- Isabelle Holland
• "Even though you may want to move forward in your life, you may have one foot on the brakes. In order to be free, we must learn how to let go. Release the hurt. Release the fear. Refuse to entertain your old pain. The energy it takes to hang onto the past is holding you back from a new life."-- Mary Manin Morrissey

So I think many of these are along the same line of emotions and feelings. I may not have elaborated much on them here, but when I read them, I know exactly why I picked them and wanted to keep them here so I can read them often. I hope one or more of these touch you the way they touched me. Life is so full of emotion and lately so am I!!!! Haahahaha!!! What a typical female!!!! I think with the holidays being done and over and looking forward to Noah turning 8 (OMG, 8 already, I can't believe how fast he has grown up!!!) has me feeling a bit reflective on life and the path I am headed on. There are still so many things I want to do and accomplish. I need to get on track. And I will. Enough said about that.

No new pictures to post today. Noah goes back to school on Monday (finally!!!! I hated this 3 weeks off thing!!!!) Obi begins intermediate classes on Tuesday and I think finally life will be back to normal around here. Looking forward to next weekend.... Friday night is a big Rockabilly show for Kimmy & myself and then Saturday night brings the homecoming of Hobo Jazz to The Vault Martini Bar in Redlands. It sounds like we have a bunch of friends coming to meet us there so it should be a blast!!!! I have to do some grocery shopping tomorrow and Mark is going to be glued to those playoff games... It sounds like they are going to be really good!!!! Have a good rest of the weekend and a good next week....