Tag Archives: Feelings

22

Looking for You

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Do you Let Your True Self Shine?

Do You Know?
Do You Know?

I have had to pause to ask myself about my path quite often. What makes each of us unique? Let me tell you what I think. Each of us is born with unique talent or skill that is ours alone. It is given to us at birth, and we need only to follow it to find our purpose in life.

Life isn’t ever that easy, though. From the moment we come into the world, we are met with limits and expectations from others.

Sometimes the limits come from a place of love, like a parent guiding their child safely, and sometimes they come from a much darker experience.

It matters little where the limits come from, and they cause us to be ashamed of who we are and what talent we have.

These “would have’s” and “should have’s” of life make you shy away from your true self, pretending to be something more acceptable. Some who experience abuse early on in life never really get to see their authentic self, making it much harder to find.

Looking For Me

Are You Looking For Me?
Are You Looking For Me?

I have been hot on the trail of my authentic self for much of the past two years. It has been a slow and sometimes scary chase. It all began almost two years ago.

When I realized that I didn’t know anything about life, I was not happy, and like many people hadn’t been happy in a long time.

There had been moments of extreme happiness, and I enjoyed people, but the inner feeling of joy escaped me. I had resigned myself to think that this was how you felt in life, empty and bored.

I was waiting for the clock to run out. However, life had other thoughts, and events reminded me that I wasn’t always this way.

Dreams were a vital part of my youth. My imagination guided me in almost every adventure I had every day, and I dreamed of everything from playing for the Red Sox to racing horses.

I believed that everything that I thought of could happen, and it was just a matter of getting a little older for me to do all of those things. That person was my authentic self, the true me. I was gifted with the ability to dream vividly, and it seemed life was determined to make me forget that.

The Cover-Up

cover upOver the years, the feelings of trying to fit in, not rock the boat, and be “normal” made those thoughts move from the front to the back of my mind.

Finally, they were forgotten, neglected, and abandoned as I got older. I was an adult, and there was no place for dreaming in adulthood.

It was like knowing a secret that you couldn’t remember, but you knew it was a good thing, and if you could connect with it, then all would be well.

Life, however, moves in, and the job, the relationships, and the expectations all jump on top of you and push that authentic identity far back into your memory and may never let it out. Like you are asleep and can’t wake up.

Waking Up

wake upI am not unique because I think others have gone through some traumatic events and are shocked by the malaise of life.

I started to remember it piece by piece, and it is still coming back to me. Like waking from a slumber, you begin to experience life differently.

Each of us is born with an authentic self with abilities meant for us alone. Some people are right to them their whole lives, and others never see their authentic selves again.

Most people spend their early life forgetting and the second part of their life trying to remember. It doesn’t matter who you are or what age you are; there is a unique person inside you that is a mere alarm clock ringing from waking up.

Do you know your authentic self?

“Authenticity starts in the heart.” Brian D’Angelo

“Authenticity over everything.” Anonymous

“If you’re your authentic self, you have no competition.” Anonymous

“Don’t trade your authenticity for approval.” Anonymous

“Honesty and authenticity are a big deal for me.” Scarlett Thomas

“Authenticity: The courage to be yourself.” Anonymous

“Be fearlessly authentic.” Anonymous

“Authenticity is magnetic.” Anonymous

 

22

What We Believe is True

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What do you truly believe in? Where did these beliefs come from? Our lives are run on the things we are sure are true, and for the most part, those truths were taught to us a long time ago by our parents, adults, school, peers, relatives, society, religion, or just on our own observational experience.

Once accepted, these thoughts are put in the category of absolutely true, never to be examined or questioned again. You were programmed early in life about the things “good” and “bad” people do and how you fit into those scenarios. We accept these beliefs as valid and rarely do we challenge or adjust them. I am urging you today to take some time and evaluate your opinions. Are they empowering or disempowering? Are they true? Or are they faulty programming that needs to be rebooted? Let’s look honestly at your programming.

Know Your Programming

What we believe about ourselves, our abilities, and the world is a choice, and that choice dictates much of our experience and how we perceive it. Some people were taught to believe the religion they follow is the only “right” belief at the exclusion of all others. There are many reasons for this, but most importantly, it was taught to them. Other people believe one’s racial background has a bearing on the quality of an individual a person is. These are both examples of beliefs people are taught, and if they are never placed in a situation that disproves them, they will never expand their lives to be more inclusive.

Looking at the beliefs, we are programmed with is difficult because our lives are pinned together by the ideas we carry in our minds. We believe that most of what we think is an indisputable truth, Not just a strong opinion we were taught. This truth can be a little frightening. But it is also liberating. A great place to start is to look at what you believe and see what separates you from others. Separation is an illusion created by humans to control other humans. Religion, race, nationality, regionalism, or anything that separates us probably has limited programming behind it.

Change Your Programming

This change can happen and should be sought continually throughout life. The learning process should never end. Start by looking at yourself and understanding the things that limit you. Is it money? Relationships? Or something else? Whatever it is that you have trouble succeeding at, look deeply at what you believe, and there is a belief there that is holding you back. It could have been something someone said or the general prevailing attitude your family had about what is limiting you. We accept the thoughts as accurate without question, and they are adopted into our subconscious thoughts. We never question them. Live life like they were right. The problem is that even when you want to change, nothing is going to change unless you address this programming. Change is always tricky, but knowing where you want to go is a start. If you’re going to be more financially successful, look at what you think about money and those who have it. Often the programming is subtle, and we picked it up before we were seven years old. You are finding it, understanding it, and recognizing the differences between where you are and where you want to be. There are excellent resources on how to change your beliefs, which do a much better job than I can in this short post. Read this resource here. 

When you Question a Belief

If you genuinely believe that one religion is superior to another in moral code or rewards in the afterlife, meet with many other faiths rather than try to convert everyone to your train of thought. Learn about their traditions and beliefs. Many people speak of their faith as the final word on salvation. Rather than understand other religions, they dismiss them and chastise them as wrong. This intolerance is an excellent example of separation, and being separate is negative. We choose to stay apart because it is safe in our minds, but to expand our thoughts will never be a bad thing.

It is tough to understand all of the many beliefs we carry around in the matrix that is our minds. But you can do it with a little consistent effort. First, you have to become conscious of what you think and how it makes you feel. All thoughts lead to corresponding emotions. It doesn’t matter what it is, and the feeling will always rise because of what you are thinking. Ask yourself what about that thought provides that particular emotion. If you do not like your feelings around any idea, you can choose to change them.

Why It’s Important

I believe we are all born with a purpose to achieve in life, and our programming often moves that purpose into the background. The further we are from our mission, the less we enjoy the circumstances of our lives. Many people live a large portion of their life under false programming, only to realize later that it was a lie and we were meant for something else. That is a painful realization, but it can help change you and bring your soul’s purpose that you were born with closer to your focus.

To find this purpose will be something that feels good to you, and to move further away from it is painful. It is that simple, to be who you indeed are. It is not a job, or something you own, your age, ethnicity, or anything else. It is who you are. I always wish that it was clearly labeled on our forearms so we could quickly seek it, but part of life’s journey is to remember exactly who you are and become that person again, regardless of the many obstacles that life puts in your way. Change your thoughts, and you will change your programming and move closer to your original self.

“You begin to fly when you let go of self-limiting beliefs and allow your mind and aspirations to rise to greater heights.” ―Brian Tracy

“Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve.” ―Mary Kay Ash

“Do just once what others say you can’t do, and you will never pay attention to their limitations again.” ―James Cook

“Learning too soon our limitations, we never learn our powers.” —Mignon McLaughlin

“Every person takes the limits of their own field of vision for the limits of the world.” —Arthur Schopenhauer

 

21

Suffering

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There are two sides to every coin, and in my life, I have found joy on one side and suffering on the other. The pain appears as the worst of things to experience in life and should be avoided at all costs.

Although I agree it is something that is not pleasant, it provides a necessary function for people. I wish things were always easy, and there was nothing but joy in my experience, but life offers difficult obstacles for each of us to overcome. How we think about our experience will bring us suffering or lessons. Pain is a choice of how we feel about each situation we are in life. It is a natural and inevitable part of life. We will have catastrophic loss and sadness in our lives. How we deal with it will define much of who we are and how successfully we live our lives. Your suffering is a choice and one I have made all too often.

Crutches of Life

Crutches are everywhere in life. These are things in our experience that limit us in one way or another. Some fall prey to wild pleasures and excesses in life, which distract you from your purpose and determine what can be accomplished. Others find jobs that are just enough above water to be acceptable but will never allow you to grow into the person you could be. All crutches of the world we adopt to “help” get us through life will cause suffering and move us further from ourselves. Life can seem like a prison if we let it. Keeping us confined to a particular place and set of circumstances. This limit is only the case if you choose to allow it. Or you can choose to be free in your actions and your mind.

Limiting my options is a game I played from early on. Allowing others to put their labels on me and the corresponding limits from the earliest moments in life. “You just aren’t athletic.” “That’s nice, but you will never make a living from it.” “You just aren’t very book smart.” Or one of a million other limiting statements I accepted as crutches and eventually even stopped questioning. Any belief that I have allowed to limit me in any way needed to be reevaluated and changed, even in a small way, because these are the chains that life has put on you, and you won’t eliminate the suffering they cause until you change them.

This reaction is a choice, and it isn’t as difficult as most would have you believe. Change is a constant and inevitable part of life, and you can fight against it or learn to choose to move with it. Ending this limiting suffering is a race between your mental capacities and your biological limitations. Some will win, and some will not. Which side will you be on?

Becoming Your True Self

All people are born with a purpose in life. All of those intentions are positive, and there is some message to bring or a goal to accomplish before our time is done. Unfortunately, we are almost immediately piled with expectations and experiences that push us further from that mission. The programming we receive is mainly in the name of love but delivered in the voice of fear. Parents generally want the best for their children, but often their idea of precisely what the “Best” means can make your choices seem “worst,” even if you are following your heart. Chasing your dreams is your life; nobody else’s.

The suffering that this can cause is lifelong and painful. With each step, a person takes in the direction of someone else’s expectations the further they get from their true self, and soon that person you were born is hidden behind a lot of trees and weeds. It can be challenging to find your way back. The further you have moved from your true essence, the higher the suffering is going to be. It seems like the journey back to who you are is never too far to reach or too late to start looking. The limits we accept are the ones that will affect us. So begin today looking for what message you were born to send and what gift you have to give.

Loss and Suffering

To live life and love others opens you up for the loss, which leads to suffering. If you have lost someone close to you, you know this kind of pain is a painful experience nobody wants to have. But life is a tenuous experience with no guarantees. We never know when the ride will be over should. It is easy to get lost in the routines of the days and take things for granted. Each day is a gift. Open it! Be motivated to do what you want to do, be with those that make you happy, and enjoy every moment.

Not only are the days a gift, but you should take the time to look at the beauty of your day. All the people in our lives are precious too. It is human nature to take things for granted, only realizing how consequential or special someone was when they had left us. Then we mourn the loss. Which is natural, but there is an opportunity every day to celebrate all those in your life, contributing to the experience of living life. It is a short ride, this life, and it makes no sense to spend the bulk of it in misery when you don’t have to. Spend it in appreciation of the magic that is you and your unique presence.

Emotional Rescue

We will all have emotions that bring us down. Anger and fear are natural reactions to life when you start to look at things from the perspective of, “What am I getting out of this?” Then you have to learn to deal with it and either let it consume you or change your thoughts, emotions, and actions to something more positive. I know it sounds natural, and when you feel anger or fear, it isn’t too easy to change. But YOU can modify it by looking at the thoughts causing your suffering and changing them to something else.

Find something or someone who brings out the positive in you. It seems like much of our suffering comes from our feelings of inadequacy, and to change means doing something more worthwhile. Learn what your emotions are telling you and how to change them from negative to positive for you, and you will find a tool to help you end some daily pain nobody needs to deal with in life.

Suffering is a message in life that we are attached to something temporary in a permanent way. Nothing in life is stable, and that is what makes it unique. So the choice is up to you in the end as it always is, spend your time suffering or spend your time in joy. It is all up to you.

“Suffering becomes beautiful when anyone bears great calamities with cheerfulness, not through insensibility but the greatness of mind.” Aristotle

“The reward of suffering is experience.” –Harry S Truman

“Suffering by nature or chance never seems so painful as suffering inflicted on us by the arbitrary will of another.”- Arthur Schopenhauer

“Suffering is but another name for the teaching of experience, which is the parent of instruction and the schoolmaster of life.” Horace

“Suffering is the substance of life and the root of personality, for it is only suffering that makes us persons.” – Miguel de Unamuno

 

 

21

Grateful

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What are you most grateful for?

gratitude 111It is a difficult task indeed to start to think about what you are most grateful for. Many people will say money. Some will say, love. Some will say, family. Some will say something else entirely.

I am thankful for all these things, but to me, there is no doubt that showing your gratitude is the most important thing to do. The feeling of gratitude is important.  So for me, I guess the act of feeling grateful is the thing I am most grateful for today.  Here is why.

Taking things for Granted

gratitude-quotes-16I was the type of person who took many great things in my life for granted. Not appreciating the things that people did for me out of the goodness of their hearts. Yet, I was not grateful. In fact, I think I felt entitled to all the things I had in my life.

 The problem with that is that you are never pleased with what you have but are always angry or worried about what you don’t have. This is the problem with a lack of gratitude. No matter how much you get, you are never pleased.

When You Lose Everything, You are Grateful for Anything

GratefulIn my life, I had the good fortune to lose everything. In that time of turmoil, many feelings of self-pity and anger eventually will consume you or push you to make changes.  I decided to change.

 It started with a change in attitude. The sun didn’t rise and set because I existed, and I could make a decision every day to decide how that day to be happy.  Happiness started with a realization of how lucky I was to have anything at all.

That realization expressed provides the feeling of gratitude. When it comes to events that are difficult to deal with, your designation of either good or bad is your perception of the experience.  The experience is still the same. You might as well be grateful for it.

Gratitude leads to more Gratitude.

Once you take a moment to express your gratitude each day, it has been my experience that deepakthe momentum will build, and you will find more in your life to be grateful for.  I have read that the act of being grateful is one of the most important emotions that you can experience because it opens the door for more things to enter your life that will deserve gratitude.

So I am most grateful for the time I take each day to appreciate fully what I experience in my life every day.  Away from labels of good or bad, they are experiences that provide all of the situations that combine to teach me the things I need to know to follow my purpose.  It is the moments of thankfulness that we find what is great in ourselves.

What are you most grateful for?

 

 

21

Creating

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Most accomplishments in life revolve around the programming we receive in life. Your subconscious mind develops because of it.  From the moment we are born, we are trying to figure out the world, find a place we can feel safe, be with people we love, and where our value lies in ourselves and others.  Some lessons come directly from the words of others, and more often, we take the context clues of how someone behaves in their lives and toward us to create beliefs.  Our subconscious mind takes these experiences and creates our paradigm or model of how to live our lives. But we often made mistakes, misinterpreting things, adding significant meaning to things we shouldn’t. Negative messages can form limiting beliefs that will continue to exist until we change them. Stuff we heard, “You are no good at that.” or “You are not very graceful.” or  “You are not a very good student.” or “You’re not as pretty as others.”  or a million other things someone might have said in passing which for whatever reason you chose to accept as real.  The good news is that you can change any of these beliefs that limit you, and it can start today.

Real Affirmations

Affirmations are short positive statements that state the desired result you want to experience in life. Writing these messages down is the first step to creating something you want to see in your life.  Affirmations alone will do very little, but combined with visualization and intense emotion, it can provide a powerful effect.  Create a statement choosing clear and positive words.  You can bring almost anything into your life.  Change is a tricky thing, even in the best of circumstances. There is a real, volatile reaction to any change, even positive change. However, we successfully exist as we are, so any change is a threat to the all-important status quo.

But change is constant and continual in life, and if you make an effort to, you can guide how evolution works in your life. Remember, things will change one way or another, give change a path, and follow. It starts with a positive statement or affirmation to get things moving in that direction. Most people are afraid to write down what they want because they are afraid of what others will think. Feeling deep down, we don’t deserve to receive our dreams. Or they are worried if they try to get what they want and fall short, then what? All of these fears are just your mind fighting against change. Who cares what someone else thinks? You deserve to achieve things and have things. Fear of not getting what you want is a powerful one because we are afraid of disappointment, but trying is the only way to do anything.  The attachment we create to one particular result is the biggest weakness we have. So let things unfold as they should, and trust it will be a good thing for you.  Learning lessons will happen, accomplishments will pile up, and you will grow.  Only fear stops this.

Seeing It in Your Mind

Our minds are great machines. They create all kinds of images, and learning how to imagine the things we want and visualize our affirmations is the next step. Not only do you write and read them, but you envision them as being a part of your life.  Each day you read the affirmation about your life, then take a moment, close your eyes, and let the scenario of the affirmation play out in your mind.  In your vision, you can control what happens.  Use your wonderful imagination to create the things you want to see in your life.

As powerful as they are, our minds do not know the difference between something happening in the world and something happening in our imaginations. To the brain, it is all the same. If you inject powerful positive images about the things you want, your subconscious will start looking for more scenarios to bring into your life like that.  Many things I have read have stopped here, and this is not the place to stay and create anything. You are on the way, but there is more.

Emotion is the Thing

How does your mind know if something is desirable or not? By the feelings we attach to the experiences we have about the things we focus our thoughts on. You create your positive affirmation, take the time to visualize what it will be like, and then attach real powerful emotions to it.  What will it feel like to have that relationship, freedom, power, joy, or whatever you seek to make yourself happy today?  You will notice I didn’t say money. We all want more money because of what it represents, not for its own sake.  We want money for the freedom, power, or things it will allow us to experience.  It is better to focus on those things and enable them to come to you in the best way possible. Money is just energy.

Emotions are potent connectors between the mind, body, and spirit and tell the subconscious mind what is important to us. Develop your mental connection between thoughts and feelings, and your focus will drive your experience. Thus, helping you bring things you are focusing on into reality.

It Is, and It Isn’t

Some think this is like magic. Well, it is, and it isn’t. At some point, you are going to have to take action toward your dreams. If your goal is to be a musician, you need to learn an instrument, develop your voice, or develop some other skill. The creation process will drive you and bring things into your reality to help, but the real magic is your ability to develop and learn anything you want to experience.  Take your action toward what you state, visualize, and feel.  Taking steps in that direction will bring the reality you desire.

Many will tell you this is not true that creating your reality is impossible. Listening to that message is a choice, but remember, you have been manifesting your reality your entire life. The words you have chosen to believe have shaped everything about you. From the relationships you have or don’t have, the jobs you have held, and the talents you have shared. Your beliefs have brought these things into your life.  It is up to you to create what you want or accept the things society or someone else tells you to take. This choice is always and entirely up to you.

Recap:

  1. Write affirmations and positive words.
  2. Visualize these things as a part of your life clearly and in detail.
  3. Create corresponding powerful feelings about the vision

These will create a swirl of energy around the idea you want to develop and provides a fertile garden to create what you desire.

“The life you want is a manifestation of self-realization.”     Bryant McGill

“When you have done your part, it’s time to release your work into the universe and let it do its part.”   Maria Erving

“Fully inhale your dream and completely exhale manifestation of it.”     T.F. Hodge

“You are the author of your life. If you don’t like how it goes, write it differently.”     Iva Kenaz

 

21

Creativity Experience

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New Experiences

change, growth, fearEach new experience with someone else changes us on a fundamental level. Sometimes I have difficulty being creative or thinking about what topics to write about.  In these difficult times, I remember fondly of the days when I could see a question, and quickly and easily organize my thoughts, and express my feelings about it.  I was in a flow and easily able to access it.  Such fun!

But sometimes, I follow the same format, and I struggle to form a sentence even to get the beginnings of thought down. Fortunately, there doesn’t have to be a long-stagnant stage in the process of creativity.  You can always do something to spark your creativity.  We are all in charge of this type of action and spirit in life.  Some will fret and worry that with billions of people globally, everything has been created already. But I think that thought process misses the point. Even though there are so many minds in the world, there is only one you! YOU are the only being on the face of this planet who can produce your thoughts, ideas, and view of the world. The things we can create belong to us alone. That is one of the things which makes life great.

Change and Growth Change Everything

I have gone through a great experience that has left an unmistakable and long-lasting mark on me, but sometimes I cannot seem to write as easily as I used to.  This has been a frightening thing to realize.  I have tried approximately a hundred times to start writing about the thoughts and views that I think are important. Still, after a promising first sentence or catchy paragraph, the ideas and creativity would vanish into the ether as if they never existed at all.  I have the drafts to prove it.  Many ideas were generated, developed, and lost. It does not feel good.

But the process of creativity at times is going to be a struggle. It may mean you are not true to yourself. Or perhaps you are trying to appeal to a particular audience or worrying about how you look rather than the creative process itself. Creativity is what it is, and the right audience will find and resonate with it.  Or maybe you are just trying too hard. Whatever the case, keep trying, relax, breathe. Let your creativity flow from within and enrich the world. In doing so, you enrich yourself.

You Aren’t That Person Anymore.

change-quotesWhen I was struggling, it dawned on me that one of the effects of experiencing new people and things in your life is that they change you fundamentally in almost all ways.  They don’t make you better or worse they make you different.  I know that it is called growth, and without the capacity to grow as individuals, we will wither and die, either literally or figuratively, or both.

Of course, the flip side of change is that a whole new level of thought and insight is at your disposal. Like coming to the end of a tunnel and busting through only to find a cache of rooms full of ideas never considered or understood, which impossible before. This is the doorway of creative passion and a realization of a whole new world at your disposal. Write about the things all the new people bring to you, and the lessons of the experiences.

My Past  Writing

Reading through my writing from the past few years, I can mark my development and growth as a road map to my thoughts and insights today.  It feels much like you do when you look at old pictures of yourself.  You remember the moments, and they are special, but that is not you anymore. You are now someone else. Each time you read a new thought and develop as a person, there are new layers of your thought and being exposed to the creative process.

inspirational_words_of_wisdom_quotesHere is to hoping that I can adjust to the new experiences I have and find the topics that will push my growth further along on my journey.  I am looking deep within to find the content that needs to be explored and the edges that need to be smoothed.  It should prove to be an interesting ride no matter what happens. Life always provides what is needed.

I say to all of those people I have met and worked with over the years, “Thanks a lot!”  Seriously, though, I would never have reached these thoughts and ideas without you and the inspiration you brought me by your good and/or bad behavior.

So What Do I Do Now?

I-begin-with-an-idea-300x297It seems clear to me that my writing in this space has to move from the theoretical and move toward being more descriptive about the experiences I have had in life.  That is a challenge but a good one to try.  Only time will tell if my insights are interesting enough to take a look at or not.  All I can say is that all are welcome on this journey, and I am always looking for the next person or situation to provide insight and creativity in any situation.  I am always looking for more knowledge to share and adventure to have. I have been fortunate to have great people in my life. They all have contributed to my thoughts and my pursuit of being a better person mentally, physically, and spiritually.  They have taught me how to treat others by their kindness and their cruelty. Put your creativity as a priority in your life and see what you can bring into the open space of existence.

 

 

 

Gratitude

Found My Voice

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my computer for expression
My computer allowed my voice to be heard. In much of my adult life, there was a voice inside of me that had no expression.  There were thoughts that were forced to lay dormant and unexpressed, feeling no life except for the minuscule moments that thought sparked a light on them, only to see them cast back into the darkness from which they so hopefully emerged.

My voice, for whatever reason, could not speak these thoughts or express the feelings I felt, for many years this was the way it was, until one day, I found that I had a voice.  This voice was not an uttered word, but a written one.

What an amazing liberation that was, to free these observations inside of me, about people, places, life, religion, hope, fear and everything else in between.

I have been grateful to relay my observations about other people and in doing so, observations about myself that needed to be expressed, needed to be shared, even if nobody ever read them, by offering them to the world on their own merit, at least they took a form outside of myself.

Many times I hbeing yourself expressing the truthave wondered what this sharing would lead to?  Anything? Are there others who think like me?  This voice of expression is honest and from the heart and it is truly me.  It feels sometimes when I write something about gratitude or feelings I feel free, totally free from all of the expectations and restraints of life and of others.

It should be easy to leave these behind, the negative voices in your head, to follow the true voice inside your heart.  Writing has allowed me to see this voice, hopefully someday soon

find your voice, gratitude
Have you found your voice?

it will help me to trust it.   As each day comes, I feel so much hope in my heart that this will be the day that magic happens for me.  Yet that is determined by me.

I am grateful for the ability to write and express what I feel inside myself.  Each small step to understanding life, or other people or the Universe and how we all work together is amazing and my vehicle for this exploration is my voice and that voice is to write what is inside my heart.

Being yourself is the scariest thing you can be because there is no facade to hide behind, the world can see you and judge you and that can be difficult.  Yet it is only in being ourselves that our true talents can show, I am grateful to at least be on the path to this truth.

 

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Philosophy

The Leaf Is So Simple

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The Leaf Is So Simple

A leaf in Autumn 2
The leaf is so simple but full of memories

The leaf is so simple. I remember never being able to understand how a green leaf could change into so many different colors? Or why a tree would shed it’s most valuable skin? I always think back to my childhood when I recall memories. Probably because the best ones derived from innocence.

Jumping in Leaves

Everyone remembers jumping in the leaves. It’s priceless. You tend to forget year after year that those leaves do in fact have pointy stems. That is, until you get one in the eye. Or that they’re rather fragile the older they get and crumble making their way into your clothes causing you to become itchy.

Garbage Bag Ghosts

leaves in garbage bags
Making Garbage bag ghosts. Scary!!

Stuffing garbage bags in the shapes of ghosts and using them as lawn decoration was always a favorite. Watching Mom fight with the bags while they try to blow away because she refuses to put a rock in them.

Halloween Thoughts

Halloween was always a good time. Trying to pick an outfit that will keep you warm in the biting cold but still look cool enough to wear in front of your friends. Mom was always good at coming up with last minute ideas and making them amazing.  Something about crunchy leaves kicking around while you’re trick or treating brings life to the holiday. Sparking spook and scary feelings.

Pumpkin Hunting

looking for the perfect pumpkin
Finding the Perfect Pumpkin

Finding the perfect pumpkin was the most important Fall pastime. Perfectly round, no blemishes, and just the right size. And the baby pumpkins that sat on the table. I used to love coming home from school and walking down our long driveway. It clutters in leaves entirely and makes the most earthly sound when you walk through them. I’d walk out to meet my sister when she got off the bus half an hour later just to take the walk again.

There’s always a smell that reminds me of the previous year. Something different that I’ve never smelled before, but always follows a memory. I haven’t found it yet this year, but I’m confident I will.

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The Time Is Right for Right

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When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards and just do what you know is right?

by Jonathan Hilton  Day 25

when_is_it_time_to_stop_calculating_risk_and_rewards_and_judt_do_what_you_know_is_rightIt seems that everybody in the world operates on a risk and reward model on which they base their actions on the chance of being rewarded or punished for the outcome of their actions.

Yet I say that the time is always right to act regardless of the risk or reward and this is why.

Right Makes Now The Right Time

All people make mistakes and have to regroup and learn lessons from those mishaps. Yet when it comes to right behavior, it is the responsibility of each individual to make a choice, and that choice is going to color your experience.

Martin-Luther-King-Jr-The-time-is-always-right-to-do-what-is-right-Framed-Quote-709 If you know something to be right and refuse to act still, the hesitation can only be defined as wrong.  What repercussion could be more devastating than making a conscious choice to not do the right thing.

There may be a price to pay when this happens but the price that you pay by not acting is much worse because it will affect your life in a negative way.

Many people believe that the energy that you emanate is created by the choices you make.  I tend to believe that in my own experience there is no wrong time to tell the truth or to do the right thing.

Any time I have failed to do these things, and I have failed often, the results were not favorable. Now is the time to stop calculating the cost and do what you know is right.

This Is What Lying Is

Isn’t this question the reason anybody ever lies? The risk and reward of truth vs a lie is the careful scale that every thought and statement is weighed on before we speak or record it to share with someone else.

I was once told that it is nearly impossible to go through a day without telling a lie of some tumblr_m4rh91ieDR1qch7b8o1_1280kind.  I didn’t believe it, but started to pay attention to all of my thoughts and actions.   I found that I was telling several lies without even realizing it.

In one situation, a friend called to do something and I didn’t want to hurt their feelings so I said I had to work late.  A lie, but one that I didn’t have to tell.  It was my perception that the reward of a bit of time to myself was worth the risk of telling a lie to a good friend.

 The truth would have been just as effective yet I still let that lie flow with no initial regret at all.  So what’s the harm, it is just to keep the peace.  Why hurt someone’s feelings unnecessarily?  That is what I questioned at the time.

As time goes by I think that one lie will inevitably lead to another, and maybe the next time you will use another rationale to justify it.  Even if it is bigger and maybe a little harmless.  Often this seems to be the path people start to travel as they justify not only lies but downright meanness.  By justifying it based on some arbitrary factor.

 I heard one person justifying treating someone badly because “they were rich”, also for “Being on Welfare”  Although this person obviously had some problems and blocks around finances, once you start to justify poor behavior for any reason, the reasons for acting poorly increase.

Why is This Important

The main reason why all of this doing the right thing is important is that in a world where imageswe are bombarded with the misdeeds of many in the mainstream media, the fact is that our honesty and good decision-making is something the we each have a personal choice in each and every day.

In everything that I have ever experienced there is never a wrong time to make decisions based on love and those decisions always move your life and the world in a positive direction.  Any other decision is made out of fear, and those choices will move your life in a negative direction and make the world seem bleak.

Only you can decide for yourself when it is the time to throw worry of the consequences out the window and do the right thing.

 

When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards and just do what you know is right?

I am living and Dying with the choices I made.  Classic message, classic song.

Motivation, People

The Stories You Provide!

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Inspiration
Inspiration comes from who we see and what we experience every day.

by Jonathan Hilton

The more I look for topics to write about and expound upon, the more my writing process comes clearly into my mind.  I write best when I have someone specifically in mind to write about, because it is like I am explaining my thoughts or emotions to them, or that I am giving them advice.  Often I know the advice would never be received directly, so I just give it on the pages of my writing.

Since these people of inspiration are all around me, they may not even know that I have been inspired by them.  I can look at almost every one of the approximately 200 articles I have written on this website and remember clearly the lesson or situation that prompted the thoughts or feelings that caused me to put it to paper.  This clearly  shows me that people do not recognize the impact that they have on others just by  living life as an example.

As we approach the new year of 2013 I am endeavoring to dig deeper into those relationships that I have had in the past to wring out the valuable experiences that I have been fortunate to experience in my lifetime.  That means that if you have ever met me than you will probably be the motivation for some piece of writing that I have done in the past or I will do over the next year or two.

writing inspirations
All things create stories in your mind, all you have to do is tell them.

I have never mentioned a name or directed a thought directly at someone because my intention is not to publicize anyone’s short comings or problems.  I simply have had experiences with people in my life that have taught me lessons from their positive actions or from their negative behavior.  Each situation has value, it is just much more fun to remember the positive, and often more valuable to recall the negative behavior some have displayed.

What this means as we head into a new year is that I am going to be writing and publishing a lot of material over the next year and when you read it, you just might see something of yourself in that writing.  I am grateful in advance for all of the experiences and looking forward to sharing them in the future.  It is definitely true that there is inspiration all around us and all we have to do is look for it, to find it.

I am planning on continually publishing articles about inspiration, but I am also going to be sharing short stories from all aspects of my youth, because they were great and they helped make me what I am today.  I can not wait to get started.

 

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