I’d like to take my thought from last week, about givers and takers, and go one step further and encourage you to start on a more level emotional life path, and here’s my thought for this week–some of you need to let go or you’ll be dragged. Seems simple enough to let go, but–oh my–how many times have you given someone just one more chance? In reality, their 54th chance, but not like you’re counting or anything. And you–by constantly caving in to their emotional outburst or hurtful words or accusations–you let yourself be dragged through the emotional pain that […]
Hopes and Dreams
Don’t Stop Dreaming Just Because You Had a Nightmare
Don’t Stop Dreaming Just Because You Had a Nightmare! There is nothing so sad in life as someone who has given up on their dreams because of a nightmare someone put them through at some point in their life, and the damage seems to have doused their future for the rest of their life. Due to the lingering pain or agony of memories or the visual reminder of the scars that people carry, many good people choose to just drift along for the rest of their lives. They just plod along, remembering, retelling and reliving their past instead of putting […]
Optimism Is a Happiness Magnet
Recently, I saw the quote from Mary Lou Retton that, “Optimism is a happiness magnet. If you stay positive, good things and good people will be drawn to you.” Now I will say the opposite is also true if you are a negative, the-world-is-against-me type of person. Guess what? If that’s how you are, the world will be against you. Why? Because you are a making it hard to be around you. Yes, you are causing the few people who can abide you to find other options for dinner, the movies or a day at the lake. We all have […]
Change Your Life
For fun, this week I used Google and asked, “how to change your life,” and, lo and behold, you would not believe all the options that are just waiting for you and me to sign up and get going. Most of them had a multi-point-plan for us to get going, and others just laid it on the line for what we should and shouldn’t be doing to change our lives. After I read through the multiple lists of options, I had to laugh, because, although they all promised success in 429 easy steps, the fact is that none of it […]
Leaving a Life Imprint
Recently I was at the beach for a quick vacation, and as I was sitting on the shore soaking up the sun, I was fascinated just watching the waves come in and go out, a little closer to me each time, until I had to move my beach chair back from the water onto higher sand or be soaked in the salt water swirling around me. I couldn’t help but wonder and watch the power of the water on the shifting sands, and then how, within a few hours, all the work of little hands that built sand castles all […]
What’s On Your Life List?
Recently, I heard a speaker ask about a Life List vs. a Bucket List. It was an interesting thought, because I know that for many of us we have this imaginary (or actually written down) Bucket List of places we’d like to go, things we’d like to see and experiences we’d like to have; yet, as we hope and pray and wish away the days and months and years, saving for our Bucket List, I’m curious if you have thought about your Life List. And tell me, how are you coming along with checking off that list for becoming the […]
Start Wading
When I was a child, there was nothing I liked more than to wade into the cold creek and look for crawdads and frogs and other creek life. Then we started taking our summer vacation to Isle of Palms on the coast of South Carolina, and my creek became an ocean. Back then the island was row upon row of summer beach homes (not the spectacular ones you see nowadays). Our beach bungalow was easily recognizable since we were very close to the “famous” island house called Tickled Pink, and yes, it was bright Pepto-Bismol pink. (My brothers would have […]
The Emotion of Frustration
I am continuing with my series on emotions. I started the series with the emotion of anger because anger is a cancer to your soul. So, to have any chance for a successful and happy life, friend, you have to let it go. Then I talked about the pain of personal shame. Shame is a Failure to Meet Your Own Standard of Behavior, and this emotion will wreck your life if you’re not careful. And I added in the thought that you should stop thinking that others have to accept your forgiveness for you to be forgiven. They don’t. Once […]
3 Things I Need Each Day
With the 4th of July upon us, I think it best to let you rest and have a time of reflection on the holiday. That being said, if you can spare just a little over four minutes, I’d encourage you to watch this video clip of Matthew McConaughey’s acceptance speech upon winning Best Actor at the Oscars a few years ago. His short message of 3 Things I Need Each Day has deep meaning, and it is one of the few clips that I keep on my computer because I agree with him on the idea that we each need: 1) Something […]