The last day of 2007!!!

It's New Year's Eve and the last day of 2007!! It feels almost like a cleansing of some sort in which we look back at 2007 and remember all the good times and well, probably the other times too! And then we get all giddy about 2008 and all the wonderful, exciting events that are waiting for us! We are not fearful of the unknown, but rather excited about a new beginning and fresh start and welcome change! It's about the only time that almost everybody is on the same page and get excited about new beginnings and not swimming upstream! We are all going with the flow right now and open for everything!! Just imagine what would happen if we were open for everything and going with the flow everyday all year long!

Out with the old, in with the new!

It's that time of year that we are all optimistic about the new year because for most of us, there are things we want to change or things we want to accomplish and the New Year provides that amazing inspiration!! We want those things to be achievable, so perhaps keep a short list of maybe 3-4 items and then have a little plan of attack versus perhaps a cold turkey approach? Whatever it is, look back at the 2007 goals and figure out why there was an obstacle or just simply learn from it and readjust those goals a bit. For me, having a motto seems to work!! And mine for 2008 is "ALL WILL BE GREAT IN 2008!!" The New Year is such an inspirational time and one that can be kept throughout the year if we truly want it to!! It's our choice and we are in control of our feelings and destiny! Let's all have everlasting inspiration.

Don't dwell on it!

There are times when things are going pretty darn good and then all of a sudden it comes to a screeching halt!! It's at these times, that we just need to learn from the mistake and take it as an opportunity to grow and move on! Easier said than done because lots of us tend to dwell on things, but honestly, what result does this produce? None! If we make a mistake, which we all do, and it's good that we do make mistakes because how would we grow, well, then just learn, roll with the punches and don't make it again! All in all, whatever boo boo we tend to make, the ultimate thing to remember is "I'll handle it". It's amazing how you feel once those words are repeated, for there is a sense of peace and calm that immediately felt!

You never know what's around the corner!

You truly never know what is around the corner when your eyes are open and receptive to seeing things differently! When your mind is alive, happy and alert, truly interesting and amazing things happen. A thought of someone pops into your mind that may be a good resource for you. A thought of a great book may just out of the blue pop into that little head. But when you are in a calm, stress free and serene state even when things appear to be in turmoil or uncertainty, it's amazing what happens. It's like your little angels are around you to help and when you're receptive to their help, they dance all around you and guide you along. When the mind is open, it is very obvious that Life is for us, not against us!! When we are receptive to good things happening and going with the flow, good things often follow.

The Confidence Factor

When we are given our handful of lemons, we feel a bit of a setback with that sour little taste of the lemons. But it's at that point that we can regain control and turn it into a good thing. But how do we do this and where does it come from? It comes from various ways, but one of the most compelling ways is your self-confidence. If you are strutting yourself and feeling darn confident, it's hard for anything to penetrate this shell. This is isn't to say, one should become cocky, but rather confident in themselves and their abilities to deal with anything that comes their way! It's not easy at times, but if you dig deep enough, it's there! Confidence will get you through the toughest times when it's being shaken the most, but bring it out in full force during those times and turn those lemons into lemonade.

Interpretation of Events

It's funny how some things happen in your life and sometimes we ponder how we should interpret the events. When we have something happen that goes against what we wanted, does that mean we should go into another direction since we are perhaps being steered somewhere else or do we learn from the experience and try again? Perhaps it's both?

But, there does come a time which we continue to go down a certain path and it's like swimming upstream. To me, this is the sign to go into another direction and find that path that is conducive to satisfying your inner passion. When we do this, then the path is easy and we internally know it! And there are people out there with the jobs they love, the family life they love and the amazing friends! And what is awesome, is that we can all have this!! What does it take? Passion, focus, postive attitude a clear vision of what you want!!!

Surrounding yourself

Everybody has a tough time in their life and feel a bit blue for whatever reason. In these times, it is of utmost importance to surround yourself with everything positive! Surround yourself with positive people, positive books, positive sayings, positive EVERYTHING which will inevitably bring yourself up too! Steer away from negative situations, negative people, negative books, music or TV since these will inevitably bring you down further! We all like a little bit of a pity party, but just stay at the party too long! Leave the party early and get back to the good positive energy out there. It's easy to get caught up in gossip, but gossip doesn't produce a positive result, but rather a negative one, so just simply steer clear of the gossip circle and stay on course with the positive energy. Life is so much better with positive forces around you, so pick the easy path and swim downstream.

Road to self improvement

Isn't it good that nobody is perfect? If everyone was perfect, there would be no more learning or changing which sounds pretty boring! We are always on a road for self improvement and usually we all know what our faults are and we work on them all the time which is good! For me, patience is a limiter. I like things to be done quickly and when I have to wait and show patience, it reminds me that my road for self improvement keeps marching on! While my path of improvement is patience, other exhibit extraordinary patience, but have other areas of opportunity that may be my strength? Nobody is alike and we all see traits in others that we can learn from. Each day brings new opportunities to see the good in people and help us see how unique we are, what we have to offer and things we need to keep working on. Will anybody get to perfection? I hope not, for that would be pretty darn boring!

Alignment

When things are going great, we probably don't need much time to get ourselves aligned because frankly, we probably already are! But then there are times when we are out of balance and overcome with feelings and emotions that knock us off kilter a bit. So, what do we do? Well, if it takes getting back into balance once a week, then so be it, once a day, then so be it, once an hour, then so be it or every minute, then so be it. But, we can't afford to be off balance and it takes effort when this happens, but the effort will pay off. Perhaps not that day, that week or that month, but it will. And the key is to remember at times to stay in balance because things are just a bit easier to handle! We usually know when things are not aligned properly since it usually manifests itself in stress, worry, fear, anxiety, etc. That is the queue to get yourself balanced through whatever means works for you. Perhaps that means talking to a friend or family member, exercising, reading inspirational books, or whatever makes you KNOW you are aligned once again. Essentially it's that feeling that you are now flowing with the stream versus swimming upstream. And as we all know, flowing with the stream takes much less effort than swimming upstream! All it takes is listening to yourself and bringing things back in alignment.

The Holiday Spirit

The holidays are an amazing time of year that brings out the best in people! People have a cheerful spirit about them and it comes from seeing your neighbor string some outside lights to the stringing your own lights on your Christmas Tree. A simple pleasure of a decorated Christmas tree and seeing it lit up at night brings so much joy to all. And writing out Christmas cards to those perhaps you haven't talked to in years, but you send cards every year. Perhaps you are not as close as in the past, but they are in your thoughts and seeing their name brings back fond memories. And you know that when they receive your card, you will be in their thoughts and most likely they will have those same fond memories which brings a nice warm smile to their face. The holiday season is a wonderful time of year in which we should all be grateful for what we have and most importantly EXPRESS such gratitude. I just read a saying that to be grateful without expressing it, is like wrapping a present and not sending it. Very true!! Tis the season to express the gratitude and enjoy the simple pleasures.

Listen to yourself!

Your intuition or that gut feeling is usually correct on a major decision or change you need to make. But sometimes that gut feeling is contrary to what others may think is the best decision for you. The bottom line is that we all should do what makes us happy versus perhaps others because once you are truly happy on the inside, everyone will see that beauty and understand why a decision or change was made. Your true happiness is what everyone strives for. A person or tangible objects may make us think we will be happy, but if a person is not happy on the inside, nothing external will bring that. Once a person is truly happy on the inside, everything external is now just enhancing your happiness and making life even that much better!! To me, we are put on this earth to be happy because when we are truly happy anything is possible and any obstacle will be overcome!!

Envisioning good things

How do you we envision things to turn out? Some of us are afraid that if we envision everything to work out perfectly, we are setting ourselves up for failure and disappointment and perhaps jinxing it? But why not envision that everything will work out perfectly and things will go well? Deep down, we do that anyway, that's why we are disappointed if something doesn't turn out exactly how we planned. We should not be afraid or feel like we going to jinx something really good happening in our lives. Yes, there may be a road block, but just go around that road block and keep on trucking. If you envision what you want to do, who you want to be with and how you want your life to turn out, most likely you will get what you want, but it takes a constant vision that everything is going to turn out great! None of us should be afraid to think this way! Expect things to work out perfectly versus expecting things to not work out at all. You become what you think about, so why not think positive, happy thoughts!! The decision is AlWAYS ours and can be changed at any given moment!

The weather of life

We all have experiences in our lives in which we had to go through a tough time to get where we needed to go. At the time when we are marching through the rain storm, we often have our pity parties and wonder why such horrible things are happening to us. It's not until we really find that strength within ourselves to get us through that rain storm when the realize we needed to weather out the storm to enjoy the sunny, bright days ahead. But just like the weather, you probably won't have all sunny days, but that's OK because just like the weather, you won't have all rainy days either! You need that rain to replenish the dry grounds and spark new growth and inspiration. You need the rain to initiate change and appreciate those nice, warm sunny days. It's all a matter of how you approach the rainy days of your life. If you approach it as a good thing and look forward to the unknown change or inspiration, it's not so dismal or scary, but rather a happy occasion with welcomed arms. It's all about how we handle those storms and the choice is always up to that person and nobody else!!

Simple sayings

I love reading simple but very powerful sayings that can literally change your whole outlook or perspective on a certain situation or how you feel at that particular moment. I have read so many that I can't remember them all, but here are some that have hit home lately:

If you are going through hell...keep going. - Winston Churchhill.

My mind is a garden. My thoughts are the seeds. My harvest will be either flower or weeds. - Mel Weldon

Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward. They may be beaten, but they may start a winning game. - Goethe

Have patience with all things, but first of all with yourself. -St. Francis de Sales

Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.-Carl Bard

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.-Dale Carnegie

The person who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.-Anonymous

There are so many more and I will include some others later!

Thanksgiving Day!!

Today is Thanksgiving and there is so much to be thankful for! I'm thankful for my wonderful family and friends who are truly amazing people. I'm thankful for my health and those around me. I'm thankful for all the beautiful things in life like my little hummingbird friends, the pinkish sunrises, the blooming flowers, the smiling faces, the kind spirit of people, and nice people that I meet everyday. I'm thankful for my spirituality and knowing I am never alone and everything happens for a reason. I'm thankful that I can really see what to be thankful for! Thanksgiving is a day to be thankful, but really everyday is a day to be thankful!! Life is amazing everyday and rather unpredictable! That is what makes it all interesting and something to be thankful for!!

Support Systems

When you are given the 10 pound bag of lemons, you sometimes feel like you've just purchased a ticket on a roller coaster ride of emotions! Much of it deals with fearing the unknown, being anxious, scared, worried, fearful or other feelings. This is when it is time to rely on those few people who know will always be there for you at your most vulnerable because these are the select few who believe in you and will always be there no matter what!! They are there when life is going great, when it's a bit humdrum and when, well feels like the world is crashing down on you. They are there to just listen, not necessarily solve any problems, but just listen and be there. It's a small and very important selective group that we are all very thankful to have in our lives. These are the people who you will always be there for them as well and have seen them when they are handed that bag of lemons. And lo and behold, that bag of lemons is transformed into nice, sweet lemonade. And yet, when another is given that bag of lemons, we doubt if it's going to turn into lemonade when we have witnessed EVERYTIME with others that it always turns out that way!! We need to trust in our support group and trust that it will be sweeter than before! That bag of lemons always has a little lesson inside and it's up to the person to take advantage of an adverse situation, rely on the support group and come out the other side a better and stronger person!! One must go through dark times to get to the bright happy side on the other end!! And when we do, our support group is right there cheering us on as well!!

What a nice time of year!

Every season brings a special feeling to people and Fall is no different. It's such a wonderful time of year to see the leaves turn to the amazing reds, oranges and yellows, the temperature is a bit brisk at night, but then warms up nicely during the day. Then you have the initial hints of winter with the rainy days that beckons the call for a nice cozy fire and feeling happy just staying indoors feeling secure and safe. It's a time for the holidays and feeling grateful for the things you have in your life and appreciating everybody around you! Lots of family and friends, giving, and sharing lots of good feelings! What a wonderful time of year!

An inspiring person

There are people in this world that give off amazing energy and it doesn't even have to be in person. Just seeing them on the TV or on the cover of a book or just thinking about this person brings a smile or good thoughts running through my mind. There are many people who have this affect on me, but one of my favorite human beings is the author, Wayne Dyer. There is something about his energy that is just in true harmony and brings me into harmony when I read his books. And though I often go days or weeks without reading some pages of the books, I find that when I return to my regular routine of reading a few pages, it makes me feel balanced again and my life seems to run a bit smoother. Whoever we have in our lives that makes us feel this way is a true gift in our lives and hopefully we cherish it. It is uplifting for us to be in the prescence of good energy people!!

The spirit of helping others

There is something about helping another person whether it's someone we know or a total stranger that gives us such gratification. Though it may be somewhat of an inconvenience to help a stranger at times, to see how you've helped this person makes people feel so darn good! We usually have a nice smile on our face or a warm fuzzy feeling inside over a simple act of kindness. And when an observer sees a person helping a fellow human being in need, it usually brings a smile and a warm fuzzy feeling to the observer too! It's truly amazing how many people can be affected from one simple act of kindness. It might be a simple gesture of opening the door for someone, paying a toll for a stranger (for those that know me, that is a given) or helping someone if they just dropped some bags in the parking lot. It doesn't take much to spread those great feelings and that feeling is usually free of charge, the only cost is a small token of generosity.

Hummingbirds are awesome!

There is something very soothing about Hummingbirds for me. I intentionally plant flowers or shrubs to attract these little delightful friends. As I write e-mails, I often gaze outside and see these calming little creatures eating from my Autumn Sage or bottlebrush. Of course, they are a bit nervous around the world's biggest black bee that often shares the same tasty treats, but somehow they both live in harmony. Many times, I sit outside on my patio step and lo and behold, my flying friends will literally fly about 1 or 2 feet from my face just to say "hello". They are incredibly tame and I can feel their peaceful energy when they fly around my yard with incredible speed. I love those little birds and the feeling they give me!!

My first story

We all have a plethora of stories to tell about our life's journeys and what inspires us and makes us happy!! I hope that folks who read this, will want to share those positive stories that exude positive energy. So, my first tidbit is one that is near and dear to me at the moment. I am currently in a career transition which for some people, including me at times, shakes you to the core! But I have found that this unexpected experience has made me grow and taught me to learn patience, trusting that things will be OK, relying on my support group and looking at life through a CLEAN set of spectacles! It has lead me to create this blog which I've been thinking of doing for a very long time since I love to read inspirational stories, sayings, personal triumphs, etc. It is human nature to gravitate towards positive energy and things that make us feel happy. Do, I know where my little journey will eventually take me? No, but I KNOW it will take me in the right direction!

What is the blog about?

I wanted to create a blog that focuses on positive EVERYTHING, whether it is a positive story in which life dealt you some lemons and it turned into lemonade (hence the name of the blog) or discussing a positive person in your life, an inspirational saying or whatever. Basically, when you think about you are going to write, it brings happiness and smiles as you type and also makes the reader feel happy, inspired and makes them smile too! Positive energy is powerful and contagious, so let's spread it around!!