Friendship

Friendship is something that many seem to take for granted. Normally we say don't take people you care about for granted, but friendship may be the exception. I don't mean use them and take advantage of your friends. All I'm saying is that being friends does not require us to try hard in order to have a friend. Just be yourself and allow your friends to be themselves. As a matter of fact if you allow your friends to be themselves, it's actually more fun than if you are alike. Most of the time their way of being is what makes them so fun to be around. I have a friend who I laugh at/with (whatever you want to call it) on pretty much a daily basis. If you can't laugh together or at each other without hurting the others feelings then you do not have a true friendship. So, don't try so hard, don't take things personally, but DO have friends that you can take for granted. They won't mind, trust me. --MC, Reno, NV 2011

"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference." - Winston Churchill

"Your life is what your thoughts make it." - Marcus Aurelius

Something To Remember

"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other." - Abraham Lincoln

Our Thoughts / Our Actions

"You are what your deep, driving desire is, so is your will. As your will is, so is your deed. As your deed is, so is your destiny." - Brihadaranyaka Upanishad IV 4.5

Don't Let Anything Stop You

"Set your sights high, the higher the better. Expect the most wonderful things to happen, not in the future but right now. Realize that nothing is too good. Allow absolutely nothing to hamper you or hold you up in any way." - Eileen Caddy

Life is full of many opportunities and obstacles. Embrace those opportunities and face those obstacles with all that you have in you. Hold your head up, work hard, hang in there and live your life like anything is possible and you'll find that it is. Your faith and belief in yourself will sustain you and help you through. While going through, and doing what you want to do, have to do and need to do, surround yourself with positive people and count your blessings and acknowledge your progress no matter how minimal it may seem. Follow your heart and hold onto your dreams. See each day as a chance to change what didn't work yesterday and do what's necessary to make each day better. Believe that you can, and you will. Believe that you can't, and you won't. It's that simple!

Distractions

"The best way to get something done is to do it" - I'm guilty of a few things but, the two things I'm most guilty of are procrastination and lack of follow through. I have the motivation and what it takes to get it done, I just have to figure out how to get my mindset on the same page. I set my goals and get started and then, the distractions multiply. Facebook, a text, a TV show, a nap... whatever the distraction of the moment may be, I follow it and give it my full attention knowing that I should be focusing on the project I have yet to complete. In my mind, I have plenty of time so, the breaks I take are no big deal, right?...Well, actually, WRONG!!! I say that because what usually happens; is at the last minute, my to do list ends up being a lot longer and my time frame to get the things done, a lot shorter. I end up beating myself up for not doing what I had to do when I should've been doing it.  The funny thing is, I manage to get what I have to do done and breathe a sigh of relief  before promising myself things will be different next time. Unfortunately, when the next time comes around, my mindset fails me once again. That is why today, I'm choosing to alter my mindset. I'm going to set my goals, pull out my to do list, and make a time line which includes my solution to my two things I'm most guilty of which I stated earlier are procrastination and lack of follow through. If you're wondering, what my solution is, it's giving myself time to waste time. This will allow me to plan my break, take it and then get back to work. Since fall is here and change is in the air, anything is possible. So, if you have a to do list, a project you need to do, a change you want to make, something you need to get done, change your mindset. Find a workable solution to getting it done and do it!

My Namesake

Today one of the greatest ladies I know was born. She taught / showed me so much all while loving me unconditionally. My mom named me after her. Not a day goes by that I don't think about her / miss her. My time with her resides in my heart and my memories. I love you Grandma Margie and I miss you. Rest In Peace My Love.

My Namesake 

She knew it was time
Her temple kept failing her
But she had her way

She spoke of heaven
I ignored what transpired
Wait that is selfish

She forbids crying
My reactions were silenced
I follow her lead

Her hand reaches for mine
I reach back grasping darkness
She radiates light

I look beyond me
We embrace our forever
While saying good bye

“Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach.”

“There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.”

Putting Things Off

This is a fitting post because once again , I'm guilty of putting something off. In this case, it was yesterday's post. I am definitely a work in progress. It is my hope that posting about this shortcoming of mine will help me with my follow through and if you happen to have the same problem, hopefully it will help you too; so, here it goes.
As life goes on, we take breaks, put things off, make excuses, procrastinate because we would rather be doing something else or just get comfortable where we are although we know there's things we need to do and / or should do. Our coulda, woulda, shouldas become our what ifs and we are left wanting more / needing more while finding ways to justify obtaining neither. If we took the energy we use to make excuses and cop out to take that first step and follow through on making necessary / wanted / desired changes, we'd see that we have what it takes to do whatever we put our mind to. For me, today (which was supposed to be yesterday) is the day I take my own advice. I must say so far, so good. I've accomplished a few things and am looking forward to all that is yet to come. If you to have something you want / need to do / finish, and / or change, join me.

Its Up To You

 When you have something you want/need to accomplish/change, It's up to you to get it done/do it. You can come up with excuses,you can blame someone else, you can find reasons to hold yourself back, you can even convince yourself you're better off where you are but, what you have to realize is the only person that suffers in this scenario is you. When one does nothing to better him/herself, a choice is made to accept/settle for whatever.
 Once that choice is made,it becomes harder and harder to take that first step towards being the best you; you can be. The good thing is "It's never to late to be what you might have been." So, if you've put things off or have been settling, make the choice to do all you can to change what is to what you want it to be. Invest in yourself. Make a difference in your life. Who you are, what you do, where you go, where you end up and how you feel when you look over your life and at your reflection is up to you.

The Hands of Time

I've been told that time can be our best healer and our greatest teacher.I believe this to be true to some extent because over the years, I've heard people say,"They wish they could turn back the hands of time." At one point,that thought crossed my mind as well. However, I have learned that time can not be reversed and our past can't be altered. Therefor I live for now. I make the most of the time I'm given. I start my days not regretting my past but learning from it, my mistakes and experiences.I make a conscious effort to find the joy / blessings in whatever comes my way.The realization that life is what it is and time moves on is a powerful thing.It allows us to gather our thoughts, let go, change, accept and most importantly, like time; move on.

Uncertainty

Uncertainty can control your actions and emotions if you let it. When unexpected things happen, we tend to create scenarios in our mind. Our fears come to life and worry takes hold. To some degree, you do have to be concerned about what is yet to come but, more often than not we give the unknown more power than it should have. Things may be harder as a result of the changes you face and adjustments will have to be made. However, if you hold on to your faith while facing / enduring the change, you will find that this to shall pass and things will work out. If your faith eludes you, remind yourself of the things you've made it through / overcame so far in your life and you will see that although uncertainty can be hard to accept / deal with the only control of your state of mind it has is the control you give it.

Special Moments

Senior Night for the basketball players and cheerleaders has come and gone. Once again, the truth that our babies grow up so fast is made obvious. A mixture of smiles, laughter and tears are exchanged between the teammates, classmates, parents, friends and coaches. It is a bittersweet moment for all. The pride is evident. The thought 'a job well done' lingers and the knowledge that this is just the beginning of the next step in all that are involved lives fills the atmosphere with hope, wonder, and anticipation. So to all my seniors, their friends, parents, classmates, teammates, coaches and my readers with special moments of their own; I say,"May the joy, excitement, wonder, and expression of pride and love that is shown during special moments like this, be with you throughout all you face and do." 

My Break

I drifted into my comfort zone and took a break from blogging among other things. In all actuality, I took a break from myself/my life. I needed to clear my thoughts and make peace with a few things/situations. I found it easier to find ways to tune them out rather than deal with them. For a while it worked but when reality kicked in, I was missing my friends, loved ones. I ended up getting sick and the ailments lasted longer than usual. I can't say for sure that one had anything to do with the other but I do know that now that I'm up and about and coping/dealing with things, I'm feeling a lot better.My comfort zone became my escape.I did the must dos without hesitation but the extras were put off.Once my comfort zone wasn't so comforting,I knew I had to suck it up. I was selectively living and only had myself to blame. There are so many things that we can't change in life. That's why when it comes to those we can, we should be active participants in our lives and the lives of others.When we choose to reside in our comfort zone, we miss out on so much.

Putting Things Off

 We all need to take breaks from time to time but, putting things off can lead to missing out, not getting something done and/ or being able to do something. For those reasons, I often remind myself that in some situations, we don't get a second chances. When I realize that, I do my best to make sure that I say what I want to say and do what I need to do. I do this because, I think one of the toughest things to deal with in life tend to stem from what we didn't do, words left unsaid, and the what ifs we leave ourselves with. It's hard to find the middle ground of finding time for ourselves and making time for the must do, need to do, want to do lists/mental notes that we have but, it's up to us to figure out what works for us. When making that decision, we need to ask ourselves, how will I feel if I don't see this through? If our answer leaves us wondering and questioning the choice we made, that given situation shouldn't be put aside. It should be addressed and dealt with. The time should be made to express ourselves, complete what we start, show how we feel and do what we need/want to do. Once that is done, that much needed break can be taken with a clear heart, mind, soul spirit and most importantly, no regrets. 

Consequences

"Act as if what you do makes a difference because it does." ~ William James

Letting Go

There are things we hold on to for various reasons, people we cling to because we don't think we won't be ok without them, situations we dwell on, resentments we give way too much energy and unanswered questions that we go over and over without taking the time to realize that not all questions have answers / are meant to be answered and some promises can't help but be broken.  To get through what ever we're holding on to long after we should've let it go, with a peace of mind, a hint of sanity (smile) in a crazy unpredictable world we have to accept the fact that things happen, hearts get broken, loss is inevitable, things go out of style / change, people change, we change and most importantly, God weeds our garden. He sees what we don't, loves us unconditionally even when we feel unworthy and blesses us in spite of our shortcomings. In many ways, we are so busy being caught up in prisons of our own making as we RSVP to pity party after pity party all the time wondering why me? but the question is why not you?, once again there may not be an answer but there is a solution. Put the energy you put into holding on into letting go so you don't lose yourself in the struggle to make something work, fit, be; especially if the toll of holding on outweighs the rewards of letting go.

Regrets

“Accept the pain, cherish the joys, resolve the regrets; then can come the best of benedictions - "If I had my life to live over again, I'd do it all the same” ~ unknown

 Regrets are hard to  live with because they hold us back from moving on but at the same time, they can be hard to overcome because its difficult to live life and go through all the uncertainties that come to pass everyday with the mind set that all things happen for a reason. However, if we find acceptance, choose forgiveness, follow our heart, make amends, give our all, express our feelings, show the ones we love how much we love them, find the time, make the time...REGRET...the thing that's hard to live /  truly experience life with or without won't be an issue it will just be an aspect of a life full of meaning and promise regardless of the losses, setbacks, heartaches, broken promises, failed endeavors and let downs because how we live our lives, handle the mistakes we make, respond to the chances we take, deal with and nurture our relationships, show love, give love; will make a BIG difference when all is said and done. We can harbor regret and let it affect our future or we can learn from it, grow from it, marvel in it, appreciate it and allow it to guide our path instead of hinder it. Its easy to tell ourselves we wont live with regrets but when it comes down to it, we have to make a conscious effort not to.

Imagination

"Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless.”
~ Jamie Paolinetti ...Imagination is a motivator, stress reliever, hope restorer, risk enabler, paint brush, solution generator, open ticket...with that in mind, use your imagination and imagine the possibilities. Once you do that, where you go, what you do and your outlook no matter where you are or where you've been will fall in place and your imagination, hard work, belief in yourself and the possibilities will help you visualize and accomplish so much.