Day 81: Spring has sprung; bloom where you are planted

What a beautiful day it was last evening thus a yard cleaning ensued. Yesterday after work we began our spring cleaning in our yard only. We figured out about half way through it was more than we could handle in one day. Regardless, we got what we could get done in one evening done and decided to revisit the task this weekend sometimes. The challenge lays in the the fact that our bodies are now so sore that we have to talk them into working the next time!!!

One of the tasks we had was to transplant several flowers and starts. It brought to mind for me the concept that we need to bloom where we are planted. What does that mean? It means that wherever you reside that you need to make the most out of it and become a beacon for others...a helper, a guide, a positive influence. This has been interesting for me to try and live.

Our neighborhood was dubbed as the "ghetto" by a sibling. (Although its not in my opinion as bad as some places I have to travel to for work.) The challenge we were faced with when we moved here was the fact that no one talked to each other. We were lucky to get to know the neighbors on either side of us and behind us. But what have we done with that relationship? Nothing.

This year things are going to change. We will get to know more neighbors...intentionally. How do you build a better and more safer neighborhood other than through getting to know the people you live next too? When we bloom where we are planted we make positive steps in revitalizing our neighborhood and in making it safer for others. Today I am going to strive to become a better person to my neighbors and in my neighborhood.

Day 80: I feel pretty, oh so pretty....

There are alot of days where I get up in the morning, shower, throw on a pair of jeans and a sweater or shirt, brush my hair and off to work I go. I don't froo froo myself up by putting on makeup or a fancy hair do. I like to live simply.

But there are some days that you get up in the morning and you want to feel pretty (or for you guys reading this you won't to look handsome and suave). No matter what you do you can't pull it together and you tend to walk out the door and not be able to walk the "I look good" walk. Today though, I am going to walk out my door and I am going to walk the "I look good walk." It's important that we look at each day and want to feel like we look good, regardless of whether we are wearing a pair of jeans, a pair of shorts, or a tiara and strapless dress. The "I look good walk" requires us to want to feel and look good.

Why is this important? Because we need that confidence to get through our day. Because we need to feel important in our lives. We need that rush of excitement about looking good, regardless of if one or no one actually comments on it.

Think about it. When you walk out your door feeling like a million bucks you hold your head up a little higher, your walk is a little lighter, and even the skies look brighter. We even tend to be more positive then at work. We all need that in our lives. It doesn't matter if you are a lawyer,doctor, social worker, or a garbage man. We all can do "the walk."

So often I let everything going on in my environment dictate how I feel or how I look at the world. So...today I am going to start working on building my confidence in a way. I am going to every day walk out of my front door and say to myself, "I look good!" I am going to go through my day not worrying that I don't look right or that I am being judged. I going to walk the walk.

Day 79: Believe in Miracles

For some reason this morning and for the last several days I have had the phrase in my head, "Believe in Miracles." I don't know why or what that means but for some reason it just keeps coming up into my head. Sure there are a ton of ways that I could experience a miracle in my life but I don't feel that miracles can happen to or for me. So why the phrase? Just because of that....because I don't believe.

Why can't a miracle happen for me? When will it happen? Will it be something I really really want? These are questions I use to ask. What I have to realize is that if I anticipate that a miracle will happen to me I will not receive that miracle as then I will begin to think it's a right. If it's something I am wanting is it really a miracle? I don't think so. If I have the fortunate opportunity to have a miracle happen in my life it will not be in my time nor based on just because I want something.

The big thing is not whether I will have a miracle or not but rather that I begin to believe that anything is possible. As long as I trust that anything is possible I can be more open to whatever is intended for me in my life. Call it destiny or fate. Call it whatever you want. What's most in important is not what it is called but that I believe it is possible. My believing it is possible can make it possible. I need to keep my head up high and not give up. I have to believe.

Day 78: I don't know where I'm going...I only know where I've been

Today I will be traveling for work to a city I don't commonly travel to and to and area I am unfamiliar with. As I spoke with my client on Friday trying to get directions, I knew that based on how he was telling me to get there that I would probably get lost. My own pride got in the way and there was no way in the world I was going to tell him that I had no idea where any of the stuff he was telling me was at. In our life, on any journey, we will run across these times. The question becomes: do you keep going hoping to find the place eventually or do you stop and ask directions?

The great thing about technology is that many people have a GPS (global positioning system) that they put in their car to help them find their way. Yesterday I obtained one to use for this trip for work today. How exciting it is that I can put in my destination and it will get me there. In our life journey we have a GPS. (Sorry for you non-religious but it's about to get "holy.") Our GPS is God (or whatever higher being you believe in.) Like a GPS we have someone (or something) telling us what our destination is and if we put trust in it, it will get us there. But like anything you have to update the connection, whether its updating the maps on the GPS or our relationship with God.

What I have to learn to do is trust in my GPS...my God positioning system. It's God's plan for my life and sometime he's going to detour me and sometimes the roads will be clear and fine. I am enjoying thinking about how this trip today is a great time for me to reconnect with God. Maybe I will keep my radio off (which I tend to do anytime I am in the car now...) and just listen to what God wants me to hear.

Where is your life headed and do you stop to ask for directions? Or do you have a "GPS" (God positioning system) in your life? It's a good way to start off the week..

Day 77: Give me a break

I needed a break from things today. A little break of time, the blog, and everything. We needed time today to pray, to meditate, and to come to a point of balance today again. Lately it seems that we have been rushing around in our lives and not stopping to actually think. We live on impulse and spontaneity sometimes and it literally tires you out!

Today I also broke a box of ceramic tiles that were to be used on our kitchen floor. Also a sign to slow down. Instead of taking my time and holding on to the box correctly, I was rushing and I didn't grab it correctly. Boom it went on top of my mother-in-law's foot! Not a good thing to happen as she was also having a rough day.

Sometimes we have to slow down and not try to do ten thousand things at once. We have to take the time to spend with our furbabies (aka: our dogs.) and each other and slow down. Thus, the reason my blog today is a bit late.

Slow down today. That's why it's Sunday. In history Sunday was intended as the day of rest. So why do we do as much as we can in that one day? From now on I am going to work on making Sunday's our day of rest and enjoyment....not days of stress and work. Maybe it's something for others to think about too!

Day 76: A Day to Plant Seeds

What a beautiful day it is outside today! Even if it were raining and storming I would have to say the same thing. Today is a spring day...a day where when it is sunny and decent outside, you start to plant the seeds for all the flowers and fruits and vegetables that you hope to harvest later in the year. While I started this blog today writing about planting physical seeds, today is also about planting hypothetical, symbolic seeds.

What are hypothetical, symbolic seeds? It's the seeds of influence that we put in others lives. Tonight we get to babysit our nieces and nephews. Our hopes are that something in our lives helps to influence their lives in a positive way. We also plant the seeds of how far we've come in our own growth and change into others lives. When we do this there is opportunity to continue growing more and more and more.

When we plant (physical) seeds, we do so with the hope that they will produce fruit. The same way we hope that the physical seed grows, so do we hope that the symbolic seed would to. We have to be patient and realize that it takes time for things to grow.

The seeds we plant don't have to be major things. When we do this, we put all hope in the idea that the seed will grow this great thing and we forget to nourish it and feed it. We just try to sit back and hope it'll grow. We have to start small and work our way up, nourishing it and feeding it and helping it grow.

Today I am going to make sure that I am helping those seeds that I have already planted to help grow. I am going to continue helping my nieces and nephew and trying to make a positive impact on their lives.

Go plant a seed today.

Day 75: Maintaining Motivation

It's day 75. I have been writing this for 75 days now and I gotta be honest that there have been times that I have been ready to give up. The hardest part is maintaining my motivation.

Maintaining my motivation is something that is not only hard in this task of writing a blog daily, but often in other areas of my daily living. I may get excited about something but how do I maintain being motivated? Is my lack of motivation because I am tired all the time now it seems? Or is my motivation lacking because I just want to give up at times? I think right now the lack of motivation is because of physical problems.

Our environment affects our motivation. If we will our lives with people who are positive and are motivated themselves, we can stay on that path. If we have alot of people in our lives who are the eternal skeptics or are the pessimistic type and doubt their own ability to stay motivated then it affects our own abilities to stay motivated.

I am fortunate to have some people in my life, who by my being around them for a few short hours, help rejuvenate me and help me stay motivated. By being around them I can effectively move out of my occasional "bitch mode" mood.

The challenge comes from whether I make sure that I find the time to be around those people...that when I need to get that motivation that I find those people and rejuvenate myself through them. So, I guess there is such a thing as maintaining my motivation to stay motivated! Crazy, huh?