Today, I Will Make A Difference

Today I Will Make a Difference
                                           by Max Lucado


Today I will make a difference. I will begin by controlling my thoughts.
A person is the product of his thoughts.
I want to be happy and hopeful.
Therefore, I will have thoughts that are happy and hopeful.
I refuse to be victimized by my circumstances.
I will not let petty inconveniences such as stoplights, long lines, and traffic jams be my masters. I will avoid negativism and gossip.
Optimism will be my companion, and victory will be my hallmark.
Today I will make a difference.

I will be grateful for the twenty-four hours that are before me.
Time is a precious commodity.
I refuse to allow what little time I have to be contaminated by self-pity, anxiety, or boredom.
I will face this day with the joy of a child and the courage of a giant.
I will drink each minute as though it is my last.
When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever.
While it is here, I will use it for loving and giving.
Today I will make a difference.

I will not let past failures haunt me.
Even though my life is scarred with mistakes,
I refuse to rummage through my trash heap of failures.
I will admit them. I will correct them.
I will press on. Victoriously.
No failure is fatal. It’s OK to stumble…
I will get up. It’s OK to fail… I will rise again.
Today I will make a difference.

I will spend time with those I love.
My spouse, my children, my family, my friends ...
A man (woman) can own the world but be poor for the lack of love.
A man (woman) can own nothing and yet be wealthy in relationships.
Today I will spend at least five minutes
with the significant people in my world.
Five quality minutes of talking or hugging or thanking or listening.
Five undiluted minutes ...

Today ... I will make a difference.

(From Shaped by God)







There are so many things going on in my everyday,
chores and a to-do list that doesn't seem to end,
letters to write and cards to send,
phone calls to make ...
I have a couple of thing worrying me.
Nothing big and nothing that won't take care of itself.
There has been good news,
upcoming celebrations, funny things, happy moments,
goofy stories that you really would have to have been there ...
Life!
With it's ups and downs, twists and turns,
lessons and blessings,
I wouldn't trade a single minute, good or bad,
because every minute brought me to right here and right now!
Today!
... and today, one way or another, no matter what,
Lord willing and the creek down rise ... 
I will make a difference!



(P.S.  You can make a difference too, if you want to)

Wild Women Do !!!

 

Instead of wasting too much time looking back and asking
"What if ..."
What would happen
if we looked ahead and ask the same question ...
"What if ..."


I like this song's chorus:

Wild women do
And they don't regret it
Wild women show
What they're goin' through
Wild women do
What you think they'll never
What you only dream about
Wild women do!





WILD is knowing WHO you are,
no matter what life throws at you,
no matter where you are or who you're with,

no matter who is or isn't watching.

WILD is not being afraid to color outside the lines
or break a few rules.
WILD is asking the hard questions.
WILD is finding the right answers.

WILD is being free to grow your own dreams
and making them come true.

WILD WOMEN
are a force to be reckoned with,
each a phenomenon of strength and courage
with the scars to prove it.

WILD is taking the road less traveled.
WILD is knowing and doing what it takes.
WILD is taking care of you first
and the rest of your world after that.

You Can Be Your Own Hero

Yesterday, I read about going with the flow and today, I read about awakening the inner warrior!

Somehow, that makes sense to me because life is a balance between the two.  Trusting that your life is unfolding as it is supposed to creates an inner peace and calm, a reservoir of strength.  But, there are times when you are called to defend yourself, your family, your friends, even your country.  My Mom used to say, "If you don't stand for SOME THING, you will fall for anything."

I have two sides to me, and you probably do too? ... The side that is capable of walking away from insignificant and unnecessary drama ... and another side that is ready, willing and able to throw my hat in the ring!

Stoking The Fire Within
Awakening The Inner Warrior

There are certain personality archetypes that we all carry within us, such as the inner child, the lover, and the mother. Some of these archetypes present themselves strongly, while others lay fallow. For example, there is an inner warrior in each one of us, but in some of us this warrior is underdeveloped to the point that we are unable to stand up for ourselves, even when necessary. There can be many reasons for this. We may have grown up with a parent whose warrior aspect was overdeveloped, and we responded by repressing ours completely. On the other hand, we may have grown up with parents in whom this aspect was dormant, so we never learned to awaken it in ourselves.

A warrior is someone with the strength to stand up for what he or she believes; someone who perseveres in the face of challenges and obstacles; someone who speaks and acts in the service of an ideal; someone who protects those who are too weak to fight for themselves.

Regardless of the reasons for an underdeveloped inner warrior, you may begin to notice the lack of its fiery, protective presence and wish to awaken it. You may need to stand up for yourself in a certain relationship or situation, or you may have a vision you want to realize, and you know you will need the courage, energy, and strength of a warrior to succeed. Similarly, if you find that you often feel scared, anxious, or powerless, rousing this sleeping ally may be just the antidote you need.

One excellent way to cultivate the presence of your inner warrior is to choose a role model who embodies the qualities of bravery, strength, and vitality. This person could be a character in a myth, movie, or book, or a historical or living person you admire.  Simply close your eyes each day and contemplate the quality of energy that attracts you to this person, knowing that the same potential lives within you.

Confirm for yourself that you are capable of handling this energy responsibly, and stoke the fire of your own inner courage.

DailyOM - Browse

 

 

The warrior archetype is alive and well in me ... but warriors know who the REAL ENEMIES are ... and sometimes, the enemy is me!  There are a lot of things that can make me angry but being a warrior doesn't mean that we go to the wall on everything!  Sometimes, things that make us angry are the very things that we don't need to fight about.

Let me explain ... 

 

If you are in a car accident and it's the other guys fault and they come running up to you, screaming and yelling, that would be the time to answer calmly and try to bring some peace and calm to an already tense situation.  Simply stay put and call 911.

If you are in a store and a clerk is rude to you, you might be capable of dressing the little dear down but what would be the point?  You know who you are.  You also know that people only act that way when they are under some sort of pressure, so instead of telling them off, you could calmly say, "It seems like you are having a bad day.  I'm sorry.  I'll come back when you are in the mood to sell me something." and just leave.

 

Neither of those situations is anything to lose our peace over!

 

Anger and Frustration are not useful tools for a warrior.  We can't think clearly when we allow ourselves to be angry.  Vengeance and Spite are useless tools because they cut us more deeply than they cut our adversary.  We may as well drive our sword into our own heart!  Jealousy won't serve us either.  It poisons us long before we ever use it on someone else! 

So what tools are worthy of a Successful Warrior?
   

Courage, Wisdom, Integrity, Hope, Faith, Discernment, Intuition, Empathy, a working Knowledge of How To Heal ourselves and others, Love, Joy, Patience, Kindness (not everyone is our enemy), Goodness, Kindness, Self-Control ... to name just a few, but you can probably think of a few more traits too ...

Just imagine what a HERO would do!  If our lives were a movie, would we be the ones that the audience would be pulling for or are we acting like the villain? 

MOST of the things in our life that take REAL COURAGE are the things most people will never see.  In those quiet moments where no one really knows, are you acting like a HERO?

 

You know the answer ... If you are the hero, you probably just smiled and your heart felt good for me to acknowledge that most people will never know how much courage you really have.  If you aren't the hero, you probably just slumped a little and shut your eyes, hoping no one noticed.  I'm sorry.  That doesn't have to be how your story goes.

There is a hero in all of us ... an inner strength at the core of our being ... It's the part of us that rises up to protect ... We really can be our own hero!   

Navigating Deep Waters

Just thinking ...

I am a woman who used to live with lots of worries and regrets, but not anymore!  I worried and fretted "ad nauseam", second guessing myself constantly.  Whenever something went wrong, I would analyze - nearly to death - every action, every thought, every word and every deed, wondering, "What would have happened IF ...?"

 

Good grief!

 

Half of the things I worried about just NEVER happened.  No, more than that!  89% of the things I worried about never happened.  10% of the things that happened, I never even thought about and 1% actually was worse than I could have imagined!

 

Did all that worrying and fretting do anything but give me indigestion?  Nope!

 

My friend, Daisy, talks about the spiral path ... Natalie Cole sings a song about going all around the world to find something just five minutes away ... I wonder now, why it took me so long to TRUST that things just were the way they were ... and today, they just are what they ARE ...

Simple! 

 

That doesn't mean we don't have a choice in what we do.  We did and we do.  We chose THIS place!  If this is where we are at ... we must be here for a reason ... so let me look around and see what there is to see ... What lesson does today hold for me? 

 

Better yet, what blessing will I find?  What nugget of truth is resting somewhere in the unfolding of the day?  What miracle will I be a witness to?

 

Looking at the past, fretting about decisions already made, or worrying about what could have been just keeps us stuck in the precarious place of driving in one direction while looking over our shoulder and not paying attention to what's in front of us at all!  How long will it be before we get in trouble doing that?  LOL!!!  It wouldn't take long for even the best driver to hit something!

 

Looking too far ahead is almost the same thing.  I was driving down the highway once when I looked over and saw a man looking at a map while he was trying to drive!  He had the whole thing unfolded, covering most of his view and trying to figure out where he was going!  I slowed way down and let him go on ahead where I could keep an eye on him ... There is no way he could have been giving the road his full attention with all that going on!

 

But how many times do we do that too?  I can think of times I was so worried about something coming up that I was miserable for days, planning and writing lists and running around, trying to make sure EVERYTHING was PERFECT!  

 

All those things turned out just fine.  Even if something didn't go as planned, it still was lovely and no one but me really knew that it was a mistake ... or was it? 

Some of the most precious memories I have are of the little unplanned miracles that popped up in the middle of my well-made plans ...

My daughter's wedding was only a week away.  It was my second daughter's wedding.  We had already had one wedding so this one was easier.  I had everything covered ... Invitations ... Place ... Minister ... Dress ... Bridesmaids Dresses ... Flowers ... Food ... Drinks ... Cake ... I felt pretty good about how smoothly every thing had fallen into place. 

Two days before the wedding, I called to arrange pick-up of the cake.  They didn't know what I was talking about!  It seems that the girl who had taken my order had quit that day and never turned inmy order!  They were in full swing on 3 other weddings and they couldn't help me!!!

Unbelievable!

 

My Mom had just come into town, and she does wedding cakes at home but she didn't have anything with her ... We put our heads together and I called Publix.  They were a new grocery store in town, but they had the BEST tasting cakes and I figured we'd go with a couple of sheet cakes if nothing else ... Mom and I drove across town to the store and the sweetest lady was working in the bakery.  I told her what had happened, ending my story in tears.  She came around the counter, hugged me and said, "No problem.  We can handle this.  I baked some extra cakes this morning.  Let's see what we can do."

 

She and Mom talked and came up with an idea ... simple plan ... three tiers ... three different flavor cakes ... butter cream icing on every layer and my daughter would still get to use her cake topper too!  She promised to have it ready the next afternoon.

 

It was the prettiest cake I had ever seen.  She had added a few extra touches and flourishes ... like love gifts to my daughter ... The cake wasn't just pretty.  It was moist and every layer was flavorful.  My eyes fill with tears even now ... to think of how that mess turned into a beautiful memory of my Mom helping with the cake and meeting a sweet, sweet angel that bakes cakes at Publix!

I didn't have anything to do with the planning of that memory, but it is one of my favorites.  I think of it often when I am planning a party or a get-together and I start obsessing over the details ...

There might be a good REASON things don't always go as planned!

Setting high goals and having high standards is a good idea, as long as we remember that nothing ever really turns out PERFECT, but sometimes, when we don't even try, things are BETTER than PERFECT!

There is no reason to lose our peace or give up our joy by getting bogged down in regrets or guilt or worry!  Relax ... ENJOY the moment.  Quit looking back ... Put down the map and the plan book and the to-do lists and look around at this BEAUTIFUL day!

 

It's your's to do WHATEVER you want with it!

Make it a good day!

 

 

Footnote:  Just as I finished my thought, I took a break to read some of my emails, and this was in this morning's mail!    

" ... Going with the flow means that we are aware of an energy that is larger than our small selves and we are open to working with it, not against it.

Many of us are afraid of going with the flow because we don't trust that we will get where we want to go if we do. This causes us to cling to plans that aren't working, stick to routes that are obstructed, and obsess over relationships that aren't fulfilling. When you find yourself stuck in these kinds of patterns, do yourself a favor and open to the flow of what is rather than resisting it.

 

Trust that the big river of your life has a plan for you and let it carry you onward. Throw overboard those things that are weighing you down. Be open to revising your maps. Take a deep breath and move into the current."

 

 

How cool is that?!!!

 

(smiling)

 

I get goose bumps every single time THAT happens ... where I am thinking, writing or talking about a thing and I pick up a book or read an email or see a magazine article that adds to the thought in the most beautiful way ...

 

Every SINGLE day has something new for us to learn ... if we just go with the flow.  Keep our eyes open.  Don't waste time looking back.  Don't worry too much about what lies ahead.  It will still be there when we get there! 

 

What TRUTH will float your way today?

 

 

 

 

Nothing Compares To You!

 

This is the ONLY chance you have to make a difference in this life!

 

Get up off your routines and dust your gumption off and be WHO only YOU can be!  YOU are here for a REASON!!!  There is something that ONLY YOU can do!  Have you started yet?

Quit worrying what you friends will think because, as much as they love you, they have their own fish to fry and their own little red wagons to pull up the hill.  Most of the time, you are worrying about what someone else thinks, they are really worrying about what you would think if you looked into their closet!  What a waste of energy!  Your friends LOVE you ... which means most of the time, you inspire them, you challenge them, and on a bad day, they wish they were more like YOU!

Quit making excuses about timing because it's never going to be a good time.  It's never going to be convenient to start working on the thing you were meant to do!  When was the LAST time you had four hours with nothing better to do, so you thought you'd start working on world peace?

Quit telling yourself you can't do it or someone else would do better than you because YOU CAN DO IT.  It is SUPPOSED to be YOU!  Next time your inner voice nudges you, LISTEN!  It's your turn!  You're UP!

 

Shania Twain - Up!

It's 'bout as bad as it could be
Seems everybody's buggin' me
Like nothing wants to go my way--
Yeah, it just ain't been my day
Nothin's comin' easily

Even my skin is acting weird
I wish that I could grow a beard
Then I could cover up my spots
Not play connect the dots
I just wanna disappear

[Chorus:]
Up ~ up ~ up !!!
Can only go up from here
Up ~ up ~ up !!!
Where the clouds gonna clear
Up ~ up !!!
There's no way but up from here

Even something as simple as
Forgettin' to fill up on gas
There ain't no explanation why
Things like that can make you cry
Just gotta learn to have a laugh

[Repeat Chorus]

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah...

When everything is goin' wrong
Don't worry, it won't last for long
Yeah, it's all gonna come around
Don't go let it get you down
You gotta keep on holding on

It's 'bout as bad as it could be
Seems everybody's buggin' me
Like nothing wants to go my way--
Yeah, it just ain't been my day
Nothin's comin' easily

 

Hope you hit a home run!

Balance At The Old Home Place

I meant to take you on a walk through this old home place.
My friend and I found this beautiful old farm in the mountains.
Come walk with me?

 

Have you ever been so happy that nothing could bring you down?

 

Have you ever been so sad that nothing could cheer you up?

 

Don't worry so much about where you are right now ...
Because whatever is happening RIGHT NOW will be different tomorrow.
It takes SUNSHINE and RAIN
to make the prettiest flowers and the tastiest fruit.





When you know that everything is temporary
And it takes BOTH darkness and light for us to grow,
You will find yourself accepting the Balance

and even

Welcoming the Changes ...
No matter and whatever TODAY might bring.





So what is on your plate TODAY?

Have you ever been so SAD that nothing could cheer you up?

Have you ever been so HAPPY that nothing could bring you down?

Passing Thoughts Or Waves Tossed In The Ocean

Just as the ocean has waves,
so the mind’s own radiance is its thoughts and emotions.

The ocean has waves,
yet the ocean is not particularly disturbed by them.
The waves are the very nature of the ocean.
Waves will rise, but where do they go?
Back into the ocean.

And
where do the waves come from?
The ocean.

In the same manner,
thoughts and emotions are the radiance and expression of
the very nature of the mind.
They rise from the mind, but where do they dissolve?
Back into the mind.

Whatever rises, do not see it as a particular problem.
If you do not impulsively react,
if you are only patient,
it will once again settle into its essential nature.

So have a spacious, open, and compassionate attitude
toward your thoughts and emotions,
because in fact your thoughts are your family,
the family of your mind.


- Sogyal Rinpoche




I was thinking about the words to this song ...

Who Am I?
I am a flower quickly fading
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind

... and a friend sent me this thought.

So many times, I thought I KNEW the answers,
but looking back, it's the things I KNEW FOR SURE that sometimes,
got me into the most trouble ...
those things I wrapped my ego around
before I presented them to the world ...
Lately, I've been asking myself
how much of those things REALLY matter?

I am coming to terms with the idea that
NOT EVERY LITTLE THING that pops into my pretty little head
is always TRUTH!
I am more willing to examine my thoughts before I share them ...
because not every "wave is worth surfing".
Many times, I have just let a wave pass me by, in hope of a better one!



Hmmm ... this beach analogy has me thinking seafood for lunch!

Hugggggggggggggggggggggggz,
Taylor