THE HAPPIEST PEOPLE ARE........

---------------
I was on the phone with a friend who suddenly appears out of the blue after several years of absence in my friendship world. Been missing this girl for a long time.
.
''Been busy with life", she says with a chuckle.
.
"Well, I'm pretty sure life has been pretty busy with you, too. You sound happy", I kidded back at her.
.
"Well, not a bed or roses I'll tell yah.... but they can throw at me all the bumps, bleeps, and bang but not enough to mess up my world", she replied back with a merry lilt in her voice.
.
I believed her.
.
You see, my friend (let's call her Jane) is quite unique. She's not like many of us puny little human beings who easily buckle down with every test, challenge, trial, or difficulty. But oh sure problems do assail her...... makes her rage, worry, stress out, and cry. So much the human reaction, right? All of that in the moment it hits her... then... wait a minute... she becomes still. And then the transformation takes place.... followed by...
.
"C'mon, let's get ourselves a burger! I'll race you to the car.." And off we fly!
.
Yeah I did once thought if she was an alien or something. But I must admit that she's one happy human being.. regardless.
.
I only really understood when one sweet day I stumbled on this quote....
. "The happiest people I know are the ones who have learned how to hold everything loosely and have given the worrisome, stress-filled, fearful detail of their lives into God's keeping." --- Charles R. Swindoll
.
That's Jane's secret. She connected with her God. But it's not a secret. We all know that, don't we?
.
(Once more, thanks to the internet for these wonderful images)

YOU CAN'T BE ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE

 

-----------------

I was cruising down the LinkedIn site and stumbled on this these beautiful lines. It's just a part of the article '8 Behaviors of Phenomenally Successful People', (By Jeff Haden. Ghost writer, speaker, LinkedIn influencer, contributing editor for Inc.) The article makes for a good read but these lines at the bottom struck me the most....... to quote'
.
.
"You worry about what other people think. (Don't feel bad -- I'm sure I do that as much as anyone.) Yet no matter how hard you try, you can't be all things to all people. But you can be as many things as possible to the people you love. And you can be the best you. Be yourself. That is the one thing you can do better than anyone else."
.
.
I have singled that out because it resonated well with a chat I had with a friend a couple of months ago. She's one who worries a lot about what others may say about whatever she does. Drives me crazy listening to her list of -- 'what if' -- 'would they like it' -- 'am I doing it right'.
.
She is a people pleaser but is overdoing the whole thing much to her own discomfort and misery. Sad?.. but don't worry, she's quite an intelligent person too and will in good time realize what she should be learning and change what should be changed. Just needing a gentle nudge perhaps in that direction. Sometimes change comes slow and the transformation slower to some people.
.
Jeff Haden said it perfectly.... 'Yet no matter how hard you try, you can't be all things to all people.' -
.
So why even try? Every person on this planet sees the world, life, people through his own set of eyes.. brains, and heart. He thinks, sees, and acts off his own set of insights, perceptions, measure and standards. So whatever he sees it may not really be all about you (if you happen to be in the picture); rather it's dictated by his own set of rules by which he evaluates everything, tangible or intangible. Remember this? -- That 'we see things not as they are but as we are.'
.
The best way to live life is how Jeff Haden puts it ---- 'And you can be the best you. Be yourself. That is the one thing you can do better than anyone else.' ---- And I agree 200%. And don't listen to people who say that you can't... because you can!
.
By the way, it's still the month of June; I know somebody out there has this as his or her birthday month, too. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! May you be blessed with wonderful things to last you a lifetime.

COME AWAY WITH AS MUCH AS YOUR CONTAINER CAN HOLD

---------------------
My good friend sent this quote to my inbox as he usually does almost everyday. So I've created a folder just for him; every quote he sends is deposited there. Then when the writing muses push me to write I go visit the folder and see what would ring the writing bell in my head. Occasionally the folder would undergo a sorting process: weeding out those which I think would be off my radar. Meaning if it does not bang that writing bell in my head then it's a no-go. Because I believe there is no better rule of thumb in writing than this ----- Write from the heart! Or with your heart! In short, when the heart does not feel it --- don't write it.

So this is what my friend sent me this morning........

"Some of us are like wheelbarrows  -  only useful when pushed, and very easily upset." ---- Jack Herbert
 

Wheelbarrow  - a small cart with a single wheel at the front and two supporting legs and two handles at the rear, used typically for carrying loads in building-work or gardening.

It does not run on its own; somebody has to push it. Can you imagine wheelbarrow lives? Well, sometimes one does need a push to get on with doing something but that's a different kind of push. In the absence of the sterling qualities of resourcefulness or initiative, it can be said that no amount of wishing will get them there .... wherever or whatever it is they want to be or achieve.

Is there hope for wheelbarrow lives? Probably if they attach an engine or a motor to their wheelbarrow. Seriously, when one recognizes where he is at - when he comes to a slump in his life - and admits its harsh reality and then revamps his way of thinking... that now will inject that much desired push to move forward.....but this time he does it to himself. As a friend defined it .... 'it's an internal job'. Meaning nobody can do that for him; he alone  should work on his own transformation. It may be slow work but truly rewarding in the end. (Thanks, Mr. Quote Man, for the quote.)

Still on the subject of wheelbarrows but on a different thought. Remember the book I was reading last week? Here's a lovely line from page 23.................

"Think bigger thoughts; paint grander dreams.You can go to a gold mine with a tiny wheelbarrow or a huge one,  and you will come away with as much gold as your container will hold."  --- Mr. Everit, a character in the book 'What I Learned From The Richest Man In The World' by Alan Cohen.

Bigger thoughts, bigger dreams, bigger wheelbarrow.
Makes great sense, right?
That works too with blessings.
I've got a wheelbarrow this B-I-G!!!
Get yourself one, too... if not BIGGER!!!
Have a great weekend!  :-)

BE THE HOPE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD

------------------
"You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; 

if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty."   

-- Mahatma Gandhi

Unquote.

I keep telling/reminding myself that  'Hope springs eternal'  --- No other way to see all of life.... all of bad that is happening.  And if we think of wanting or having a better neighborhood, community, city, country, people and world.....  well, the buck stops here --- it all begins with self. Somebody once said .... 'Be the change you want to see in the world'. The task therefore is all laid down before us .... change. Transformation. Start with who you are, what you are, where you are, and what you have. In that sense, hope will spring eternal. Because nothing can be better than becoming the best improved version of your self..... and then redirect this precious caring unto the world.

Pay the goodness forward. Blessings from the Heavenly Father, everyone.

OUR HIGHEST POTENTIAL

------------------------

"Wellness isn't about deprivation and it's not about perfection. It is about pointing yourself in the direction of growth, training yourself to get comfortable with your highest potential, and then taking small steps to support that shift.  It's about showing up for yourself, day by day, and then one day finding that you've undergone a transformation."    -- Kathy Freston

I guess that speaks out not only for those in pursuit of health but it works just as well with the other pursuits which fill up our plates in life. It always begins with that tiny-little-small-bit of .. 'the first step'. That first step begins the journey, the project, the writing, the story, the relationship, the dream, the adventure, the memories ..... and on the other end of the spectrum the misery, the frustration, the disappointment, the failure, and more. It's what we do or do not do for the first step.

In our journey the aim should always be towards our highest potential. Oh yes, it's wired into our system from birth. Big thanks to a very wise God. So the quicker we begin to understand that the quicker become our growth towards our better selves.

Do not belittle nor limit yourself with the idea that only the rich, highly educated, and famous are privileged with talent or brilliance. It's not their monopoly.

Our highest potential is in doing what we do best in our everyday lives. Neither do we need an audience to do that. All we need is the desire and passion to be the best that we can be in whatever our God-given talents lead us. It's what we do with our lives with the highest care and attention which truly matters to God's eyes and heart. That, incidentally, is also by God's design.

Blessings, everyone! Remember to pay kindness forward.