quote

“Watch your thoughts; they become words. 
Watch your words; they become actions. 
Watch your actions; they become habits. 
Watch your habits; they become character. 
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.” 


—Lao-Tze




Step 2 coming tomorrow... :)

Step 1. Find the Time...

We all use the excuse: "I don't have time to..." but today challenge yourself to take just 90 seconds at any point in the day and just BREATHE.

Allow your mind to rest.  

If you determine in your heart that you are worth that, you'll find the time to do it.  It's only 90 seconds.  About the time it takes you to read this post.

That's the first step in figuring out what you want... your vision.

Pretty simple.

Would love to hear if anyone can actually DO it??  :)

90 seconds to just breathe

    nothing more...

THINK.     WRITE.     BELIEVE.     ACT.

The Content of our Character

"  Everyone can be great because anyone can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't even have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve... You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love..." 

 - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

There are so many words, not the least of which was "I HAVE A DREAM..."  

Dr. King had a VISION.  

He could SEE the possibilities... He could envision a different world.  One where 'the house would not be divided' but where all would be judged by "the content of their character."

What is the content of our character?

Who have we become as a 'people?'  What is it that Americans represent in the world today?  Who are you to your boss, your coworkers or staff? to the parking attendant or waiter? to your child's teacher or coach?

Are you someone different in church on Sunday than you are at lunch on Tuesday?

What matters to you?

Are you a person of integrity? one that respects all and demonstrates humility and grace by allowing others to maintain their dignity in difficult times?

Who are you?

How would you describe the 'content of your character?'  On a day like today, it's important to reflect.  We honor the legacy we have been blessed to have in our country by challenging ourselves to BE better... not with haughty pride... but with grace and a heart full of love.

Are you willing to serve?

Service can take on many forms.  I believe that there is a part of each of us that was designed to serve... that somehow God built in a need to give back, to contribute, to do something unselfish that will help or serve others - whether it is through our natural talents or simply our time.  Those that are the most FULFILLED in their lives will tell you it is because they are giving back and doing something they LOVE.

REFLECTION

When we take the time to reflect on days such as today - especially given the tragedy this past week in Arizona - it's good to think about these questions.  It's good to ask ourselves what truly matters to us and why?

We all have been given the power to OVERCOME.  To overcome our fears.  To overcome adversity and sorrow and separation.  To overcome confusion or pain. To simply overcome...  We have been called to be "more than conquerors" (Rom 8:35-7).


What is your vision today?
Do you have a goal - just for today?  If not, think of ONE thing you can do for yourself and one thing you can do this week to serve another - outside your normal routine.

Know that we can all change our world by first changing ourselves.

Choose to believe in your dream today.

Honor it by allowing yourself the space to SEE your own Vision... and be inspired by what you SEE. Then remind yourself, you cannot be satisfied until you move forward - even when it's one small step at a time.

Thank you, Dr. King for our soul's challenge, today and everyday.

THINK.     WRITE.     BELIEVE.     ACT.

Be the Change...

At times the negative voices of destruction and fear, hate and angst can be screaming so loudly all around us that it can APPEAR that they are bigger than they are.

We've all heard the cliches - how the squeaky wheel gets the grease; he who shouts loudest, shouts best, etc - but I believe despite the relentless barrage, good is overpowering evil in a waterfall of variable victories every single day.

This week we saw a Democratic Congresswoman, a child, a judge, and other innocent people gunned down outside a grocery store because the assailant listened to the voices of destruction in his head.  Despite this, one of the heroes of the day was a young man, a new staffer, who tended to the wounded and cradled the Congresswoman's head in his lap applying pressure to her wound and most likely saving her life.  He acted... and reacted listening to his better angels rather than allowing his own voices of fear to keep him frozen.  His actions were several small, immediate victories of good directly challenging the evil he just witnessed.

The child that died was one of the babies of 9/11/01.  When I think back to that destructive day, it still makes me cry, but while my heart breaks at the tragedy - it also swells at the enormity of the love and the power of that love that rose instantly to defeat the evil.  It's what drove those firemen and first responders UP into the Towers when everyone and everything else was coming down... It's the LOVE that marshaled worker after worker to run to the danger to do whatever they could to help or dig, carry water buckets, move metal, bandage a wound, or simply give another person - a stranger - a hug and a shoulder to cry on.

~ LOVE is  T H E  most Powerful Force on Earth and in heaven ~

It is LOVE that drives us to give out of our need or our plenty...  It is LOVE that causes us to pause whenever we see someone or something that needs our time, our attention, our dollar, or simply our smile...  It is LOVE that keeps our service men and women fighting and their families praying and sacrificing...  It is LOVE that drives doctors to heal, social workers to work 24/7 and teachers to continue day in and day out for poverty-level pay.

...I could go on and on.

and I'm sure your list could too.  

2011 is the year of ONE -- it's the year of unity and 'one-ness' -- the year to free what you love, your dream by allowing yourself to believe that it IS possible, achievable.  It's the time where I hope we all listen to our better angels and fight the good fight.

When we choose that, we then BECOME the CHANGE we hope for... Think about your Vision for yourself.  Choose to Be the Change in your own home, at your job, church, gym or simply wherever you ARE.

... and I think if you choose to look up and look around, you'll see the voices of negativity are simply banging gongs - noisemakers designed to distract you from the Truth.  There is still today good that is always present to challenge evil wherever or however it exists.

Unlock your power!  Choose to Be the Change you want...  

LOVE IS your greatest ally, source of strength and truth - it never fails!

THINK.     WRITE.     BELIEVE.     ACT.

Glimpse

A vision or dream can be a hint of what's possible... achieving that demands that you take the time to bring that glimpse into FOCUS.

 

1.1.11 The Power of ONE

1-1-11

One - Prime Number.  It can be a noun, pronoun, an adjective or an idiom.  It can mean 'single' or 'individual' 'unique' 'first' 'a state of agreement' and 'UNITY.'

Like each snowflake is whole and never replicated, each of us represents 'ONE.'  You are ONE.  Together your family (unit) or church/school/neighborhood community is ONE.  Spiritually, we are all called to be ONE with our Creator...

There is something incredibly special and powerful about 'being' ONE... we were each given a light and a purpose.  Every soul has an independent, individual, beautiful SPARK that only that ONE soul has to give or contribute. 

A gift. 
A talent. 
A dream.

Today as we close our eyes on this FIRST DAY, challenge yourself to let your mind wander into your heart - your soul - to search there until you FIND your SPARK.  The ONE unique, amazing, beautiful, powerful, emotional thing that is YOU! 

THINK about your gift... your talent.

WRITE down what it is so you can see it, read it, look at it.

BELIEVE that you ARE a gift and that you were given something that only you can release to the world - your world.

Know that this is the Power of One - your Power... and that this year is YOUR year!  This is the Primary year to ACT on your dreams!

Ignite your Spark! 

Every great moment, event, or movement begins with ONE person.  Begin your journey today!  The beauty of ONE is that though it's 'individual,' when you reveal and release what makes you uniquely you, choosing to fight any fear or negative that may try to steal it, you are giving back to the WHOLE that makes us all One...

Choose.

Make this year the year you realize your dream.

Dare to be YOU! 

Note:  If you get the opportunity to watch the "Making of Katy Perry's FIREWORK video" on Palladia -- do!  It is amazing what she did and how she pulled teenagers from all over Europe together to experience something special...

Happy New Year! It's time to write and then live your vision!