No News Is Good News
Have you turned on the news lately? It’s not a pretty site. Between Hollywood actors overdosing, gunmen shoot-outs at schools, crazy athletes taking drugs and murdering animals - what is going on here? The first place folks turn to is their attorney. And why? Because we have become a sue-happy nation. A nation that’s chipping away, bit by bit, all our own accountability for bad behavior. So, a million bucks is going to help you get over that bad time? It will erase bad behavior? I think not.
Where does being responsible for our actions come into play? When is it our fault that we mixed drugs with alcohol? When should it be our own personal responsibility to take our medication, or see the doctor, or not get into cars with strangers, or to not get separated from the group? Or to not drive while under the influence of anything? When did right become the one with more money? I’m confused and disgusted.
Even within my daily conversations with average folks I hear things. “I can’t get ahead because they. . . “ or “I’ve never been able to _____ because they. . .” The list is endless. Since when are they responsible for us? When do we get a set of brass ones and become our own responsibility? Remember in school when the teachers would say, “Turn around and do your work. Never mind the student sitting next to you.” Well, I’d say that’s good advice. The teacher didn’t say to not care about the kid next to you, they meant that you should take care of yourself and focus on your stuff.
I’m not suggesting that some doctors are prescribing the wrong medications, or anything like that, but why, why, why, is it always someone else’s fault when we mess up? This isn’t a do-over, this is life, this is the real deal. Get over it.
What Can I Do?
This is a query I direct to the Universal Substance every chance I get. “What is it that I am to do?” Because patience is not one of my strong-points, if I don’t receive an answer in a miraculously short time I have tendencies to become frustrated and agitated. But it always passes. Sometimes even two days can go by and I’m still in a funk.
No worries. I always ask, bow my head and ask again, and then I ask for peace in awaiting the answer. The Jabez Prayer is a fantastic way to build your life and saying it with open hands, palms up, is a key to this prayer - at least that’s my belief.
And I know, like I know, like I know, (thank you, Lisa Nichols) that the Universe always answers my prayers and meditations in the best possible way for me and mine. That’s how it works, it always does.
Godspeed to you and yours.
Don’t Believe Everything You Read
Case in point: while on the internet today, I came across this article:
A study suggests extreme happiness may be bad for you. Extremely happy people “earned significantly less money” and earned lower school grades than moderately happy people. They “may not live as long,” either. Happiness makes you complacent and kills your drive. It makes you slow to adapt. It makes you too optimistic and insufficiently vigilant about your health. It may overstimulate your cardiovascular system. Success may need to be moderated for happiness. Extremely high levels of success might not be a desirable goal.
Who studies this stuff? How can anyone even believe this? I’m in shock but had a chuckle that some buffoon out there actually believes it, studied it, then wrote it. How sad for them.
On the bright side, we know that that’s not true, right?
Have a sparkling, happy day!
Make A Difference
Norman Vincent Peale, author of The Power of Positive Thinking, said it better than anyone when he wrote, “Throw your heart over the fence and the rest will follow.” How beautiful is that?
Which means that when you are passionate about what you do then everything falls into place because you’ll be in “the zone” of truth for yourself. How many folks do you know who really, really, passionately love what they do? Oh, they may love that paycheck at the end of the week, but that doesn’t count. We deal in hard cash on this planet and we all have to make, save it, and circulate it - not my rules, the Universal Rules.
But how can we make it and like, or rather love, making it at the same time? Loving how we make money is what I consider making a difference. Imagine for a moment how much happier fifty percent of the people you come across each day would be if that fifty percent were doing what they felt passionate about. Clearly, we can’t all be named Pierre and sit on a stool in a meadow painting sunflowers all day, but there’s a niche for everyone, everywhere, somewhere.
What do you love to do? What would you like to do? I’m not suggesting you open a restaurant with your home as collateral, but I am suggesting you start with baby steps towards that fence. Perhaps working in a restaurant part-time and being in the food industry atmosphere would jump start your idea. Maybe you always wanted to be a Kindergarten teacher? Perhaps volunteering at your local library to read during story time or something along those lines could jump start that idea. The possibilities as well as opportunities are endless.
Go to the fence. Visit the fence, don’t sit on the fence. When you’re ready, you’ll know. Trust me, you’ll know.