“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” - Kahlil Gibran
It's that wonderful time of year again, the time for giving. And while it is an extremely joyous time, it still saddens me that there has to be a time for giving. Why can't it be like this all year round? I know we can't afford to buy gifts all year, but we don't have to give material gifts. The most precious gift anyone can receive is the gift of love, and the opposite is also true, the cruelest thing we can do is withhold our love from someone close to us.
“If you have much, give of your wealth; If you have little, give of your heart” - Arabian Proverb
I like to think of us channels. All we need to do is channel God's love, the minute we block it the minute things start going wrong. And there are different types of love, the love we have for our children is different to the love we have for our partner, and the love we have for our friends is different to the love we have for our family, so there is nothing wrong with telling your friend you love them.
“To give without any reward, or any notice, has a special quality of its own.” - Anne Morrow Lindbergh
When I talk about giving, I'm talking about true giving, and true giving means expecting nothing in return. As soon as we give expecting something in return it becomes conditional. I know a lot of people who are offended when they give a gift and the person receiving doesn't even say thank you. So what! Give because you want to give! The same goes for love, if we give love expecting love in return, we aren't really channeling it, we are
expecting it to do a u-turn. And that sounds rather selfish, doesn't it?
“The value of a man resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving.” - Albert Einstein
This planet really needs more love and care, so for the sake of future generations start giving gifts that cost nothing, give love, tolerance, understanding, kindness, patience, all the things we seem to expect from others. And most importantly, give these gifts to yourself first, only once you can accept them from yourself can you give them to others.
I leave with an obvious, yet forgotten truth.
“Remember that children, marriages, and flower gardens reflect the kind of care they get.” - H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Feeling comfortable
“A dream is your creative vision for your life in the future. You must break out of your current comfort zone and become comfortable with the unfamiliar and the unknown.” - Denis Waitley
Most of us love to live in our comfort zone, we feel safe and secure there, but as we get older we start having certain regrets. If only I had done this or that. I have recently started doing things I wouldn't usually do. Writing these articles for example. A few years ago I would never have done this, and it was not an easy decision to make. I thought people would think I was becoming one of 'those' people. I feared I would lose all my friends. Thankfully that hasn't happened, although our relationships have definitely changed. I even had some friends tell me that 'I've changed too fast.' Too fast for who? True friends will stick by you no matter what, and those are the ones I want in my life.
“Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.” - Brian Tracy
I have purposefully moved out of my comfort zone twice this year. The first time I went to a bachelor party with a difference. It involved go-kart racing, and there were few people I knew. As the day approached, the usual thing happened, the voice inside my head, (commonly known as reason?), started coming up with all sorts of reasons why I shouldn't go. In the past I would've just let it continue, and it would've eventually come up with a good enough reason which would've been acceptable and I would've cancelled. Luckily through all my reading I've been made aware of my ego, and when it happened I just smiled and ignored my 'voice of reason'. And I'm so glad I did, I really enjoyed the new experience and hopefully will get to do it again.
The second time was on Saturday. I receive emails about events happening on a weekly basis and one has always caught my attention, 'The Coffee Club', and my voice of reason has always made an excuse not to go. But this particular topic, 'Experiencing Life Creatively by Joy Truscott', is what I write about all the time, so I just had to go. My wife agreed to come with me, so having her support made it a bit easier. But something unexpected came up and she couldn't make it. In the past that would've been enough for me to cancel, but I didn't, and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. It's amazing how much you can learn in a short space of time, and not only that, it really helps when you hear other people talking about what you believe in. I look forward to the next 'Coffee Club'.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Next time you are invited to do something that is out of your comfort zone, be aware of your 'voice of reason' and try to recognize it for what it really is, your ego. You never know, you might be missing out on the chance of a lifetime, but of course you will never know if you keep on listening.
“To the degree we're not living our dreams, our comfort zone has more control of us than we have over ourselves.” - Peter McWilliams
Have an awesome week and keep creating your life. I leave you with a quote which really put a smile on my face....Moooo :)
“To make a goal of comfort or happiness has never appealed to me; a system of ethics built on this basis would be sufficient only for a herd of cattle” - Albert Einstein
Most of us love to live in our comfort zone, we feel safe and secure there, but as we get older we start having certain regrets. If only I had done this or that. I have recently started doing things I wouldn't usually do. Writing these articles for example. A few years ago I would never have done this, and it was not an easy decision to make. I thought people would think I was becoming one of 'those' people. I feared I would lose all my friends. Thankfully that hasn't happened, although our relationships have definitely changed. I even had some friends tell me that 'I've changed too fast.' Too fast for who? True friends will stick by you no matter what, and those are the ones I want in my life.
“Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.” - Brian Tracy
I have purposefully moved out of my comfort zone twice this year. The first time I went to a bachelor party with a difference. It involved go-kart racing, and there were few people I knew. As the day approached, the usual thing happened, the voice inside my head, (commonly known as reason?), started coming up with all sorts of reasons why I shouldn't go. In the past I would've just let it continue, and it would've eventually come up with a good enough reason which would've been acceptable and I would've cancelled. Luckily through all my reading I've been made aware of my ego, and when it happened I just smiled and ignored my 'voice of reason'. And I'm so glad I did, I really enjoyed the new experience and hopefully will get to do it again.
The second time was on Saturday. I receive emails about events happening on a weekly basis and one has always caught my attention, 'The Coffee Club', and my voice of reason has always made an excuse not to go. But this particular topic, 'Experiencing Life Creatively by Joy Truscott', is what I write about all the time, so I just had to go. My wife agreed to come with me, so having her support made it a bit easier. But something unexpected came up and she couldn't make it. In the past that would've been enough for me to cancel, but I didn't, and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. It's amazing how much you can learn in a short space of time, and not only that, it really helps when you hear other people talking about what you believe in. I look forward to the next 'Coffee Club'.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Next time you are invited to do something that is out of your comfort zone, be aware of your 'voice of reason' and try to recognize it for what it really is, your ego. You never know, you might be missing out on the chance of a lifetime, but of course you will never know if you keep on listening.
“To the degree we're not living our dreams, our comfort zone has more control of us than we have over ourselves.” - Peter McWilliams
Have an awesome week and keep creating your life. I leave you with a quote which really put a smile on my face....Moooo :)
“To make a goal of comfort or happiness has never appealed to me; a system of ethics built on this basis would be sufficient only for a herd of cattle” - Albert Einstein
Monday, December 8, 2008
Attitude
“Our attitude toward life determines life's attitude towards us.” - John N. Mitchell
If you had told me this ten years ago I would've thought you were nuts, fortunately I have opened my mind a lot more and started learning more about life. Back then I had a very negative attitude, some of my friends would even say to me, 'Stop being so negative.' My reply would be, 'I'm not being negative, just realistic.' What a load of rubbish. So many of us have this victim mentality, we believe we have no control, or limited control over our life. We get out of bed every morning and believe we just have to deal with whatever life throws at us every day. Well guess what, if that's what we believe, then that's what is going to happen. If we want it to change we need to change our attitude.
I had such a bad attitude that I refused to expect good things to happen to me. My philosophy was, 'Don't expect good things to happen and you won't be disappointed'. And that's exactly what happened, fortunately nothing really bad happened, but I often wonder how different things would be if my attitude had been different. I can't change the past so I am just truly grateful that I have been introduced to the truth.
“Having a positive mental attitude is asking how something can be done rather than saying it can't be done.” - Bo Bennett
Changing an attitude is like changing any habit. It's difficult at first, but as you get used to it, it becomes easier. It also helps to have the right support group. If you want to develop a positive attitude, but continue to socialise with negative people then everything becomes that much tougher. Another hurdle is what I call the 'waiting game'. A lot of us are waiting for something to happen, then we'll change. Fortunately it doesn't work that way, we need to change our attitude first.
“Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same.” - Francesca Reigler
Life is all about choices, and choosing eventually becomes an attitude. When someone does something that annoys me, in the traffic for example, I choose the way I react to it. I can choose to let it upset me or I can choose to let it go. Some of you might say, 'I just can't help it.' That's like saying, 'Someone else controls me.' They usually send people like that for observation. Take control of your life, start by developing a healthy attitude.
“You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.” - Brian Tracy
“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” - Thomas Jefferson
Writing this article reminded me of an article I read a while back, 'Be Here Now' by Terry Winchester. Click here to read the article, and be honest with yourself while reading it....
If you had told me this ten years ago I would've thought you were nuts, fortunately I have opened my mind a lot more and started learning more about life. Back then I had a very negative attitude, some of my friends would even say to me, 'Stop being so negative.' My reply would be, 'I'm not being negative, just realistic.' What a load of rubbish. So many of us have this victim mentality, we believe we have no control, or limited control over our life. We get out of bed every morning and believe we just have to deal with whatever life throws at us every day. Well guess what, if that's what we believe, then that's what is going to happen. If we want it to change we need to change our attitude.
I had such a bad attitude that I refused to expect good things to happen to me. My philosophy was, 'Don't expect good things to happen and you won't be disappointed'. And that's exactly what happened, fortunately nothing really bad happened, but I often wonder how different things would be if my attitude had been different. I can't change the past so I am just truly grateful that I have been introduced to the truth.
“Having a positive mental attitude is asking how something can be done rather than saying it can't be done.” - Bo Bennett
Changing an attitude is like changing any habit. It's difficult at first, but as you get used to it, it becomes easier. It also helps to have the right support group. If you want to develop a positive attitude, but continue to socialise with negative people then everything becomes that much tougher. Another hurdle is what I call the 'waiting game'. A lot of us are waiting for something to happen, then we'll change. Fortunately it doesn't work that way, we need to change our attitude first.
“Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same.” - Francesca Reigler
Life is all about choices, and choosing eventually becomes an attitude. When someone does something that annoys me, in the traffic for example, I choose the way I react to it. I can choose to let it upset me or I can choose to let it go. Some of you might say, 'I just can't help it.' That's like saying, 'Someone else controls me.' They usually send people like that for observation. Take control of your life, start by developing a healthy attitude.
“You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.” - Brian Tracy
“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” - Thomas Jefferson
Writing this article reminded me of an article I read a while back, 'Be Here Now' by Terry Winchester. Click here to read the article, and be honest with yourself while reading it....
Monday, December 1, 2008
Good News vs Bad News
“Nothing travels faster than light, with the possible exception of bad news, which follows its own rules” - Douglas Adams
The world we live in today thrives on bad news and I think I have finally figured out why. If you disagree with my opinion on this, I would love to see your opinion, nothing would make me happier than to be wrong about this one.
We like to read about other peoples misfortune, because it makes our life seem so much better. The same goes for gossip. We love to talk about other peoples misfortune for the same reason, we even say bad things about other people because it makes us feel better about ourselves. Let me use an example to illustrate my point. I often hear other people talking about how much weight someone has put on, and I wonder, are they saying this because they are concerned about the other person, or because it makes them feel better about their own
physical appearance? Sadly it's usually it's the latter.
Unfortunately very few of us are even aware of this problem, we are bombarded with bad news on a daily basis, the media industry thrives on it. So we get sucked in and just go with the flow.
“The news media are, for the most part, the bringers of bad news... and it's not entirely the media's fault, bad news gets higher ratings and sells more papers than good news.” - Peter McWilliam
“For most folks, no news is good news; for the press, good news is not news.” - Gloria Borger
Personally I don't buy the newspaper any more, and when I do pick up a newspaper I usually go straight to the sports section or I just skim through the headlines until I find something of interest. Some people say I am being naive, I should be informed of what is happening around me. How is being informed going to make my life any better? I don't know how many people are aware of energy, it's all around us and in us. The more we talk about something, the more energy is given to it. The more we talk about crime the worse it gets, the more we talk about the current financial situation, the worse it gets. If we all started talking about the situation being better, it would eventually start being better. Of course it would take years to undo what's been done, but at least it would be a start.
Thankfully I have found a website with a difference, South Africa - The Good News, click here to check it out.
My wife sometimes says I'm too positive for my own good, and sometimes she's right, but being positive puts a smile on my face and that's all that really matters. I must say though, it gets very lonely being one of the only positive people I know. So here's a message to all you positive people out there, you are not alone, and don't let the negativity on this planet get to you. You are needed more than you think.
Smile, it's infectious!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
