Reach Out

With Christmas just around the corner, I find myself in “mega planning” mode. Am I going away, do I drive or fly, what food do I need to arrange, what cards I need to write, what presents must I buy, who is my KK this year ~ what will they like, my diary of events to attend. The stores are ready to take my hard earned money and are happy to guilt me into buying anything, mostly costly, things that I don’t think any of us really, really need!

When I think about it, it doesn’t matter how much money I spend to show my love and this year I refuse to get swept up with the retail hurricane. (Perhaps except for a new pair of sparkly shoes.) When I stop and think of what is truly important, my answer is people, not things. I know something that I can do, and that is, I can take time to call or visit a friend, who I have been putting off seeing and take more time for my elderly parents and church community.

I want to give everyone reading my blog, to take the challenge and do at least one charitable deed this year. Who around you may be lonely? A neighbor, a relative, a stranger on a train, a work colleague? Stop and look around yourself with different glasses on and really see what others could be experiencing. What is happening at the local church or community program that you can help out with?

See how these small acts of kindness make you feel. Will you feel it in your head or in your heart; that you have done a good thing? To me, this is more the true meaning of Christmas than gift buying and parties, and new shoes! Give something so valuable, something that can make you feel whole and satisfied – give your self.

Can you say “No”.

Why is it, that it is so hard for some people to say “NO”. Is it because they feel that they are the saviors of everyone around them? It is their duty or life’s mission to always be there for everyone else? Or is it because they are workaholics or they feel the need to prove to everyone that they are capable of and “up to the challenge” of everything thrown their way? Perhaps they don’t realize they are doing it and are just so used to being there for everyone else that they have not even stopped to think that it is OK to say NO.Saying no does not make you a bad person, if anything it can be empowering and energizing. It can make us stop being the victim and feeling that we are only here to make everyone’s life run smoothly, forgetting the importance of our own needs.

If you are the type of person who finds it hard saying no, take the challenge and try it out. You may be able to delegate the job to someone else or offer guidance to the one asking. Let others respect your time and they can learn not to take you for granted. This does not mean that you need to say NO to everything, just choose what you want to do with out causing any resentment. Make yourself unavailable to others for a certain amount of time each week to spend time just for you. Take notice of how that makes you feel. Spreading your self too thinly does no one any good. It's easy , just say ~ no, but thanks for asking.

Socrates/Plato: Complaining of the Youth

"The children now love luxury; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are tyrants, not servants of the households. They no longer rise when their elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize over their teachers." I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on the frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words. When I was a boy, we were taught to be discrete and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise and impatient of restraint.~attributed to Hesiod (8th century B.C.)

What would happen if Socrates changed his prospective of how he saw the children that he speaks of as being disrespectful, and viewed them in a different light? I’m thinking the stress levels of all concerned would have been lowered!

So it seems that the youth of today are just like the youth of times gone by. What can we do about behavior we do not like? I guess setting examples are always good, or perhaps it could be as simple as just being present. Living in the now and taking precious time together.

There are so many obstacles in this busy world of ours that get in the way of being present or being “there”. I wonder what would happen if we all learnt how to live in the moment, in the now. Not worry about the past as that has gone and cannot be changed, and the future comes soon enough without focusing on it too much.


While we are lucky to have children around us, we should take time and live in the now. I know that cannot be a 24hour place to be, but for a short time daily would be a good start. Don’t let the moments fly by, they are not ever retrievable.

Here we are, Monday again!

Reflecting on the week, a lot has been happening. On a world wide scene the financial markets are making history and world wide news, markets and banks falling, advertising doom and gloom and panic in the community. All eyes are looking at our countries leaders to Lead! Wars and terror still make headlines and you have to ask "is there ever any winners?"
At home in Australia, spring has begun and we are suffering a history making drought! Some areas not having had proper rain fall for well over 10 years! In Melbourne, the city is excited with the end of the football season and the start of the spring racing (horses) season.
There are many distractions going on, and they are all out of my control even the ones which effect me!
In my smaller community, I am hearing of friends fighting different battles. From leukemia, to prostate cancer to throat cancer to mental illness to breast cancer to brain damage to marriage trouble. All so varied and each so traumatic to each individual and each family.
All this has really highlighted to me how grateful I am for all I have. I have no control over global or larger happenings in the world, but I can tell my family and friends how much I appreciate them and love them, and choose not to take that for grated.
I heard someone say the world is going through a "birthquake" ~ perhaps we are getting a bit of a shake up, and God wants to remind us to treasure the ones we love.

Our deepest fear is not ...

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves,

“Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?” Actually, who

are you NOT to be?

You are a child of God. Your playing small does NOT serve the world. There

is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.

We were born to manifest the glory that is within us. And as we let our light shine we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Spoken by Nelson Mandela

1994 Inaugural Speech

This is a wonderful posting that I have very gratefully copied from a friends blog, with her permission. It talks about our fear, so often the fear we have is the fear of not failing but of actually succeeding!

Feeling that we are not worthy to have all that we want. Well if not you, then who is worthy, why aren't you just as worthy as the next guy?

I hope this resonates with you as much as it does with me. I also hope that it may give you courage that you may have been looking for, to go that extra step and live your true desires.

Dreams

"you can't make your dream happen, if you don't have a dream!"

When was the last time you took time out to do some dreaming of your own? Perhaps you have forgotten how too, or even been so consumed with the fast pace of life that you do not have time for dreaming any more!

If you find it hard to get in touch with what you want; divide a sheet of paper in half, length ways and ask yourself ~ what don't I want? eg You may not want bad health, lack of money, no friends, unsatisfactory job, dull holiday destinations, lack of excitement, putting up with an old car etc. List these on the left hand side of your blank sheet, then write the opposite of your don't wants on the right had side. This is a good simple exercise to give you an idea of what you want. When you know what you want, then you can take action toward getting it.

While you are doing this, extend yourself ~ do a mind dump of everything and anything that you think of. Even if you feel that it is not achievable now, list it. Even start a vision board with cut-out pictures of wants and dreams. How can you bring about your wants and dreams, if you don't see it, feel it and want it?

Dream big and dream bold and have fun seeing what happens. :0)

Who am I when no ones looking?

There’s a soul-searching question for you!

It’s a question that I like to throw out to my clients;
it’s a question that no one else in the whole world can
answer for you. Can you answer it ~ truthfully answer it.

Don’t say what you want others to hear or see, or how
you think your expected to behave, act or feel. Have
you forgotten or lost the answer over the years. Often
the need to be responsible, having a career, family,
mortgage or just growing old can make you loose sight of you? 

Take some time to re-visit your childhood.  Think back to some of
the fantasies, games and dreams you had all those years ago, when
anything was possible and the world was your oyster.
When it didn’t matter what anyone else thought and when
you had no inhabitations and life was fun. 

If your not liking what you’re seeing when no one
else is around, ask yourself what you need to do, to
change this. Is there just so much on your plate that
there is no longer time just for you or is there
something missing that you need to add to your life
to make you feel more 

Go find a grassy place and lie on your back and look for pictures
in the clouds and think about who you really are when there is no
one looking.   

I hope you like what you see.