Wednesday's Wisdom - Happiness

Tuesday's Thoughts - Strength

Monday's Musing

Wednesday's Wisdom - Journey of Inspiration Part 1

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to visit one of America's most beautiful places - Glacier National Park in Montana

Little did I realize when I ventured into this grand national park how inspirational I would find it.  I felt such serenity that almost immediately surrounded my heart.  I felt an almost immediate peacefulness come over my soul and realized that I did not come to this incredible place by mistake.  It was as if my destiny brought me here to discover how to relax and just allow the beauty of this place to overcome all the craziness of life.

This trip to Glacier National Park allowed me this opportunity to accept the peacefulness and spirituality of this special place!

The next few days I will be blogging about some of the special and inspirational places that I visited while in the park.

I hope that you two will find something special about the following pictures and maybe you too can find that something "special" about this place.  

 Glorious mountains every which way you look!

 Waterfalls!

This trip made me realize that I should never be too busy to stop, listen and feel the inspiration that is all around me. 

And oh  yes - that is snow that you see....SNOW IN JULY!

Thoughts for Tuesday

This is a simple reminder that while we sometimes feel like we do not have any control over things in our life we do have control over how we "allow" events in our life to shape us.  We do have control over how we handle or don't handle events in our lives.

I am the only one that is responsible for my own happiness.  I own that "power" to be happy or not be happy.

I have made my choice to be happy!

Monday's Thought

Sunday's Inspiration - Life is too Short to live with Regrets

Saturday's Wisdom - Do not let negativity rule your life

Why is it that we allow the negative voice to be so much louder than our positive voice?

I think that it is time we tell that negative voice to take a hike.

Let's all reprogram our life and kick negativity out of our life!

Positivity rules!

How do we regrogram our mind to ignore the negativity?  Each time a negative thought enters our mind - let's make a choice and replace it  positive thought.

Before you know it you know it - negativity will have left the building!

Friday's Inspriation - Never Give Up

Do you ever have days when you think that everything that you do is for nothing?  *holding my hand up*  Me...me..me!

Do you ever have days when you just want to give up?  *again*  me...me...me!

Well - I want you to take a few minutes and reflect on what our lives would be like if the following people had given up

So I am going to set a new goal today - my goal today is to not give up...for  the bump in the road is only a temporary stumbling block - I will pick myself up and  turn this little bump in the road into a positive result!

Thursday's Wisdom - The Journey of Life

It is no secret - we all have good days and we all have bad days.

 

It is important to dwell more on the good days and less on the bad days.

 

It is important to learn our lessons from the bad days and allow these lessons to teach us how to make tomorrow a better day.

 

We can easily turn a bad day into a better day simply by not allowing those bad days to influence our attitude.  Think about just one thing that has made you happy and concentrate on how that happiness made you smile!

 

May you never allow your bad days make you feel like a victim!

Words for Wednesday - Discover who you are

One of the most important lessons that I have learned over the years is that I must learn to depend on myself.  I have learned that I must first love myself before I can truly love another. 

 

The same remains true for "finding oneself".  Too often people look to other people to "complete" them without really knowing who they are first.

 

If you can not be a complete person before you enter into a relationship with another person you will only become the person that your partner wants and not really be true to yourself.

 

Take some time today to reflect on who you are and what you want to be.  Find out what makes YOU happy first!  You can not depend on someone else to make you happy if you are not sure what will make you happy.

 

When it comes down to the bottom line - you must be able to depend on yourself!

Tuesday's Thoughts - Acts of Kindness

Monday's Musing - Honesty

Honesty is such an integral part of all relationships...be it personal or professional.

 

Why do some people feel the need to "expand" on that which is true? Are they afraid that the truth will upset you or make you think less of them?  Are they afraid that the truth will damage a relationship?  Wouldn't the relationship be it personal or professional be damaged if the truth was discovered?    Wouldn't you rather have someone be perfectly upfront and honest with you than find out a month, a year or more later that they have not been so honest with you?

 

Imagine the foundation of a home...without a strong building foundation - it is unlikely that the home will be safe and secure.  If a relationship is built on a strong foundation of honesty - then the relationship will indeed be strong and safe as well.

Sunday's Wisdom - Positive Thoughts

You know that old saying that one should never go to bed angry with their spouse?

 

Well - why not go to bed each night with a positive thought?

 

Each night I try to end my day with a gratitude prayer.  I always try ( notice I say try) to remember to be thankful for 5 things each day!  There are some nights that my head barely touches the pillow and I am out for the count but I do at least try the majority of the time.

 

It is just my little way of being thankful for the gifts and blessings that I have in my life.  And the blessings do not have to be large ones.  I have been thankful for a summer rain that temporarily quench the dry lawn. I have been thankful for a song that I heard on the radio that brought back a special memory.  It is all about acknowledging something positive that has happened in your life that day.

 

Call me silly but I feel like this makes me sleep better too!

 

I encourage you to try it for yourself and see if you begin to see more good things than bad things in your life!

Saturday's Wisdom - Choices

 

Well hello y'all!  I have been having some serious issues with the blog the last day or so...any other bloggers experiencing issues?

 

I wanted to take a few minutes to reflect on the quote above.  I will be the first to admit that I am sometimes my own worse enemy

 

I have and had big dreams all my life.  When I was in high school I dreamt of being a concert pianist.  I imagined myself traveling the world performing on stages across the globe.  One thing that I didn't take into consideration was the fact that anytime I had to be the "solo" performer...my knees would shake so hard that I had my very own built in percussion section!  This is so very true!  These nerves of mine just really compromised my dreams...you know?

 

While not following that dream I made adjustments along the way.  Did I sell myself short?  Did I truly disconnect from what I wanted?  Yes and no.

 

One thing that I did do in college was discover how much I loved to sing!  So - all was not lost and in allowing myself a chance to "think outside the box" I discovered my voice - literally!

 

Whatever you do - do not limit yourself.  Do not let something that happens today or happened yesterday cause you to compromise your dream!

 

Fabulous Friday

Wisdom for Wednesday

How often do we get so busy that we forget to stop and listen to what life is telling us?  I know that I do.

 

Today I vow to stop and listen to life...listen to what is happening around me....listen to the beauty of what this world offers.

 

There is no need to rush life...today I will let life surround me and fill my soul.

 

I will let all that is good - just happen!

Tuesday's Thoughts

 

How many times have you found yourself wanting to do something but fear holds you back?

 

Let today be the day that you take that step to overcome that fear.

 

Who knows - you might just succeed!

 

Face your fear and overcome it.

 

Take a chance today!

Monday's Musing - Music of my Heart

 When I was a little girl my parents decided that I was a child prodigy and they enrolled me in piano lessons at a very young age.

I obediently took piano lessons but I was not always in the mood to practice.  Today I look back and think that maybe I wasn't ready for piano lessons at such a young age but my parents were determined.

Finally when I entered junior high school my parents allowed me to quit taking piano lessons  *whew*  I was so happy to not have to play in another piano recital!   Once entering 7th grade I realized that I still had music in my soul so I joined the choir and found my voice.  I LOVED to sing and discovered very quickly that my piano lessons were a true asset to singing!

Just 10 days after my 14th birthday my father died of a massive coronary.  To say I was devastated is an understatement.  I was so lost without him in my life and a deep loss set in.  It was at this time that I discovered that I could express my fears, anger, loss, and love on the piano.  I would sit for hours and hours playing my old piano.  Do you know what happens when you play the piano so much?  You actually get very good at it and that is exactly what happened.  I found my heart and soul in the piano.  It became my way of expressing how I felt and I made the keys come to life with emotion and tenderness.

In my senior year of high school I was fortunate enough to find an incredible piano teacher who encouraged me and prepared me for a major in music in college.  His belief in me was an incredible gift that he gave me.  He BELIEVED in me and as a result - I believed in myself.

Maybe my parents were onto something all those years ago when they started me in piano lessons.

During my collegiate years I had a couple of wonderful piano professors and one that was not so good but I persevered and discovered that through my music I could give back - I could entertain - I could speak to people with my music without even speaking a word.

Music to me is a gift from God...he gave me this talent to use and share.

 Each of us has a talent - it may be hidden or it may be temporarily on hold.  I hope that you find it within yourself to share your talent - whatever it might be - with others.

Let your special talent reach all and may you touch another's life in a way that only you can do!

This post is dedicated to the memory of my mom and dad...the ones who believed in me first!

Sunday's Inspiration

Do you ever say - "if I had only done this...or if I had only done that...

 

Or what if I had done this or done that?

 

How many times do we say this each day, every week or even every year?

 

How many times do we worry about things that we have done in the past so much so that it paralyzes us and we seem to forget about today? 

 

It is important to realize that mistakes that we have made in the past are part of our past...we can not change the mistakes that we have made in the past but we can learn from our mistakes and make our future so much better!

 

One funny thing about learning from our mistakes...if we do not learn our lessons from our mistakes chances are we will surely make them over and over again until we finally learn the lesson that we are meant to learn.

 

Take the time today to invest in learning from your mistakes - freeing you of the bonds of those mistakes!

Thoughts for Saturday - Strength

 

 

 

One thing that southern girls are taught at a very early age is to be kind and gracious.

 

For those not familiar with the southern genteel spirit - It is very...very easy to confuse kind and gracious with lacking a backbone.

 

This is a mistake made by many a person who is not aware of how strong the southern woman can be!

 

Do not be surprised to see a southern woman's real strength come out when challenged!  Never fear though....we will always say the following once we have delivered our thoughts and feelings after being crossed!

 

 

 

 

"A woman is like a tea bag:
you never know how strong she is
until she gets in hot water." - Eleanor Roosevelt & Nancy Reagan

Thoughts for Friday

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July everyone!

 

 

People celebrate the 4th in many ways.  Since most folks have the day off the celebration can include barbeques,  boating,  baseball games and the opportunity to get together with family and friends.  The the night  usually will end with a wonderful firework display.

 

More often than not - we tend to forget the real reason why we celebrate this day - America's Independence day - America's birthday!

 

So with that in mind - HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!

Wednesday's Wisdom

Thought for Tuesday

 
 Anonymous 

Do not undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others.

It is because we are different that each of us is special.

Do not set your goals by what other people deem important.

Only you know what is best for you.

Do not take for granted the things closest to your heart.

Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.

Do not let your years slip through your fingers by living in the past, nor in the future.

By living your life one day at a time, you live all the days of your life.

Do not give up when you still have something to give.

Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.

Do not be afraid to encounter risks.

It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.

Do not shut love out of your life by saying it is impossible to find.

The quickest way to receive love is to give love; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly.

Do not dismiss your dreams.

To be without dreams is to be without hope; to be without hope is to be without purpose.

Do not run through life so fast that you forget not only where you have been,

but also where you are going.

Life is not a race,

but a journey to be savored each step of the way.

Monday's Musing - Setting your sails

I can't change the direction of the wind but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.

 

Jimmy Dean

 

 

 

 

I am always searching for inspirational quotes and pictures because frankly - they inspire me and help me achieve a positive attitude each day.  When I came across this inspirational quote it reminded me that there are times when people in my life has actually been  roadblocks to reaching my destination.  I am sure that we have all had people in our lives that see themselves as "victims" and everything that happens - happens only to them.  They are constantly complaining or unable or unwilling to "adjust their sails. 

 

When you have someone in your life who would rather live as a victim and not adjust their sails - it is time for you to let go.  It may hurt for a bit but you must love yourself enough to adjust your sails in order to reach your destination. 

Take time to surround yourself with people who will encourage you and support you to set for your destination!