Tag: History

REVEALING RICHES…

“The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches, but reveal to them their own”

-Benjamin Disraeli

 

This is another thing that I often do that not only helps put me in a positive frame of mine, but it rather quite fun as well.  In addition to those two wonderful attributes, there are two other amazing things that happen when you start doing this.  First, you brighten someone’s day by telling them what you find to be amazing about them.  Second, by forming the habit of telling people what beauty you see inside them you also form the habit of looking for the best in everyone you meet.  Often it is said that I “say nice things about everybody” and that to some extent is true.  You see when I am in someone’s company, be it meeting an old friend for coffee or a customer at the bar or post office, I am immediately drawn to that which I like about them.  Now please don’t get me wrong, I am not a fan of flattery.  To me false praise is more insulting than saying nothing at all.  Genuine compliments on a particular trait you find beautiful be it physical, personality or something entirely different not only brings a smile to the persons face but creates a bond between people that may otherwise never be realized.  Just think of how nice it feels when people point out the best of your traits and you will know how loved and valuable you will make others feel when you do the same.  So try it today. Try it on the barista who looks overwhelmed at the coffee shop in the morning, or cashier at the grocery store.  Maybe a spouse or good friend as we often assume these people know what high regard we hold them in, and noticing what makes them special will only serve to deepen your friendship. No matter who, try it today and bring joy to both of your worlds.

TOGETHER AS ONE

“We must learn to live together as brothers or we will perish together as fools”

-Martin Luther king jr.

Judgement is one thing that can truly separate us from each other.  Let’s be honest, there are both good and bad people in every race, religion, culture, country and any other group you can break society down into.  Disliking someone based on the fact that they are different than you in appearance or in belief only hurts yourself.  Not only are you the one who gets upset, but you remove the possibility of meeting many fabulous people who could add joy and other great things to your life.  I am always surprised to hear expressions of prejudice in todays global world.  With as much communication as we have with each other and how interdependent we are on each other to me it seems antiquated at best.  Being an enlightened individual means keeping your mind open to all views.  Not that you have to agree with them, but as much as we would like others to respect our views, we should be honored to do the same for them.  I can not begin to convey the joys all my friends have brought me and can’t imagine leaving any of them out just because they are different then me.  So remember,  when you hold judgement against someone else, it not only affects their joy, but steals yours as well.

WAKING UP IN NEUTRAL

What kind of day are you going to have today?  About 90% of people will answer that question with “I don’t know” or some form there of.  After all, how do we know if the alarm will go off at the right time?  How traffic will be on the way to work?  What mood the boss will be in?  Simple answer, we don’t.  Then why, day after day to we give the power over to situations?  To often we let circumstances beyond our control dictate how we will feel about our day and to some extent ourselves.  When you stop and think about it, that really is a foolish idea.  So what to do?  Stop ‘waking up in neutral’!  At night when you go to sleep say to yourself, or even better out loud “Tomorrow will be a great day” if anyone asks you why, be honest.  Say “I don’t know, it just will”. Then when you wake up repeat that statement.  Repeat it as often as you can throughout the day, but especially early in the day.  You make the decision how your day is going to go.  Don’t leave it up to others, especially those who may not know or even care how your day goes.  It may surprise you how effective this will be.  Like anything else it may take a while to get used to, but stick with it.  Take back control of your life! Then when the inevitable challenges do arise, you will know that even though the situation may not be exactly to your liking it will still be a good day.  This often separates the happy from the unhappy.  Don’t believe me?  I’ll leave you with this quote from a former first lady.

“The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances”

-Martha Washington

So let’s get out there and make it an amazing day!

“Be the change you wish to see in the world” – Gandhi

This has always been one of my favorite quotes. How often do we find ourselves lamenting a certain situation, event or person. I used to be as guilty as anyone of complaining the news was always negative, or people just seemed not to be as friendly as they used to be. Although i truly believe these observations to be accurate, what purpose did they serve? Sometimes events can seem to big for any of us to control. After all, what chance do I have of changing the way the nation broadcasts the news? Can I hope to make everyone treat each other with kindness? Of course the answer to both of those is no, but that forced me to revisit this quote. Sometimes the best way to begin changing the world, is by changing our own world. Now when I meet someone I try to share the positive news I have. If nothing uplifting has happened that day I may make mention of something I am grateful for. I also have made it a point to be friendly and even smile at complete strangers. To be honest it irritates a few and confuses a great many, but 90% of the time I am greeted with a smile in return. The point of all this? The strangest thing has happened since I’ve started doing this, people now make it a point to share their good news with me, and I have made quite a few new friends through my innocent smiles. So by attempting to be the change I wished to see in the world, my world has slowly changed. So I challenge you all, next time you are upset about something try to figure out what you could do to bring the opposite into being.

GRATITUDE

Gratitude, a simple word, yet few of us realize how powerful it can be. It should be fairly obvious that expressing gratitude t0 others can certainly make them feel appreciated. What many of us may not think of is what having a grateful state of mind can do for ourselves. Someone once said it is impossible to be fearful and be grateful at the same time. I would like to add ‘upset’, ‘angry’, ‘depressed’ and a host of other undesirable emotions to that list. I encourage you to challenge that theory. Compose a list of things you are truly grateful for. Make this a list of heartfelt items. Keep this list with you in a pocket or a purse for about a week. Read it upon waking, right before retiring and one other time during the day. As you read your list do your best to feel the gratitude as well as read the list. All three times should take around 5 minutes of your day. Try this for one week and let me know the positive changes you notice. Today is thanksgiving, a good day to start compiling your list. After a week you may wish to make every day thanksgiving. Live with Love my friends!