These days I find it difficult to find peace. You look at social media or you listen to the news, and the only things you see or hear are people carping about something. I know that change is a tough cookie to swallow sometimes, but folks "things are a changin." I cannot tell the future, so I don't know if the change is going to be good or not so good. I do know that it is change. And personally, finding peace is a true challenge these days.

We have not been nice to one another. Some have drawn the line in the proverbial sand that if you support one or the other then you can't be my friend. It is troublesome. It is worth noting, as well, that change is inevitable. If you are not changing then you are dead, as a friend of mine used to say. When my friend would say this, I used to think, oh Lord, not again. But you know, my friend is correct. If we try to stand still, the world will just move on without us. It does you know, even when I or anyone is experiencing really difficult times or going through significant loss or other tragedies, the world just goes on. The sun will rise the next day, and the moon will follow. The wind will blow, and the oceans will crash upon the shores. It seems that the world is indifferent to all the human suffering. So, I myself am having difficulty dealing with all the hate mongering by my fellow humans. Is having one's way so very important that one would sever friendships over not having it? I used to be like that not all that long ago. Being right was oh so important. But what I have found in recent times, is that being kind is oh so much more important. Kindness begets kindness. Hate begets hate. (If you don't believe me on the latter, just look at social media and the news.) It also seems that the negative stuff seems to flourish much more quickly than the positive stuff. Perhaps the story of Noah and the Ark might be a good example of what I mean. When God told Noah to gather the animals, He told him to gather seven of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a mae and its mate ...(Gen. Chapter 7:3, Concordia Self-Study Bible). I guess God knew how His creations would reproduce, so He made certain to even the odds so that both clean and unclean would proliferate. But is seems an apt analogy for how much more quickly hate spreads or bad news or rumors than good news or positive things. Like you I can't control those things, I can only control what I myself do.

In fact, I can't control very much, and I'm learning NOT to control very much. I'm learning to trust in God that all will work out. I'm learning to believe that no matter the chaos around me, I CAN be at peace within. I'm not saying it's easy to get there, but I'm learning that I can be at peace when things seem to be falling apart. There is a power much greater than I, and while I am part of that power, I am not the generator of that power. I have been practicing keeping peace. Peace about others rights to speak out, and peace about my own counsel to be quiet. This place is where I share my thoughts with you. I don't worry about being judged, because I don't judge. I find peace in my heart, that whatever is in my highest and best good will prevail. I find peace in knowing that God protects me and no harm can come to me because I trust in Him. I hope that you too can find that for yourself. It is a powerful thing finding peace within. 

​Sending you all Love, Light, Peace, and Joy!!

Good Evening, I apologize for being late in this week's posting, and well last week's too. Even though I am learning how to post on a web site, I must say that it feels good to be doing something productive. Have you ever had those types of days? You know what I'm talking about. One day you're working and the day just drags on, then the next day you get really busy and it literally flies by and you barely finish the work.

Which would you prefer? Isn't life like that? Feast or famine. How do we find balance in our lives? It's truly an art, or at least that's what I think. As I'm walking down my path to enlightenment, I have days when it seems to come together, and others when I barely keep my sanity. Duality -- where we live! A world of opposites. I believe Morrie Schwartz said that to his student/friend Mitch Albom in Tuesdays with Morrie. How do we find balance?

We have many hats that we wear. I myself find this juggling act difficult. I either do all of one or all of the other. Then when it I am so overwhelmed, I must take a much needed break. It is important for all of us to find some time each and every day to "vacate" the routine. I'll have to remember to do that when the work day gets hectic. On the other side, I also have to remember to not "vacate" overly long so I can do the other work that needs to be done. 

So, to all you out there who are balancing lots, remember to take time out for you. You are important, and balance is what it is all about. Sending you Love, Light, Peace, and Joy!

Good evening, I trust that this post finds you all well. This week's theme is "family." I post in Facebook as well, and since that theme is prevalent in my thoughts, I will keep it moving.

What is family? Family is that group of people into which you or I were born, along with others. It's often a mixed bag of personalities, individuals, beliefs, talents, and dreams. It's also that other group--the ones we choose. The friends who are there to listen when we need an objective or subjective ear. They are the people we go to church with, the ones we play with, the ones we work with. They become our family too, sometimes they are more family than our biological one. Regardless of which family definition you are thinking of, they are special to us. We hold a special place in our hearts for them. When they hurt, we hurt; when they celebrate, we celebrate with them. 

Many times with family, it is easier to hold anger against them. Point in fact-- many many years ago, my family and I were at a wedding, and someone managed to splatter bar-b-que sauce all over the front of my gown (it was an evening wedding). I was furious, and my sister was right there, and truly had nothing to do with the incident, but it was easier for me to lash out at her than the actual person who caused the accident. (I guess I need to forgive myself and ask my sister for forgiveness for that one.) But you can see what I mean about family. They are part of us, and we tend to take things out on them because, well you can't choose your family. Well, not your biological one anyway.

But family, whatever kind, is special. So, treasure them. Tell them that you love them, even if that is difficult to do. Be kind to them, and be grateful every day for them. Because when the chips are down, I'll bet they'll be there for you. 

In the end, family is a big part of what makes us who we are. When we learn to glean the good things and set aside the not so nice things, we will grow and learn to fly. Until next time, I send you all Love, Light, Peace, and Joy!

Care - (noun) the provision of what is necessary for the health, welfare, maintenance, and protection of someone- from the English Oxford dictionary. It's also a verb, meaning essentially the same thing, it is what we do to ensure that we have good health, we care about what we eat, we care that we are not getting enough exercise, et cetera. It's what I have neglected these past couple of weeks, and because of that I have been fighting off some head cold/upper respiratory thing. Mind you, and not doing it well.

I look with reflection on what I have done differrently, because I have been pretty good about taking care of myself. In retrospect, I can see that I haven't been eating properly at all. Not necessarily junk food, but just not balanced meals. I am now fighting a cold sort of thing. It's not full blown, but it makes my life uncomfortable. I have been sending myself Reiki for healing, but even that takes time. Right now I am too preoccupied with getting ready for a trip which my mother is coming on. That also means that I need to pack for me AND for her. This requires my being gone from home much longer than usual for the last few days. Caring for an aging parent is not quite the same as caring for an infant, I can assure you. I'm glad that I can be there for her, but I also miss the freedom I had when it was just me. I know, I know, I shouldn't be selfish, and I don't think that I am, but if I'm going to be there for her and help her through times of stress and anxiety and confusion, I NEED to take care of me. I have not done that very well lately, plus there is this nasty bug going around and with my immune system compromised, I have fallen prey to it. UGH!!! I hate being sick. 

So, what have I learned from this lesson? I have learned that I'm not superhuman, and I am susceptible to getting ill. I have learned that I must CARE for myself, if I want to be the best me I can be. I have realized (not learned) that I must say "no" every now and then, and that if I do say "no" the world won't fall apart. So, in closing my friends, take care of yourselves. Even when you THINK it may look selfish. It isn't. There is only one of each of us, there is not another like you. You are special and you deserve CARE.  Love, Light, Peace, and Joy!  Oh, yes and CARING!!

It's really cold!! For this southern girl, it is far TOO cold, but I have to remember that here on Earth without the cold, we tend not to appreciate the warmth. So, I'm thinking positive thoughts about being warm while I sit here with the firplace going, the heater going and me wrapped up in an electric wrap thinking about being warm.

I listen to Louise Hay almost daily, and I'm tracking my thoughts, as she suggests, and I remind myself that I am not IN the weather, that I have a roof over my head, probably too many groceries to eat, the list is endless. I have enough. 

In our society, does it seem to you that there never seems to be enough? I mean, and I understand that we are each different with different needs and talents, but what is enough? Are we ever thankful for "enough?" To me it seems that many only complain about what they don't have. Doesn't the Law of Attraction tell us that what we focus on is what comes to fruition or manifests? Don't you get tired of all the negativity? I do. Yes, I fall into it too; however, I'm really focusing on correcting the negative thought patterns and changing them to something positive. 

Here's an example (mind you not a huge one): But a few weeks ago, I closed my car door only to realize that someone had broken the back window and the vacuum that occurs when you close the door shattered the compromised glass of the back window into millions of little pebbles. It was a rainy day, I had obligations or commitments that I wanted to take care of, but all that was put aside as I frantically called the insurance company at 7:30 on a Saturday morning hoping to find a glass company that could replace the window that same day. Was I upset, you can bet I was. Yay, for me, I caught myself, and began to think about what positives there were in this situation. 1) The insurance person stayed on the phone until they found a glass company to do the work and put in the ordr for me. 2)There was a glass company who would be able to replace the glass. 3) My daughter would lend me her garage for it to be done in, you can't replace the glass out in the open. 4) I had just reduced my deductible to $50 from $500 just a couple of weeks before. 5) It wasn't storming or driving rain, it was more a gentle misting rain, so the inside of the car wasn't getting soaked. 6) The police took my report, not that they could do anything about it, so they would know what was going on in the area.

Looking back, I had plenty to be thankful for. So, I kept saying thank you. It all worked out, and all I had to pay was $50. The glass company was really kind and very efficient, he even vacuumed up the shattered glass that was inside the car. My daughter let me use the garage, and while that was happening I got to spend a little time with my grandkids and grandpets. All-in-all not a bad day. 

There are lots of opportunities for us to be thankful. I'm learning to ask myself this specific question when I'm confronted with something challenging: What is it I am supposed to learn from this? 

I hope that you will find something every day for which to be thankful. I do. Tonight when you go to bed for that wonderul night's sleep review your day, and find one, just one thing for which you can be grateful. Sending you all Love, Light, Peace, and Joy!