Fairy Tales

(picture from google.com, not mine!)

Life is simple, it's just not easy.  

~Author Unknown

Fairy Tales
It all starts when we are young.  We are told the story of Cinderella, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast and so on that all portray young strapping men finding their princess and riding off into the sunset.  We believe that can happen or will happen to us.  Maybe not royalty and maybe a castle won't be involved but we buy into being swept up by love and everything from that point on will be utterly fantastic.  Here's what we aren't told: love is work, relationships are difficult and that the fairy tale never showed you the couple 20 years later. However, it also does not mean we can't define what a fairy tale means to us.  Maybe ours has some struggles and trials in it.  Maybe ours has some heartaches and heartbreaks.  Maybe ours take on a whole new look, feel and path.  Maybe, just maybe, that's really what a Fairy Tale is all about.  Our fairy tales are our story.  We define our lives, start over many times, pick ourselves up and keep meeting the challenges of our every day lives.  Maybe we will fall in love and meet our "prince" or "princess" along the way or maybe we will even meet many of them!  Whose to say what our stories are supposed to look like except us.  Let your life be the true reflection of who you are and not what you think it "should" be.  Don't try to live someone else's Fairy Tale.  Go ahead and write your own.

Being Open

Before you can break out of prison,

you must first realize you're locked up.

~Author Unknown

Being Open
When you are open to possibilities, then your possibilities become endless!  Being open to new experiences, to meeting new people, to learning to approaches and to embracing change will open up more than your soul, it will open up your whole life.  The more closed you are, the more life can't help you.  Just think about how much you will learn about yourself and others when you open yourself up to life and to the endless possibilities that await you.  What a fantastic way to be!

Detach

God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, 

the courage to change the one I can, 

and the wisdom to know it's me.  

~Author unknown, variation of an excerpt from 

"The Serenity Prayer" by Reinhold Neibuhr

Detach
It's time to let go of all the worry, the frustration, the anxiety and the uneasiness about a situation.  You have done everything in your power and at this point, you need to let those feelings go.  Holding on to them, trying to control them is not working for you.  What will work is detaching yourself from the situation.  When you give space, you are giving the necessary room for life to come in and make it better.  When you hold on to tight, you can squeeze something to the point where there is nothing left.  Rather, if you let it go, it will either fix itself and be greater or remove itself from you completely.  Either way, the only way to truly feel at peace is to disconnect.  Go ahead and try it.  You will find the balance and rest you have been craving.

Determination

Don't be discouraged.  

It's often the last key in the bunch that opens the lock.  

~Author Unknown

Determination
What separates you form someone else?  What makes you successful at a project or a goal?  What gives you an edge?  The answer is determination!  When you set your mind to doing something, you don't let anything or anyone get in the way.  You go until you succeed.  Sometimes this can be tough, especially when you feel like you are alone and not supported.  The truth is that as long as you are forging your own path and doing what's right for you, the more fulfilling your life will be.  Having determination makes us soar above others.  Anyone can come up with a plan or an idea but it takes a special kind of person that can block out the negative voices and keep moving ahead which creating a life full of vision and possibilities.  Be determined to succeed and you will!

Dreaming

Dreams are answers to questions we haven't yet figured out how to ask.  

~X-Files

Dreaming
Have you ever woke up and felt like your dream was more than just a dream?  That is was very real; almost too real to not have really happened.  Well sometimes, if not most of the times, are dreams are more than just a series of "clips" we are apart of.  They are lessons to learn, mistakes not to be repeated and most of all, the are messages to help us live our best lives while we are in an awakened state.  Dreams help guide us.  They give us answers to the questions that we seek.  They can be confusing or leave us overwhelmed by what we feel, see and experience.  But if we learn to use our dreams as guides to help us navigate through our daily lives, we would all be closer to being our authentic selves.  Your dreams are the gateway to your soul and your purpose here.  It's time to start paying attention to them and even write them down when you get up in the morning.  Once you start giving your dreams the attention they deserve, you will start to see patterns and answers to what's been troubling your heart or the answers that you have beens struggling to find. 

Explore

And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count.  

It's the life in your years.  

~Abraham Lincoln

Explore
Today is a day to go and explore!  Life has so much out there for you to experience and see.  It's time to get  up and go.  Learn something new today about your surrounding area and you just might find that you learn a little bit more about yourself in the process.  What place have you always wanted to go check out but haven't had an chance yet?  What nature trail or museum is right under your own nose?  It's time enjoy life even more and get out there and explore.

Rescue

The difference between friends and pets is 

that friends we allow into our company, 

pets we allow into our solitude.  

~Robert Brault

Rescue
We all need rescuing from time to time.  Whether it's from a crazy situation or maybe even ourselves.  Being someones shelter and support can mean the world.  We all can learn a lot about ourselves when we help another being...here are the lessons I learned from a beautiful chocolate Labrador girl named Baci who we (Ray and I) rescued a few months ago from a wonderful shelter in DC (Washington Animal Rescue League):

• Outer appearances, especially if they are a bit scruffy, doesn't always mirror the beautiful spirit inside.
• A little love and attention can do amazing things for someones soul.
• All we really want is to be loved ~ unconditionally.
• Sometimes we must traverse through horrible circumstances to end up on a warm cozy sofa.
• There is nothing that stops us from waking up in total awe of the day before us, just our attitude.
• All we really need is a little bit of food, shelter and lots of love ~ everything else is waste.
• Communicating with words are not as powerful as communicating with our actions.
• Showing someone that you are dependable reaps amazing benefits.

Realize that you are important to someone or another being and that in itself is incredible.  The more we can help rescue each other, the better off we will all be as whole.

Smile

(my cutie cousin, Jojo)

A laugh is a smile that bursts.  

~Mary H. Waldrip

Smile
What makes you so happy that you just can't keep your emotion hidden?  What makes you smile from ear to ear?  You should have been able to name at least one thing right away!  Well then why aren't you smiling more?  Why have you been taking life a little bit too seriously.  Working hard and having goals are one thing, not finding the pure joy in a day is just not acceptable.  It's time to find your smile and let the joy surround you and radiate through you all day long.

Significant

If you think you are too small to be effective, 

you have never been in bed with a mosquito.  

~Betty Reese

Significant

You may have woken up today and felt like you wanted to stay in bed.  You may have even had a fleeted thought of, "no one would miss me if I decided to barricade myself in the house all day".  Some days it's just hard to get going.  That's when you have to keep in mind that you have no idea what's in store for your day.  You don't know who you're going to meet, how your day is going to unfold or even better, what kind of positive impact you will make on someone else.  Your presence in life is significant.  You have something to offer that other people do not and that makes you divinely unique.  Don't ever wake up and shortchange yourself of the day may bring.  Don't ever let your spirit get so unfocused that you can no longer see the positive footprint you make every day in this world.  You are significant.  There is only one you.  Be present in the day and know that you are making a difference.

Purpose

"Purpose...it's that little flame that lights a fire under your ass!"

~from the Broadway Musical, Avenue Q

Purpose
We all have a purpose.  We were born for reason.  We are meant to do something that stretches far greater than ourselves.  The problem is that we tend to question why we are here more often than we should.  We wonder what direction our life is supposed to be going in and if we are making the right decisions.  We question every little thing to the point that we become paralyzed and that's not how we were meant to be.  It's time to get our purpose out of our heads and into our hearts.  What is it that you are great at?  What are you passionate about doing?  What do others tell you are your strengths?  Answering these questions will point you in the direction of your purpose.  We all have one, it's just that we need to get out of our own way to see it clearly!

Slow Down

If your teeth are clenched and your fists are clenched,

 your lifespan is probably clenched.  

~Terri Guillemets

Slow Down
You might feel like a train that is about to come off its track!  You've been going at such a fast past that your body and mind are slowing down and although you are trying to keep up, it's no longer working.  You can only go at a high speed for only so long before you hit a brick wall.  And that wall is coming fast!  Well, what do you do?  SLOW DOWN.  Don't let your life get so out of hand that your body needs to collapse to get you to start decreasing the pace.  Your body needs TLC and now is the time to start giving it some.  The work will be there tomorrow, the phone calls can be placed another day but you can't get back the necessary sleep or rest in order to feel like a human being.  Slow down and watch how your body thanks you.

Untitled

Special Guest Blogger for Today:

Hargun Anand, SCCC Student Leader

You don't have to hold a position in order to be a leader.

~Anthony J. D'Angelo, The College Blue Book

Untitled

Being a leader is not someone who aims to hold a title but someone who sticks to goals that need accomplishing. A leader has the passion to be kind, willing to listen and be compassionate. Being a leader is not an easy job, you have to be able to learn from your mistakes and show others that learning from them makes you better and have to be able to try something new and different. Although it is nice to hold a title, it shouldn’t mean anything other than a recognition. A leader is someone who goes from being nervous about public speaking and ends up being the voice and advocate for others. That itself is recognition. It is what you take from those amazing experiences that defy who you are.

Watch Your Thoughts

You and I are not what we eat; we are what we think.  

~Walter Anderson, The Confidence Course, 1997

Watch Your Thoughts
Your thoughts are powerful.  Probably a lot more powerful than you can imagine.  Your thoughts shape how you feel about yourself, others and even the world.  Your thoughts create your life.  Really? That might be what you are thinking right about now.  The answer is yes, they really do!  Most of us spend time thinking about what we don't want.  Our thoughts are based from a place of fear not from a place of love.  


Example:

"I just know I won't be able to sleep tonight, I never sleep ok.  

What I would give for one night of restful sleep." 

vs.

"I am safe and secure.  My body is at rest and at peace.  I am going to have a peaceful night".

See the difference?  If we monitor our thoughts, we can shape our outcomes.  During the day, really pay attention to your thoughts and see if you need to reshape them.  The great thing about having a thought is that you are the gatekeeper of them.  If you are having a negative thought or one based on fear, well cancel it out and replace it with one that is coming from a place of love.  By taking ownership back over your thoughts, you start to create the life you were meant to live.

Perception

There is no truth.  There is only perception.  

~Gustave Flaubert

Perception
Life is all about perception.  It can be really great or really bad, it all depends on how your view the world.  This is not about being either an optimist or pessimist.  It's the lens in which you see things through and your attitude that goes along with it.  Most of the time though, our perception gets clouded by our past experiences and has made us very skeptical.  Our perception about life can be skewed because of this.  If you can clear away your clouded  lens and let yourself truly see what everyone else does, it would probably change you for the better.  Remember, perception is how you view life and that can change at any moment, with every day and with every new opportunity that comes your way.  Start seeing life for what it is and not what it should be.

Teamwork

Coming together is a beginning.  

Keeping together is progress.  

Working together is success.  

~Henry Ford

Teamwork
What does it take for us to be able to work together?  Well, it shouldn't take much other than some open ears, lots of respect and the inner knowing that we should be working towards being just and fair.  Working with other people, whether they have the same viewpoint as us or not, is what life is about.  Breakdown in communication in a team happens when people forget their mission and purpose.  They become blown up with power rather than with compassion.  It's time to challenge those who are not being cooperative.  One of the first rules in playing in a sand box is learning how to play "well" with others.  Well let's not just expect that of our children.  Let's expect that of ourselves and with those in positions of power that are helping shape our future.

Karma

My karma ran over your dogma.  ~Author Unknown

Karma
What you put out into life will come back to you in some shape or form.  Some call it Karma, others may call it Justice or even the Law of Attraction but either way, the energy you exude out into every person or  situation will, inevitably, come back to you.  Life has a way of balancing everything in due time.  With this understanding, what you say, what you do, how you treat others and how you treat yourself may ultimately change how you go about living your life.  You do not live in a silo, even if you think you do.  What you do matters, not only to other people, but to all of life itself.  If you litter, you are defacing nature.  If you go around yelling, you are spreading anger.  If you spread gossip, you are creating a life filled with drama.  On the other hand, if you speak softly, others will listen.  If you truly show compassion and caring, others will as well.  If you are empathetic and kind, someone will mirror that back when you need it.  Life is a balancing act, whether we fully participate in that idea or not.  For today, watch how everything you do and say creates a chain reaction and hopefully it's for the better.

Effort

The difference between try and triumph is a little umph.  

~Author Unknown

Effort
We would like to think that on most occasions we put our best foot forward.  We usually strive to do our best and be our best.  Well at least that's what we think we are doing but are we truly giving our best efforts? Are we really giving our all in life?  It's tiring to give 100% all of the time but really, why wouldn't we?  If we are striving to accomplish our dreams and our goals, putting in the time and effort wouldn't even be a question. So then this begs the question, if you are not putting the effort in are you truly traveling down the right path?  Effort brings forth accomplishments but we can only truly give of ourselves if we put in 100%, not just 50%.  It's time we all realized that if we are not putting forth our best efforts in the different areas of our lives, maybe it's time to change directions!

I Surrender All

May all your troubles last as long as your New Year's resolutions.  

~Joey Adams

I Surrender All

When you hold tight on to things, you block them from every reaching their full potential.  You are keeping them from fully blossoming.  Be it a relationship, your dreams, your goals, your job, and so forth, by holding it close and trying to control it, you are not letting it manifest into something greater.  Life has big  plans for you but it can't step in and happen until you learn to surrender it all over to something that is greater than yourself.  Can the prospect of letting go be scary? Oh yes but the alternative of being stuck and  continuing down the same path is even scarier.  The time has finally come to take all that you have such a tight grip on and for the first time in a long time, let it all go.  Close your eyes and picture all of your worries and fears loosen to the point where you finally release your grip.  Keep affirming to yourself throughout the day and all of this week:

I surrender all... 

I surrender all.... 

I surrender all.... 

and you will!  Take note of the miracles that come rushing in once you make room for them.

Here & Now

What a wonderful life I've had!  

I only wish I'd realized it sooner.  

~Colette

Here & Now
You had plans when you were younger on how your life was going to turn out.  You saw yourself having it all together with a great secure job, maybe a family of your own and living in a really cool place.  Then fast forward a decade or more and although your life is definitely not bad, it's not what you had planned!  It's actually quite opposite of what you pictured.  Just because it's different though, doesn't mean it's not where you are supposed to be.  Most of the time we hold on to these past dreams and miss the incredible life that's right in front of us here and now.  It's time to set the past aside and embrace where you are and who you are now.  Start making decisions for the life you are currently living, not the one of the past.  Embrace the present, set goals for the here and now and enjoy your life for what it is right in this moment.

Fun

We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance.  

~Japanese Proverb

Fun
You have to laugh, you have to have fun and you have to just let loose every now and again.  Even multimillion dollar companies can have some fun so why can't you?  Stop being overly serious and start finding the joy that's around you and inside you.  Go on and laugh, dance, sing, or even create a funny video that over a million people have watched in just one day!  The day is not over so get to it and have some fun!  


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu927_ul_X0&feature=aso