Stories

Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening 

when you'd have preferred to talk.  

~Doug Larson

Stories
Everyone has a story and everyone wants theirs to be heard.  But have you ever stopped to really listen to what someone else is telling you?  Have you ever tried to take a lesson out of what you can learn from their experience?  Have you ever realized that even though we go through different scenarios in life, pain is pain, hurt is hurt, joy is joy and love is love?  It doesn't matter what shape or form it takes, it's the underlying emotions that make us all connected and the same.  Take some time to listen to people.  Don't be so quick to interject or give them an example of why you can relate in the middle of their sentence.  Really listen to them.  Let them know they were heard.  The more we realize that we are more alike then we are different, the more we will learn about ourselves.  Isn't that what this is all about?

Easy Does It

Forgive, O Lord, my little jokes on Thee,

And I'll forgive Thy great big one on me. 

~Robert Frost

Easy Does It
We complicate life more than we should.  We invite drama in.  We make messes.  We over analyze.  Basically, we create chaos in our lives in every which way.  Well, what's the point in that?  Do we feel more accomplished or just more stressed?  Probably the latter!  So Stop.  Look at all aspects of your life, personal, professional, living spaces, relationships, and take out the complexities that you put it.  Strip everything down to its core and look at it in a real way.  When we ease into life without overcomplicating situations, we get a whole lot more out of them.  

Baggage

Everything we possess that is not necessary for life or happiness becomes a burden, and scarcely a day passes that we do not add to it.  

~Robert Brault

Baggage
We all have stuff, baggage if you will, that we transport all over the place.  Whether it's actual things or personal baggage, we bring it from place to place.  Well it's time to unburden ourselves because baggage equals an unproductive existence.  It's time to lesson our load and free ourselves from stuff!  By holding on to things that do not serve us or by keeping emotions and feelings stuffed down deep, we keep ourselves chained to the past.  Chained to what could have been.  Chained to "well what if I need this sometime in the future".  It's time to put down our stuff whether it's by donation, throwing it out or if it's emotional, by releasing it from our firm grasp.  Let go of your baggage today and feel how light you will feel tomorrow!

A New Dawn

If you're going through hell, keep going.  

~Winston Churchill

A New Dawn
Sometimes all we need to do is hang on a little bit more before we catch a break.  It might feel like forever but always remember, this too shall pass and when it does a new day will dawn.  With this new beginning will come peace and serenity but to achieve that we must go through some turmoil.  That's what happens when something ends and a new chapter is about to begin.  Be it hurricanes, snow storms, illness, a gas crises...we will make it through and when we do, calmness will occur.  A new dawn is upon us, we just have to stay strong and ride the wave through to the other side.

Endings

How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.  

~Carol Sobieski and Thomas Meehan, Annie

Endings
Life is full of beginnings and endings.  It's the flow of the universe.  When an ending comes to pass, we might feel a bit sad, apprehensive or even fearful.  The key is to keep going.  When things come to an end, well that just means you have finished the lesson in that area and it's time to move forward.  Don't be afraid of endings for they are the birth of new opportunities and dreams.  Embrace that which is coming to and end in your life and start to celebrate the newness that this will bring right around the bend.  It's time...time to say until we meet again!

Light

Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times,

if one only remembers to turn on the light.

~Steven Kloves (screenplay), Harry Potter

Light
It's in our darkest moments that we could use just a little flicker of hope, a small little light to shine on us and let us know that this too shall pass.  Maybe that light is a kind word spoken, a small token of gratitude from a loved one or your very own spirit rising up and filling you with a hope that makes you know all will be ok.  We all need to focus on the light, even if the dark seems to be surrounding us.  With hope anything is possible.  Find your inner light and keep rising above or be that light for someone else who is struggling to find theirs.

What Really Matters

That which does not kill us makes us stronger.

~Friedrich Nietzsche

This Daily Pearl is dedicated to those effected by Hurricane Sandy & to my fellow New Yorkers who lost so much and are still trying just to survive...

What Really Matters
If nothing else, this past week should have taught us all a lesson, no matter where we live.  The lesson is what truly matters most in this life; food, shelter, warmth, your health and having amazing people around you (be it family or friends).  Everything else is a bonus, even having a full tank of gas.

The even bigger lesson if you will, is having one of those items and opening up your heart and your home to provide any of those things (or all) to someone in need.  It might be an inconvenience for you but for them, it could be everything when all of the sudden they have nothing.  

And if you do not live close, be sensitive to those that do and are struggling, especially if you are directly connected to them (probably through Facebook).  Give them words of encouragement, not pictures of you going out drinking and dancing.  Show them that you might not physically be there but your heart is.

Be Selfless and not selfish.  Yes during these difficult times people can get on your nerves quicker (maybe even family) than usually.  But by complaining about them instead of taking a deep breath in and realizing that you are one of the lucky ones since they are still here and with you.  They did not get washed away in your arms when the tide came in like some did.  

Be courageous and strong for this too shall pass but let it make you a better person, not a bitter one.  Take care of yourself and take care of each other.  For the true life lesson in this catastrophe, and all that have occurred, is love.  How much love can you give and how much are you willing to receive?  Hopefully the answer you find is that your love is endless in either direction.