Acceptance

 

This week I truly understood the word acceptance. I learned it in my workplace, I learned it in my personal life and I learned it in decisions and choices that may have come to me but were out of my control.

Once you have acceptance, then you can have peace of mind, with clarity, of knowing to live one day at a time.

It is clear in the following poem that we can all live by:

“Serenity Prayer”

by Reinhold Niebuhr

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

The courage to change the things I can,

and the wisdom to know the difference.

 

 

How timely to have the realization of acceptance with the coming of spring which brings to us new life.  As a wise person told me, “Winter may be in my head, but eternal spring is in my heart.”

Have a great day, a wonderful week, an extraordinary month, followed by years of astonishing!

P.S. Don’t forget to tell your family and friends how special they are and how much you love them.

 

 

 

Happy New Year! in your own Time!

Choices for New Year’s 2017

The New Year is upon us. What will be your goals for the next year? Or should I say choices. I hope that you see next year as an opportunity, not as something to avoid. I see some people focusing on the “what if’s” versus the “what can I do?” We have all been there. Time is precious. Wise people have said, live as though it’s your last day. Sounds simple in theory, but not so. We all want to do the right thing. Some procrastinate, some don’t want to take a risk. Not saying that being careful is not a good thing, but not doing anything at all can be paralyzing.  I think I like the saying, “Be all that you can be.” That statement allows for imperfections but celebrates your strengths and talents. I envy the young, not because I want to be young, but for the opportunities and experiences that are in store for them. As I use to say to my children, “Close your eyes and make a memory, remember this feeling and this wonderful moment in time.” Yes, there will be ups and downs, curves that take you right and left. But take hold of the great times. The exciting part of your journey is what you do along the way.

I read this article and I thought what better list of choices to use for our future resolutions. We can only meet our goals if we can first overcome and succeed at the following traits as a person. One step at a time….

Can any of these tips help with your Choices for 2017?

10 Ways to Be a Better Person–

Practice gratitude. This speaks both of the power of the mind/body connection and of gratitude. Gratitude attracts more goodness and positivity into life.

Let go of defensiveness. Save yourself and everybody time by skipping the excuses. Beware of denial, intellectualization, rationalization, projection and look at yourself and your life honestly. It is only when we let down our defensive wall that we can truly do our deeper work and grow.

Practice acceptance. Don’t be reactive. Don’t expend energy fighting or resisting what you can not change (other people, their feelings, their behaviors, etc.). Instead, empower yourself to change what you can (your thinking, your behaviors, your boundaries, etc.).

Forgive and let go of resentments. If for no other reason than for yourself, forgive to untether yourself from the negative experiences of the past.

Be authentic. Be genuine and real. Have the courage and confidence to be yourself. Do not say things that are false, even to yourself.

Reflect empathy. Let go of the need for judgement. Have the ability to put yourself in somebody else’s shoes, consider how they might feel and reflect that back to them as appropriate.

Be direct. Say what you mean and mean what you say. The truth will set you free. Talk with the person you have issue with, rather than triangulating others. Avoid passive-aggressive tactics to get your message across (not responding to emails or calls, etc.)

Be kind and compassionate. Only say things if they are kind, necessary and true. Be of service to others. Consider the needs and feelings of others before any action.

Have integrity. Do what you say you are going to do. If things have changed and you are moving in a different direction, be honest and clear with others. Be reliable and consistent. Admit when you are wrong. Apologize and make amends as needed.

Love yourself. Practice self-compassion and self-care. Understand you are exactly as you should be and are perfectly lovable as you are. Forgive yourself and understand you are human and nobody is perfect. Celebrate your life, your unique spirit and gifts. Take excellent care of yourself and surround yourself with people who love you, want the very best for you and will help you grow.

The ten ideas came from Huffington Post.com an article written by Joyce Marter; 10 Ways to Evolve and Be a Better Person.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bountiful Harvest Season

Yes, I am still here:-)

Thank you loyal followers. I have received a new position that has changed my free time for writing in my blogs. I so miss it, but I hope to write more throughout the holidays.

I saw this prayer that I found so fitting for this time of year when we are together with family and friends. I am so very thankful for my family, friends, my health and happiness.  May everyone have a wonderful Thanksgiving, may that wonderful giving and thankful spirit last throughout the year.

Harvest Prayer from the Plymouth Colony

Please be gentle with yourself and others.

We are all children of chance,

And none can say why some fields blossom

While others lay brown beneath the harvest sun.

Take hope that your season will come.

Share the joy of those whose season is at hand.

Care for those around you.

Look past your differences.

Their dreams are no less than yours,

Their choices in life no more easily made.

And give.

Give in any way you can.

Give in every way you can.

Give whatever you possess.

Give from your heart.

To give is to love.

To withhold is to wither.

Care less for the size of your harvest than for how it is shared,

And your life will have meaning and your heart will have peace.

Your Angel

To honor your angels… Take care

Courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/Daveswordsofwisdom

 

In Memory Of

Today I went to a funeral of a colleague that I have worked with for the last three years. She was a dedicated educator. She gave her life to education, one student at a time. What a sad day. She was young, retirement age, two grown children. One of her children was getting married this fall, while her other child had two small children of her own. My friend spoke to me the day before her surgery about how she was looking forward to the summer and spending time with family and friends. She spoke of retiring and not working as much.

Her death was a tragedy for her family and for education. We all speak of the day that we will retire, or don’t work as much. We want to be with family and friends and spend money that we may have been saving for a long time. We try to prepare by taking care of ourselves both physically and spiritually.

Yes, every day is a blessing. But how quickly those days go by that we quickly forget the ever changing movement of time.  Not only did I reflect about my friend’s death but I reflected on my own life and what is so truly important. I was so glad to be able to tell her children how special and dedicated she was. I’m sure they heard this message from others, from near and far, from those who’ve they’ve known for years or from people like me who only knew her for a few years.

I’m sure that every profession is thought of in a special way. From my own experience, education is a unique profession, we give and give and give of ourselves, hoping to make a difference in the process. Many of us don’t expect anything in return, being able to work with children is the gift. We all have so many memories of children and colleagues that have touched our lives, through tears, worry, laughter, or even just a smile. . But as I get older, I do realize that we are all replaceable. Once we are gone, someone takes our place to take up where we left off.

There is a time to leave and move on. I think we have all been conditioned that we need to work until the last moment, so we have enough to live on,  and so our insurance will last, we don’t want to be bored, if we feel good we want to continue to work at the same pace. Is there a magic number that we reach in years or are we given a sign to help us with the decision of continuing on to the next phase of our life?

The last posting I had was to pause and reflect. How fitting. I do think that every day is a blessing and I am thankful for wonderful friends and family. I hope that I will be guided to do the right thing, make the right decisions at the right time.

You will be missed my friend. Yes, you did make a difference. You did change lives. You were a good mother, wife, friend and teacher. I just wish you had a chance to enjoy all the riches you deserved. My thoughts and prayers are with your family and friends.

 

A Good Teacher

A good teacher is a brilliant light,

illuminating the prism of a life,

revealing to students a rainbow of possibilities.

by Joanna Fuches

 

 

Pause and reflect

 

Compliments of Jar of Quotes.com

Unexpected interruption, take a pause…

Have you ever written a document that took a great deal of time to write to find that it’s lost and you are unable to retrieve the written piece?  This just happened to me with this post. This probably happens less now with Google documents having the ability to automatically save documents. But the feeling if you experienced this, is one of loss and great frustration. You have to determine; do I try to recreate the piece?; do I start over with something new?; or do I wait to see if it is necessary? At times there isn’t a choice and a rewrite is necessary due to time constraints, and the requirement to complete the task. In my situation, I decided it was almost meant to be. I relived the feeling of having to take a moment to pause and think, so I can relay these emotions in my post.

If you can calm down enough, the incident could be looked at as an example of something that brings us a surprising benefit. Maybe what you wrote was done in haste and not thought. Did you need to rethink different options?  Or maybe learning how to not redo the same mistake is the learning in itself. Sometimes we are so quick to react that we forget to pause and reconsider our options.

Another example of hitting the pause button, is a common occurrence in today’s world of looking for a job. Due to an unexpected interruption, we can choose a path not necessarily considered. I found this with my own life, I almost took a position and then at the last moment it didn’t happen. I was so set and everything was working according to my plan. But instead at the last moment it didn’t work. I reflect on it now and it wouldn’t have been a good move for me. Other personal things happened that year and if I would have taken this job my life would have been different. So different that my current family may have not happened.

Interruptions may be a way of bringing new opportunities into our life, or new relationships, or it could be a means of providing us with information that we need. Interruptions also bring us some of our best opportunities for giving help and encouragement to others. I’m not saying that every interruption has a purpose, but it may be a space in time that allows us to be more patient with ourselves and to look at things more optimistically. Some find this pause or interruption, spiritual, or that we use a higher power that can help us through the unexpected.

I heard this unbelievable and touching story on the radio the other day. It really made me reflect about the interruptions in my life. A man who was set to take the flight of one of the planes that would hit the Twin Towers on the day of 911, got a flat tire on the way to the airport. He did not make his flight. His wife called him to see if he was okay, after hearing the number of the flight. He told her that due to the flat tire he missed his flight. His family was relieved and thankful that he was not one of the unfortunate people that were involved in the Twin Towers situation. After speaking to his son and hearing of this terrible tragedy, his father, a retired fire fighter had decided since he lived in New York, he could possibly help at the site. Sadly, he died that day in the building after one of the towers collapsed. Sadness and grief overcame the son’s family.

Time had passed. The following year there was a knock on the young couple’s door. A woman with a child were at the door. The young woman said that as soon as she was able she needed to visit the son. The young woman explained how she was very pregnant and was trapped in the Twin Towers before the buildings collapsed. An older gentleman, a retired fireman had found her and saved her life by calming her anxiety and assisting her down the many flights of stairs to get to safety. As they descended the stairs, they talked about love, life and the importance of family. She talked about how she was a single mother and her worry about the unknown. The firefighter told her how love will conquer all and how he had been blessed with such a wonderful life which included his son and family. She  felt as she had known him all her life. She stated to the couple that he was an angel sent to her. She named her newborn son after him. They thanked the woman for making this journey and for sharing the story of his father. They became close friends.

What unexpected interruptions have you had in your life? Can you welcome, embrace and empower yourself with the unexpected interruptions? Try to take a breath and pause. Who knows where it will take you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Power of Kindness

 What better day than today to think of how we can be kind and loving to one another. The quotes listed below may be simple and plentiful but one gesture or thought could have an impact in someone’s life and in turn your own life. I came across this site, called marcandangel.com that focuses on becoming a better you. As I read them, I said, “Oh yes, that is so true.” I hope that you find a quote that speaks to you.

Idea: Print the quotes out. Post a quote on your frig for the week. The quotes are just a quick reminder of how to treat one another in this crazy and wonderful world we live in.The quotes help to remind us to treat people a little better than necessary, the power of kindness:

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Strength of PERSEVERANCE

Some of you may have received flowers this morning, remember the solitary flower that blooms even in the midst of trouble and sadness.

Have a Wonderful Valentine’s Day!