feelings

I realize that what I feel inside controls my happiness.Fortunately most of the time my feelings are happy.  I love life, and being alive.  I feel joy in watching the sky and observing nature. Still sometimes as a result of my current circumstance, I am exposed to people that are angry, frustrated, full of hate, and have no respect. When this happens my feelings trigger my ego and my behavior changes and I feel frustration.  I have decided to try something new when this happens again.  I will visualize the people acting this way as animated objects and how they would appear if looking into a distorted mirror at an amusement park.  I will see their heads as big as watermelon, and their mouths as small as a green pea.  The same kind that was put under the princesses bed in a famous children’s story. Hopefully this will make me laugh or smile and forget about the negativity that is coming my way. Only I can control how I feel and I strive not to allow others to change my attitude.

I hope this technique works and hope that others might benefit from thinking silly thoughts to maintain their state of mind and enable them to live with love and peace.

Blessings to all and as always your thoughts and comments are welcome

I am so grateful and appreciative for what I have

I used to take things like having a bed, hot shower, toilet, clean drinking water, relationships, and love for granted. But now I know better. The truth is there are millions of people without running water, electricity, a car, a closet full of clothes, shoes, kidneys that function, eyes to see, television set, or a retirement account.

Now every day when I wake up, go to the bathroom, brush my teeth, enjoy a meal, drink clean water I say I am grateful.  I have a new point of view now, and believe all people regardless of race, religion, country of origin deserve compassion.

More important we as citizens of the world should exercise compassion, understanding,  and charity.  I am not suggesting that we sell our homes and donate the money to a worthy cause, but I am suggesting people become selfless not selfish.  The more we recognize the needs of others the more we help ourselves.

In my recent travels through third world and developing countries I have seen impoverished families, that have no electricity or refrigerators in their homes, but when they see someone hungry they share what little food they have.  I have witnessed love for other people that has touched my soul and opened my heart.

In the United states I have seen people begging in the streets for food, and the people walking by tell them to get a job. While its true some of these people have drinking or drug problems the fact remains they are people, and deserve to eat.   While I don’t want want to support their addictions, the next time I see someone  hungry I will feed them.

I don’t have the material things I used to take for granted, but I do have love for people and hope this blogs inspires others to open their hearts as well as be grateful for what they have.  In this way we can all make the world a better place. I have said it before and I will say it again.  We are all one planet – one people.

May you all live with love and peace.

 

 

 

Love is what I have

Love is the most important element of life.  Love of self, love for others, love for nature, love of life.With love, belief, hope, and faith all things are possible.   I love therefor I am!

Getting to the place where you love yourself takes effort, and the ability to look within.  To forgive the past and accept what is going on now. Everyone that is alive has the capacity to love.  We just need to awaken it.

So wake up and let the love in!

Letter to myself

Dear self,

I understand that sometimes it’s hard to live with love and peace in your heart. But you have to accept that doing anything else is self defeating.   Being angry only feeds your ego, and the result is that you behave in a manner that is not beneficial to you, or anyone else. Your ego thrives on hate, resentment, & frustration then turns that energy into negative emotion, behavior, and thoughts.  The result is that you respond to situations in a negative way.

Consider this the next time things don’t go according to your preference.  As a human being we experience emotions.  We tend to store negative feelings deep within ourselves where they linger and surface later when we experience more negative emotions.  These feelings become amplified, and our ego uses the power to control the mind and behavior.  As a result you will like behave in a manner that you will regret later.  Your actions will not serve you and will affect your relationships with family, friends, and co-workers.

There is another way, one that serves your higher self and all those around you.  The next time you feel yourself getting angry because of your life situation accept that your feelings and be grateful for them.  Accept what is going on, and realize that it is what it is.  Let the feelings flow through you and they will go away.  Realize that you can’t control how other people think or act, and you can only control how you feel, think, and act.  Now, you have the power to rise above negative emotions and take control of your life.

It is far better to be happy than mad and feel joy rather than frustration.  When others see you accept what is going on and not reacting with anger, perhaps they will start to understand and look within themselves to release their inner happiness and let go of their hate and frustrations.  In this way you can make a difference not only in how you live but set an example for others.  If everyone were to live with love and peace in their heart there would be no reason to hate, fight, or create conflict.  As time goes by this change in perspective and behavior would change the mindset of society and eliminate the need for conflict and especially war.

Why complain – It does not help the situation and nobody cares

Complaining, or lashing out verbally at someone does not change anything nor improve the situation.  If anything it just produces more negativity. It’s a never ending circle.

In this moment I am surrounded by hundreds of men consumed with hate, frustration, and negative energy.  I try my best to accept the situation and concentrate on myself. I put forth effort to stay positive and not allow their energy to change mine. But sometimes, it’s too much and I want to scream.  When this happens I stop, breath, and think about how I want to act and more importantly live.  I do my best to remember the life lessons I have learned and let the negativity slip away.

As I write this I am reminded of something I heard once…… If walking in the dessert without a hat on your head and a bird flies above you and poops, it is unfortunate.  But, shit happens. It serves no purpose to complain, the bird just doesn’t care.

Each time I want to complain about my current life situation I think about this and visualize I am wearing a hat and all the negativity the men around me excrete does not soil me. It helps me hold my tongue and keep from complaining.

I know my current circumstance will change.  In time I will be in a better place.  But regardless of where I am or the external situation this lesson will stay with me. The bottom line is that what happens on the outside should not affect who I am on the inside….

listen to the silence

Today I sat outside and watched a plant. I spent 20 minutes just being still and quiet and observed the plant. Its green leaves shimmered in the slight breeze, and I thought about the beauty of life and of nature.  I contemplated what it is to be a plant and wondered what it would say to me could it talk.  The answer that came to me was simple.

The plant is alive and living in the moment.  It does not worry about yesterday or the future and enjoys each day.  A plant does not concern itself with laws of man just the laws of nature. It loves sunlight, and water. As it grows it it thrives. There is no yesterday, only the now.

A plant has no ego and holds no grudges.  It does not feel guilt, social pressure, or hate.  In the process of just being the plant produces oxygen for the benefit of our planet.

I have a lot in common with the plant as I want to enjoy each day, live in the present, and be of service to our world. How about you?

Reflections

It rained a lot yesterday and this morning when I went for a walk I came across a large puddle.  It was about six feet long and 4 feet wide and 1 inch deep.   Looking down on it it was dirty water.  Stepping back and looking at it I saw incredible reflections.  The trees above wee reflected in the water as well as the building in the background.  A man walked by and I could see him clearly above the surface and half of his body in the reflection.   I sat and pondered at the reflection pool for about 10 minutes.  While doing it it occurred to me that much of myself is beneath the the surface.

On the outside I am a man, but inside I have feelings, emotions, and memories that are hidden. Within these memories are a collection of my past experiences both good and bad.I thought about that for a while longer and realized that in order to live with love and peace, I needed to release all the negative memories and emotions and fill the void with positive feelings.

I have spent a lot of time letting go of the negative but today I realized there was a bit more.  So I forgave myself for having those feelings, let them come to the surface and let them go.  As I did this about a dozen birds landed in the water and splashed around then took off into the sky.  I felt as if the frustrations I had had felt took off with the birds and an incredible feeling of peace filled my heart.

While my current life circumstance is not to my liking, I know it is changing. I have faith, belief, hope, peace and love and day by day its getting better.  I love myself and I love life. I will continue to practice patience, surrender, and forgiveness and make every effort to live in the present moment. As I have said before the past is over and the future has not happened yet. That is why the call the present a gift.  Seeing the reflection pool today only strengthened my spirit.  I am alive. I am with God, and I am grateful  for what I have and what is.

find your bliss

There are many things that make me happy.  Playing with my kids,  romping around with my dogs, eating ice cream, enjoying Mexican food, and hiking through the rain forest.  However there is one activity that is my bliss.  Its scuba diving.  The joy I feel simply being underwater is incredible.  I love witnessing the marine life and ocean topography.  My favorite aspect of diving though is the light.   Sunlight drifts down from above and shimmers in the water column and dances on the sandy bottom.  When ever I see this, I glow from the inside of my heart and feeling is magical.

When times are rough and challenging rather than dwell on negative things, I think about how I feel when underwater.  The positive erases the negative and I am again living with love and peace.  My hope is for everyone to find out what their bliss is, and call upon it when ever feeling blue. It feels good and is less calories than ice cream.

 

Rainy days and Mondays

Its Monday and its raining like there is no tomorrow.  The sky is bleak, but I am not.  I stood in the rain and was amazed at it’s beauty.  I watched the water cascade off the roof and form pools on the ground.  I saw rain drops collect on plants and the leaves of the trees.  I listened to the sounds of the thunder and the rain.  I was not sad but actually quite happy.  I kept repeating an affirmation I read in the book Spiritual Liberation that said something like…. “God flows through me like  a river flowing with peace and happiness”.

Help yourself then help others

Those of you that have flown on a plane may remember that in the fight attendants briefing its said… in the case of an emergency put on your oxygen mask before helping others.  That message can be applied to everyday life as well.  You have to help yourself before you can be of service to others.

What I am saying is that you have deal with whats happened in your past in order to be effective in the present.  Once you are truly living with peace and love, your ego will not influence your thinking and you can listen to others without judgement.  In this way you can benefit others.