Butterflies

"Happiness is a butterfly,
which, when pursued,
is always just beyond your grasp,
but which,
if you sit down quietly,
may alight upon you."
~ Nathaniel Hawthorne


Relax and let the coolness get into your vertebrae.

What really counts

From one of my favorites ~ Dean Koontz:


Some people think only intellect counts:
knowing how to solve problems,
knowing how to get by,
knowing how to identify an advantage,
and knowing how to seize it.
But . . .
the functions of intellect are insufficient
without courage,
love,
friendship,
compassion, and
empathy.


and by William Wordsworth (what a totally appropriate last name!):


The best portion of a good man's life:
His little, nameless, unremembered acts
of kindness and of love.

Begin it

This is for a beautiful Ch-Angel friend of mine ~ because she is as bold as they come!


Whatever you do, or dream you can do, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.
~ Goethe

Gentle advice . . .

At the end of the night,
before you close your eyes,
be content . . .
with the things that you have done,
with the passions you possess,
and be proud of who you are.

Aaaaaaaaaaahhhh!

Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want,
but rather the realization of how much you already have.


and . . .


it's National Chocolate Cake Day!


How bad can it be?

Opposite Day

Today is National Opposite Day . . .


So


If everything seems to not be going right . . . go left.
If all your plans are in the air . . . stay grounded.
If you cannot walk and chew gum . . . sit down and relax.
If you can't seem to catch your breath . . . stop running.
If life in the fast lane isn't working . . . take the next exit.


Turn your frown upside down.
Turn your issues into stepping stones.


Turn your crappy into happy!

Here's your chance

Today is National Compliment Day.


As you wander through your day, or grapple with work, or wrestle with young ones . . . take a moment to randomly toss a compliment to another human being.


You might be amazed at what a difference it can make;
not only in the life of the recipient,
but in your own as well.


Thank you all for your support, your kind words, your friendship and love through the years.
It has meant all the world to me and allows me to continue to try to spread good thoughts, positive vibes, and peace. I appreciate you!


See . . . that wasn't so hard, was it?

Little Account

From Hannah Whitall Smith:


"Where the soul is full of peace and joy,
outward surroundings and circumstances
are of comparatively little account."


Don't let the day-to-day stuff steal your joy!

Ch-Angels

Protection. Guidance. Love.
Angels are a true passion of mine.


I am humbled today by the many Ch-Angels that walk beside me daily, in Earthly flesh, that love, guide and protect me from the evils of this world.


I thank each one of you . . . and you KNOW how you are . . . for your friendship, your leadership, your comfort and your support. Every step taken is in gratitude for a kind heart, a listening ear, a weathered shoulder, and a beautiful soul.


Thank you, my Ch-Angels.
Much love . . .

All you need is LOVE

At the center of non-violence, stands the principle of love.
Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it.
Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it.
Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.
Be kind to unkind people. They need it most.
There is no need to be their reflection.
To make a difference in someone's life,
you don't have to be brilliant, rich, or beautiful.
You just have to care.
You are someone's reason to smile.
Love without condition or intent.
Love for the sheer joy of how very good it makes you feel!

Mixing it up with MLK

In honor of Martin Luther King and all the positive, beneficial changes and behaviors he instilled, a few of his best with some others rolled in . . .


If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.
If you stumble, make it part of the dance.
The time is always right to do the right thing.
Why do we close our eyes when we pray? When we cry? When we dream? When we kiss? Because we know that the most beautiful things in life are not seen, but felt by the heart.
Never succumb to the temptation of bitterness.
Whatever your life's work is, do it well.


Goooooooooooooood stuff! Happy Monday!

Perfection

As of late, the term 'perfect' has been thrown at me or in my direction quite a bit.
I find it quite humorous.
There exists only one bit of perfection - and I give thanks to Him nightly and ask for guidance from Him each morning.


Folks have been talking about 'perfect family,' 'perfect jobs,' 'perfect workouts,' 'perfect haircuts,' and more. I simply laugh.


There is no perfect family. Mine, in point, puts the "fun" in dysfunctional! We are horribly sarcastic and tease and rib each other to no end. We wrestle and have been known to put on sparring gear and beat the snot out of one another.


The perfect job, I would think, is one where you just get paid and don't work. That sounds good, but there are tasks you can perform that you don't mind and might even love doing. Those jobs usually serve a grander purpose and seem, to me, to be about as close to perfect as can be. There is a reason it is called work.


Perfect workouts? Really???  I love a serious leg workout, but I am not deluded enough to believe that I won't have to do a three-point-stance to pee for three days afterward. Chest, back and arms are a delicious workout, until you feel like Grover trying to wash your hair the next day. And by 'trying,' I mean not being very successful.


Perfect haircuts. Hmmmmm. One man's trash . . .    I, by no means, have much to stand on, but I know what works for my hair and so I just stick with it. There are those that parade around, spewing and ranting about a haircut that looks more like a John Deere catastrophe. But . . . hey . . . maybe that's what works for your hair. I just don't think 'perfect' is the word you ought to use.


It's kind of like the Seinfeld "breathtaking" episode. It's all in your perspective. I will clarify that I am FAR from what anyone might consider perfect. I have my perspective and you have yours. You enjoy your perfect afternoon of whatever it is that makes your heart happy and I will enjoy the company of my husband, dining on some bbq, snuggling on the sofa, while catching some pigskin playoffs and THAT will be a 'perfect' weekend for me.


Enjoy your perfection.

A little Friday humor . . .

So whether I'm a little frisky for having accomplished so very much yesterday, or perhaps just over-exhausted for much the same reason, I got a little chuckle out of this so I thought I'd share . . .


What doesn't kill me . . .
had better start running!


Have a most wonderful weekend!

Heal

You will only begin to heal
when you
let go of past hurts,
forgive those who have wronged you,
and learn to forgive yourself
for your mistakes.


Be well.

Ch-Angels

THIS is what Ch-Angels is all about.


I believe certain people cross your life
as guardian angels
and some connections cannot be explained
by words alone.
It's a soul thing.


When you've been touched by someone like this, you've been 'Ch-Angel-ed'.


People like Deanna, Miles, Victor, Edie, Winnie, Karen, April, Sue, Tana, Analisa, Jeannie, Rhonda, Chris, Donna, Jackie, and a host of others. My personal favorite would have to be Fran! But without each of these Ch-Angels and their guidance, I would not be who I am today.


Thank you!

Be Soft

Be soft.
Do not let the world make you hard.
Do not let pain make you hate.
Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness.
Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree,
you still believe it to be a beautiful place.


Thanks Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
This is some good stuff and truly words to live by!

A word from Joyce

Joyce Meyer - one of my favorites.


We have all heard about not missing open doors or when one door closes and all that jazz.
Today, she posted something that I really think I needed to see.


Don't just pray for God to open doors,
pray for God to close doors in your life that need to be closed.


Wow! Just Wow!

Treasures

Until you are broken, you have no idea what you are made of.
You are stronger than you could ever imagine.


There is a difference between giving up and knowing when you have had enough.
Allowing anyone to make you feel less than you are is unacceptable.


Know that when you dance to your own rhythm,
people may not understand you; they may even hate you.
But mostly, and this is the important part,
they will WISH they had the courage to do the same.


Be you!


You are a beautiful, unique, and stunning masterpiece.
Display your talents, your gifts, and your inner beauty
for the whole wide world to see.

I LOVE This!

Learn to love
without condition.


Learn to talk
without bad intention.


Learn to give
without any reason.


And most of all,
learn to care for people
without any expectation.


If my journey in this world had a t-shirt,
THIS would be printed on it.

Ch-Angel

Today we celebrate, perhaps, one of the greatest Ch-Angels of all time.


This Ch-Angel possesses the ability to alter destinies.
This Ch-Angel can provide the opportunity to create a better, positive, productive future.
This Ch-Angel is able to offer comfort, compassion, and caring.
This Ch-Angel is capable of support, guidance, and encouragement.
This Ch-Angel is a listener, a motivator, a cheerleader, a consoler.
This Ch-Angel is beyond strong, tenacious, determined, fierce and powerful.
This Ch-Angel has the power to do absolutely amazing things.


This Ch-Angel is YOU!


We all have within us the capacity to encompass all of the above.
Why settle for anything less?

What are you planting today?

The roots of all goodness
lie in the soil of appreciation
are watered with good deeds
and are nurtured with kindness and love.


What are you planting today?

Enjoy

Nurture your mind with great thoughts.
To believe in the heroic makes heroes.


And in the midst of these great thoughts ~
three of life's most important rules:


The first ~ is to be kind.
The second ~ is to be kind.
The third ~ is to be kind.


Be ravenous about your passions.
Be generous with your blessings.
Be tenacious toward your troubles.
Be joyous regarding your victories.


Don't force your fate.
Don't belittle someone else's triumph.
Enjoy it all!

Which Give Will You Take?

Special thanks to my Ch-Angel Edie for this. You, my dear, amaze me!

You have only got three choices in life:

Give up
Give in
Give it all you've got

Which Give will you take?

17:8

Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
Hide me under the shadow of Your wings . . .

Realigning

Just like the chiropractor improves your health by realigning your spine, and the masseuse realigns most everything else, there is almost nothing more invigorating that to get yourself realigned.

For some, that may mean heading to the chiropractor and/or the masseuse.
For me, although I kind of enjoy seeing both those folks, my realignment comes when my family is all in tact and together.

Yesterday, my daughter and her beau, my son, hubby and myself were all together for the day.
We may have had a second Christmas, but simply being together was just absolutely the best.

To hear all the kids laughing together; to listen to excited chatter about gifts and people and plans and hopes; to spend a flippin' hour in CVS waiting to get to see the doc and get some drugs was neither painful or stressful. We were our typical silly selves - playing with toy cars, taking goofy pictures and laughable videos, discussing how much Miles looks like Jessie Pinkman, reading all the magazines and wreaking general havoc throughout the store. Oh what a wonderful day!

Realign yourselves today.
Do what works for you.
Create a space and time for you to get things in order.
It's a beautiful day to start again . . .

Growth

Growth is an amazing thing.

When there is an infant, growth is nothing short of a miracle.
They way they learn to roll over, crawl, pull up, walk, talk, eat for themselves, and become a little person  ~  it is just thrilling to watch.

As you age, I find it most exhilarating to see young people become adults.
They stumble, make bad choices, do stupid things, and then they realize that what you said for the last several decades about consequences really does matter.

And into adulthood and beyond, you realize you cannot do everything you might have once been able to do. Your abilities and strengths come together in arenas you never imagined. You endure having children and losing parents. Some traverse the slippery slope of divorce and more. What you can deal with and overcome is quite extraordinary.

Beyond most of these physical and somewhat 'typical' life lessons, there is more growth going on than you might ever imagine.

The two year old tantrums turned into the middle school omnipotence and then gave way to the high school drama. Then you realized that NONE of that was worth a hoot.

You realized that the quality of who you are matters far more than what you had hoped others perceived you to be. You understand that impressing someone stands little chance of persevering, but staying true to your morals and ethics will always be a beacon of the person that you are inside. You've concluded that maintaining your standards, despite what is current or in fashion, is exceedingly paramount in exuding your true value and worth.

Growth does not always refer to size.
Growth sometimes means a whole lot more.

Here's to hoping that 2014 is a year of great growth for each of you.

2014

Good Morning 2014!

What a wonderful thing to wake up and greet you.
A whole new year filled with opportunities, chances, revelations, and resolutions.
365 days to make a difference.
52 weeks to be positive and productive and philanthropic.
12 months to become a better me.

What will you do with your New Year?