We can change things around us in a number of ways, but it is change in ourselves that makes the biggest difference. To control the door to our minds and decide clearly and precisely what we let in and what can be put out is the beginning. When we are tired of the same dumb mistakes, the same worn ideas, the need for change but nothing is done to start it, then the time has come to see if we really have a goal at all. The biggest obstacle is thinking we have gone too far to change. Clearly it is an idea that should be put outside the mind and the door firmly closed.

It is said that pearls worn by a happy person have a warm and more lustrous glow.

Pearls are like the gentle moments strung together for the happy person – they cannot help but glow.

Gentle moments, like pearls, seem to be so few. Yet, how rich and warm and beautiful they make our lives.

It takes only a few moments to enjoy a talk with someone about good things instead of the bad; it takes only a few moments to drop a line to a shut-in when attention means so much. It takes only a few moments to see a sunset, or read a Scripture, or listen to a child talk.

It takes only a few moments to open the door to happiness. And if happiness seems only a few moments long, so will trouble if we open the door and let it out instead of harboring it.

Life is made up of a few moments all strung together like pearls. Each moment is a pearl, and it is up to us to pick the ones with the highest luster. If we do not have time to do great things, take a few gentle moments and do small things in a great way.

(~Authors unknown~)

What life will you choose to live?

Most anything has some distortion. Living today is a little like standing in front of a funhouse mirror that stretches the legs to the size of sticks and puts knees where ankles should be. What is real? Even nature affords illusion. Arid deserts have mirages of water; it looks real, but approach it and it disappears. We must be aware of illusion – of distortion, because some businesses and people practice it. When our own eyes squint against truth we are creating distortion. If we can’t trust ourselves to recognize the truth, who can we trust?

What we do is largely decided by the thought we give it in the beginning.

Should I spend my time complaining? Should I take my attitude out on others? Should I whine about how little I have and how badly I feel? Or should I be grateful that I have another opportunity today to do something?

The day is in your hands. You will reap what you sow. If you want to be loved, then love; if you want peace, then be peaceful; if you want to be free, then give others their freedom. We must learn to forgive others without reservation in order to truly be forgiven and live the life we are meant to live. But most importantly, we must learn to live our lives without the projection of illusion.

Here are the rules:

1. Go to your picture files
2. Go to your 6th folder.
3. Go to your 6th picture.
4. Tell us about it.
5. Tag 6 friends to do the same.

Without further ado I give you…(drumroll please)

About  2 weeks ago, the sky looked like it was on fire – it was absolutely amazing. I grabbed my camera and walked down to the end of the street to the Boys and Girls Club Parking lot (aptly named “Positive Place”) and started shooting. This is one in a series of approximately 15 taken at different angles and from different locations on the block. By far, this was one of my favorite shots in the series because of the inclusion of the street sign.

Will spare you all the agony of being tagged but would challenge you all to do the same and post a link to your blog here. I’d love to see your photos.

XOXO

Did you know that if your life was not changing, you would not exist?

Our Universe and everything in it is continually changing, because our Universe is made of energy. Energy can only exist if it is in motion and changing. If energy stopped being in motion, our entire Universe and all Life would vanish. Our lives are also energy, and therefore they too must always be in motion and continue to change. You cannot stop the motion and change in your life, and nor would you want to. The changing nature of energy gives us Life. It causes Life to grow and causes us to grow.

And yet when there is a big change of energy which affects our lives, we often label it as bad, and cause ourselves sorrow, pain, and suffering  by resisting the change. But you always have a choice. In the Universe there is never just one way. You are never trapped with no way out, no matter what has occurred. There are two paths available to you in every circumstance and moment in your life. The two paths are the positive and the negative, and YOU are the one who chooses which path you will take.

You have the power to transform negative change into positive, but you cannot do it by resisting the change. Resisting the change is focusing on the negative and it is choosing the negative path, which brings with it even more negativity, more pain, and misery.

To transform the negative into positive, you must choose the positive path and command that this changing energy transforms into millions of blessings that pour down on you and everyone involved. Command the changing energy to bring unlimited good and positivity. Know and believe in your heart that as you command it, it must be done.

And then the day will come in the not too distant future, when you will look back and see all the blessings that you brought into this world through you and change.

(A Secret Scrolls message from Rhonda Byrne)

There are two words that, when spoken, have the most unfathomable power to completely change your life. Two words which, when they pass your lips, will be the cause of bringing absolute joy and happiness to you. Two words that will create miracles in your life. Two words that will wipe out negativity. Two words that will bring you abundance in all things. Two words which, when uttered and sincerely felt, will summon all the forces and vibrations in the Universe to move all things for you.

The only thing standing between you, happiness, and the life of your dreams, are two words…

THANK YOU

Gratitude is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to transform your life. If you become truly grateful, you will magnetize absolute joy to you everywhere you go, and in everything you do. In fact, without gratitude, nothing can ever change. Your life will change to the degree that you use gratitude and begin to feel grateful. If you are just a little bit grateful, your life will change a little bit. If you are very grateful, your whole life will change. If you live gratitude every single day, you will become one of the greatest human beings on the planet, and the light of your life will uplift our world.

The greatest human beings who have ever lived showed us the way with gratitude, and by their example became shining lights in our history. Einstein said “thank you” hundreds of times every single day! Ancient wisdom dating back thousands of years gave us the truth about gratitude. Every single religion speaks of giving thanks. All the sages and saviors of the world demonstrated the use of gratitude in all their teachings.

It is impossible to be negative when you are giving thanks. It is impossible to criticize or blame when you are feeling grateful. It is impossible to feel sad when you are in gratitude. Most people are sporadically grateful, however, to change your life with gratitude, a new way of learning how to be truly grateful is what will bring unlimited happiness into your life.

So how do you live in gratitude? Begin your day by feeling grateful. Be grateful for the bed you just slept in, the roof over your head, the carpet or floor under your feet, the running water, the soap, your shower, your toothbrush, your clothes, your shoes, the car that you drive, your job, your friends, your refrigerator that keeps your food cold. Be grateful for the weather, the sun, the sky, the birds, the trees, the grass, the rain, and the flowers. Be grateful for the stores that make it so easy to buy the things you need, the restaurants, the utilities and services and electrical appliances that make your life effortless. Be grateful for magazines and the books that you read. Be grateful for the chair that you sit on, and the pavement that you walk on. Be grateful for your favorite music that sweeps you away, and for movies that make you feel good. Be grateful for your phone that connects you with people, for your computer, for the electricity that lights up your life. Be grateful for air travel that flies you everywhere. Be grateful for the roads and traffic lights that keep the traffic in order. Be grateful to those who built our bridges. Be grateful for your pet, for your child, for your loved ones, for your eyes that enable you to read this. Be grateful for your imagination. Be grateful that you can think! Be grateful that you can speak. Be grateful that you can laugh and smile. Be grateful that you can breathe! Be grateful that you are alive! Be grateful that you are You! Be grateful that there are two words that can change your life!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

The more that you practice gratitude the more deeply you will feel it in your heart, and the depth of the feeling is the key. The more deeply and sincerely you feel it, the more you will bring absolute bliss and happiness on every single subject. Watch what happens in your life when you practice gratitude every single day and in every single moment and in every opportunity that you can. Remember, if you are criticizing, you are not being grateful. If you are blaming, you are not being grateful. If you are complaining, you are not being grateful. If you are feeling tension, you are not being grateful. If you are rushing, you are not being grateful. If you are in a bad mood, you are not being grateful.

To understand the power and the magic of gratitude, you have to experience it for yourself. So why not begin by deciding to find 100 things a day to be grateful for? As you practice gratitude every day, it won’t take long before gratitude is your natural state of being, and when it happens you will have unlocked one of the greatest Secrets to Life.

There is just one other thing that I want you to know about Gratitude…..

When you are giving thanks, you FEEL GOOD!

The above excerpt was taken from an e-mail I received from The Secret Scrolls

I am thankful for each and everyone of my friends. I hope that all of you find the happiness you are looking for and remember how much you truly have to be thankful for.

Thank you for always being there for me, for listening when I can’t hear myself and for being YOU.

I LOVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!

During my travels today,  the hope of the new year was buzzing around me like angry bees. Everyone I came across was resolving to do something BETTER in 2009. It dawned on me that MAYBE they don’t get it…maybe they don’t realize that they don’t get to wipe their slate  clean when the clock tolls midnight on December 31st;  there are no “do overs”. You can’t take back those angry words, you can’t undo hurt or pain you may have inflicted on others. No resolution or “changing of the guard” will magically make it go away.  How you choose to live and behave today has a DIRECT effect on how you are perceived tomorrow.

How are you living your life? Are you grateful for the people around you that lift you up and support you no matter what? Do you always treat others the way that you want to be treated? Are you using patience? Are you tolerant? When you look in the mirror, take a long hard look and inventory. Are you the type of friend that you would want to have? If the answer is yes, then I applaud you; but, if not, make the changes necessary to be that person. This life is too short to walk around angry, entitled, etc. Brush the dirt of your shoulder, make your amends and strive to live your life the way you would want to be remembered.

I want to take this time to thank you, my friends, for being part of my life, lifting me up and always giving me a reason to strive to be a better person tomorrow than I am today. Without each and every one of you, I may not have come out the otherside of 2008 unscathed. I appreciate you for who you are, who you are to become and who you are to me. I cherish you and am so thankful that you are in my life. The journey wouldn’t be the same without you.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee Jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon (okay I didn’t ACTUALLY run..but I have done Bay to Breakers twice)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (does the Venitian in Vegas count? LOL)
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise (a bay cruise on a dinner yacht and a San Diego Bay cruise on the USS Ronald Reagan)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (does the Eiffel in Vegas count?)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit (I’m not named, personally, but I’m involved)
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Financially secure

2. What is your biggest fear in life?

Dying alone

3. Who are your five closest friends?

All of them.

4. If you could go out and buy one thing today, price is no matter, what would it be?

5. What is your favorite color, and why?

6. If you could be written into the history books, who would you be, what would you have done, and what period of history would you have lived in?

Pandora, cause I want to know what’s in the box

7. If someone named a cocktail after you, what would it be called and what would it taste like?

JENILICIOUS and it would sweet & sassy with a vicious bite that’ll knock you on your ass

8. What song do you think describes YOU?

9. If I came to your town to visit, where would you take me and what
would we do?

We would go to San Francisco and I would show you all the wonderful sights, coit tower, broadway, Chinatown, japan town, the height, Pier 39, Ghiradelli Square, Baker Beach, the Presidio, Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park…

RULES:
1. Put Your iTunes, Windows Media Player, ETC on Shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
4. Put any comments in brackets after the song name.
5.Put this on your blog/journal.

1.If someone says, “Is this okay?” You say?

Teach you a Lesson – Robin Thicke

2.How would you describe yourself?

Hero (Mariah Carey)

3.What do you like in a guy?

The Truth (Pharoahe Monche)

4.How do you feel today?

In my mind (Heather Headley)

5.What is your life’s purpose?

Is it Possible (Raheem Devaughn)

6.What is your motto?

What it’s like (Everlast)

7.What do your friends think of you?

Superstar (Usher)

8.What do you think of your parents?

I Will Always Love you (Whitney Houston)

9.What do you think about very often?

Flashing Lights (Kanye West)

10.What is 2 + 2?

The Last Time (Rhianna)

11.What do you think of your best friend?

Let’s Get Blown (Raheem Devaughn)

12.What do you think of the person you like?

I Want You (Common)

13.What is your life story?

Fighter (Christina Aguilera)

14.What do you want to be when you grow up?

For the Nasty (Tribe Called Quest)

15.What do you think of when you see the person you like?

Nice and Slow (Usher)

16.What will you dance to at your wedding?

More and More (Brian McKnight)

17.What will they play at your funeral?

Let it Go (Keyshia Cole)

18.What is your hobby/interest?

Uhh Ahhh Uhhh (Boys II Men)

19.What is your biggest fear?

In Too Deep (Phil Collins)

20.What is your biggest secret?

Right Here (Staind)

21.What do you think of your friends?

Diary (Alicia Keys)

22.What will you post this as?

Don’t you remember (Luther Vandross)

So you sailed away, Into a grey sky morning
Now I’m here to stay, Love can be so boring
Nothing’s quite the same now…

~Vertical Horizon