On When to Hold & When to Fold...

"Today if you feel conflicted about whether you should hold on or let go, ask yourself: If you cleared away your fears and self-judgments, what choice would you make?" ~ Lori Deschene

For the complete article, click HERE




#########

We all need courage and strength

"Dear Lord,
Thank you so much for the blessings of all of my friends and my family, and thank you for all the amazing screaming fans that are here tonight.

Dear Lord, please give me strength to be a winner for all of them and not for myself.

Dear Lord, remind me to empower not myself, but to empower those around me
because that is my gift. My gift is not self worship. My gift is the worship of others. So please help me to be strong and help me to know my own strength. Please help me to be brave Lord.

Dear God, give me courage. Do not let me give in to those feelings. Do not let me give in to my own insecurities. Allow me to walk in your light.

Allow me to live and breathe and sing and dance for all the dancers on that stage, for the band, for the music, and for You. Amen." 

~ Lady Gaga, backstage at Madison Square Garden

#####

strong at the broken places

 

"Life breaks us all and afterward, many are strong at the broken places" - Ernest Hemingway

changed for the better

i've heard it said
that people come into our lives for a reason
bringing something we must learn
and we are led
to those who help us most to grow
if we let them
and we help them in return
well, i don't know if i believe that's true
but i know i'm who i am today because i knew you...

like a comet pulled from orbit
as it passes the sun
like a stream that meets a boulder
halfway through the wood
who can say if i've been changed for the better?
but because i knew you
i have been changed for good...

 

it well may be
that we will never meet again
in this lifetime
so let me say before we part so much of me
is made of what i learned from you
you'll be with me
like a handprint on my heart
and now whatever way our stories end
i know you have re-written mine
by being my friend...
like a ship blown from its mooring
by a wind off the sea
like a seed dropped by a skybird
in a distant wood
who can say if i've been changed for the better?
but because i knew you

i have been changed for good...

##########

Intention

"Exercise for the joy of feeling good and getting better. Eat right with the intention of fueling your body with the things it needs to perform." - Tony Horton

Loser Like Me

Yeah, you may think that I’m a zero
But, hey, everyone you wanna be
Probably started off like me
You may say that I’m a freakshow (I don’t care)
But, hey, give me just a little time
I bet you’re gonna change your mind

All of the dirt you’ve been throwin’ my way
It ain’t so hard to take, that’s right
‘Cause I know one day you’ll be screamin’ my name
And I’ll just look away, that’s right

Just go ahead and hate on me and run your mouth
So everyone can hear
Hit me with the WORST you got and knock me down
Baby, I don’t care
Keep it up, AND SOON ENOUGH YOU"LL FIGURE OUT
You wanna be
You wanna be
A loser like me
A loser like me

Push me up against the locker
And hey, all I do is shake it off
I’ll get you back when I’m your boss
I’m not thinkin’ ’bout you haters
‘Cause hey, I could be a superstar
I’ll see you when you wash my car

All of the dirt you’ve been throwin’ my way
It ain’t so hard to take, that’s right
‘Cause I know one day you’ll be screamin’ my name
And I’ll just look away, that’s right

Just go ahead and hate on me and run your mouth
So everyone can hear
Hit me with the words you got and knock me down
Baby, I don’t care
Keep it up, I’m tunin’ up to fade you out
You wanna be
You wanna be
A loser like me
A loser like me

Change

"You change for two reasons: Either you learn enough that you want to, or you've been hurt enough that you have to." ~ Unknown

 

 

 

############

How Do You Define Perfection?

"Perfection to me is peace and joy; it's connection and understanding." ~ Cesar Millan

 

 

 

###########

Pretty, Pretty Please...

###

"A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble." ~ Gandhi

Shaken

Brennan: “I need to ask you some things.”
Booth: “You gonna ask me about God and the devil?”
Brennan: “Yes.”
Booth: “You’re going to ask me about how God could place such a burden on good people.”
Brennan: “No, I’m going to ask you how you still believe in a kind God after a case like this.”
Booth: “Is my faith shaken? Yeah, mmmhmm, it is.”
Brennan: “It is?”
Booth: “I’ll go home tonight and I’ll lie in bed; I’ll toss and I’ll turn, and I’ll beat myself up, and, uh, I’ll question everything.”
Brennan: “Will you get your faith back?”
Booth: “Always have in the past.”
Brennan: “So you have faith that you will retain your faith. Why?”
Booth: “Because, Bones, the sun will come up and tomorrow’s a new day.”
Brennan: “I know that feeling.”
Booth: “Really?”
Brennan: “Mmhmm.”
Booth: “You know what it feels like to get your faith back?”
Brennan: “When I see effects and I’m unable to discern the cause, my faith in reason and consequences is shaken.”
Booth: “And then what happens?”
Brennan: “Two plus two equals four. I put sugar in my coffee and it tastes sweet. The sun comes up because the world turns. These things are beautiful to me. There are mysteries I will never understand, but everywhere I look I see proof that for every effect, there is a corresponding cause, even if I can’t see it. I find that reassuring.”
Booth: “And life is good again.”
Brennan: “Life is very good.”
Booth: “Yes it is.”

#####

You're a Firework

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag
Drifting throught the wind
Wanting to start again

Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
Like a house of cards
One blow from caving in

Do you ever feel already buried deep
Six feet under scream
But no one seems to hear a thing

Do you know that there's still a chance for you
Cause there's a spark in you

You just gotta ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the Fourth of July

Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby you're a firework
Come on let your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
You're gunna leave 'em fallin' down-own-own

You don't have to feel like a waste of space
You're original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow

Maybe you're reason why all the doors are closed
So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road
Katy Perry Firework lyrics found on http://www.directlyrics.com/katy-perry-firework-lyrics.html

Like a lightning bolt, your heart will blow
And when it's time, you'll know

You just gotta ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the Fourth of July

Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby you're a firework
Come on let your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe-awe-awe"


Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
It's always been inside of you, you, you
And now it's time to let it through

Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what your worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby you're a firework
Come on slet your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe-awe-awe

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon

***

Wisdom

"Wisdom is the quality that keeps you from getting into situations where you need it." ~ Doug Larson 





###

Believe

"Everything is possible for him who believes."

Mark 9:23








####

Be Yourself

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." ~ Oscar Wilde



###

We All Have Problems

‎"We all have problems. The way we solve them is what makes us different."

###
~ Unknown

choose to be kind

###

Shadows

"Most of the shadows of life are caused by standing in our own sunshine." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

###

Empty Spaces...

New York Times crossword editor, Will Shortz, says, “We have a natural compulsion to fill empty spaces.” I like to think he means not just crosswords, but the empty spaces inside of us that come from making your way in a world that doesn’t always embrace "unique". I tried to fill my empty spaces with words and puzzles—and Steve. But that wasn’t the answer. Now I know, on the journey of life, just find someone as normal as you—if not a whole bunch." ~ Sandra Bullock, All About Steve (2009)

###

Just as I am

"The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change" - Carl Rogers

"Unconditional positive regard, a term coined by the humanist Carl Rogers, is blanket acceptance and support of a person regardless of what the person says or does. Rogers believes that unconditional positive regard is essential to healthy development. People who have not experienced it may come to see themselves in the negative ways that others have made them feel. By providing unconditional positive regard, humanist therapists seek to help their clients accept and take responsibility for themselves. Humanist psychologists believe that by showing the client unconditional positive regard and acceptance, the therapist is providing the best possible conditions for personal growth to the client.

David G. Myers says the following in his Psychology: Eight Edition in Modules:
"People also nurture our growth by being accepting—by offering us what Rogers called unconditional positive regard. This is an attitude of grace, an attitude that values us even knowing our failings. It is a profound relief to drop our pretenses, confess our worst feelings, and discover that we are still accepted. In a good marriage, a close family, or an intimate friendship, we are free to be spontaneous without fearing the loss of others' esteem."

Unconditional positive regard can be facilitated by keeping in mind Carl Rogers’ belief that all people have the internal resources required for personal growth. Rogers' theory encouraged other psychiatrists to suspend judgment, and to listen to a person with an attitude that the client has within himself the ability to change, without actually changing who he is."

source: Unconditional Positive Regard

###

Every Minute

After being in ICU last month for a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a stroke and a recently diagnosed heart condition that will require surgery, rocker Bret Michaels made a surprise appearance on this past Wednesday's American Idol Finale. After the show, he was asked by a reporter about his outlook on life.

How has his outlook on life changed since his health problems? A great reminder:

"The outlook on life... I always thought I enjoyed every day, but now I KNOW I enjoy every day. Every minute here is awesome."

Psychologists attribute his bounce-back to psychological hardiness a predisposition that allows an individual to accept the challenges and changes in life with good humor and resilience, which in turn influences behavior that prevents illness. Psychologists Salvatore Maddi and Suzanne Kobasa identified three dimensions that tend to promote this sense of hardiness and in turn physical wellness: Commitment, Control and Challenge. You can read more about psychological hardiness HERE.

To read the article: Bret Michaels, Hardy by Nature - Rockers' Speedy Recovery a Sign of his Psychological Resilience click HERE.

Just when...

"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly."
~ Proverb


###

Song Quote for Today

"We get so easily distracted
We forget where we set out to go
Well it's okay, it's okay
When everything is everywhere
And you don't know what to do
Don't ever let this world unbalance you
It took some time to realise
But it just occurred to me
That what we have is what we choose to see."

~ Gary Go, Heart and Soul


#####

Do You See What I See?

I've been resisting wearing my glasses for the longest time even though I know I am continuing to hurt my vision. 

 

This is what the world looks like to me through my right eye. 

 

With both eyes open, I can still compensate and see more or less ok but with A LOT of straining.

 

 

 

 

 

This past week I had to renew my drivers license. It's been years since I had to do a vision test at the DMV. This is how my vision test went down:

DMV Employee: read the letters in line five please. 

Me: A C D X Y (looking through the test thingie)

DMV Employee: read the letters on the right as well

Me: What do you mean there's letters on the right ? 

***after putting on my glasses*** - 

Me: Oh, there they are! D G T U C

DMV Employee: You are getting a restricted license today (for corrective lenses)

Me: :-(

-------

This got me thinking. I have neglected my eyesight for so long. Even though I know better, I have been engaging in a behavior that is hurting my health. This week i realized that my bad choice is also a safety concern for others. If I don't wear my glasses when I am driving, I can get a traffic citation, I could hurt myself and/or someone else. I could eventually get my license suspended. I have no choice now.

I still have a choice whether or not to wear my glasses while I am NOT driving. That choice is still up to me. I am going to make the right choice. I am wearing my glasses from now own.

 

Are there any healthy choices you can make for yourself before it is too late...while they are still up to you?

Day by Day

Know what's weird? Day by day, nothing seems to change, but pretty soon...everything's different.
~ Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes