Don’t Waste Your Pain

I heard Joel Osteen say the phrase above the other day and I can’t get it out of my mind.  For me, it made perfect sense ~ when you are going through difficult times, reach out and connect with others.  Don’t allow yourself to be isolated as we are never alone.  Reach out, there’s a hand to hold, a heart to listen and arms to hug you.

I share on my blog because I feel as though someone out there may be going through what I’m enduring at the time.  For me, it always feels better to hear ~ “Oh yes, you too?  I thought it was only me” ~ because it’s never only you who experiences things.  Each and every one of us has a story to tell, difficulties we are enduring and good times that come out of the lessons we learn as we grow with each and every experience.

So the next time you feel that nobody understands or that you are alone as I have felt in the past, reach out of your story, feel the warm embrace of others who are walking on their own journey, who hold compassion in their hearts, and are ready to share with you whenever you are ready.  My heartfelt thanks to all of you who read, like and comment on my blog.  Your sweet presence has been a balm to my soul so many times.  I hope that you will feel my gratitude as I embrace you in my prayers.  You are special.  You are kind and caring.  You are loved.

I’ve got my hand out, so take hold, receive my loving embrace and know that my heart is listening ~ we are all connected and as Ram Dass once said, “we’re all just walking each other home.”

Shine On!

xo

Faith…

I saw this on  www.signsofangels.com today and had to share!  Enjoy a bit of faith…

The Power of the Word 3

I am so very unbelievably lucky, blessed, grateful, excited, proud…

to have someone as loving, selfless, funny, driven, amazing as you.

Happy Anniversary. 

(This card goes out to all of you ~ although it’s NOT OUR Anniversary, this is how I feel about my readers!)

Your words are your affirmations and your thoughts are the keys to your success.   What are you saying?  What are you thinking?  Do you even realize all that goes on in your day?  Words uttered, muttered and thought are very powerful!  Change your words and watch your world change!

I will tell you that during my journey through breast cancer, I used affirmations among other things to help my body/mind fight BC (breast cancer).  One of my affirmations which I still use, especially now while I’m enduring some surgeries and bumps in the road of life is below.  If it resounds with you, then please feel free to use it!

“Divine Love floods my consciousness with health and every cell in my body is filled with light.” 

I say this whenever I think of it…I’ll admit, when I’m very good, I can say it 100 times, and when I”m not, it’s only a few times a day.  But I figure that it gives God/Universe/Spirit/Me/Higher Self/Soul a chance to help me heal.  And I’m still here, so I figure it must be working! 🙂

Now let’s get on with Florence’s next chapter…watch your words and thoughts my friends!

Chapter 3 Excerpts ~ The Power of the Word

If a man wishes someone “bad luck,” he is sure to attract bad luck himself. If he wishes to aid someone to success, he is wishing and aiding himself to success.  The body may be renewed and transformed through the spoken word and clear vision, and disease be completely wiped out of the consciousness. The metaphysician knows that all disease has a mental correspondence, and in order to heal the body one must first “heal the soul.”

The soul is the subconscious mind, and it must be “saved” from wrong thinking.   It is safe to say that all sickness and unhappiness come from the violation of the law of love. A new commandment I give unto you, “Love one another,” and in the Game of Life, love or good-will takes every trick.

Good-will produces a great aura of protection about the one who sends it, and “No weapon that is formed against him shall prosper. “In other words, love and good-will destroy the enemies within one’s self, therefore, one has no enemies on the external!

“There is peace on earth for him who sends goodwill to man!”

xo

(Yet another card from SOC’s catalog of 17k cards to choose from ~ You can change the inside message of the card to make it work for you!)  How cool is that? 🙂

Gratitude Day 17 ~ A Beacon of Hope

Appreciation is the highest form of prayer,

for it acknowledges the presence of good

wherever you shine the light of your thankful thoughts.
-Alan Cohen

My Mom shared yesterday that she was begging God to let my Dad live.  She said she was didn’t mean to beg Him, but she simply couldn’t just pray as she cannot begin to imagine her life without my Dad.  She has been through so much in the last 2 weeks ~ standing like a Beacon of Hope next to his bed all night Thursday night, comforting him when he awakened calling for her.  In her stoic way, she never lets on to him that there is anything but hope there and that he will get better.  Even when he thinks he is dying and verbalizes it, she keeps her Beacon of Hope shining brightly.  It’s all we have at this point.

Our thankful thoughts are our Beacon of Hope and we have many good reasons to be thankful.  It’s hard to think about the possibility of my Dad passing without feeling bereft even though I’ve been blessed to have him in my life for so many years.   I know from experience that there are many others who have not been blessed with parents as long as AAngel and I have and I continue to be thankful in prayer for all that has been given to us.

Truthfully, I don’t want my Dad to pass, but I don’t want him to live uncomfortably either.  But then, it’s not my choice is it?  All I can do is continue to be thankful and appreciative for every little and big thing and for every person who is in our lives.  I am consciously trusting in God/Universe that what is supposed to happen, happens and that my family and I endure with love.

Family crises’ can bring people closer or tear them apart ~ and as I gratefully write that we three women have bonded together in order to be strong Beacons of Hope and Love to a man who has been Husband, Father and PITA to us all (he’s not a Saint you know ~ and I am a bit irreverent) I know that the above quote fits perfectly today.

Because we were called to the hospital early yesterday morning, I wasn’t able to write my post for the day.  In fact, when I awoke early this morning, I wasn’t sure of what I was going to write ~ and then, there it was ~ a quote in my email from a fellow blogger ~ LadyRomp ~ and the above quote and posting took shape.  So a heartfelt thanks to Kim @ a-message-from-the-creator-3-2 for her inspiring messages and quotes.

Use your thoughts wisely, be grateful, show your appreciation to your family, friends, loved ones.

Use the Gift of Today ~ The Presents of Presence that is yours.

Be the Beacon of Hope and Gratefulness

Shine your Love Brightly Today.

xo

Gratitude Day 12 ~ Precious Time…

I found this quote this morning and had to make a card for it because it’s so pertinent to my life, especially at this moment in time.  As you may know, my Dad is very sick and in the ICU at the hospital.  Due to my recent surgery, I am not supposed to visit him due to his illness and I can’t even begin to explain how heartbreaking it is to know that I cannot be there to help him.  Not that I think I could really DO anything for him as his doctors and nurses are doing their best to heal him, but it’s quite hard to feel so helpless.

There are moments where we worry that we may lose him and in those moments, my heart breaks because I think that I may not see him again.  That is hard to bear.  But I am reminded of the few hours we recently spent just chatting the 3 of us (Mom, Dad and me) and my heart feels lighter as I know that I will always have that memory of him.

AAngel, my sister, has been so amazing for me with helping me to feel like I am a part of Dad’s journey and our family’s journey with him.  She has sent me videos of Dad telling me he loved me, she has put the phone up to him so that I could hear him speak to me and she has kept me in the loop at all times.  I am so blessed to have such a thoughtful, kind and generous sister.

My point today is TIME ~ please, use your time with others wisely ~ don’t lose a moment where you can make a difference by connecting with others in a special way ~ take the extra moments to do something good with your time, to help someone, to make a difference, be patient, be thoughtful, treat them as you’d want to be treated.

BE GRATEFUL that you have the time to share with those whom you love!

Hold close those whom you love, forgive, forget, make the time count with them, take pictures of the happy times, take videos of those special moments ~ even the mundane moments because when there is a threat of losing that person, you will hold close those moments in time, live on with those memories and you want them to be sweet and not sour.

My Dad can be persnickety (a nice word for him) and we’ve all had our moments with him.  It is hard to watch a strong-willed man struggle for breath as his body fights to heal itself.  Learn from my experience ~ you have been given THE PRESENTS OF PRESENCE (my FB page) ~ use them wisely, use them thoroughly and use them to enhance your life and the lives of the people who surround you!

We only have this moment in time…Enjoy it!

Remember to tell those whom you love, how GRATEFUL you are for them!

TODAY!

xoxo

Gratitude Day 4

Thank You! xoxo

This card will be private as it’s to my loving, supportive husband of 17 years…a man who has been my rock and who has endured more than any husband should have to in a lifetime.  His unfailing loving arms have held me as I’ve cried, have consoled me as I have endured so many surgeries and yucky treatments…and he has been there every step of the way.  I can never thank him enough for all that he has done for me.  I am so very grateful for his love and I adore and love him with all of my heart.

For you, dear readers, I want to reiterate how uplifting it feels to live in a grateful state of mind!  I am having a blast every morning and evening as I think about my day and to whom I can reach out with a card…below is a list that you can copy if you wish ~ it’s what I am using myself.  As I go over my blessings everyday, I’ve been getting a spark of inspiration as to who is next on my list.  I keep writing the names down of the people and then as I send them a card, I write down the date I sent it.

It’s not difficult to think of the people in your life who make your life sweeter ~ and as you go through your day, you’ll find that the millions of little things that are done to make your life better, add up to a happy day.  Why not give back some of that happiness?  Oprah’s LifeClass, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Louise Hay and many others have spoken of listing your blessings which is great…now let’s take it a step further and TELL those to whom you’re grateful!  Give them a card to remember you by ~ your heartfelt message written for them to always keep…or at least to acknowledge that you are happy that they’re in your life!

30 Day Gratitude Challenge

“Guaranteed to Change Your Life”

                                                                                            Card Sent

Day 1 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________      /    /

Day 2 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________      /    /

Day 3 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________      /    /

Day 4 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________      /    /

Day 5 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________       /    /

Day 6 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________      /    /

Day 7 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________      /    /

Day 8 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________      /    /

Day 9 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________      /    /

Day 10 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________    /    /

Day 11 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________     /    /

Day 12 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________     /    /

Day 13 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________     /    /

Day 14 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________    /    /

Day 15 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________     /    /

Day 16 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________     /    /

Day 17 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________     /    /

Day 18 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________     /    /

Day 19 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________     /    /

Day 20 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________     /    /

Day 21 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________     /    /

Day 22 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________     /    /

Day 23 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________     /    /

Day 24 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________     /    /

Day 25 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________     /    /

Day 26 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________     /    /

Day 27 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________     /    /

Day 28 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________     /    /

Day 29 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________     /    /

Day 30 Who Am I Grateful For? ________________________     /    /

Gratitude Day 1

Dear Sofia, Maria, Kamillah, Amy, Theresa, Susan and all of the amazing nurses on the 13th floor,

I just wanted to send you a note to let you all know just how much I appreciated all of you when I was in the hospital a few weeks ago healing from my surgery.  You were all so very amazing ~ caring, comforting and always there to help me in the healing process. You went above and beyond to make my hospital stay more comfortable and to comfort me when needed.  It was the little extras, the occasional hand holding, the caring words, the infinite patience that I experienced with you all ~ and watched as you treated all of your patients the same.  

Please accept my heartfelt gratitude for a job well-done and for making us all feel special.

Warmly,
Misifusa

When I was in the hospital, I was in the ICU with 3 other women and I credit my healing with the amazing attention to detail and to their patients that the nurses at NYU gave to all of us.  If you’ve ever been in the hospital, you know how scary it can be and how the little comforting things can mean so much which is why I am sending this note to the nurses at NYU.  I was very blessed to have been in their care.

Is there someone in your life who’s gone above and beyond their job to make your life easier? Sweeter?  Better?

How about thanking them?  Just a  little note of appreciation is all it takes…and you’ll make someone smile!

Happy Grateful Day 1!

Who are you grateful for today?

xo

Before the Miracle…

Don’t Leave Before the Miracle…

Stick around. It could be 2 days or 40 days

before change occurs in you. Everyone is different.

So I was telling you about my miracle and before I do go into my surgical retreat for about a week, I thought I’d stay on this topic of Miracles.  For me, everyday is miraculous and I am so grateful for all of the blessings that I’ve enjoyed in my life that I figure I can count everyday as a Miracle.

Beyond that, there’s a sense of incredulity that comes with having this series of serendipitous moments for the past few weeks and I find that instead of doubting how in the world they’ve manifested, I’ve not even had that thought ~ I’ve only gone with the flow and felt that momentum of joy that seems to come bubbling up inside of me every time  I stop to be thankful.  I feel like I have the magic touch inside of me and I only continue to wish myself and others well.  Not that I didn’t do that before, because I did!  But now it seems that as I bravely walk through my day, my day lines up before me as if someone rolled out the red carpet.

Honestly, I have been frustrated, in pain and saddened like so many others who have endured this breast cancer journey and I wanted to tell my story so that others know that it’s only a matter of time before your Miracle arrives.  Mine took awhile, but I am so blessed, so grateful that is has come, that all time has ceased to be important.

What is important is what has always been important to me…Love and my loving family.

We’ve all heard concentrate on the good and it grows…

So concentrate on Miracles…no need to plan how or when they will arrive…

Miracles arrive and that’s all you need to know.

Don’t Leave Before Your Miracle…

It’s coming!

xo

Human Connections

Only through our connectedness to others can we really know and enhance the self.

And only through working on the self can we begin to enhance our connectedness to others.

– Harriet Goldhor Lerner

As a connector myself, I love helping others connect.  It can be as simple as ‘hey I need a good eye doctor who can help me with contacts’ to ‘do you know a good dance instructor who would teach a bunch of 5th graders how to waltz and make it fun?’  FYI:  I knew both and was able to connect them all happily…and to me, it makes me feel so good!

I have been in a bit of hibernation lately, however, with Spring emerging, I am well on my way to reconnecting with others ~ and this lovely card reminds me of the support and connections we all have for each other.  Strengthening our bonds and connections inspires us to better ourselves which brings us immense joy in our lives.  Sitting on the couch eating bon bons is fun once in awhile, but becoming a part of this beautiful Universe and interacting with its inhabitants is a more rewarding choice.

When we connect, we help each other to soar higher, to accomplish more and to be happier people.  Knowing you are connected to others, gives you strength, patience, kindness and inspires you to move out of your comfort zone and emerge from a self-imposed cocoon.  The simple “I CAN” thought can move mountains, climb Everest and perhaps even one day cure cancer.

So if after this wet, wintry season, you find that you are entombed on your couch watching Oprah’s LifeClasses in reruns, get up and go out for a walk!  You never know who you may find out there in this big world and who will enhance your journey here!

Your job today?  Smile!  Move!  Connect!

Happy Tuesday!

xo

Blossoming Souls…

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy,

they are the charming gardeners

who make our souls blossom. ~Marcel Proust

I recently visited a friend whom I’ve known for over 30 years…she is 33 years older than I am, but is as young at heart as anyone in her 40’s.  I made this card above because it reminded me of her.

What a gift to be the person who is a gardener of lives and that’s just what JAngel was for years and years ~ working in the school which I attended as a child and was blessed to return to teach in as an adult!  She has touched the lives of hundreds of children with her sunny smile and sweet disposition.   Before bullying was a hot topic, JAngel was on guard watching over her darlings on the playground and in the cafeteria and quietly in the hallways, making sure that all in her care were happy, safe and enjoying their childhoods ~ like a Guardian Angel.

JAngel and I reconnected as she has been recently diagnosed with cancer.  During our visit, we opened up as we often do when we know that someone who’s ‘been there, done that,’ may understand how we are feeling.  I think there’s a special understanding between those who have faced cancer or any other life changing illness.  We just ‘get it’ easily as many times we’ve felt the same way about facing one of life’s hurdles.

In the caring facility in which she currently resides, she is a joy to behold which I knew she would be.  Nurses and aides alike came to visit and to see if JAngel would like a little muffin or even if I wanted a cup of coffee.  She greeted each and every one by name with her charming smile.  It was clear that they adored her and she adored them.  It was great to see her gardening her blossoming souls again.

So today’s post is dedicated to my friend JAngel ~ a woman whom I aspire to be like, a role model of decorum, love, light and precious caring ~ a woman who inspires others to be their very best and who always sees the best in all!

Thank you for being You!

xo