Reach Out and Lick Someone!

Brody and Me

Brody is a friend’s pup whom I adore.  There’s nothing like a spring day with an affectionate pup by your side ~ or better explained, a big lab pup who’s almost as big as yourself who believes without question that he’s a lap dog ~ and gets in your lap whether he fits or not!  The reason I posted a photo of us is because I think it’s the little things in life that make such a big difference.  This photo was shot last Spring and whenever I see it, it brings back the sweet memory of that moment.  It’s not a good shot of either of us for you can’t see the beauty of his face nor of his owner who took the photo, but you can see my double chins!  However, it’s the warmth, the fur therapy, the beauty in the Spring air and the laughter and smiles of friendship that this moment brought to my life.  I guess you can say, it’s all part of “The Dash.”  Although I’d like to think that it’s also a part of connecting ~ connecting with nature, connecting with friends, connecting with other souls and connecting with ourselves.

Do you have memories that you can immediately tap into to give you that ‘feel good’ feeling?  Do you have moments where you can feel the sun’s warmth, remember the laughter and the good feelings and have that exact moment come rushing to you even though the experience is long past?  Do you have a photos of them like I do or are they immortalized in your memory bank?  When you need a pick me up, can you find them so that you get that smile rush?  Or are they buried under heaps of daily to do lists, chores and such?

Please share as I’d love to hear what your happy Spring memory is!

Post a photo if you wish ~ isn’t it time we all saw each other?

Shine On!

xo

P.S.  This one also goes for Michelle’s Weekly Pet Photo Challenge!  Click here for more info!

What are you doing with your sadness?

How many times have these words crossed your your mind or been uttered by your lips?  How many times have you felt that life’s circumstances have treated you unfairly?  And what did you do about it?  Or better yet, what are you doing about it?  Are you wallowing in a heap of self-pity pooled with tears and ‘why me’s?’  Or have you dissolved into anger and resentment?  Perhaps you have evolved into a place where you can see that circumstances occur, it is what it is and you’ve moved on?

What are you doing with your sadness?

Death, illness, poverty, depression, lack of love, crimes, and violence can all bring sadness into our lives.  At times, these circumstances can feel as though they are breaking our souls and tempt our resolves to live our lives to their fullest potential.  They change us in ways in which we cannot imagine.  They are paths which we take which are many times not how we’d imagined our lives to be.  But the one thing for certain is this:  we have choices throughout these paths and we are not alone.  It is in these periods of time that we have choices which can change our lives.  By reaching out of our comfort zones we can connect with others to help heal ourselves.  We can take on the fighting spirit which lies within us, that strength that you possibly never knew you had inside at your disposal when needed, and reach out of our troubles in order to heal ourselves.  It is never an easy task, but nor is is insurmountable.  It takes time, it takes patience.  It takes a willingness to expose the grief and to forgive, to find a new normal for ourselves and to pick ourselves up and to find the Presents in Presence.

I’ve wasted time myself.  Wasted precious moments in anger, resentment, sadness and stony unforgiveness.  I’ve wallowed in self-pity, berated myself for the cancer which broke my body, my spirit, my self-esteem and even my will to live.  I’ve grieved over the passing of loved ones, harboring in my shell of grief, shouldering the sadness of the world around me.  I have forgotten that little light of a soul inside of me who only wishes to be raised up to sparkle.  I have lost sight of my spirit inside of me and I forgotten that this is a journey of spirit and not of humanness as much.  I disconnected from my purpose and I turned my back on the experiences which have brought me to this moment of light.  I allowed the darkness to invade for a bit.  Luckily, my connections wouldn’t allow me to give up on my purpose nor my energy to inspire and I was given help to ignite that passionate loving, healing spirit to shine in my life.  Just as my light began to fade indeed, I was brought back to the beauty in life and I am forever grateful.

And this is why I tell you, I am your biggest fan.  We all need a hand to hold onto and another spirit to walk with us.  We require that connection in order to leapfrog with each other and to help pull ourselves out of the darkness when it happens.  And it does happen.  Life is not without strife sometimes, but it’s what you do with that sadness that counts.  Sure, the DASH is important, but it’s the Presents in Presence that marks the days, the years, the life that you live for as long as you are blessed to be here.

What do you create out of your sadness?  Where to do allow it to take you or do you lead?

For you see, none of us get out of this life alive and we’ve all been asked what are we doing with our lives.  We’ve heard about the dash ~ you know what that is, right?  The DASH between your birth year and your death year and what counts is what you do with that time.  But it’s the moments, the now, that I’m interested in because as we build on these nows, we build the important dash.  We choose to see the light, be a part of the light and we choose to shine and sparkle our own brand of light into the world.

You are never left without a choice.  Use it wisely.  If you chose darkness, you can still choose light now.  That’s how easy it is.  You can find your way out of that sadness.  You can choose to for a moment, now, to smile, even if you don’t feel much like doing it.  Let’s try it now.  Please?  For me?

Shine On!

xo

I was here

A distant family member passed yesterday, and then a friend texted me the song below and it made me think of the indelible mark we leave on this Earth when it’s our time to depart.  In most hearts, we want there to be something that says to ourselves and to others, some reaffirmation of “I was here,” so that we can fulfill that need to matter, to be a part of something unique in this world.  To add our brand of something special to the millions of others with whom we connect in our short lives.  Do you feel that need?  Can you feel it?  Do you ever think about it?

So what is your mark that you’ll leave behind?  Is it what you think it should/could/would be?  It’s never too late to change what that ‘dash’ represents in your lifetime.    Do you feel that energy today?  I awoke with something completely different as my post for today, but this just feels right.  As DAngel goes on to her Heaven, we can be reminded of a life well-lived, a family who surely is in mourning over the loss of a soul who tried to fight the cancer that led to her death yet continually kept that bright positivity even when there was nothing left.

You have the power to renew your spirit today and to be able to make a difference, no matter how small in your own life and in the lives of others.  To say, I lived.  I loved.  I was here.

Shine On!

xo

P.S.  HAngel, thanks for leading the way with this song today.  I am heartily grateful for your presence in my life. ♥  Watch the video below ~ and be inspired by Lady Antebellum.

The Dash

I received an email yesterday from Simple Truths which included a link to the video and book above which I just had to share with you today!  It truly makes you think ~ so sit back and let 2 minutes of inspiration soak into your mind, your heart and your life.  You are worth it!

The Dash, the inspirational poem by Linda Ellis – captures not the date you were born, or the date you die – but the importance of The Dash between those years. It’s what you do with your Dash to make a difference with your life. Linda’s beautiful poem, along with nine chapters that reinforce its verses are included in Simple Truths’ book, The Dash, by Linda Ellis and Mac Anderson. The Dash has touched hearts and changed lives around the world, including the 30 million who have watched Simple Truth’s inspirational movie. “What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash.”  Simple Truths provides customers with inspirational and motivational gift books and movies.

Click on  The Dash 2 minute movie!  to watch!

Make Your Dash Shine On!

xo