Inspirational Thoughts
Once in awhile, I will be passing on to you, some of my inspirational thoughts. I see and hear many things that inspire me, and I would like to share them.
I am in no way an expert in the areas that I am writing about, or pretend to be. I am just sharing some of my thoughts and observations with you, and the inspiration that they have brought to me.
An Unexpected Gift
Unexpected gifts come in all shapes, sizes and forms. They might be easy to overlook.
When the Summer warmth is over, cold weather and cold rain usually follow.
It is a prelude to the snow filled, blustery Winter months.
This year is different. We are having very pleasent tempatures with lots of sunshine. It is a beautiful gift of warm weather. For those of us who do not enjoy the cold Winter season, it is very enjoyable to have an Autumn that delays the colder months.
With the unexpected warm weather, I cleaned up the garden. Soon it will be turned under. I took a few plants that were on the porch into the house. This will extend their life and I will be able to enjoy them as it gets cold and the days get short.
I can take walks on soft green grass, and watch the trees change into their beautiful Autumn colors.
Anxiety
Was there ever a social event about to happen, and you had a pre-conceived idea about how it would go? You think of all the things that could happen and some of the things that you think of are not so good.
You imagine that perhaps the people at the event will not be kind. Or that you will not have all of the social graces, and you will feel uneasy.
Then the event arrives. Things go better than you could have imagined. You feel relieved that it is over. You wonder why you ever thought things would not turn out well.
All of the quiet anxiety for no real reason. Most of the things that we have anxiety about, never happen.
Turning off anxiety is hard to do.
Try replacing the anxious thoughts with thoughts of peacefulness and confidence that you know are within yourself.
And relax. That is the best way that I know of to be at ease in most situations.
Do you have inspirational thoughts of your own that you would like to share with others? You can do so here.
Downsizing
I have been downsizing lately. Things that I no longer need, that have served their purpose in a time past, have to go.
It is not hard to let things go, when I know that whoever I give them to will use them with a new purpose.
The emotional attachment to these things is not there anymore. As of now, they are merely clutter stuff for me.
It isn't too hard to look at something, and realize that it is just an object now.
At one time, these things served me and my family. Some of the objects did not even do that. They were given to us as gifts, that were not asked for. Or some family member brought something and never used it. Therefore, they sat on a shelf or in a closet, just waiting to be useful for someone.
As I clear the house, the garague, the basement, the yard, I find that I can breathe easier.
Bald Eagle
This afternoon I was outside, doing nothing in particular, except taking advantage of the last of the warm weather.
I chanced to sit on the grass and look up into the clear blue sky.
There, way up high, almost to the farthest point that I could see with my eyes, an eagle was floating in a circle pattern, on a breath of wind. As the eagle floated downward, the circles became bigger, or so it seemed to me. The eagle was catching air movement that I was not feeling on the ground. I was transfixed on the tiny bird, so high above me.
What caused the bird to be up so high in flight? Just floating....maybe playing on the air currents?
Eagles are magnificent birds that represent so many things. I felt privileged to watch this one.
The great bird never came real close to me. Something caught his attention on the downward circular flight and he flew out of my sight.
I was in awe to have spotted the eagle so high up.
Summer's End
The height of summer has passed. It seems too early to hear the occasional geese finding their way to a better place to spend the next few months.
Nights are cooler. There is a need to lower the windows in the evening. Unless you like it cooler.
Today, even though it was warm, I senced the feeling of Fall in the air. That always brings a little saddness to my soul.
This has been a busy, friend filled summer. Something new was around each corner.
There are still plenty of warm days left, but they are on the wain. I plan to make the best use of the summer days that remain.
The Monarch Butterfly
For several days now, as I go outside, as I desend the porch steps, a monarch butterfly flies past me.
It is nice to watch, and for some reason, comforting. It is always surprising to see the butterfly, as I do not think about it until I see it each time.
I would like to think that each momarch is a different one, and not always the same one, that flies past me.
I watch the graceful wings, I see the beautiful orange color, and I notice the gentle up and down pattern of flight.
What message is the butterfly trying to tell me?
Summer Storm
A storm popped up while I was with a friend in a neighboring town.
We were at a restaurant having a late lunch. The rain had not yet started as we began to eat.
While we were finishing our meal, it started to rain. Actually, rain would be too light of a word to use. It stormed mightily.
The rain beat against the window. Hail the size of ping pong balls was falling. A sign from the business next to us blew down. Then the lights went out. I was glad that we had finished eating, as the kitchen was dark. A few new people came into the restaurant at this time. We all watched the storm's furry from inside the sturdy building.
After a while, the storm let up. The outside began to get a little brighter. We decided that this might be a good time to head for home.
We headed to the main highway that would take us home the fastest way. As we started on the highway, we saw that cars were turning around. Something was preventing them from going further. We could not see what the obstruction was. But now was our chance to turn around before we got into the tangle of cars, so we did.
We holed up in a parking lot for a bit to re-group. Another wave of rain came through as we planned our next move.
We decided to take another highway home. It would not be that much more out of the way.
Before we even had a chance to get to this highway, we noticed that cars were also being turned around by the city's police. We just stayed where we were in the safty of the parking lot.
Then I had a thought. I remembered the back roads that could take us home. We were able to take this route without incident. There were semi trucks on this road that normally would not have been there. Also there was a lot more traffic on this road than there should have been.
Later, we found that the first highway that goes through a swamp area had flooded over. The second highway had trees that had blown down, blocking the road.
In total, about a thousand trees had blown down. That was some storm! The good news out of this was that no lives were lost. Almost before the storm was over, people began to help with the clean up.
What an expierence to have gone through, but we are safe!
Summer's Wain
Our hot and humid summer has finally taken a turn to the cool side. Not a big turn, such as the change to Autumn. But enough of a change to let us know that our summer is just about to close, and that Fall is tapping on the door.
Am I sad about Summer being over? You bet! I think I made the most of the warm weather when it was here.
But like all things, I will adjust to the cooler weather when it arrives.
Small Friends
Do you have little ones at home? I am not talking about children. I am talking about pets. They become the ones that we care for when our own children have gone or moved on.
My cat Dusty, a nine year old feamale, was not feeling all that well. For two days she threw up everything that she ate. She even threw up when she was not eating.
I talked to our vet. She suggested that there may be a hairball problem. I took the remady home with me and promply gave it to my little one. As finicky as cats can be, she readily took it. Then I left her alone. Most animals know that to rest is to heal. Cats are masters at this. They conserve their energy, and can live quite a few years as a result of this.
I am thankful that Dusty has been a healthy cat for so many years.
Later in the day, Dusty ate some dry cat food. The food stayed down. She seems to be doing good right now, and has resumed all of her normal activity. I will keep a watchful eye on her.
Birthdays
In the culture that I grew up in, which is the American culture, growing older is not always seen as a good thing. Being young and appearing young is everything here.
I have a lot of admiration for the countries that respect and revere their elders.
The last birthday that I had, felt unlike others that I had before. I was so happy on my birthday. I felt that I had endured many things in the past, blown past them, and am in a good place now.
How you feel in your mind, has everything to do with how you feel in your body.
I am filled with joy to celebrate another year on this Earth. I have learned so many life lessons, some of them harder than the others. All of them valuable in their own way.
I am not finished growing-there is so much more to do, to learn, and to share.
Garden Abundance
This summer we had a lot of rain, and I mean a lot. Many inches more than other years.
We also had more heat and humidity than we are used to. It was almost like we had a real summer.
Some of the gardens were going crazy, producing like they never did before. Other gardens got drowned out.
My garden exploded with cucumbers and squash. I had so many cucumbers I was overwhelmed.
Inspiration struck. Make pickles! I don't usually make pickles. I do not do canning. I found a recipie to make refrigerator pickles. It is a quick way to preserve cucumbers without canning them.
I needed a bit of dill for this recipie. I had no dill. I called up a neighbor who has a large garden to see if she had any dill. First of all, it was unusual to reach her, as usually she is working odd hours or sleeping. As luck would have it, she was off for vacation this week.
She had dill, but it was so small it was not pickle worthy. But we had a nice visit.
She than suggested we go to another neighbors house who might have dill. We went there, but they did not have dill. But we had a nice visit.
This neighbor said that her mother had a lot of dill that was going to waste. We were invited to take as much as we wanted. After I picked my dill, we had a nice visit.
The following day, I shared cucumbers with all of the neighbors that I visited with the day before. They did not have cucumber abundance like I did.
My cucumbers allowed me to have nice visits with some of my neighbors that I had not seen for awhile. And I was able to find more people to share them with.
A Dear Friend
I have a good friend, one among many that I hold dear to my heart. We have been best buddies for over thirty years.
My friend has enjoyed a long term employment with a company for many years. Recently she has been a casualty of the economy. Her job has been elimanated, with very little notice given to her.
Needless to say, she is devestaded.
The job that she has preformed well for so many years, will never be there again.
Her work day routine that has been the center of her world for so long, will no longer apply.
The employment future for her is very unsettled.
All of this takes time to be processed. When losing a long time job, there is a greiving process going on that is similiar to the bereavement of losing a loved one.
Denial-I don't believe that this has happened to me! There must be some mistake!
Anger-This is so unfair! They are out to get me. I know how I can get back at them!
Bargaining-Maybe I can still work at my old job. I can offer to take a paycut. They still need me--they just don't know it yet.
Depression-At this time, some people may not be able to function at the same level as when they had their job. Depression can be mild, in that you may miss your every day routine. Filling up the time may now be a challenge.
Or it can be of a larger scale, where you feel paralyzed into inactivity. There may be a feeling of 'what is the use of getting out of bed today?'
Acceptance-The job that I have had for so many years is no longer here. Maybe it is time to do something for myself. Something that makes me happy and want to get up each day to do it.
Often, how you view an event in life, has a hugh impact on how the outcome will turn out. It is often more important than the event itself.
Something as devastating as a loss of job and income, and how you view yourself in relation to what has happened is put to the test. If you see the job loss as the worst possible thing that can happen in your life, and you do not see yourself as ever recovering, you might not.
If you decide that the job is over, it may now be seen as an opportunity to change some things in your life that need changing. The time is right for you to go forth and start fresh.
Gratitude
The definition of gratitude by Wikipedia is "a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation".
When things are not going as well as you would like them to be going, when someone close to you is hurting, when there does not seem to be anything 'good' happening in your life, gratitude may be far from your thoughts.
As these challenges arise, that is exactly the time to look for the bright spot hidden within all the darkness.
Where to begin? Take a few minutes each morning to think of whatever you can be thankful for. Do it before you even get out of bed.
The list can be small. And it can change each day. Here is an example of a few of the many things that I am thankful for:
*I am thankful that I have friends and family to surround me.
*I am thankful that I will have all the food that I need to sustain me this day.
*I am thankful that I have good health.
*I am thankful for my cats.
*I am thankful to see beautiful trees and fields every day.
*I am thankful that I have energy to do the things that I like to do.
Gratitude gently lifts us up from The Place of Despair, and the words gradually change how we feel.
At first, the words may be said without any real meaning. They are just words. Then something happens, as you continue to be grateful. You notice that everything is not quite the same around you as it once was. You begin to feel the words of gratitude inside. First as a tiny flutter, than as a great ocean wave.
As the words are now said with feeling and belief, you realize that you are changing. Things happen around you that you thought would never happen.
During the summer months, I take a walk early in the morning. I love these walks. I find so many things to be thankful for. The walk hardly seems long enough to fit it all in. And I am a changed person from how I used to be.
You can read more of my inspirational thoughts here.
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