With the promise of Spring around the corner, the Iris bulbs in the yard are beginning to break through.
This image is one I took in 2015, in keeping with my promise that no flowers will come into the house without being photographed. I simply added some thoughts to the image.
Did I mention we have snow flurries here today? I’m not a fan – haha! Just sayin.’
Wishing you all a remarkable Spring!
Be good to yourself and each other. Namaste’
Take your shoes off. Go outside. Feel the earth under your feet. Throw a tennis ball for your dog. Admire the trees and be thankful for the oxygen they give. Look up at the sky (not while driving … haha). Laugh uncontrollably. If there’s even the slightest chance of getting something that will make you happy, risk it.
Walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the cheerful, the planners, the doers, those with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground. Let their spirit ignite a fire within you to leave this world a better than you found it.
It just might be time to live with wild abandon.
Be good to yourself and each other. Namaste’
In lieu of doing another Throwback Thursday, I wanted to share this video that I received from a friend this morning. I had seen it before but today with all that’s going on with hurricanes, fires, politics, and the world at large, it was such a profound reminder.
I believe in synchronicity … there are no accidents. This was given to me again for a reason. Enough said.
Be good to yourself and each other. Namaste’
My brother wasn’t the kind of guy to buy presents for people. He hated shopping and would rather give someone money to buy what they wanted. I always teased him about that 🙂
For my birthday in 2010 he gave me this necklace, just a few months before he passed away. I remember when I opened it I told him how much I loved it and he said, “I hope you always will, kid.” I was his little sister and he always called me that. Unless he was mad at me – LOL!
Looking back I think he knew that we were going to lose him and that his wish for me was to really live my life. I believe he knows that I am.
One of the main reasons I started this blog six years ago was to chronicle my life so that when I’m gone, my kids and grandkids will know what I was about. Maybe my life will be an inspiration for them to live theirs doing things and loving people that make their spirits soar.
Be good to yourself and each other. Namaste’
Most everyone is familiar with the phrase “grand entrance.”
When a baby is born, she or he makes a grand entrance. When the bride begins her walk down the aisle, she makes a grand entrance. When Scarlett O’Hara famously walked down the stairs of Tara, she made a grand entrance.
When we leave a room, a relationship, a job, or even a movie theater, we’re making an exit. (At least in the movie theater the Exit sign is clearly marked – ha!)
When we pass from this world to what’s waiting for us on the other side, we make another exit.
Entrances and exits are simply beginnings and endings. Hopefully our energy imprints will bring joy to the space between our beginnings and endings … for the highest good of all concerned. 
P.S. – Happy Independence Day to all of my U.S. friends! May you find new beginnings that feed your spirit.
It seems it’s pretty easy these days to become mired in the negativity that seems to be enveloping our planet.
I’ve heard from several sources that it’s simply the cycle of time when we and our planet are evolving … meaning that we’re breaking away from old paradigms in order to bring in the new. Is there anything “simple” about it this process? Personally, I don’t think so. 
You see, we’ve all got a lot of baggage … old issues we haven’t wanted to look at and heal, old programming from our parents who meant well but handed down the programming they received from their parents, etc. The list could go on and on and some days it sure does.
Maybe it’s time to look at that old baggage for what it really is … old baggage. Ask it what it’s trying to teach us. Once we know what it is, then maybe we can drop it and get on the train feeling a little lighter. I know that I can’t do this alone so I call on God to help me shine a light on the dark places.
I really want to leave my bags at the station. How about you?
Recently I saw a video on Facebook berating people in Mississippi who, the author claimed to be stupid because they voted for President Trump. The video pinpointed people who live in poverty. There are a lot of people living in poverty in this country. In fact, all over the world. It doesn’t make them stupid. 
It’s my belief that people who berate others are very insecure in who they are. It would seem that they have to make others feel bad so that they can feel better. There is no common sense or sense of decency in that.
It’s time for people to wake up. If we’re not moving forward as a species, we’re moving backwards. Life is not static.
Have a blessed and beautiful day!
Were You Raised with An Entrepreneurial Spirit?
If you can’t seem to get ahead or make progress with your business because you lack an entrepreneurial spirit of giving, it may be time to assess how you were brought up. Many parents raise their children to be giving, while others are intent on having their children focus on earning money.
The reality is – you need a balance of both. Children who were raised to give with a free spirit may have difficulty grasping the importance of receiving money for what they do – especially those who offer advice and guidance, as well as valuable products.
When you have an entrepreneurial mindset, you strive to change yours and others’ lives for the better. You seek change, rather than sitting back waiting for things to happen. Giving is an important part of the entrepreneurial spirit, but it should also enhance the growth of the entrepreneur rather than just the person being helped. It’s a two-way street!
A negative mindset will absolutely ruin your chances of being a successful entrepreneur. Remaining positive and enthusiastic are both important to having others look up to you as a leader and a trusted advisor. Entrepreneurs are empowered and are capable of teaching others to become empowered.
A sense of being worthy of success is also important to the entrepreneurial spirit. Giving away all of your advice and guidance information for free doesn’t enhance an entrepreneur’s path to success at all – in fact, it will hinder your progress.
If you don’t think your advice is worthy of payment, no one else will. This attitude can’t be taught, but can certainly be developed over time. By fostering passion and enthusiasm for what you do, the entrepreneurial spirit will grow and you will prosper as a result.
Potential customers sense the passion and enthusiasm in your voice and in the helpful information that you offer. Even if a person comes into their relationship with you skeptical at first, they sense your conviction and will react by becoming a loyal customer.
Entrepreneurs are naturally optimistic and tend to enjoy life to the fullest. They take risks and push past the lines where others have stopped. Even though you may not feel you’ve developed a true entrepreneurial spirit over time, you can begin now to turn the tables and eventually consider yourself worthy of all good things that come your way.
Do You Know What’s Sucking Up Your Time?
We live in hectic times and our most precious commodity is and always will be time. You can’t grow more of it and when it’s gone you can’t get it back.
How often do you tell yourself that you can’t do what you want to do because you don’t have the time? We all do it. We want to live with more purpose, volunteer, or simply spend more quality time with our family and friends, but there just isn’t enough time to do it.
The cold hard truth is that there is plenty of time. It’s simply a matter of prioritizing what you spend it on and cutting out some of the things that suck up your time. We all have them and, while the specifics may be different from person to person, the solution is the same for everyone. Find out where you spend your time and then make educated decisions on what’s important and what isn’t.
One of the best tools for figuring out exactly where you’re spending your time is a time journal. This can be a simple little notebook, a stack of scrap paper, an Evernote doc on your phone, or a spreadsheet on your computer.
Next start writing down what you’re doing every 15 minutes from the time you get up to the time you go to sleep. Keep this up for about a week and see what you come up with.
Reviewing your time log can be a real eye opening experience!
You may discover that you spent a lot more time on the computer doing busy work, or surfing the web than you realize. Or maybe you had no idea that you spent an average of four hours a night watching TV, or 2 hours per day commuting to and from work. In other words, you’ll start to recognize patterns of behavior and where you tend to spend your time.
While there are quite a few areas that we don’t have a lot of control over (you have to show up for work or school, make time for personal hygiene, and get some sleep), there are quite a few hours in each day that we can fill however we like.
Keeping a time log for a week or two provides you with the information you need to be able to make educated and conscious choices about how to spend that time. That in turn allows you to live more purposefully, no matter what your goals and aspirations are. Sometimes, you want to sleep in, spend the day reading or playing video games, or simply daydream and that’s ok. It’s a great way to unwind, distress, and recharge. On other days, you may choose do so something more active or social.
The point is that when you become aware of how and where you’re spending your time, you have more control and can be more intentional with how you spent it.
A quote from one of my favorite people, Mike Dooley, who has written several books that I love …
“In case they look at you funny when you tell them of your loftiest dreams, goals, and desires, all you have to do is turn your head sideways, raise an eyebrow, and slowly say, “I… have… connections….”
Because you do.
