The Value of a Quotation July 30, 2008
Posted by beholdthestars in Life & Living, Quotations.Tags: Marianne Williamson, quotation
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We’re not held back by the love we didn’t receive in the past, but by the love we’re not extending in the present.
~ Marianne Williamson
What a great quote. In fact it’s so great that it’s probably stuck to refrigerators and computer monitors all across America. It makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and it should. But what use is it?
I’m a quotation junkie. Throughout my life, I’ve read literally thousands of them, kept hundreds in various notebooks, and carried them around on note cards. I’ve posted them and e-mailed them to my friends. I continue to be drawn to them. But what did I get from them, except the enjoyment of a short, pithy quote that I can whip out when it’s apropos to a conversation? This question, to me, is critical.
If I agree with Ms. Williamson — and I do — then in order for me to make use of her quote, I have to dig beneath the abstract, general sense in which it was written to find its treasure: the specific, concrete ways that I can put it into practice. The real meaning hidden in this quote is “Let go of the past, and do X, Y, and Z to show more love to…well, whomever I want to show more love.
So for you and me, the point of learning this quote is to remember to do those things. Buy roses, tell someone you love them, do something nice for someone. You know what needs to be done. I don’t need to give you a list. Just do it.
You know what else? You’ll find that when you focus on showing love through acts, you’ll find it easier to let go of the past. Very cool.
Make a great day.
How Many More People Do You Get To Bless? July 28, 2008
Posted by beholdthestars in Life & Living, Links, Positive Thinking, Quotations.Tags: Angela Loeb, Attitude and Longitude, Blessing Seize the moment, Chicken Soup for the African American Soul, happiness, Lisa Nichols, optimism
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…You were born to add something, add value to this world. To simply be something, bigger and better than you were yesterday… Every single thing you’ve been through, every single moment that you’ve come through, were to all prepare you for this moment right now. Imagine what you can do from this day forward with what you now know… How much more do you get to be? How many more people do you get to bless, simply by your mere existence? What will you do with the moment? How will you seize the moment? No one else can dance your dance, no one else can sing your song, no one else can write your story. Who you are, what you are, begins right now!
~ Lisa Nichols, from Chicken Soup for the African America Soul
What a great way to look at today or your whole life! “How many more people do you get to bless, simply by your mere existence?” I keep coming back to this: what a beautiful life we have here. Just because your home isn’t from Architectural Digest and your car isn’t from Robb Report doesn’t mean that you aren’t smack dab in the middle of something amazing. When you stop to think about it, this process of living and growing, failing and succeeding, being lonely and being loved is so amazing that no Ferrari could possibly match it. It’s a wild ride, but well worth the price of admission.
By the way, I lifted this quote from a website called Attitude and Longitude: Exploring Attitude and Inspiration with Angela Loeb. Angela treads some of the same ground we do. Take some time to check out her site.
Make a great day.
Cross Train With the Power Questions July 23, 2008
Posted by beholdthestars in Positive Thinking.Tags: Donald Lofland, gratitude, gratitude journal, Ph.D., Thought Viruses
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Sometimes I do my gratitude journal religiously only to find myself just going through the motions. Every attempt is only another stale recitation of the things I’m grateful for. The gratitude journal has lost its punch. What I need during those times is change. It seems that my methods need to have some time off while I use other methods. I think of it as emotional cross training. Today we’re going to look at one of those other methods.
Our new idea is from Thought Viruses: Powerful Ways to Change Your Thought Patterns and Get What You Want in Life, by Donald Lofland, Ph.D. He calls these Power Questions. Here’s how they work:
1. List ten questions for yourself that have empowering presuppositions, for example:
- What am I excited about in my life now?
- Who loves me? Whom do I love?
- What am I proud of in my life now?
- What am I gratefule for in my life now?
- What am I learning now that makes me feel good?
- How could whatever is happening to me now be moving me toward my highest dreams?
List whatever questions feel most relevant to you. When you ask such questions with a sincere interest in receiving answers, your brain will search out answers taht will make you feel good.
2. When you wake up each morning, begin the day by asking yourself two of the questions in a certain format. Let’s say you choose the above question, “What am I grateful for in my life now?” For each answer you think of, expand on that answer with two more questions:
- What about that makes me feel good?
- How does that make me feel?
3. Repeat the process in step 2 for the second question and each answer that comes up. Again, notice how you feel.
4. Do this for twenty-one days, and see if the quality of your daily life, especially your start in the morning, isn’t transformed.
Well, there you go. All the instructions are there. My process changes this a little. I walk each morning, and I go through the entire list during my walk. It’s amazing how powerful and resourceful I feel by time I get home.
So give it a try for a few weeks and give your usual processes a breather. I think you’ll thrive on the change.
Make a great day.
Tip # 26: Drop an Appreciation Bomb July 12, 2008
Posted by beholdthestars in Positive Thinking, Tips, Uncategorized.Tags: appreciation, Christine Comafore-Lynch, gratitude, Mighty Ventures, optimism
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Here’s another version of our gratitude journal. It’s from Christine Comaford-Lynch’s Mighty Ventures web site. For those of you who don’t know who she is, Comaford-Lynch is the author of Rules for Renegades: How to Make More Money, Rock Your Career, and Revel in Your Individuality. Not a great book, but not a bad one, either. There are a few nuggets of wisdom in here that make it worth your time to read. One of those nuggets is the Appreciation Bomb. Here’s how it works:
- Sit down someplace quiet. List all the things you are grateful for.
- Keep listing them,out loud or silently (you can write them if you want) until your eyes tear up with joy. Do not get up or move around until you reach that goal. You’ll be blown away.
So it’s our gratitude journal idea for the impatient. Where the standard gratitude journal relies on a cumulative, accretive process, the Appreciation Bomb, like a bomb, attempts to do its work all at once. I’m not sure it could be done on a daily basis, but when you need some extra help seeing the bright side.
Give it a try.
Make a great day.
