STEPPING OUT IN FAITH

You gotta believe! That has been the motto of many a person and even pro sports teams over the years. While many of us fail to see that we demonstrate great faith in many things every day we still exhibit faith very often. The biggest problem many of us have is that we "misplace" our faith in things we do not want to see manifest instead of placing our faith in things we do want to see transpire. You don't think you have much faith huh? Hey, most of you will soon get behind the wheel of an automobile and start the ignition. Right? And you don't stop to wonder if the ignition will start(most of the time) and you don't think about all it entails for an auto to crank, no, instead you just have faith that it will start when you turn the ignition on. Likewise, while you are driving down the avenue you place a lot of faith in the other drivers around you, in the traffic signals that they are properly working etc. And when you go to slow down you have faith that the brakes when applied will stop the car. I know this is a simple illustration of faith but faith is faith no matter what label one applies. We use our faith every moment in this life oft times in a negative way. How many times have you heard someone say--Hey, I never win anything- but still you see them buying a raffle ticket. A case of misplaced faith to me. Any way I know faith is a very personal thing to each of us but still I think we should all try and keep our faith on a positive track. Why it seems to be that we can easily believe in something "bad" happening to us, but can't find the same conviction of faith when it comes to believing that something "good" will come our way. Here's hoping that each of you will take a close look at your "inner" beliefs or faith and see if they can be redirected to a positive view. Martin Luther King Jr. once stated this: "Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." May you all reach out and begin the ascent to your highest goals and ambitions in a perfect faith in all you do. And please remember that as life rewards you with all good things just take what you need and share the rest with those less fortunate. The very best I wish for you and yours now and forever!

RIGHT OR WRONG

I often have trouble in trying to see any one thing as right or wrong. I have come to find out that there is just way too much of the gray area with things. And thus any thing can be either right, wrong, or somewhere in between. But in this world oft times we feel the need to define our belief about something as either right or wrong, no room in between for anything else. And I do feel this leads us down a narrow road that is awash with all kinds of ruts(challenges, troubles, illness, etc). It is one thing to firmly believe something is true but yet another thing if that belief precludes another's perception of things. I have found this is extremely true when it comes to things of a spiritual nature. As I've stated many times I am not a religious man nor do I claim to have possession of life's answers. But I do try my best to keep an open mind when it comes to things spiritual. Most religious folks would think I am damned to hell after this life because I don't adhere to a particular faith nor do I believe in a Devil, I don't believe in a God who is vengeful, nor one who sits in judgment either for us or against us. But I do believe in a world where we are ALL one and that one day we will again merge back into the Universal Mind or Spirit as I call it. But again, these beliefs are personal to me and I'm sure you have your own beliefs as well. The purpose of this writing is to let you know that when I finally awoke to the fact that I did NOT have to be right all the time, then my life became a whole lot easier. I gladly share my beliefs with anyone who wants to listen but I will not ever feel the need to defend them as I once did. You know what? I may be way, way, off in my beliefs but at least I don't have to try and prove them right. Here's to hoping that you are confident and secure in your personal beliefs, also that you have an open mind so that you can accept others as they are, and a warm fuzzy feeling in knowing that one day all humanity will again recognize their oneness and that we will at long last understand the truth. In the meantime if you can just do a little something nice for another human being then please do it now. This world as I see it needs a lot more kindness so let that kindness begin with you today. I wish you all the very best of everything now and always.

LICKING YOUR WOUNDS

One thing for certain in this uncertain world is that sooner or later we are all gonna get injured by someone  or something. These injuries can range from small time to really big epidemics. And the injuries can be physical, mental, or emotional, or a combination of all of these. No one is immune from them and they will tend to come in bunches. But even though we will all have to deal with injuries of some sort we can overcome them with the right usage of mind and spirit. Have you ever seen a dog who has been cut or scratched up licking their wounds with the tongue? They do this because it is an inherited trait they are born with to help heal any wounds they may receive. But if you continue to watch them they will immediately cease the licking when the wounds start to heal. After that, they go on about their lives with not much concern about the old wounds. But funny as it may sound, we humans sometimes insist on keeping the licking going on long after the wound should have healed. And oft times we even begin to actually like licking them all hours of the day. Of course I don't mean we actually lick our wounds with our tongues the way a dog does, but we do what is inherit in our makeup to aid the wounds to heal. But if we continue to lick(keep talking about them, using them as excuses for one thing or another, feeling sorry for ourselves, blaming others, cursing our "bad luck", or any number of ways to keep the wounds open and sore) then we become like the dog whose wounds never heal because they refuse to stop licking them. And that is when we allow our wounds to continue to harm us in our everyday life in ways we don't ever realize are happening. So today I would hope that each of us will examine all of our open wounds, gently lick them for a short time, and then stop all the licking and allow them to completely heal. That is the only way I know for us to "get over" our injuries and get on with living. My hope is that all of your wounds are light and that they will be quickly healed. I leave you now with a quote from John Lennon(my favorite singer and artist of all time) who once said :"If its dying you want that's okay, but if it's living you want then get on with it." And as always please try to remember to be the very best human being you can be and do something nice for someone today! "HUGS" to all.

Wrong Place, Right Time

You have all heard someone say  I was in the right place at the right time, or I was in the right place but wrong time, or another version of those words I suppose. Well, let me tell you, I feel like I am in the wrong place but the right time. Let me explain. I firmly believe all of us are definitely in the exact place, in the exact time as we are meant to be. But alas, it sure doesn't always feel like it to me. For a really long time now, I have been feeling that somehow I have been mistakenly put into this 3 dimensional world. But within my true soul consciousness I do know I am right where I am meant to be. But still, I fight with the turmoil within that tries to tell me I should be somewhere else doing something else. I have enough conviction in that I believe I will eventually get over those feelings of being "lost" in the wrong place. As I look out upon the world we live in I can envision a place where all of us live in peace and perfect love. It seems so easy to me for us as a human family to wake up and realize just what a beautiful world this could be if we just learned to love each other and stop all the fighting and fussing. Most of the things we fight over are not worth a dime any how. Everything we see and deem as being important to us will one day be gone. Take a look around at things right where you are at this moment. The place you live in, the clothes you wear, all the "trinkets" you prize so much, all the money you use, even your physical body. As you take all these things into account surely you realize that ALL of them will one day no longer exist! The ONLY thing you will take to the grave with you is your soul. All the things we fight so hard for are only here for a short while. The soul is eternal. So you tell me, is selling your soul for some of the "trinkets" of this life worth it? Because, when you do pass on I can guarantee you will be left with only your soul. So my question is now, why do so many of us continue to fight, to cheat, to steal, to kill and to randomly do harm to another. Just to get something we think we need to be happy maybe? Why do we continue to hate another person simply because they are a different color from us. Or just because they don't believe the way we do? Or because we feel they have no right to live where they want to? Or to worship any way they want? I just don't get it. I get frustrated when I see all this nonsense going on. Countries attacking other countries in a false sense of freedom. People trying to make every one else believe the way they do. Why do some of us fail to see that when we hurt another person we are actually hurting ourselves? Why do lots of folks feel there is only ONE way to believe? I sure don't have the answers but I do know a person can choose at any time to start loving everyone unconditionally if they so desire. Why more folks don't see this is beyond me. And thus therein lies my feelings for thinking that maybe I was born into the wrong place at the right time. But as I earlier stated, I know deep down in my soul that I am right where I am suppose to be at this one eternal moment. So I guess I'll just continue to dream of a world where everyone gets along and do the best I can to become a part of the solution instead of the problem. And my hope is that you too, will try your best to become the best human being as you possibly can. Take care my friends, and remember to do something nice for someone today!

STRIVING FOR PERFECTION

Perfection. Don't you just love that word? I hear it used just about every day in some form or another. Someone wants the "perfect" job, the "perfect" relationship, the "perfect" home, and on and on it goes. But I stop to think--is perfection something we can attain in our lives or not? Most of us do strive for the perfection of something but oft times I feel it may be the "wrong" thing we are trying to perfect. It's fine and dandy to want the best of relationships, homes, jobs, etc but as I see it, trying to make every thing perfect just gets in the way. Maybe we should look at perfection in another way. How about believing OK everything is already in its own perfect time and space and all I have to do is accept that and go on from there. Well, I know that may sound strange but that is exactly the way I see it. As a human being I know I am very, very, far from being perfect and I will never be perfect. Hey, just trying to always be perfect would be enough in itself to drive me more crazy than I already am! And I sure don't need that. So I suppose I will continue to keep on trying my best to become the best human being I can, while at the same time knowing perfection is an inexact science. That in turn will free me up to be the person I want to be. I surely know that at times in our lives when things are going screwy and seem to be so messed up, it will be hard to see that perfection is already here within all things spiritual. I'm hoping that all of you beautiful people feel secure in everything going on in your life right now. And when things do get rough( which I guarantee they will at times) I hope you can find the wisdom and courage to keep on keeping on and trying to become the best human being you possibly can! In one way or another I believe we are all looking to find peace, love, and joy in our lives, and to do that I feel we must realize we are all as one in Spirit and that we should do everything possible to be kind and loving to everyone. May I suggest that if you have a free moment to right now do a little something nice for someone else just because you can. You don't have to have money or even have to exert much energy to do something nice for someone. Just a smile at the next person you see, hold open a door for someone, give an old friend a call just to say hi, and on and on it goes. Oh yeah, another thing I've found out in this life is that the more kindness and love you put out there the more you will get in return. I leave all of you wonderful folks with the following quote from Gautama Siddhartha Buddha who once stated : "When you realize how perfect everything is, you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky." Here's hoping all of you will do quite a bit of laughing real soon!

BEING THANKFUL

Most all of us have so very much to be thankful for even when we fail to see the blessings while in the midst of some kind of stressful situation. I truly believe for one to be at peace with themselves and with life in general they must show their gratitude. And personally, I feel the best way to show gratitude for our blessings is for us to do something nice for someone else so that they too may see some kindness in their life, which in turn will maybe help them feel better about their situation. There are many ways though that one can show gratitude so do whatever you must to show your appreciation. I leave you with a quote from Meister Eckhart who once stated: "If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "Thank you," then that would suffice." May all of your lives be blessed richly now and forever!

WHERE ARE YOU HEADED?

Today is another beautiful day in Paradise and I'm left wondering if I'm headed in the right way. Man, I sure do hope so! As each day quickly passes into the next it seems as if life is in a great big hurry to take me somewhere, of which destination I'm not sure. Thankfully, I adhere to the philosophy that I am exactly where I am supposed to be at all times. And that includes the times when I feel totally "lost" here in this human form. The question of where you And I and all of us on this planet is going is truly a deep subject with many opinions on the subject. I think it benefits us to take a look at our path from time to time and see where it is we are headed. If we do not take a close look it will be very easy to stumble around from place to place and just keep on spinning our wheels so to speak. One thing for certain though is that I or anyone else can not tell you where you are going. That is entirely up to you and no one has the right to try and make you go in their direction. Hopefully, you can stay centered on where you want to go and stay true to that path. I try to always remember that the destination itself is not what is important. Instead, it is the daily path we walk each moment. The following quote is from the Science of Mind and it states: We exist in Limitless Opportunities, which are forever seeking expression through us. And I will leave you now with another quote, this one from Lao-Tzu who stated:"If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are headed." Think about that one for a second! Take care my friends and remember to try and do something nice for someone right now while you have the opportunity!