Life is constant change...

Life is constant change. Motion is the lotion for our body's health. Motion is change and change is renewal.

We are renewed in body, mind, and spirit and this renewal brings us deeper into the awareness of who we are.

We are wise to bring conscious thought into this change process. Let our thoughts be positive, uplifting, and generous.

Our relationships mirror back to us our core beliefs and values. Healthy relationships are mutually supportive, nurturing, loving, and beneficial. We allow ourselves to be vulnerable and trusting and come to a deeper connection. We thrive on this connection.

We are all one in spirit. We love and accept ourselves and our healthy relationships.

Healthy boundaries and self-awareness

Other's behavior toward us is often a reflection of their relationship with themselves.

I am still, at 70 years old, learning daily about boundaries in all relationships. In healthy, supportive relationships, respect, and love helps us build trust and connection. I am learning that appropriate boundaries build standards for how I will allow others to treat me.

Healthy boundaries are essential for trust and openness to grow and develop. Within these boundaries, we build a deeper connection and share what is acceptable and what is not.

I continue to find that most of my work in this area is internal. The first relationship is with myself and self-awareness leads to acceptance and love. From this self-awareness, I can extend myself by developing relationships built on mutual trust, respect, and support.

Our healthy relationships...

Empathy and compassion are created through relationships and a commitment to something or someone greater than you.

Our relationships vary in degree and intensity and are based on trust, honesty, integrity, and caring. We create our authentic relationships based on our self-awareness and social awareness.

All healthy relationships begin with connection. When we nurture our connection, we seek to honor, empower and uplift the spirit in the other. We bring our authenticity, vulnerability, and integrity to our friends, family, and workmates. We bring as much or more than we receive.

Let us all base our relationships on authenticity, empathy, compassion, and generosity.

Good and kind relationship with ourselves

For overall health and well being, it is essential to have a good and kind relationship with ourselves.

Kindness, acceptance, and love for ourselves is the groundwork for our love for others. We have no hope of truly loving another unless we practice kindness and self love for ourselves. Our relationships with others reflects our relationship with ourselves.

We first must recognize our relationship with Divinity and become aware of our worthiness. As emanations of the Divine, we are worthy of love simply because we are alive. We are worthy of goodness, kindness, health, abundance, and loving supportive relationships because we are spiritual beings having a human experience.

Our outer relationships resonate with the love that blossoms in each of us. 

We are all worthy of loving and supportive relationships.

Shine the light of love...

No harm can do lasting damage when you know God is unconditional, is with you.

When we enter a difficult or painful period in our lives, we do not need to stay in the darkness. While in the darkness, feel all there is to feel. Feel the pain, feel the fear. Feel all that you feel- fully. Then turn on the light. Go to your sources of love and light. What are your sources of love and light?

For me they are my faith. My faith is an unconditional loving God. I do believe I am held in the palm of unconditional love. Another source of love and light is my wife Sandra. She is limitless kindness, compassion, deep caring, and love. There is also our angelic daughter Ashley. Although unable to speak or consciously move, Ashley emanates Divine love constantly.

My morning prayer and meditation are tools that turn on the light. Yoga, nature, water, and sun also bring me the warmth of love.

I choose to shine the light of love on every situation in my life.

Laughter is the Effervescence of Life

I greatly appreciate those individuals who sit lightly in our world. I love when we can laugh at ourselves. My nature is a bit on the serious side. I am naturally introspective and thoughtful and enjoy deep conversations.

I also love laughter. I find it healing and refreshing. I think a good sense of humor; especially self-effacing humor, is essential for a healthy life.  I greatly appreciate people who can laugh at themselves.

I love when our lives bubble up with joy and laughter. Divinity is playful, full of joy, and has a wonderful sense of humor.

I am grateful for laughter and joy.

I rededicate myself...

As I continue to study, reflect, and work to be a good, caring person, I do my best not to be judgmental. This continues to be a challenge. On balance, I am open and accepting but I continue to struggle with past hurts. Particularly when someone has broken my trust. I find it very difficult to trust that person again.

I find there is great wisdom in believing that every person is doing the best they can with what they know and what their life experience has been. When I allow myself to accept that truth, I can move to understanding. I can forgive and possibly be empathetic.

My life has been grounded in the core values of caring, compassion, trust, hard work, and integrity. I know what is right and wrong for me. I do not know what is right and wrong for you.

There is so much hate in our world now. We think we know what is right or wrong for everyone. We need to reclaim the beauty of perspective; to see the world through the eyes and experience of the other. We need to work towards compromise or at least listen to each other.

I rededicate myself to acceptance and gratitude.

How do we find our deepest and best self?

Throughout my life, I have found that some of the important tools and practices are prayer, meditation, service to others, art, poetry, solitude, nature, music, empathy, compassion, trust, truth, and love. 

Always love.

I find it is always important to accept life as it impacts us. What we resist, will persist. Acceptance of the pandemic or acceptance of my heart surgery means I do my part. I wear my mask and get my vaccinations. I get my heart surgery and follow my plant-based diet and continue my exercise program.

The essence of life is that we are loved. Unconditionally loved by a divinity that is with us and in us. I rejoice in every experience life has given me. The laughter and the tears.

Love is in every moment.

Filtering out the negative, Focusing on the positive

"Whatever things are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, and of good report… 

Meditate on these things."
- Philippians 4:8

We are bombarded with social media and outside messages throughout our days. We must create a filtering system in our awareness that allows the negative to pass by and focus on the positive and valuable.

I believe the above Bible verse may be a six-layer system for filtering out the negative.

In meditation and prayer simply focus on:

Is it true?

Is it noble?

Is it just?

Is it pure?

Is it loving?

And is it of good report?

If the answer is no, let it pass. If the answer is yes, allow it into your life.

Your mind, body, and soul are strengthened by focusing on the positive.

Inspiration

"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible,
and suddenly you are doing the impossible." - St. Francis of Assisi

We are all human beings with infinite and endless possibilities. Inspiration is the beginning of moving forward and making our possibilities real. Inspiration moves us beyond our perceived limits.

When we are inspired, we are literally breathing in spirit. Inspiration, from the Latin "in spiritus", means to breathe in spirit. When we breathe in spirit, we are breathing in the Divine. We are breathing in God. When we breathe in spirit, everything is possible. We rise to the occasion. We embrace the dream. Our talents and abilities come to the surface.

Inspiration fills you with Divine energy. 

Living in understanding, empathy, and compassion is our next evolution

I care deeply about humanity. We must come to the place of understanding that we are all a part of a beautifully diverse global community.

Our human history is abundant with examples of hatred, neglect, racism, slavery, and war. Pursuing only our own narcissistic interests will end in suffering and death.

Living in understanding, empathy, and compassion is our next evolution.

Our best hope for the future is education. Not only the old, reading, writing, and arithmetic but on a new education of the heart. We need social, emotional, and ethical teaching and learning. We need to teach conversation, community building, and cooperation. 

Empathy is in our DNA. We are all one global family. We must respect and learn our differences, and rejoice and celebrate our similarities.

We all need acceptance and love.

Congratulations to the graduates of the Neumann University Masters degree in Social Emotional Learning!

 

Joy, Enthusiasm, and Love

Despite all the challenges of the past two years, it is imperative that we still find enthusiasm, joy, and love in our life's journey.

Feeling joy, enthusiasm, and love is our God-given inheritance.

When the pandemic first began and there was a shortage of essential home products, I received a call asking if my family needed anything. My wife asked for toilet paper. The next day, a mountain of toilet paper was at my front door. The joy and love of community was at my front door.

When I returned to life after a six-hour open-heart surgery, I couldn't move, drains, tubes and wires were running in and out of my body. Sandra was there with her unconditional love. The nurses brought me to enthusiastic laughter, entertaining me with word games as I shuffled my first steps down the hallway.

If we dwell on the negative, the world can steal our joy and enthusiasm. We are each precious children of unlimited love. Our purpose is to share our joy, enthusiasm, and love and uplift the world one person at a time.

Appreciate...

Let us appreciate the moments we have together. So many of us have faced challenge, trauma, pain, and grief these past 2 years. For me, it was heart surgery one year ago.

I find happiness when I can appreciate those in my life just the way they are. When I can see the unique beauty in each person in my life, I am filled with love. When there is love within us, then love grows into the world.

There is no need to fix or change, just appreciate. We have so few moments together.

Let us appreciate and love.

Let us see the sacred in all life.

Dream your unique dream

 "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..." Romans 12:2

When you have an idea or a dream, don't look for approval from a social group. We surrender our authenticity and leadership when we seek approval from a social group. 

Leaders step forward and serve the greater good. They look upward and onward. They dream a vision beyond the social conformity.

Move ahead with courage.

Dream your unique dream.