Sincerity.....

Before we speak of new hopes and dreams of 2017, let's speak of closure. May you in all sincerity close the door on painful things, separations, and all circumstances that keep you from those whom you love. At midnight tonight, 2016 fades into 2017. Let those hurts and broken promises and dreams fade with it. Let it go. You are better than your perceived failures and wrongdoings. You are mighty in your life. Bow down, kneel, and in your supplication realize we live on the wings of the ever changing wind. And what seems forever may just be for now. Gather your miracles. They walk by your side. But not forever.

Spirit.....

My Thought for this Day.......In today's world we are programmed to admire the top, the over achievers, the super people of the world. We are fixated on their glory, their talent, their drive, their success. We listen in awe to their stories; we worship at their feet of clay. And truthfully this can be okay. Many are to be admired and yes, even emulated . Yet there are heroes everywhere.......not just on the crest of the mountain. They walk the road of normalcy with no recognition; they live in the shadows, not in the limelight. They are the unseen conquerors of everyday life. I have many such people in my world. I see them stride through fire daily. I observe their determination and their tenacity. I know they are broken in spirit, yet they still get on the playing field and take that ball of life, tuck it in and live. These are my true warriors, my champions.

Truth.......

My Thought for this Day....Do you stand in your truth? Though sometimes brutal, it is the most honorable and healing thing to do.

Dwell......

My Thought for this Day......I hope you're not sad today. I hope that you don't dwell in the day of what if, or what was. I think this day can be melancholy. The tinsel looks limp. The tree is bare of presents. The crowd is gone. Maybe there was disappointment in the day. Most probably your day wasn't magazine worthy. There were missteps here and there. But oh how wonderful that those who gathered, those who hugged and kissed and laughed and yes, even cried, did surround you if only for a few hours. And best of all, the Greatest gift ever given still abides in the ones who lift their eyes and hearts to the heavens in peace and assurance. My wish for you is that that pledge, that affirmation, that promise covers your soul. Merry Christmas friends, it isn't just a season.

Christmas........

My Christmas Thought for this Day.........To my mind, this is the most blessed day of the year. May we know the peace that comes from the birth of a child. May we live with the joy of that understanding. And though there are days of sadness and confusion and why in our lives, may we realize that true life was given to us on that day so many years ago in that lowly manger. Joy to the world, for He has come. Merry Christmas my wonderful friends and family. You each have a special place in my heart.

Season......

My Thought for this Day........Going the extra mile. T'is the Season to do just that.......giving more, being more thankful, reaching out to those less fortunate.....being AWARE that there are those less fortunate. Stop!!! Fast forward to January 1. Is your giving spirit, your thankful spirit, your acknowledgement, stored back in your closet of the forgotten? Have the "I'm just toooooooo busies" once again taken over your very important life. Are your Blinders of 'me me me me me' back on? Have you forgotten how to say, spell and most of all feel compassion? Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year to emulate the most gracious, life changing, soul filling gift ever given. And I love to see the faces and the words of the 'givers' as much as those of the receivers. To give in the true spirit tugs us deep inside. It flowers like a bud and bursts to fill us with pure joy. So the question remains.......what about the rest of the year? Misfortune doesn't strangely disappear. Need doesn't vanish. Hunger and cold and loneliness don't become obsolete. These things remain in your own back yard. So I pray that your garden of compassion and giving and reaching out bursts with color and vines all year long. Let's make it a way of life, not just a way of this Most Wonderful Season. For truly, the most amazing Gift we were given lives forever, never ceasing, never turning away, but instead constant as the turning of the day into night. Our job is to emulate in our gratefulness, to constantly fill needs. O what a wonderful world it would be.

Rooms........

My Thought for this Day......You are not alone in your head. Crazy, I know. But the fact of the matter is you're not. People who are influencing or have influenced your life are sharing the rooms of your mind. Be very careful when handing out mental keys. It is your existence, your path, your character...seek the wise, the generous, the fair thinker to room in your mind dorm. Raise the rent on those who guide with opportunism, self-centeredness and retaliation. It is your Lodge of Living; be selective in your tenants.

Dream.......

My Thought for this Day....We all have dreams. For some it is to travel to exotic places. For some, dreams are to live in a huge house with high ceilings and fireplaces and Calcutta marble. But for many, our reality is their dream. They imagine having clean water and maybe, just maybe, a warm fire. Our everyday is their perfect world. Think about your dreams. Gauge your lives. Realize you are blessed.

Art.........

My Thought for this Day........We, as a society, have lost many arts....the art of simplicity, the art of idleness, the art of patience. If our lives aren't complex, we feel we have failed. If we aren't busy, we assume someone, somewhere, is outdoing us. If we have to wait in this nanosecond world, we become agitated. We have lost the art of being. Today, just be. If only for a few minutes, just be. Learn this art, and practice it daily. It is good for the heart; it is good for the soul.

Heap.....

My Thought for this Day......We all live in the Heap of Life. Sometimes we're at the top of the heap, sometimes in the middle, and at times, on the bottom. We deal with trash, triumph and tragedy. It's okay to bend and bow. There is no shame in gasping for air as you valiantly try to put one foot in front of the other. And then when we rise, our task is to help those who go behind us and we use our triumph to ease their tragedy.

Dance...

My Thought for this Day.......Some days you just have to turn up the music and dance in the rain. No one ever got washed in the waters from Heaven by hiding under an umbrella! I hope you dance.

Life.......

My Thought for this Day......I hope you never get so caught up in life that you miss life...no wrong in making your way through hard work, determination and goal setting. The wrong comes in letting the big get in the way of the little.

Thoughts......

My Thought for this Day........You can leave your coat at home. You can leave your glasses or your purse. You can't leave your thoughts. They follow you wherever you go. They become a part of you. Take care with your thoughts.

Peace.......

My Thought for this Day.....'Tis the Season to be Joyful, for caroling and twinkling lights and ole St Nick and merriment everywhere. But sadly, circumstances happen, and we are dealt life changing, gut wrenching lows that drop us in the black. I have, this year, more than one friend who struggles to breath right now. Taking one step in front of the other is excruciating, and the black seems to swallow them, as if it will never end. And so I hope that if your days are merry and bright, you will take time to remember and to lift up those whom life has slapped down. God bless us every one. " When despair for the world grows in me, and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief. I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and I am free." THE PEACE of WILD THINGS by Wendell Berry.

Joy.........

My Thought for this Day......Do you know the difference between happy and joyful? I hope you do. I hope you know that happy is skimming life while joyful goes deep into the heart. Joy to the World..........

Why Me........

My Thought for this Day......Instead of saying your pitiful 'Why me?'? How about 'Why not me?'? Why not me living homeless under a bridge? Why not me walking miles and miles for a bucket of fresh water? Why not me holding my child who is literally dying of starvation? Why not me who can not speak for fear of inhuman retaliation? Don't disgrace your life with your selfish rumbling and moaning of less than a perfect existence. For truly, to millions you do live in the Promised Land. How very arrogant and self centered to not see the atrocities of the world due to your altruistic wall of Why Me?

You....

My Thought for this Day......I think at times we all lose ourselves in our everyday roles in life. We are somebody's mother, somebody's father, sister, brother, boss, employee, friend. We take on burdens, memorize scripts, stoop under heavy loads that aren't ours. And while this is necessary, and is life and is love, it chips away at us. Please take time to realize you can't be everything to everyone unless you are all to yourself. Don't lose yourself while you steep in more weak tea than you can drink. God gave you you! How completely divine and precious.

Wisdom.....

My Thought for this Day..........Have you ever sat at the feet of someone great? Have you even one time really listened to the words of someone wise? Have you acknowledged that there is truth that makes its way in the world on wisps of words that when heard, move the universe ? Have you picked up a book and truly and totally absorbed the thoughts of someone who steeps astuteness much like a tea bag in a china cup of hot water? Really? It's life changing....do it!