Made It Past That One

"The joy of life consists in the exercise of one's energies, continual growth, constant change, the enjoyment of every new experience. To stop means simply to die. The eternal mistake of mankind is to set up an attainable ideal." -Aleister Crowley

I survived the world meltdown that so many people thought would happen today. Yes, I am here, writing a blog and happy in the knowledge that life goes on.

Have a great weekend everyone. A very merry Christmas and Happy New Year along with the many other holidays celebrated this time of year.

25 December Christmas
25 December Anastasia of Sirmium Feast Day
25 December Malkh
26 December Boxing Day
26 December - 1 January Kwanzaa
26 December Saint Stephen's Day
27 December Saint John the Evangelist's Day
28 December Holy Innocents' Day
31 December Saint Sylvester's Day
31 December Watch Night
31 December New Year's Eve
31 December Hogmanay
01 January New Year's Day
01 JanuaryS aint Basil's Day

Be safe and stay inspired my friends.

A Big World

“Some people see the glass half full. Others see it half empty. I see a glass that's twice as big as it needs to be.” -George Carlin

You might expect the usual discussion about a glass half full or half empty at this point. I have written that article before describing and discussing the nature of our positive or negative attitudes. But this article is not going down that path.

In fact, for those that firmly believe in predictions of the wrold ending tomorrow, December 21, 2012, time spent reading this article won't matter I suppose. It is very likely that those people will not have the time as they prepare for what may or may not happen tomorrow. They will be rushing about ensuring their "bug out" packs are ready. I truly do admire their preparedness.

For me it is interesting to think people would be worried about that specific day though. Why not worry and prepare for December 1st, April 22nd, February 3rd or any "tomorrow" day? If not an interpreted doomsday word from thousands of years ago, maybe a large meteor hitting the earth, huge earthquake or world war. Are not the odds generally the same or more likely?

Then again, I am not against being prepared in life. It is smart to plan forlife's circumstances in order to have a chance at reacting to the curves it throws at us. But I am also on the side of having expectation of good things happening. I prepare but I also allow myself to have expectation of great things to happen as opposed to the worst.

If I read the quote from George Carlin again, I begin to realize that the glass is life itself. Life is so much bigger, so much greater than I can ever imagine. It means to me that we get to choose how full we want the glass to be. For some of us that will mean only a few drops of water. Others will fill the glass with as much as they can.

The glass will always be bigger than what we need.

Flying Upside Down

“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.” ―Seneca

When you step out into the unknown, there will be fear encountered both real and imagined. A few years back, many of us attended a couple's retreat in the North Georgia mountains. The camp had what is referred to as a challenge tower, four stories high and with various climbing obstacles to overcome.

During that retreat, a friend by the name of Belinda conquered something greater than the tower that day. She accomplished it in ways that you can not imagine. In fact, I think what she overcame that day was fear. In doing so, it set her up to overcome years later a brain tumor.

You can read about her miraculous story by picking up a copy of Bwenna - A Story of Hope and Faith.

Overcoming her fear of climbing prepared her for the fear that could grip even the heartiest of us when a doctor says the word cancer.

It could be fear of failure to reach the top or fear in your own physical ability to accomplish the climb. It could be that "step off the platform" for the zip line ride that grabs hold of you. For others, it may be the fear of simply reaching the top and being so high up in the air.

It was during this same event that I watched in amazement as another friend scaled the tower with little problem. She had reached the top and quickly we all learned that she had a fear of being so high. It caught me by surprise, but she had conquered it. She conquered that thing which holds her from moving forward in life. She had let go of fear and created the path to achieving so much more in life.

For me it was a certain fear of not being able to make the climb. After watching so many others ascend and questioning my own ability; fear was beginning to creep in. Yet I made that step forward; actually up the tower. My focus became the goal, my focus became ensuring my wife made it to the top, my focus was to overcome.

Once achieved, everything became much more clear to me. It seemed to me that my ride down the zip line was now the reward. Stepping out from the platform, taking the ride upside down was the only way. Flying upside down, everything was crystal clear to me at that moment.

Take a chance by stepping out into the unknown. Let go of the fear and know that even if you find yourself flying upside down, everything will be clear. Enjoy the ride!

Stay inspired my friends.

Where Love Resides

"When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, "I am in the heart of God." -Kahlil Gibran

There is one week to go before we celebrate the Christmas holiday. A time of celebration and good cheer. It is a time of new birth and new beginning, a gift for all of time to mankind.

Through out the year we experience pain, heartache and disappointment. But as the year draws near to a close, Christmas provides us with the promise of love. And love is many things but mostly love is being in the heart of God.

There are many things that have occurred lately and have happened all year long. The one thing that remains, that can heal, is love. I wrote of the power of love in my book Love Is. It is a very simple concept that can be very hard to understand. Maybe that is because we over think and over analyze it.

Yet in the end when all else is stripped away. When all the money, power, ego, possessions, humility and life itself are gone; love can endure and heal us.

May your Christmas holiday, you New Year celebrations, and everything around you be filled with love. And not only during these next two weeks, but throughout the coming years.

Stay inspired my friends.