Desire For a Greater Life

"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus (Greek philosopher, BC 341-270)

Is life meant for us to only be happy with what we have? I believe that is a much too simplistic interpretation of what Epicurus wrote. There is always the danger of thinking life should be lived only for oneself. But life should be lived happy in the pursuit of there being more than what we currently have. To gain a happy and tranquil life means to be happy with what we have and to pursue even greater happiness.

This pursuit of pleasure or happiness in life requires balance in that pursuit. To grab self-indulgent pleasure at the cost of others is not what was meant. To wallow in acceptance of despair is not the other end of what we should accept for our lives either. It is acceptance of what we have and also movement towards more for our lives.

You can make your life here and now better.

Your dreams and desires matter to you.

They should be a daily part of thought and consideration.

What you have today was once a dream or desire. Do not look down upon what you already have when dreaming of greater things. Those new dreams will one day become a reality, just like your old dreams had become.

Dream of greater things in the knowledge that all you have now is but a reminder that dreams are achievable.

Stay inspired my friends!

Giving to Make a Difference

Gifts of one who loved me, 'Twas high time they came; When he ceased to love me, Time they stopped for shame.

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote that back in 1844 and also wrote, "It is said that the world is in a state of bankruptcy, that the world owes the world more than the world can pay, and ought to go into chancery, and be sold. I do not think this general insolvency, which involves in some sort all the population, to be the reason of the difficulty experienced at Christmas and New Year, and other times, in bestowing gifts; since it is always so pleasant to be generous, though very vexatious to pay debts."

Mr. Emerson is writing about being generous in your giving to others.

He also laments in his writings just how difficult it is to choose the right ones to give to. I like to think that the act of being generous to another person is more important then the gift itself. Just don't think that it means you are to be cheap and meaningless in the gift.

The act of trying to find the right gift means that you do care.

The same can be said of your dealing with people you do not know. The grocery clerk, the waitress or one of the many people you come in contact with on a daily basis becomes a chance to bestow a gift of something. It could be a kind word or a smile, saying thank you and simply being pleasant to them.

In hard economic times, people are struggling to make ends meet. Those on the lower end of the pay scales are finding it even more difficult. In example the waitress or waiter scrambling to get your meal to you and trying to keep your drink cup filled, has bills, concerns and dreams of making a life for themselves.

A decent monetary tip is good to give, especially if you have the means to do so.

An extra dollar or two may not seem like a lot, but it can brighten the day of someone.

Having a generous heart is not all that difficult. Helping others through kindness and generosity is an expression of your heart for others.

Allow it to shine upon others. Stay inspired my friends.

Get On With It

“Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” ― Charles Dickens

There are days I tell myself, "This is the day I'll get back to writing my new book."

For others it might the challenge of going on a diet, searching out a new job or just about anything else you want to start but don't. A fair share of this is caused by procrastination. The act of putting off doing something for one reason or another.

For me, I find a lot of excuses such as not enough time, too busy, too tired or I'll get to it tomorrow.

The problem is tomorrow never comes, it remains tomorrow, which turns into next week and then next month. Before you know it, the years have drained away and you are left looking back wondering what happened to tomorrow.

For others, procrastination involves their work or marriage. We put off dealing with things within our own particular lives.

In an old publication called Gwinnett Life Magazine, the founder of Greenleaf Counseling Services offered the following six possible reasons for procrastination.

1. You're bored. Ask or say to yourself...
- What excites me or charges my battery? What am I about? Why?
- What kind of learning am I truly interested in?
- Do I see the short term and long term payoff of applying myself to my studies or my work?
- Realize that the world is not responsible for making you happy.

2. You are overwhelmed. Ask or say to yourself...
- Am I a perfectionist? Do I not get started on something unless I know I will get it exactly right or until I know I have all of the information or pieces to get it done?
- Do I let things pile up instead of dealing with each task one by one?
- Remember that inch by inch anything's a cinch.

3. Your confidence is low or has slipped. Ask or say to yourself...
- What are some of the things I fear the most? Disappointing someone, getting a less than perfect grade, can't be all that someone wants my to be, etc.?
- When I have to make decisions regarding relating to other people (who to go out with, which friends to do activities with, whether to go and visit with dad, etc.) do I make firm decisions or do I waffle back and forth with my thoughts and feelings?
- Procrastination equals your level of self-doubt.

4. You have low self-worth. Ask or say to yourself...
- Do I deserve good things in life? This is not the same thing as entitlement. The world does not owe you anything. The question is whether you have inherent value as a human being.
- Do I know of people who are glad that I am in their life and I can easily believe it?

5. You are doing thing you really don't enjoy. Ask or say to yourself...
- Successful people do the things that unsuccessful people often don't like to do.
- Are you willing to take some risks to try and do things differently than before?
- There is a saying in chemical dependency recovery circles that goes like this - "If you always do what you've always done, you always get what you've always got." Sounds silly but the essense of its meaning is true. So remember, to get a different result you must do something different.

6. You are easily distracted or just lazy. Ask or say to yourself...
- Success takes effort and consisten, focused activity.
- What distracts you the most from getting your work done?
- Think - "If it is to be, it's up to me." Be proactive and make good things happen instead of waiting for good things to come to you.

Do any of these reasons fit you? Are you putting off things in life that could be propelling you to something greater? If so, work on resolving those things which cause procrastination in your life.

It is only holding you back.

Stay inspired my friends!

Never Fear Striking Out

“Never allow the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game!” ― Babe Ruth

Guess what folks?

Only 14 days, 17 hours and some odd minutes and second until spring training starts.

Like clockwork the seasons come and go. Winter will cease and our hearts will grow.

There will always be opportunities to stand tall and take a swing at success. What you are up against may result in striking out many times that you do step up to the plate.

Historically, Ty Cobb leads all professional players with a batting average of .366.

Think about that. Over the course of his 24 years playing baseball, Ty Cobb struck out 63% of the time. Even Babe Ruth struck out nearly 66% of the time he came up to bat.

Then again, Babe Ruth hit a home run roughly once in every twelve at bats.

Success can never happen if you quit swinging for it.

Play Ball !!



Stay inspired my friends!