Good Friday Lesson

"You must never conclude, even though everything goes wrong, that you cannot succeed. Even at the worst there is a way out, a hidden secret that can turn failure into success and despair into happiness. No situation is so dark, that there is not a ray of light." -Norman Vincent Peale

Each of us will go through points in life that cause us to question whether we can complete the journey. It could be finishing high school, years of college debt, loneliness, divorce or the death of a loved one. There are so many stories each of us could tell. You could call these testimonials of ones completed journey through a tough change in life. The completion of one journey is the start of another using the lessons learned.

Yet the path we are on can get quite dark at times. There are times of pain due to health or the crush of a lost relationship. There are times of economic strain, lack of wisdom on what to do with our life and anxiety over things uncontrolled. The tunnel we have entered grows darker with the fading light behind us.

there are of course many things to help cast light upon our darkened path. We have words of encouragement, along with family and friends to help lift us up. We can trust in our own foot steps as we feel our way along the pitch black walls of the tunnel, straining our eyes for any hope.

But we also have one great and wondrous thing going for us.

We have what is being celebrated by Christian believers. We have the gift given to us by the ONE that died in that darkness so our own darkness was given light. It is the knowledge which places a light at the end of the tunnel, offering us a beacon of hope to carry on.

Have a Good Friday, joyful Easter and stay inspired my friends.

Forgive and Move On

"I couldn't find anywhere, in any book I ever read, including the Bible, that said in order to forgive somebody, they had to ask for it or that they had to deserve it." - Andy Andrews

In an article written by Andy Andrews, he writes about having a forgiving spirit. "Forgiveness is the ultimate course in anger resolution. Everything I read said, "Forgive. Let it go." Forgiving someone is the ultimate gift to ourselves because, it effects us much more than it does them. Forgiveness IS anger resolution!"

As a matter of everyday life, as humans we tend to cling to old hurts and transgressions against us. There always seems to be that one nagging mental picture in our mind of someone that did something to or against us. The driver that cut us off in traffic, an old lover or a co-worker.

What happens is that these nagging thoughts prevent us from moving on. It holds us back and makes our load so much heavier. If we are holding onto olds hurts, we can not improve or allow ourselves to gain our life back and make it a better life.

So Andy suggests to sit down with a pen, piece of paper and ask yourself a few questions. Jot down names that come to mind and when done, ask yourself, "Is this a person I need to forgive or someone from whom I should ask forgiveness?"

He then provides some samples of questions (you can come up with your own) and reminds us that the quality of your answers is going to be determined by the quality of your questions.

• "What one decision would I make if I knew it would not fail?"
• "What one thing should I eliminate from my life as it holds me back from reaching my full potential?"
• "Am I on the path of something absolutely fantastic or something absolutely average?"
• "Am I running from something or to someone?"
• "What can I do to make better use of my time?"
• "What impossible thing am I believing right now and planning for?"
• "What is my most prevailing thought?"
• "What good thing have I previously committed myself to do that I've quit doing?"
• "Of the people I respect the most, what is it about them that earns my respect?"
• "What would a truly creative person do in my situation?"
• "What outside influences are causing me to be better or worse?"
• "What gifts, talents, or strengths do I have?"
• "I know I don't know the answer right now, but if I knew the answer, what would I say?"
• "What is one thing I can do for someone else who has no opportunity to repay me?"
• "Who do I need to forgive?"

Enable yourself to move on. Forgive yourself, forgive others and get on living your life. As Andy states, it is difficult to "fight an enemy that has a built a fort in your head."

Start your day with forgiveness, have a forgiving spirit. Stay inspired my friends.

21 Ways

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” ―Oscar Wilde

For the life of me, I can not remember where I found these. But I wrote them down and tucked them away on a sheet of paper quite some time ago. Looking through those papers, it seemed like the right time to post them. My apologies for lack of attribution, but whomever did, the credit is all yours.

Try some of these and see if it changes your life; for the better.

1. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
2. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
3. Don't believe all you hear or spend all you have or sleep all you want.
4. When you say, "I love you," mean it.
5. When you say, "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye.
6. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
7. Believe in love at first sight.
8. Never laugh at anyone's dream. People who don't have dreams don't have much.
9. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.
10. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
11. Don't judge people by their relatives.
12. Talk slowly but think quickly.
13. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"
14. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
15. Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.
16. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
17. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and responsibility for all your actions.
18. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
19. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
20. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
21. Spend some time alone.

Stay inspired my friends.

Ordinary People

"I believe in the power of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. So look for in people the talents and possibilities they possess." -Unknown

Each of us have varying talents and abilities. Throughout your day, you will be bumped, annoyed, flustered, angered or even insulted by other people. Your first reaction will be the most important thing you will have for the moment. This is because we tend to judge each other by first impressions and many of these 'firsts' can cloud our ability to see the true person.

You want others to see the real you, the talented and good person that you are is sometimes not seen in that first impression. The true test comes when you are challenged to see the possibilities in others. When you get bumped, annoyed, flustered, angered or even insulted by other people, will you look beyond the first impression?

If you can see the talents and possibilities others possess, then just maybe they will see yours. Believe in the power of ordinary people, believe in your self...so much more exists when we look past first impressions.

Stay inspired my friends and have a great weekend.