Celebrating my 200th Blog!

Today I am blessed to write my 200th blog post. I have never been big on milestones, I enjoy living in the moment & allowing the world to unfold around me. If you asked me last June if I would still be writing this blog, I would have said I really don't know. I began writing here through the urgings of many friends on twitter who enjoyed what I had to say about life. I have worked hard to keep this blog on topic, I veered off to share my daughters wedding last August & talked in Feb. for a week about my favorite national parks but all in all I've tried each day to write about the ways each of us can discover more joy in our lives.

The amazing byproduct of writing this blog is how much it's helped me to continue to grow & learn. The responses I've received for all of you have blown me away & I appreciate each & everyone of you. I don't claim to have all the answers. I only know that my life has changed dramatically over the years & I've been able to live an incredibly joyful life for a longtime now.

Things aren't perfect in my life & that's just fine with me. I've learned to roll with the punches & find the joy even in difficult times. In a small way I've tried to help to change the world. I believe in people & I know that each of us can affect the world more then we can imagine. Believe in the power you have inside of you, you are connected to everything & in that connection to God/universe everything is possible.

Thank you for your love & support but more importantly thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts & change your life. You are a co-creator of everything in your life. Create the life you want to live & watch it unfold before you.

Till Monday, enjoy your weekend.

Hugs,

Bill

Quote of the day:"You can create the life you desire. Believe in the power you have & know that love is the catalyst to finding a more joyful life."

Exercise

Do you exercise? I believe that keeping your body fit helps to lead to a better life overall. I was always very active in sports & I had one of those metabolisms that worked overtime until I was in my early 40's. I never really had to worry about staying in shape or gaining weight. That all changed when I hit my mid 40's after many years of sitting behind a desk doing taxes & not having the time (so I thought) to exercise I put on some weight. Once I realized it I got back into an exercise routine. Currently I ride my bike between 16-20 miles a day in the morning & hike with the dogs through our state park approx. 4 miles in the evening. Sure there's times it's a bit hard but overall I feel much better because I'm getting myself back into shape.

The type of exercise I actually want to talk about today is spiritual exercise. Everything I've written over the last 11 months about spiritual growth & living a more joyful life depends on taking the time to work on the things in your life that you need to work on. I know we're all busy & I know that many of us put our needs behind everyone & everything else that comes into our life. We need to stop doing that!! We need to put ourselves first at least most of the time. The work you do on yourself will lead to a more joyful life which in turn will help everyone else in your life. Take time delve into the subjects I've discussed. Find the trouble spots in your life. Work through these issues & reconnect with your true self (soul).

In taking the time to reflect, grow & work on the things we need to work on in our life we will discover the path to a better life. I know, you think about it all the time. You mean to get to it. I understand how life can get away from you, before you know it you'll be looking back & wondering where your life has gone. Stop coasting through life & learn to live life to the fullest. I believe in each & everyone of you because I've been there & I changed my life through the very things I write about. I love my life (other then the looking for a job part), I'm very happy with who I am. It took me a longtime to get there. I know how much work is involved but just like exercise for your body the return is amazing.

Take time for yourself today. Start an exercise program to improve yourself. Move beyond the norm in your life. Find a way past the EGO, let go of the need to help others for just a short time & take care of yourself, grow, learn & become everything you can be!!

Till tomorrow,

Bill

P.S. Tomorrow is my 200th blog I'm not sure what I'll write about yet but I would love to hear from each you on what blogs were your favorites. Thanks for all the support.

Quote of the day:"Exercise not only your body but your mind & spirit. Take time to do the work on you & discover a more joyful life today!!!"

Priorities

Have you set priorities for your life? Do you make a list of the things you want to accomplish? Do you even think about what's important in your life? So many of us just try to get through the day. Somewhere in our head we may have thought about what we want to accomplish in our life but we never spend much time really thinking about it. Before we know it we're 10, 20 or maybe even 30 years down the road in our life & we wonder what happened to the priorities we had for this life of ours.

It's easy to look back & figure out the big events in our life but to live the life we desire takes thought now. I've talked a lot in this blog about living in the current moment & discovering the joy that each moment has for us but that doesn't mean you shouldn't have priorities in your life. One of my first blog's was about creating a vision board & spending time each day in front of this board. This vision board should be filled with your life priorities. You should take time each day to sit quietly & focus on the pictures or words you post on this vision board.

If a vision board isn't your thing, write down the priorities for your life. Writing can be a strong way to focus on what you want to accomplish in your life. Look at the list of your life priorities, take time to focus on what you want to accomplish. Whether you use a vision board or just a list the important thing is to take time to think about what your want to accomplish.

Don't be rigid with your priorities, be willing to change them as new things come into your life. Being flexible in your life is extremely important. Things change all around us & as we grow things that were once important are no longer that important to us. It is by being flexible that we open our lives to the greatest number of possibilities. This flexibility is especially important in achieving our life priorities.

Taking time each day to think about what is important in our life will bring more of your priorities into your life on daily basis. Remember that the path we take to achieving these priorities isn't as important as achieving them. We need to release the results & allow God/universe to work for us.

Set your life priorities today, take time each day to think about your priorities & watch the world unfold before you. You have the power to create anything you want in your life. Believe in yourself & believe in the help that God/universe will send you.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day: "To accomplish your life priorities, take time each day to reflect on what's important in your life. Open your heart & allow God/universe to assist in creating the life you always dreamed of."

Seasons

With this weekend being the unofficial start to summer I thought it was time to look again at the seasons. As many of you know I've always had a very close connection to nature & to me the seasons of nature mirror the seasons we all go through in our life. With the start of summer we look to the fulfillment of all our efforts. The summer is a time to enjoy the hard work we've put into our own personal growth. We've made it through the darkness of the winter where we reflect on the past seasons & wait for the spring where we can begin to grow again.

Each season has a purpose within our life & within nature. Whether the timing of the seasons in our life coincide with the actual seasons in nature isn't important. Each of us goes through the cycles of nature: Winter (fallow times, time to strength our roots & self-reflection) Spring (rebirth, growth, storms) Summer (time to enjoy, time to relax & reap the rewards of our hard work in the winter & the growth we experienced in the spring) Fall (time to harvest everything we've planted & prepare for the winter). These cycles are something to remember & observe in your life. No matter how good or bad things are in your life you will move into the next cycle sometime. If you prepare for these cycles, as nature does, you will be ready to experience everything you should in the cycle you're in & you will understand that we all have fallow times & times to enjoy.

As we all get out into nature & enjoy the outside, whether it be our own backyard or a National Park, take time to reconnect with nature. Enjoy the summer, enjoy your life & remember the joy of this season so you'll be prepared when winter comes around again. You are ready to bloom, let go & be everything you can be.

Till tomorrow,


Bill

Quote of the day: "The seasons of our life mirror the seasons in nature, enjoy the summer & discover the joy in this special time of year."

Regrets

"Regrets, I've had a few; But then again, too few to mention. I did what I had to do And saw it through without exemption."

A great old song from Frank Sinatra, I know I'm showing my age, LOL but the message is something to remember. There's really two parts to this message. The first is to let go of regrets. I've talked before about moving beyond the past. I've even given some techniques that I've used. Regrets will eat you up inside, know that what has happened has happened & there's no guarantee that things would have turned out perfectly if you had done something different. We love to imagine where we'd be if only I would have done this!! Or if I hadn't given up on that!! The truth is that you are exactly where you're suppose to be. The only time that matters is this present moment because it's all we really have.

The past is what formed us but by holding on to the past we limit our future. This is especially true with past emotions. We hold onto the emotions that formed us even when we believe we've moved beyond the event. We create triggers & sometimes we don't even understand that the reason why we react, in a certain way, is because of the buried emotions we've never let go. These buried emotions can cause extreme reactions like crying, fear or anger. The only way to live in the current moment is to understand these emotions, learn what the triggers are, acknowledge the feeling & then let it go. I know this sounds easy & truthfully sometimes it can be easy but other times it takes work. To allow yourself to feel the original emotion can be difficult. The longer it's been buried the harder it can be but to move beyond but you need to feel the hurt you've buried or you'll always be stuck in the past.

Regrets can be the same way. You are immediately pulled into the past looking at what would have turned out differently if you had done this or that. We wear our regrets as badges of courage sometimes. "If I hadn't taken that job I would have been a pro golfer" or something like that. The truth is we have no idea what would have happened if we had gone on a different path. We create a glorified reality to lift ourselves beyond the life we are living right now. We love to dream what would have happened & it's so easy to imagine the great successes we would have had. Let go of the regrets in your life & enjoy where you're at now!!

The second part of this song to me is to live your life without regrets. If we live in the current moment & stay connected to our true self (soul) we will find more joy then we can imagine. Understand that there's a reason for everything that happens in your life & although we can all run into rough patches in our lives. The way to move beyond these tough times is to stay focused on the beauty in the current moment. We have an amazing strength within us & this strength is born from our connection to everything. You have the ability to create the life you want, believe in yourself & trust in God/universe. Begin today & discover the true joy in your life.

Till Monday, enjoy your weekend.

Bill


Quote of the day:"Let go of the regrets you have in your life. Live in the now & discover more joy then you can imagine."

Harmony

Do you think about living in harmony? What does harmony mean to you? Everything in the world that we know both within us & outside of us is perfectly balanced. "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction" as Issac Newton told us many years ago. Newton was talking about the physical world & his description is the law of motion but I believe this statement is goes much deeper then he ever intended.

I always look to nature. I think above everything else in my life my connection to nature has been the most consistent. I don't claim to be a naturalist, I just love to observe the way nature works. The harmony in nature is very apparent if we allow it to be. Animals control their numbers depending on the resources available or they are culled to an acceptable level by predators. We use to have a great connection with the earth & the creatures that live on it. Unfortunately through the industrial age we have begun to lose that connection. The earth is in disarray but I believe it will self-correct and return to a state of harmony.

In our lives harmony is just as important as it is in nature. When we live outside of the flow of life, we don't feel quite right. We become ill or depressed because the natural cycle of our life has been interrupted. Rediscovering the harmony in your life isn't difficult, it only takes time & an open mind.

Each of us should strive to only take what we give. We should take time to listen to the natural flow of our life. We should discover the joy of living in perfect harmony. I believe we all have a life's purpose & God/universe guides us along the path of life to lead us to this life's purpose. Sometimes we take a wrong turn but I believe that God/universe gently tries to nudge us back on course. Sometimes we get so lost the and path back to our life's purpose can take us our entire lifetime.

We become lost in our life because we've stopped listening & allow the EGO to take over. The EGO isn't interested in harmony, it only wants more & more & more. It's thirst can never be quenched. Allow the harmony to return to your life. If we each learn to live in harmony within ourselves the world will be a better place. Life is to short to be disconnected from your true source. Open your heart & listen to the natural flow of everything within & without yourself. Be in harmony & discover more joy in every moment.

Till tomorrow,


Bill

Quote of the day: "Rediscover the natural rhythm in your life. Discover harmony & find the joy that's missing."

A Chance encounter

A chance encounter that lead to love. Today is my 10th anniversary. If you've read this blog for a while you know I believe in miracles. I think amazing things can happen in your life everyday if you just look for them. How do I know this? Because miracles have happened to me & one of the greatest miracles was meeting Heidi.

Here's the story of our meeting: Heidi & I were both working at a professional theatre in Kentucky in 1996. Heidi was a stage manager & I was an actor. The theatre had community mailboxes for everyone in the company to pick up their mail. I had been working at the theatre for nearly month & went to pick-up my mail & Heidi was there. I said: "Hi, what are you doing this season?" she answered: "I'm stage managing" I replied "Oh, I don't like manager's". That's how a chance encounter changed my life.

Heidi didn't stage manage any of my shows that summer but we became friends & stayed friends. We would explore the area on our off day "Monday" & just have a lot of fun together. Three years later on the stage of the theatre we met in-front of 250 people & the former governor of Kentucky, I proposed to Heidi. She was stage managing the evening performance & I was doing the curtain speech. The "ring" was actually given to her by the light operator (a woman), as she was up in the booth getting ready for the show. We were married on this day in 2000 at Disneyworld, yes Disneyworld. We were married behind the Polynesian resort at a place called Sunset Pointe. The picture that is my profile picture is from that special day.

So why I am I writing about this here? Because we never know who we're going to meet in our life. The challenge in everyday is to be open to the people who come into your life. You never know who's going to walk into your life & make a difference. I would have never thought that this chance encounter would change my life but by being open to anyone who enters my life, I was able to change my life forever.

Let go of the judgment of others in your life. Open your heart & listen to everyone. We can all learn from the people who enter your life & the message they bring may change your life forever. Miracles happen, I've seen them happen in my life. Today the miracle could be yours.

Till tomorrow,

Bill


Quote of the day: "A chance encounter can change your life. Open your heart to everyone who enters your life & amazing things can happen."

A new blog that I have checked out. It's about healthy foods & natural remedies. Healthy family

To sleep perchance to dream...

Sleep is very important to each of us. The research has shown that it is one of the most important things you can do for yourself. One of the big problems with people in the States is that they don't believe this fact. They think they can function on 4-6 hours of sleep a night. I've written before about how we are too busy in our lives & sleep is a by-product of that busyness. We believe it doesn't matter, that we'll be just fine with a little bit of sleep.

Why am I writing about this today? I believe sleep is important & I had a night where I just couldn't sleep. I have had these nights, as I'm sure most of you have, before but as I've grown in my spiritual practices they happen very rarely. I may have a night where I wake up several times because of vivid dreams but I rarely don't sleep.

I have learned in my life to deal with most things that are thrown at me. I have always been good under pressure & I have excelled even in life threatening situations but I don't do well without sleep. I really never have. What I have learned as I've grown in my spiritual life is to pay attention when this happens. To allow the thoughts that are filling my busy mind to flow freely. Then I just become quiet. I allow the silence to take over my body. Any thought that comes into my mind once I've become quiet is acknowledged & let go.

We can learn a lot from the thoughts that come to us in times of being quiet. These thoughts tend be our greatest fears & some of our most self limiting thoughts. If we allow ourselves the time to listen we can move beyond these thoughts & create a true shift in the energy of our life. Open your mind & discover silence, it can lead you to a wonderful new place.

God/universe works in wonderful ways & sometimes to get your attention God/universe will reach you at times you don't expect. When you're having trouble sleeping rather then getting upset about the lack of sleep, embrace the silence & discover the keys to a better life.

Until tomorrow,

Bill


Quote of the day:"Take time to get the sleep you need & if sleep eludes you. Take the time to be silent & find the answers you're looking for."

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The meaning of life

Possibly the oldest question in the world; What is the meaning of life? I think we all have a time in our life when we question why we're here. As part of that question we wonder what the meaning of life is. I think there's a big difference in this question between what our life's purpose is & the meaning of life.

A life's purpose is what drives us & hopefully what we end up doing. So maybe it's to be a teacher or to help children or to raise money for your favorite cause. There are hundreds of things you can do with your life & each one is just as important as the others. I've written before about finding your life's purpose. I truly believe that we are all born with a life's purpose. There is one thing that we are meant to do. Sometimes it takes us our whole life to discover what this purpose is & sometimes unfortunately, we never discover our true life's purpose. Life has a way of getting in the way of things sometimes, mostly because of our EGO. We move away from our true purpose for the instant gratification of the EGO & become more & more disconnected from our true self (soul) & our true life's purpose. Also, sometimes we can't make money at our true life's purpose, it only gives us great satisfaction. In these cases I always say you should volunteer or take time to do what fulfills you, so it's always a part of your life.

The meaning of life, to me, is the same for everyone & that meaning is to love. Through love our life is defined. Love is the greatest gift we have to give the world. I'm not necessarily talking about romantic love, that's a part of love. I'm talking about growing in love to the point that we give it freely to everyone in our life. Love is the answer to everything, there are no other questions! When we become pure love we are our most like God/universe. Unconditional love is the purest feeling we can know in this human form. It will bring us the greatest joy we can find in our life.

Each of us has the ability to love unconditionally it is only the EGO that keeps us away from this beautiful feeling. We are connected to everyone & everything. This connection is born in love. Learn to love with an open heart. Let go of the need to "get something" in return & make the world a better place.

Till Monday, have a great weekend,

Bill

Quote of the day: "The meaning of life is simple, it's to love unconditionally. Open your heart to love & you will be filled with great joy!"

The Start..........

The start of everything begins from nothing. Sometimes that's an important thing to remember. To me the idea behind this line is that we never know what we are going to create. The important thing is to begin!! What you begin isn't as important as beginning something. God/universe is amazing in the way it guides us through our lives. The difference between people who live in joy & those who don't is often just paying attention to the signs that come into our lives.

I've written in the past about "The beauty of each day" & how I start each day anew. This practice has allowed me to stay in a state of joy because regardless of what happened yesterday, I realize that yesterday is the past and can't be changed. The only way to stay in the present moment is to release the past & move onto a new day. The start of your day can be the most important part of it. How you begin can set the tone for the rest of the day.

To continue to grow in joy we need to learn to slow the world down. We all get caught up in the busyness of each day & because of this often we don't pay attention to the signs we are receiving from God/universe. What are these signs? The can be very diverse & often very simple. In James Redfield's book "The Celestine Prophecy" he says that the signs that are important in our life will "glow". In my life the signs that appear on daily basis that I need to pay attention to make them self's visible. What do I mean by this? I find that my attention is drawn to these signs, here's an example: I'm driving down the road listening to the radio. My attention is drawn to the side of the road. There I notice a sign that tells me something I needed to know. It doesn't have to be a sign it can be anything that your attention is drawn to. Often for me this "sign" is repeated in different ways throughout the day. The important thing is to pay attention.

We don't always know the destination of our daily journey. We only know that we are on a path. The path you take is truly up to you. Remember that the start of everything comes from nothing, so we don't have to know the destination to start the journey we only need to begin. By paying attention to the signs that God/universe sends us & starting each day anew we will find more joy in our life. Let go of yesterday & start the journey to your new life today!!

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day: "The start of each day is a great opportunity to begin anew. Letting go of the past & moving into a life filled with joy."

When I'm feeling blue

No, I'm not going to break into song. I thought it was important to discuss what I do when I feel blue. I've always been a very positive person & feeling blue or depressed doesn't happen often to me. It's not that I deny the feelings, in fact just the opposite is true. When I feel blue the first thing I do is acknowledge the feeling. We all have bad days & there's a lot to learn when we're feeling down or out of sorts. Sometimes we need the change in feelings to understand what's going on with us or what's going on around us.

Since I've always had a strong connection to nature many times when I feel blue it's because it's not the greatest day outside. It could be raining or snowing or just dark & cloudy. I'm not sure why many of us feel blue on days like these, I just know that many times these days can be the most difficult.

After I acknowledge that I'm feeling blue I take time to try & understand why I feel the way I do. Lately for me it's tied up with my search for work. There are times that I feel overwhelmed because as much as I've been trying to find work there's been nothing happening in my job search. Once I understand why I'm feeling the way I do, I look at what I can do to help the situation. In my job search there's little that I truly have control over and that is what I acknowledge. I give myself credit for continuing to move forward with my life regardless of the fact that I have been unemployed longer then I ever have in my life (11 months now) & I acknowledge that I can only do what I've done.

No matter the reasons behind your blue feeling the way to move beyond is to understand what is causing the feeling & what if anything you can do to help. I've written before that the truth about our life is that we have very little control over anything in our life. Understanding this fact & accepting that most things are beyond our control is a great first step to move forward.

We all put way to much pressure on ourselves to solve every problem that we encounter in our life. The truth is that this "created" pressure can be the cause of feeling overwhelmed. We start a chain reaction of events that are going to happen because of "x". This chain reaction hasn't happened. It's all conceived in our head & because of our past experiences we are sure we know what will happen next. Let go of that feeling!! Understand that all we have is the present moment & we can't know what will happen next in our life. This will free you from being overwhelmed, simply understanding that we create all this pressure on ourselves because of what we believe will happen.

The final step for me to move beyond the blue feeling is to release the feeling. I just let it go & remember all the good things I have in my life. I acknowledge that I am blessed & that I have always landed on my feet. Sometimes the feeling will stay around for a while but it never stays around for long. Learn to acknowledge all your feelings, understand why you feel the way you do then release them and move back into a place of joy.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day:"When I'm feeling blue, I acknowledge the feeling, understand what I can do to help the feeling & then release the feeling & remember all the good I have in my life."

Negotiating the maze of life

I think there are times in all of our lives that we feel a bit lost. Where every turn we take leads us to a dead end. Where the simplest navigation seems impossible to do correctly. Yes, we are lost in the maze of our own life & it seems that every decision we make is the wrong one. We are confused because we've walked this path many times before & yet right now it all feels so different.

When I was a child I loved to do books & books of mazes. I loved the challenge of figuring out the path through some of the trickiest mazes & I even enjoyed the challenge of timing myself to see how quickly I could solve the answer. These books taught me one important lesson about life. The path to the end isn't always straight. Sometimes we take a very winding path to get to where we want to end up & sometimes we get lost & end up at a whole new place.

The journey we take in life is always a very individualized one. The important thing to remember is to enjoy the walk & not worry about the destination. When you feel lost in the maze of your your own life. Take a deep breathe, let go of the fear of making the wrong choice. Open your mind to paying attention to everything that comes into your life. God/universe will show you the way out of the maze, we just need to pay attention to see the signs. Reconnect with your true self (soul) & let go of the EGO & the need to be right. I understand there are life changing choices we all need to make at times in our lives & I don't want to diminish these important decisions. But if we allow ourselves to pay attention to the signs God/universe sends us, the decisions will always be easier.

We worry so much about being right in our life. We all want to know the answer & we're very afraid when we don't. We put up a facade to try & fool everyone else. In the process we try to fool ourselves too. We move boldly forward without knowing where we're going because we don't want to admit that we don't have all the answers. So we stumble through the maze of life. Blindly making turns without knowing which way to go. I know this story because this use to be me. I would "make" things happen & then end up not being happy with the results.

Let go of the need to be right. Take time to discover the signs God/universe sends us. Listen to your true self & ask for help when you need it. Negotiating the maze of life isn't as difficult as we make it out in our mind. Enjoy the journey & discover the path as it unfolds before you.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day: "When uncertain of the path of your life. Open your mind to the signs all around you. Enjoy the journey & the path will unfold before you."

Seeing through the eyes of a Child

Do you remember being a child? Do you remember the wonderment in each day? The beauty of a child's smile. The joy you see in their eyes or the way they can get lost in the smallest thing. The world would be a better place if we could all return to our child like ways. The EGO doesn't exist in a child until we teach them that they are separate. Love & compassion are always a child's first thoughts. Children love to love.

I know what you're saying, "There's no way for us to be child like because the world would take advantage of us". Isn't that a sad way to be? If what we think becomes real in our life then just by thinking we can't be child like creates a world where we can't be child like. That's a world I don't accept.

I believe in wonderment. I look at each moment with the same joy I had as a child. My 3 girls would tell you that I love to play. I've never lost that & I hope I never will. Allowing yourself to rediscover the the wonder in the everyday will open your eyes to the beauty of the world around you. Shift your focus from knowing what everything is in your life.....that's a stapler. To finding the wonder in discovering every object or person that enters your life. Bring play back to your daily life. Allow yourself to laugh! Remember the things you loved as a child & allow yourself to enjoy them again.

I challenge you this weekend to rediscover the child within you. Do this even if it feels awkward. Just try it & discover the beauty & the joy in the world around you. I promise you that if you take the time to explore being a child again you will lighten your heart & discover the joy in your life. Let go of all the things you know & rediscover the joy in looking at everything anew!!

Till Monday, have a great weekend.

Bill

Quote of the day:"Discover the wonderment of the child within you. Rediscover what it's like to get lost in the joy of the moment!"