Lost

Have you ever felt lost or disconnected in your life? Have there been times where nothing seems to go right? Dealing with the feeling of being lost or disconnected can be challenge. The truth is the more we fight to try to reconnect with our life, the more we push ourselves away.

When I was younger I thought I had the answer to everything. I was always fairly bright & I could figure out a way to make anything happen in my life. Life seemed to be easy. Unfortunately the truth was that in the end I was always disappointed. I never thought about the kind of life I wanted to live. I just went through life grabbing what I thought would make me feel better & more connected.

The truth is I was lost within my own life. I would will something to happen & do whatever was needed to make sure it did happen. Then I would wake up & realize that this "thing" that I willed into my life wasn't what I wanted at all. I was disconnected from God/universe & at the time I had no idea how to get reconnected. I didn't even really know or understand that there was a connection I needed to find in my life.....remember I thought I knew everything!

My life became a cycle of things going really well & then a crash would occur where nothing went right at all. During these times I felt helpless & truly disconnected/lost in my life.

Finally as I began to grow in my knowledge of myself & of the true connection I have with God/universe. I began to understand that I was never alone at all. I was only disconnected from my Source. This disconnection is very empty feeling and I hope you'll never have to feel it.

So how do we move beyond this feeling of being disconnected/lost? First we need to realize that many us walk through our life in a fog. Never truly even knowing what we really want. This fog, to a large extent, is caused by the EGO. The EGO wants comfort & always believes that if we get the "next" thing life will be better. Sometimes the EGO even believes that if we get the next thing (job, car, house, etc) we will actually be happy. This is the lie of the EGO, as long as we are searching for happiness outside of ourselves we'll never find it! Happiness isn't that great job or house, etc. Happiness is a state of being not the world around us.

The connection we all want in our life is the connection with our true self which I call the soul. Once you've made that connection in your life, your life will be amazing! The hard work is to love yourself & take the time to feel this connection. There are several ways to do this but for me it always begins with being quiet. There's way to much noise in our lives today & we are very easily distracted. We need to take time to look inside & listen. When you take this time everyday your life will be much more fulfilling & you will always be able to reconnect with your soul no matter what you're facing in your life.

Find your path to a better life today. Reconnect with your true self & discover the joy in being connected to everything.

I'm off to the Smoky's for a few days, thanks to a nice tax refund. If any of you are in the area...let me know maybe we can connect. I'll be traveling tomorrow so I won't be able to write a blog. I hope you all have a great rest of your week.

Hugs,

Bill

Quote of the day:"Whenever you feel lost in your life, take the time to reconnect with your true self (soul) & discover that you are truly connected to everything."

Being able to Forgive

Are you able to forgive others? or do you always hold a grudge? Forgiveness can be one of the hardest lessons we all need to learn. Sure at times it's easy to tell someone that you forgive them, but do you really? Or do you bury the hurt feelings you have?

Forgiveness is difficult for us because we know we've been wronged & our sense of fairness says that the person that wronged us should have to face some kind of punishment. The truth is that forgiveness can set us free. It is only through the act of forgiveness that we can move beyond the tragedies of our own life. By forgiving & moving beyond the pain of the circumstances, we discover a deeper love then we would ever know without learning to forgive.

Too often we say the words "I forgive you" & don't really mean what we're saying. Even if we're able to move forward with the person, we either hold a deep seated resentment about what they did to us or we choose to never trust them again. Both of these reactions are normal but extremely counterproductive. By forgiving another we aren't caving in on what we believe we are moving above the hurt & opening our heart to love.

One of the best ways to move beyond the past is through forgiveness. Whatever has happened to us in the past, we need to remember it's in the past. Once anything happens to us it can't be changed, so to move beyond the past we need learn to forgive. I try to remember two basic things: 1) We are all human beings & as such we all make mistakes. I am no better than you so I have no right to judge you. 2) Most people try to do the best they can. Their best may not be what we want to see but most people try to do their best.

These two truths helped me move beyond many of the things that have happened to me in my life. I learned to forgive, understanding that the people that hurt me were only trying to do what they thought was right & that they did the best they could. Even in circumstances of tragic proportion, Forgiveness will free us to live a better life.

So how do we forgive? I believe that forgiveness is a very personal process. I have found couple things that worked well for me. I sit quietly & focus on the pain that the other person has caused in my life. I allow myself to feel these feelings & then I let them go. I release these feelings to God/universe and my soul is lifted up. I feel love & a great calm. The other way I've handled this process is to write down everything that this person did to me & how what they did to me made me feel. Then I either rip up the paper or light it on fire. As the paper is being destroyed I again release those feelings & I am feel lifted up & freed from the situation.

Forgiveness is the only way to move forward in your life. It helps us learn to love regardless of the mistakes of the other person. Believe in forgiveness, discover true love & find more joy in your life.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day:"Forgiveness moves us beyond the past. It teaches us to love unconditionally & opens our life to discover more joy."

The dawning of spring

The sun rises quietly over the southern sky & a new day has begun. There is still a slight frost on the grass,the air has a bit of a nip but it is quickly warmed as the sun continues to rise. The grass begins to show signs of green & the trees start to bud & bloom. The early signs of spring have come to the Midwest & the long cold winter is slowly loosing it's grip.



This winter to me was a very difficult one. We had much more snow then normal & overall it was much colder then the past 11 winters I've spent in Indiana. This past week we've truly gotten a glimpse of spring. The temperature has reached as high as 60 degrees & I feel reborn again.

After living most of my life in the Midwest I have come to enjoy the spring because of all the possibilities it brings. I realize that we may have another snowstorm or two before spring actually stays but the beauty of the world reborn enlivens me & lifts my heart to new wonderful heights.

We all talk about "spring cleaning" as a way to clear out the old & begin anew. I challenge you to go beyond cleaning out the old "stuff" in your life. Why not take this time to clean out all the old patterns that no longer work in your life today. We all hang on to what we've always done because it's safe & comfortable. Challenge yourself to let these old ways go.

Take the time to examine everything in your life. Discard the stuff that doesn't work or that holds you back. Just as the sun returns to the northern hemisphere & nature begins it's own rebirth, you can be reborn too. You can become everything you've ever wanted to be. All it takes is letting go of the "old" ways & opening your heart to rediscover the love you have inside.

At times the winter feels like it will never end & when it comes to our lives until we shine the light of love outward into the world we can never dispel the darkness that we have inside. You are a unique & beautiful person. The world is a better place because you are here. Be reborn as nature is reborn & become what you are meant to be.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day:"Look at the spring as a time to be reborn to the life you've always wanted."

Overcoming the Judgment of others

Yesterday we discussed judging or stereotyping others. So what happens when you're the one who feels judged. What is your reaction to this situation? Do you attack the person judging you? Do you stay quiet and just allow this judgment to be passed even if you believe it's not true?

One of the first things I ever learned in business is that if you make someone feel like they are being attacked they will only become defensive. This defensive behavior makes progress in any discussion almost impossible. There are ways & techniques around this situation but the bottom line is that when we feel attacked we become defensive.

Outside of business the same statement is true. So if you feel you've been judged, especially when that judgment isn't true, realize that your first reaction will be defensive. Understanding this can help you move beyond the judgment being placed on you. This defensive reaction is our EGO talking to us. Remember that the EGO is always the first to the party & reacting from a place of EGO can almost always lead to greater problems.

So how should you react? I think the answer to this depends on the situation. Beyond your natural reaction of defense realize that who you're with & what the situation is will take precedence over your reaction. (You never want to escalate a situation when you don't feel safe)

I learned, in my life, that the best reaction to feeling judged is time. Take a deep breath move beyond your EGO & into your center. Try & understand where this person is coming from. Also realize that we reflect back to ourselves our biggest fears, so the reason this judgment may hurt is because there is some truth in what is being said or least you fear that there's some truth in it.

My next step is to try & take a measured response. I do this by telling the person that the comment they said hurt me & I ask them to explain why they feel the way they do. A true discussion can be very enlightening. You may learn more about yourself & the other person. This discussion may have to wait if you can't control your defensive reaction because responding when angry can escalate the situation.

When I am unable to have a discussion with the other person/people involved (because of safety or logistics or my defensive reaction) I try to understand & reflect on what has been said. This is true even when the comment is truly hurtful or mean spirited.

The way for each us to grow beyond where we are at in our life is to try & learn from any situation we encounter in life. God/universe has a way of throwing situations at us to help us learn what we need to learn to move on. Being judged unfairly is one of those learning situations. Open your heart to the love we all have inside of us. Understand that rude or unkind comments from another may be their way of trying to find the love they are missing in their life. People react from their own programming, this isn't a justification, it's just a fact of life. In order to grow & help the world to become a better place we have to move beyond the hate & judgment of others & become an example of love for the world to see.

Till Monday, have a wonderful weekend.

Bill

Quote of the day:"Let go of the judgment others place on you. Discover the love you have inside & radiate that love into the world"

Stereotypes

Stereotypes, why oh why do we fall into stereotypes. A while back I did a couple blogs on labeling things in our life & on judging people. Stereotyping falls right into these blogs and if you'd like you can look back & read them (I think they are in Sept. or Oct). Stereotyping to me is a disgusting practice that far too many of us fall into. It's an easy way to judge anyone. You see if you're English you have bad teeth or if your from the south you must be stupid & a hick. We've all heard them over & over again. In fact that's the problem. We've heard these statements so much in our life that they've become a part of our life.

There's a wonderful song from the musical "South Pacific" called "Carefully Taught" here are the lyrics:

You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught!


We need to let go of the prejudices & stereotypes that we've been taught all of our life. The only way to move forward to a better world is to become open & accepting to others. Take a look at all the things you define in your life & challenge those definitions. Move beyond the programing of your life. Open your heart & love, accept people for who they are not who they should be.

I know this isn't an easy lesson. It's hard to move beyond something you've always know. There's comfort in the normal or in the deep seated teachings we've learned to accept. Yes, we've accepted them without challenge because they've been so embedded in our life & especially in our youth. Break the pattern & change the world!


Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day:"Let go of all the stereotypes you've learned, open your heart to the beauty of others. Make the world a better place."

The Olympic Spirit

Do you enjoy watching the Olympics? Do you get into all the competition? I've always enjoyed the Olympics. I can remember watching them from the time I was very small. I was always very involved in sports when I was growing up & to me the Olympics were the ultimate sporting event. I dreamed more about being in the Olympics then playing professional sports. After enjoying the Olympics for the last 16 days & seeing the U.S. win more medals then any country has ever won in the winter Olympics. I started to think about what I truly like about the Olympics.

Yes, I enjoy the competition & I enjoy watching the joy in the athletes faces when they win or even when they do better than they thought they would do. The wonderful heart warming stories of how they were able to overcome adversity in their life to make it to the top of their sport. Yes, I enjoy all of this but the more I thought about the Olympics the more I thought about the spirit of the Olympics.

It's in that spirit that the world pauses for a few weeks every 2 years & just enjoys the coming together of people from all over the world. It's a sharing of a common event....a true shared experience. All the walls come down between the athletes & between all the people attending the events. It's in this spirit of letting go of our differences that we change the world.

So many of us put up walls to keep others out of our lives. We close our mind & our heart to only let people in who think like we do. We become entrenched in what we think we want or need in our life. The Olympics show us that we can come together & work for a better world for all.

Keep the spirit of cooperation in your heart alive. Reach out to people who are different then you. Open your mind to the love you have in your heart. Let the walls of protection dissolve away & discover that truly we are all the same. Believe in people & discover the love we all have inside.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day:"Keep the spirit of the Olympics in your heart everyday. Open your heart to everyone who enters your life."

Relationships

Relationships can be an amazing addition to your quest for a more joyful life. The love you discover in another person can lift you to new heights. The drawback is that instead of having love within yourself to give to someone else we expect the other person to give us love to fill us up. Love is truly the answer for everyone but we need to begin with loving ourselves first. Without love of yourself any relationship will run into problems down the road. Discover the love we all have inside of us & you'll have more love in your life then you can imagine.

On your journey to self discovery the support of a partner can help you overcome the demons of the past but there are a few things to be careful of. I unfortunately discovered these the hard way in the past.

1. Change - although you may be going through a great deal of change individually in your journey, you can't change your partner. Change is a personal choice & even when you've discovered things in your journey that really help you. Your partner may not be helped by the same discoveries or just simply may not want to change at all.

2. Control - When we feel like we have so many "balls" up in the air & we're trying to deal with all of them. One of the first things we try to do is to take control over everything in our lives to be able to handle it better. The truth is that we can't control anything in our life except for ourselves & our reaction to whatever happens. This is a hard lesson for some people. Observe life & listen to the messages that God/universe is sending you don't try & "make" things happen.

3. Rescue - When we are injured ourselves we look for someone to be partnered with that we feel we can rescue. It makes us feel better about who we are to be able help someone else overcome their demons. The truth is that as in #1 we can't "will" someone better & we can't hurt deeply enough to remove the pain from someone else. If you want to help others (which is a great thing to do) volunteer for organizations & give freely of yourself to causes.

4. Forgiveness - The greatest gift you have to give in a relationship is forgiveness. Remember the reason why you feel in love with person & understand that we are all human & therefore imperfect. Forgive with all your heart & let go of the mistakes your partner has made.

Remember that we are all on our own journey & together we are always stronger then on our own. Discover the beauty of the people in our life & cherish each relationship you have. As I've said in the past; every person that enters our life is there for a reason, discover that reason & the universe will unfold before you. Love with all your heart & live a more joyful life.

Till Monday...enjoy your weekend,

Bill

Quote of the day: "A relationship can be a beautiful way to discover a more joyful life."

Respect

What's happened to respect in our society today? It seems that everyone is so caught up in their own objectives that they don't have time to be respectful of the people that come into their life. I've mentioned before that I believe everyone comes into our life for a reason. If we don't pay attention to them & respect what they have to say to us, we'll never learn the message that they have for us. For our lives to move forward in the harmony we are meant to live in, we need to let go of our own expectations in all of the relationships that enter our lives.

The rudeness & noise that so many people deal with others is all EGO based. We all have EGO's & we need to realize that to live our life in harmony we need to overcome the me, me, me of the EGO. Every person deserves respect regardless of who they are, what they look like or where they come from.

In our forgone days we had great respect for others in our life, especially the elderly. We would always take time to listen to the wisdom that our elders had for us. We may not have always agreed but we would listen & respect what they had to say. This knowledge passed down through the generations has served us well in moving the world to a better place.

In our current time most of us are so caught up in our own agenda that we don't have time to listen or respect the others in our life. The messages we need to hear to move our life forward & to be in a more joyful place will never be heard if we don't respect the people that come into our lives.

Love & respect go hand & hand for me. If we can all begin from a place of love we can learn to respect all the people of the world & grow in love even more. People that feel their thoughts aren't respected or loved rarely share the wisdom they have. This wisdom can be the key that we need to progress beyond where we are. We will never know the messages that God/universe is sending to us, unless we take the time to open our hearts & respect everyone who comes into our life.

When we respect others, others will respect us. Take the first step to a more joyful life. Find the harmony we are all meant to live in. Be the person I know you can be.

Till Monday, I hope you have a great weekend,

Hugs,

Bill

Quote of the day: "By respecting others we can find the messages God/universe is sending to us. These messages will change our life. Open your heart, love & respect everyone who enters your life & you will have a more joyful life."

Malaise

The Monday after the Super Bowl should be a national holiday! Ok maybe not but it's amazing how the morning begins on the day after the Super Bowl. To start with unlike many people throughout the country I'm a Colts fan so there's a certain malaise built in when your team loses, especially when they were the favorites. Truthfully I think we all have days when we are just in a state of malaise.

According to dictionary.com the definition of malaise is: "a vague or unfocused feeling of mental uneasiness, lethargy, or discomfort." I look at each day as a new beginning & when I feel a general malaise about things I try to reflect on where the feeling comes from. In general that's what I try to do about any feeling I feel. I believe strongly in the fact that we all need to pay attention to our feelings. I don't believe in denying your feelings but instead I believe in reflecting on why you're feeling the way you're feeling & then moving beyond that feeling back to a place of joy.

It's ok to have days that you need to recoup & pause. Nature itself has the winter & everything in life has a purpose. Sometimes we need the pause to refocus & move forward. Through understanding who we are & why we feel the way we feel. We can change our lives. It's through this recognition & acceptance of all of who we are that we can move beyond any malaise we feel.

Open your heart & accept the wonderful person you are even when the day isn't perfect. You can change your life today!! All it takes is moving to a place of love & acceptance.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day:"Understand what you feel in any moment, accept this feeling & move on to a place of love. Through love you will always find a more joyful life."

Yellowstone

Over the weekend Heidi & I began to watch the "National Park" series by Ken Burns. I'm a big advocate of the national park system & I've spent time in several of the national parks. I'm hoping to feature one of my favorites everyday & also tie in some thoughts about why nature is so important & can lead us to a more joyful life. I've become inspired again after watching this series (we've only watched the first two) & feel the need to share my inspiration. I hope you'll all enjoy this journey & I urge each of you to discover a national park near you.

To begin this week I start with my favorite national park: Yellowstone!! The picture above is one that I took from the lower falls looking out through the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. This picture is hanging in our living room & I was fortunate to finish in the top 10 of a photo contest with this picture. Have you ever been inspired by a picture? This picture inspires me for a couple of reasons; First, I am able to transport myself back to the moment I took this picture & remember the beauty all around me. Second, this picture is a journey through life for me. I made sure to include the rainbow (I had to hang over a railing to get it in the picture) because to me a rainbow always signifies hope. We all need a little hope to get us through life. The Yellowstone river is the journey of our life, a winding path that disappears into the distance. There are times in our life that if we would just let go & with the flow we would be carried onto a better life. Unfortunately many of us try to swim up river & battle our way through life. Then finally, we have the blue sky, something always to be able to look up to with comfort.

Yellowstone is my favorite national park because of it's diversity. You have the beauty of many water falls, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, the geysers & paint pots, the beautiful mountains & a huge lake. Along with all this diversity it's one of the best parks to see wildlife. The last time I was there we picked up a laminated wildlife & bird card & tracked all the varieties of animals we saw within the week. We were able to see most of the animals & birds that we on this card including: Buffalo, Elk, Moose, Grizzly Bear, Osprey & hawks. The beauty of the park comes alive to you much more if you take the time to get out of your car & hike some of the many trials the park has to offer. A park ranger once told me that 98% of the visitors to Yellowstone never go beyond their cars & the "tourist" spots. To me being able to get off the beaten path & hike with my two younger girls was amazing.

We began the week with the longest & toughest hike, hiking nearly 6 miles (round trip) to the top of Mount Washburn the hike takes you through many different types of scenery & eventually through several switchbacks to the top of Mount Washburn which is more then 10,200 feet above sea level. On this hike you go up a total of 1,500 feet from the beginning to the end. The beauty of the Yellowstone valley from this peak is amazing & I would encourage all of you to check it out if you go.

Yellowstone is huge, there is a loop road that covers most of the park. On this loop road there's a road that splits it approximately through the center. With stopping to enjoy the views & the animals you'll be lucky to drive one half of this loop in a day. My suggestion is to take as much time as you can. I enjoy staying in the "canyon" area because it gives you easy access to the other parts of the park. There are both camping & lodging options in the "canyon" section of the park.

The beauty of nature is something we all need to reconnect with. It is only through this true connection that we can rediscover who we really are. There is a part of us that remembers our connection to the land & it's in rediscovering this connection that we can begin our journey to a more joyful life.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day: "The beauty of Yellowstone is in it's diversity. Take time to discover this jewel of the national parks!"

Wolves

I love wolves. I think they are beautiful majestic animals. My screen name since we first started using them back in the 80's with bulletin board services has been "Timberwolf". Once the Timberwolves basketball team came around I had to add a few numbers to it to be able to keep it so now it's "Timberwolf123". The reason I bring this up is that wolves in general are very misunderstood animals. They have been labeled as evil & bad.

I don't like labels I wrote two blogs on labels back in October. The first dealt with labeling anything in your life & the second discussed labeling people, check them out if you'd like. The truth about wolves is that they are one of the more complex animals in the animal kingdom. They are very social, intelligent, great parents & only kill weak or sick animals. They were hunted to extinction in the western U.S. in a very awful way in the early 1900's. An amazing book about this was Nicholas Evans "The Loop". Then in the mid 90's the National Park Service began a reintroduction program in Yellowstone National Park. This reintroduction has been very successful & has restored the natural balance to the Park (before the introduction they had a problem with two many deer & Elk). The Park service still battles with cattlemen in the area who believe the wolves are a menace & cause them great losses to their cattle.

The facts are that although the wolves have killed some cattle (for the most part)they were the weak or sick & the cattlemen have been paid for each of their losses. The unfortunate thing is because of the culture of generations of killing these wolves most of these cattlemen still have a very bad attitude towards the wolves.

Labeling & teaching these labels to our children is a an awful tradition in this world today. Most of the hate that still exists in this world is because of generations of people labeling people for things that were done sometimes thousands of years ago. This labeling continues the cycle of hate & closes off the minds of those involved. Let go of the hate & racism that you were taught. Open your mind to this new world that is dawning right in front of us.

Why do I say this? I believe that their is a conscious shift happening in the world today. The use of the internet has brought people together closer then they ever have been & the differences that have been perpetuated for generations are beginning to dissolve. People are beginning to discover a better way. This better is to love! Love is the answer to everything this world needs, if we could all learn to love a little more this world would be an even more amazing place.

Let go of the labels in your life, learn to love more...starting with yourself. Each of you are a beautiful precious gift to the world & you have the ability to change the world. Believe in yourself & believe in love.

Till Monday....have a great weekend,

Bill

Quote of the day: "Wolves are a great example of how much labels can hurt the world. Let go of labels, open your mind & love more."

Communication

So the other day I wrote about "Listening" & it dawned on me this morning that as important as it is to listen there's much more to communication then just listening. I wonder in this day of uber communication whether we are truly communicating better. I know it's easier then ever to communicate with anyone anywhere in the world but has the art of communication been lost in all the technology?

I believe true communication is a very important part of living a more joyful life. I think trying to make your way through everything we're bombarded with in this day & age can be tough though. I've written before about trying to quiet the noise around you & I think with communication it's especially true. I think that everyone that comes into your life has a message for you. Sometimes it's not a message we want to hear because many times we get back what we put out into the world. And for many of us what we put out is our biggest fear. I wrote blog early on that I entitled "reflection" that talks about how the universe gives us back what we put out into the world.

To me this "reflection" is the reason to pay attention to everything that comes into your life. Don't get me wrong it's not easy to see the things you don't like about yourself reflected back at you but in order to grow & become a better person I believe it's a necessary evil. The more people you truly communicate with in your life the better the opportunity there is to learn & grow. I know at times we all get tired of communicating with anyone, that's ok. But to truly grow & learn the messages God/universe is sending into your life you need to take the time to communicate with everyone who enters your life. It's only through the art of true communication that we can discover what we need to know to continue our journey to a more joyful life.

Practice listening & communicating, open your heart to all that enter into your life & pay attention to the messages that you are receiving, even when they aren't things you want to hear. Sometimes it's only through hearing the messages over & over again that we can grow & change our life.

I hope you all have a great weekend,

Till Monday,

Bill

Quote of the day:"Practice the art of true communication with everyone in your life. The message you receive can open your heart to a more joyful life."




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