Beauty

So, I know what you're thinking, what does beauty have to do with living a more joyful/positive life?  Well to me, beauty has to do with becoming more aware of everything in your life.  We all remember the old saying "Stop and smell the roses", as part of our opening up and being grateful in our lives, we need to find beauty in everything around us.

It can be as simple as appreciating that rose in your garden or on your walk from your car to the office.  Or it can be as complex as finding beauty in each person you meet.  Find beauty in everything and the whole world will feel more beautiful.  As with everything else we've discussed, this shift will have a ripple effect on your life.  Before you know it everything in your life will become more beautiful.

I know this sounds simple and in a lot of ways it can be simple, but the truth is looking at things from a different perspective is an amazing way to grow.  I like to think about it as seeing the world through the eyes of a child.  Everything in a child's eyes is full of wonder and that joy is the true appreciation for the joy in their life. 

Getting back to the wonder of the world through a child's eyes and shedding the cynical look we develop as an adult will truly change your life & bring more joy to you.

I've been on a music kick and the song that reveals this truth the most to me is "It's a wonderful world" by Louis Armstrong, enjoy it at the bottom.

Lastly, my original goal for this blog was for it to become more interactive then it has been.  If there's something that's important to you that you'd like me to write about, please feel free to leave a comment here or @ me on twitter @timberwolf123.

Have a great Monday,

Bill

Quote of the day "Find the beauty in everything in your life & your life will be more beautiful"

 

Time

Many of you have asked me how I decide what I'm going to write every day.  The truth is that I try to stay open and let things come to me.  Sometimes, like this morning, I wake up with the idea in my head.

So the title of today's blog is "Time" and I think it's an important thing to talk about.  Once you start to practice the things we've talked about, you need to understand that although this practice will improve your life.  That with life has its own flow.  You will still have good times and bad times just as there are different seasons.  These practices will make the fallow times easier, but the fallow times will still be there.  Why is this?  Because to appreciate the best, we must understand the bad.  The song that always said this the best to me (and the one I woke with in my head this morning) is The Byrds "Turn, Turn, Turn"  Here are the lyrics:

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace, a time to refrain from embracing

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time to love, a time to hate
A time for peace, I swear it’s not too late

There is no magical cure to make life always be the best.  But the more you work on the practices we've discussed the lows will be less & the highs will be higher.  It's an amazing thing to be connected to God/universe and the feeling you get being in the flow is incredible.  Continue your work and I'll be here to help.

Have a great weekend, see you Monday,

Bill

Quote of the day "Life is full of mystery, enjoy the good and the bad for it's the bad times that make us appreciate the good"

THE BYRDS "TURN, TURN, TURN"

EGO

Ok, it's time to start dealing with the large white elephant in the room with us.... LOL.  EGO is a tough subject and that's one of the reasons I've waited to talk about it.  Everything we do as human beings is influenced by our EGO's.  It's one of the toughest things to realize & even harder to get past.  I know for me personally it's been a hard evolution.  As many of you may know, I spent nearly 10 years as a professional actor and much more time than that in the theatre, so EGO has always been a part of my life. 

Fortunately for me, through the personal growth I've done over the past twelve years I've learned to recognize when it's my EGO that's talking.  I usually can get past the immediate need for gratification that the EGO needs to move onto a better place.

So what is EGO, we probably all think we know but one of the definitions I like the best is from Wayne Dyer, Edge Out God that's really what we're doing when EGO is involved.  We are all divine beings created by a divine being and as such we are all connected but as we grow as individuals, we start to worry about what "I" want, and we move away from our divine nature to satisfy this hunger that is our EGO.  The unfortunate thing is that no matter how hard we try we can never get enough or have enough to satisfy the EGO. 

The EGO has an insatiable desire, it wants more of everything...more recognition.... more money.... more things......more friends......ok I'll stop now you get the idea.  We can never satisfy the EGO....so why try?  Why not instead move past the EGO!

This is not an easy task.  The first step is to realize that the EGO always talks first and loudest.  It wants and needs your attention, and it will continue to try and get your attention back.  So, for me, I try to acknowledge the EGO and let it know that I hear what it's saying...sometimes that will quiet the EGO enough to get past it.  The next thing I try to do is move onto how anything makes me feel, not in my head, but deep in my soul.  Usually, the feeling of the EGO is an empty feeling.  In your head it may sound good but, in your heart, and soul it will feel empty.  Feel that true feeling deep inside before you act.

Always try to connect with your true feelings, this one task that with practice will lead you to a more joyful/positive life.  The EGO will always lie to you, your true feelings will not.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the Day "The EGO has an insatiable desire for everything.  Connect to your true feelings, let go of the EGO and be more joyful." 

Smile

Yes, just smile!  You'll be surprised at the results.  I'm not much for tributes but last week I watched the Michael Jackson tribute because so many people on Twitter were talking about it.  I expected to watch a small part of it & then turn it off but I actually got pulled into it because it was so well done.  I ended up watching the whole thing.  That even surprised me.

First, I should say that I'm not a big "celebrity" watcher type of person.  I appreciate all  celebrities for their talent and realize that they are just people like you & me, that have their own problems & issues to deal with.  I try hard in my life to treat everyone the same I try hard accept the good in everyone and forgive the flaws/problems.  So what's the point?  Well one of my favorite parts of the tribute was Jermaine Jackson's performance of "Smile" (if I've done it right it will be at the end of this blog).

The Lyrics of this song were written by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons with the music by Charlie Chaplin.  Here are the original lyrics:

Smile
tho'
your heart is aching,
Smile
Even though it's breaking,
When there are clouds in the sky- You'll get by,
If you
Smile through your fear and sorrow,
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll see the sun come shining through- For you.
Light up your face with gladness,
Hide ev'ry trace of sadness,
Altho' a tear may be ever so near,
That's the time you must keep on trying,
Smile- What's the use of crying,
You'll find that life is still worthwhile,
If you just smile.

I've always liked  this song & I thank Michael for bringing it back into my life.  The impact of a smile on someone elses life can be amazing. But the point of this song is the impact on your own life.  When you smile and really try and make the smile genuine it can actually change your day.  I believe this is because a true, because a smile, like a real laugh, comes from deep inside you.  It's a connection from your soul to the world.  That's why a smile can light up a room.  It's a nice easy way to try & feel better when you're down....try it.....Just Smile!!!

Here's Jermaine:



Till tomorrow,

Bill
Quote of the day "A smile is a window to the soul.  Smile today & brighten the world with your soul

Change

I've always embraced change; in fact, I've been called a "change agent" at a couple of jobs that I've had because I'm always looking for a new way to do things.  To me change keeps things fresh and alive.  Most people though are afraid of change and in fact will fight it to stay in their comfort zone.  Are you afraid of change?

Since I started this blog with the intention of helping people to have a more joyful/positive life, I thought it was time to talk about change.  Most people prefer to keep their life in a comfortable routine.  They do the same thing day in and day out and rarely embrace change of any kind.  Change will happen in your life with or without you so why not embrace the change.

The bottom line is that to enjoy a more joyful/positive life you need to make the decision that things will be different in your life.  You need to let go of all the old ways of doing things.  Step outside of your comfort zone and accept a new way of living your life.  Changing your way of thinking is up to you.  As with the "Internal Dialogue" we discussed yesterday, look at the way you think about everything.

Let go of the old arguments, stop making excuses, the only one who can change your life is you!  Be a change agent in your own life and enjoy the benefits.  The universe/God will respond to you if you take the first step.  I welcome you on this path of change.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day "With a single change in thought, your life can be more joyful.  Embrace change, today!"

Internal Dialogue

The next step to a more joyful/positive life is to examine your internal dialogue.  What is your internal dialogue?  To me the internal dialogue is your automatic response to some event which normally isn't expressed except in your head.  An example of this might be when someone cuts in front of you in a line; In your head you may be saying.... What the hell does he think he's doing?  But you may just smile and let it go.  I'm sure if we all think about it we can come up with several more examples of what internal dialogue is.

What does internal dialogue have to do with being more Joyful/positive?  Well, if you've been working on your morning grateful’s and spending time with your vision board and trying hard to do all the steps we've discussed then the internal dialogue is what we need to change.

All the work you've done is starting to change you from the inside out but that first thought or the unspoken word is really your EGO speaking to you. (I think I'll deal with EGO sometime this week) We need to let go of that dialogue.  Realize that the internal voice is the EGO & that it is trying to hang onto the person you used to be or it's trying to get your attention.

How do we change the voice?  This is not an easy thing to do.  The way to start the change is first to understand that it's not truly you that is thinking this dialogue.  Then acknowledge the thought & let it go.  Then after letting the thought go replace, it with how you'd like to react or what you'd like to say.  Going back to the example above with the person in line maybe you would replace it with "I'm not in a hurry now & maybe he has someplace that he needs to get to.".  Feel the difference between the immediate reaction (internal dialogue) & the replacement thought.  feel how positive replacement makes you feel better. 

Over time the internal dialogue will switch from the EGO to your soul/heart, and you will begin to feel much more energized & positive.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day "Move out of your head into your heart & you'll lead a more positive life"e"

Love

The greatest gift we must give as individuals is our ability to love one another.  On our journey to a more joyful/positive life, love truly is the key.  If we act first with love, we will always be open to the best result.  Over the past couple of weeks we've focused on some of the things that can hold you back from having a more joyful/positive life but today love is the answer.

I know at times this is easier said than done, people that enter our lives can be difficult at times to deal with.  The key truly is love, if we are open & working on all the things we've talked about you should be in a state of openness and love.  This state of being keeps us all at a higher level of energy and makes loving everyone in our lives much easier.  But as we work towards this higher state of being we can make the transition easier by staying in a state of love.

What do I mean by a state of love.  Well for me it's not prejudging anyone in my life no matter what they look like or sound like or twitter like.  I give people the benefit of the doubt & I find by doing this that I am blessed in my life by a diversity that helps me learn & grow more as a person. The second thing that I do is try to treat people the way I would like to be treated.  I try to live in an openness that moves to the positive first & thus brings more positive reactions from the people in my life.

We talked a couple of days ago about Synchronicity & I believe that every person enters our live for a reason.  If we act from love, we are more able to understand the message they may have for us.  I know you're thinking there are people that you meet just in passing, what message could they possibly have for me.  You'll never know if you don't try & remember that things work both ways.  That bagger at the grocery store may be having a bad day & your smile or friendly "Hi" might just lift him/her up to a better day.  The bottom line is you never know, but if you act from love you give yourself chance at a whole new world.

Love truly is the answer & the more we practice living in love the more joyful/positive life we will have.

Till Monday,

Bill

Quote of the day "Love is the key to a more joyful life, open yourself to love & everything is possible."