Generosity

Are you Generous? Do you give money or time? Do you try to make a difference? I think at this special time of the year we should all examine what we do to make a difference in the world. There are so many ways to help others and as I've written before the way to a more joyful life is by committing yourself to giving to others.

The simple act of giving opens yourself up to receiving back all you've given & more. I know we're living in a difficult time & not everyone has the money to give. If this is the case for you, don't get discouraged. There are plenty of ways to give to others. If you don't have the money think about donating your time. If you don't have the time think about donating things you have around the house or food depending on your Charity of your choice.

There are a lot of great charities to give to. I don't think people even realize how easy it is to find a charity that fits right into your life. If you're worried about children or education you can find a charity. If you're worried about the homeless there's a charity. If you're concerned about animals or the arts there are plenty of places to give to.

We all get caught up in this season & we're worried about getting all our shopping done or getting all of our cards out but we all need to take a moment to realize the need around us. In this time especially the need is greater then ever. Many charities are overwhelmed with the need & they need us all to step up to help out.

There is no greater joy then that of giving. Open your heart & give as deeply as you can. You will have a better life because of it as long as it's truly from your heart. If you give looking for something in return the benefits may not be as great. As with everything we've discussed here, if we act looking for something it's usually EGO based. The way to a more joyful life is to feel the compassion & want to make a difference. Acting from your heart will always bring you great benefits. Find a cause & give from your heart, you'll find more joy then you can imagine.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day: "Through giving with an open heart you will discover more joy then you can imagine in your life."



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It's always darkest....

It's always darkest before the dawn. Sometimes in life it's very difficult to believe that. We've all been through trials in our life & I'm sure there have been times for each of you when you felt that the darkness in your life was so dark that you'd never see the sun again. I've experienced this darkness before in my life & to me it always feels like being held under the water & needing to breathe. You feel like you'll never get that breath no matter how hard you try. But the God/universe will always help you even when it feels like they won't.

The truth is no matter how much you follow the exercises I've outlined before in this blog, there are times for all of us when we feel overwhelmed. For me I've learned that there can be great growth in these times of darkness & the most important thing is to trust in yourself & in the practices you've set-up. I know it's difficult to continue believing that "this to shall pass" but as with any storm in nature the darkness can't last forever.

So how do we make it through these times. As I mentioned above, you must continue to trust in yourself. This belief should be tempered with some self reflection. We need to take time when things are darkest to make sure we are acting from our soul & not our EGO. This self reflection should codify that we are on the correct path. That this vision for our life is what we truly want & it is in balance with the universe & our soul purpose.

The dark times will pass just as the sun rises each day. Try to remember the good times even when things are the darkest & remember to learn everything you can from the darkness. The knowledge you learn at these darkest times will help you grow & make it possible to avoid the darkness in the future.

Remember to always stay open & come from a place of love especially when things look their darkest. Through your commitment to loving others even when you need love the most you will find the sun again.

Until tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day: "Even when life seems to be it's darkest, love will help you find the way to the light."

My latest video blog is now posted here, take a look at it & let me know your thoughts.


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The 4 letter word....

I've written a lot over the past 6 months about love. I truly believe that love will change the world & that each of us can find more love in our life by first loving ourselves. The word I haven't brought up before, mostly because it's the worst 4 letter word I know is: hate!

So often we discuss the power of our thoughts. These thoughts can manifest anything that we truly set them onto. But, we forget in our daily life that a byproduct of thought is words and I believe words are also very powerful. To many of us use the word hate for so many things in our life. I hate that TV commercial, I hate the cold weather, etc., etc.

The word hate & the meaning of hate is spewed out all over TV. We should hate this person for doing "that". We should hate that group because they are radicals. All of this hate adds up to less love in our lives. I rarely use the word at all. As I described above I think it's the worst 4 letter word I know because it's the opposite of everything I believe. For most of us though we use it as a throw away. It's one of the first words out of our mouths. We hold the word love back because we're afraid of being hurt by letting someone know that we love them but we use the word hate all the time.

Love is the answer to everything in our life. This doesn't mean that there won't be times that you're hurt because of love. But the amount of love you'll receive in your life by opening up and loving more, far out weighs any hurt you'll discover on the path to more love.

Let's agree today to stop using the word hate. Leave that word for the worst in people; use it only when it's absolutely necessary. By taking this small step you will reduce the hate in the world & through this vacuum, you will increase the amount of love in the world.

Till Monday, have a great weekend.

Bill

Quote of the day: "Let go of the casual use of the word hate and by doing this we can increase the love in the world."

PS Several people have asked about the photo under the title of this blog "Journey to Joy". It is a picture I took in the Smokey Mountains this past spring. If you want a copy of it let me know.

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Who Am I?

One of the most difficult questions any of us have to answer is; "Who am I?" that question is usually followed up with "Why am I here?". Many of us spend a lifetime trying to figure out the answers to these questions and some other's of us avoid these questions at all costs. Where do you fall in this spectrum?

For me the journey to get to know myself was a very difficult one. As I mentioned earlier in this blog I didn't like myself to much when I was younger. This was mostly because my Dad made me feel like nothing I could do was good enough. I wrote a wonderful blog about "not feeling good enough". I would recommend you give it a read if you are having this issue (I've moved all my old blogs over here). Once I got past the this feeling of not being good enough, I started to explore who I really was & what was important to me.

This process took me many years & a lot of thought & reflection. The truth is that although I've been writing this blog for almost 6 months now giving you tips to improve your life and all of these tips are things that I've used or had to work my way through in my life. The only way you can truly change your life is to take the time to get to know yourself. There may be things you discover that you don't like about yourself, that's ok. You need to discover these things to move past them. Forgive yourself for the mistakes you've made in your life. Remember the past is the past & you can't change any of it. So, forgive yourself & move beyond the things that you don't like about yourself. By moving past these issues you can begin to discover who you truly are.

In the world today we are always looking for the quick fix. We want the easy way out of everything. Discovering who are isn't something to shortcut. You need to take whatever time it takes to love yourself. Without having the ability to love yourself you can never fully love someone else. We need to have love to give love.

Once you truly know who you are & love yourself even with all your blemishes. You can begin to explore the question of "Why am I here?". This again can be a life long quest & the true answer may never be revealed to you but by taking time to explore this question, you are already on the correct path.

I personally struggle with this question. I know what I feel in my heart but whether I can actually make a living doing it is another large question. Sometimes we have to fill our souls with our true purpose without it being our job. That's ok as long as you find your fulfillment somewhere. For me currently this blog has been a great fulfillment for my soul.

Don't get discouraged, remember that the time you take on yourself is always the most important time you can spend.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day: "Do you know who you are? Take the time to discover yourself & you will lead a more joyful life."

PS I've posted my latest video blog here. I hope you like it.



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Journey to Joy: Love - Let go of excuses

Winter

As we come upon the winter solstice I think it's a great time to reflect on what the winter means. I've never been a great lover of the winter even though I've lived most of my life in the midwest where the winter can be very hard.

I sit here today in Indiana where we're expecting a snow strom later today. Who knows if it will actually come but right now there's high winds & rain ahead of the expected snow this afternoon. As with everything in my life I try to look beyond what's ahead of me, so today I thought it would be great to talk about the wintertimes in your life.

We all have times in our life where things seem the darkest or the coldest. These times can be very tough for us to get through because we tend to forget about the "spring & summer" times of our lives while we're going through these "dark times.

The thing to remember is that our lives are tied to nature & in nature the winter is a time for renewal. Yes, I said renewal! Everything in nature during the winter is taking a pause to begin again. Every plant & most animals are expending as little energy as possible to be ready to begin their rebirth during the spring. They reflect on what worked best in the past so they can come back even stronger in the spring.

We all have winter times in our lives. Sometimes they come with the actual season & sometimes the come at other times in our lives. Take time during this "dark" time and renew yourself. Remember that winter; as all things in nature will end & the spring will come again. Don't be discourage that the wintertime has come, celebrate the time you have for self reflection & growth. Take the time to grow & be ready for the next spring of your life.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day: "The wintertimes of your life are times for renewal. Celebrate these dark times & preapre for your next spring!"

My next video blog is now available on Youtube.  I hope you'll take a look I've called it "Love-letting go of excuses"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRBKHjTc6FQ&feature=autoshare_twitter


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Animals

Do you have animals in your life?  A dog,cat,bird,hampster or any other animal?  Animals add so much to our lives & our connection with them goes much further back then any of us can imagine. Man has been connected to animals from the very beginning of time & this connection fills an important part of our heart.  For many of us having an animal in our life is our only connection to nature.  This natural connection is something that you can find great comfort in.

Heidi & I have two Australian Cattle dogs; Sydney who's almost 9 & Adelaide who is between 8 1/2 & 9.  We adopted both of them from local shelters, which I highly recommend.  There are so many animals looking for a good home.

They add so much to our lives; in animals we find compassion & unconditional love.  We are also able to laugh at their odd behaviors. They bring so much joy to our lives.  I believe that there's nothing better then the love from an animal & all they truly want is love in return.

To me this connection with nature is an important part of our true nature.  I believe many of us have lost our connection to nature.  we can find great peace in the quiet of nature & the beauty we find in the outdoors can fill our souls & help us to grow in our lives.

The American Indians believed that if we lost this connection with nature there was truly no reason to live.  They also believed that every animal that enters your life has a message or a reason to be there.  A wonderful book that explains the meaning behind the animals that enter your life is "Animal-Speak" by Ted Andrews.

Reconnect with the animals in your life.  Find the quiet of nature & the pure love of the animals around you.  Through these connections you can find a more joyful life.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day: "There is nothing in the world like the unconditional love of the animals in your life."

My next video blog is now available on Youtube.  I hope you'll take a look I've called it "Love-letting go of excuses".  http://bit.ly/52wJTw


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