Joy is more then just a word

I've written a lot in this blog about "Joy" & my journey to discover more of it in my daily life. As I began writing this blog, I started to observe my life more closely over the past year & one thing has become abundantly clear to me; to many Joy is just a word. It's something to shoot for. It's a dream, it's not really obtainable.

To me Joy is a part of my daily life. Does this mean everything goes perfectly? No not at. I have good days & bad days just like everyone else. I have doubts & concerns but I've learned that joy can be found even in the times that aren't perfect. Life is rarely perfect & if you search for perfection in your life you'll be disappointed. Every life has it's up's & down's even the best of them. The trick is to not get caught up in the down's & to enjoy the up's. I've learned to not dwell on things when they aren't going well. I've learned that by changing my focus, in difficult times, to what I can learn from this situation, generally smooths out the difficult situation & makes it better.

We have the ability to change everything in our life. All it takes is a change in focus. If we can look at life differently then how we're looking at it now....everything changes. The great thing about changing your focus is that you can do it over & over again & the world will change around you. You are the director of your life. Don't blame others for the life you have, it's all up to you.

Discover the joy in every moment. Create the life you want to see. Everything is possible, just believe in it.

Till tomorrow,

Bill

Quote of the day: "Joy is the way to live your life. Discover the joy in everything & live a more joyful life!"

PS I'm still looking for guest bloggers, if you'd like to write a guest blog contact me at timberwolf12345@gmail.com

What's Important to you?

My friend Tony Anders wrote an interesting blog on "Who am I?" yesterday & it got me thinking about how we define ourselves. He had many interesting thoughts about how people define themselves but I also believe that people define themselves by what's important to them! So I started to explore this question in my mind & I thought I would share the 10 things that are the most important to me. I'm going to exclude the obvious: Wife, Kids & Family. I hope you like this list & I would love it if you'd leave me "What's important to you" below (in no particular order).

1. Getting a job - As many of you know it's been over a year that I've been unemployed & although I'm not hung up on not having a job, I believe it's time to find one again.

2. Self Growth - The best thing about not having a job is that I've had time to truly explore who I am & continue to grow through the work I do on myself.

3. Be Love - I continue to work on loving everyone that comes into my life & trying to radiate the love I feel out to the rest of the world. When someone challenges my love, I try to understand why this person is a challenge & grow through the challenge.

4. Be Sustainable - Heidi & I continue to work on doing what we can to be more natural with local products & recycling, etc. I believe if we all take even small steps we can make a huge difference in the world.

5. Help Others - I have been volunteering since I was very small but as my work-life got very busy over the past several years I didn't have time to volunteer or help others. I have rediscovered the joy of volunteering the past year & I'm currently involved with many groups.

6. Be an instrument of peace - I have learned in my life that war is unnecessary for the most part & the differences between us make us unique, they aren't something to fight over. Through dialogue & understanding we can end war in our lifetime & have a world filled with peace.

7. Continue to write - I have discovered that the process of writing this blog has been very fulfilling not only because of the wonderful comments people leave but because it's helped me give thought to things that are important to me.

8. Be with Nature - I have truly rediscovered my love for nature. It's always been & even when my life has gotten busy I would go back to nature to reconnect but with the limited budget I've started camping again & truly appreciate being back in nature & the earth. I will never allow this connection to go away moving forward.

9. Exercise - Along with reconnecting with nature I have truly enjoyed my daily bike rides & our increased hiking. I will continue to push myself forward with these small joys in my life even when I am able to get back to work.

10. Be the change you want to see in the world - This is the most important to me. I want to be able to help change the world even if it's in a small way. I hope to always be an example going forward & when I falter I want to learn from the experience & become a better a person because of it.

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into what's truly important to me. I do find joy in every moment but I also understand that I still have much to learn in my life. Life is an amazing gift & I appreciate the opportunity to become a better person everyday. Thank you for being apart of my journey.

Till Monday,

Hugs,

Bill

PS I am still looking for Guest Bloggers. My hope is to help introduce people to your blogs/thoughts. If you'd like to be a Guest Blogger drop me an email at timberwolf12345@gmail.com

"Did Pooh ever use the word 'holistic'?"

This week I welcome another guest blogger Dawn Sievers. Dawn is a great writer & a good friend. She is one of the founders of the Authentic Blogger group on Facebook & she writes a blog entitled Healing Morning. Enjoy her blog and then see her bio at the end!

"Did Pooh ever use the word ‘holistic’?”

How's that for an opening statement?! That was a reply to a post of mine on the Facebook page of a girlfriend who is suffering a lingering, nasty recovery from swine flu...current incarnation, bronchitis. I posted earlier with one of my favorite standby quotes of, "Think, think, think," said Pooh, "wondering what we can do from a holistic perspective to blast that out of you?" The second part of the quote is my own ad lib, but the beginning is pure Pooh.

I was delighted with the follow up inquiry about Pooh's possible use, or non-use of such a word as holistic, and thus, a blog was born. I am a firm believer that Pooh and all his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood are much deeper than we see at first glance. Pooh was born out of inspiration from A.A. Milne's son, Christopher Robin's stuffed animal collection (yes, my friends, there really is a real Christopher Robin!) and grew into a worldwide, beloved storyline. I suspect that many Pooh-isms were also inspired by A.A. Milne's little boy, as they speak with childlike clarity and wisdom we often lose as we grow up.

So, back to this holistic Pooh business. Has anyone recently looked up some Pooh quotes? If you haven't, I strongly suggest you give it a whirl. Just type "Winnie the Pooh quotes" into your search engine and prepare to laugh, feel warm inside, maybe get choked up here and there.

"Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there someday."*

....and....

"Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to
watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known."*

....and...

"Some people care too much; I think its called love."*

Methinks that A.A. Milne was a crafty soul who possibly chose to slip very deep messages and thoughts into the world of Pooh, perhaps to touch young hearts in a positive manner and hope they would take those thoughts with them into adulthood. Fast forward to today and here I sit, typing away about Pooh and holistic health. Okay, no, Milne didn't write the word "holistic" in any of his works about Pooh, but as a child, Pooh captured my mind with his unique way of thinking, and clearly it stuck with me. I still think Pooh, if I could sit down and talk with him for a spell, would have very deep thoughts to share on holistic health! That's my take on it....

*all Winnie the Pooh quotes taken from http://www.great-inspirational-quotes.com/winnie-the-pooh-quotes.html

Here is the link to the original post: http://healingmorning.blogspot.com/2009/09/did-pooh-ever-use-word-holistic.html

And here is Dawn's writing bio:

Dawn is a Freelance Technical and Creative Writer and Social Media Management Consultant. She's worked as a professional writer for over 15 years, she ventured into the world of blogging in 2009. Healing Morning is a forum to give voice to her musings on a wide range of topics, with the common theme focusing on healing, spiritual and holistic concepts. A positive, uplifting and oftentimes humorous tone runs through her words, and she chooses to write about moments that capture her heart, cause her to ponder deeply, and encourage her to think differently as a result.

“Writing is how I make my living; it is how I help others both professionally and personally, and it is how I express myself in the most rich, vital manner. I consider myself blessed and fortunate to be able to touch the lives of others with my writing.”

If you enjoyed this post, you can find more at Healing Morning blog. Dawn is also a contributing writer to Writers Rising blog, at http://www.liveandinspire.com/ and http://www.vividlife.me/ website. She can be reached for writing and social media consulting services at http://www.sdawnsieverswritingservices.com/

Feeling Lost

Have you ever had the feeling of being lost? Where everything in your life seems to be just not in step. Where any choice you make seems to be the wrong one. We all have times in our life when we feel totally disconnected with everything in our life. When you're going through those times it's difficult to believe that there's an answer that will help you get your life back.

I've had times in my life that I have felt completely connected to everything. Where every move I make is the easiest simplest decision I could ever make & I've had times where I've felt completely lost. As I've grow in my spiritual development I've learned how to smooth out these extremes. Don't get me wrong they still happen to me but I've learned over the years how to move beyond the feeling of being totally disconnected or completely lost quicker then I could in the past. Here's the steps I've learned to take:

1. The most important step is to not get down on yourself. Understand that life like nature is all about cycles & we all go through ups & downs so forgive yourself for feeling lost.

2. Observe what is happening in your life, sometimes during this "lost" time there are very clear messages that God/universe is trying to send you. If you pay attention to the messages sometimes that alone will bring you back to feeling connected.

3. Take time to connect to your true self (soul) understand what you're feeling & rediscover the love you have inside. Love will often lighten your mood & bring you back to a connection with everything.

4. Reconnect with nature whether it's taking a walk in a park, spending time in your garden or escaping to a national park. There is a deep & meaningful connection between all of us & nature. By taking the time to reconnect with nature we connect with everything & this connection will lead us back from being lost.

These steps are only the beginning but they are a great way to lead yourself out of the feeling of being lost. There are always things to be learned from everything we go through in our life. The key is to understand this & to move forward in the current moment. Many times this lost feeling can be a shadow of our past & by staying in the current moment we can reconnect with who we truly are & what we want in life.

Till tomorrow,

Hugs,

Bill


Quote of the day: "When you feel lost in your life, take time to acknowledge what your feeling. Rediscover the love in your heart & reconnect with everything."

Down the rabbit hole

How far down the rabbit hole of self discovery are you willing to go? In this day & age we rarely take the time we need to understand who we truly are. We are pressured by the people around us to "suck it" & move on. So, for most of us, no matter what we've been through, we bury the pain & move on. We move forward without ever looking at what's happened to us & often we are thrown back to the same feelings over & over again in our lives. We wonder why we aren't able to manifest the things we want in our life & our life is never as fulfilling as we'd like it to be.

Does this sound like you? This was me for many years. I have mentioned before that I grew up in a family of 5. I have 4 sisters so I'm the only boy. I went through some big crisis in my life when I was fairly young including a car crash that broke my younger sisters back. Because of the crisis I had to deal I was always regarded as someone who excelled in these situations. I seemed to think clear & quicker then most people in the crisis situations I had to deal with. This sounds wonderful but the downside of it was that I would bury how felt to get through the situation & most of time once the crisis was over the feelings were buried so deep that I never really looked back on them.

I struggled often in my younger life to find out what I really wanted in life. I was outwardly successful (having a good job, etc) but inside I was a mess. I was grasping for anything to give meaning to my life. Don't misunderstand I was still a very happy person & I had a pretty good life but once you got beyond the surface I didn't really know who I was or what I wanted. So I started to take time to get to know me & as I did this I realized that many of the things that happened to me in my life were based on the same feelings or in the same patterns. I discovered that in order to move forward in my life I needed to learn & grow from everything I'd been through. Part of this learning was acknowledging the feelings I had & trying to understand why I felt the way I felt.

This self discovery can be painful but through the process of feeling the emotions & understanding where the feelings come from you can move beyond the feelings & onto a better life. God/universe wants to help us learn & grow. God/universe wants us to become the person we truly can be. Because of this if we avoid the lessons God/universe sends us, those lessons will be sent back to us again & again. It is only through the process of self discovery that we able to move onto a better life.

Take time to look deep inside yourself, acknowledge all the feelings you've hidden away in smallest places of your heart & soul. Learn from these feelings & allow your life to grow into a more joyful life.

Till Tuesday, have a great holiday weekend.

Hugs,

Bill

I am still looking for guest bloggers. I would like to have Wednesday's be guest bloggers day on my blog, if you're interested contact me at Timberwolf12345@gmail.com

Quote of the day: "Take the time you need for true self discovery. Learn & grow through the things you've experienced & begin to lead a more joyful life."

Gateway

Today I welcome my first "Guest Blogger" Erana Leiken. I have enjoyed Erana's blog "Just doing my thing" for a longtime now. I was introduced to her through the "Authentic Blogger" group on Facebook.

Erana Leiken, principal of Tiger Marketing, is a marketing and PR consultant and freelance writer. She also teaches communication courses at the University of Phoenix and Web marketing and interactive content for the Art Institute of Phoenix. Formerly an NBC reporter, magazine editor, and Web business writer, she is writing creative nonfiction and doing Web consulting.

Please welcome Erana & be sure to check out her blog.

Gateway

By Erana Leiken

I close my eyes and breathe deeply. As I take deeper, longer breaths, in my mind, I am transported.

I stand before an arch looking at the path that takes me into a golden field on the way to the garden, my beautiful, tranquil garden.


I follow the path to the water and the secluded garden where my guide awaits.

It is a spiritual retreat, and only I have access. It is an inner resting place I have created when there is nowhere else to go.

Life’s pressures and stresses are not allowed in my secret garden.

Once I am there, I escape the cares and weight of life. My guide is always there …when I am afraid, uncertain and alone. We are connected. We sit beside the water, and my guide listens to my doubts and apprehensions.

I know I can rely on my guide to help me when life is too much, and I need refuge. This is our time and place, an inner world untouched by others where there is peace and comfort from external reality.


In the garden, I am comforted by my gentle guide. We are detached from the material world.

In this oasis of meditation, I transcend responsibilities, worries and anxieties.

In my garden I am calm. I am safe. I am free.







Copyright © Erana Leiken, 2009 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
http://justdoingmythingcom.blogspot.com/
Archway photo by Maureen McGarrigle

Rose colored glasses

I have often been asked if my positive attitude about life is really just looking at the world through rose colored glasses. My answer is always the same, "No" I see the pain, the ugly human behavior & the need to grab power. I understand all of these things, I just choose not to focus on them. I've been hurt in my life & I've known pain & bad times but even in those times I've found the joy in each moment as I move forward in my life.

Life is about choices & you have a choice in each moment that you live. You can choose to accept all the negative that surrounds you or you can acknowledge the negative & move beyond it to place of joy. The choice is really up to you. Your life is really your own choosing. Don't blame others for your misfortune. Understand that what happens in your life is your own creation. This can be a difficult lesson to learn especially when bad things continue to happen to you but it is a lesson that you should learn.

I'm not saying that there aren't random bad things that happen to everyone from time to time. What I'm saying is that by understanding how we create our life we minimize these bad things & bring more joy into our life. We can't control much in our life but we can allow the God/universe to create the life we envision. Our biggest challenge is allowing not controling. We become very attached to our dreams/intentions & the more we're attached the harder it is for the God/universe to create what we envision.

To me detachment works like this; I want a job that is fulfilling & that pays enough for me to be able to pay my bills. I then allow God/universe to create the circumstances for this intention to be created. You can be more specific but the key is to allow God/universe to create the path to the fulfillment of your intention & to not be attached to the results.

Take time each day to create the life you want to live. Let go of the negative in your life & live a more joyful life today.

Till tomorrow,


Bill

PS I'm still looking for guest bloggers. I would love to hear from more of you so I can promote your blog here. Contact me at Timberwolf12345@gmail.com

Quote of the day: "Life is about choices, choose joy & you'll discover more joy in your life!"