A Brave New World

A Brave New World

Sometimes in life facing the new day takes a power & energy beyond what others in our life know. We stumble because we don't believe that we have the strength to go on, when truly that strength is always within us. 

We need to look at the new day as an opportunity, instead of a challenge and realize that with each new day we move beyond the fear that holds us back. For without releasing that fear and moving forward in our lives we become stuck and stagnate and never become who we are truly meant to be.

Yes, somedays it takes great bravery to move forward and let go of all the yesterdays that have piled up inside of us. But, truly the only path forward is in focusing on what is possible in this new day and being grateful for the opportunity to have a fresh start.

All those yesterdays can be a huge burden to carry with you and the ability to let them go is not an easy one. You are braver than you believe you are and the secret to letting those burdens go is set firmly inside of you.

If the past year has taught us anything it is to be resilient and it takes being brave to find that resiliency. Trust in our strength, even when it feels like it's fading, and believe that every morning is a new opportunity, a new chance to live the life you've always dreamt of.

Yes, we live in a challenging time right now and it feels sometimes that we are facing a brave new world because of the daily changes we face. Just remember that you have the power to change everything in your life and you have the strength to make it happen.

Start each morning with things you are grateful for. No matter how small they are, they will begin to change the world around you by bringing a change in your outlook to the new day. Then compliment yourself on the things you have accomplished in the past day or two. We to often are ready to give praise to everyone in our our lives but ourselves. This will give you strength and purpose because slowly you will start to believe in yourself.

You are amazing and there is no one as unique as you. You have the power of God/Universe within you, you can connect with that power anytime you allow yourself to feel it. We are all one, connected by spirit and the more we allow ourselves to feel that connection, that oneness, the more we can face this brave new world!

Till next time,

Bill

Quote of the day: "You are braver than you believe you are and you can discover that strength by reconnecting with spirit!"

Compassion

Compassion

I’ve written a lot over the years about the importance of discovering love in your life. First, the love for yourself, as everything in this world begins with where we are at and what we manifest. But in times like these I think we need to go beyond love, we need to find true compassion.

So what is compassion? The dictionary describes compassion as: “a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.”

Today with everything going on in the world it’s easy to fall into the trap of negativity. To “pick” on others to give us some sense of power because we have no control over our own lives. But I propose doing the exact opposite, discovering compassion for yourself and your fellow human being.

We live in a world that is broken because we have lost the ability to talk. We have more access to information and the ability to communicate than we have ever had before but we use these resources in limited ways, we only read what we agree with and communicate to be right, not to listen and learn.

This has caused the world to become fractured, each of us only allowing ourselves to be with the people we agree with. Unfortunately this sets us back to the time of early man where most communication was not possible. So, we went by our perception, our gut or our belief that a tribe, a person, a country was a threat to who we truly are.

Why should we go backwards? Why can’t we use technology to grow together? I would suggest it is because of our egos,  because we have moved away from the ability to listen, truly listen and we have decided that everything outside of what we believe is not only wrong, but it is a threat to our actual being.

This could not be further from the truth, but our ego wants to be right, our ego likes the false sense of control, and our ego decides that we are all that truly matters! Love and compassion are the gateway beyond the ego. Only by truly caring for another can we get to a place where we are willing to open our mind and our hearts to what is truly possible.

Find compassion in your life, discover what it is like to be more than yourself, not to satisfy your ego of being the great person you are, but to open your heart to someone that really needs your help and right now there are millions that do. Let go of the anger, be willing to listen, and be willing to open your mind to other possibilities.

Only by continuing to grow to do we learn to be selfless. 

Till next time,

Bill

Quote of the day: “Compassion brings us beyond ourselves to feel and care for another. Today, it is more important than ever to find compassion; be the selfless person you were meant to be.”

The Fear of Change

The Fear of Change

Let’s face it, the world has changed forever and things will never go back to the way they used to be. Certainly, some things will feel close to the same but with everything we’re going through, things will be different going forward.

So why do we fear change so much? I wrote many years ago Thinking through Change were I addressed some of the reason we fear change. But, in today’s unlimited environment, where we are deluged by information from sources all across the world, fear is perpetuated even more.

Often in this environment we actually choose fear because we don’t know how to cope with everything that is happening around us. But, that choice is always the wrong choice. When we choose fear, we choose to live in a heightened state that our bodies cannot maintain for an extended period of time.

So, we become fatigued, we become restless and we become easily agitated. Is this the life you really want to live? I seriously doubt it. So, how do we change our behavior? I personally limit my exposure to the news. I watch for 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening, that is it.

I also choose to scroll past many of the social media posts I see. The ones I do choose to interact with are from proven sources and not conjecture created just to keep you in the state of fear. Fear is a great way to control people. Why? Because it feeds on itself, it needs more information because it (fear) believes that the only way to lessen the fear is to learn more and more about it. The problem is, in today’s environment much of what you read is not fact and is actually out there to encourage you to stay in fear.

The next way I move past fear is to do things that make me happy; take a walk in the outdoors, listen to music, read, or just take some time to be quiet. Once you begin the pattern of disconnecting from the sources of the fear, your body will begin to return to a normal state and you will feel much better.

Yes, the world is changing but instead of fearing that change, embrace it and make it the best that it can be. We will come through this together and we will live our lives again, stop the fear, be the change.

Till next time,                                                                                                                                           

Bill

Quote of the day: “Only by accepting the change in our lives can we begin to rediscover the lives we truly seek.”

Dealing with Grief!

Let me start by saying that I am no expert on grief. I know there are people out there that know how to help others through the process. I'm just someone who is trying to deal with the loss of someone close to me.

Maybe I have been lucky in life, the people I have lost so far that were important to me have been very few at the age of 56; I lost my grandmother when I was very young 8 I believe, I lost my grandfather when I was 20 and because of my age I did not realize how much his loss meant to me till very much later in life, I lost a friend when I was in theatre in a tragic car accident and while dealing with his loss I had to go on for him the next night on stage, Then I lost my Dad 11 years ago and that loss took me almost a year to get over, finally a few weeks ago I lost my sister.

My sister Lori was one of the strongest women I have ever known. She was the sister [I have 4] that always stood up for me when I needed someone to. She had some medical issues over the years but always came through them with flying colors and a smile on her face.

Well about a month ago she was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer and given 1 to 2 weeks to live. She made it 2.5 weeks but her loss has really shaken me. She was only 58.

So how do you move through grief? My answer is only straight on. I have tried to feel the loss, I have tried to move beyond the pain but the truth is all I have really felt over the past few weeks is numb.

If you bury the pain of your loss all that will happen is you will see it come back at the most inopportune time and it will come back much stronger than you can ever imagine. 

I have found myself having a very difficult time concentrating and my short term memory has been very bad. These are all things that are "normal" at this stage of grief but I am the positive one. I am the one that always finds a way forward.

So how do you deal with grief? I think it something like the old Paula Abdul song "Opposites Attract." Sometimes you have to "take two steps forward and two steps back." I believe grief is a process and I believe it is different for everyone.

My advice is to always continue moving forward, take time for yourself, find things and people that make you laugh, know that as Einstein says; "Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another.” 

The way forward is different for everyone but this is a time to ask for help when you need it. To know that with time things will get better and to believe that nothing can take away the memories you cherish of the person you lost.

Trust in yourself and trust in those around you that care about you. There is no hard and fast rule for what is right or what you can or cannot do. For me, right now, the hardest thing is talking about it...it brings me to tears almost every time I do.

Ask for help if you need it or find someone you can talk to honestly to help you through the pain. Remember that everyday is a new opportunity and even at the darkest hour of your grief, a simple step forward can change your world in ways you can not even imagine.

Till next time,

Bill

Quote of the day: "The process and pain of grief is something that affects us all differently. trust yourself, trust your family and friends, ask for help if you need it. But never give up, always take one step forward even if you end up going backward!" 

Courage!

Courage!

What does courage mean to you?  Do you believe that only heroes have courage?  Have you had moments in your life when you truly need courage?  All of these are great questions!  Let us start with the definition of courage; 1. The quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery. 2. Obsolete. The heart as the source of emotion. So by the first definition it is a quality to possess and by the second definition it is being connected to your heart.  I believe we all have courage no matter what we face in life.  Sometimes it is difficult just to get through the day because of all the things we are dealing with, isn’t that courage?

To rise above a situation or events that are happening in your life; that takes courage.  To follow your heart when the rest of the world tells you no; that takes courage.  For me the moments that take the most courage are those when you need to stand up for what you believe in regardless of what others think.  Are you able to do that? 

For me courage does come from connecting to your heart and often we hear that someone is courageous when they go above and beyond because they feel strongly that this is the right thing to do.  You never hear courage described with someone negative, it is always going above & beyond.

So how do you connect to your heart to tap into your courage?  For me it is by quieting the mind and becoming self-aware, knowing who you truly are and standing up for what you believe in.  The processes of getting to know yourself is a difficult one and I am not one of those that believes there is a ‘quick fix’.  You need to take time to reflect on yourself, what you have been through and who you truly are. I guarantee the time you take will be paid back 100 fold.  To know one’s self is the greatest gift we can give to the world.  Find the time to be comfortable in your skin and learn what courage truly is.  By doing this you will not only change yourself you will change the world!!

Till next time,

Bill

Quote of the day: “The courage to stand up for what you believe in regardless of what the rest of the world thinks, is the greatest courage you can ever show!”

The Edge of Greatness

Have you ever felt like you were on the edge of a cliff barely hanging on or that the next step you’ll surely fall to your death?  Sometimes in life when we get pushed to the end we have to choices: Fight like hell to stand our ground or just jump.  The scariest thing to do is to just let go and jump! But sometimes that is exactly what we need to do.  Often standing our ground where we are and fighting with everything we got even when things are not working is based on our ego.  The ego hates change the ego wants to be in control and we as human beings love the façade of being in control with everything in our lives.  Often the people that are the most ego driven believe they are in control of everything.

They find comfort in the façade that everything is under their control.  The truth is in life we have very little control over anything.  I mention frequently that there are two things we have control over: Ourselves and our reaction to others that is it!!  No matter how much we believe differently the sooner we recognize this fact and accept it as part of our lives the better off we are moving forward.  So much disappointment in our lives comes from life seeming to just fall apart.  That feeling of true helplessness is because we created the illusion that we were in control of everything when truly we were not.

Taking that leap, letting go and believing that you can fly, is one of the hardest things we can do in our life but not doing it can lead to much more pain and disappointment than if you actually jumped.  Sure there is no guarantee that things will work out.  But by letting go you give yourself a chance, stop fighting the world and then questioning why things continue to be difficult or that bad things continue to happen.  Remember God/universe gives back to us what we put out there.  If all we are putting out there is fighting, pain and disappointment, God/universe will give us more the same.

Take a chance, let go and learn to fly!

Till next time,

Bill

Quote of the day: “When you feel like you are just barely hanging on, let go and learn to fly!”

Transformation

With the dawning of a New Year we all look to turn the page on what was and recreate ourselves for the New Year.  Many of us make resolutions to try and define the change we are looking for in the New Year.  But, as we know too many resolutions are done within weeks or if you are lucky months of the New Year.  Why is this?  Simple, we cannot change who we are without taking the time to know and understand ourselves better.

True transformation comes from within and it cannot be forced.  By knowing your true self, you can become whatever you would like to become.  Do you think the caterpillar knows that tomorrow it will be a butterfly? My guess is that the caterpillar has no idea, it just lives every day to the fullest as a caterpillar and is amazed at the transformation that happens.  Each us of can learn from the caterpillar, we fill our lives with stuff because we believe that if we are busy we have a full and joyful life.  But, to truly transform yourself you need to spend time with yourself and you need to learn to appreciate each and every moment for we never know when our last moment will come.

The discovery of joy in everything is a practiced skill like any other skill.  When we allow our mind to let go of yesterday and begin to live life every day to the fullest, we will slowly begin to find joy in everything.   This realization leads to being more and more aware of the present and teaches us to open our mind to possibilities.  This opening up can dramatically change your life but as with the caterpillar it happens in its own time.  The more you pretend to live in the moment the further you move away from being in the moment.  The process is to not think just to be.

Does this mean only good things will happen?  Of course not, much of life is beyond our control but whatever the trials and tribulations are that you go through there can still be joy in the trials.  Sometimes our greatest lesson and most impressive growth comes through the trials we have in our life.  We all need to celebrate getting through the “tough times” because they happen to everyone!

Till next time,

Bill

Quote of the day: “True transformation happens when we take time to know ourselves better.  Once the transformation begins it can truly change everything in your life.”