Spiritual tip of the day ~ Find the good in every challenge!

Mothers and Daughters uid 745832My Pollyanna was in high gear yesterday. It is sometimes challenging, but I try to find something good in everything. And it can often be a spiritual experience!

I had several appointments in Orlando. I have a really cute pair of white Capri’s but don’t I wear very often, because they are a perfect fit – so perfect that sometimes they are too tight!

Well, I had a notion to wear them yesterday and they stretched out! Now they’re comfortably loose. I came downstairs in them and my husband said, “Wow!” Nothing like a compliment from my hubby to make me feel like a million bucks.

I had several errands in Orlando, the first a lunch appointment. I had a mishap with the white pants on the way … my car was burglarized some weeks back and the police dusted it for fingerprints. That black powder gets into everything. I thought I had it all out … wrong! There I was, walking into the restaurant looking like I forgot to do the laundry. Drat!

So after lunch, I called Dave and explained my dilemma. He suggested that I go buy a new pair of pants, so I headed to a favorite store, where I know they regularly have 70% off racks. I not only found a beautiful pair of slacks (in safe black!), but also five really fantastic tops and spent … are you ready?

$67.29 … Now THAT is a spiritual experience for sure!

I am the QUEEN of bargains!  Lots of  good came out of that little challenge. Later, at home, it took some hand spotting and two runs through the washer, but I got the black spots out of the white pants too! I’m grateful, because I really like those britches!

In my morning rushing to get out of the house, I forgot my packed dinner in the fridge. I weigh and measure most of my meals. For those of you who are new to my blog, I’ve lost over one hundred pounds and have maintained it for nearly seventeen years. (http://www.trustGodandbuybroccoli.com)

Not to worry, I had time to slip into Whole Foods and order what I needed from the deli, and enjoyed some things I don’t normally fix for myself. But geeze, $17 to get what I needed. That was almost double my lunch in a Chinese restaurant! It sure tasted good though.

The next two appointments were fantastic. I met up with another author whom I haven’t seen in at least a dozen years. She looks fantastic and her life is a total success story. We both were struggling back in the nineties and now we both are success stories. It was a great reunion. A bonus; her mother was a good friend but I lost contact with her. I’ll also be reuniting with her soon.

Next, off to the book store where I met my new web designer who’s going to give my website a facelift. She and I agreed to some ideas and now I’m really excited. Over the weekend, my task will be to prepare the content for the new pages and we are off and running. So stay tuned for the grand unveiling in the near future!

It was a great day, even with the spots on my pants and the expensive dinner. We can always find either the worst or the best in everything. Call it Pollyanna, but the positive spin can turn even the worst nightmares  into a spiritual phenomena!

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Spiritual Tip of the Day ~ Laughter

girls playing uid 1158247“I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose.” ~ Woody Allen

How long has it been since you’ve laughed that hard? 

Does the thought of spirituality conjure up a picture of someone serious? Many of my religious role models were somber. I think it was even a sin to laugh in church! But really, laughter is truly a gift from God and has many benefits. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a statue of Buddha where he isn’t laughing. The best sermons I can remember are those where the preacher made us laugh.

 My thought today is that laughter can truly be a spiritual experience. When I’m in good spirits, I feel connected to the God of my understanding. I feel better when I laugh. I don’t dislike anyone, I don’t feel stressed out. Laughter is so real! Did you ever try and fake a laugh? You’ll probably start laughing for real – at least that is my experience. It is difficult to laugh and feel bad at the same time! 

Look for an opportunity to laugh today:

  • Can a difficult situation at work be tempered by some humor?
  • Find a joke that you can share with someone in your life today ~ if you don’t have a joke at your immediate disposal, use your search engine to find one!
  • Can you find the humor in your own life today?

Here are some articles on the spirituality in laughter:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Buddhism-And-Laughter&id=659287

http://www.kurtkilpatrick.com/laffattitudes.htm

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Spirituality is All Around Us

painted buntingSomeone once told me that if my cup is always half full, try getting a smaller cup!  That was an amazing concept for me, since I was quite often, a half-full (or half-empty) cup kind of girl. Never enough, always short changed. I was missing all that life had to offer.

I love that quote of Wayne Dyer, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” My attitude needed some change. I got the smaller cup, gave up expectations, which are really pre-meditated resentments anyway. Life really has taken on a beautiful aura since I changed how I am looking at it!

My back door is about twenty feet from the edge of the woods. We hung a bird feeder in our oak tree and often enjoy the antics of cardinals, bluejays, sparrows and finches. I heard that a small, rare bird called a painted bunting, also frequented this area. Now I’m not what you’d call a bird watcher, but one day, this colorful little fellow did visit our bird feeder. Wow, that was some sight to see.

I’ve come to recognize moments like this a spiritual experiences. Often, miracles occur right under our noses, but if I’m not looking for them, I miss them. I’m really on a quest to experience a spiritual moment every day. The painted bunting was a good start.

How about you? Is life kind of mundane and lucklaster? Perhaps a colorful life is right there under your nose, if you open your heart to receive life’s gifts. That’s my goal and I hope you join me!

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Who are your people?

I was reading an online newsletter today http://www.stonecircleonline.org and paused to ponder. Who are my people? Who are the people that have influenced me and have been my partners on this path to my present person?

Of course, in my early life, family influenced my early morals and convictions. As I sprouted wings and soared on my own, many others along the way made both positive and negative impacts on my direction.

Right or wrong, all those life experiences are part of who I am today. I do not have regrets for the harder lessons, for they’ve contributed to my compassion for others who experience those same challenges. We come out on the other side, eventually.

In my present life, some stand out as models, folks I’d like to emulate. There’s Gloria, who teaches me integrity and stick-to-it-iveness. How I longed to birth the book inside of me that begged to be born, yet I wrote nothing. Then Coach Lorraine suggested that one who wishes to be published must apply a pen to paper. Can you imagine the pride I feel as my second book nears completion?

And there’s my sweet husband, David. He retired four years ago and employs balance in his life. Chores take up no more than one and a half hours a day. He has two ‘fun’ part-time jobs. He sleeps until nine, unless something prevents that. His philosophy of ‘no matter where you go, there you are’, inspires me to stay in the moment, where I used to hurry to be somewhere else, other than where I was.

And who are YOUR people?

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