Blessing #24: I am Courageous “Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” ― Nora Ephron When I was a child, my mother always used to tell me that I was fearless. I think it really freaked her out, but she also admired that quality in me. My boldness carried over into my teen years, but when I first moved out of the house to try and start my own life, I lost that. Or rather, it was (temporarily) taken from me by the hands of my abuser. There came a point in time when I decided…
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Blessing #23: I am Safe & Secure I am Safe now. Self-preservation is possibly our most basic instinct, as it is with all sentient life. When our sense of safety and security feels threatened, we can begin to unravel mentally, emotionally, and physically. We must create a life for ourselves that allows us to feel Safe and Secure, especially if we have experienced any type of trauma. We must not become paranoid, and not live sequestered away from humanity; no, we must be able to live openly, freely, peacefully, with confidence and strength. When I was a younger woman, I…
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Blessing #22: I See Beauty All Around Me If I look for Beauty in the obvious places, I will find it. If I look for Beauty in unconventional places, still I will find it. There is Beauty in the natural world. There is Beauty in the human-made world. Life in all of its magnificent diversity has offered us more beauty than we can observe in one lifetime. The Universe and all that is within it, so vast and far beyond our limited comprehension, has offered us more beauty than we can observe in a thousand lifetimes. Yet so often we…
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Blessing #21: I am Creative Creativity by its very nature is expressed in many different forms. Sometimes we think and say that we are not creative. But that is simply not so! Too often, people mistakenly believe that if they are not especially gifted or mastered in the traditional art forms then they are not creative. Yet Creativity by its very nature is expressed in many different forms. So what if you aren’t a professional dancer, superstar singer, musician/songwriter, couture designer, best-selling novelist, or prolific artist? This does not define or limit your ability to be creative in a thousand…
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Blessing #20: I Create Great Memories What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life, to be with each other in silent and unspeakable memory. ~George Eliot I cherish my time, and I love to spend it with people I love, doing things that make me happy. I want to spend every day of my life creating great memories. I make time for big life events, and I welcome the little opportunities along to way. Here are some tips for creating great memories: Be Spontaneous- do something unexpected, follow a whim, take…
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Blessing #19: I Make Amends “It’s not a persons mistakes which define them – it’s the way they make amends.” ― Freya North Yesterday I wrote about Forgiveness, including forgiving myself for mistakes I have made. The next step in moving forward is in making things right, or making amends, wherever possible. It takes courage, while at the same time it can very humbling to say, “I am sorry,” or “I was wrong,” or “Please forgive me.” But there is a tremendous blessing in making amends. For anyone who has gone through a 12-Step Program, you will recognize this one.…
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Blessing #18: I Forgive You “Not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die.”― Anne Lamott When I was writing this particular blessing in my book, I was actually in the middle of a very painful personal crisis. I felt angry, and hurt, and betrayed, and confused. My trust in the people involved had been shaken. I didn’t enjoy any of those feelings; but I knew that if I chose not to forgive, my own path to personal healing would be blocked. I could have made the choice to hold on to my anger…
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Blessing #17: I am Powerful “With great power comes great responsibility.” ~Anonymous There have been many variations of the sobering phrase, with great power comes great responsibility, that have been spoken by leaders since the days of Jesus of Nazareth to Sir Winston Churchill to Spiderman’s uncle Ben Parker. Truly, the power that we each hold within us is great. Our thoughts, words, and actions have the power to create or destroy, to heal or harm, to bless or curse, to encourage or oppress, to strengthen or sabotage, to save or abandon, to love or to hate. We have the…
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Blessing #16: I am Wise “He who knows all the answers has not been asked all the questions.” ~Confucius What is Wisdom? It is in knowing that I don’t know everything. It is in being open to and embracing change, instead of resisting it. It is in listening, not just hearing. It is in understanding, not just learning. It is in making mistakes and learning from them, not repeating them and expecting a different outcome. “We don’t receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.” ~Marcel Proust…
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Blessing #15: I am Compassionate When we choose to be more compassionate to the suffering of others, we do much more than acknowledge their pain; we act in such a way as to help alleviate their suffering. Compassion goes beyond feelings of pity. Compassion elicits an active response. It may be as simple as giving a donation to charity, or as hands-on as a heroic act of rescue. Between those two extremes are a million ways to express compassionate action. Empathy is similar to Compassion, but they are not the same things. Empathy is the emotional response that allows us…
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