Kevin

Just finished reading We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver. Somehow I liked the story even though it was very depressing. While it is fiction, I'm sure there are similar true stories. A mother tells the story of her teenage son who killed students and a teacher at his high school.

I have always liked to believe that every baby born has something good inside. With a positive environment and enough nurture, every child has the potential for greatness. We are each special, wonderful people who can make the world a better place.

The boy in the story was angry right out of the womb. He seemed doomed from the start. So, I guess I need to admit that there may be some lost causes.

That won't stop me on my mission, which is to help people feel their light. I still believe most of us are special and wonderful and have something to offer the world. That goes for everyone reading this!

deciding not to surrender

Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

I'm so tired of struggles. I feel that I am plenty strong enough. The idea here of “deciding not to surrender,” is important. Having a struggle and letting it defeat you is the most disappointing. With each thing that comes along, it is a decision to choose the best attitude we can to face it. With a positive attitude we can gain strength from a struggle and more importantly, find a way to enjoy life. Struggle does not mean the end of happiness, it is just a challenge which we can overcome and hopefully see life the little sweeter because we have succeeded.

Please excuse my reusing the same quote I used in April. It spoke to me today with a slightly different theme.

relationships

How important are your relationships? For me, they are what makes life most meaningful. The friends and family members I choose to spend time with always make me feel good about myself. I hope that I help to build the self esteem of my loved ones.

In the book Getting Into the Vortex by Esther and Jerry Hicks, they say that even relationships with people we don't understand or agree with play an important part in who we become. I suppose it is more of those contrasts that we can learn from. The main idea being that each person in our lives helps us to become who we are.

I encourage you to contemplate your relationships. As best we can treat others as we want to be treated ourselves, the best chance we have at creating positive relationships and becoming the best “me” each of us can be.

within you

Peace and happiness begin within you. Take some time to figure out what makes you happy. Then, every day spend a little time doing just that. As we feel happy, we will spread that feeling to people we meet. Each person we influence goes on to influence more. The more happiness each individual feels, the happier and more peaceful the world will be.

What makes you happy? Make a list or a picture and think about those things a little every day.