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.

dance

I am always amazed by dancers. They have such a unique, physical talent. Last night I watched So You Think You Can Dance. Those dancers, just at the beginning of their careers, are incredible. They can do things I could never dream of even as a small child with the world laid out in front of me. The best part of watching is imagining myself in their place. What a wonderful feeling it would be to move and turn and leap!

The other thing that impresses me about dance is that the music and the movement can make me feel various emotions. My favorite dance last night was the group dance at the beginning of the show. They were all dressed in white and doing a jazz/African peace (I meant piece, but I like that my dictation software chose the alternate spelling). Peace and hope were exactly what I felt as I watched.

Thank you dancers for sharing your talent and making me feel good!

bring on the joy!

I like these words by Neale Donald Walsch:

How much joy are you experiencing in this moment?

How much joy are you bringing to this moment?

The joy you experience will be the joy you bring.

I'm usually pretty good at this.  Wishing it was always so easy.

contrast

The book I'm reading, which I will say more about later, talks about contrast being the concept that helps us learn and grow. If everything was the same all the time, there would be nothing to learn.

I'm keeping that in mind when I'm frustrated. My happy days  will be more happy compared to the frustrating ones. I will remember when I'm having a hard day, how much sweeter the easy ones will be. This will take practice.

Here's hoping we all can appreciate life's contrasts.

best days

Some of the best days of your life haven't happened yet. – https://www.facebook.com/pages/Spiritual-Awakenings-%E0%A5%90/105433989565465

A great thought about looking forward to the future. It is wonderful to have a happy past to relive in memories. It is important and energizing to stop and enjoy the simple moments as they come: a cat curling up in your lap; a dog jumping with excitement to see you when you come home; a niece calling to tell you about something special to her; an outdoor barbecue in the summer; a warm fire in the winter; seeing a rainbow after the rain; hugs and kisses, etc.

Even better, imagining the fun things that could be right around the corner, some you haven't planned yet and others you may not see coming. Finding something to look forward to is a good way to keep a positive outlook.

May you remember yesterday with a smile. May you enjoy whatever is happening in this moment. May your tomorrow be even better than today!