Merry Christmas!

Thinking about the birth of Jesus and the spiritual path onto which he has led so many. He is the example of how I want to live my life. Giving to others every way that I can. Treating my enemies as friends. And teaching others to do the same. Love is the answer. Jesus showed us the way. It is up to us to follow.

Merry Christmas! May you be surrounded by love from family, friends and spirit.

miracles

While I do believe miracles are possible, we can't sit around waiting for them. We must take action to pursue our goals and desires. This way we can enjoy our days as they are and be pleasantly surprised when something seemingly magical happens.

From my book, Finding Our Light

no regrets

More TV inspired philosophy... I live with chronic illness. Some face terminal illnesses. With diagnosis comes planning and coping. I've been watching Chasing Life from ABC Family about a young woman with leukemia. She does plenty of planning and coping. But when someone dies suddenly and unexpectedly, it's a totally different story.

While some of us are overwhelmed by illness, we also need to treasure the present. Living a life with no regrets is so important. If you died today, would you be able to say you've had a wonderful life? (I sure can!) If there's something missing, take action and pursue those goals as best you can!

Enjoy your present! If need be, make some changes, even if those changes are only in your attitude. Changing circumstances is often difficult or impossible. Do what you can with what you have. No regrets!

being in love

Did you fall in love when you were a teenager? I've been watching the TV show "The Fosters" from ABC Family [on Netflix]. It has reminded me of how important I thought my boyfriends were. I loved them. I thought about them all the time. It was fun.

Now that I'm 45 years old, being in love has changed. I love my husband. I think about him all the time. We have fun. But the feeling seems different.

I suppose it's just life experience that makes love different over time. Looking at the teenagers in love on TV, I'm surprised at how serious love is. Love seems exponentially more serious now, but those teenage feelings were strong, too.

I'm glad I don't have offspring to guide through falling in love. I hope that the young ones in my life will have fun, feel deeply and appreciate their relationships. The tricky part I remember as a teenager was giving equal importance to my education and other aspects of life besides boys.

Every experience helps us learn. Lessons of love can be complicated but hopefully joyful, also.

friendship

Through childhood, high school, college and travel, I made some life-long friends who are the best part of any experience.  I’m happy and proud that I have so many with whom to reminisce and laugh or cry about shared times.   I've earned and been blessed with an abundance and variety of friends.  I count my success in friends, not finances.

Friendship is a huge factor in my positive outlook.  I watched my mother and paternal grandmother bond with friends.  I learned from them that being a good friend requires the effort of communicating and spending time together.  Sharing love and support is a necessity.  My friends have been by my side through joy and struggle.  Their support keeps me going.

Still Life

Movie review..."Still Life" (2015)

Why did I watch this movie? A review I read said that if you were patient, you would see something good. Well, it was a very long wait and only a few minutes of something good. Since I watched it on Amazon Prime I was not able to fast-forward through it like I would for most movies that I'm curious about.

That said, the moral of the story was nice. No matter how small or alone you might be, what you do makes a difference to others. Let's always try to make our actions have a positive influence.

loved

So I've been reading about publishing books. The first bit of advice is to build an online presence and start talking about the book. So I'm going to share a little at a time and see what you think. Title: Finding Our Light.

"I was given a gift from the day I was born, throughout my childhood and continuing to the present day. I was given love. I have felt loved as far back as I can remember. I didn't realize what a gift it was."

Do you feel loved? I hope so. If you're alone, listen to your conscience – if you're quiet, it will tell you that you are special and important and lovable. Listen carefully.