Gratitude Meditation.

   Keeping with the spirit of the season,  I thought it would be good to show some gratitude and thanks giving for the many, many blessings in my life and share a simple meditation that allows one to perform a quick "check up from the neck up" if you will.

   Make a short list, say about a dozen, of the the things that you are grateful for.  Take a few minutes to feel thankful for and ponder what blessings each one of the items on your list brings into your life.  As you feel the appreciation and gratitude, you will feel a release of stress as the complications, situations and challenges in your life become insignificant compared to your blessings.

Here is my list.

My lovely wife, best friend and companion.
My dear friends that wear the title of my children.
Breath, health and activity.
Employment and professional purpose to give refinement and reflection to my days.
The privilege to meet new people each day and to become acquainted with their marvelous points of view.
My many online friends whose blogs I read and enjoy, the many visits and comments they make on mine.
The friends who challenge me to find new ways to communicate this fire that burns within me, to share ideas and vision with others about the immense and magical event we share called LIFE!

   Remember, problems only exist in your head where you can't do anything about them.  Situations are what you have when you are faced with a challenge in the present moment.  Don't confuse problems with situations.  One is in your head, one is what you deal with and work through in your daily life.

   May you find out how blessed you are as you make your list.  May you show love and appreciation to God/Creation and others for your many, many blessings!  May you find peace in the acknowledgement of your blessings.  May you be in awe of the innumerable blessings you never even realize!!!

  What is the most unusual item that turned up on your list?

Peace, Love and Gratitude to you, your family and those within the circle of your presence.

Billy B.

Meaningful conversations with a brick wall.

   My wife for years has teased me about what she calls my ability to have a conversation with a brick wall.  I am gregarious and find it easy to speak with most people.  It is rare that people intimidate me.  It has always made sense that every person I meet is a people too!

  I had a conversation with a good friend the other day and he made the suggestion that a good topic might be to ask people how hard it would be for them to stand in front of a mirror and ask "Do I like me?"

  While at a meeting with the local writers guild last night (what an amazing group of people) I put the questions out there.  The un-edited version of the question drew many laughs and some fun responses.  Many people are hesitant to have a frank conversation like that with themselves and those that are, were quite comfortable with with answers even though those answers are not what you would expect many times!

   Back to the topic at hand, by willingly approaching just about anyone and starting up a conversation, I have had some of the most meaningful conversations of my life!  Isn't it surprising that some of the greatest quotes we have all heard are more true than we ever give them credit for?

"The only thing to fear is fear itself."

Franklin D. Roosevelt

  So the question begs to be asked, why do we fear others or engaging others?  Do they deserve our fear?  Do we have any real need or justification for not engaging everyone as an equal.  I'm not saying the we should all be extroverts, it's the many flavors and personality types out there that make all of this living thing more like art and fun than just being part of the herd.

   No one has to try and be me and probably not recommended as the world may not be ready for that.  Know though that you are exactly the individual you should be.  Make the most of it and share with others the glorious you, that you are!

   The end point or goal of this is,  the only real fear is within.  Not outside of us.  People should be engaged.  You will never know the marvelous conversations, relationships or wealth of perspectives to be had until you do!

   May you love engaging others today!  May you make a new meaningful conversation and friend this day.  May you be the positive influence that someone else really needs.

Peace and mighty conversations to you and those you engage.  ;D

Billy B

 

Brotherly Love

   There has always been something about an image that shows peace and tranquility that stirs me.  Something deep down feels connected with these two things.  I wish I could share that feeling with all who would listen.  

   A feeling that has become more prevalent in society, as a general rule, is how often we forget that each person is not the same as us and does not seen things just as we do.  Meaning, when we forget to consider another's viewpoint, we segregate ourselves from the power and presence of brotherly love and the connections with others that makes life so enjoyable to participate in.  Such as sharing, appreciation, love,  personal connections and communion with our fellow beings.

   When will we, as a people, give up the need to feel important and focus on making others feel important?  In my opinion, most of the challenges that our country is facing right now and all of the division in our government  is caused because we as a people have forgotten to love our brother as ourselves.  The golden rule in it's most basic form.  How often, as a people have we chosen self service over service to others.  This is a general statement and not aimed at anyone individual, not even our politicians because they are just a reflection of our our country's current attitudes and perceptions.  When we as a people change, so will they.  When we as a people let go of our ego and the need to feel justified then will our society as a whole begin to become a real world power for good, again.

   Some might see this as a political statement or entry for my blog. I would suggest otherwise.  It's really about perspective.  About how we view the world and our value scale for those around us or even those we may not be able to see.  Knowing how important and what a miracle each one of us is, gives perspective that increases the expression of brotherly love.  I believe, that when we doubt or have fears about our own self worth then we become self serving because we lose perspective, the big picture is no longer in view.

   So, the question becomes, how to we bring big picture thinking back into view or restore our non-egocentric perspective?  I personally like meditation or reading materials that inspire me to be more than just an individual.  During the Blog Hop this month I am giving away a copy of the Tao Te Ching, one of the oldest and most influential documents of human history and very much focused on having a social conscience.  It is both poetry and spiritual instruction.  (Not using the words religious instruction as it works with all faiths and spiritual belief systems.)  Such sources or your own preferred methods and practices that allow one to re-center ourselves, IE; "Get out of your head and into your heart."  grants us the peace to accept ourselves and others as we are.

   It is my sincere wish that we will all accept everyone around us spiritual beings and not as labels.  That each one of us will know peace that comes from the core and is a wellspring of goodwill and brotherly love.

   May you see "brothers" today where before you saw "others".  May peace bloom in the garden of your life.

Peace of soul and mind to all,

Billy B

 

Life has challenges.

   I know that we have all heard the saying "Stop and smell the roses."  I wonder though how often we take time to marvel at the beauty around us.  I find it immensely humbling to see everything that goes on around me in nature.  The picture above was taken about 7:30 last night just a couple miles from our home.  It was a marvelous full moon sunset!

   My wife and I have had are share of challenges, when we were young in our marriage we lost our second child at birth.  We named her Alexis because one of the meanings for her name is "little angle", we had some very expensive medical bills to go along with our loss and of course, as young parents, we questioned if it was our fault in some way that our daughter did not remain with us.

   Not even six months later we received a call at just after 1 AM to find out that a close family member had taken his life to compound our heartache.  This particular year was very hard on us.  We dealt with dramatic financial challenges, we hurt deeply over the loss of a child and the loss of another close family member, my lovely bride was emotionally very confused and lost.  I stumbled on as best I could.  Last of all, I was still quite young being in my early 20's so I was not the most skilled or prepared to help console my wife while she mended her broken and troubled heart.

   We went through an a lot that year, both as individuals and as a couple.  Personally, I can share with you the lessons that I learned.  First, love the one you are with.  Yes, I love our daughter that came into our lives for such a short time however, once she had left, her needs were meet and it was my wife, best friend and wonderful companion that was still by my side, who needed my love and support.  Secondly, never, ever forget to show and express your love, every single day!  This one lesson is probably the one that saved our marriage from certain disaster.  Lastly, true love's value is immeasurable.  Don't forget this lesson and in the words of Winston Churchill "Never, never, never give up!"  True love is beyond the value of any career, possessions, worldly titles or perceived opinions of others, it's value is beyond anything that you can imagine.

   I acknowledge how incredibly blessed I am to have true love in my life.  I can tell you that true love is worth fighting for.  My life would be much poorer without it.  I also learned that we must all go through moments in our lives that test our metal.  My wife and I now understand much better that the short time our daughter was here, she was to bless us and yes, because of the challenges of that year and her brief stay with us, we have been blessed in more ways that we can count.

   It is so easy to judge a situation "good" or "bad" and we probably shouldn't.  The situation we call good today will most often lead to some of our greatest challenges and those times we call bad will bring us our greatest blessings.  Developing the faith and courage to accept life as it is can be one of our greatest and most powerful assets in having a marvelous life!  Appreciating every moment will give us clarity that we would otherwise miss out on.  Failing to step back and breathe can give us cause to take life as a personal affront and miss the grace and bliss that is life it'self.

   It is probably the strength and bonds our marriage gained from that year of heartaches and blessings that we have been able to survive as a married couple through the many other challenges that have come our way.  We are in our second decade of marriage and have three beautiful children that have growth to be healthy, happy and active parts of our lives.  We still remember and carry in our hearts the one that visited us twenty years ago and most of all, the beauty she gave us by allowing us to see that some blessings are to valuable to overlooked, even if their visit seems way to brief.

   Every morning the last couple of years, I have taken to the habit of being available to watch sun up and "greet the new day".  It has proven to have a very powerful positive effect on my life.  I would recommend it to anyone looking for more clarity and positive energy in their lives.

   Don't forget to stop and smell the roses.  Even when you do not feel like it.  Remember, smiling sends endorphins to the brain that help you feel better especially when you don't.  They can also give you perspective to see the blessings that might not be so obvious.  Most of all, never forsake the value of love.  Love takes effort, grace under pressure (ie; focusing on your partners concerns and not your own) and a willingness to go the extra mile whenever, wherever.  On the flip side, love will return to you blessings that you simply cannot find anywhere else.  Love creates synergy that returns blessings to you that are much greater than those that come from the efforts of one.

   May you remind the ones you love, just how much you do love them and appreciate them in your life today.  May you smile when you don't feel like it.  May you feel the bliss of being loved, this fine beautiful day!

Thank you for reading.  Peace be unto you and yours.

Billy B