When You Are, Proclaim It!

My short time thus far here on Earth has been eventful to say the least.  I've done things that I don't think I'll ever whisper aloud, even to the darkest of night.  I've endured incredible bouts of tribulations.  I've lost, I've hurt, I've hit rock, rooock bottom.  My life transition over the past year certainly is not the worst thing I've ever endured, but it's been the most eye-opening.  Somehow I've learned to give pause to remind myself of how blessed I am no matter how many aches and pains I continue to endure.  As I sit here, exhausted already from overwhelming myself with my typical "stuff-the-pot-full" antics, trying to finish a big client project, stress over getting my critters in order for my first company trip, my packed week of endless event preparation aaaand get more than 4 hours of sleep, I am smiling.  How...why?  Because I am BLESSED!  

Sometimes you have to just sit back and ignore all of the noise.  Too often we get stuck in fearing the results of a challenge or an opportunity, rather than proclaiming how blessed we are to receive it.  I am a perfect example of someone who allowed the noise to affect me throughout all of my previous struggles.  Allowing myself to be dragged further down by my own thoughts and anxieties was what kept me stuck and in anguish for way too long.  And nothing is worse than a life of regrets for lost time.  So let it go, turn off the noise, buck up and focus on movin' on up. 

How?  It's easy!  When you are - Proclaim it!  When you are happy, say it!  When you are excited, feel it!  When you are giddy, giggle!  When you are blessed, SCREAM IT!  Feed yourself with the positive vibes that make all of those wonderful feelings and more possible.  Let those feelings of joy and happiness drown out the noise.  Stop letting the noise take over everything in your life that is good.  Shut it up, turn it off, let it be gone!  No matter what you are going through, what you have gone through, what you may or may not have, no matter what, YOU ARE BLESSED!  Count your blessings, each and every one of them!

10 fingers and 10 toes?  You are blessed!  
A roof over your head no matter the condition?  You are blessed!  
A thinking head between your shoulders?  You are blessed!
Can you laugh?  You are blessed!
Are you reading this right now?  You are blessed!  

Need more help?  You just let me know!  If you have an open mind to receive them, I PROMISE we will find everything that you are blessed with.  When you can focus only on those, then move forward.  After that my friends, the future is brighter than bright.  So get your shades on.  You ready?  Join me, feel it, believe it, proclaim it: "I AM BLESSED!"

Forgive and Let Live!!! 
XOXO

Temptations

Temptations come in so many different forms.  They are constantly evolving and ever-present.  Giving into a few sweet indulgences refreshes our souls.  Rising out of a dark temptation plunge gives us clarity.  This roller coaster is absolutely necessary to living a balanced life.  But here's the catch: You must recognize when the temptations are testing our boundaries; when the temptations are evil seedlings of self-sabotage; when the temptations are close to derailing all that we work so hard to balance.  Recognizing the power of our temptations while allowing them to have a little influx on our lives, is an extremely powerful tool in living a balanced life.  It's also an incredibly powerful feeling to know when you have controlled your temptations with the perfect balance of giving in and buckling down.

I've been quiet over the last week as I gave into my temptation to play hard before I start work again.  Already I have been firmly reminded of how amazing it feels to let yourself go, while at the same time, producing an overwhelming amount of anxiety for letting other areas of life become unraveled.  Don't get me wrong - Indulging your wildest desires, despite other areas in life that may suffer temporarily for them, is something I absolutely recommend!  Because after your little heart's thirst is quenched, you ground yourself again.  In order to be balanced, we have to become unbalanced.  Without a little chaos or temptation, we wouldn't know what being unbalanced feels like...and we wouldn't be thankful for it.

Above all else - never blame or shame yourself, or anyone else for that matter, for giving into a few temptations!  Be thankful that we have such sweet appeasements lying in wait for us to snatch them up on a whim.  Allow yourself to give in, allow others to do the same.  But keep that grounded kernel embedded, remaining focused on coming back to your whole again.  Remember that these tempting fulfillments are part of the master plan, but never allow them to BECOME the plan.  

Indulge yourself.  Give thanks.  Stay focused.  Find balance.  Forgive and let live!!

XOXO

Definition of "Forgive and Let Live"

When I started this blog, I dubbed it "Forgive and Let Live".  This is one of my favorite sayings, although, I never really experienced the depth of this belief's capacity.  Until now.  Until I surrendered all of my woes, worries, anger, resentment....I didn't fully understand how forgiving and living, can change your world.  

After over 6 years of a relationship with a man I thought I was to marry, it became clear to me that the relationship was in fact the exact opposite of what I needed.  It dragged me to the darkest of places, ones that I hope I never see again.  Then the reality of finding a new job, and leaving the company, my baby, that I had spent 6 years of building from blood, sweat and many a tears, hit me like a ton of bricks.  Albeit, I had to continue working with him for several months to pay the bills, and endure extreme emotional abuse, the abuse I left the relationship because of.  Never did I think that I could have such patience.  But I'll tell you, that patience builds strength, if you remain in control over it.  I had to move, twice, within a month.  Leaving behind my beautiful home on dream property, amidst all of the serenities of life that I cherish.  Everything in my life changed dramatically, within a matter of months.  But the one thing that stayed constant was my commitment to find balance and above all else,  to Forgive and Let Live.  My resentment toward the man that I thought would never betray me took over for a while.  The depression was like a plague that nothing could conquer.  But the seedlings of positivity and reminders of what I DID have were just enough to dig me out of despair.  I realized that I just needed to forgive him, forgive myself, forgive all of the people in the world that do wrong or taint the beauties of life.  But at the same time, I realized that I needed to live, for me, and all that I desire to accomplish in this world aside from the risks.

The moment I chose to forgive, and let everything positive in my life, live, was the moment my entire world changed.  I focused only on myself, on finding the job of my dreams, not settling.  I stopped perusing facebook and being overcome with what others had, or were doing, and what I was not or didn't have.  I forgave all the poor choices in my life, and the poor choices of others.  I began living.  Since that moment, I have had nothing but success flutter my life!  I've been blessed with several clients to do marketing and business development consulting work.  I've met some incredible people that have inspired me to push forward professionally without settling.  I've received so many compliments and an uncanny amount of validation for who I am as a person, that I am truly humbled by it.  My friends, oh my friends...each and every single one of you have been so supportive and so amazing, I can't thank you enough.  And as of today, after grueling weeks of hard, haaard work, I am now an account manager for a brilliant advertising agency!!!!  I didn't settle, I didn't wallow in my fears or worry, I breathed through it all, I LIVED!

I invite you to Forgive and Let Live, every day.  Breathe through those moments of anxiety or fear.  Remember, it's JUST a job interview, it's just a school exam, it's just a doctor's appointment, it's just a rough week at work, it just is what it is.  Nothing more nothing less.  Letting your head get the best of you just makes everything harder and many times even sabotages your desires.  Let go of worrying about what could be or what you won't have if you don't get a job or don't pass your test, focus on getting that job and passing that test.  Focus on the living part, not the fear part.  Forgive all those in your life that have let you down, or those that have hurt you, above all else, forgive yourself.  Move forward with the power of TODAY, of NOW, of the beautiful blessings you have in your life.  No matter your trials and tribulations, you DO have so much to be thankful for.

I am testament to the power in Forgive and Let Live.  Trust my experiences, have faith in this belief and push on.  I promise that if you accept it completely, it will pay off in ways you can't even imagine!  Forgive and Let Live my friends!

XOXO

Enjoy!

Thank you to all of my friends and family for supporting me on this journey.  I have received so much positive feedback already from yesterday's blog that I am exhilarated to share more of my experiences and adventures.  It seems as though the majority of us truly are caught up in the "rush rush rush" nonsense these days, and for what?  Well I shall remind you now and many a time comin' - stop rushing to accomplish or relax!  Take that very word OUT of your vocabulary!  But nay you say, "I still have to do all of these things right now!"  Well if that is the case my friends, in the very least, ENJOY doing them!  Snarl at me you might, but I promise a profound sense of peace will overtake you when you start to enjoy everything your put your time into.  Relish in the positives of your work and the outcomes of the time spent.

While the true enjoyment of life does boil down to balance, it is also a task that will wave here and there, never a constant as much as we might try.  If there weren't fluctuations, we wouldn't cherish the times when we find the true center of our balance!  But if you are just beginning that journey of finding balance now, as am I, here's my best advice:
In the very least, breeeeeathe with every activity you do and enjoy the time spent doing them.  Enjoy    walking the pup, stop thinking about getting home to cook dinner.  Enjoy knocking out the last few slides of that presentation, stop thinking about how it will go.  Enjoy sprucing up the yard, stop thinking about the next project on your list.  Enjoy shopping for groceries, stop thinking about how much it will cost.  Enjoy your partner, your friends, your human and critter babies alike.  And while you're at your daily grind of wake up, shower, eat, work, feed children, sleep, and do it all over again - enjoy the sun on your arms, the wind grasping the trees, the birds singing their songs.  Because no matter what, we all have so much to be thankful for with every moment of every day.  We all have so many accomplishments that we achieve every day, from even the simplest of tasks.  Stop getting caught up in the work it takes to achieve them, relish in the outcomes and joys of every activity you would normally rush to do.  The smell of fresh laundry, the look of a trimmed yard, the happiness of fed children, the contentment of a listened-to partner, the kudos from a boss on finishing the budget....there is a reason and purpose to it all.  Enjoy those reasons and purpose, be in the moment, breathe, give thanks and enjoy!

Forgive and let live.  XOXO

Life Should Never Be An Excuse To Live

Today, I spent the entire day with Marie Likarthis, a 97-year-old miracle of a woman.  I have missed her so very much and have lost so much valuable time with her, much like so many of my other friends, all because I let “life” get in the way all these years.  I thought I was building a business, a family, a beautiful life for myself and my now, ex-fiancé.  In losing all of that, I have been left with so much guilt and shame for leaving so many of my loved ones behind during my “building” of everything.  I excused my actions with how crazy work was, and it was crazy, hell to be frank.  But what I never realized, is that life is NEVER an excuse to LIVE. 

What is life without incredible people, like Marie, that surround us? What is a life spent wasting away in stress and overwhelming tasks whether it be at home or work, unless we can take time to enjoy those that lift us, gift us, and remind us what it is, to just live?

Marie has had an incredible life.  She was born before the Depression – nearly a Century ago.  It is clear from her stories today, that she remembers that agonizing era with complete clarity.  Her family’s loss of everything they had worked for.  Her working day and night just to stand in line to pay for coal and morsels of bread.  Managing more than 100 women in a factory that built engines for the B52’s during the war…her life has been nothing short of miraculous, and incredibly challenging.  She is 97 yet as sharp as a nail, as feisty as a hungry kitten, but most importantly, she is one of those people you know you’ll never meet another like for as long as you live.  Her age does absolutely nothing to deter her from enjoying life, and the people she loves. She reminded me today of the importance of just, living.  Of being in the moment and enjoying all those people that bless your life.  Marie will remind you however, of the people she has lost.  Because at almost a Century young, nearly every person in her stories has passed away.   And although her stories are full of vibrancy in what she and those people did together, she is then reminded at the end that they have passed, and she pauses with remorse to those losses.   Marie is at a stage in her life where she just has to cherish the moments she has with her aging friends because the loss already endured is too much to focus on. 

I never want to feel this guilt ever again – this guilt for the time I SHOULD have spent with all those people that matter to me.  Work, house projects, animal rescue, community volunteering, facebook for crying out loud – it all took over my life.  I thought it was my life.  But they just sucked the life out of me.  I had no balance.

During this journey, I have realized that my number one goal is to achieve balance in my life.  Everyone has different priorities to balance.  But at the end of the day, finding your center amongst all of those priorities is the only way you can be a whole person for yourself, and all those that you serve.  Find your balance.  Be in the moment.  Go call an old friend.  Write a letter and get off facebook.  It’s an incredible feeling, I promise.

Forgive and let live.  XOXO