Is there an angel inside you?

Did you take some time this past week to sit down, in a quiet space, and write YOUR personal philosophy?   Granted, without small children demanding my time, I was able to actually find that quiet space.  Although for many of you, who do have those little ones needing you and pulling at your time demands, I would contend that THIS is important for not only you but those little ones.  Knowing yourself and what you believe in is going to be reflected in all that you do.  If you didn't get that chance this past week, take time this week.  

I found the process to be incredibly insightful with some things clear and others made my list that I hadn’t previously verbalized.  I knew, and I wrote it down, that I wanted to be a significant influence and role model especially to my children and grandchildren.  I wanted them to see me “walk my talk.”  The surprise was that I realized I have begun to only judge myself and my actions when I would ask myself the question, “Is this a reflection of God’s image?” That’s now on my list.  My day begins by reading my six principles along with all my gratitude’s.

For me, things are never by chance.  I am a true believer that everything happens for a reason and at the right time.  I may not always agree that the timing is right, but I do believe the timing is right according to God’s time.  I have just finished reading two extremely powerful books by Chris Widener.  The one I'm reflecting on today is called The Angel Inside.  “Coincidentally”, I read this book while reflecting on my personal philosophy.”  

Chris’s book is a book to read over and over again as I found many discoveries the first time through and even more the second.  His style is to weave a life lesson into a storyline that makes the reading easy and relatable.  “According to legend, when a young boy asked the great Renaissance artist Michelangelo why he was working so hard hitting the block of marble that would eventually become his greatest sculpture, David, the artist replied, ‘Young man, there is an angel inside this rock, and I am setting him free’…Chris Widener uses Michelangelo’s words to explore the hidden potential that exists within us all.”

As the story reveals the various lessons, readers begin to learn what Michelangelo’s  work can teach all of us – “the power of following your passion.”

Among the lessons learned include:

*The beauty is in the details

*Your hand creates what your mind conceives

*Every great accomplishment starts with a single swift action

*No one begins by creating the Sistine Chapel

If you want to find true meaning in your work and life, reading The Angel Inside will help you design your personal philosophy AND find that angel inside that is YOU.  Your assignment this week, if you choose to accept this challenge, is to read this book.  I would love to hear your thoughts and reflections.

 

It has been a glorious few weeks of fall here in Colorado.  Blue skies, cool mornings, in the 70’s during the day, and the trees still brilliant with color.  I wish you a fantastic week.

Do you have a personal philosophy?

Do you have a personal philosophy?  You probably do, however, until we can put words to what that is exactly, how can we proceed with purpose in our lives?  What generally happens is we think we know what we want, we set our goals and hopefully even write them down, and then we take action.  If we get a roadblock, or we sway from the original path, how will we find our way unless we understand our personal philosophy?  For me, I had an intrinsic feeling of what I was meant to do; however, it wasn't concrete in my mind.  After reading an excerpt from Dr. Phil last week, I began to think about my own personal philosophy.  What exactly is that philosophy?  What do I, as an individual, stand for?

“’The way you do anything is the way you do everything’ and how it applies to life,” became Dr. Phil’s personal philosophy.   Whether or not this resonates with you, take the premise that a personal philosophy is necessary, read these thoughts, and come up with a philosophy that fits YOU.  I recognize many of you will respond with such thoughts as:  Here we go, one more thing I'm supposed to do when I already don’t have time.  Is this really that important? I’m doing just fine, thank you very much.  I already know my personal philosophy; I know it but it’s hard to explain.”  Etc. etc.  I would suggest this may be one of THE most important activities you put on your “to do” list for this week.

“For many of us, the way we do anything is the way we do everything.”  Dr. Phil suggests taking a look at the areas of our lives that could use some improvement.  “Is your credit score the pits because you don't pay your bills on time?  Think about how that neglect could be showing up in your relationships.  Are you just going through the motions at work?  If so, chances are you're just going through the motions, period.  As I have learned, the good news is – it’s never too late to change no matter how small the change.  If anything is going to change it’s definitely up to me, and no one else.  As Darren Hardy repeatedly speaks to in his book, The Compound Effect, it’s the “principle of reaping huge rewards from a series of small, smart choices.”  It’s interesting to me that what both Darren Hardy and Dr. Phil are speaking to is that the individual steps along the way, don’t “feel” very significant but may have massive results.  It may be as simple as wanting to take better care of your health and lose a few pounds, but you realize you're snacking throughout the day.   “Once you pay attention to the things in your life that need tending, you'll make it a priority to tend to yourself.”

So how do I get started?  First of all, building on a personal philosophy to guide all areas of my life must be a priority.  That’s the foundation I now build everything on, and that foundation needs to be strong.  Next, I must come up with what’s really important to me.  I have to say that at age 62 it would be easy to “blow this self-development stuff” out the window.  I've “already lived my life” so why should I spend time on developing a personal philosophy now? According to Dr. Phil, “You have a philosophy, even if you're not conscious of it; everybody does….you need to be able to clearly articulate your own guiding principle.”  Hmmm, if that’s the case, I need to examine what it is that I stand for at this point in my life.  I still have a lot of living to do.  :)

In reflecting over my life, I have begun to see some patterns. With this nudge to articulate the things I have unconsciously based my life on to this point, I am now focusing on articulating those things on a conscious level.  After taking some time to think, reflect, and examine my actions, my feelings, my choices, etc. I am beginning to create a true path of focused awareness.  My personal philosophy has begun now on a conscious level.  Again from Dr. Phil, “The next step is to live by it with every choice you make.  After all, you don't become a champion by winning the Super Bowl; you become a champion by practicing.  And remember: If you don’t live your life as if everything matters, you’ll never become everything you’re meant to be.” 

You may be in your 20’s, 30’s or older.  You may be male or female; formally educated or not, single or married, parent or not…it doesn’t matter.  If you take the attitude that God has given you this life then I would propose that He is waiting for you to actively and consciously participate in your life.  No excuses.

These blogs have been my personal journey of learning and growing on a daily basis.  I come away with an even truer sense of who I am as a person and feel much more content with myself and my life.  I only hope that in reading these, YOU will gain YOUR own sense of who YOU are, that YOU will create YOUR own personal philosophy for YOUR journey in this beautiful life.

I wish you an awesome week of joy, reflection, and FUN!     

Accepting and Loving Unconditionally

Before I begin this week’s blog, I want to express my sadness and prayers of strength to the wife, children, and family of Robin Williams.  There has been an outpouring of love and reflections of a talented man who gave so much to all those around him.  He was a champion for military personnel making numerous trips to the “front” in many of our wars, he had a personal relationship with Christopher Reeves, his family, and his foundation especially after his accident, he made his way to those in the audience to shake hands and make people laugh.  And then there was the Mork and Mindy TV series, to so many of his movies; all making us laugh, cry, feel light-hearted and reflect.  What a gift he had and yet he was also a man struggling with addictions and depression.  Can we learn from this?  He wasn’t in a wheel chair, he didn’t limp, he didn’t use a cane, there were no physical disabilities that the general public could see, however, he had his own struggles. Yet, I would venture to guess, his close family and friends loved and accepted him unconditionally.

Accepting and Loving Unconditionally.    First of all, let’s get a definition of the words conditional and unconditional.  Conditional is defined as, “made or allowed on certain terms, one or more requirements needed to be met on specific terms.” The definition of unconditional, on the other hand, is “not limited by conditions or limitations.”  It’s interesting to me to hear the nightly news of our global conflicts, read American history or any country’s history for that matter, even listening to communication around us at both work and at home.  Race, religion, sexual preference, abortion, marijuana (since I’m here in Colorado I had to mention that one), political preference, male – female, economic status, and the list goes on and on.  We have our own opinions and judgment.  The question I’m contemplating this week and beyond is, Can we, individually, start accepting (or loving) unconditionally rather than judging?  If we did that, what would our world look like?

I’ve written about judgment and acceptance before.  Yes, it’s two of those traits that bears repeating yet maybe in another way.  I could take the approach that there’s nothing I can do about many of the religious conflicts currently going on, the political issues with Russia and the Ukraine, etc.  However, I choose to do what is in my control.  After all, that’s all I can do anyway, right?!  We all have our own experiences, our own opinions, our own styles, our own comfort zones, our own uniqueness.  With that brings all the reasons why we may have all the conflicts and “issues” that we have.  Yet, the one thing we all have in common is how we decide we will express and deal with those differences.  Doesn’t it come down to choice?  Back to an earlier blog, isn’t it really our need for acceptance or a need for control?  UNCONDITIONAL love and acceptance is without limitations or conditions.

In Robin Williams words from the Dead Poets Society, “words and ideas can change the world.”  For me, that’s not just a line in a movie, it’s the way our lives can be!  It IS a choice.  The choice is to interact with all those around us whether they be family, an acquaintance, or even a brief encounter.  My belief is that our God is God of the whole world.  God is loving and pulls all people in.  God shows unconditional love and acceptance, in my opinion.  So what’s our job?  First, I can accept others even if I don’t agree with them. I can support and be available.   I may not like their choices, but everyone is on a journey and if I can give acceptance and love for them in all parts of their journey that’s what’s in my control.  Can I give my opinion, suggestions, another view point?  Of course, that’s my role as a parent, spouse, and friend.  But what’s NOT my role is to convince others they’re wrong and should do something MY way. It's NOT my role to deny their feelings.   I can pray that God give THEM the strength and understanding, but I need to let go of my need for acceptance or control.  Having heard from parents with children who have addictions, they have often said they love them unconditionally, however, they do not like or support the particular behavior.  In fact, you may want to click on this link from AA:  http://www.aa.org/assets/en_US/smf-121_en.pdf  Personally, this list is something to live by for all of us.  What if our words were words of hope, encouragement, we asked reflecting questions all with the purpose to “sow seeds,” that may later grow?  

We often encounter situations which don’t fit into our personal philosophy. What if we decided to live our lives accepting and loving unconditionally, which means before judging we listen, learn why something is the way it is, we give everyone room to grow and change, and/or we accept differences despite our own belief system. God has the bigger plan for each of us.  We don’t have to understand to accept and love unconditionally.  We have choices to make.  Maybe that choice is to avoid a particular person, situation, environment because it’s toxic.  It is what it is.  So, can I live with not having things my way and on my timeline?  That’s a key question.

WOW.  This turned into a blog heavier than I originally intended.  I hope you have a few things to think about from this point forward.  I wish you unconditional acceptance and love for YOURSELF and then others.

The only way love can last a lifetime is if it's unconditional. The truth is this: love is not determined by the one being loved but rather by the one choosing to love.” 
― Stephen Kendrick, The Love Dare