Compassion redefined

Compassion is a virtue that helps us all live a more fulfilled life. Maybe we are afraid to be compassionate because it signifies an openess that makes us vulnerable. Although the literal meaning of the word is co-suffering. There is more to compassion than just that. It is honoring humanity, living with non-judgement, and not being continuously self-centered around ourselves. It is an acceptance that acknowledges that other people too are souls. This acceptance honors the fact that we all have a purpose in this world and allows me to let others continue in their path. I am proud of the compassion that is within me. It helps make me a better person and it strengthens my connection to God and thus, my soul. I'm not afraid nor ashamed to live with compassion. 

Living with conscious compassion makes it easier to understand others. It doesn't mean that I have to like everybody, but it does mean that I can acknowledge and understand their humanity. We were all created equal after all.  But, from the moment that we are born, we begin to be taught to differentiate. It's survival of the fittest in an unconscious way. By making ourselves superior we are protecting ourselves from others. At some point, the compassion we have for others begins to diminish. Yet, as faint as it may get, our souls never forget compassion. 

We don't have to be afraid of being compassionate. It doesn't make us weak. It is just an appreciation for the rest of humanity, nature, and the world we all live in.  All creatures of God have an earthly purpose. Compassion is another  source of love, because it is just accepting other living creatures without judgment. It is loving their place in this world. Living with compassion is in return, really loving ourselves. 

Follow your bliss

In today's world, it gets confusing which path to follow. Do we follow our hearts or do we follow only the goal of financial attainment. When following financial security, it is easy to get caught up in the "get rich quick" scheme of life. Somehow, money is misconstrued as an equivalent to happiness. So intuition in following one's true path gets, diverted by chasing the mighty dollar. It's easy to do. We live in a world of instant gratification. A full bank account seems to make that more easily attainable. 

I personally did this. My goal was to be rich. By doing so I unconsciously suppressed my true hearts' desire. I chose a path that was more compatible with making lots of money. But in the meantime I was lacking something, I focused too much on my financial growth and not enough on my souls' purpose. My bank account began to be depleted, regardless of how much money I made. I began to notice that my spirit was depleted also, fulfillment was not coming from money like my plan had devised. 

It turns out that my perception of wealth was slightly skewed. I now realize that to be fulfilled you have to follow your bliss. I realize that being rich is not being wealthy. I realize that you have to follow and embrace your own innate talents to be truly wealthy. Life is not about just chasing an empty idea of happiness with the illusion of being rich. At least not by ignoring the higher calling of our spirit. We have to choose to nourish our souls by being true to ourselves. That is when you can reach for true wealth. I know that God made me to be more than a self-centered rich person. He gave me an incredible amount of gifts and talents to be used for a higher purpose. This is when my financial security began. A better balance between purpose and finances began to take shape. My spirit feels complete knowing that I am following my bliss. May we all find how to attain our own personal bliss. 

The ripple effect of a smile

When I smile, my spirit soars. There is a message that goes out into the universe and announces happiness.  It says that life is good. It shows people that no matter what, I've got it together. A smile is the spark that makes your whole being shine. It is also a spark that gets passed on from person to person. 

A smile is like a beam of light that brightly shines from within and disperses to those around. Although the best smiles are those that happen automatically, it is an act that we can help by practicing gratitude. It becomes easier to smile when you're open to the wonders of life. 

We owe it to ourselves and to the world to illuminate our surroundings with a smile. A smile helps us, by subconsciously affirming to ourselves that we are experiencing a positive moment. A smile aids others too, it is a contagious act. We usually can't help but to smile back at someone that smiles at us. So let's all make an effort to find something in our everyday lives to smile about, and set the ripple effect of positivity that only a smile can create. 

Daily gratitude habit

Practice gratitude every day. Gratitude opens the door to seeing all of the multiple positive aspects in our lives.  You will begin to see and notice more good occasions in your life. Living with gratitude is more challenging than it seems, because it takes no effort to take life for granted. We don't even realize when, but at some point we get caught up with the every day ups and downs of living. And then one day life turns into one big oblivious blur. That's when the little things begin to escape us. The beautiful sunrise, the bird outside your window happily chirping, a clear blue sky, those moments of lifes' little miracles just tend to disappear when we are on survival mode and numb to life. 

Take the time to notice that life is actually good. Beginning a practice of daily gratitude takes effort and thought. Make a commitment to start little by little, first maybe just in the morning, then build it up to at night, and you will see that the more you do it, the easier it gets.  By being consciously grateful daily, and really making it a habit, it becomes easier and we begin to randomly do it throughout the day. It's amazing how with a little bit of work, our perspective changes. This new outlook on life allows us to notice how the little things in life actually make a big difference. The beautiful white clouds, the wonderful red and yellow of a sunset, or the glistening full moon in the dark of night. We begin to appreciate those sporadic small details of life and that is when our everyday living begins to improve. 

There is a wonderful bonus of living with gratitude, good moments begin to pick up momentum.  As they become more abundant, there is a shift that happens.  We begin to feel a balance of harmony in our lives.  When we practice gratitude, it opens our eyes to see how great life is and with this new positive perspective, multiple opportunities begin to be attracted into our lives. Before you know it, you realize that even on a mediocre day,  life is good!

Life is a miracle

Life  is a mystery but also a miracle. Sometimes success appears so far away. It seems as far away as a mountain top, it seems impossible to climb a steep rocky mountain, when you're in a valley below looking up. But what would life be if there were not any challenges?  In reality, we have everything that we need within us. We have been given an innate knowledge and marvelous physical abilities which were automatically born within us - all ready to emerge when needed. That formidable mountain is there for us to climb throughout our lives, because it is life's challenges that allow our true potential to be uncovered and put to use. 

So next time that life springs you with unexpected surprises, realize that they are needed for us to become who we were meant to be. The full potential within us has to be tapped in someway, and it is by the wonderful surprises and challenges that life brings that we get to encounter and discover our true selves. 

Take time everyday to appreciate the challenges, and know that we are given just enough to let us stretch so that we can reach our own true greatness. Let's remember that life is a miracle that needs to be treasured moment by moment. Let's take a conscious effort to see the miracles of the big mountains that appear in our path.  Achieving those climbs and overcoming the challenges, no matter how difficult, is what really makes life a success. 

The power of thoughts

It's simple.  We are what we think. From the moment we are born, we become thinkers. Consciously & unconsciously our minds are always at work. When we sleep, we dream. When we are awake we have several streams of consciousness at work. 

What are our thoughts?  Have we become numb to the sneakiness of negative thoughts or are we actively positive thinkers?  We all have the seeds of negativity floating in the midst of our subconscious. Life is challenging, and it's easy to get caught up in the harshness of every day living. But there is plenty of good in our lives. It's just that the bad outcomes tend to sting a little more.

 No matter who you are. We can all benefit on focusing more on the positive aspects of our lives. There are plenty of wonderful things happening now. Living in conscious gratitude is a state we all need to practice and aspire to stay in.

Once the momentum of positivity catches on in our daily lives, it changes our outlook and allows for growth in possibilities. As possibilities grow, prosperity begins to get a stronger hold in our lives. What have you been grateful for today?  It's never to late to start now. The future is bright!!

My Luck!

What does luck have to do with life? Very little actually. Luck is a word that has grown its own form of allure, a type of non-accessibility to just anyone or everyone.  It seems like everybody else has more luck than we do, right? We all know people that seem to be very lucky, that everything they touch turns to gold, but is it really? Are we just attaching our own beliefs? In reality, it is just a perception that we have created in our minds. It is a perception that we have to be careful about, because if we start believing that we are not lucky then, that is exactly what we will notice in our own life. It is just a matter of looking at the glass of life: is it half empty or half full? In reality we all have good luck & bad luck, equally. 

Luck is really within us all. There are just times that our success seems smaller than others, but nonetheless it is still there. The people that feel lucky, are just seeing their success in a light of gratitude. Gratitude is a habit that will allow us to see more opportunities and open the door to listen to our own intuition.  Luck has a lot to do with a positive outlook.  Gratitude brings more prosperity. Therefore we are all Lucky. 

By affirming the good in your life through gratitude and constantly taking account of your blessings, your outlook on life will begin to improve. You begin to trust your actions and see more opportunities, some that were possibly there before. As opportunities become more clear, your intuition will point you towards taking advantage of them. Low and behold, just like clovers in the Spring, your luck begins to grow! Lucky you!!