The Greatest Gift of All!

Someone very dear to me has reminded me this Christmas that gifts come to us in many different ways. They are not always given to us wrapped neatly in a box and tied with a ribbon. Gifts are not always received in pleasant and joyous surroundings. Sometimes gifts are hidden beneath pain and sorrow. They do not feel like gifts when we receive them, but indeed, they can be the greatest gifts of all. Discovering truth and facing fears, no matter how painful or unpleasant, will set us free. When we face painful memories and atrocities inflicted upon us, we open a door to experience our life free of fear. Walking through that door in truth will give you the gift of enlightenment. It is a gift of freedom and liberation that will allow your light within to shine its brightest, the possibilities are endless. You are no longer a prisoner of yourself, you are no longer held captive, and you are free! As you inhale and exhale every breath in your new found freedom, you receive the universal gifts and blessings of love, happiness, peace, knowledge, abundance and strength. The Christmas Spirit will live within you all year through, and that is truly the greatest gift of all.

Through the Eyes of Child!

I am always enlightened in the presence of a child. Lessons are revealed to me everyday through the eyes of my granddaughter, Lillyanna. Her exuberance and innocent approach to life never ceases to amaze me. Lilly is now seventeen months old, but at a mere 9 months old, her love of music and movies were inherently apparent. She became fixated with a ritual of watching, as she calls it with her nose crinkled up and her eyes gleaming, "my mobee"! This movie would be Walt Disney's, Enchanted.

The movie begins as an animated picture. It begins with, Giselle, lovingly creating a visualization of her dream prince, Edward. In true Disney fashion, she meets, falls in love with and prepares to marry him all in the same day! Aha!, but there is a twist, the evil stepmother, Queen Narissa, meets up with Giselle on her way to marry the prince and pushes her down a well. The story is altered to a Real-Life World in New York City's Time Square. This new world transformation leaves her somewhat confused and disoriented, but never wavering in her belief that Prince Edward will find her and bring her back to Andalasia. Now enters, Robert & Morgan. Robert, a divorce lawyer in NYC, is in complete contrast to Giselle's character. Robert has no belief that fairy tales even exist. Morgan, his daughter, despite her father, has unwavering belief in the magic of fairy tales. Bill Kelly's incredible screenwriting, skillfully unfolds a tale that leads Giselle's through a journey of self discovery throughout the feature. As the story continues, you see the development of the characters alter their course as obstacles and roadblocks are presented along their journey. In the end, Giselle discovers her new experiences have led her to new desires and possibilities, ones she never even imagined existed. In comparison, Robert learns that perhaps fairy tales do exist and that letting go of inhibition can lead to new possibilities.

In point, life will undoubtedly present obstacles and roadblocks along our journey. Obstacles are presented to us as lessons. Embracing the lessons can be difficult but they offer us an ability to experience new things and grow. What children inherently know, and teach us everyday, is that "seeing is not Believing," "Believing is Seeing". The key in life is to remember this and know that searching for our dreams may lead us to destinations and experiences that we could not have imagined, if only we Believe!

Remembering Friends

Today I received an email from an old friend who started me thinking. She mentioned in her note how she was "taken back" at how many years had gone by. She said she, "felt a bit embarassed" and wondered if she "still knew me?" As children and young adults, we had spent literally every day together. However, as the years went on and we grew older we lost touch. We travelled different roads, lived different lives, found new friends, and except for the occassional birthday calls, emails and reunions, didn't spend a lot of time together. I thought, "could our bond really be over?" The email triggered something in me and I started to reminisce in my mind the days of my youth. I couldn't help but smile at all the really wonderfully fun and stupid things we did together. We shared so many "firsts" together. Our first day of school, our first time venturing off our block, our first dance, our first experience at love and kissing a boy, and let's not forget, our first time driving, the list goes on and on! Then it hit me, "No Way!" We could never loose our bond. I believe as a child we are the purest sense of ourself. We share a bond of so many wonderful everyday experiences of our youth. We supported one another through moments in truth that no one else will ever know. Our lives were developed together, our likes and dislikes, our talents and passions and our personalities. In our lives as we grow older, we are met with obstacles and roadblocks, and sometimes make choices that alter our true paths. We did not have the same distractions as children as in our adult lives, therefore, we were able to experience one another as our true selves. If each of us are fortunate enough, as we grow we start to see our lives differently. We pay attention to the signs, so to speak, and allow our lives to come full circle. When we become conscious of our true inner self, we can return to who we always were. In the end, our purest being is who we return to being, only better! I feel truly blessed to have wonderful life long friends. Although we may not all see each other daily as in our youth, I will always hold each of them as family in my heart. I will always consider us part of the same, as are we all, our only difference is of degree!

Perception is Everything!

I wanted to share a story my sister told me today about her experience on her recent flight to Florida. As she prepared to take what would be considered a relatively short flight to Florida, little did she know she would be venturing into what she would describe as "one of the worst flights she has ever experienced."

As the plane sat on the runway preparing for take off, she began to feel sick to her stomach. As the engines started and the flight departed, the weather became stormy and unsettling. With the weather becoming increasingly worst, the turbulence on the plane grew more intense, as did her nausea and unsettling in her stomach. The more the plane shifted and bounced, the sicker she became. People were actually beginning to gasp with tension and fear of how their flight would unfold. Were they going to land safely? Would they live to see another day? The fear mounted, the tension increased. Finally, the pilot announced their approach to the airport. As the plane positioned and approached the runway to land, nails were grasping the arm chairs, breath was held, silence was so intense you could hear nothing but the roar of the engine. Touchdown!! "We made it!" she and her friends exclaimed. As my sister and her friends hurried off the plane through the tunnel, they rehashed how that was the worst flight they had ever taken. Along side of them they noticed a small boy with his mother jumping up and down ecstatically. They stopped to see what had peaked his excitement and heard him in all his enthusiasm exclaim, "Mom, Mom, that was the best flight ever!" "Can we do it again, can we!" "I had so much fun bouncing up and down all over the place, please mom, can we do it again!!"

They could hardly believe their ears, but had to laugh. Perception is everything! Children have an innate ability to see life through rose colored glasses. They remind us from their light within that life is what we make it. It is our perception that determines our happiness in the way we look at the world. We all have the power to eliminate our fears simply by turning our perception around. So the next time you feel fear creeping in, remember to put on your rose colored glasses, and see life through the eyes of a child.

What a Long Strange Trip It's Been...

The words to the Grateful Dead song ring effervescent in my head. When it was chosen for our JDHS class of 81 tag line, I didn't realize the prophetic tones that statement would carry in my life. It has truly been a life full of lessons, twists, turns, ups and downs. None of which has been without its purpose, good and bad. Reaching this point on the road has been a long time coming and as strange as it has been, it finally feels right! Ironically, you wake up one day and realize that the search for purpose has been with you all along in the moments you live everyday. It was in that awakening that passion came back to my life. Truth was all around me and the signs all made sense.
I knew then the meaning of "There's no place like home." On the surface it appears that home is an outward place, but in reality, it is within you all along.

In launching my company, Everyday Matters, It is my mission to inform, inspire, and ignite the passions and truths from within my readers. I aspire to share thoughts and stories to brighten your days and enlighten your hearts. My purpose is to inform you of new possibilities to experience and inspire new and creative paths to pursue. Finally, I hope that I can ignite you to take action to Dream Big and Believe!