What's The Problem?

Years ago I was part of an organization that put a lot of guilt on people. One time in a meeting, one of the group’s main leaders was chastising us because our churches were not growing fast enough. He said, “Your problem is you just don't love God enough.”

When I heard that, I had had enough! I stood up and said, “That's not the problem. The problem is not that we don't love God enough. The problem is that we don't understand how much he loves all of us!”

Let this sink in: Your first duty in life is not to do anything but just be loved and accepted by God. 

When you embrace that truth, life becomes less of a burden. You may be under a lot of stress right now because of the economy, but God still wants you to enjoy life.

We can enjoy life because our conscience is clear. We can enjoy life because we are secure within love. You can have fun and laugh. You can enjoy people because you don’t have to work for their acceptance. You can be yourself and allow your unique gifts and talents to come out!

So….has your life become more about rules, regulations, and rituals than about love?

Photo from darthqueso.tumblr.com

Death, Life, and Thanksgiving!

Death

Last weekend I attended an old friend’s memorial service. I was deeply touched as I heard from family members and friends about her life. She lived life with a passion to the end. She was true to herself and her calling. I was saddened by her death but reminded again of my mortality and the mortality of others around me. This brings me to life…

Life

There are two days in every week about which we don't have to worry, two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension. One of these days is Yesterday.

Yesterday has gone -- with its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control. We cannot undo a single act we performed; we cannot erase a single word we said. Yesterday is gone.The other day we should not worry about is Tomorrow,

Tomorrow cannot be lived today. But worrying about tomorrow's possible adversities and burdens stops us from experiencing today. Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control. Tomorrow's sun will rise, either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds; but it will rise. Until it does, we have no stake in tomorrow, for it is as yet unborn.

This leaves only one day: Today. Anyone can fight the battles of just one day. It is only when you and I add the burdens of those two awful eternities -Yesterday and Tomorrow - that we break down.

It is not the experience of Today that overloads us with stress, it is remorse and bitterness for something which happened yesterday and the dread of what tomorrow may bring. Live this one full day -- Today.

Carpe Diem! Seize this Day!

Thanksgiving

The death of my friend reminds me to be thankful for her life and the lives of others in my little world. Make sure this Thanksgiving that you express your gratitude for those people who have touched your life. Before you know it, they will be gone and so will you and I. Be thankful for the opportunity you get to make a difference in this world. It’s never too late to begin living our life with a purpose and passion.

"We gotta start
Looking at the hands of the time we've been given
If this is all we got and we gotta start thinking
If every second counts on a clock that's ticking
Gotta live like we're dying

We only got 86,400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or to throw it all away
We gotta tell them that we love them
While we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we're dying"

- Kris Allen, Live Like We're Dying

Being Grateful

Studies have shown that happy people are grateful people. How often do you pause to appreciate what you have in life? When I was young, I took things and people for granted. After all, I was young and I didn't know what life could be like on the other side.

As I became a teen I was faced with the loss of several good friends due to car and motorcycle accidents. Later my mother passed away from cancer. I vowed to never take people for granted again. But as time rolled on I would get caught up with the busyness of life and again, take people for granted.

Sometimes it’s easy to feel bad because you're going through a tough time in life. However, remember no matter how bad your situation may seem, there are tens of thousands of things to be grateful for in life.

So how can you actually practice gratitude on a regular basis? Here are a few tips that have helped me.

Relax. It's hard to cultivate a sense of gratitude when you're angry, frustrated, or anxious. If these are issues that you struggle with, it's important to resolve them, as they're formidable barriers to thankfulness. For me, I have to put myself in a place away from all the activities and practice putting my mind on other things that lead to peace.

Live in the Moment. If you're too busy dwelling on the past or thinking about the future, you won't be able to fully notice how fantastic things are right now. Plus, thinking about the past and future opens the door to comparison, which is the only way you can perceive something as not good enough. What you have now is all that exists, and comparing that to something that doesn't exist anymore (or yet) is an easy way to foster dissatisfaction and torture yourself. Like the old saying goes "Past is History, Future is a Mystery and Today is Gift and hence it is called the Present". Enjoy today, this moment and don't postpone your enjoyment.

Cherish any kind of lightheartedness in your life. Things like laughter, affection, and playfulness are fleeting. Once a relationship has degraded so that those things don't spontaneously occur anymore, it's very hard to get them back. You might know that from experience. So treat those moments with care (especially with kids, who are at the peak of lightheartedness). Don't be the person who takes life too seriously, who doesn't have time to have fun, or who has no sense of humor. Again, that does not come easy for me but I have to practice this with purpose.

Can you think of some things or people you are grateful for? I'd love to hear from you.
Take some time each day to shift your focus, you'll be a happier person because of it.