“The simpler we make our lives, the more abundant they become.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

Sarah’s words ring so true, don’t they?  Sarah is not making light of the burden of financial difficulties, acknowledging the “menacing shadow” of worries about money.  I think her point is that if we make our lives simpler, with less need for “things” and appreciating the abundance of just having a joyful existence, then the ebb and flow of money in our lives will not have such a strong impact that it steals our daily joy for living.

Financial difficulties can be a hardship, but the point is, how do we keep something that we have no control over from controlling our lives?  Finding true contentment in the spiritual side of our existence – the presence of a loved one, the love of a pet, prayer and meditation, helping others, enjoying nature, art, etc. – will help you to have more joy in your days and better sleep at night.

“Money ebbs and flows in our lives.  What should remain constant is our realization that abundance is our spiritual birthright.”  SBB

I pray that the difficulties that can come during times of financial trial will lose their ability to have a significant impact on your joyful journey as you continue to read Sarah’s book and share this blog with your sisters and brothers.  Please use the comment button at the left to let us know how you are doing!

Shalom!

“No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.”  Helen Keller

I love Helen Keller’s quote, and Sarah Ban Breathnach’s words in today’s entry are so appropriate, nearly 20 years later.  So many people are struggling financially today.  Financial hardship can cause great strife in our lives and relationships.  How can we keep financial difficulties from having a great negative impact on our daily lives?

“…it’s very easy to surrender to an emotional depression when a financial one occurs.  It’s easy to be pessimistic about tomorrow when today seems so bleak.  It’s time we put thoughts of lack behind us.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

Sarah has the right idea:  attitude is key.  As Helen Keller notes above, a pessimist will not get too far.  But how do we maintain an optimistic attitude when life becomes hard?  For starters, a gratitude journal can help.  As we discussed the other day, writing down five things you are thankful for each day can make a difference in your attitude.  Some days entries may be as simple as feeling the warm sunshine on your face.  The point is, no matter how difficult life gets, there are always things to be grateful for.

Secondly, if you have done what it takes to discover what truly makes you happy, you have likely realized that true, deep contentment does not come from anything that you can buy.  Having this realization gives you such freedom from allowing financial pressures to weigh you down!  Being happy deep down in my soul in spite of external circumstances, and knowing that I have a Savior who has a plan for me that is bigger and better than anything I could imagine, is what keeps me from letting external pressures take their toll.

Have you tried a gratitude journal yet?  What difficulties or successes have you had in keeping today’s financial pressures from having a negative impact on the daily life of you and your family?  Share with us and find the help you are needing, or offer inspiration to your sisters and brothers who are struggling.

Shalom!

“It’s only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth – and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up – that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.”  Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Are you living each day as if it could be your last?  So many of us take our time here on earth for granted, as if we have an unlimited supply of tomorrow’s, as if what we do today does not really matter.

How much I would hate to be Emily in Our Town, to find that my time on earth has ended and that I have not appreciated and taken advantage of all that I could have done and experienced, if only I had not put off until tomorrow what I could have done today!

“…our heart’s desire is possible every day if we recognize what it is that makes us happy.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

If we focus on the list we made of what truly makes us happy – the deep down place of contentment in our soul – then we will know what our priorities should be for each and every day.

Are you rising every morning with gratitude for another day to experience all that our earth journey has to offer us?  What rituals have you developed to ensure that you are following the path that keeps you on your intended journey?  Will you share them with us?

Shalom!

“In my life’s chain of events nothing was accidental.  Everything happened according to an inner need.”  Hannah Senesh

Look back at your happy list from a couple of days ago.  Is there anything on the list that you don’t absolutely need to be happy?

“It’s easy to lose clarity about what it is we need to live authentically.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

Sarah reminds us that we can’t have everything we want; it just isn’t realistic.  By distinguishing between your needs and your wants, you can determine where you need to focus.

“What you need you attract like a lover.”  Gertrude Stein

Meditation will help you to discover your needs through the wisdom of your soul.  Let your soul be your guide, and find yourself attracting everything you need for true happiness.  Let us know how you make out!

Shalom!

“There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy.  By being happy we sow anonymous benefits upon the world.”  Robert Louis Stevenson

Happiness truly is a choice, and you can make it a habit!  We talked yesterday about the fact that things that money can’t buy aren’t really what makes us happy.  So why then do we give our happiness away so easily for frivolous things?

Sometimes it can be hard to maintain a happy heart in spite of what is going on around us.  The car breaks down and we have to deal with the expense and the inconvenience.  A boss or a coworker treats us unkindly.  How much power would you have over your day if you could learn to maintain a happy heart in spite of these disappointments?  After all, everyone has disappointments.  Life is full of them, and no one is exempt.  The only difference for each of us is how we choose to react to those disappointments.

“By tending to our inner garden and uprooting the weeds of external expectations, we can nurture our authentic happiness the way we would nurture something that’s beautiful and alive.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

Have you ever tried being kind to someone who was being rude to you?  Isn’t it amazing how quickly the store clerk turns that frown upside down when you choose to be kind to them instead of returning their scowl with a scowl of your own?  We never know what is happening in another person’s life.  Perhaps they are stressed about a sick family member or bills they can’t pay, and they haven’t learned the ability to carry a happy heart in spite of external circumstances.  You have a tremendous opportunity to make a difference in that person’s day by doing nothing more than turning up the corners of your mouth.

You know what it means to you when someone does that for you.  What if everyone decided to return the favor by doing the same for someone else when they are having a bad day?

Choose happiness, both for yourself and those whose paths cross yours.  Let us know what impact that choice has on your life.

Shalom!

“Perhaps if one really knew when one was happy one would know the things that were necessary for one’s life.”  Joanna Field

Do you know what makes you genuinely happy?  There are so many things, aren’t there?  A tender moment with my husband.  Snuggling with any one of my grandsons.  A phone call from my grown sons.  Hearing a great song.  Reading a great book.  Playing music and singing.  Writing, painting, cooking.  My dog.  The smell of the air when we drive over the causeway to Lido Beach.  The sound of the waves.

I could go on and on, but do you notice the one thing in common among all of these things that make me happy?  They’re all free!  In fact, on the top of my “happy list” would be every time I reach out and help someone else.  I cannot begin to describe the lift in my spirit and joy in my heart that comes from helping another living being, or just making them smile.  We put so much time and energy into the acquisition of things, working in jobs that make us unhappy so that we can have a bigger house, a nicer car, more spending power … and for what?  None of those things are on my happy list!

How liberating!  If you know what truly makes you happy, then you can make decisions in your life accordingly.  It’s kind of like a corporation with a vision and a mission statement.  Once these things are defined, the answer to every decision you need to make is obvious.

Time is precious.  We only have 24 hours in a day, and none of us knows how many of those days we will have.  Do you want to waste any of them doing anything that doesn’t promote your happy list?  Obviously we have to work to pay our bills, but your happy list will define what is important to you beyond a roof over your head and food on the table, and you can choose your profession accordingly.

Make your list and reflect on how that impacts how you live your life and the choices you make.  You are sure to have some aha moments, and I hope you will share them with us here!

Shalom!

 

“Standing Knee Deep in a River & Dying of Thirst” – how appropriate a description for how so many of us live our lives, isn’t it?  Are you feeling parched while standing knee deep in a river?  Are you like I was, feeling depressed in spite of all of the blessings that surround you?

“The revelation that we have everything we need in life to make us happy but simply lack the conscious awareness to appreciate it can be as refreshing as lemonade on a hot afternoon.” Sarah Ban Breathnach

Make a list of everything you feel grateful for today.  Share some of it here with us if you will (comments button at left), and tell us how your spirit changed when you took the time to recognize all of your many blessings.

Oprah recommends keeping a gratitude journal – a separate journal where at the end of every day you write down five things that you are grateful for that day.  She feels that the action of writing them down has more impact than just thinking them with your mind or speaking them with your mouth.  How many of you will start a gratitude journal with me today?  I’m willing to bte that that gratitude journal, coupled with becoming your authentic self, is going to contribute to making 2014 the best year you have ever had!

Shalom!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWyFW1siCwQ

“Many women today feel a sadness we cannot name.  Though we accomplish much of what we set out to do, we sense that something is missing in our lives and – fruitlessly – search ‘out there’ for the answers.  What’s often wrong is that we are disconnected from an authentic sense of self.”  Emily Hancock

Are you living life as your authentic self?  Or do you, like Sarah describes, look in the mirror without recognizing the face staring back at you?

“Perhaps the heart of our melancholy is that we miss the woman we were meant to be.”

This was me several months ago.  Going through the motions, knowing that I was created to do certain things and knowing I wasn’t doing them.  Staying busy and not settling down to ask the questions and make the changes that would lead me to living my authentic life.  This, I know, is what caused depression, this not living my authentic life, this not being me.

“Listen to the whispers of your heart.  Look within.”

Have you tried meditation yet?  If you haven’t, I hope you will.  Once you commit to gifting yourself with this time of self-exploration, you will find that “the journey you were destined to take has [indeed] begun.”  Click on the comments button to the left to share with us how this has impacted your life, and you can motivate your sisters to finally embark on their soul’s purpose!  It is not too late to start living life as your authentic self – make 2014 the year that it happens.  You deserve it!

Shalom!

Are you the leading lady in your life?  What habits do you have to make your day more special?

Candles seem to be a popular custom for many people.  In my home, it is just my husband Danny, me, and our dog Abby, but I light candles in the kitchen while I am cooking dinner and while we eat.  It makes everything feel more special.

If you make a conscious effort to be present in every moment, everything that you do can be a special ritual.  Feel your feet connect with the earth when they hit the ground in the morning.  Listen to the sound of the shower, smell the scent of your soap and shampoo, feel the warmth of the water on your skin.  When you head out the door, smell the fresh air, listen to the sound of the breeze and the birds.  Don’t you love birds?  Every time I see a bird, I smile.  Every time I see a butterfly, I drop what I am doing and drink in its mysterious beauty until I can no longer see it.

Focus on your family members when they are telling you about their day.  We all want to be heard.  Stop what you are doing and look them in the eye.  Feel their energy in your presence.  How different would the energy be in your home if everyone stopped what they were doing, took their eyes off of their electronic devices, and looked each other in the eye when they were being spoken to?

For your rituals that make your day more special, do you practice them whether or not you are feeling well or having a bad day?  It occurs to me as I am writing this that while I was feeling poorly, I did not follow my usual routine.  I didn’t bother to light candles, nor was I present in every (or any) moment.  But now I wonder, if I had sucked it up and lit those candles and focused on the peace that they normally bring to my heart, what would my experience have been?  Would it have helped me to find the peace and contentment that live inside me in spite of how poorly I was feeling?

What do you do to feel like the leading lady in your life?  Please share with us!

Shalom!

“… you already possess all the inner wisdom, strength and creativity needed to make your dreams come true.”  Sarah Ban Breathnach

As Joel Osteen often preaches, “If God puts a dream on your heart, he has given you the ability to make it happen.”

Do you believe it to be true?  Can you rise above the overwhelming chaos and chores in your life and access the knowledge that you have what it takes to fulfill your life’s purpose?

“When we can’t access our inner resources, we come to the flawed conclusion that happiness and fulfillment come only from external events.”  Sarah is so spot on with this statement, isn’t she?!  Does what is going on in your environment control whether or not you are happy?  How much power does that give to the enemy?

Have you ever noticed that the closer you get to something you really feel is meant to be for you, the more difficult it becomes to access it?  And you start to think, “Well, maybe it just wasn’t meant to be.”  Have you done that, given up because it just seems too difficult?  I have.  But we shouldn’t!  It is when we get closer to God’s purpose in our life that the enemy works harder to keep us from attaining it!

American Idol winner Phillip Phillips had EIGHT kidney surgeries during the competition.  Most people would have tossed in the towel and said it just wasn’t meant to be.  Phillip didn’t buy in to that philosophy.  Through severe sickness and pain, he persevered and won the competition!  What if he had given up?

Have you ever thrown in the towel too easily?  Fear not!  God does not give just one chance to achieve your life’s purpose.  He will bring opportunity knocking again.  The next time he does, think of Phillip Phillips, and if your heart is telling you that the path you are taking is the right one, don’t give up!

Sarah talks about bringing about an emotional transformation by inviting the Spirit to bring in you an awareness to “the abundance that is already yours.”  In Dr. Wayne Dyer’s Book, Wishes Fulfilled:  Mastering the Art of Manifestation, he talks about calling things forth as if they already were.  In addition to the meditation I spoke about yesterday, this practice has made an immense difference in my experience.  Dr. Dyer recommends that you use this practice before you go to sleep so that your subconscious is focusing on it while you sleep.   You should never lie in bed at night thinking about all the horrible things that are happening in your life, because your subconscious will focus on that while you sleep and bring more of the same into your life!

Since reading Dr. Dyer’s book, my bedtime ritual is to repeat the following:  I am well.  I am healthy.  I am strong.  I am love.  I am kind.  I am gentle.  I am generous.  I am successful.  Since I was a child, I have struggled with trying to go to sleep at night.  Since beginning this ritual, I drop off almost immediately.  I also wake in the morning a much more cheerful person!

Do you have anything to share with us today?  Do you believe that you possess what you need to make your dreams come true?  Have you tried Dr. Dyer’s bedtime mantra above?  What affect did it have?  Please share with us – I can’t wait to hear about it!

Shalom!