Between a stimulus and response, there is always a space. And in that space lies your freedom.
Tag Archives: spiritual
Free Spirits
Since so many of you loved my original poem, “Free Spirits” from an earlier post, I decided to show you all in video the melody that I hear with the poem. For those of you that missed it, I’ve written the poem again here. Let me know what you think!
Here’s to the free spirits
Who fall in love
Keep their minds wide open
and their heads up.
And though they’re crushed and broken
They’re still fearless and tough
Here’s to the free spirits,
yea, here’s to us!
You Can’t Hurry Love
“Love and hurry are fundamentally incompatible. Love always takes time, and time is the one thing hurried people don’t have.” – John Ortberg
Just like you can’t hurry love, you can’t love when you’re in a hurry.
Distinguishing Between Spirit and Will
When faced with a choice, for example to stay or to go, listen to yourself. You can usually distinguish a spiritually inspired idea from a will-driven or ego-driven idea by how quiet your head is whenever you think about it. The spirit’s voice is quiet yet strong.
10 Truths I Wish I Knew Sooner
10 Truths I Wish I Knew Sooner
- Life is not about you. This is the greatest lie that people contend with today. Most of us are egotistical and self-absorbed, but it’s nonetheless true that life comes to a point when you realize (hopefully) that life isn’t about you. It’s about your relationships and the people with whom you share them. The purpose in life is not to find yourself. It’s to lose yourself.
- Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a battle.
- It’s okay not to be okay. You don’t have to be happy all the time. Let your story unfold as it should; disappointment, grief, anxiety and all… in this beautiful, tragic, awful, and adventurous life.
- Most of life is out of your control. So stop trying to control everything. Your power lies in your choices but you need to work on having faith in the little things. There is a difference in taking control of your life by pursuing things that interest you and learning when to let go and allow life to unfold for you as it should. Let things be. Let yourself be. Except everything as it is. Nothing more and nothing less.
- Hard work beats talent any day, when talent refuses to work hard. Your talent is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift to God. Don’t let your gift go to waste or keep it all safe and wrapped up for yourself. That’s not only an injustice to yourself but also to the rest of the world and even to God! Talents and gifts are meant to be shared.
- Ask for what you want. Didn’t your mother ever tell you if you don’t ask for what you want, you won’t get it? When you step out and speak about what you want, the world hears you, and the universe responds.
- A good laugh and a long nap are the two best cures for any problem. Or as a kid once told me, “Sometimes you just gotta take a nap and get over it.”
- Life becomes a lot easier when you learn to accept apologies you haven’t gotten. Folks, people are going to disappoint you and hurt your feelings. And some of these people will never feel bad about it. They might never even acknowledge it. You have to learn to forgive people even if you think they don’t deserve it. Forgiving someone does not say that what that person did was OK. It simply means you are no longer going to allow it to hold you hostage. Forgiveness heals you.
- Care about what people think and you will always be their prisoner. The opinions of other people won’t define you unless you let them. There is nothing that anyone can say that will change who you are, unless you take it to heart and let it. So take people’s opinions for what they are- opinions. And don’t waste your time dwelling on them.
- It’s a poor idea to lie to oneself. To lie to ourselves in the name of comfort is the ultimate mistake. Life decisions not based on reality are bound to be faulty. Be honest with yourself.
In The End
“In the end, only three things matter; how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.” -Buddha
Daily Inspiration
You only have one life to live. There are going to be a lot of maybes, what-ifs, and could-have-beens. But if you want to spend your life happy, focus on what you already have…
Who Will God Use?
God’s not looking for extraordinary people to serve His kingdom. He’s looking for ordinary people with extraordinary confidence in Him.
Night
Night is the time when we’re alone, isolated in our bed, away from distractions and forced to confront our pain. I used to fear the night. I dreaded falling asleep, while needing rest more than ever before. In the quiet dark, the pain I spent all day running from, would sit right down on the edge of my own bed, like a familiar stranger, just staring at me. I hid from it any way I could; sleeping aids, prescription meds, exhaustion, alcohol… But no matter how great my hiding place, or how long I hid, the pain was relentless. It wouldn’t leave. Night after night, there it sat on my bed. Waiting for me. What does it want from me?!
Eventually, I learned to stare back. I began to even look forward to the night, when I could lie with that familiar stranger, face to face. Today, although the pain remains, its power is weakened. Finally, I am able to look it in the eyes and say, “I’m not scared of you anymore. I am grateful for you.”
Free Spirits
Here’s to the free spirits
Who fall in love
Keep their minds wide open
and their heads up.
And though they’re crushed and broken
They’re still fearless and tough
Here’s to the free spirits,
yea, here’s to us!
Vehicle of Wisdom 