Bloom

“BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED.”  – Saint Francis de Sales, The Bishop of Geneva

What an amazing thought from someone who died in 1622.  Imagine his life circumstances compared to ours.

When the quote was written or spoken, only a privileged few lived in structures that were built with exteriors and roofs more solid than thatch.  The thatch houses typically had dirt floors.

There was little running water, sanitation was rudimentary at best, abject poverty was in your face at every turn, any disease could be a life-ender and more.

Yet the wisdom of de Sales’ quote is just as important today as when he first spoke the words.

Then and now, our living human “gardens”are the land of opportunity for each of us.  Those gardens present to us what most of us humans call problems.

Yet, in truth, we have no problems; we merely have opportunities.

Whatever you plant with your thoughts, words (especially the unsaid ones!), and deeds will be the harvest you will have and the plants that you will make bloom!

It is up to you to choose that which you wish to harvest.

Life seeds are gifted to you daily.

Even if you are in the deepest physical, financial, personal, emotional or relational situation it is up to you to bloom where you are planted on a daily basis.

Whatever it is we plant, we will experience the results of the life seeds we plant.

I must and am making better “blooming where I am planted”choices.

This means that I find the magical “pearl”of each life experience I have, regardless of whether I enjoy the experience or not!

How about you?

Bad News

“Bad news is like milk.  It is best delivered fresh.”  – Bickford Shaw

Many of us have great opportunities when it comes to delivering messages which we perceive will not be well received.  That is true whether we are positively minded or not.

Deep sighs from me, as for years I struggled to find the courage to speak my emotional truths in a timely manner; whether with employees, in relationships, with children and more.

I prefer to be positive and find it incredibly difficult to deliver what I perceive to be bad news to anyone.

My ego gets in the way.  What is my bad news may be for that person’s highest and best good.

Yes, look through their eyes before you speak your truths.  Find their perspectives before launching your truths.

At the very least you will have compassion for them when you have the truth talk with them.

Peace.  Honor.  Love.  Grace.  Gentleness.  Truth.

Let those words be your inner strengths when you open yourself to speak your truths.

Once you have centered yourself with those traits, then deliver your messages quickly.

When you deliver the message that way, know you have done the best you could.

Should someone react adversely to your message, just kindly speak to them and let them know that you have delivered your truth, whatever it is.

Love is the Answer!

“Be a sweet melody in the great orchestration, instead of a discordant note. The medicine this world needs is love. Hatred must be replaced by love, and fear by faith that love will prevail.” – Peace Pilgrim

Beginning right now, please join me for a self-look in the mirror. How many people could I have made a difference to today had I merely been less self-centered and more kind with my thoughts and words? How many abused children and others less fortunate in life could I have impacted by giving them something – if only a prayer or a desire to help?

As we look in the mirror at ourselves, recognize that each of us has a choice. We may continue serving our own egos as our master, or we can decide that where our ego has brought us to date just doesn’t satisfy that soul hunger burning inside us.

Today, please do as I have done and open up your heart to feel what others feel. Yes, it’s risky as it requires us to become more vulnerable, but it is truly worth the risk.

A smile, a kind word or a simple loving gesture to a child, adolescent or adult who hungers for help can make an enormous difference, whether or not we personally know the recipients.

After all, LOVE is the answer and with it, everything good grows.

Hurry Up and Do More!

“We race to win, but at what price? Driven by the threat of time, we wonder why we feel so empty at the end of action-filled days.” – Diana Hunt

“When busyness is the measure of time, no matter how much time exists it is never enough.” – Dan Millman

Have a nice chat with any of your friends, associates and social contacts.  Ask them if they are now having to accomplish in three or four days what once took a week to do.

All of mine are in agreement.  The answer is a unanimous YES!

Every day there are more emails to respond to, text messages, instant messages, cell phone and telephone messages than we desire to receive; much less keep up with efficiently!  Yet each requires an immediate response from us.

The faster we run, the more vacuous we feel at the end of the day.  A primary reason is that the faster we go, the more linear we become.

We forget to feel by blocking out our emotional feelings.  Feeling our feelings is what our soul seeks from us.

Mike Wickett’s quote below is absolutely perfect in my humble opinion.

Shall we continue this journey of ours faster and faster in our personal thoughts, communications and actions on a daily and instantaneous basis? (Those help us forget who we are and why we are here in the first place.)

Our choice is to make a conscious decision.  Is the quality of life we desire worth more than the quantity of life we desire to live?

The choice is yours and mine.

My answer is YES.

What is your answer?  Honor it, whatever it is.

“Life doesn’t happen to us. It happens from us.” – Michael Wickett