The Power of a Lifted Spirit

I need to focus on the songs for our shows this week on The Soul Train Cruise!

I think I'm on hour 20 without sleep. I can't help thinking that it is NOTHING compared to what life is like for people in a war zone right now. I'm keenly aware that while we are dancing, smiling and singing this week, others are living in conditions of pure hell and horror. 

I will focus and sing and share all the beautiful and joyous moments, while learning, planning and finding more ways to help. 

I've seen the way music can melt hearts and minds countless times. I know the power of song and Love. A lifted Spirit can move mountains. We can create miracles by actions. NEVER (not a word I use lightly) underestimate your power to change the world. 

Click here for my previous post "Help Ukraine."

That previous post has links for ways to help and there are many more ways to help too!

Let's go!

Love,

T

To Act

Honestly, the days keep rushing past in a blur and I'm hardly able to remember what I had for breakfast, let alone the entire week's worth of happenings. Most of the time though, something stands out. Some thought or memory bubbles up through the murky fog and lingers on my mind. This week, it was a passage read at church. I believe it was James 2:14-26. I hope that you'll appreciate the point, even if your Spiritual practice differs. It's all about faith and action (works). 

"My friends, what good is it to say you have faith, when you don't do anything to show that you really do have faith? Can that kind of faith save you? If you know someone who doesn't have any clothes or food, you shouldn't just say, "I hope all goes well for you. I hope you will be warm and have plenty to eat." What good is it to say this, unless you do something to help? Faith that doesn't lead us to do good deeds is all alone and dead!"- James 2:14-17 (Contemporary English Version)

How many times do we wish others well and even pray for them as indicated by our emojis online? How many stories or posts do we "like" or "care" about? Then what do we actually DO to ease someone's suffering? Obviously we have a limited amount of time and resources, but I'm challenging myself to commit to more action than a simple click. 

We don't have to make a spectacle of it to be effective. Maybe we can make a small donation to a cause. Maybe we can make a phone call. Maybe we can take a little time to learn about the subject of interest. We can DO something. We can help someone.

Here's wishing us all an opportunity seized! Here's hoping we all are able to feel good about an action we take, to make someone else's world a little brighter.

Blessed Be!

Love,

T

Rinse, Lather, Repeat #empowerment

Repeat after me:

I Am strong.

I Am powerful beyond measure.

I have the ability to change the world.

Remember:

Those who seem to be trying to hold down your spirit can only do so with your permission. Don't let them. No one is in control of that except you. People who deliberately seek to take another's power are only making a fool's statement about their own insecurity.

Now:

With Love and Kindness in your heart, go take some action that will make you feel useful, helpful, and a positive influence on this society and world, remembering that we are all one family and our mission here is to increase Love.

We work together.

We are Divine.

"Action without vision is only passing time, vision without action is merely day dreaming, but vision with action can change the world."

- Nelson Mandela

Click here for: nelsonmandela.org

Love,

T

The Angel

The Angel in my room, the one that lights up, twinkles, and sends dancing patches of light around the walls every night has stopped.

I could take this as an ominous sign: The Angel has left, its light extinguished.

Then again, its absence of light can serve as an example of faith: We must believe even when our path is not lit. The Angel is clearly still there. Its lack of illumination only indicates that we must believe in what we can not see, have faith through the darkness.

Then there's the reality that I am just out of C batteries. As soon as I put the new ones in, it will light up again.

What's really real is that I can put C batteries on the grocery list, but that light will not go on until I actually put them in and flip the switch. It's on me.

Blessed week...

Love,
T

Fueled By Love

It's so easy to be motivated by things like anger, frustration, jealousy, etc. Sometimes we have to make a real conscious effort to increase our positive thoughts enough to be moved into action by them. What inspires us so much that we must DO something? 

Luckily, I have Zachary around and he wanted to make cookies - for the sheer joy of it. I think he wanted to be like Cookie Monster actually, but it was a joyful ride.

I wanted to plant some flowers.

Here's wishing us all a week of deliberate action, inspired by something good, fueled by Love.

Hope you all had a Blessed holiday weekend. I remembered this Memorial Day poem from 2014. It takes on a whole new layer of meaning this year...

"In Memoriam"

With teary eye I thank you, Boy

For giving me your life,

And who am I to take you from

Your mother, son and wife?

With heavy heart I thank you, Miss

Your courage hired for pittance.

If honor earned be heaven's price,

Be sure of your admittance!

To all we've lost, but Angels gained,

Who fly now free from chains,

Unburdened from this world of war,

Your light be not contained.

Our tribute then, could never be

The glory you deserve,

Our closest humble offering, 

In liberty preserved.

- Tanya Diona

Originally published in blog posted May 26, 2014

Love,

T

Butterflies Continued...

I don't have long. The baby is taking a nap.

This lovely girl (I'm going with "girl") appeared outside the diner this week.

This one (above) was at the pediatrician's office. Hundreds more appeared in a National Geographic photo sent to my phone this morning (I'd post the link, but it seems to have disappeared). Maybe there's more to the story that I'm supposed to think about.

I've been taking some time out for myself every evening before bed to read. Just a few minutes is all I need - just enough so that I am taking some action toward my own personal objective of reading a book. Last week I actually finished the book. I can't tell you how many books I have started reading over the years and never finished. My bookshelves are full of them! This time, I finally finished. Then I started another. #gettingsomethingaccomplished :)

"God is within her. She will not fail"

- Psalm 46:5

This quote begins the book I'm reading now. The quote echoes points made at the end of the previous book about how important it is to take action, however small, toward your goals (or dreams). Reflecting about the butterflies, I'm thinking of the action of their flight. They must move, fly, spread their wings. That's what's up this week - action.

Ever notice how we put things off? Busy work crowds out things we want to do for ourselves and we never get around to doing some things that we really want to. My time is short these days with the baby. (Isn't everyone's time short for one reason or another?) To-do lists are always getting shuffled, and tasks get prioritized, often resulting in nonaccomplishment of some very important goals for myself. Adding to the obstacles, we can admit that fear of failure is a contributor to our tendency to put some goals on the back burner as well.

To transform as a butterfly, action is required. Transformation can be thought about, and we can evolve in our thinking all day long, but we must act if we want to continue the cycle. We have to spread wings to fly. I've been doing well with workouts lately. I've managed to get to the gym consistently and reached a goal of lowering my blood sugar through exercise and diet. Also, I completed a book by tackling one page at a time. Now, I think it's time to identify some more goals on the wish list and take some action toward achieving them. Any action toward the goal will be a success.

"There is no failure except in no longer trying." 

- Chris Bradford

"There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure."

- Paul Coelho

That is my continued lesson from my friends, the butterflies. :) xo

Namaste,
T

 Click here for more quotes on failure from forbes.com

The Complaint Department

What if we were our own complaint department? What if every time we complained about anything, we had to answer for it?

I'd like to imagine a world where, instead of complaining, we all DID something toward positive change of the things we don't like. If we're not sure WHAT to do, we would LEARN.

I watched two documentaries this week. One was about Trump, the other about Clinton. They can both be found on demand at CNN.

Click here to stream "All Business: The Essential Donald Trump" and "Unfinished Business: The Essential Hillary Clinton" on CNN On Demand (click on "Shows" in the left-hand column)

How many of us complaining about one candidate or the other have visited each of their websites, or learned more about them, have taken any kind of stand on the issue that we complain about, have written our congresspeople, have volunteered for a cause?

Click here for Donald Tump's Website

Click here for Hillary Clinton's website

I found myself complaining this week (unrelated to the candidates or the election) and it was not pleasant. I had to make a conscious effort to ask myself what I could do to change my situation. After taking some action toward accomplishing some goals, I felt better. It seems as if to complain is to sit back and put blame on others, while giving our power away to them. We have our own power. We can do SOMETHING. In activating our own personal power, we can generate a more positive outlook within ourselves. If THAT is our state of mind, then we can open up our own creativity and be a part of solutions instead of just being a part of a chorus of complaints.

I'm going to put a complaint box on my dresser. I'll be responsible for what goes in, and I'll be responsible for answering all complaints as well.  #LetsTryIt

Namaste,
T