THE ROAD OF LIFE ~ December 31, 2011 by Dolores Ayotte
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES AND ANECDOTES
“If you make the unconditional commitment to reach your most important goals, if the strength of your decision is sufficient, you will find the way and the power to achieve your goals. “ (Bob Conklin)
I would like to thank each and every one of you for your wonderful support in 2011. I know we all lead busy lives and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for spending these precious moments with me.
At this time, I would also like to wish you good health and much happiness in 2012. The above quote is so appropriate as we start the New Year….when we set new goals and make a personal commitment to hope filled resolutions…when we dare to dream as we strive to reach these lofty goals for our good and the good of all. Take gentle care my dear friends!
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Seeing Beauty When There’s None ~ December 30, 2011 by Nikki Rosen
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES & ANECDOTES
“He who has courage and faith will never perish in misery.” ~ Anne Frank
It’s hard to think Anne Frank was only 14 when she wrote this. Fourteen and hated – for no other reason than being Jewish. Fourteen and having her world as she had known it – turned upside down. Fourteen and not able to go outside to smell the flowers, or attend a dance or sit in a classroom and daydream about boys or her future or life…..
In spite of the hatred and brutality that had taken over her world – in spite of the being stripped of all the comforts of home and school and friendships – in spite of those who believed she had no right to exist….fourteen year old Anne wrote as if her world was normal…as if nothing had changed…putting her thoughts down on paper….the thoughts of a normal teen…..
I try to visualize what it must have felt like to be fourteen and forced to live in a small space with people terrified for their lives – fearing the craziness of those who wanted to kill not only you but your whole race – people who lived with fear that if they were found – they would die….or worse…
Anguish – cries heard in the streets – family, friends, respected elders – taken – their lives stolen – beaten like violent criminals – in temples, in shops, in communities – there was no safe place….nowhere to hide. It was always just a matter of time.
Yet in the midst of that senseless brutality – fourteen year old Anne kept her diary and wrote like any typical young teen pondering the world around her and her place in it.
Her words strong, positive, powerful: “I twist my heart round again, so that the bad is on the outside and the good is on the inside, and keep trying to find a way of becoming what I would so like to be….I don’t think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains….”
I didn’t have the strength that Anne had. Or the courage – nor her positive outlook. I felt the hatred and I hated back. I felt the brutality and I wanted to lash out against every perpetrator who hurt me. I let the brutality pull me into its lies – into its fear, into its hatred – Everything in my world was black – dark – I saw no beauty. I wanted so bad to give up and to give in to the darkness. I saw no hope – no light – no meaning.
Anne had been raised by loving parents – parents who gave her security and a strong foundation – so strong that when the darkness came – she was able to push it aside and still see beauty. I’m trying to parent my girls that way. Maybe it’s working. My oldest 13 – almost 14 – is amazingly positive. She inspires me – she teaches me….
Growing up in a Jewish home – I heard the phrase over and over: “to not remember the past is to be condemned to repeat it.” I used to wonder why do Jewish people constantly talk about what happened….and hold memorials and give honor to the survivors. I was told – ‘so it will never happen again. From one generation to the next – we must tell what happened.’
I think I’m beginning to understand…..to tell of the brutality we lived – in some way is a protection for the next generation – to know – to be aware – to live a bit differently – to understand there is darkness – but there’s also a strength, a hope – a light with each survivor who stands up and says, “I survived. The darkness couldn’t destroy me.”
I never wanted anyone to know what happened to me – all those things I lived – Today I want you to know, “I survived.” And every time I read some of your blogs – and know you too have survived – I’m cheering
Thank you so much Nikki for sharing such an intimate part of your self with us.
Nikki Rosen is the award-winning Author of “In The Eye of Deception” (A True Story).
Website: http://gentlerecovery.webs.com
Blog Site: http://cultofdeception.blogspot.com
Blog Site: Tips & Tools for Healing from Trauma http://www.gentlerecovery.blogspot.com
DRIP…DROP ~ December 24, 2011 by Dolores Ayotte
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES AND ANECDOTES
When we think about erosion in our environment, we may picture a huge wave beating against the wall of a cliff at sea. Eventually as it pounds away, the cliff caves in and the waves continue to erode the shore line.
In many of our personal relationships, the erosion that takes place doesn’t always occur in the same dramatic way. Sometimes, it does take one big upset similar to a tsunami to end a relationship but usually it takes many years of neglect or even physical or emotional abuse. At times, our unacceptable or unattractive behavior is more subtle, like a lack of consideration or at times unkind behavior as the drip…drop of our uncaring ways eat away at the bond we may have once shared. The drip….drop may include gossip or maligning. The drip…drop may also include conditional love.
Whether with family or friends, a continuous drip…drop of inappropriate behavior eventually takes its toll and the relationship caves in much like the major erosion that takes place at sea.
To create and maintain a quality relationship, it is necessary to show that we care. We do this by taking the time to cultivate or maintain these special connections. In doing so, it is necessary to put forth the much-needed effort in order to keep the relationship alive and healthy. If we don’t do this, the relationship will not be very positive or rewarding and more than likely will eventually die.
Caring about the people we love involves making them feel like a special part of our lives. It’s not about taking them for granted but rather about showing our appreciation and love for them in some of the simplest ways…putting them first on the list instead of last, a special card, a visit…or any other small act of kindness that we may choose in order to let our family or friends know we love them.
Please, during this special Christmas Season as we are celebrating the birth of Jesus, it is wise to remind ourselves to make room in the “Inn” of our hearts instead of allowing the drip…drop…of our behavior to force family and friends into the stable of our lives. If that’s where they are…perhaps we must ask ourselves why. Have we really and honestly made room at our “Inn” or have we made them feel like they belong outside? Having room at our “Inn” is a year-long activity not a once a year occasion.
Hopefully, the true meaning of Christmas and the celebration of Christ’s birth, will also be exemplified by our behavior between New Years and Christmas, rather than the short week between Christmas and New Years. On this note, I would like to wish you a wondrous, peaceful, and joyous Christ-filled Christmas as well as an abundant 2012 with room in your “Inn” to celebrate all year-long!
Like this:
FEAR ~ December 21, 2011 by Audra Krell
INSPIRATIONAL STORY
iStockphoto
Remember when fear used to be different? Back in the day it was a gangly teenager, all knees and elbows. We tucked ourselves around the sharp angles and edges, bent ourselves to conform to childlike worries.
As we grew, so did fear. It became a young adult, and we wondered where it would show up next. And with energy like that, we could conjure it up at any given time. Sometimes it was better to sleep with fear than to sleep alone.
And then fear became a mature adult. An obese, dark monster, who nightly pulls up a chair and waits. We smell and feel its hot breath before we’ve even opened our eyes. When we do, fear doesn’t wait for an invitation. It curls around us, taking up all the air and consuming us from the outside in.
When fear wants to spoon, I pray. I write as if my life depended on it, I spend time with my loves and I focus on the moment.
Living in the moment reaps a heart of thankfulness for all I do have; taking the focus off of what I’m afraid I won’t.
Thanks so much Audra for such a refreshing reminder about how all-consuming fear can be and how to better deal with it. To learn more about Audra please visit her at:
HE’S GOT THE WHOLE WORLD IN HIS HANDS ~ December 19, 2011 by Dolores Ayotte
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES AND ANECDOTES
I am the mother of three married daughters. I have eight delightful grandchildren. I always knew that I loved my children with all my heart but I had no way of knowing until I became a grandmother that I would love my grandchildren with the same depth. Each time a grandchild is born, I feel the same thrill as when I gave birth.
When we raise a family we all go through the trials and tribulations that come with each phase of growing up. I remember thinking to myself that after all three daughters were married and settled down, I would have a lot less to worry about. I must admit that this was one naive thought.
As my family continues to multiply I find that I actually have more to worry about, not less. Now my daughters are experiencing some of the woes of raising their children and I am well aware of almost everything that they are going through. I try my best to encourage them to “not sweat” the small stuff but one of the things I still “sweat” about is childhood illnesses especially in the youngest grandchildren. The older ones can at least tell you what’s wrong when they’re not feeling good. Is it only in my own mind or has there been an increase in childhood illnesses? When these little ones get sick, I’m so concerned in a way that brings out the worrywart in me.
It is at these times that I have to search inside and draw from the same strength I used when my daughters were young. That strength is my faith. I know that each and every child born on earth is a whole world to God. I also know that He’s got the whole world in His hands. I not only desire to trust in Him, I need to trust in Him for the benefit of all just like my daughters need to do.
It’s wonderful to have been blessed with such an ever-growing family and I thank God on a daily basis but as I said, it’s not only the family that is multiplying. The fears and concerns that go with it have also multiplied. I need my faith now more than ever in order to encourage my daughters. I want to be there for them as much as possible as they face what life has to offer. I heard many years ago, that you never fully realize how much you believe in God until you have children. I couldn’t agree more! We need prayers and our faith as we work through the challenges that go with raising a family. Don’t you agree?
JUST FOR LAFFS ~ December 16, 2011 by Dolores Ayotte
JOKE OF THE DAY ~ Life’s like that!
A man who had been called for jury duty asked to be excused. The judge asked, “On what grounds?”
“We’re very busy at the office, sir, and I ought to be there,” the man said.
“So you’re one of those men who think they’re indispensable. You think the firm can’t do without you, is that it?”
“No, sir, far from that,” the man replied. “I know very well they can do without me. I don’t want them to find that out.”
“Excused,” the judge said.
THE TRUTH ~ December 15, 2011 by Dolores Ayotte
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES AND ANECDOTES
THE TRUTH: It may not lead you to where you thought you were going, but it will always lead you somewhere better. When ignored, it will eventually show itself. The closeness of your relationships is directly proportional to the degree to which you have revealed the truth about yourself. It can be painful. (Source Unknown)
It is not always easy to have honest and open relationships. The more honest they are, the more vulnerable we become….it is one of the reasons that we choose to wear masks in life. We do this to protect ourselves from what others may think or say about us. We usually try to put our best foot forward in order to impress people. The more comfortable we become in a relationship, the more we feel safe to take down these barriers.
The truth …”It’s a process of peeling away the layers of your false self, your trying-to-be-something-you’re-not self, your copycat self, your trying-to-sound-a-certain-way self, your spent-my-life-watching-television self. It’s like going to psychotherapy, delving deep and allowing the real you to emerge, only in this case you want it to find its way on to the page.” (Rachelle Gardner-Literary Agent)
Yes, the truth may not lead you to where you thought you were going but would you want it any other way…?
The truth, if and when you choose to embrace it, has a way of cleansing your soul like a pleasant rain that falls ever so gently and washes away all your weaknesses.
The truth gives us the courage to face all that life offers.
The truth is why we have chosen to write and to bare our souls to those who honor us by reading our words. Yes, the truth for those who seek it, can find its way to the page. May you feel the mist on your face that mingles with your tears as you wash away your woes. (click on the above picture to feel the cleansing rainfall that the truth can offer)
