Courage

Today I'm learning more about courage. General George Patton said, "Fear kills more people than death." Everyone has fears and needs courage to face them. When you are afraid you have two choices--do nothing and let the fear fester like a cancer, or identify what you fear and deal with it. I am actually enjoying facing some of my fears because I realize if I face them I am finally in control. Sometimes things are overwhelming. "You often hear, Be bold. Take a leap! Sometimes you should. Other times, there's a better idea. Take a step." (Harry Beckwith) I like that saying because I can just take a few meaningful, well-planned steps to face my fears, and make progress towards my goal. I'm trying to develop some better habits and I can see that step by step they are possible. Have a sunshiny day.

Motivation

I'm reading Mac Anderson's book "Charging the Human Battery". I definately need to increase my motivation in lots of areas, and I thought I might share some things that have been inspirational to me. One thought was that everything that is worthwhile in life is free--our minds, our souls, our bodies, our hopes, our dreams, our intelligence, and our love. All of these priceless possessions are free. To be motivated, we need to identify our values of what is really important when we set goals. As we make decisions, we can make choices that have a great impact on our life. Marcy Blochowiak said, "You are always only one choice away from changing your life." Therefore, we need to choose wisely and commit ourselves to move forward with hope and not give up on something we know is important. We only need the courage to make it. Today I identified some things I felt were most important to do. I realized that I don't need to spend a lot of time on everything, just do the best I could. I have felt a sense of accomplishment and joy in checking off all of the items on my list. Now I have the rest of the day to do a little more. I even had some quiet time to meditate and chose which things I will continue to work on tomorrow. Although many would think I'm moving too slowly, I am working forward with a steady pace. I realize that I am truly blessed. One of my favorite things to do every day is read the blogs of friends, and I have decided that I need to write my insights every day as a dear friend does. I hope you can put up with a philosophical perspective for awhile as I work through some of my personal challenges. I think it will be a profitable journey for me and I hope for others. Have a wonderful day!

The Right Track

Will Rogers said, "Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." I think I let myself get run over. I know I have procrastinated doing some things to improve my health, and I now have to take some drastic steps to compensate for my lack of action. I was reading some journal entries of 15 years ago and realized I had the same health goals then as I do now. I haven't made very much progress. I can see that procrastinating. has been a poor choice. Yesterday I started on insulin for my type 2 diabetis. In two weeks I begin my education phase of treatment and in three weeks I meet with the dietician. I have some challenges facing me and I'm eager to get started. Hopefully I'll quit just "sitting there" and make some lifestyle changes that matter. The insulin shots are easy. The lifestyle will get me further down the right track. Onward!

A Week of Blessings

Sometimes it seems I get so busy with life that I miss some of the good things of life. Today I'm remembering some of the good times of the past week. I love the toothy little grin of my youngest grandson, the unintelligible chatter of the two-year old, the excitement of the dog when someone plays with him, the teasing of grandpa and the giggles that follow, the blue skies, some sunshine, the playfulness of my daughter and her dimple when she's happy, the excited participation of family when playing games, pictures that family share, real mail that makes my day, e-mail from friends, quiet time with my hubby, eating nuts and watching Hogan's Heroes/Gomer Pyle, special friends at Church, special neighbors that are always willing to help, little flowers that are beginning to bud, a good nights sleep, notification that my mammogram came back with no sign of cancer, not having to pay co-pay because I have a credit, low-sugar treats, hugs, laughter, lunch with dear friends, time in the Temple, e-mail from grandchildren, finding something I had lost, reading blogs that I enjoy, playing Sudoku, playing Wii with family, reading the newspaper, reading the scriptures, reading some good books, getting my hair done, ......Wow! It's been a week of blessings! Hope your week was one of blessings too.

How to Spell Love

I've been reading some neat articles lately. This one tells the story of an older man who goes up into his attic to find a picture of his wife who recently passed away. He found a box of her things and inside was a journal written by their son when he was six or seven. He couldn't figure out why she would have saved the journal so he took it downstairs to read. He read a few entries and then went into his office and grabbed his journal for the same time period. He read an entry for June 22nd that said "Went fishing with Jimmy. Day was a total waste. Didn't catch a thing."
In Jimmy's journal for that day it read "Dad took me fishing. It was the best day of my life." It is so interesting to see the same event from two points of view. It illustrates a special fact. The way a child spells love is t*i*m*e. Time we spend with a child can be the most productive time we can ever spend. I am truly enjoying time with my grandchildren. My oldest grandson turned twelve last week. We all went to Joe's Crabshack and he ordered crab. He relished cracking the crab leg's to get the tasty morsels. He ate the whole thing and then ordered chocolate cake. When we were leaving I asked him if he had enjoyed the dinner. He said, "that was the best meal I ever ate." He loved having people who cared take time with him. A granddaughter came and played a card game. She is beginning to want to play games with the grownups. Another graddaughter wanted to play games on the Wii. A little granddaughter wanted to "fix us a meal " like in a restaurant and took our orders. A grandson wanted grandpa to take his picture with a Nerf dart on his forehead. We all laughed and enjoyed the picture. Another grandson gave hugs and ran off to play. I love seeing Grandpa with the little grandsons that are living with us. One he carries around on his shoulder. This brings giggles and squeals of joy. The little one has the biggest grin and will laugh at almost anything. Yes, love is spelled t*i*m*e. Time with our children.

Fences in our minds

I read an interesting article that prodded me to examine the fences of my mind. It told of how everyone said that running a mile in four minutes was impossible. Doctors said it was physically impossible. Then in 1954 Roger Bannister ran the four-minute mile. Since then over 700 have broken the four minute mile, mainly because they believed they could do it. We all have things that we think are impossible for us to achieve. So I have been contemplating what things I want to accomplish and identifying what my "fences" are. I hope this awareness will give me a new push in accomplishing some of my dreams. I love that refreshing feeling of hope that comes when we realize who we are and that we have a strength and potential that can help us acquire some of our fondest wishes. Onward!

Enjoy the Ride!

I have enjoyed time with my grandchildren lately. Always my greatest joy. My oldest grandchild is twelve today and getting ready for junior high. Where has the time gone? We are going out to dinner with them tonight and I'm looking forward to that. I loved the hugs and kisses Sunday when some of them came to play games. I tended my youngest little one when my daughter took her two-year old for a haircut. Cute little guy slept the whole time they were gone, so I got quite a bit done. The two-year old looks older with his haircut. I am tending today while my daughter runs some errands. He is full of curiosity! He loves to hold my knickknacks and open the curio cabinet. Needless to say I've moved everything to the top two shelves. He loves to run his hands over the glass shelves too. Tomorrow he will be so excited because we will probably get his pet dog here from Hawaii. That will be a new experience for all of us. Kids and dog! All of this is suppose to keep me young, right? At least I'm enjoying the ride!