Looking within...

"You wander from room to room...Hunting for the diamond necklace...That is already around your neck!"

Peace, joy, health and well-being can only be found inside us. They exist within us now, waiting to be discovered. Yet we tend to look to the outside world to satisfy our needs and longings.

Our outer life reflects back to us the way we think, feel and behave. The outer world is all effects. Go to the source inside for all of life’s treasures.

Time with the kids in Soledad, CA

Over the New Years holiday my daughter Hannah had to have an emergency operation and get her appendix removed. So the kids and I decided to pack it up for a few days to go be with her and to visit with Lydia, Colt and Caden.

While there visiting we decided to spend some time at the Aquarium in Monterey and loved it!

Lydia and Colt are awesome parents and we all loved doting on Caden. Sometimes I can't believe I am a grandma...but it sure is fun being one. Watching and playing with Caden brings me great joy!

Hannah is doing better and has returned to work as if she didn't even have an emergency opeation. I am glad that she wasn't too seriously sick or injured. If we hadn't gotten her to the Dr. when we did her appendix could have burst. She was definitely being watched over. I was grateful that her big sister Lydia so lovingly took care of her and got her to the hospital for me. It's hard to not be right there when kids need me! I love all my children so very much!!

Filling up my tank...so to speak

“How do we keep our inner fire alive? Two things, at minimum, are needed: an ability to appreciate the positives in our life – and a commitment to action. Every day, it’s important to ask and answer these questions: ‘What’s good in my life?’ and ‘What needs to be done?’”--

I have found there’s a very different quality to my action when it springs from a sense of abundance as opposed to a feeling of being impoverished.

When I sense I’m not good enough or that I don’t have enough, I feel driven to be better and to have more. Whatever I do takes effort – there’s an element of struggle involved. And this makes sense because there’s no fuel – I’m working on an empty tank.

When I’m feeling abundant, I act out of my own inspiration. I’m rich and full and so the energy flows naturally. This action at times feels almost effortless.

It's important to remember that we don't need money to be abundant. All we need is appreciation of all that we have.

...what I focus on in life is what I get. And if I concentrate on how bad I am or how wrong I am or how inadequate I am, if I concentrate on what I can’t do and how there’s not enough time in which to do it, isn’t that what I get every time? And when I think about how powerful I am, and when I think about what I have left to contribute, and when I think about the difference I can make on this planet, then that’s what I get. You see, I recognize that it’s not what happens to you; it’s what you do about it.

Common Sense...

While driving to work today I was listening to the radio as I always do and instead of changing the station to find the next song playing I decided to listen to the DJ's bantor and carrying on...they were talking about something that had died and one of them said he was in mourning and then read aloud this Eulogy:

Today, we mourn the passing of an old friend by the name of... Common Sense.

Common sense lived a long life but died from heart failure. No one really knows how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He selflessly devoted his life to service in schools, hospitals, homes, factories and offices. He helped folks get jobs done without fanfare and foolishness. For decades, petty rules, silly laws and frivolous lawsuits held no power over Common Sense. He was credited with cultivating such valued lessons as to know when to come in out of the rain, the early bird gets the worm, and life isn't always fair. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn), reliable parenting strategies (the adults are in charge, not the kids), and it's okay to come in second.

A veteran of the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression, and the Technological Revolution, Common Sense survived cultural and educational trends including, body piercing, whole language, Ebonics and new math. His health declined when he became infected with the "If it only helps one person it’s worth it" bug. In recent decades his waning strength proved no match for the ravages of overbearing federal regulation. He watched in pain as good people became ruled by self-seeking lawyers and enlightened auditors. Common Sense knew the end was near when schools endlessly implemented zero tolerance policies, reports of six-year-old boys charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate, a teen suspended for taking a swig of mouthwash after lunch, and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, when schools had to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student but cannot inform the parent when the female student is pregnant or wants an abortion.

Finally, Common Sense lost his will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, churches became businesses, criminals received better treatment than victims, and federal judges stuck their noses in everything from Boy Scouts to professional sports. Common Sense drifted in and out of logic but was kept informed of developments, regarding questionable regulations for asbestos, low-flow toilets, smart guns, the nurturing of Prohibition Laws and mandatory air bags.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.
Three stepbrothers survive him: Rights, Tolerance and Whiner. Not many attended his funeral unfortunately, because so few realise he is gone.

Wow! I think its time to start using some good old fashioned common sense again...