Posts by Pat:
Banish these 3 phrases!
Many of us don’t understand that what we say matters. We have the power to create our world with our words. And we may not know it, but some words can hold us back from the life we desire. Here are three to consider:
- There are indeed many things we cannot do. We can’t be royalty in England, given the fact we are born in the US.
We use “can’t” for achievable things that require hard work or sacrifice. We routinely say things like “I can’t lose weight,” or “I can’t talk in front of a group.”
When “I can’t” is on the tip of our tongue, we could change it to “I won’t.” With every “I can’t” we sell ourselves short. Because in most cases the reason why we “can’t” has less to do with ability and more to do with our priorities. And saying “I won’t” will force us to examine those priorities.
2. I once came across a quote that said: “I thought life was unfair until someone said life is fair because it is unfair to everybody.”
Complaining about life’s unfairness is unproductive at best.
Instead we could see life’s unfair challenges as unfair advantages. After all, without struggle or adversity, we fail to experience real emotional and spiritual growth. We are like butterflies that need to struggle to emerge from the cocoon with wings strong enough to fly. And we do want to fly, don’t we?
3. Have you ever said something like “I have to go to work today or “I have to take this class” or “I have to write this blog post.” (Maybe I should change my To Do List to a Get To Do List?)
“I have to” is the fastest way to turn blessings into burdens. Instead experiment with “I get to.”
After all, “I get to” unleashes the power of gratitude in our lives.
The words we use are creating our lives. Let’s choose the vision of the life we want. Let our words paint a picture of the life we want!
It’s okay to be a hobbit!
When wizard Gandalf presents Bilbo Baggins as the last member of the dwarf company in Tolkein’s story, he faces resistance because the dwarves don’t think Bilbo’s up to the task. Neither does Bilbo! After all, he can’t fight. He can’t fend for himself in the wild. Gandalf settles the debate by pointing out one quality: […]
It’s expensive to be poor
It’s probably because I’m working on my tax returns that I’m more sensitive to the contrast between expensive and cheap, between well off and poor. And I have to admit that I feel fortunate that I haven’t really had to struggle with poverty. But my awareness of the extreme differences in our society has been […]
from a kid’s view…
In honor of this month’s focus on ‘meaningful’ relationships, this post shares some fun statements youngsters have made about love and marriage! HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHOM TO MARRY? You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should […]
Are you wintering?
Here’s a thought-provoking word: wintering. I enjoyed reflecting on Katherine May’s words in my recently-read Wintering: the Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times. She describes it as those moments when life turns cold through crisis or loss and we find ourselves living at a different, slower pace. Wintering is a process by which […]
Let Go?!
There’s many a lesson I’m still learning, and this is one of them! LETTING GO(D) doesn’t mean not caring, it means not taking responsibility for someone else. LETTING GO(D) doesn’t mean cutting myself off from others, it means realizing that I can’t control others. LETTING GO(D) doesn’t mean caring for, it means caring about. LETTING […]
Skating on thin ice?
When I’m experimenting with something new, I’m often a bit tentative, not sure that what I’m messing around with is solid enough to hold the full weight of my being. In times like these, I picture myself standing on the edge of a frozen body of water, asking “Is this ice thick enough to hold […]
This crazy language of ours
Ah, the delightful quirks of the English language-a language with so many rules and far too many exceptions. But English was invented by people, not computers. It reflects the creativity of the human race which, of course, is not a race at all. After all, there is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger, […]
a different serenity prayer!
We all may know the basic Serenity Prayer, but have you see some of the tweaked ones? Here are some…and you may know of others! My favorite one (which I couldn’t find an image for) is… “God, grant me the serenity to accept there are things I’ve no time to read, time to read the […]
A blank calendar…
I love putting up a brand new calendar! As I look at the pictures and the day the holidays and my birthday will fall on, I love seeing all the white spaces. Each square is ready and waiting for me to write in whatever I want. Before we begin filling in those white spaces, we […]