Take a look around.....

It amazes me how so many people don't realize how their environment affects their attitude.The more negativity that you surround yourself with, the more negative you will become.Whether it be negative people,angry music or violent movies.The more of these things we are subjected to, the more normal it becomes to us.It is as simple as the people you choose to be friends with on Facebook.I have seen friends post a status describing a hard time they are going through, and their "friends", instead of trying to be supportive and help them get through it, they add to the trouble by telling about their problems and describing how pissed off they are at the world.Trying to solve a problem with negativity and anger has never accomplished anything.

I am speaking from experience, for the longest time I was a very negative person. I became so jaded from watching violently disgusting movies, that when I saw something terrible in real life it didn't even affect me.I carried around so much hatred for certain groups of people, just because I grew up hearing family members voice their opinions.It really is scary how much we can be like robots, being unknowingly programed to be hateful or negative just by listening to the things around us.I really fear for the next generation. I watched a few music videos from some bands that my 15 year old daughters boyfriend listens too. I have to admit it is some of the most disturbing music I have ever heard. The videos were filmed so dark and depressing, it reminded me of someones nightmare.I really don't see how watching something like that can make anyone feel anything but angry or depressed.Then we have RAP, which I really don't consider music at all, it's just a bunch of profanity laced hatred towards anything that's in authority. Where have all the musicians and singers gone that tried and spread a good message ? This world needs a Bob Marley type more then ever.

I don't want to sound like I am being preachy. We all have the right to listen to, watch and be friends with whom ever we want. But if you don't like being angry or miserable any more, you really need to take notice to the things you allow in your life.Take notice to the message that is being sent out in the songs on your i-pod, try and take notice of all that unnecessary violence in that movie you just watched and last but not least open your eyes to how negative some people you know can be.Negativity creates nothing, but more Negativity, and what good has that ever done anyone.All it does is cloud our vision of how great life can be, of how Happy we all can be.Stop letting the messages and actions of others program you.Take a good look inside yourself and find that Positive Happy person inside. You'll be so thankful that you did. Blessings and Love to all.

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is not always an easy thing to do.Whether it is forgiving someone who has hurt you, or maybe it is forgiving yourself for making a bad decision.Whatever the case may be, carrying around resentment wears you down, like a river wears down the rocks in runs over.Regardless of whether the pain caused to you was accidental or on purpose, by not forgiving , you are inadvertently allowing others to continue to hurt you.You are allowing that person to determine how you feel and act. Holding onto anger and resentment makes you a bitter and miserable person.The old saying goes "It's better to forgive and forget", I not really sure which one is harder.But I do believe that it is almost impossible to forget, unless you first forgive.

What if the person you can't forgive is yourself, how damaging is that? So you have made a mistake or maybe used poor judgment, it caused you some sort of pain or suffering, but instead of learning from it and letting it go, you continue to punish yourself.What good will that ever do? We are only human, we all make mistakes. But not learning from your mistakes is just as foolish, as not forgiving yourself for making them.I have made my fair share of mistakes in life, but I have accepted them and moved on. I have also learned how to forgive others who have hurt me. It was like a huge heavy weight had been lifted off my chest.

Life is all about learning the lessons that are put in front of you.They say that you have to first lose, before you can ever really enjoy winning, and the same goes with Happiness. You have to first know sadness before you can know how to be really Happy.One of the major steps towards Happiness is Forgiveness. Don't carry around resentment and anger, instead transform it into forgiveness and compassion.You deserve to be Happy, we all do. The thing that most people don't understand is that, we hold the key to our own Happiness, in our hands.It is up to us to let go of the negativity and concentrate on the good things in our lives.Once you can do that, you are on your way to living the life ,we all wish to have.Love your life and it will Love you back. Blessings and Love to all.

Trust

Trust is one of the most intimate gifts we can bestow on another.Without it relationships can become strained and friendships are shallow.How can we ever say we care for someone unless we can also say that we trust them fully?Why is it so hard for some people to put their trust in others?There are different reasons why some people can't bring themselves to Trust.Maybe they Trusted someone who they cared about and that person betrayed them.Maybe they saw their friends get their hearts broken and decided they wouldn't let that happen to them, or maybe they themselves betrayed someones trust and they are worried about that person doing the same.Regardless of the reasons, if you never Trust others, then how will you ever have someone close to you?

Putting your Trust in another is a wonderful sign of respect. You are giving someone the ability to hurt you, but showing them that you have enough Faith in them not to. Trust is needed for any kind of relationship to have a chance to grow.When you show or tell someone who cares for you that you don't Trust them, you are basically telling them that you don't think to highly of them, that you have no faith in them. You are telling them that you see them a the type of person who would hurt you, and that is a hurtful message to send out.I have done my fair share of betraying people's Trust in my life, and it is something that I wish I could take back. I saw how much it hurt those people when they found out.I have also had my Trust betrayed and have been on the receiving end of the hurt.But I would never let my past experiences stop me from putting my Trust into others.Just because someone may have betrayed you doesn't mean they will do it again. Just because you have been betrayed by some doesn't mean everyone will, and just because you have betrayed someone ,it doesn't mean they will do it in return.

We can't live our lives being afraid of people hurting us.When we build walls around ourselves to keep from getting hurt, those walls also keep out any chance of finding real Happiness.Only by putting your Trust in others will you find out who are the ones worthy of keeping around.It's like when we were children and we would go outside to blow bubbles, we didn't blow them with the expectations of seeing them POP. We blew them to watch and see how long and how far they would float. Don't live your life waiting for bad things to happen to you,for your bubbles to pop.Enjoy your life and don't be afraid of what might never happen.Blessings and Love to all.

What do you believe?

I am getting the feeling that some of the people that I have known for a long time think that I have lost my mind or are on drugs of some sort because of my new beliefs and new outlook on life.Most of them are Catholic, who went to a Catholic school for 12 years as I did. So I know the kind of mentality that is instilled in them, that the Catholic beliefs are the correct ones and anything else is "Blasphemy". I don't have any bad feelings towards them because they see me as some kind of weird-o. I think the main problem is that so many religions brainwash their followers to look down on or even dis-like anyone who doesn't believe what they do.Is that really a reason to not like someone? Is that really a reason to harm or even KILL someone? I have done some studying on a lot of the different world religions and no where in any of them do I get the message that we should hate anyone for any reason. Especially for their beliefs.

I truly believe a major problem with the world today is, there is very little religious tolerance.Let's look back at history, how many millions of people were murdered in the name of GOD? How many wars were fought because of different beliefs? Why are people so afraid of what they don't understand or what they have no knowledge about? During the Holy Crusades the Catholic church sent warriors out to KILL or CONVERT the people of the surrounding countries. The Salem witch trials, hundreds of woman were killed because they were found to be unholy by the church.I not sure how many of you know this but Witch craft is the oldest religion on this planet. It is not old green women with pointy hats standing over a boiling cauldron. They worshiped the Mother Earth and use herbs for healing purposes.Buddhism (which technically is not a religion) is thought to be some sort of Hippy drug induced state of mind that forces you to love everything. And lets not forget those EVIL Muslims!!! The actions of some radical lunatics that hated America so badly that they killed thousands of Americans on 9/11 have branded all Muslims as terrorist.Well let me assure you that no where in the Quran does it tell any Muslim to kill Americans.

I really believe that in their simplest forms all religions are good. They teach us how to be better people and how we should treat each other.They teach us morals and ethics, not hatred and anger. Stop over analyzing it and just take it for what it is. Don't let some "elder" try and convince you of what you know in your heart to be true.Treat others as you would want to be treated, plan and simple.As for all of you out there that think I'm off my rocker (lol) it's OK, I like where I am now and the mentality that I have. I have never been Happier or more at peace with myself ever. So don't worry about me, worry about yourself. Open your Hearts and Minds to all those things you don't understand, you may just find something you can really connect with. Blessings and Love to you all.

Stand your ground....

It is written that if someone strikes you on the right cheek you should turn and offer him the left. This pacifist attitude should never be looked at as a sign of weakness, but as a sign of strength and courage. It shows to the person who wants to do you harm, that no matter what they do you will not let yourself sink to their level. It makes no difference whether they cause you physical harm, use harsh words to you or cause you some mental pain. By not retaliating you are showing them that you will not let them influence the way you live your life.

It is not the actions or the words of others that cause us to become angry with people or to hate them, that is a decision that we must make on our own. We let ourselves get angry, we let ourselves start to hate. Don't let others decide for you how you should feel and how you should act. Let your conscience be your guide and always do the right thing even if it means doing nothing at all. The way that others treat us is their Karma, the way we react to it is ours. Don't let someone who has hurt you continue to do so by causing you to have negative Karma. Remember they can only hurt us if we let them. Blessings and Love to all.

Don't let the door hit you in the...........

It seems to me, this past year I have had more people that I considered friends, just walk out of my life. For one reason or another they had made up their minds that I was someone they no longer wanted to be acquainted with. Some of them I saw coming and others came out of left field. I was caught totally off guard. But regardless of why or how it ended they all were accompanied by DRAMA. I try and not let myself get caught up in a finger pointing contest, whose fault it was and who could have done this or that. It has come painfully obvious that some relationships just don't last forever.

There is an old saying that most times you can learn more from your enemies then you can from your friends. If you think about it, that is a very true statement.I sit back and think about those people who have hurt me in the past and the lesson I take away from it is, now I know what kind of people I don't want in my life. There are some people in the world who are so wrapped up in their own lives that everything else becomes just a bore to them.They monopolize the conversation with stories of what is new with them, what their kids did and how their spouse pissed them off. Don't' be fooled, they put up a false front that they really care about you, but in the end all they care about is themselves. Always looking out for their best interest, no matter who gets hurt.

There is one person in particular that betrayed my trust so badly it is beyond words. I forced myself to be his friend and in the end it cost me dearly. I would never tell anyone what this person did to me, but the details really aren't the important part. The worst part of it was that this person was still "friends" with other people that I care about. I would see him comment on friends statuses and say the crude and vulgar things that he is famous for, and it would make my stomach turn. I learned the hard way what kind of person he is and it worries me that he may hurt someone else the same way he hurt me.You really do have to be careful who you let get close to you.

I hold no bad feelings towards anyone anymore. I have learned the importance of forgiveness and how hating someone only hurts one person, yourself. People are who they are.No one can be changed if they don't want to be, so we are forced to accept people for who they are. We don't have to like it, but worrying about it only breeds negativity in ourselves.Eliminating the negative people from our lives is not only an option. Maybe they are co-workers or even family members, people that you are forced to see everyday. All you can do is make a conscious decision not to let their negative attitudes affect your life. Instead of being angry with them, you should really pity them, because unless they change who they are they will never find happiness in their lives.

So in closing remember NO ONE can have a direct affect on your life without you allowing it. You are the BOSS of you!You and you alone decide how you will live your life. Don't sink down to their level, be the better person. Remember the more you love your life, the more it will love you back!!! Blessings and Love to all. <3<3<3

How will you be remembered?

As most of you know, I took a part time job at a Catholic church to make some extra money. I am basically in charge of setting up for mass and for any funerals and such that are schedule for the day. Even though I turned away from the church long ago, I still sit quietly in the back room and listen to the sermon, the readings from the Bible and to the priest's homily. This is only my second week of work but I have already had to set up for 3 funerals with another one tomorrow. As the service goes on I take special interest in the eulogies that people give for their loved ones. It's sad to think about losing loved ones but it is nice to hear all the funny stories, happy memories and lessons learned, that the loved ones share.

There have been 2 services that have stuck out in my mind and made a real impact on me. The first was an older woman,in her mid 80's, her name escapes me, but it was her nephew who spoke about her. He had so many stories to paint a picture of his late aunt's life. All of them described a caring, loving, warm and fun loving lady who always went beyond what was expected of her. She spent her whole life trying to help as many people as she could. Trying to bring as much happiness as possible into every one's lives. In her eye's everyone she met was deserving of her compassion. It was said that she didn't have a hateful bone in her body. Now if you ask me that is a wonderful way for people to remember you.

The second was the one we had today. She was a young lady, only 22. She had her whole life ahead of her. Her older sister described her as someone who always had a smile on her face. She loved the outdoors and spending time with her family and friends. Even though she was always a very healthy person one day she got very ill and quickly she went down hill. After being in the hospital for just a short while, she passed away.Never having the chance to fulfill her dreams and aspirations. It's always sad when such a young person passes away.

Like I said these 2 stories about these 2 woman have really got me thinking. First, we never know when our time will come. It shows us how important it is to try and live everyday to it's fullest. To not worry about tomorrow or complain about yesterday.Life is way to short to carry around all those things that we don't have any use for. The second thing is, how are you going to be remember by the people who knew you? Will you be remembered as a loving person? A happy person who always had a smile on their face and a kind word to say? Will you be remembered as a person who always went out of their way for people? Or will you be remembered as a person who was always miserable, complaining about everything and everybody? How we live our lives and how we will be remembered is ultimately up to us.Live today as though it will be the one day you are remembered for. Love your life and it will love you back. Blessings and love to all.