Dare to follow God

4. Show me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths.

   5. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. -- Psalm 25:4-5. (KJV). 

My eyes have truly been opened knowing what it is to follow God's will. Not to just follow, but combine our will as one. Meld it so we literally are on the same path. 

Heavenly Father knows us and where we are headed. It's usually not what we had planned but ultimately works out in the grand scheme of things. Even the bad things. I'm not sure why but somehow that's part of our learning and after this life balances out. 

I know that if we pray for guidance, seek his answer and then trust and act in it. Then we will be on God's path to living with him again. 

I heard somewhere that the goal of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to change our will to his. I believe that full-heartedly. He can bless us when we keep our commandments otherwise we have no promise with Him. Dare to follow Him.

Trust yourself and trust in God.

Follow the Happiness

Buddha said, "There is no path to happiness; Happiness is the path".  I believe this more than I ever have before in my life.  Finding what makes you happy and following it; that is what life is about.  I'm not talking about gorging yourself on your favorite treat, although it's needed sometimes. I'm talking about where do you want you life to lead? Where do you want your life to be next year, month, or day? Are you happy each day?

If you don't know what is making you unhappy or you just feel at a standstill, then Follow the light. Follow all the feelings that drive you to the light and bring a true smile to your face. Whenever you feel that warm, fulfilling sensation in your chest and it radiates through your body, that is what you need in your life.

I know that life can be really hard and sometimes bad thoughts enter your mind such as, "This is just how my life is, I guess I'm not supposed to be happy".  Do NOT believe those lies! Yes there will be situations in our life that we will not be happy about, and things that we have no control over and seem like we may never be happy again. It's ok to mourn, and be sad. It's actually NEEDED. If you are depressed, or constantly down, maybe you haven't mourned or addressed the sadness in your life. 

What we need to look at are the things you DO have control over in your life. Did you have control that your mother got cancer? No, but what Can you change?  Can you change the things that are good for your body? Food, exercise, sleep? Can you change the people you interact with? Work, home, school? Can you change where you live? rent, own, house apartment? 

Will changing any of these things truly make you happier?  Well, that depends on you.  I believe that anyone can find some happiness no matter where they are. However, sometimes these types of changes are needed to give us the boost we need. Some physical change to remind us of happier times. Maybe the place you work used to be a place of hope and growth, but now just seems like a failure since you didn't get the promotion you wanted. Perhaps a change in a job, or scenery will actually help. 

There will be a thousand plus scenarios for each of us, but ultimately we all need to seek for something that fills your soul and make the change! These types of changes will bring true happiness to your life. Not changes the world or others tell us that we need to make. Only the changes in our hearts, body and soul.

Dare to follow that what brings light into your life. At times it is really hard to take action and actually do what brings happiness to you. It may not be what your parents had planned for you, or what your teacher expects, but it will be worth it! Now we all obligations. Don't walk out on your job, family or such to fulfill a lifelong dream.  Look at your goal and try to make it part of your life with those around you. Finding a job within the realm of your goal could be an option. Perhaps living further or closer to family will help strengthen relations. 

There are many ways to follow the happiness in your life. It can be as simple as calling a friend, or walking a dog. Big things don't have to change to make us happier, but I want to encourage everyone to seek out the light and happiness every day!

Perfection

What does it mean to be perfect? To me, Perfect is what makes you happy. 

Have you ever felt like you are too tired of trying to be perfect?  The Perfect Mom, Wife, Son, Co-worker, boss…etc.

Well, I watched a movie tonight about a woman that reaches perfection with the perfect house, clothes, make-up, hair, boyfriend, job…but in the end, she realizes it wasn’t what she wanted. Watching her go through that, made me realized that I was doing the same thing. I had this idea of what I thought it meant to be perfect. Clean house, extra make-up, non-frizzy hair, and slimming outfit.  My goals were always focused around these things and in a way, I felt like for me to reach my goal of being “Perfect” I had to have these things, even if it made me unhappy.  And I realized I am unhappy.  

This is what I've learned.  Perfection a choice.

You can choose to wake up 2 hours before the sun rises to make sure that your hair and house is perfect before you see your man or start your day. You can make sure your make up is just right and not a spot missing before leaving the house…Or you can choose to not do it. Let it go. Either one is the correct choice if it makes you happy and love yourself. 

Isn’t that really our goal here, to be happy and when we are truly happy, that means we have a self-loving for yourself, and who you are.  

But let’s get back to what perfection is.  How many times have you heard that Perfection = Flawless or Graceful.  I have about a thousand times.   Do you know what the dictionaries definition is?  Means “having all the desirable elements, qualities or characteristics; as good as possible.”  

“Having the desirable qualities.”  Now ask yourself, who’s the one that is defining what is “desirable”. The world?  Your fiancé? Your friends? Your co-workers?   The world may define that only sleek, shiny, full hair is desirable, or a dress size 2. But don’t let the world choose for you.  YOU are the one that gets to choose what is desirable for your perfection, for you to be best possible you. 

Keep in mind, don’t be afraid to show your RAW self.  How many times do we filter, prepare or plan out our thoughts, or actions so we will seem perfect.  Am I the only person that goes through a whole conversation in my head of what one person will say, and then what I will say, or should say to make sure the conversation will be perfect? 

Why not let your weird, wonderful, raw self shine through?  Now don’t get crazy on me, because some things do need a filter, especially in a professional setting, or when words might be purposefully hurtful.  That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about not always having to say the “perfect” thing or be flawless all the time. We are human, and full of flaws. It doesn’t mean that you can’t have goals to be perfect for you. The best possible you = the happiest possible you = perfection.

If you have the goals to be thin, to have flawless make up, or always best dressed that is wonderful.  If that makes you truly, deep in your bones happy, then do it.  But if you feel like that is the definition of perfection, and all women should strive for it…you are wrong. 

Your PERFECTION is personal. It is what you desire in yourself. If that means getting 8 hours of sleep or taking 1 hour each day for yourself. That is your perfection.  If that means making it to work on time, or looking up and walking with confidence, instead of head down. That is your perfection. If that means speaking up more, or smiling, or laughing more.  Whatever it is, That is perfection.  And remember, nothing is more beautiful than a happy, self-loving woman.

What is your perfection?

Finding Yourself

Do you know when people ask you the question, “What do you want to do with your life?”  Or some variation of it, and your mind goes to the small corner of shame where you know you should have come up with a good answer, but your well is completely dry? That happens to me a lot.

I’ve often thought about how can I determine what I want to accomplish with my life. Where do I begin to figure this out? Many people say you need to find yourself.  But how?  And what does it even mean to find yourself? 

When I read this quote, I felt connected to it; like it answered these deep inner questions I had kept hidden away.

 “Listen to your inner-voice” …..What does that sound like?  When you hear your inner-voice, is it your heart talking to you, or your conscience?  I suppose you can choose which one is dominant, but I think that when we are finding ourselves, we need to set aside the voice that is telling us, “what will the family think”  or “You should find something more practical.”  There are cases in which you need to listen to this guidance, but just for a moment, listen to what the other voice is telling you. That is the voice of your personality! Remember when you were a child and you could get away with doing things you loved to do, even if it was weird?  But because you were young, the adults accepted it.  Things like playing in the snow, running around the house naked, and finger painting? There might be similar things that you heart and personality are trying to tell you but you suppress them because they “aren’t acceptable”.  Do an experiment and listen to what your personality is telling you. Follow it and see where it leads you.

Surrounding yourself with others that are loving and nurturing to you, help you develop that idea. They will help you follow that inner voice. These are great people to be around.  They could be your family, or just one really close friend.  Even if you can’t be around them a lot, set aside time to spend time with them. It doesn’t have to be an in-depth conversation about analyzing the pros and cons of your idea. Most of the time, it’s just having fun. Have a food fight! Or Pillow fight! Have FUN!

When you are in this process…that is when you find yourself. You have found what makes you happy. You have let yourself be happy.  When you are happy, you love yourself and the work you have done.  The quote says to love your art, but it can be any accomplishment, any craft, or even an emotional skyscraper that you have made.  It’s wonderful because it’s a part of you. You have put your full heart into it.

Start now by finding yourself and listening to the inner voice. You truly will find yourself and find your happiness.

Dreams

Have you ever told someone your dream for your life plan and they stifle a laugh, or tell you how unrealistic it is?  Unfortunately so many people believe that being different and getting out of the “mold” is going to lead your life down a road of failure.  It’s completely not true.

When I read this quote it really made me think about how many wonders we have today because of people who stood out from everyone else. They weren’t afraid to be alone or stepping out of the mold of society.  Thomas Edison is such a great example to me in this.  The light bulb was considered a myth, or a dream to always stay a dream.  He was considered crazy and spent a lot of time alone. However, he did it. He created light!  Who isn’t to say that you can’t do something like this?  You want to create holographic communication?  Do it! You want to dive to the bottom of the ocean? Do it! You want to learn how to knit a sweater! Just make it happen. I’m talking about big and little dreams! No dream is unreachable, and nothing is too small. Make it happen. If you don’t start, then it will never happen.  Just don’t be afraid of being alone. 

Following your dream doesn’t always mean that you are going to have a lonely life. It just means that you need to not be afraid of being a lone.  Don’t let that fear stop you from pursuing your dream.  Many times in your journey you meet your closest life friends.  You will find people along the way that will help motivate you and help you accomplish your dream.  The people that you expect support from the most, may not give it right away. It’s not because they don’t love you or think that you can’t succeed, rather they don’t want to see you fail. They are letting fear stop them.  Don’t let that happen to you! Honestly, when you first attempt to do what you want, you will fail. Look at how many time Thomas Edison failed before the light came alive?  You can’t let that fear control you and stop you from fulfilling your dream.

It is your dream to live. Live it!!

Dare to Believe

Are you a person that is afraid to try new things?  Big or small, it can be nerve racking to change something in your life. Something as small as changing the brand of laundry detergent, to a big move to a new city can cause so many different emotions.  One universal emotion we all feel is fear.

Why are we afraid, or feel anxious when new things are entered into our lives?  Why are we afraid to change? Because the fear that it won’t work out, overrides our adventurous mind.  We are afraid that our lives will fall apart if we make the wrong decision.  I’ve recently been deliberating over a big decision for me and what helped me make this decision was to go to the “why”. Why was I wanting to change or why is this change necessary?  Knowing the ‘why” is good and helps us not feel so scared, but more importantly is knowing where the “why” is coming from.  Searching in ourselves with our decisions starts with knowing what’s in our heart. This quote by Bryant McGill says it so perfectly.

We need to not be afraid of following our heart, because good things will happen.  I know it seems scary when our dream seems impractical or even impossible, but we can’t let fear grasp us and hold us back.  We need to Dare to believe in ourselves. Dare to believe in others. Dare to believe that even though this world is a wicked place, that good can come from it.  One amazing and inspirational example of all time for following her heart was Mother Teresa.  She was such an amazing leader of this world in her service to others. Her dream was to uplift those around her and help as many people as she could reach.  How much good came from her actions?  How many ripples of good influence did that one stone make in this incredibly complicated world?  Did any good come from her following her dream, despite the difficulties, and doubts she must have had?  Of course. That is why we speak so lovingly of her name today. 

Following your heart doesn’t mean you need to make a world impact. The truth is, you never know how many people you inspire each day, but just being you.  There are so many good things that come about from doing what you love and trying new things.  Act on what your hearts telling you. It will ultimately lead you on the happiest path that brings good things to others along the way.