Tag Archives: #thoughts

#inspiration, #spirituality

Columbine

We are coming up on the 25th anniversary of the Columbine massacre. It’s been on my mind a lot lately. You see, I serve on the Board of Directors for Rachel’s Challenge, the largest organization in the world that focuses on kindness and compassion. This charity was founded after Columbine. Rachel was the first child killed that day.

Since Columbine, we have had many more school shootings. The gun isn’t the problem. When students feel connected and safe at school, all the societal ills go away. They learn better. And isn’t learning one of the reasons we send children to school?

Forgiveness has power. By forgiving those who have offended us, we harness that power and bring good from the bad. More on this in future writings.

Check out the organization by following the link. You will be glad you did…

http://www.rachelschallenge.org

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#inspiration, #spirituality

Deals

We love to get a good deal, don’t we? Think about it. You go to buy a car and after a bit (sometimes a lot!) of haggling, you agree to the terms the dealership offers. You both are happy.

False advertising tries to reel us in. Promises of easy weight loss or quick wealth are empty promises. There are no shortcuts to those.

The best deal of all is God’s promise to spend eternity with us. There will be no pain or suffering in Heaven, only eternal bliss. And it’s a free gift! Take the deal. There’s no better deal out there…

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#inspiration

Insecure People

People will try to tear you down, sometimes to your face but more often behind a computer keyboard. They are insecure and unfulfilled in their lives, so they want the rest of the world to feel the same way.

Don’t take the bait. Stay on the high ground. Aim higher and think higher.

The naysayers and doubters will always be there. Stay true to who you are…

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#inspiration

Knocked Down, But Not Out

Some days life hits you. Hard. Stress is always present in life. I’m talking about those unexpected, unanticipated hits. Consider how life changing the loss of a child is.*

Our resolve is tested to the maximum in those circumstances. The pain is constant, sometimes overwhelming to the point you can barely breathe. You don’t know if you will ever feel normal again.

The pain gets worse before it gets better. But it does get better. Hope remains alive, like a tiny ember of a dying fire.

We don’t know how strong we are until we get leveled by life. If you are going through hell right now, keep going. Rise…

*This post is dedicated to two families I know who lost a child last fall. Their identities will remain anonymous.

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#inspiration, #spirituality

Inside Job

We love to be on the inside of things, to be “in the know.” We might believe this gives us a leg up on the rest of the world.

Here’s some truth for you: change is an inside job. We cannot fix anything about ourselves by changing something external. Botox might make you think you are staving off the aging process, but it is a temporary solution at best. The only way to slow down aging is intense exercise. Hard exercise changes your biochemistry, your inner organs.

Every one of us needs inner work. This never ends. But take heart! We grow when we change from within…

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#inspiration, #spirituality

Including Others

Remember when you were a kid and you got picked to be on a team? If we were playing basketball, I got picked last or not at all. I was horrible at basketball.

Everyone wants to belong, to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Kids join gangs because they think they’ve found their people. Their family lives are a mess or nonexistent. Adults join car clubs and country clubs. They belong to a unique, sometimes exclusive group.

We should always treat others with kindness and respect. They might not belong to something we do, but that doesn’t make them less important.

Our identity is found in who we are, not what groups we belong to…

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#inspiration

Advice

Do you like to give advice? Are you willing to listen to advice?

Many well-intentioned people offer their well-intentioned advice, usually without being asked for it. I’m a parent to two young men (30 and 28 now), and they weren’t too receptive to my advice when they were teenagers. That’s part of growing up, though. Making mistakes and, hopefully, learning from them.

Something I learned in al anon was that I should mind my own business. If someone asks for my thoughts or my opinion, I will offer it. But it doesn’t bother me if they don’t do a single thing I recommend. I’m honored that they think enough of me to ask.

Stay in your lane. Focus on yourself and don’t try to fix the rest of the world. You can only fix yourself…

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#inspiration

Looking Back

Today’s post is not about reliving your past. Long time readers know me to say that our best days are ahead of us. That hasn’t changed. The focus for today is on growth.

Change is gradual. This is true for positive change as well as developing bad habits. It happens little by little. But when we reflect on where we were ten years ago, we can see how we have changed. We have gained wisdom, and perhaps we are in better physical shape now than we were before. If our bad habits are the same today, then maybe it’s time to face the root cause and remove it.

If you feel like you haven’t gotten to where you planned to be, give yourself a little grace. You certainly aren’t the same person you were a decade ago. And that’s a good thing…

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