The Problem With Miracles

Hollywood surely hasn’t been good for the miracle business.

Blockbuster films become blockbusters because they blow away our expectations. It could be the script, it could be the actors, or it could be the special effects. But what ever it was, we thought it was just awesome. Blockbusters raise the bar of awesome. For the next movie to become a blockbuster it will need to exceed the higher standards of awesome set by the previous blockbuster. The new film may be just as great as the previous film. But “just as great” is seldom ever great enough. We need more awesome to get us excited; yesterday’s awesome just isn’t awesome anymore.

The “more awesome, please” thinking permeates our lives. Which is bad news for things like miracles.

Miracles, after a while, lose their luster. Time makes what was once extraordinary eventually ordinary. And once it becomes ordinary it becomes irrelevant, simply taken for granted. Surrounded by yesterday’s miracles we often fail to see anything miraculous.

The truth is miracles never lose their luster. They never stop being awesome. The only thing that actually changes is our vantage point. We are the ones that move beyond the miracles in front of us in search of that next something that will get us excited.

Nothing can ever diminish the magnificence of the miracles that are around us and within us.

Perhaps today is the perfect day to rediscover all the miracles in your life?

It’s a great day to be you!

Yes, That Is God Whispering In Your Ear

“Forever trust in who we are, and nothing else matters…”

Trust is a funny thing.  As kids we learn to trust our parents.  We learn to trust our siblings. We learn to trust our friends.  But at what point do we learn to trust ourselves?

In our desire to be accepted, in our desire to fit in, in our desire to simply be happy, our focus will at times shift away from who we really are to who we think we really need to be.

But trusting in your self is simply listening to the real you. It’s listening to the inner voices of inspiration, the voice of God. The inner voices that are telling you that you are good enough exactly the way you are. Not worrying about the opinions and expectations others may have for you. Trusting yourself allows you to transcend any insecurity and doubt and allows you to fully become all that you were created to become. This is the real you, the natural you, the one created for greatness.

The one the world needs you to become.

Forever trust in who you are.

It’s a great day to be you!

 

(This quotes comes from James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich who are better known by their day jobs as lead vocalist and drummer, respectively, of the band Metallica. The above quote is from their 1991 song “Nothing Else Matters”.)

Permission Granted

School trips require a signed parental consent form. Without my approval, my kids will not be allowed to get on the bus and travel to their education destination.

Asking permission is a good thing. For a class trip. But when it comes to our own lives, are we waiting for others to give us permission to become all that we really are?

Sometimes we’re the ones that don’t sign off on our own trip to our own fulfillment. Sometimes we empower others in our lives, giving them the pen and awaiting their signature before we feel comfortable becoming who we really want to become.

But what happens if they refuse to sign?

Unlike our children, no one needs to sign off on where it is we hope to go in our life. Others may express their reservations and concerns about our plans. They may even question our judgement. But the map to Greatness is in our hands. The only person we need permission from is ourself.

All that you need to become all that you already are is within you. Bringing you to life requires one simple decision to allow yourself to fully bloom, to bear all the fruit you were created to bear.

It’s a great day to be you!

My TV Wants Me To Hate Myself

My TV is always telling me that no matter how happy I think I am, I’d be much happier with whatever it was it was trying to sell me.

Marketers thrive on creating a sense that who I am and what I have just isn’t good enough. They construct a new standard, raise a higher expectation, and I simply don’t measure up. I must be incomplete. Unless, of couse, I buy what they’re selling. Then I’d be cool/beautiful/accepted.

The advertising world works to create an illusion that we are incomplete. Then they offer us the solution to the problem we didn’t even know we had. Pure genius, creating a disease just to sell us their cure. Retail therapy anyone? Why do they do this? Because it works. If you let it.

There’s no money to be made off of complete people, people who have reached the point in their lives where they understand and accept their innate complete nature. The message of “something is missing in your life” simply doesn’t resonate with people who know that nothing is really missing in the first place.

The greatest gift is to look inside and see that nothing is missing.

Because nothing is.

It’s a great day to be you!

So Why Are You Denying Your Gravity?

Have you ever questioned gravity? Ever denied that it even exists?

Probably not. Most people never question gravity. There is nothing to doubt. Gravity is a natural law universally accepted as the truth.

It’s easy to accept the truth. So then why is it that so many people don’t accept the truth about themselves? The Truth…that they are already more than good enough, smart enough, strong enough, beautiful enough? The Truth…that greatness resides in everyone, including themselves?

Perhaps us not fully buying into the idea of our completeness has something to do with the voices that challenge us on a fairly regular basis. Voices, both external and internal, that plant little seeds of doubt within us that cause us to question our worthiness and deny our Truth.

Those voices are clueless.

Dropping a pencil on the floor is all you need to prove that gravity is real. After all, we’ve all been told that seeing is believing. Sure, there is no dropped-pencil test to validate our own inner Truth. But does this Truth really need any external validation?

Seeing is believing. The good news, though, is we are the ones who decide what we see when we take a deeper look into who we are. And if we do decide to look deeply into who we really are we will see the inner perfection that resides in each and every one of us. When we are willing to entertain the possibility of our own Truth we will begin to see that yes, we already are that perfectly beautiful person we’ve been hoping to find for so long.

The time spent searching for confirmation of who we hope we are is time that should be spent manifesting the greatness that already exists within us. There is nothing to look for, no approvals to seek.

Rediscover the Truth of who you really are. This Truth will certainly set you free.

It’s a great day to be you!

How Much of You Will Be Thrown Into The Great Dumpster in the Sky?

I imagine the story would go something like this:

It’s Judgment Day. You have a final interview with God, at which time you need to turn back in any of your unused potential. Any excess capacity that was never utilized. Any unused gifts that were bestowed upon you but simply never used. And I can see God cringe every time he asks to see what’s been left unused. He knows the answer already. Not just because He’s God, but because He knows that the vast majority simply never  live up to the greatness they were designed to achieve. God simply shakes his head as he throws the unused potential into the big rusty steel dumpster behind him.

Continue reading “How Much of You Will Be Thrown Into The Great Dumpster in the Sky?”

Are You Grateful for Those Who’ve Guided You to Greatness?

We all have some place we’re trying to get to, we all have something we’re trying to become…

Along the way to where you are in life right now, there have been people who’ve shaped your life, who’ve made you stronger, smarter, made you aware of your greatness…

They believed in you even when you didn’t believe in yourself…

They gave you a chance, gave you an opportunity, gave you that one break that got you to the next level…

Life is about moving forward, about looking ahead, but every once in a while shouldn’t we stop for a moment and look back and recognize these people and say…

… “THANK YOU” …

 … to offer our heartfelt appreciation and gratitude for what they’ve unselfishly added to our lives?

Think of…

The parent…who wasn’t perfect but was always trying to do their best for you…

The teacher…who took the extra time to be sure you understood the lesson…

The coach…who pushed you harder because he knew you could be more…

The boss…who took a chance on you…

The friend…who has always been there…and always will be…

Are there two more beautiful words than “Thank You”?

We all hope we are appreciated, we all hope that what we do matters to those whom we do it for…

Appreciation and gratitude create a spark…a positive energy that creates physiological changes within the receiver and the sender…

When was the last time someone told you that you matter…that you are important to them?

That’s the point.

The greatest gift is expressing gratitude to those who’ve helped us become all that we are, and all that we’ve yet to become…

All it takes is a phone call…a letter…a card…

From your heart…to their’s…

“Thanks for making a difference in my life.”

Go ahead…let them know.

Create a spark…that touches the soul.

“It’s a great day to be you.”

What’s The Point of Dreaming If You’re Never Going To Let Your Dreams Come True?

Will our potential ever be anything more than something we’ve failed to live up to?

Thankfully, that’s up to us.

My Honda can go 160 miles per hour. That’s it’s potential, according to the speedometer. For various common sense reasons my car has never reached 160 MPH. Not even close, actually.

Something about a speed limit.

There are a lot of limitations placed on driving. Signs tell us how fast we can go, which lanes we can drive in. Enter Here. Do Not Enter. One Way. A lot of restrictions placed upon our desire to get where we are going.

I understand the need to regulate the rules of the road. (Ever drive in Massachusetts?) For the common good I can appreciate all the limitations and restrictions placed upon us.

But what about the limitations and restrictions we place upon ourselves?

Continue reading “What’s The Point of Dreaming If You’re Never Going To Let Your Dreams Come True?”

9/12/01

We woke up to such a different world that day, didn’t we…

I remember the hugs that morning being a little longer, a little tighter. We found comfort in each other as we collectively embraced this new paradigm of uncertainty.

As the dust settled everything seemed suddenly fragile.

On a recent visit to a local glass museum I noticed a most exquisite piece of hand blown glass in the shape of a butterfly, artistically crafted in such beautiful detail.

A glass butterfly, life is. Beautiful, yet fragile.

So very fragile.

To fully respect the inherent nature of human fragility is to fully appreciate the gift of human life. For when we grasp our own temporal nature we acknowledge the preciousness of each moment, of each breath. It is only in this very moment that we can live, love and be loved. Future moments are never guaranteed.

Looking at life through a lense of fragility gives us the perspective that reframes everything.

We are all glass butterflies, beautiful yet temporary gifts to each other.

There is no better time to give the gift of you away to the world.

It’s a great day to be you.

Guess What? Your Life Is Over and You Missed It

Dude, where’s my summer?

Remember when summer used to last forever? September was so far away it was never going to happen. Of course that was back in the days before kids and a mortgage and all those other grown up responsibilities.

This summer has already come and gone, and it feels like it never even started.

Or was I just too busy to notice?

Life’s greatest joys are usually found in the details. It’s the little things we notice when we actually take the time to notice them. Fully immersed in the present moment. But with the pace of life these days, who has time for details?

There’s always some place we’re trying to get to. There’s always something else to be done. Life sometimes feels like an all-you-can-eat Continue reading “Guess What? Your Life Is Over and You Missed It”