Scout Mountain. Pocatello, ID 10/6/13
Courage: noun. 1. mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty
2. the ability to do something that you know is difficult or dangerous
Faith: noun. 1. strong belief or trust in someone or something
2. belief in the existence of God: strong religious feelings or beliefs
3. a system of religious beliefs
2. an experience of waking life having the characteristics of a dream
a. a visionary creation of the imagination
b. a state of mind marked by abstraction or release from reality
c. an object seen in a dreamlike state
3. something notable for its beauty, excellence, or enjoyable quality
4. a. a strongly desired goal or purpose
b. something that fully satisfies a wish
Feelings: noun. 1. an awareness by your body of something in it or on it
2. an emotional state or reaction
3. thoughts of wanting to help someone who is sick, hungry, in trouble, etc.
Mistakes: noun. 1. to blunder in the choice of
2. a. to misunderstand the meaning or intention of
b. to make a wrong judgement of the character or ability of
3. to identify wrongly: confuse with another
Love: noun. 1. strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties
2. attraction based on sexual desire: affection and tenderness felt by lovers
3. affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests
4. warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion
5. a. unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another: the fatherly concern of God for
humankind; brotherly concern for others
b. a person's adoration of God
6. a god or personification of love
7. an amorous episode
8. the sexual embrace
9. a score of zero (as in tennis)
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary
On this day of your life, Olivia, I believe God wants you to know...
...that your inner goodness is going to carry the day.
I know that you know what a good person you are.
Yes, we all make mistakes, but when everything is said
and done, you are a genuinely good person...and you
know it.
So here's what you should be told: God knows it, too.
Trust that your inner goodness will rule this moment...
Love, Your Friend....
I am a huge fan of Neale Donald Walsch, author of the Conversations with God series. I would recommend his books to anyone who considers themselves to believe in something bigger and more divine than us. And even if you don't, it's an interesting read. Personally, I do not consider myself to be a religious person. I prefer to learn from different faiths and choose the little pieces to believe that truly resonate with my inner being. I consider myself to be spiritual. Every day, I receive inspiring words from Mr. Walsch via email that always put a smile on my face and give me strength in the truths they hold. Some days I get tears because the words fit my current day, emotions, and experiences. Today has been one of those days.
I just read the quote from above. I am a forgetful person and I consistently become frustrated and angry with myself because of it. I also make mistakes, poor decisions, and struggle with never knowing if what I'm doing really matters in this wide world. For this reason, these words soothed all of this perpetual anxiety and fear leaving me feeling full of faith and comfort. What a wonderful change. The power of words is a beautiful thing and definitely an important component of my spirituality.
One of the most important things I have ever learned is the necessity of having inspiring people to look up to in life and draw support from. I am blessed to have many of these people. My entire family is inspiring to me in different ways. My friends are all incredible people who I would be lost without. I truly believe you can find inspiration and lessons in any person in the world or any interaction with plants, animals, or rocks! Because the only thing that matters is what reality, what truths you want to create for yourself. Never forget that no matter who or what you find love or strength in, you are still your own person. You are in charge of your own life. You create your experiences, what they are or aren't, with the choices you make every day. Do not take this lightly. Embrace your choices, whether you feel they are wise or foolish, learn from them, and make change how you see fit.
That being said, one of the women I look up to most whom I have never met is Brene Brown. I was first introduced to her incredible, amazing, inspired work by my counselor this spring. And I watch her TedTalks frequently. I think she is wise and strong. I feel that her work embodies many of my own truths, thoughts, beliefs, and moments. I would encourage you to listen to her talks if you wish: The Power of Vulnerability and Listening to Shame. Her words are beautiful and I love the way she delivers her stories.
Last night I had a wonderful dream in which I experienced that 'good butterflies in your stomach overwhelming feeling' more intensely than I ever had before. It felt better than anything I have experienced in a long while. Pure euphoria. And it all took place in a dream, in my subconscious. I believe that the dreams we have while we sleep are bigger than we will ever know. I believe that often they are manifestations of what deep down we know we need, but are not willing to give ourselves or think we do not deserve in our waking hours. Forgiveness, joy, love, inspiration. These are what dreams are made of, both our waking, conscious and our sleeping, subconscious dreams. Dreams are important to me because often all I can recall when I wake from a dream is how I felt in the dream, the emotions I experienced. When we are awake, emotions are triggered by our thoughts, the things we see, and how we interpret it all inside our brains. Almost completely influenced by our surroundings and processed in our own way. When I am in a dream, all of these things are inside me, created by me. The emotions I feel in a dream evolve inside of me similarly to how waking emotions evolve and yet, they are somehow inexplicably different. I can't remember all of the physical details, but the emotions, how I felt throughout the dream, are the strongest pieces that linger with me when I open my eyes to 'the real world'. I experience raw emotions not tied to anything I have seen, heard, or thought. I find that inspiring. It makes me believe that everything you have heard is, in fact, true about creating your own reality and feeling the way you want whenever you want.
So today, I am feeling courageous, I have faith and dreams, and I am experiencing and radiating love. I am sharing forgiveness and acceptance with myself and others. All because I choose to. It feels incredible.
To quote Jude in the fantastic film Across the Universe, "Well, surely it's not what you do, but the, uh... the way that you do it." I, you, everyone, deep down at their core, is a good person no matter what and I know it. And that feels powerful.
I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.
-Nelson Mandela
Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.
-Mother Teresa
If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours.
-Henry David Thoreau
The most important things are the hardest things to say. They are the things you get ashamed of because words diminish your feelings - words shrink things that seem timeless when they are in your head to no more than living size when they are brought out.
-Stephen King
Before the throne of the Almighty, man will be judged not by his acts but by his intentions. For God alone reads our hearts.
-Mahatma Gandhi
Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead.
-Oscar Wilde
Aspen resting on changing leaves. City Creek Trail, Pocatello, ID 10/4/13
Thanks,
LivE.
