Monthly Archives: April 2020

St. Francis of Assisi – The Peace Prayer

30 Thursday Apr 2020

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“Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is easier to say “My tooth is aching” than to say “My heart is broken.”― C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

As I was writing this post about the peace prayer I found out that the brother of someone I care very much about killed himself.  Even though he was dealing with depression lately no one thought that he would take his own life. 

My heart is broken for her and her family.  She is inconsolable.  It is hard to imagine someone wanting to take his own life, but depression is a very serious mental disorder.  

I pray for comfort and peace for my friend and her family. I pray for peace for her brother’s soul. 

If you or anyone you know is feeling down and depressed please reach out to someone.  Reach out to family or a friend and talk about it. You are not alone.  Share your feelings.

You can reach out to me.  I will be happy to talk to you and reassure you that whatever you are feeling at this moment it will pass. Life is still good even in the dark times.

“There is no point treating a depressed person as though she were just feeling sad, saying, ‘There now, hang on, you’ll get over it.’ Sadness is more or less like a head cold- with patience, it passes. Depression is like cancer.”― Barbara Kingsolver,  The Bean Trees

But sometimes just a listening ear and someone to talk to doesn’t help.  Often someone needs the help of a medical professional accompanied by medication.  Don’t be afraid to see a professional and take medication.

My mother was diagnosed with depression a few years ago and she is still under doctor’s care and medication.  I will be eternally grateful for her doctor.  He has been godsend. Professional help works!

In the US – Suicide Prevention Hotline -1-800-273-8255

In Brazil –  call 188 – https://www.cvv.org.br/

 

 

The prayer below and in the video is known as the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, an Italian Catholic Friar, but no one knows for sure who wrote it.  It has been said that it was attributed to him because at one point the prayer had been printed on a prayer card that had Saint Francis’s face on.  

No matter the origin, it is a prayer that I often think of and try to emulate.  I aim to do no harm and whenever possible to always bring joy.

And today, more than ever, I wish peace in the heart of every human being.

Peace Prayer of Saint Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me bring love.
Where there is offence, let me bring pardon.
Where there is discord, let me bring union.
Where there is error, let me bring truth.
Where there is doubt, let me bring faith.
Where there is despair, let me bring hope.
Where there is darkness, let me bring your light.
Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.
O Master, let me not seek as much
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love,
for it is in giving that one receives,
it is in self-forgetting that one finds,
it is in pardoning that one is pardoned,
it is in dying that one is raised to eternal life.

 

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Be a honeybee and not a fly

25 Saturday Apr 2020

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“Where there is faith, fear cannot exist.” ― Radhanath Swami

Yesterday I came across the video below and it hit me like a slap on the face.  A good well deserved slap on the face. 

It seems that I had forgotten how to look, seek and focus on the positive and bright side of relationships, events and people. How disappointed I was to to realize that. I proudly represent myself as the most positive and optimistic person around and yet I was  only focusing on the negative actions of certain people. I was focusing on the flaws.

I have been struggling with certain business and financial issues, mostly due to people not following through on their obligations.  Waiting on people and being disappointed by them put me in a negative frame of mind.  While I don’t need to give them a free pass, I don’t have to let it affect my mood, my life.

Every time this situation comes to mind, which has been 100% of the time lately, I would focus my thinking on the people’s negative qualities and actions, or more aptly at their lack of follow through.

“If we understand the underlying cause of what we think of as bad in someone, instead of being hateful, we will be compassionate. For is not every soul inherently good? A saintly person will hate the disease but love the diseased.”― Radhanath Swami

At this point I cannot change the situation.  I have to wait and hope that people will act as they should, and yet I would catch myself getting angrier and angrier over the situation.  That anger set the tone for my entire day.  I was short with my sister and my boss.  I was just not a great person to deal with.

I watched this video and my thinking shifted.  I realized I was being a fly.  I decided to become a bee and refocus my energy on the positive.  Even though these people are not doing right by me at the moment, they have positive qualities also, even if I have to dig deep to find it. Every time this situation comes to mind I find something positive about the person and focus on that.

Shifting my thinking has not changed the circumstances and situation, but it changed me. It changed my day. There are still plenty of great things going on in my life.  There are still so many blessings that I was ignoring. Any time spent focusing on the negative is a waste of precious time.

This short video also helps us to be aware that we may be too hard on ourselves and only focus on what we consider our flaws and weaknesses.  Lets be more like the bee and seek and focus on the positive, the bright, the sweet.  

I wish you a sweet, safe and blessed day! ♥♥

Preparing for good bye and ready for hello

22 Wednesday Apr 2020

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“Oh, poor human! You have so many dreams, but so short period of time! You are living in the ocean of desires, but dying in the deserts of limited time! Oh, poor human!”― Mehmet Murat ildan

What happened to Wednesdays? Since I started working from home, about 1 month ago, I haven’t seen a Wednesday yet.  Every week it jumps from Tuesday to Thursday. It is the weirdest thing.  Is anybody else feeling the same thing or is it just me? 

I am making a point of not missing this Wednesday, tomorrow. We shall see…

“When a man has little time, he must take care to maintain his calm. We must act as if we had eternity before us.”― Umberto Eco

As I mentioned in the prior post I am busier than usual. Besides all that I already do at my job, and taking longer to do it since my set up at home is not ideal, I am now dealing with organizing our relocation.  It turns out I will only go back to my office in NY City to pack.

I have also been busy with getting all the applications filled out and the computations calculated for the PPP government loan.  I thought that we, my job, would be immune to this crisis, but no one really is.  The energy market has been so insane that most of our customers are too scared to move. So our business, which is mostly in Crude Oil and Ethanol, has suffered drastically. 

“The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value. I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress and grow.”― Thomas Paine

We had to fill applications 3 times due to each time being transferred to a different vendor/department.  Each time we were promised that we would not lose our place in line.  Guess what? we lost it.  So we didn’t get the loan on the first go, and we are now waiting to see if we can still get it.  

I have been reading about all the big public companies that applied and got huge loans.  That was never the intention of this program, but then again that is often the case, the ones that need the most never get it.  And I am not even talking about my firm, we need it, but there are others that need the most.  I would like to see all the little local businesses get help before all others.

“I looked up fairness in the dictionary and it was not there.”― William Giraldi

Now going back to this move that my boss has been talking about forever.  It is happening now. Instead of an office in Manhattan we will now have an office in New Jersey for the employees that live in that area and an office in my city, New Rochelle, for the employees that live in the NY area. or all that is 

I will be working 5 blocks from my apartment.  My commute will be a 5 minute walk.  This move will save me $250.00 for the train pass and 1 hour of commuting a day.  

It is also a new beginning in a way.  I love new beginnings.  I was really bored and unhappy at my job.  This gives me a chance to like it again or to realize that I am really done with it.

“We get a second chance at everything, including our mistakes.”―  Christopher X. Shade

It feels bittersweet. I have been working in Manhattan for almost 20 years. I thought I would have a chance to say a proper goodbye.  I don’t even know what I mean by a proper good bye.  

It is as if I am quitting Manhattan cold turkey. No time for goodbyes.  I know I am being a bit dramatic.  It is not as if I can’t ever go back.  I only live 30 minutes away by train and I am sure I will go back every now and then for a show, museum or a drink with someone.

At the end of the day my list of struggles is long (having some personal financial issues that I am losing sleep over, but who isn’t?), but my list of blessings continues to be immense! I am never losing sight of that!

“When we lose one blessing, another is often most unexpectedly given in its place.”― C.S. Lewis

I have to go now, there is an electrician wanting to know how many outlets I want in each wall, there are boxes to order, there are vendors to be notified, the list is endless. 

Keep safe, healthy and creating joy every day.

“It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.”― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

 

 

Smile, no matter what, smile!

19 Sunday Apr 2020

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“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”― Thich Nhat Hanh

Another day in quarantine world. I hope you are happy and positive, planning for the future, but above all I hope you are in the present. I hope that whatever you are doing right now you are 100% present and enjoying it. 

There is no need to be productive, busy, creative, etc.  There is no need for anything other than just be.  Be where you are, stay where you are and make the best of it with the ones that you are with.  Make memories!

In the beginning of the quarantine,  for me about a month ago,  I had grand ideas.  I imagined learning a new language, doing several mosaic projects, reinventing myself, etc.

That is far from what has been happening.  It turns out that I have no time for anything. I will explain my lack of time in the next post.

In the meantime: Be here now! Be in the moment, find reasons to smile and be grateful. Make memories!

I know some are having a harder time than others, but still, smile.  You are alive, smile 🙂

Smile
Music by Charles Chaplin, Lyrics by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons

Smile, though your heart is aching
Smile, even though it’s breaking
When there are clouds in the sky
you’ll get by
If you smile through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You’ll see the sun come shining through
for you

Light up your face with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness
Although a tear may be ever so near
That’s the time you must keep on trying
Smile what’s the use of crying
You’ll find that life is still worthwhile
If you’ll just
Smile

“If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love. Don’t be surly at home, then go out in the street and start grinning ‘Good morning’ at total strangers.”― Maya Angelou

Words from Albert Einstein – From Crisis to Change, Community, Caring and Contribution

17 Friday Apr 2020

Posted by in Daily Life, Finding Me

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We often like to plan, to dream, but also to complain and do nothing.  Often we know what we want, we know what we need to do to achieve it, but we don’t want to get out of our comfort zone to go get it. 

Our routines both comfort us and imprison us. 

Things only change when we decide to change.  Often just making a decision is not enough. Often we don’t change unless we are forced to change.  Now is the perfect time to take a look around and most important take a look within and make the changes that you have been thinking and talking about it.

Are you still making excuses not to change?

“Let’s not pretend that things will change if we keep doing the same things.  A crisis can be a real blessing to any person, to any nation. For all crises bring progress. Creativity is born from anguish, just like the day is born from the dark night. It’s in crisis that inventiveness is born, as well as discoveries made and big strategies. He who overcomes crisis, overcomes himself, without getting overcome.

He who blames his failure to a crisis neglects his own talent and is more interested in problems than in solutions. Incompetence is the true crisis. The greatest inconvenience of people and nations is the laziness with which they attempt to find the solutions to their problems. There’s no challenge without a crisis. Without challenges, life becomes a routine, a slow agony. There’s no merit without crisis. It’s in the crisis where we can show the very best in us. Without a crisis, any wind becomes a tender touch. To speak about a crisis is to promote it. Not to speak about it is to exalt conformism. Let us work hard instead. Let us stop, once and for all, the menacing crisis that represents the tragedy of not being willing to overcome it.” – Albert Einstein

We are all here on a journey.  Each person having a different cross to bear.  If we can all just be extra kind to our fellow traveler.  If we can help each other along the way.  Our true merit is not on how much money we have in the bank or how in shape we are; our true merit is how we contribute to make this world a better place for us all.  

Changing the world starts with being kind to each other.  Could you be doing more? Can you be kinder?  Can you make somebody else’s life easier?  Sometimes just a smile can change a person’s outlook.  

Change yourself and the world will change.

“Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to a divine purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: That we are here for the sake of other men —above all for those upon whose smile and well-being our own happiness depends, for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day, I realize how much my outer and inner life is built upon the labors of people, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received and am still receiving.”― Albert Einstein

This is a time that makes me realize how we are all connected and dependent on each other.  I like being alone, but no man is an island.  We all need one another.  I am being helped by so many people that don’t know me and every day makes my life easier. 

There are so many people that are out there working, risking their lives and that of their families to make our lives better.   Some of those people have jobs that have been often looked down upon but that if they were not being performed society would turn to chaos and crumble. From the fruit pickers to truck drivers, from sanitation workers to delivery people, they are humbly contributing to make society function.  And for that I immensely grateful.

The invisible ones have now become visible and needed.

I am not taking anything or anyone for granted anymore.  I will pay more attention.  I will do more.  There is always more to be done.  There is always someone to be grateful to.

I am grateful for you.  For spending time reading my words!  Be safe and be blessed! ♥

“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” ― Albert Einstein

 

 

 

 

“Because paper has more patience than people. ” ― Anne Frank

12 Sunday Apr 2020

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“I’ve found that there is always some beauty left — in nature, sunshine, freedom, in yourself; these can all help you.”― Anne Frank

Today I thought of Anne Frank.  She was a young girl born in Germany.  Later her family moved to the Netherlands to escape Hitler’s persecution of Jews.   When the Nazi occupied the Netherlands, her family had to go into hiding. 

For 2 years the family hid in a small attic. They were not able to go outside and had to remain quiet during the day.   While in hiding she wrote a diary.  That diary was later published.  She died young but her writings have survived 

I think about what she went through. Not only her, but everyone at the time of the Nazi occupation.  She was basically imprisoned, but she didn’t let her situation consume her.  She escaped in her writing.  She had hopes and dreams.  She planned for the future.   She still believed in the goodness of people and in love. 

If you want to read more about her, you can check the Anne Frank Museum: https://www.annefrank.org  and/or Wikipedia:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Frank

Reading about Anne Frank, her story and writings inspires me and it helps me to keep it all in perspective.  Things can always be worst.  We still have so much to be grateful for. 

Our minds imprison us, not our circumstances.  Four walls is not a prison, our minds and thoughts dictate our situation.  The most important thing is kindness and respect. Kindness to respect and not to judge.  Kindness to help if you, and let it go if we can’t.

“It’s really a wonder that I haven’t dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.  I simply can’t build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery, and death. I see the world gradually being turned into a wilderness, I hear the ever approaching thunder, which will destroy us too, I can feel the sufferings of millions and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think that it will all come right, that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and tranquility will return again.”- Anne Frank

Like her I am a dreamer, a planner, a believer.  I believe in an amazing future.   It is not only a belief, it is a certainty.  Tomorrow will always be better than today. That knowledge is comforting. 

Dream a little, or a lot.  Let your imagination soar.  Be whatever and whoever you want in your dreams.  Don’t limit your imagination.  Go as crazy and as wild as you can.

I also believe in the goodness of people.  People are good, they want to do good. There are heroes all around us.

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As longs as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.”― Anne Frank

I try hard to remind myself to observe beauty, nature and the miracles all around us.  Nature is the best miracle of all.  Observing nature brings me close to God.  When I am not able to go outside, just looking at the sky from my window brings me close to nature. There is beauty and miracles all around.  All you have to do is look.

“Human greatness does not lie in wealth or power, but in character and goodness. People are just people, and all people have faults and shortcomings, but all of us are born with a basic goodness.”― Anne Frank

We are all the same.  We are all capable of great things but also capable of making mistakes.  Understanding that helps us be kinder, less judgmental and more forgiving of each other, and also of ourselves.

No one is perfect. Don’t expect perfection from yourself or from others. Don’t judge how someone chooses to spend their social distancing time.  Some people can handle it better than others.

Do what helps you get through at this time.  Do what brings you joy.  Do what brings you peace.  Dance, laugh, play.  Do nothing or everything and don’t feel guilty about it. Follow your heart.

“People who have a religion should be glad, for not everyone has the gift of believing in heavenly things. You don’t necessarily even have to be afraid of punishment after death; purgatory, hell, and heaven are things that a lot of people can’t accept, but still a religion, it doesn’t matter which, keeps a person on the right path. It isn’t the fear of God but the upholding of one’s own honor and conscience. How noble and good everyone could be if, every evening before falling asleep, they were to recall to their minds the events of the while day and consider exactly what has been good and bad. Then, without realizing it you try to improve yourself at the start of each new day; of course, you achieve quite a lot in the course of time. Anyone can do this, it costs nothing and is certainly very helpful. Whoever doesn’t know it must learn and find by experience that: “A quiet conscience makes one strong!”― Anne Frank

I thanked my mother today for giving my siblings and I such a great moral and spiritual base.  I grew up believing in good and wrong. I grew up watching acts of generosity.  I grew up believing in God, spirits, reincarnation, and the concept of karma. Those teachings have been a blessing in my life.

I hope you are safe and enjoying every moment of your life as best as you can!

… and because paper has more patience than people, I write 🙂

 

The Prayer

09 Thursday Apr 2020

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“In the silence of the heart God speaks. If you face God in prayer and silence, God will speak to you. Then you will know that you are nothing. It is only when you realize your nothingness, your emptiness, that God can fill you with Himself. Souls of prayer are souls of great silence.” –  Mother Teresa

What holds me together when I may feel like falling apart is God, more aptly, the believe in God.  My belief in a powerful being, a powerful force that watches over me gives me strength and it gives me wings.

Not only it holds me together at tough times, it lets me soar and exceed my circumstances.  It lets me dream and look for miracles.  I expect miracles, and normally I find them.  Or they find me.

“I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had no where else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.”― Abraham Lincoln

No matter what happens to me or whatever I may be facing I know that I will be okay.  I will always land on my feet.  For as long as I can remember I hold that knowledge in my heart and gut.

I  hope that you too have something or someone in your life from which you can draw strength and comfort.  Perhaps you are religious or spiritual and perhaps you believe in God.  You may call it God, Supreme Being, the Light, the Universe, the Creator, etc. 

“Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one’s weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.” — Mahatma Gandhi

There are things that brings me closer to God; that makes me feel connected to my inner God, that brings me peace and serenity.  Those things are: Prayers, gratitude, generosity, kindness, service to others, meditation. Also certain songs. Nothing better than a song about prayers.

“You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance.”― Kahill Gibran

At the top is one of my favorites songs by Josh Groban: The Prayer.  On the bottom there is a link of the same song performed by a beautiful daughter and her dad.  It is awesome.  I couldn’t decide which one to use on this post, so I am using both.

The Prayer

I pray you’ll be our eyes
And watch us where we go
And help us to be wise
In times when we don’t know
Let this be our prayer
When we lose our way

Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace
To a place where we’ll be safe

La luce che tu hai
(I pray we’ll find your light)
Nel cuore resterà
(And hold it in our hearts)
A ricordarci che
(When stars go out each night)
L’eterna stella sei
(Whoa)
Nella mia preghiera
(Let this be our prayer)
Quanta fede c’è
(When shadows fill our day)

Lead us to a place
(Guide us with your grace)
[Both:]
Give us faith so we’ll be safe

Sogniamo un mondo senza più violenza
Un mondo di giustizia e di speranza
Ognuno dia la mano al suo vicino
Simbolo di pace, e di fraternità

La forza che ci dà
(We ask that life be kind)
È il desiderio che
(And watch us from above)
Ognuno trovi amor
(We hope each soul will find)
Intorno e dentro a sé
(Another soul to love)

Let this be our prayer
Let this be our prayer
Just like every child
Just like every child

Need to find a place
Guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we’ll be safe

È la fede che
Hai acceso in noi
Sento che ci salvera

“Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts.”― Mother Teresa

 

 
 
 

Some days I thrive and some days I just survive

04 Saturday Apr 2020

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“It is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself.” ― Leon C. Megginson

Leon Megginson was talking about business on the quote above but I think it fits in every area of life.  I am strong and intelligent but what will help me now is how quickly I adapt to my new normal.

I often say that I can adapt to anything, but at some moments I catch myself dragging my feet.  I realize I am going through the 5 stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.  Sometimes I go through all the stages in the same day and in different orders.

I am grieving my normalcy, my routine.  I am mourning my freedom.  The freedom of coming and going without worry.

Denial: At first it didn’t seem real.  Up to 2 weeks ago I was still going to the office every day.  Still taking the train as if all is business as usual.  Pretending or perhaps just trying to believe that all was fine.  Then I realized that I was not doing my part to help contain this virus.  I decided that only people that need to go out should go out. So I stayed at home. Denial helps us handle things slowly and on our own terms.  

I wonder if being sane means disregarding the chaos that is life, pretending only an infinitesimal segment of it is reality.”― Rabih Alameddine

Anger: I am angry for the loss of my freedom.  My anger is directed towards our leaders that don’t know how to lead. Trump has done what he always does: make excuses, blame others and say how well he is doing.  Bolsanaro, the president of Brazil is even worst. Changing his mind at every second, yelling at reporters, blaming the media, calling this pandemic a hype.  It is hard to feel safe and secure when our leaders behave in such a way.

“How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.” ― Marcus Aurelius,  Meditations

Bargaining: I have been doing a lot of that.  Every night when I pray I ask God to let me be the one to get the virus instead of any of my family members.  I am volunteering that if anyone in my family is supposed to get this virus, please let it be me and not my parents and siblings. If my family escapes unscathed I promised to live more and worry less.  I will have more fun. I will live more.

“When you’re lost in those woods, it sometimes takes you a while to realize that you are lost. For the longest time, you can convince yourself that you’ve just wandered off the path, that you’ll find your way back to the trailhead any moment now. Then night falls again and again, and you still have no idea where you are, and it’s time to admit that you have bewildered yourself so far off the path that you don’t even know from which direction the sun rises anymore.”― Elizabeth Gilbert

Depression:  Some days I can see glimpses of depression.  Some days it is hard to see light at the end of the tunnel.  The feeling of powerlessness overwhelms me.  At those times is when I have to tap deep inside and turn to gratitude.  To me, gratitude is the antidote to depressive thoughts. I realize that the light I look for is not at the end of the tunnel or in some other abstract point in the future.  The light is inside of me and it is here now.  

“For after all, the best thing one can do when it is raining is let it rain.”
― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Acceptance:  I accept the situation more than I rebel against it.  What is the alternative?  It is right here staring us in the face. Nowhere to hide, nowhere to escape.  Acceptance allows us to move on, to create new habits, to even find joy in our days. When we accept the situation we can start to see the future and to plan tomorrow.  I can accept but I don’t have to like it.

It is time to adapt, reflect, be patient and persevere.  I know I am blessed and have nothing to complain about.  But still, I remind myself that all my feelings are okay.  I don’t need to feel sorry or ashamed for feeling scared and defeated some days.  It is okay not to feel like a superwoman every day.  Some days I am just a frightened little girl, and that is okay.

For now I pray, I love, I say thank you. I am kinder and more patient.  For now I am trying to clean my house and my mind.  I am getting far from people (physically) and closer to God.

And this, too, shall pass.  And we will be stronger than ever!

“Your whole life is inside your mind.  Your mind is the prism that refracts the entire universe.  Everything around you and within you comes from your mind.  You are your state of mind.  Your state of mind creates your view, or your window, on life.”-  Frederick Lenz