Category Archives: Youtube Videos

Make 2021 Amazing, choose: Possibilities, Opportunities, Faith, Hope, Forgiveness, Gratitude and Movement

31 Thursday Dec 2020

Posted by in Daily Life, Daily Message, Finding Me, Youtube Videos

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Do you have favorite words?  I do!  I have so many, on this eve of the New Year I chose some of my favorites to share with you. 😊

May you love the following words as much as I do.  Wishing you a magical New Year.  2020 turned out to be such a lousy lover! Dare to take a chance and fall in love with 2021.

Here are my word/wishes:

Possibilities – There in an entire world in this one word.  It means everything and more.  In 2021 embrace the beauty of possibilities.  It is a dream not dreamed yet, an unpolished diamond, a miracle being made. In each new second, in each new person there is a world of possibilities.  Be open to see it.

“If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of the potential, for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints, possibility never. And what wine is so sparkling, what so fragrant, what so intoxicating, as possibility!” ― SĂžren Kierkegaard

Opportunities – All around us there are opportunities.   They may come disguised as problems or challenges.  Don’t be deceived by that.  The bigger the challenge, the more opportunities it contain.  Look for it, it may not always be visible.  Create it, go after.  When it knocks, don’t ignore it, embrace it!

“Not knowing when the dawn will come I open every door.” – ― Emily Dickinson

Hope – Dare to dream and expect only the best.  No matter how dark the night is there are still stars out there and there is the sun rising every morning.  No matter what, hold on to hope; let it comfort and guide you.  Dare to expect miracles!   

“Hope
Smiles from the threshold of the year to come,
Whispering ‘it will be happier’…” ― Alfred Lord Tennyson

Faith –  Even if you are not religious, believe in something bigger than yourself.  Believe that you will be okay no matter what happens to you; no matter what life throws at you.  Make faith and prayer your best friends. If you have faith, you are never alone!

“The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.” ― Soren Kierkegaard

Forgiveness – Forgive yourself and forgive others.  Forgiveness is the best gift you can give yourself. Forget vengeance, choose grace! The harder it is to forgive someone, the more rewarding will be do it.  Forgive and be free!

“Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.

Gratitude – The key to happiness is gratitude.  Gratitude can change any mind set.  Challenge yourself to look for things to be grateful for every single day.  On the bleakest day, find gratitude to anchor you.  Say Thank you more often, to more people!

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

This morning I just discovered another word that I decided to add to this list.  I am not sure who created the clip below (if you do, let me know so I can give them credit), but I love it.

Movement – Every movement causes a flow of energy.  Keep moving, mind, body and soul.  Keep going, no matter what.  All it takes is one step, one foot in front of the other.  We all should be constantly growing and evolving.  Get up and Go!

“Well, I always know what I want. And when you know what you want–you go toward it. Sometimes you go very fast, and sometimes only an inch a year. Perhaps you feel happier when you go fast. I don’t know. I’ve forgotten the difference long ago, because it really doesn’t matter, so long as you move.” ― Ayn Rand

 

 

St. Francis of Assisi – The Peace Prayer

30 Thursday Apr 2020

Posted by in Daily Life, Daily Message, Youtube Videos

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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.

 

Be a honeybee and not a fly

25 Saturday Apr 2020

Posted by in Daily Life, Daily Message, Finding Me, Youtube Videos

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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! ♄♄