Discover

Hello, I would have to agree with Samuel's words of wisdom. This past year has been all about re-discovering myself. And as I have taken the time to rediscover myself, I have grown more and more comfortable in my own skin. I love the feeling because it is not from a place of conceitedness. It is from a place of gratitude. I'm so grateful for having another chance to live my life in a much better way than I was. Failures and mistakes don't need to be feared as we have been conditioned to think. Accept them for what they are and move on. Once you do that, you never what you will discover about yourself.
Thanks for visiting,
Janet :)

We learn wisdom from failure
much more than from success

We often discover what we will do
by finding out what we will not do

And probably he who never made
a mistake, never made a discovery

Samuel Smiles

Break Old Habits

Hi Everyone,
I hope you are doing well. I am doing good. This is a good loving kindness practice that I personally can appreciate. We all find it hard some days to accept ourselves unconditionally without wanting to change or fix a shortcoming. I often find myself not accepting life on life's terms. The world is just not the way we want it, our bosses, you know what I mean! Our bills, our siblings etc. Most of us are conditioned not react to pain by closing down our hearts. The common response is to react with unkindfullness, aggression and hatred. These eventually as we learn time and time again are nonconstructive and never change anything. Try these loving kindness phrases instead and it will help you to bring up positive feelings and help break old habits. "May I be held in compassion", "May I free from pain and sorrow." "May I be at peace". And to those who challenge you to abandon your heart and turn to anger simply say the the same phrases to them, "May you be held in compassion" along with the other phrases. I know it may take a while to truly break these habits, myself included. Even at 45 yrs of age my self development is like the saying, "Progress, Not Perfection". When I think of that saying in my head it allows me to take a deep breath and start over.
Thanks for visiting my blog,
Take Care,
Janet :)

Accept Yourself

Accept Yourself

Hi Everyone,
I hope you are doing well. I am doing good, I think this meditation is a critical step on the road to self improvement and spirital growth. I have sturggled with this, although I find as I get older I have become more forgiving towards myself and accepting of my faults. I wake up everyday teachable and hope to stay that way. Weather you take time each day to fully meditate, which would be considered formal meditation or you simply speak these words to yourself informally to change the old tapes in your head, the next time you feel unhappy with yourself for one of your shortcomings that leads you to feel inferior to others and may lead to isolation and a feeling of being seperate from the world, relax take a few breaths and focus on what aspect of yourself you have trouble accepting. Maybe you have trouble making decisions, or you consume to much caffine! When you bring that to your mind try to surround that thought with loving kindness and feel the warmth melt your feelings of aversion and dislike as you begin to accept this part of yourself. Simply say, "May I accept this part of myself", "May I love myself just as I am." Eventually what you thought was so unacceptable about yourself will turn into more self love and a better state of self worth. Thanks for visiting my blog,
Take Care,
Janet :)

Always Looking Up

Hi Everyone,
I hope you are doing well. I am doing good. I had to write today to share with you how inspired I was yesterday after watching Michael J Fox on Oprah. He spoke of all the loss that came with his disease, but that with each loss he chose to view it as a choice to move his life in a different direction, as we all should in our lives. Having just posted about loss in my life this was an aha moment for me. Bing did say to me it was a choice of how I dealt with it, but I still found myself some days like Michael one step ahead, two steps behind. With the idea of taking my losses and filling them with another purpose to grow in my life I feel this will be the key for me as I process my grief. I feel a new sense of gratitude for my life seeing how he struggles each day and yet is so emotionally healthy. I will share some of his book with you. I am looking forward to reading it myself. Thank you Michael for your inspiration and all you do for your cause. I hope this inspires you as well.
Thanks for visiting my blog,
Take Care,
Janet :)
Always Looking Up alludes to an emotional, psychological, intellectual, and spiritual outlook that has served me throughout my life and, perhaps, even saved me throughout my life with Parkinson's. It's not that I don't feel the aching pain of loss. Physical strength, spontaneity, physical balance, manual dexterity, the freedom to do the work I want to do when I want to do it, the confidence that I can always be there for my family when they need me—all of these have been, if not completely lost to Parkinson's, at least drastically compromised. The answer had very little to do with "protection" and everything to do with perspective. The only unavailable choice was whether or not to have Parkinson's. Everything else was up to me. I could concentrate on the loss—rush in with whatever stopgap measures my ego could manufacture. I could rely on my old friend from the '90s, denial. Or I could just get on with my life and see if maybe those holes started filling in themselves. Over the last 10 years, they have, in the most amazing ways. While not a strict narrative, Always Looking Up describes a journey of self-discovery and reinvention. The story is a testament to the consolations that get me through and give meaning to every area of my life. For everything this disease has taken, something with greater value has been given—sometimes just a marker that points me in a new direction that I might not otherwise have traveled. So, sure, it may be one step forward and two steps back, but after a time with Parkinson's, I've learned that what is important is making that one step count; always looking up.