Happy Friday!

It's Friday and I'm feeling the need for humor today!  Some days I tend to think too much and too many thoughts.  This morning I was up at 6:15 which is early for me and my mind has been going too much!

Happy Friday everyone and have a great weekend!

 

Fear

I just have a few minutes to type out some thoughts this morning, but I'd like to start blogging more than once a week so I'll take the few minutes I have and run with it!

My first thought is about blogging in general.  The more blogs I read, the more writers (I mean actual writers) I see who are blogging.  And then I think that some of these writers may be reading my thoughts; I just hope my sentence structure isn't too awful!  English and writing were actually at the top of my favorite and best subjects in high school!

That thought leads me to the next one:  fear.  As I think of writers reading my typed out words and sentence structures with all of their flaws, I get a little fearful; fearful of how I write and fearful of how my thoughts come across.  I've wished for clarity of thought and a gift to communicate my thoughts clearly; I hope someday to have those wishes come true.

Fear can be a horrible thing if you let it take over your life.  It can be debilitating when you allow yourself to succumb to it by stopping anything you may be fearful of doing.  Fear can stop you from living your dream if you allow it.

On the other hand, fear can be a great teacher and an avenue for strength when you push through that fear and do whatever it is you're afraid of anyway.  I was afraid to blog; at least to blog about personal things, but I push through it (most days, anyway) and put my thoughts to paper and send them out into the vast universe we call the internet.  Who knows, maybe someone will relate and somehow be helped to know that they're not the only ones with struggles.

And now (okay, I don't think it's great to start a sentence with "and", but I'm not being paid so I'm going to break that rule) I think this is getting a little too serious, even for me.  I guess my point in these few paragraphs is that fear is a part of life and can, in fact, be a friend to us.  We just need to know when to stop because of the fear (when we're going to be harmed by something or someone) or move past it (in situations where we can become stronger).   Now, let's all go out and have a fearless day!

                                                                          

Where is That Magic Pill?

 Wow, I've been non-existent on my blog for a while, huh?  I've been traveling here and there and when I've been home I haven't felt much inspiration to write about.....until late last night.


I was watching television and saw a commercial for a new animated film coming out called Brave.  That was the first I'd heard about that movie, but the point in the preview that inspired me was the line (or something close to the line) which said, "I want a spell to change my fate." 

I want one of those!  Or one of those magic pills; is there such a thing?  I've been noticing my thoughts lately; they're not the ones I want or need to create the life I so desire.   I know that thought is the origin of our feelings and emotions which then leads to our actions.  My actions lately are not desirous, but even more than that, my thoughts (and I'm happy that I'm noticing them) are not conducive to any outcomes that I desire.

Wouldn't it be nice if there were a spell or a magic pill we could use to get rid of the negatives in our lives?   Can't I wave a magic wand or click my heels together 3 times and repeat my wish?  Maybe i have a pill in my cabinet or an incantation in a book (that would be in the public library since I don't have a book of incantations!)   I remember watching Bewitched (many years ago!) and wishing I could twitch my nose and have my house cleaned or things completed that I wasn't too happy to have to do on my own.  The truth was that I could do them without twitching my nose; I just wanted the shortcut.

Unfortunately there are no shortcuts or spells to changing negative thoughts or negative patterns; if there were such things, then when I had achieved the positive thoughts I wanted, where would be the lesson or the learning?  I honestly believe that we can have joy and even peace in times of struggle ( I do believe we can feel peace when we're on the path we're meant to be on). 

I was reminded this morning of  my belief that we have all the answers and solutions within us if we look inward and listen.  I acknowledge that I need the help of my Father in Heaven through prayer to help me find the answers or find the means to find the answers; I couldn't do it without Him.   We know what feels right and if we don't automatically know what feels right, we certainly can feel when something doesn't feel right.  (at least I seem to notice those "be careful of that" feeling at times). 

I guess my point is that we wouldn't really benefit from a magic pill or a spell to make our lives what we wanted; that solution just sounds so much easier.  But then again, there is some adventure in searching for the solution without the answer being handed to us in the very moment we want it. 

"You choose... whether to give up at the first obstacle or give it your all, to speak up or stay silent, to change what you don't like or let it change you.  With every (thought), word, every step you take, you define who you are----and create your future."

Z is for Zzzzz's

The final and 26th letter of the alphabet is Z!  How many words begin with Z that I commonly use in a sentence?  The Z word that applies in my life is Zzzzz - as in sleep.  I don't know if I can ever catch up on the amount of sleep that I've lost in my lifetime. 

I've been a night owl for most of my life; even as a child I fought my sleep.  I think I was always afraid I'd miss out on something if I went to sleep. 

As I'm getting a little older (in my mind it is only a little), I find that it feels so good to get more sleep and some nights I actually crave sleep.  I just wonder when I'll actually make myself go to bed at a reasonable hour; that generally happens only when I am exchausted.   Take tonight for example:  I was sleepy a few hours ago and felt like I needed to go to bed, but instead took care of a few last minute things that I needed to do and made the mistake of writing a quick e-mail and saw that someone had commented on my blog.  It doesn't take much to get me sidetracked away from sleep. 

Now that I've finished the A to Z Challenge (and three posts all in an hour!) I think I can go to sleep.   (If I can stop myself from checking comments on facebook!)

Y is for Yellow

I love yellow!  It's a bright, cheery, happy color; don't you think?  Whenever I have colored a sun in coloring books I have used yellow which produces the feeling of warmth and comfort.  What better feeling can you think of than laying in the sun (for a short time) and feeling the warmth of it? 

I use a country yellow to decorate my home with.  My kitchen walls are that wonderful, warm color; as are other decorative accents in some other rooms in my home.  I have been drawn to that country yellow for some time now; I'm sure that means something.  I must need the feeling it conveys, but whatever the reason I really love it. 

And finally, my personality color is yellow.  I took a personality test (years ago) called the Color Code in which I was defined as a yellow, but before I took that personality test I took one in which I was defined as a Chimpanzee (also yellow).  Chimps are fun animals, right? 

If I looked good in yellow clothes I'm sure I'd purchase some, but the main color in my wardrobe is black; go figure.  (black is a slimming color, right?)

X is for Extremes and Excitement

I know the A-Z Challenge is long past, but I  just need to finish it; I'm so close!  I wish I could blame my lateness all on being busy, but the truth is that I have been home and could have taken a few minutes to finish; it's all in my time management skills (which I blogged about a while back).

X is for Extreme.  I've had (for myself) an extreme three weeks.  I've experienced extreme excitement doing things and seeing places and experiencing things for the first time. My husband and I went on a cruise to the Caribbean with his family (our first cruise thanks to my Mother-in-Law).   I experienced extreme anxiety at our first port at Cozumel, Mexico when I couldn't find my passport before getting off the ship, only to run up to our cabin on the seventh deck (all by myself), feeling like I was the only person on the boat with it sinking and in returning in exasperation to my family to find out that it was in my back pocket!    I experienced some extreme adventure with cave tubing in Belize, eating what we were told was chicken but thinking it was iguana after all (my sister-in-law said she had a spine on her piece of chicken!),  zip-lining through a very beautiful jungle in Roatan, pushing through my fear of sharks and snorkeling off the coast of Roatan as well as being in the ocean with stingrays and even kissing one (on the Grand Cayman Island) and then snorkeling again (I had just gotten the hang of it when we had to quit; I think I could grow to love snorkeling!).   On the cruise ship we had an extremely pleasurable dining experience in the evenings and enjoyed lots of extreme laughter.

Then only to return home with a day for resting and day of cleaning before we had each of our four extra bedrooms full of loved ones for a week and then on to a time share with some extremely wonderful friends whom we haven't seen for several years.  Needless to say, I was extremely tired but extremely grateful for all of it when it ended this past Sunday. 

There's something about having extremes in my life that I love.  I love the highs and lows; the feeling of being high on a rollercoaster and then the feeling of coming down off of the high part.  Without extremes in my life, I'd feel a little flat, a little one-dimensional. 

Now that I've gotten to experience some new extremes I'm looking forward to some more new adventures; I think I could get used to it very quickly.  After all, life is short and it's a good thing to live every moment to its fullest, right? 

W is for Wishes

The A to Z Challenge has been over for several days, but I was out of town and still have w, x, y and z to finish so here goes.

In the story of Aladdin, he found some kind of old oil-type of lamp and in the process of shining it up a bit, released a genie who in gratitude to Aladdin allowed Aladdin three wishes.  I don't remember all of Aladdin's wishes but I've been thinking about what I might like to wish for if I had a genie to make them come true.

Having only three wishes would cause me to do some deep thinking to see what I really wanted.  Of course I'd love to have good health, a happy family, and peace on earth, and I already have so much, but there are a few things that I'd love to have that would help me along the rest of my journey.

Wish #1:  I'd love a clear and focused mind.  I sometimes have trouble focusing on one idea without my mind wandering off in another direction, making it more difficult to have clear thoughts.  I don't even know what it would feel like to have clear and uncluttered thoughts, but I'd love to experience clarity. 

Wish #2:  I'd love to have the communication skills to clearly communicate my thoughts so that others would understand them.  It's sometimes frustrating for me when I can't clearly communicate what I'm thinking or ideas that I have; better communication skills would be a wonderful gift!

Wish #3:  And I guess if I only get to choose one more thing (and boy, is this difficult!) then maybe I'd choose a career where I could help others and make a difference in people's lives.  Or maybe instead I'd like to have a decisive mind.   Or maybe my third wish would be to have a few more wishes granted? 

If you could have three wishes granted, what would they be?  And would you have as difficult a time choosing your wishes as I obviously have?