Gather random bits of wisdom that speak to me

People come into your life for a Reason, a Season or a Lifetime. When you know which one it is for a person, you will know what to do for that person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually. They may seem Godsent, and they are! They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrongdoing on your part, or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered, and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn. They bring you an experience of peace, or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an Unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons: things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person, and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

^{~found on facebook of all places, but I know it originated elsewhere and contains the thoughts/words of many people}

“Your children need your presence more than your presents.”
- Rev. Jesse Jackson

—>When we open to a greater flow of Universal Power and Intelligence in our world, we also need to let go of the way we want it. Although miracles always unfold in a very natural manner, they often come through unexpected channels. Whenever we hold tight, mentally or physically, to having things unfold “our way,” we run the risk of delaying our good, diminishing it or even blocking it all together. “What” is up to you. “How” is up to Spirit. ~from ‘Shortcut to a Miracle’

I’ve thought about this a lot lately. I’ve noticed that many times I do get what I want, but not in the way or time-frame that I was set on. If I could release the rigidity I have about the how/when/where of things I want then I could see more possibilities and opportunities for making it happen.

I need to be open to the gifts that come my way.

For example, if my car was no longer functional and I didn’t have the money to buy another one, I’d be left with a transportation problem. It’s probably not helpful to set my mind on getting a particular model or a brand new car to replace it. That’s a very specific focus and it tends to limit the chances of getting my basic needs met (having access to reliable and convenient transportation).

Instead, I could just put the fundamental need out there as a wish to the universe—I need a reliable, convenient way to transport myself and my family. Then the BIG thing is to remain open to the ways in which the universe offers to meet this need.

Maybe it’s a neighbor who offers to be available to drive us anywhere we need. Maybe it’s noticing that a new bus stop has been created on my street, or that the operating hours have been expanded so it fits with my schedule now. Or maybe it’s a friend offering me their old car when they buy a new one. And so on.

There are so many possibilities and so many gifts available when I stay open and receptive. Win-win solutions are easier to find.

“We tend to attract that which we love, fear, or steadily expect. So expect the best, even when negative circumstances appear—in fact, especially when they appear. When we expect less than what we want, we get less than what we want. [...] Consciously and consistently expect that everything is working to your greatest and highest good.”

from ‘Shortcut to a Miracle’

“Fear is faith in something negative. Be watchful about your thinking. Your thoughts magnetically attract others like themselves.”

from ‘Shortcut to a Miracle’

If I Had My Life To Live Over

Collected from one of those mass emails that came my way, but I actually like this one. It holds many nuggets of wisdom about how we choose to spend our time and what really matters. I pulled out the lines that are meaningful to me.

—I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren’t there for the day.

—I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

—I would have talked less and listened more.

—I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.

—I would have eaten the popcorn in the ‘good’ living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

—I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

—I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

—I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.

—I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.

—When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would not have said, ‘Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.’ There would have been more ‘I love you’s’ and more ‘I’m sorry’s.’

—But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute, look at it and really see it… live it and never give it back.

I wasn’t expecting to run across the first bit of material for this goal so quickly or to find it on 43things, but this just caught my eye in the sidebar:

“Because you understand ‘one’, you think that you also understand ‘two’, because ‘one’ and ‘one’ make ‘two’, but you must also understand the ‘and’.”