Progress - not perfection - stay active

Sometimes the mountain we must climb is inside our hearts and spirit.
Image: M Burgess - Mt. Charleston, NV

It is progress, not perfection that we are trying to achieve.
-AA Big Book

Are we a better person today than we were yesterday,
last year,
or even five years ago? 

If the answer to this question is yes, then we are living true to our potential. 

If a person spends time learning new things they are progressing. Too many times people set aside learning as a disagreeable activity. 

My run into darkness taught me a lesson I will never forget. Sometimes, we make poor choices, and we often have to live a lifetime of consequences for these decisions. The results may not be known to those around you or be evident to new people you meet, but inside each and every one of us there is a history of things we regret, feel guilty about, or are ashamed of. These are not who we are. We are an accumulation of experiences, some positive, some negative. The energy that makes up who we are shines through if we continue on a path that is ever learning. Sometimes these thoughts and memories are like a mountain we must climb inside our hearts and spirit.

Ask yourself:

• What do you really want to know? 
• How much do you want to know about this world? 
• How can these things be accomplished? 

 -- Meditate -- Treat Yourself Well

Do you have a prayer ritual or a meditation routine? Is there a God or higher power at work in your life? If not, consider getting the spiritual base in your life solid. Begin with a peaceful morning and throughout the day, take a timeout -- even if it is only for five minutes with a pleasant thought in your head and a breathing action. The meeting I attended Saturday instructed us to breath in faith and breathe out fear. I like this better than the one one one one -- and and and and -- breathing method that I know. 

meditation and spirituality

Include positive statements in your waking moments and rituals.I have to constantly remind myself not to call me stupid or ignorant. I have begun to say it out loud, "Stop calling me that!" I shout sometimes. The way we treat ourselves is a reflection of how we feel inside at times. This may also be a clue as how we would treat another human being. Once we bridge that relationship to ourselves that enlightens us to take good care of our friend (meaning ourselves) a new world begins to unfold. From this point on we can have good relationships with not only inner self, but those around us. 

To Thine Own Self Be True

How do you do that?

Ask more questions  --  Make a list

• How can I better take care of this person? 
• What does this individual really want to do? 
• What do I excel at? 

Ask these questions occasionally. Guage your future decisions on these answers. Yes, put a wish list and a bucket list together. Do a to do list for today, for this year. Shelter your mind from poisonous thoughts and actions and call to action an effort on your person. Do three things today that can be achieved in a short amount of time. Take on the world a list item at a time. See where you can conquer items in your life that hold you back. Checking those things off of your list is a feeling of satisfaction and it can often be a way to tackle a bigger chore or task or even a college degree. 

This is where I am at now; at 48 years old, I decided I needed a degree. Education and employment rule my life at the moment. That and a pair of wonderful guinea pigs. We will get to those later. I have homework to do. 

Be good to you, ok? Oh, and remember to smile sometime today. 

Find something to make you smile or laugh when you get down. It is a healing thing and an emotional bridge to a better state of mind. The cares of this world get too heavy at times and must be set aside if only for a bit so the spiritual and mental faculties can be given a chance to regroup. Focus on what is really important -- the emotional state of your mind and your health. 

Upheaval and stress led me to do one of two things in the past: fight or flight. Today, I still squirm a bit when life gets difficult, but I have the ability to stand in one place today and not run and hide. Facing difficulties are not always easy, but they are worth it. 

Learn to be Brave! 

Surviving

Turning from victim to survivor whether we are the ones victimizing ourselves through our choices or we are subject to life's unwelcome harshness isn't an easy process but it can be done. Being a survivor is a personal victory that no one else can do for you.

I know too many people who let the perpetual martyr rule their energies and attitudes. Taking the path out and becoming the person you want to be takes a lot of work. It takes a sense of focus on what you really want out of life and a lot of digging to get your mind wrapped around what it is going to take to put you there.

Set a goal. Make a list. I have my list and systematically over the past couple of years I have crossed  a lot things off of it. It's a bucket list of sorts, but it is, also, a to do list. I have been able to get some organizing done so I can get to other projects.

We spend so much time projecting what will be and what happened to us that we fail to see what's really in front of us at the moment. Taking that old persona and walking away from it will need the courage of creating new habits.

I have walked away from bad relationships, endured some abusive situations, and survived some harsh events in my life. Of those times, I have heard similar tales from others and they still cling to it like an insecurity blanket. They give themselves an excuse to live a crappy life.

We have a choice. Be happy with what we have or suffer. I personally choose to be happy. This option doesn't happen on it's own, however, it takes work. I wake each day and my attitude is terrible some days. Those days are the ones that hide the deepest blessings.They are the ones that make me feel the most alive At some point during my day I will remember.  They uncover memories of where I was at one time and how grateful and blessed I am to be where I am today.

Drop the history and walk away from things that are harmful to your spirit and your mind. You deserve a great life and you can build one for yourself. If you only try!

Growing Up

My life at a glance 02/19/2012

Swing shift in Las Vegas makes it difficult to tackle what most people deem a normal life. I have to shop for groceries after midnight sometimes and the things I must tend to on the 9 to 5 hours are jammed into the 2-3 days off I am allotted every week. I live an interesting schedule. Try to add a relationship to that and it gets challenging. I have a special someone in my life at this time I only see once a week as he is on a similar schedule only he works more hours than I do. 

Growing Up:

My purpose for this blog is to streamline the emotions I feel about my current situation and to examine my life goals and perhaps set some new goals for balancing out the worn and frustrated energies that cause disharmony. I live a great life. I have wonderful people in my social circle and I want to be a comfortable benefit to them instead of an emotional burden. Bringing peace to my inner self and sharing kindness to those I am involved with are my objective.

First of all, I have positive influences to gleen advice from. I am interested in a healthy living environment from the way I treat my mind and body to the way I live at home and associate myself with like minded souls. I have at my disposal many sources of how to live a happy, joyous, and free life. I have, also, the strength I have developed over the challenging years of my life and courage to face down many of the hardships I lived through in these times. I have survived many heavy emotional obstacles and risen through them with grace. I know that through a positive outlook things that seem unbearable, unjust, or wrong are hiding a wonderful blessing. I must simply trust that I can get through it. 

Prayer and meditation are important tools in living free of the emotional weights that hold us down from enjoying our lives fully. I have practiced these techniques and have enjoyed vast benefits from doing so. I want to implement this back into my daily activity. Spiritually minded I can heal the hurts I have endured and set aside the negative emotions that hold me back from enjoying a life that I truly have earned through the hard work I have set forth. I have a strong belief in a loving and merciful God. This faith has helped me where no other source dared go.

I watched "The Secret" the other night. This along with some of the other positive spiritual books, movies, programs are what I am using to guide myself. The purpose of all of this is to reflect what I have learned and let it rule my life. Life led on emotional turmoil is not a life but a series of storms fit to destroy good things.

These are some of my mantras recently:

I will be happy. I will love. I will learn. I will enjoy. I will earn. I have a good life. I have a good love. I have a good family. I have a wonderful life. 

So, I shall take a new journey. Where this ends up I do not know, but it seems like it's off to a good start. 

In the following blogs I will examine some of the things that have weighted me down over the years. Some of these have been addictions. Addictions to emotions, substances, things, people, and excuses are just as destructive as any drug or alcohol problem. Freeing my mind and spirit of compulsive behavior is my assignment. Successfully shedding them is the goal.