greatness

Get Your Greatness On!
Destined for Greatness

Destined for Greatness (Photo credit: kristlemaria)

We’ve rolled into February and January sure sped right on by!  How many resolutions have you already completed or can you say you still have in the works for this year?  I’m hoping you’re still smiling as you read this and are thinking to yourself, my GREATNESS is shining because I’m still on track.  My goals of X,Y,Z are still in motion — maybe not totally where I would like to be, but I haven’t quit.  You know, that’s huge!  You’re still plugging away.  You’ve taken a stance, you haven’t given up.  You are determined, you have integrity to hold on to the dream and see it to fruition.  You ARE Amazing!  You ARE DESTINED FOR GREATNESS!  Hold on tight and don’t let go!

In years past, I probably might have thrown in the towel on most things by now… but not so this year.  I’m determined to hold steady and make a go of it.  Maybe it’s a matter of growing older and realizing that I need to finish up a few things and I only have so much time to get it all done in.  There are old dreams still to be accomplished, and life is to be cherished each and every day – and never ever to be taken for granted! And then again, maybe I’ve just grown a lot wiser…. or it’s a combination of both.  Regardless, it’s worth the effort.  😉  And I’m sure blessed for doing so.

I can hear my friend saying now, “What does that say about your greatness?”  Ah, as I think about it — my greatness is shining in multiple ways, I’m not giving up on dreams and more importantly, I’m taking on new challenges — both with health and life in general.  I’m choosing to see these challenges specifically with a “heart lens” rather than a “mind lens” and the greatness blooms in multiplicity; regardless of the challenges in everyday things, there is always something to be great-ful for.

Since shifting to my new “lens” I’ve noticed a pattern of change – being able to accomplish more, and hone in where just a few months ago, that would have been impossible.  While still faced with some specific challenges, they no longer seem insurmountable.

Are you up to the challenge?  What’s your greatest dream?  Ever looked at it through your “heart lens?” Try it… the fresh look may give you a new perspective you’d like to see more of.  Get your Greatness on!

A Season of Joy and Love

Generally the holidays bring with them the hustle and bustle of commercialism and we get caught up with buying gifts, wrapping, mailing or maybe even doing online shopping and ensuring that the shipping of said gifts are taken care of. We plan parties or check our calendars often to make sure we can squeeze in one more event for our children, ourselves, our grandchildren or for work or church. At the end of it all, we’re exhausted and we Funny, Funny Mother has come to pass one more year again.

But with all the hustle and bustle, are we listening to those memories that come from our heart?  Those first stories we heard as children of the real meaning of Christmas – the reason of the season. A true celebration of Joy and LOVE.

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December has always been a special month for me.  Traditions are important to many families – including ours. As empty nesters, we know that some of the traditions we had as a family our children have adopted and continue to do in their homes. Others, they are establishing of their own and what wonderful ones those are.

This year, we decided to establish a new tradition – and break an old one. We used to decorate the trees the day after Thanksgiving.  This year, we decided to hold off for a while and wait until after the first of December.  The trees are still not decorated.  You know, it’s okay.  I”m not devastated.  We didn’t turn on the Christmas music until the 1st of December, no hurry, no rush… there was a reason.  We wanted it to be for the right reason, not because the some commercials said to do so.

New tradition:  Elf on the Shelf!  We’re taking it a bit further than the norm.  Our elf is going to find greatness and report it – and not just to Santa.  He’s going to report it back to the person he sees doing it.  We want all of our family to be in on this.  It’s going to be an interesting experiment and we’re so excited that we already have something in place that allows us to make sure we can make that happen.  Our elf arrives on Tuesday and we’re so excited – the challenge will be naming him!

We have so much to be thankful for – and it definitely is a season of Joy and Love — one to be shared with family.  Start a new tradition with your family this year.  Let that tradition begin in your heart and spread outward.  Greatness begins in your heart.  Share the joy you feel this year with your family and friends by sharing a tradition, old or new.

To our collective greatness in the journey this Christmas season,
Jan

greatitudes is open again….

A recent visit to a friend’s blog was very inspiring.  She’s discovered her greatness in a very multifaceted way and I love how she’s sharing it with the world.  I hope you’ll take the time to read and visit her often as well.

That being said….What message do we send?  What message are we living?  What message would you like to project?   Do you like what you see?  Are there things you feel you need to tweak a little more to reach that goal you are seeking?  How can you achieve it?
There are many who look and look yet never go anywhere – because they choose to look for what they’re seeking in others and never look at themselves.  What they are seeking can always be found in their heart.  It’s in their very core.  It’s always been there — it needs to be awakened.  It can be.  It was once. Find it again. Enjoy being you!  Find your Greatness and be YOU!

 

Reclaim your inner artist

photo credit: ©maya elaine {abbachibi.deviantart.com}

 Every time you suppress some part of yourself you are in essence ignoring the owner’s manual your Creator gave you and destroying your design. Choose to do great things with it; it makes no difference how much you are rewarded, or how much power you have.  Oprah

Whether done consciously or sub-consciously, our creativity is an important part of being well-rounded. Today is your day to open the book again, and entertain that inner artist and reclaim a dream.

Recharging….

Take time to recharge your batteries.  It’s hard to see where you’re going when your lights are dim.  H. Connelly

These days tired moms and dads are often tempted go and go until they drop. When we are in the “race” for the long haul, pacing is critical…. Or we may end up crawling to the finish line.  Only you can decide what your spirit and body can take, but it is the healthy person who stops to refresh along the way.  A 5 minute meditation, a short walk around the block, even pausing to take a 5 minute mental trip to the mountains has shown to lower blood pressure.  Listen to a soothing DVD on the ride home in the car; take care of yourself first.   Taking care of our battery makes the “ride” much smoother!   How can you nurture others when you are running on empty?

intensity is a good thing, embrace it!

“Wisdom, Happiness, and Courage are not waiting somewhere out beyond
sight at the end of a straight line; they’re part of a continuous
cycle that begins right here.   Benjamin Hoff

Greatness begins with you and it begins right now with this very breath.  In Howard Glasser’s, You Are Oprah we find;  Greatness is not about feeling JOY all the time.  NHA®   is not about “one note response” to everything.  Some people are afraid to acknowledge real emotions, perhaps because they don’t have effective methods of dealing with them.  NHA®   embraces the full range of emotions; we simply don’t shy away from them.  We can tap into the enormous fuel locked inside us all:  unlike fossil fuel, this kind of fuel (life energy) is renewable!  (Oprah, p 152)

Make today a greatness filled day!  Take some time to embrace your emotions whatever they are. Your “intensity” is a good thing – it is your life energy!  Embrace it.

Marvel at the Greatness

“Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a
little flower.”  Hans Christian Anderson

I’ve always marveled at the beautify of a sunrise or sunset. The colors and formations of the clouds and how magnificent and amazing each is and none equals another. Do you remember the days as a teen when you used to “bake” to get the perfect tan every summer?  And now you cover up but still love to feel the “heat” of the rays of the sun on your face even if it’s just for a few gentle seconds – turning just so to get that perfect “zap”  because it feels so good!

Or do you pause in your garden and marvel at the miracle of a budding flower as it gently unfolds noting each petal, curling outward in magnificent color and beauty and uniqueness?

Behold you!  Grow in your own greatness, look towards the greatness that is you!

reach out

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”
Charles Dickens

Today is YOUR day to reach out.  I promise you won’t be disappointed and the person(s) you help won’t be either. And maybe, just maybe they’ll reach out and extend a hand to someone else in return to pay it forward as well in  an expanding circle of ripples.

growing responsible

“If you make it a habit not to blame others, you will feel the growth of the ability to love in your soul, and you will see the growth of goodness in your life.”
— Leo Tolstoy

Take control of your responsibilities and challenges.  Make it your choice today; from this point forward – it really does feels good from the inside out. Try it on for size today. Wrap your arms around it.  Make it your goal today and for the rest of this month to see the best in yourself and be responsible for your actions.  If you make a mistake, take ownership of it.  It’s really okay.  Reset. Take a breath and start over from there.

Let’s keep it simple. Journal the next two weeks.  Notice the changes.  Come back and visit this entry….and answer the following:

There’s a change in your stature, what have you personally noticed?
Personal relationships shift – family, friends, and colleagues – are you noticing a change in any of these since you’ve taken a stance? Have you been keeping a journal of any of these?
How does this new responsibility feel?
What have you learned?

Your GREATNESS is growing!

 

 

twinklings… don’t miss them!

Universe Today

“In the external scheme of things, shining moments are as brief as the twinkling of an eye, yet such twinklings are what eternity is made of — moments when we human beings can say “I love you,” “I’m proud of you,” “I forgive you,” “I’m grateful for you.” That’s what eternity is made of: invisible imperishable good stuff.”  Fred Rogers

These are the exquisite moments that exist every day.  Hundreds of moments, maybe thousands of moments often overlooked because we’re too busy, hurried, harried or occupied.  These are our “teaching” moments with our children. A “loving  or sharing” moment with our spouse.

Sharing a Recognition of Greatness with a family member or even a stranger can often make the difference in their day for good or bad.  Often these statements only take a mere five to ten seconds of your time and if you really want to get wordy, 30 seconds of your time by adding on values and traits you want to see that person exhibiting or admire in that person.  For an example of this, see this blog.  Wouldn’t you have loved to be on the receiving end of Howard’s recognition?

Next time you’re out and about, take a few seconds to say thanks for a job well done in a very specific way.  Not just “thank you” or “good job.”

Don’t miss an opportunity for a  “twinkling” today – share one with your loved ones