Love and Fear

I believe we act of two behaviors, fear and love. Under fear, we have such emotions as prejudice, selfishness, anger, jealousy, hatred and ignorance. Under love we have patience, tolerance, understanding, compassion, and forgiveness just to name a few. If we act out of fear, we will almost always make the wrong choices. We act of love, we are most certain to make the right choices. The key is to have the courage to choose love every time we are presented with having to make a choice. I once read, the true warrior is the person who bares their heart to the world, knowing that even if the smallest fly landed on it, it would be the most excruciating pain. Still, the warrior would do it again and again for the sake of love. We must recognize love is not a Hallmark greeting card. Love is all inclusive. It is often vulnerable, painful, lonely and heart breaking. So is it really worth choosing love and giving of yourself completely? I believe this with every breathe I take. Nothing lets you soar higher than to give your heart totally and passionately to yourself, family, friends, community, career and that one special someone. Loving completely takes great courage but is worth every tear you shed for love. I promise if you choose love over fear, you will live a life that is worth living.

Principles Before Personalities

I often pray for inspiration. Sometimes I just let my Chi flow in whatever direction freedom travels. I realize my true conviction is to the philosophy of “principles before personalities”. This philosophy is the foundation for my life. It is a principle of respect. A respect for everyone that I am blessed to share life’s moments with, no matter how difficult those moments may be. My conviction is strengthened when adversity rears its ugly head and begs to be fed. It is my genuine belief in dreams and the Wizard of Oz that challenges me to offer respect when I am disrespected. It is the love I find in the smile of a child that says, “Do not give up five minutes before the miracle”. I will forever believe that the true good in all of us, outshines the mistakes we make as humans out of our egos and fears. It is my love for life that allows me to forgive myself and others. I offer you my love, humility and respect always...

There Is No Such Thing As Try

When I think of qualities such as commitment, determination, self-discipline and confidence, what comes to mind is excellence. Excellence truly defines being your best. I believe being my best helps me become a better person. It means giving 100% all the time. I never want to do anything halfway. It instills the negative thought pattern that halfway is acceptable. It allows me to make excuses and set myself up for failure. It allows me to say, “At least I tried”. As Yoda, the great Jedi master said, “Either you do or don’t, there is no such thing as try”. By giving 100% to everything I do, I never fail because I have done my best. And each time I do my best, I become a better person. It is this type of positive thinking that makes everything possible. It says, “ I can do anything!” So I encourage you to commit to being your best by giving 100%. I believe if you do so, the quality of your life will improve greatly. You will think the best thoughts and live the best life. Can you hear Yoda talking to you?

Peace Within

I would like to share a saying from a great Buddhist monk. He said, “Peace is something we find within ourselves, not in the world around us.” In a world that often and currently does not offer us much peace, I would encourage everyone to turn inward for the peace we all seek. I believe, for me, this is the key to finding balance in this world. It is the foundation for building the quality life we all deserve. A life filled with peace, love and serenity.

Doing the Right Thing

“Doing the right thing is hard; so are the consequences if you don’t”.
- Dave Chamberlein

Doing the right thing is not always easy. I learned today that in order to know what is the right thing to do; we must consider the consequences that could or would happen based upon our choices. This sounds simple but in reality, can often be very hard. So what determines the choices we make? A friend read somewhere, “The quality of our morals and values are based upon our desires and attachments”. If you are attached to one way of thinking you will not be flexible to make a better choice if needed. Even if you desire something inappropriate, you may be willing to compromise your morals and values to obtain it. So then maybe we should base our choices on a higher moral and value thinking like spirituality? I do believe that a sense of spirituality is the foundation to “Doing the right thing”. It allows us to act, not from our own desires and attachments, but from a spiritual place of love, peace and balance. Do we do the wrong things sometimes? Yes. The key to overcoming this is in forgiving ourselves and others with compassion and love. This lets us know today is a new day and we do not have to repeat the mistakes of our past. We can do better and be better than the mistakes we have made. It is from this place of love and kindness that we can truly embrace, “Doing the things is hard; so are the consequences if you don’t”.

Live For Today

Life is filled with many obstacles. I believe that every obstacle is an opportunity to better ourselves. Is that not our purpose here? To evolve into the best person we can be? The only way to do this, is to face every obstacle head on, with a conviction and determination that says “It is okay to make mistakes but it is not okay to give up”. The minute we give up, we lower our self esteem and settle for less. We say to ourselves, giving up is okay. For me, this is unacceptable. I will not sit by, as a spectator, watching the parade go by. I want to be on the lead float, waving my baton, living each breath like it is my last. I encourage you to do the same. I challenge you to step up to the plate, and swing that bat with all your heart. As the great Babe Ruth once said, “Every strike out brings me closer to the next home run.” So I say, live life like this is your first day, your last day and only day.