I Choose ~

PLUS 3 (+3)

Blessed day all ~

Hoping today finds you awakening to new adventures and new opportunities, not settling for anything less than what you are able give in return.

Stop and consider all that you have in your life at this very moment and ask yourself these three important questions:

1) What/who do I love most in this world?

2) What can I NOT afford to live without? 

2) If today was my last day on this earth, what do I want my mark on it [the world] to look like? (What is your legacy?)

Now, stop and consider how these decisions play into your health and the personal decisions you make each and every day.

The Story: Yesterday, I hit another milestone as I turned 44 years of age. The milestone . . . I have lived 3 years longer than my mother who passed away at the age of 41 from a massive stroke. She was thoughtful, beautiful, and inspiring to so many who knew her.  To this day, I still hear stories about my mother from friends and family that are still around to tell those stories. From a 12-year old point of view at the time, she could do no wrong. So if I were to ask my mother the three important questions I posed above, here is what I believe her response would have been:

1) children, husband, family and friends

2) cigarettes

3) love

My mother's choice to make cigarettes part of her lifestyle cost her dearly. Stop and consider the choices you make regarding your health. Now, look beyond your individual body and think about the circle of influence you have on those closest to you - your spouse, your children, extended family and friends. You have the ability to choose and influence not only your journey but your destination. Let your experiences teach you, and those around you, that life is worth experiencing at its fullest. 

I challenge you. How can you make your health just as important as those individuals/things you cannot live without?  What is your +3 moment?

Put your plan in place and then put it in motion. Nothing idle ever moves.

Blessings and Namaste~

Waiting ~

Hoping this day finds you energized about the start of school; passionate about learning a new skill to keep you sharp-minded; hopeful that a new day brings new opportunity and mindful that we don't waste it.

Have you ever sat and waited for something? How many times? How often did it not come? Now ask yourself, "if I took the initiative and tried to make something happen for myself would I be more satisfied with the result?"

Life is about choices. We can either choose to be a participant or choose to be an observer. Of course, there are benefits and risks to both sides. But if you are stuck in the middle and not choosing either, well then, you are really in an interesting place we call "limbo."  Limbo is the place where vanilla, gray, neutral, "maybe," and someday resides. How many people do you know live in limbo? I know several. At times, I have even caught myself living in this limbo place. It is a form of waiting as though we are attaching an action verb to limbo and forcing it to move. Yet, what are we waiting for?  

We are lucky enough to have been given the exact amount of years, days, hours, minutes and seconds of life up until this very moment. We may not know what next year or next week brings, but who's to say we will be given that chance? Tomorrow is a gift, and today is the present. Therefore, stop waiting for it/him/her to arrive. Go out and take on the day with the confidence of a child who has no concept of waiting. I have 3 of them living in my home and they remind me that life is about living, not waiting.  I have faith in you.

Blessings,
Dawn

Into the Light

May the light in you shine upon the darkness and illuminate all that is good.  May you share your gifts and talents with others so that peace and goodness rains down. May all that unsettles you be put at ease and blessings bestowed upon you with each breath. ~God bless