Everyone you meet….

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I came across this quote today after a discussion with a new friend just yesterday on the same topic.   Everyone, yes, everyone you meet has something to teach you.  And least you think it’s just the people you “like,” think again.  In my own way of thinking, some of the people that we don’t particularly get along with have the most important lessons to teach us.

I’ve heard it said that you dislike in other people what you dislike about yourself. I don’t feel that this is always the case, but certainly sometimes it’s true.  I can spot in others traits that I know to be true of myself or perhaps were true at one time.  In either case, they provide me with an opportunity for self-examination.

And then there are of course, those people that we do “like” and have their lessons to pass along as well.  Namely, our own good qualities that we are capable of sharing with others.  Also, to show us that we are capable of being loved.

Just my take on this quote I’ve shared so many times with so many people.

David Lee

Two Weeks to Go….

I’m heading down the home stretch for my hiatus from Facebook….two weeks from today I’ll consider myself eligible to be back on the social media website.   It has crossed my mind to stay away from it all together,,,,I’ll just have to see what the next two weeks brings.

Just like the other times I stayed away from FB, the first couple of weeks were the most difficult.  A lot of it is pure habit, some would say bordering on addiction.   I found that I used my computer and cell phone a lot less than when it was a daily routine.

There are some parts that I’ve really missed and some parts not so much so.   I had two posts (readings from others) that were a daily routine and I do like sharing those with others and they truly seemed to appreciate the messages they carried.  I just wonder how many of them having been using the links I provided to keep up with the readings each day.

I also have missed sharing the many pictures I’ve taken and telling others about the part time job I’ve landed as a free lance photographer.  There’s a part of my ego that wanted to break my silence to share that news, but I stayed true to my word and stayed away.

So I’m thinking that in two weeks I’ll be back on “The Book” and will undoubtedly have a lot of notifications and unread messages and friend requests….I’m going to try to spend less time on it during the day though…and of course I reserve the right to stay away all together….we’ll just have to see what the next two weeks holds.

David Lee

#11 – Paying Attention…

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#11 – THE HAWK PRINCE

SPIRIT COMMUNICATION, PAYING ATTENTION

CHALLENGER

The Hawk Prince challenges you to pay attention and listen to the warnings being sent your way. Are you pushing forward in spite of others’ cautionings about the direction you’re headed? Are you refusing to listen to your own inner voice. Red flags are waving in the breeze, and you’re being challenged to heed their message. When the Hawk Prince descends as your Challenger, it’s an indication that something isn’t quite right. Don’t worry, though; he always arrives just in time for you to let go of your old ideas and begin again. Spirit only wants the best for you!

Facing the Dark Side….shared reading

Facing Our Darker Side

Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
  —Step Four of Al-Anon

By the time we get to the Fourth of the Twelve Steps, we are ready to face our darker side, the side that prevents us from loving others, from letting others love us, and from enjoying life and ourselves. The purpose of Step Four is not to make ourselves feel worse; our purpose is to begin to remove our blocks to joy and love.

We look for fears, anger, hurt, and shame from past events – buried feelings that may be affecting our life today. We search for subconscious beliefs about others and ourselves that may be interfering with the quality of our relationships. These beliefs say: I’m not lovable . . . I’m a burden to those around me . . . People can’t be trusted . . . I can’t be trusted . . . I don’t deserve to be happy and successful . . . Life isn’t worth living. We look at our behaviors and patterns with an eye toward discerning the self-defeating ones. With love and compassion for ourselves, we try to unearth all our guilt – earned and unearned – and expose it to the light.

We perform this examination without fear of what we shall find, because this soul searching can cleanse us and help us feel better about ourselves than we ever dreamt possible.

God, help me search out the blocks and barriers within myself. Bring what I need to know into my conscious mind, so I can be free of it. Show me what I need to know about myself.

 

From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie

Meditation and Prayer for the Day…

Meditation for the Day

Not what you do so much as what you are, that is the miracle-working power. You can be a force for good, with the help of God. God is here to help you and to bless you, here to company with you. You can be a worker with God. Changed by God’s grace, you shed one garment of the spirit for a better one. In time, you throw that one aside for a yet finer one. And so from character to character, you are gradually transformed.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may accept every challenge. I pray that each acceptance of a challenge may make me grow into a better person.

 

From Twenty-Four Hours a Day

#37 – Joy

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#37 – JOY

This marks a time for celebration, for this portends the joyous completion of a project, the attainment of a goal, or the end of a long and arduous journey. When you’re thirsty, this marker promises that you’ll find a well; when you’re cold, a blanket; when you’re hungry, nourishment. Joy also has another aspect, for not only does it celebrate receiving blessings from the fruits of actual labor, but it’s also about the sharing of it. Joy celebrates itself—its very essence radiates beauty and well-being. Like the spring sun breaking through after a long and gloomy winter, joy reminds us to be grateful for all the gifts of life. Joy bestows the blessings of happiness. You truly have reason to smile when this marker appears on your path.

Taking it Easy….shared reading

Going Easy

Go easy. You may have to push forward, but you don’t have to push so hard. Go in gentleness – go in peace.

Do not be in so much of a hurry. At no day, no hour, no time are you required to do more than you can do in peace.

Frantic behaviors and urgency are not the foundation for our new way of life.

Do not be in too much of a hurry to begin. Begin, but do not force the beginning if it is not time. Beginnings will arrive soon enough.

Enjoy and relish middles, the heart of the matter.

Do not be in too much of a hurry to finish. You may be almost done, but enjoy the final moments. Give yourself fully to those moments so that you may give and get all there is.

Let the pace flow naturally. Move forward. Start. Keep moving forward. Do it gently, though. Do it in peace. Cherish each moment.

Today, God, help me focus on a peaceful pace rather than a harried one. I will keep moving forward gently, not frantically. Help me let go of my need to be anxious, upset, and harried. Help me replace it with a need to be a peace and in harmony.

 

From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie

Meditation and Prayer for the Day – April 1

Meditation for the Day

God is all around us. His spirit pervades the universe. And yet we often do not let His spirit in. We try to get along without His help and we make a mess of our lives. We can do nothing of any value without God’s help. All our human relationships depend on this. When we let God’s spirit rule our lives, we learn how to get along with others and how to help them.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may let God run my life. I pray that I will never again make a mess of my life through trying to run it myself.

 

From Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Getting Ready to Head Out – Third Photography Assignment

The hour soon approaches when I’ll head out for my second free lance assignment as a photographer for the local newspaper.  I’m going to try to go to all new places this week after hitting many of the same spots two weeks in a row.

Since I’ll be going to all these spots for the first time, I’ll first have to ask the manager on duty for permission to take pictures.  This has never been a problem, since it amounts to free advertising for each of the venues.   I’ll also have to continue to ask each of the people for their permission to take their picture for publication.

I’m going to start out a bit earlier than last week.  I’m thinking it might be easier to get an earlier start.   If all works well, I may even try to go by the newspaper office tonight instead of tomorrow morning to upload the pictures.   We’ll just have to see how that goes.

David Lee