Milestones in life:

birthdays…

anniversaries…

graduations… are precious.

They are celebratory moments, in time, that punctuate life.

I look forward to milestones and hold them dear to my heart…

Often, they arrive just when I need them most… when I am struggling with pain or despair… feeling lost or world-weary…

A moment, a celebration, a milestone shared with those I love and cherish, can rejuvenate my spirit and remind me of how fortunate I am to be loved and to have so much in my life to be thankful for.

–

“Dear God, thank you for the precious moments. For the times that celebrate the milestones in my life.”

Over the years it is the simple things, the small moments of joy, that keep me moving forward and my heart full of faith.

When I find myself saddened by loss… I remember these moments and find happiness in the thoughts…

A time when I sat and laughed with someone I loved…

A moment when I held my children while they slept snuggled warm within my arms…

Staring out across a lake and listening to the sound of the wind across the water…

These are the moments I hold dear in my heart.

It is when I am at my lowest that I can recall these simple things, these small moments of joy, these memories that I hold so dear in my heart and I find hope and faith and gratitude in what my Higher Power has given me and what my Higher Power will soon bring to me.

–

“Dear God, thank you for the simple things. For the memories of those I love, and all they have given to me.”

When I was first out of my marriage I found the roller coaster of dating… the moments of anticipated acceptance or rejection too much to handle.

If someone expressed interest I quickly pulled away afraid of intimacy.

Yet if someone remained distant and detached, I assumed that something was wrong with me, or that I must be the problem in the relationship or that I had just lost someone wonderful and in pain and despair, would feel terribly hurt all over again.

I decided that the best thing for me to do was to wait a good amount of time, at least a year, before dating or becoming intimate with someone again.

I had been married almost twenty years, and to know what I would want in a future relationship during a time period that was punctuated with pain, despair and my mourning the loss of my marriage, would lead to me making personal choices that would be unsteady and might prove to be unacceptable over time.

I realized that I was dealing with too many emotions and that even the comfort of someone new could not replace what I had felt for my long-time spouse.

I found that though I was often lonely for a partner, the solitude that time brought to me was a gift.

I was able to heal, learn, and move forward on my spiritual path.

In that way, I became sure and ready of what I truly wanted to look for in a new relationship.

–

“Dear God,  help me to embrace the solitude. Give me time to heal and the strength to move on.”

Some days are just harder to get through then others.

Maybe I’m overwhelmed by too many commitments.

Maybe I didn’t sleep well the night before and my emotions are getting the better of me.

Maybe I’m just fed up with everyone and everything and can’t stop myself from being snappy or snide… sure that everyone around me is just trying to test my patience.

On days like these, I stop and think about what I once heard in an inspirational speech.

The speaker was sharing an anecdote related to bad attitudes and he said, “If throughout the course of the day you run into someone with a bad attitude… then you run into someone with a bad attitude. Don’t worry about it. It’s bound to happen. Just stay positive and move along in your day but…”

Here he paused for emphasis and then added, “If you run into three or more people with bad attitudes… then you’re the one with the bad attitude.  You’re the one with the problem.”

Of course we all laughed, each of us being guilty of this type of denial related to our own bad behavior at one time or another.

But for me… the sentiment stuck and today… if I do catch myself angry with the world, sure that everyone is against me, ready to attack at any moment… then it is time for me to check my own attitude, change my perspective, and step back onto my spiritual path and away from my shadow self.”

_

“Dear God, help me to adjust my attitude during the course of a particularly trying day.  Help me to remember that each day is a gift that I must cherish.”

I woke up this morning with regrets on my mind.

Things I had done that I wished that I hadn’t.

Things I had said that I wished I could take back.

Opportunities that I had let pass me by, due to one reason or another.

My heart felt heavy as these feelings washed over me and for a moment, I was overwhelmed by all of the mistakes I had made.

It isn’t easy to let myself swim in regret but… to feel regret… is to allow my conscience to become fully aware and in touch with the painful choices and actions of my past.

I do not have to see it as a negative… I can see it for what it really is… an opportunity for me to change my actions in the present and in the future.

Regret reminds me of what I choose not to repeat…

What words I choose not to share…

What opportunities I should not let pass me by.

Regret reminds me to make an amends to all I may have harmed in my past and specifically… to forgive myself and move on.

–

“Dear God, help me to let go of regret and live in the present. Help me to forgive myself my past as I move toward a more positive direction in my future.”

Yesterday, I was speaking to a friend who had been in a very bad place emotionally.

He had been struggling with old behaviors, old relationships, residue of the past clinging to each of his thoughts and actions.

I was just about to share my experience of how, giving back to others, had always relieved my burdens when he said, “I’ve decided to volunteer at my friend’s hospice. I think if I give back to others it will help.”

I smiled to myself, and we went on to talk about the joys of helping others.

Often times, so caught up in my own life’s troubles, my own problems, I forget that there are those around me suffering much more serious fates.

Being of service, being the light in someone else’s day, putting my own problems aside to share my strength, hope, experience with others, reminds me to be grateful and how much I have to give to those in need.

_

“Dear God, remind me to be present for those in need. Help me to put my own troubles aside and share my strength, faith and hope.”

Sometimes I can be oblivious to what is really going on inside of me, until I have some type of revelation.

Overwhelmed by too many commitments, struggling with issues regarding my self-esteem, worn, tired, straying from my spiritual path, it is as if my Higher Power suddenly throws someone directly in my way, who says the exact words I need to hear, or gives me exactly what I need in my life, to have a moment of clarity that brings my true world back into focus.

When I hear something said that resounds in my soul… I must listen to it.

When I see something done that sets off a distant bell of understanding… I mustn’t ignore it.

These moments of enlightenment are precious… they reveal the truth and lead me back onto my spiritual path.

_
“Dear God, help me to listen when you speak to me. Help me to watch when you show me. Help me to follow your path when I have lost my way.”