feather & foundation

 Recently celebrating some big new milestones- a new baby to our family (grandson) and stepping into a new decade for my birthday, I had a lot of time to reflect- on joy, on new, on new beginnings, and thinking of how time really does fly by.  Mixed in was a hard situation, disappointment and expectations not met.  So is life- the good and bad and coexist in the same space and it's weird navigating both.  Reflection allows us to reminisce, appreciate, learn and grow.  We can also choose to reflect light, love, joy and happiness in the world.  Keep shining and be a mirror of goodness. 

All is not as it seems.......with scrolling through social media we can look at other's lives and while one hand we feel connected because we can peek into their life, their vacation, their job, their family, but the other hand- we find ourselves disconnecting in comparison, lack, less then feelings, jealousy and envy.  We forget that we are seeing their "high light" reels (curated, edited, filtered) and comparing it to our blooper reels.  We don't' even do a fair comparison on highlight versus highlight.  You'll hear a funny story about how you can be so sure of something (or told by others that this is the truth and what's happening) then you find out- all is not as it seems.  In this day and age of information at a second's notice, social media, and AI- we all need to do our part in verifying, validating and being vigilant in what we read, believe and share.  There's so much misinformation, let's not be part of spreading it.  In most situations - we only see "our side" or perspective.  As we know there are several sides, and all is not as it seems.

Miracles are around us!  We often think that it's always the BIG thing in order to be a miracle, but often it's those quiet moments in the every day- that if we slow down to notice.  Do you believe in miracles?  Have you experienced miracles? Do you expect miracles?  What if you opened your mind, heart and spirit to experience them daily?  Check out this inspiring episode on miracles!

I always love how the WOW word finds me to talk about each episode.  This episode is a dichotomy on Magnify from adventured and discoveries during VBS; to walking through hard stuff in life.  Dealing with messy in life is hard.  And how often do we get upset, mad, disappointed, sad, hurt and we tell the story over & over.  We magnify the situation and with every story telling in our mind and hurt gains more momentum and grows the hurt and pain even more.  Why do we magnify the less than great stuff.  What would happen if we started to magnify the joy, happiness, the goodness and the positive.  What if we found more gratitude and joy in every day.  What if we magnified those stories over and over again?  What if we walked it out looking for the awesomeness in life and focused on that more (even when the bumps & twists and turns of the unexpected happens).

After a few full, busy weeks of good things...I realized I needed a break.  I didn't need to overschedule, I needed to create space of down time, with not expectation of "getting this done" or meeting goals or "should do's on my mental mind list".  I enjoyed the slower days, with more freedom (one of the reasons I love summer days so much...summer is a carefree spirit).  I thought if I needed this reminder, then perhaps someone listening or in THE FLOCK might need the gentle reminder. In the middle of a hectic day- we can be mindful in choosing space to "take a break" We can fall into the habit of doing something, because "we've always done it".  Taking a step back to analyze- does this add value or improve my life, can be an eye-opening opportunity for self-preservation.  Sometimes you need a break from a schedule, activity or a relationship.  Sometimes, breaks are just a season, or short-term and sometimes they are permanent.  There is alignment of mind, body & soul when we take our breaks.  Check out some ideas on how to incorporate break time in your day or week.  How can you take a break today?

You'll hear how the WOW word of Sunny Disposition found me- from a simple trip looking for landscaping rocks and having the pleasure of meeting William.  And another situation of a heavy heart and wise words from a friend, about not letting a hard situation, or circumstances steal my sunny outlook.  We can all think of those folks who are rays of sunshine.  Did you know there are many reasons why a sunny disposition is good for your well being and spirit.  It's contagious and ripples to others.  And it's a choice.  Emit your light and shine bright.

Honor.  As a child, I was taught to respect "my elders" and public servants...pretty much all adults.  To honor their position, even if as I got older didn't always agree or understand- I still needed to honor them.  Today, Honor seems to be fleeting around us.  The military recognizes "honor"- with an honor code.  How can we honor our parents? Our family unit? Our co-workers? Our friends? And ourselves.  Being present, giving eye contact, honoring commitments we make- we can be the change of bringing honor back into the mainstream by modeling it.

Faith is really revealed when we are in a valley in our life.  Hardship can be swirling about us like a chaotic tornado- and we can stand in faith.  This episode was inspired by 2 women who have walked through some tough life stuff, and in spite of the uncertainties in their life at the time (housing situation, jobs, financial insecurity)- they stood strong in their faith.  Fast forward a few years and these women are victorious warriors who are thriving in their lives today.  When someone stands strong in the faith, it encourages others to do the same.  What's the size of your faith?  What is the size of the faith of your friends (you'll hear a familiar story).  If you are going through a season, grab onto that mustard seed size faith, hold on and now that you're going to be okay!  

A recent reunion and since then many conversations of people who have walked through some tough things (or currently in the middle of them) prompted this WOW word this week of Perseverance.  I was inspired sitting with a group of very successful women listening to their beginning and the life things they had to navigate to rise to the top in their business field.  On paper, it seemed like "success" could have easily evade them based on their life situations.....however, the thing called perseverance prevailed are they soared to the top 1% of their company.  Leading and mentoring others to do the same.  So inspiriting.  Perseverance is inspiring....it's done in the hard, the messy and the moments when you want to give up-----but you don't- you keep going.  When life pulls the rug out from under us-  we are Reeling, then Dealing and then Healing if we are successful in growing through it.  Perseverance is a trait we admire, applaud and desire.  Think of the hard things you've had to deal with in your life and think of the perseverance you've had to overcome.  You are stronger than you know.

Did you even have a situation where grief and joy can live side by side? It's a strange dichotomy.  As my Aunt's 6 yr heaven homecoming day came, it makes me filled with sadness in how much I miss her, and yet joy in having loved her and have her impact my life.  Also, on the same day- I was headed for reunion with my mentor and Pink Sisters (many in which we hadn't seen each other in 20 years).  We were there to celebrate and appreciate our mentor, she too has been diagnosed with cancer in a tough prognosis, and we wanted the chance to let her know how much of an impact she has made on our lives and our families.  As our business mentor, coach, and cheerleader and friends- she taught, encouraged, led by example and held our dreams, especially when we lost our vision.  It was an extraordinary weekend.  I couldn't get over her stamina, positivity.  She may have had cancer, but cancer didn't have her as she focused on living.  How would we live if we lived like we were dying?  What would we be doing differently?  What would we no longer be doing?  What would we value?  Check out this episode.