Moving Forward

In 2019, I began the practice of annual reflection to improve my spiritual, physical, and mental health putting into practice daily journaling/gratitude morning meditation and the development of an annual vision board. In 2022, I spent the entire year studying the art of finding joy. Continuing with this study, I thought it would be important in 2023 to put daily work into learning how to choose joy or recognizing gifts presented to us by the universe daily and to focus on the act of rejoicing in small things. I can say that I am learning to practice joy through the act of rejoicing daily. While I don't always feel positive, I am learning practices and starting to see the fruit from these daily acts. Yes, life is going to be frustrating, people will let us down. At times circumstances are painful, and it is hard to keep going. I sometimes still fail at this, but I through God's help and learning to put my faith in a higher purpose, I am making progress. It is still a daily stru

 When you are in a season of attack, as I have been,  we learn to have faith. Through seasons of attack and  experience, we develop a strong and unique testimony.  Be Still and Alert. Through stillness, we learn to listen. This is when God speaks to us and helps us process how we should react to events.  I have always loved hiking and nature. This is when I feel most at peace and where I learned to first listen to God. A recent series of events and people continue to remind  me that I need to stop, listen, and pay attention. A recent sermon online populated on my feed last week. The sermon was entitled "For Those Under Attack" and draws on 1st Peter.  In this message, the pastor quotes 1 Peter 5:9:  The devel is like a roaring lion. The roar is a warning and serves as a reminder that we will be alerted if an attack is coming. We must be alert and learn to listen. This morning my new pastor, Coleman, had no idea that I had been seeking God during the last week reading up on sp

Over the last decade, I have been working on healing myself spiritually and recently experienced a breakthrough. During my recovery journey, I have learned to deal with my unconscious pain from past traumas and family of origin and generational issues. For me, this has been a process that has taken a lot of time, with a focus on dealing with my needs first before helping others. I had to learn this as my family of origin tends to be very self-sacrificing and as a result cycles of abuse are a generational issue. This type of cycle is actually very common I have learned. I have learned to recognize toxic environments, abuse, advocate for my needs in a calm and professional way, and to detach when the other party chooses to continue toxic patterns.  Boundaries Attract Your Tribe:   When you use boundaries, you will attract the right people and teach people how to treat you. These are both internal and external boundaries.  Take Time to Improve the Relationship with Yourself: Be ok with le

I found joy in a few moments in 2021. This last year has been a struggle for many but I started the year searching for the meaning of joy. Joy is found through the living practice of gratitude. I found that starting my day with quiet time, focusing on gratitude, greatly aided in finding joy in everyday moments. When evaluating 2020, I realized I had focused primarily on work or the mind and wanted to shift the focus to spiritual wellness in 2021.  While I didn't reach all of my goals, I did make great gains in my spiritual and mental wellness column last year and continue to make great gains in all three targeted areas:  mind, body, and spirit.  This upcoming new year, I would like to place a greater emphasis on body wellness, which I have neglected. I could use more exercise, outdoor time, time away from my computer, less media, which I feel would help me focus on positive messaging. I would like to feel the characteristics of good health through improved flexibility, and strength

Often we become stuck in old patterns of thought. This is known as patterned thinking.  We tend to hold onto judgments, beliefs, messed-up principles based on prior experiences, and fail to recognize our unfulfilled needs. This type of thinking can hold us back. In order to move forward, we must confront problems honestly. People often fail to do this. They believe changing jobs, buying that new item, moving to a new geographical location of living, going to another country, changing partners, etc. will finally satisfy their needs. Changing physical circumstances doesn't address the true issue, which is the need to recognize and perhaps shift patterned thinking. What is the pattern causing your unhappiness? This requires us to address problems on a deeper level.  Imagine what would happen if each of us would examine ourselves personally and took responsibility for issues, less judgment, and recognition of our own biased thinking. I am including myself here. I am attempting to journ

A few years ago, working through some health issues, I began creating a Vision Board each new Year. It serves as a visual reminder of goals I set to work on throughout the year to help with a healthy balance or marriage of ideas to mind, body, and spirit. I am far from perfect and need a lot of help and reminders to keep me on track. I tend to escape into my work, seeking a purpose, and have worked through a lot... learning to set boundaries with others, using my voice when appropriate, working on gratitude, healing, etc. I still find myself sometimes out of balance and checklists seem to help.  Last August I was super excited to book a trip to visit a dear friend but was disappointed when for reasons beyond my understanding was canceled last minute. I had wished that she had the courage to communicate honestly but reassured her that I understood.  I was disappointed but decided to use the weekend we had planned to work on myself, wellness, and my spirit. This time my disappointment wa