Broken Barriers . .

06 Monday Oct 2014

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Choices, Discipline, Dreams, Faith, Fear, Happiness, Inspiration, Passion, Patience, Peace

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Dreams, enthusiasm, tenacity

Every time I consider the obstacles to my imagination, my beliefs and my dreams, I remember those who truly broke through barriers of seeming common sense and plausibility with theirs! Imagine the Wright brothers lifting off the ground for the first time?! Imagine Columbus and others who dared not sail off the face of what they were told was the flat earth?! Imagine those who first took their faith to the outer reaches of space?! Imagine those who believed they could do and b…e when all the world screamed, “You’re nuts!”; when all they did was just imagine that something was possible?! Imagine all that exists now because someone believed in bigger, greater, unexpected and implausible dreams?!

So when I choose to believe in that which I cannot prove or see yet in this world . . in God, in my yet-realized dreams, in possibilities I’ve yet to conquer but imagine one day I might . . I don’t see myself as alone in all of that; but rather, I’m surrounded by those who didn’t restrict their belief or their imaginations to what is already known or already possible. I’m in great and full company when I dare to believe in much more! History is rife with examples of those overcoming to dare what seemed impossible or unlikely.

Don’t let naysayers take from you the seeds of imagination! Don’t let naysayers plant within you seeds of doubt, fear or implausibility! Don’t let anyone tell you the limits of your life, the limits of your beliefs, or the limits of your dreams! Perhaps those people trying to weigh you, your beliefs and your dreams down with their parameters of possibility aren’t as imaginative, willing, courageous or faithful as you! All those who’ve ever dared did it in spite of their own doubts, fears and self-limitations. All those who’ve ever dared, changed and/or accomplished did it in spite of the concerns, fears and limits others tried to place upon their vision!

The World Flipping . .

01 Wednesday Oct 2014

Posted by Cheryl Ries in aging, Attitude, Change, Character, Choices, Commitment, Discipline, Ethics, Family, God, Lessons, Life, Self-Control, Self-Respect, Wisdom

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The world is officially flipping. As my grandmother said way back in the mid-nineties, aliens have taken over the bodies and minds of many average citizens. I cannot imagine how she would surmise current events and the spectacles which fill the daily news feeds all these years later. People in the asylum now have hold of the keys and are in charge of the daily management of the facility! In all good humor, I present her thesis and my amendment; but with all seriousness, I relent in this appraisal. It saddens me how far we have strayed from the moral and character-driven culture we once were for the most part. America is now a nation flipped and upside down with immorality, deceit and implausible considerations.

We were never perfect, there was always evil and sin; but now more and more of us believe in less and less. We strive it seems to be more outlandish and to live more on the fringes of what so many deem boring and mundane. Marriage, family, faith and good character are no longer in vogue; those values and beliefs have been replaced with cultural norms which shock many of the middle of America to their core. My grandmother was ahead of her time in seeing the results of years of turning from God, of replacing family orientation with its opposite; and with vulgarity and with lewdness as a means of changing the rut of boring and common-place middle-American values and beliefs. Those traditional core beliefs were deemed oppressive and confining by a new generation of people who rebel against such structure and confines upon their own behavior. Many have given up controlling themselves in favor of instantaneous gratification and immediate pleasure. Self-control is now freely ceded for governmental constraint, too much is not enough when it comes to laws and regulations to form and shape our behaviors because we seem unable and unwilling to self-control and self-regulate; and furthermore, to accept responsibility for our own actions! And therein we find the source of the dilemma!

So few want to be constrained and confined to the standards which living moral and character-driven lives entails. Faith, God and family are now passé! Instead we have foul, unfamiliar and upside-down/backwards as our new reality! The counter-culture now runs our schools, our media, our government and our lives; much to the chagrin of middle-America, which still clings to their family, faith and moral traditions. Fortunately, God is still in charge of the world, regardless who chooses to believe it might be so! It is. I await His correction of this upside-down/backwards and side-stepping, ego-driven society. I’m sure He is growing tired of our childish insistence that we know best, when surely the resulting chaos and instability in our world proves Him right.

How to Pursue With Purpose . .

20 Saturday Sep 2014

Posted by Cheryl Ries in aging, Change, Character, Choices, Commitment, Discipline, Faith, Inspiration, Lessons, Life, Patience, Self-Control, Wisdom

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Some things come easily, we get what we want when we want it! Other things we desire and set as goals in our lives take some time and more effort to pursue. Often in that time, we find the pressing of effort, the impediment of challenges faced and the patience required to be taxing, so we want to give up. But if we want what we say we want, wouldn’t it be worth our hunkering down to find the extra go-for-it-muscles we have within us?

If we let go of our dreams because they’re proving hard to achieve, aren’t we also letting go of our chance to discover something great within and about ourselves? Don’t we then run the risk of not having something we value and esteem as worthwhile in our lives?? It’s rare to find great things and great results easily. Usually in life, the value and worth we assign to things is higher and given more to those things which require more effort, time, endurance and even cost in obtaining. But the reason we give them value higher than any other thing is exactly because we have realized for ourselves their measure to attain and to earn exceeds all others! Were everything easy to have and to get, we would assess nothing as having any value or worth. It would all be rendered as cheap to us.

So it is with the pursuit of our goals. Were all our goals so easy to achieve and without any “cost” or effort to us, we would soon find nothing inspiring or excellent in their pursuit. It is only because we find something worthwhile, that we hunker down and pursue it with all of our ability, effort and patience! Next time you’re growing tired, while in pursuit of your goals and dreams, prior to giving up on the pursuit . . ask yourself this question: what did I find so valuable for my life in the first place upon achieving this goal? What was the perceived reward to me? If you still believe achieving a goal to be rewarding and having something to be valuable, then don’t quit on it regardless the effort, cost or time involved! Remember that it is only in those things which don’t come too easily or cheaply that value comes into your life! Worth is measured not by things which are first worthless to you – easy to have and readily available – but rather by those things which make you realize their worth in pursuit, effort and attainment! Don’t quit forever because quitting seems easier in a moment!

Having FAITH!

17 Wednesday Sep 2014

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Choices, Confidence, Faith, God, Inspiration, Life, Patience, Positivity

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Having faith is one thing. But having FAITH is something altogether different. Real faith is standing in absolute belief regardless what is known or unknown at any particular time. In fact, most of what is unknown shouldn’t displace faith, in the way of fear, doubt, worry, anxiety or trying to do what isn’t within our ability to do. We’re faithful when we sit in our unknown, silent, uncertain, unsure, unimaginable, dark, mysterious and unresolved present. We mustn’t rely upon our prior experiences or what has happened in the past as certain evidence of that which remains hoped for and waited upon.

Faith is like a tsunami of belief, which overcomes anything lingering and anything pending; it eliminates references to patterns from the past and ignores omens for the future. Faith isn’t what we call upon when we have a high probability that things will go as we expect, want, know or await. Faith is what we hold onto when everything seems glaringly in opposition to our very notion of belief. Faith is supported by God’s promises to us, which we find assured repeatedly in His Word. When we have knowledge of His Word, we have proof of His desires, His heart and His will for our lives.

Having FAITH is believing in God and His will. And it is in referencing the Word where we learn how to discern our will from His. He plants seeds of dreams within us, often then asking us to faithfully await the outcome of those dreams through His working in us and around us in our lives. Faith is what we require when one of many of our dreams has yet come to fruition, or when life seems difficult. And we’re always growing, changing, developing and imparting on some leg of our life’s journey towards new dreams; often times, we’re turning corners as a means of making corrections for poor choices or enhanced wisdom in our lives.

With faith, we persevere. With faith, we stand strong regardless how hard or long things take; or how little patience we might seem to have at any one moment. Faith pushes us through our impatience, beyond our perceived inability and long past our sense of what is possible! Faith opens the infinite doors of this world to us individually, so that our lives become limitless and unscripted surprises filled with potential and promise! Faith is the key. With just a little faith, we can sort of imagine plenty; but with a lot of faith, we can realize the unimaginable and endless potential as well as all the promise that life holds!

Master faith, regardless how easy it becomes to let the past talk you down the mountains you want to climb. Practice faith, in spite of how hard life becomes while you’re waiting for your dreams to come to fruition! Don’t quit on that which God plants in your life. If He plants the seeds of dreams within you, trust Him to give you the ways and means to make those things come to reality! Have faith, oodles of it! Faith is affirming your belief in God, His will and His ability, not yours!

Thought Ripples . .

13 Saturday Sep 2014

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Choices, God, Happiness, Lessons, Positivity, Self-Control, Self-Esteem, Self-Respect, Success

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What are we, if not products of our thoughts and all the ripples outwardly resulting from that thought? In terms of how we fill our minds, we live as a result with what we first created there within. How many of us start and/or end our days with thoughts that would startle others if they heard them? Or thoughts that, were they directed via speech or action towards others, would seem negative, harmful or destructive? So then why do we entertain them within our own minds, so that they have a chance to seed in our hearts and within the spirit we house internally?

Perhaps our goal in life should be to live as fruitfully for ourselves sans negative, destructive and self-abasing thoughts; just as we’re taught to keep negative, abasing and destructive comments from others! We might know that our bodies are to be maintained for the sake of how precious they are to God, being the temple of the Holy Spirit. But do we then also know our minds are part of that temple? We realize in our maturity that the only control we have in life is over our thoughts and the ensuing emotional responses, as well as our resulting actions; so we should take from that the first and most important tenant. We have control over our own thoughts! And by controlling our own thoughts to those more uplifting, more self-approving and less self-destructive by content, we elevate our being to a place which is much more positive to begin with!

The world will deliver upon us much in the way of sour news, misfortune and struggle. But if we attempt to render our own minds first the fields in which we plant uplifting, positive and self-affirming thoughtful fruit, we will make for ourselves a way to reap much more positive and affirming life! Many of us grasp the concept of treating our bodies as temples, so we keep fit or endeavor to keep healthy. But how many of us grasp that concept in regards to our own thinking and then, our emotions and our actions as a result? Thoughts are part of the organism we call our bodies. They can be fruitful or they can be destructive, hurtful and negative. I suggest we take as much control over our minds as we try to do with our bodies. Both are within our power to direct in positive and life-affirming ways! Think positively and with the purpose of affirming the wondrous being which you are! It’s easy to let the world take your thoughts to places unbecoming you, but you can take control and direct all of your being towards a much more-positive journey instead.

Don’t let life bring you down. Learn to lead life by action first rather than reacting to life as it leads you. Your body and your brain are yours to nurture. Why not give them both the best chance for having a healthy, prosperous and fruitful life? God created marvelous bodies and minds. We should attempt to treat both with great respect and loving care. Our thoughts should reflect that sense of self-respect and self-love; as from within comes the layout for all of our life as a result.

Making Goals Into Reality . .

08 Monday Sep 2014

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Character, Choices, Commitment, Inspiration, Lessons, Opportunity, Positivity

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goals

Sometimes we’re so set on the end result and the defining goals we wish to achieve, that we forget to celebrate the significant steps we accomplish in pursuit! And when we fail to notice the progress we’re making along the way, we might choose to give up, thinking we’re never going to reach that target – whatever it may be! Learning to appraise our progress, even if it seems insignificant in comparison to the overall goal we’ve set, can help us to stay motivated and purposefully committed to staying the course! You may not run the whole length in your first attempt at the track, but one day you will! You may not finish the book you’re writing the day you begin the first chapter, but one day you will! You might not have lost all the weight you want to yet, but what you’ve lost means there’s less to lose! You may not have reached the position which you believe you deserve yet, but working hard in the position you now hold will probably get you closer! All goals can seem a bit overwhelming when we view them in their entirety. Breaking each of our goals up into stages which can be measured and evaluated while in pursuit, enables you to bite off bits of the whole all while nibbling away at the goal in total! You learn to view being successful in part as motivational and inspiring; rather than seeing your goals as such vast and unfinished failures in the making as a result!

The Muscles of Courage

04 Thursday Sep 2014

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Character, Choices, Confidence, Conquering Fear, Courage, Faith, Fear, Integrity, Lessons

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Our world takes great courage to live! I suspect it always has. These times are not meant for the shrinking violets, who only utilize their courage muscles when the grass is green, the rains fall gently and everything is going their way! These times are meant for those who look into the vast, darkened expanses of the unknown and the uncertain – fearful – yet conditioned by their own courage to face them. We are truly nothing if we succumb to every emotion which we might feel, such as fear; or if we walk away from every challenge and believe ourselves unworthy of every effort. We are tougher than we know, as we haven’t faced all of our challenges yet! Fear, and all the other emotions which prompt us to retreat in life, is just like the monster which hid under our bed as children. We had to learn to make our peace with that monster by facing our fears, or we wouldn’t have had much sleep!

It is no different as we age; we must face our fears or let them rule the vast unseen spaces of our life with monster force! Courage is the most necessary tool we have in our inner arsenals to face life, at all times. Without it, we become enslaved to the uncertainty and unknowns of life at almost every turn; because we are slaves first to our own fearful thoughts and emotions when we encounter those types of situations. With courage, we not only learn how to feel fear, but we develop muscles which allow us to press through those feelings! Courage is the belief that what lies under the bed is not nearly as scary to us, as the sense of lying in our beds safely and comfortably is great for us! Courage is going out into the world, uncertain and seemingly fearful of whatever danger and unknown awaits us; but believing that going out is worth doing so nonetheless!

What lies on the other side of our fears, because we have courage and faith, is the reward for standing strong in the face of our fears. Like any muscle, courage developed within us, gives us the strength, the ability and the assurance to look even our worst fear in the eye and defeat it with faith and confidence! But that comes only when we continually exercise those muscles of courage we have within us! Truly courage, like all of our muscles, must be used or lost!

Gratitude Bests Regret . .

01 Monday Sep 2014

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Choices, Gratitude, Happiness, Inspiration, Joy, Lessons, Opportunity, Positivity

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All too often we don’t know or remember to be grateful for something, some state of our being or some condition of our lives until it’s gone! Only then do we lament its passing, as we took that state or condition for granted just a bit. Perhaps we got so used to it, that we just assumed it would be that way easily or assuredly forever. It surely happens when people leave our lives; their loss leaves us with a gaping hole where they once filled our hearts, our minds and our presence. But it is also that way with circumstances, situations and conditions. We might find that one day we no longer are in the same job, or have the same house, or perhaps that our health suddenly takes a turn; and although these changes are not as hard upon us as the loss of a dear soul whom we love, we still are reminded by our lamenting what has changed. We should have probably felt more grateful for what we had when we had it! That is life.

Trying to live it without regret means we must try harder to live it now with gratitude! An attitude of gratitude compels us to not only experience all that we can with expectancy, but to appreciate for some reason all that comes our way! Take, for instance, the woman who laments in some manner the body she has when she is younger, as so many young women are prone to do! She may not fully learn to love, accept and appreciate the body she has now, wanting some other physical characteristic which she doesn’t have. She may torment herself, wishing things could be different. She may wish to be thinner, taller, prettier, etc.; but in later years perhaps she will come to realize that those conditions were not so bad after all when she experiences changes in her body as a result of aging, illness or some accident. We all do that to some extent; but we are cheating ourselves out of today’s joy by not loving and appreciating things as they are!

Gratitude is our appreciation for all of our life; our consideration that we are blessed just as we are, the way things are! Gratitude enfolds us and envelopes us in acceptance and surrender, to that which is and also to that which isn’t. It develops by way of purposeful habit into a state of contentment and peace; no matter the circumstances, situations, or conditions. Living in that manner surely enhances each day now; but it also lessens the chances for regretting what is past, as well as easing fears over what is yet to be. Our wholeness in being depends upon focusing upon the present with gratitude regardless the experience, conditions, circumstances and situations. It is only in gratitude that we can realize how much we already have within us and around us!

Autonomous and Free . .

30 Saturday Aug 2014

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Character, Choices, Commitment, Confidence, Happiness, Lessons

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Freedom

There’s a propensity these days towards making people less free by correcting and asking others to change for us in lieu of correcting and changing self. We mustn’t lose sight of our own fallibility; we must not hold ourselves less accountable for the state of things by judging others by their actions while judging ourselves on our intent. We should give to others the respect of making their own choices based on their individual autonomy, as we desire for ourselves. We’re too often lashing out at others for the way they’ve chosen to live their lives all while neglecting to notice that we’re imperfect creatures living ours!

Do we honestly believe we know best for others? Or have we forgotten that often we don’t even know what is best for ourselves?? The first thing we should do when things aren’t going our way in life is examine our handiwork, our choices, our role and our place in this life. Only after we’ve exhausted ourselves in self-development, self-critique, self-improvement and self-responsibility for our own choices should we decide it time to examine others. Only then. Unless someone is openly intent upon harming us, we should accept their right to live autonomous as well. That is the surest sign of maturity, self-control and self-confidence . .when you can first turn to self for all manner of appraisal, but also for all manner of personal and responsible correction; without impugning that same right to others.

What gives us the right to say we’ve mastered self enough to start correcting others? It’s not our right to decide what is most right for the lives of others, it is theirs. Even if we deem them as mistaken in their personal choices, we haven’t a right to attempt to silence them, nullify them or convey upon them our will instead. It is only when they are willfully harming others that we have a responsibility to step in . . otherwise, we must convey to them the same individual autonomy as we ask for ourselves. Individuals will never fully agree to every single thing or agree on every manner of choice because they are inherently “individuals” . . unique, different, with varied morals, preferences, histories and beliefs. If it’s not harming us directly or if it’s overtly illegal or criminal, we should live with an attitude of live and let live; which is usually the level of respect we would ask for ourselves in return. Arrogant bullying and controlling others is just that – it’s not individual freedom!

Freedom To Be Me!

29 Friday Aug 2014

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Character, Choices, Commitment, Confidence, Happiness, Lessons, Life

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Oh!! The freedom to be me. At this age, I’m learning to care less about being right, about not failing or making any mistakes, about being accepted by others or seeking their approval. It is a sense of freedom to give yourself permission to be human but to also want to give it to others. It takes effort and purposeful practice, as it doesn’t come naturally. We humans have egos which dictate a whole manner of acceptable and …permissible ranges for not only ourselves but for those with whom we share a space in this world.

It seems to me when we become more critical, self-righteous and over-bearing, that we lose our inherent sense of being human and therefore being humane in turn towards and with others! Insecurity screams about self and against others; confidence stands quietly and assuredly in the awareness and belief that we’re enough, they’re enough and we’re all just humans in God’s greater realm anyway!

At this age, I’m learning to put aside those things which just don’t serve me any longer . . ego especially. I just want to please God and honor Him. I want to love unconditionally that which He created in me and also that which He created in all others around me! Ego (Edging God Out) stokes all the fires which may seem to keep me warm, but in fact, it ends up destroying entire swaths of my life with either a slow-burn or a raging storm. Let me be gentle, humble, kind, patient, faithful, peaceful, joyful, self-controlled and mostly, let me be love for His honor!