Flexing All Your Muscles . .

23 Thursday Jan 2014

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Character, Choices, Faith, Faithfulness, Gentleness, God, Goodness, Growing, Joy, Kindness, Love, Patience, Peace, Self-Control

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

character, Choices, Faith, Faithfulness, fruit, God, Goodness, Growing, Joy, Kindness, Love, muscles, Patience, Peace, Self-Control, Spirit, spiritual

Flexing All Your Muscles….

People are capable of amazing & wondrous things in life . . it just takes a heart braced in awareness of what fruits lie within! Inside each one of us are the fruits of our spirit . . nine essential qualities or traits which we already have in ample supply, which merely require our awareness & our determined effort to flex like muscles. We might not use them, they might turn to mush, but they’re there regardless, just like other physical, fleshy muscles in our bodies. They’re just as real to a human as flesh & bone. We prove to ourselves that when we use our flesh-muscles, when we practice with them, strengthening them, purposefully flexing them, we make our bodies healthier & better able to cope with life. So if we do the same with the fruits of our spirit, we in fact make those traits stronger in turn, preparing us for life in this world filled with people, giving us the much-needed support & help to face life head-on! Flex all your muscles, those of flesh & those of fruit, learn to use what you have or lose the potential for what you might be! Developing the fruits of your spirit truly is just a disciplined effort to be a better human being . . one who lives in the world wearing their heart as a banner & exuding the following essential traits: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The fruits of your spirit are nine muscles within you which empower a lifetime of amazing gifts!

YOU'VE GOT MAIL

27 Friday Sep 2013

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Love

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Uncategorized

YOU’VE GOT MAIL

A classic to me, that movie, “You’ve Got Mail”. I enjoy the interaction of the characters played by Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. It’s romantic, simple and lovely. Two people defy the odds of life, they fall in love despite themselves, with all their animus, they are “meant to be”. Are two people really meant to be?

Well, I guess that depends who you ask. If you ask a romantic, positive-thinking person such as myself, then the answer is an unequivocable YES! People aren’t limited by love’s range, nor is there some magic boundary line whereby you must encircle the potential candidates whom meet geographical, sociological, ethnic, nor any other barrier-related condition. In other words, love is free to wander the Earth looking for open willing hearts to seed with the most powerful and beautiful flowers known to gardens. Love is immeasurable, infinite and uncontainable. Don’t try to put it into some preconceived plot of land, call it impossible and nor refrain from letting it flow. Love requires freedom to roam, open-minded faith in not only its possibility but also its probability and an effortless energy which allows love to spread like a wave upon the land.

Two people can not only love one another despite all odds . . those of distance, time, language, background, history, and communication ability, but they can thrive in the process, finding their differences are the jet engines which make love’s ties stronger and more intricately woven between them both. Love is a miracle, it is capable of anything, to doubt that a person can live thousands of miles away, and still find genuine love with a person so unlikely is hard to fathom. But you know, I know such a love, and I know to not doubt the sheer genius of love as it is designed to bend around corners, fly over mountain peaks, race through barriers and defy all odds of gravity! Love is like water, if flows freely, without barrier, it will seep and drip, ooze and flow everywhere without being contained! Love is a sea, there are moments of intense waves, even keel tides and ebbing calm . . . love is wondrous like a vast, deep sea . . with some of the most amazing emotions, feelings and sensations all held within the human spirit. Let the sea of love wash over you in this lifetime, don’t cower from the chance to be swept away!

It’s All Part of Wisdom’s Process…

27 Friday Sep 2013

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Ethics, Wisdom

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Uncategorized

It’s all part of wisdom’s process…

We all have within us a sense of what is right & wrong, to us. It is those things which, when we cross our own boundary lines, acting or thinking or doing what we ourselves “know” is in conflict with what we inherently believe, cause us to feel we’ve compromised ourselves even if just a bit. We all know when enough is enough, or when we’re accepting something into our lives which isn’t in keeping with our own tenets of morality or sense of rightness. It’s only when we actually cross that line & go beyond the border that we ebb away pieces of our own shoreline. Like a pounding wave we didn’t necessarily perceive as destructive, it exposes our vulnerable parts of soul & spirit a bit to erosion & we lose a part of ourselves in the process each time it occurs. We can rebuild, but only when we stop making excuses for that we are doing or compromising our own integrity long enough to recognize that the fault belongs with our own foolhardy choices. That’s part of wisdom’s process . . we learn best by our mistakes because we are then forced to become better protectors of our own shoreline of self! If we don’t learn to protect our bodies & our core of being throughout this life, we are eroded like the shorelines blasted by numerous repetitive waves over time, nothing much will remain of what once made ourselves. Compromise seems like an innocuous matter when first pondering that inherent sense sparking within you, but when you choose to ignore it time & time again, acting or being or thinking in opposing ways to your own inherent set of values & beliefs, you will erode parts of yourself.

Do Overs and Second Chances. . .

13 Tuesday Aug 2013

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Change, Choices, Confidence, Conquering Fear, Faith, Lessons, Life, Second chances

≈ Leave a comment

There are always do overs and second chances & new opportunities. Who says you can’t have, be or do anything again or anew in life?? There is no end until we reach the end. We are only stuck if we accept that something is all or the end is truly the end before it really is. I can assure you, just because you thought something was meant to be, doesn’t mean it was. And just because you are certain, sometimes you are then proven wrong. There are always do overs and second chances.

When that happens, you move forward & find a new way . . and often the new way makes you realize the old way was just that, a way which took you only so far for so long. The new route is better & hasn’t as many ruts because you learned from what is now past.

When you have done your best where you are, with no regrets, your life deserves your best efforts now – focused on leading you down the new pathway! As I will attest, what lies down the new pathway, although at first uncertain & so different than expected, will soon become the sure-footed way you were surely meant to go all along! God often just closes those doors when He knows something you don’t. There is a reason & a season for different aspects of our lives, when the doors shut, look for the open one which brings you to new people, new places & new experiences!

That is your future, the rest is best left in the past where it belongs. You can look back & see the lessons which taught you what you needed to learn, but then leave the door closed & go eagerly through the open one . . for that is where your future lies! I have learned that through the open door all the things I left behind were never what they really seemed anyway. Often what we find when we close a door is that we should have closed it a lot sooner!! Go forward in life & be open to what you’ll find . . it isn’t fair to you to give so much energy to things & people & places which aren’t returning the time invested. The sooner you learn to see what doesn’t bring you adequate return for your time & energy given, respecting & honoring your value, the sooner you will want to move ahead, close the doors & walk through the open doors ahead!

How To Swim!!!

13 Saturday Jul 2013

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Change, Conquering Fear, Courage, Growing, Success

≈ Leave a comment

To learn how to swim, we must be willing to risk leaving the sanctity of the shallow waters & the safe havens. We must be willing to go where we’re not sure we can, to work for what we want & to risk everything sometimes to endeavor to achieve that end goal! Swimmers don’t stay in one place, they don’t cling to the railings, they don’t hover on the steps. They let go & move forward into the watery depths, trusting themselves to learn how to overcome any fears, to develop the necessary techniques & to grow in ability. With each practice session, the swimmer grows more accustomed to the depths & expanses in which their stroke will take them. They learn to trust in their own intuitive awareness of ability against conditions faced. Eventually, a swimmer can become so accustomed to being a part of a foreign environment of water & less oxygen, that they seemingly develop gills of proficiency! But that only happens when they first have the courage to let go of the railing, to propel from the wall & to venture out into the depths which challenge them! Life is never fully lived on the steps, clinging to the railing . . it’s comfortable there perhaps, but it won’t let you realize many dreams! Only when we endeavor, when we dare, when we let go of what is safe & when we pursue in earnest . . only then can we truly develop something new within us!

Steps of Life

18 Tuesday Jun 2013

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Character, Choices, Courage, Fullness, Giving, Integrity, Opportunity, Passion

≈ Leave a comment

If someone is faltering in their steps, don’t watch them at a distance crumbling with the weight of their burdens. We are our brother’s & sister’s keepers. We are meant to find supernatural strength & fortitude not only for ourselves but especially for those we love & those whom are in our care. What is the world if we forget that first & foremost we are humans connected in & by our humanity? What will it mean to the world if we forget to nurture, love & value through our compassionate care those whom are nearest & within arms reach?? Do we want to become so self-involved as people that we allow our singularity in being to resonate as loneliness or isolation instead? Do we want to forget what is common & similar within all of us because we are so dead set on having what we ourselves want first & foremost?

I see so many selfish & soulless pursuits in life anymore, so many people trampled on during the daily parade of rats seeking the cheese. There was always more than enough cheese for us all, no need to become one of the rats by forgetting others are in the maze with you. People are slowly eroding & vacating any hope for their own prosperity as a species . We are forgetting our humanity & what matters. We are so much more accepting & complacent about things which denigrate us all & which do nothing to encourage the betterment of mankind in general. It is like we’ve grown numb to all the outrage, we just don’t care as much anymore. If all of humanity loses too much of its intrinsic & God-given humanity, it evolves into a life form lower than any creature of which I am aware. Humanity only prospers one heart, one hand, one smile, one gesture of kindness & one unfettering, unfaltering willful step at a time!

The Ascending Ladder of Life . .

11 Tuesday Jun 2013

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Character, Choices, Conquering Fear, Courage, Inspiration, Strength

≈ Leave a comment

All of life is like rungs on an ascending ladder meant to carry you to the level where you are now, with some rungs representing life events & choices below & some infinite number yet above you. That is how it works, the events & choices we make carry meaning, either positive & negative, causing our reactions & actions. We either let ourselves be defined by something positive which occurred and resulted in ascending the rungs to the next level, or we let our circumstances & the inherent negativity within them, take us into a descent.

Some people have allowed life to beat them down after so much perceived negativity or uncertainty that they believe themselves to have risen no higher than where they first started. Or worse, they choose to stay off the ladder! Their attitude has no altitude, so they as well no longer take any risks by climbing up any higher. Others have been knocked down a few times, or often even, but always consider their goals & dreams for this life to be worth taking that risk of falling or failure! They may have even been shaken off their ladder from a great height, falling flat & hitting rock bottom, but they still desire the heights at the top, so they continue to climb!

Each of us has to determine our own will, our own fearlessness & our own endurance for climbing. But life IS an uphill climb, it is always ascending, that is a given & that is our challenge to take! How we contend with it all, our attitudes & our ability to control our own emotions determines the pace of our ascent & our final altitude upon life’s completion. We might prefer the ground level, we may enjoy some place in between, but we should remember our abilities are limitless, we are meant to challenge ourselves to reach great & unexpected heights by reaching the clouds! Often times though, what we deem acceptable is merely our fear, our worry, or our tired-out will doing our thinking for us!

Ladders take us higher than the places upon which we can stand while on the ground, they serve a purpose in lifting us up, in helping us to see new vistas & perceiving new points of view. You are only assured of that when you face your fear. Step up willingly onto each new rung, risking the falls but continuing to climb! You were meant to see each new rung not as something dire, but as a step towards your destiny! Enjoy the climb, for as Jack discovered when he ascended the beanstalk – although there are challenges & fears which must be met upon the way, the only place to find the magic beans is up!!

Thankful for My Normal . . .

11 Tuesday Jun 2013

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Character, Choices, Commitment, Family, God, Gratitude, Integrity, Lessons, Life, Love, Strength

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Love, thankful, Thankfulness

When I see the normal to which others ascribe, I want to drop to my knees and am thankful to God for my sense of normal! My life has been far from perfect, idyllic or even one of privilege, but my life has been perfectly idyllic in what blessings I have had! I have been richly blessed for instance with parents who did their best, never turned from or shirked their responsibilities regarding home & family, especially their children. In fact, they worked hard & diligently to provide what we needed whenever we needed it. They were not from wealthy families, in fact, my father was the first member of his immigrant blue-collar family to go to college! He deliberately took the time to consider all of life’s options, choosing quite wisely for his family when moving us as his job demanded . . which we did many times as kids.

He took great care when picking houses he could afford in the best areas he could find, he checked out the school & the districts, even when accepting his new positions he weighed the impact of all its benefits upon us, his family. When laid off, he never quit looking for work even though it would sometimes be a lengthy process of hundreds of interviews & rejections, with him flying around the country to look for what might work. He never considered his failing to provide as even being an option. He just did what he had to do & always held his confident demeanor with us. My parents both never bought more than they could afford, qualified for every home & lived on a wing & prayer when they had to move us during one of my father’s relocations or promotions, hoping the current one would sell so that they could buy one in the new location.

My mom actually lived without a car, with three kids all of school age, for over six months back east, in snowy weather, as my father had to take the only one we had to drive out west for his new job. She relied upon my grandparents to come down to her house from a state nearby each weekend to take us all out for groceries & to do errands. That was just what had to be done, & we were all a willing part, no one gave up, left or got bitter or resentful about it. We never considered it anyone else’s problem, just a part of our family’s life of sometimes struggling but definitely loving!

Life isn’t always easy & without struggle, sometimes it requires cooperation among family members, it might require getting by with less for a while or compromising on having all the toys because we have kids. We have to learn to do what we need to do for each other, instead of expecting others to do for us or just taking what isn’t rightfully ours. This retrospective look keeps me earnestly aware of how impatient we’ve all become, expecting things right away, not knowing how to wait upon or work as hard for things which we might have. I see the normal of some people & although my normal was not always perfect, I will take it & be thankful for it, as it taught me that love doesn’t quit on hard times, it doesn’t walk away from duty & responsibilities, it doesn’t stop feeding, clothing & housing or expect things when it’s just not the right time.

Love is patient . . love endures . . love is what remains when everything else material & thus inconsequential passes. I might not have always had the dream life, my family might not have lived in a castle, but we surely had enough of anything that mattered . . & still do! This is what family means, love without cost & worth any price!

Life is in the Lessons . .

23 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Choices, Life, Strength, Trials

≈ Leave a comment

Life is in the lessons . . we’re not always happy to open our texts & study for them, & sometimes we just get those obnoxious pop quizzes, but we must learn to exuberantly pass them if we wish to stop having to relearn the lessons & stay where we are!

Lessons are the vehicle of our transport beyond this stage of life, without them we would remain forever behind a “grade” & thus, we’d be always looking around us at the new faces of those who’ll pass the grade successfully or we’ll see the same faces of those, who like us, are stuck! I don’t know about you, but I didn’t ever like the idea of being held back when I was actually in school . . and I surely don’t like that concept now in the “Hardknocks School of Life!” I consider myself an able & ardent learner, a good student even, so if it requires my learning a lesson I’m not all that fond of in life. To be considered a good student, just as when I had to learn & pass geometry, I will make it through no matter! Some life lessons stink, but we have to have faith that the lesson will lead us to a better place & a better us!

Leading Others With Your Light . .

01 Monday Apr 2013

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Choices, Commitment, Faith, Inspiration, Lessons, Life

≈ Leave a comment

Leading others with your light is of the utmost importance. It’s not as important that the messages of faith be heard as it is to see the great joy in the heart of the messengers, those of us who believe! Our profound love, our faithful twinkle, all our souls & spirits alive with the light of God! We believers can do ourselves great disservice when we insist in adhering to the letter of the “law” as we know it rather than being lighthouses of guidance through our own example! It’s not nearly as important to be “right” as it is righteous. If we flounder, that is not such a big deal for we know our Lord forgives us, so we need to forgive ourselves, forgive others & let acceptance again replace our disdain. If we stumble in our walk, we need to just keep asking for guidance in our journey, as we know not what He that created us does, we are inherently walking in darkness & uncertainty. We need to let Him lead us like the sun leads the world, then we need to be bastions of that light for others who are lost or uncertain. That means walking in profound faith, with expectation & joyful contentment in His promises! Actions speak louder than words! We are the His examples while we walk this earth, for He has truly risen!