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Tag Archives: Peace of Mind

Hope Is the Beating Heart . .

05 Wednesday Jul 2017

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Choices, Contentment, Faith, God, Hope, Joy, Peace, Purpose

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Contentment, Hope, Joy, Peace of Mind

Something sorely lacking from our society today is hope. Hope, the promise of something more than this life, something better tomorrow than today, is the fulfillment of God’s Word as truth. Hope is the beating heart which refuses to quit when every single impulse screams otherwise! Hope is looking through, beyond, and with your heart filled with promise because there is actually more than this, more than this one moment of pain, discomfort, failure, loss, and brokenness. Hope leads us each new day with faith into all the unknowns, beyond all our negativity, past our own emotions, and through all that seems to weaken our will. Hope. Hope in something more than this! Never cease in hoping, regardless those “realists” who insist that being hopeful is a weak man’s game played with no prize or victory in the end! There is always a reason to hope, and in spite of those intellectuals who insist otherwise, hope compels us to live with more joy, peace of mind, and contentment within. Hope is a reward in and of itself! A hopeful attitude keeps us afloat when others around us are drowning in uncertainty, despair, worry, or other temporary states of being! Hope within keeps us from letting our current emotions color our life for all time!

 

Sure, someone reading this may speak to the triteness of these expressions and adages regarding hope. They may have their own personal experiences to prove me wrong! They may have tried consistently to be hopeful, yet things never reversed or turned out otherwise! Perhaps they just let the world and their temporary circumstances define their lives in total. Letting others in this world, or even the present state of the world as you perceive it, dictate your emotions is like giving the keys to your home and car to another for safe keeping! Your emotions are in your control, they’re not contingent upon the actions, words, beliefs, or even emotions of others. Sure we may empathize or sympathize with others, we may share in many emotions such as joy. But we are the only ones who decide whether or not we are joyful, peaceful, content and hopeful about our lives now and in whatever time we face ahead! Hope is our choice to believe that this life is purposeful, meaningful, and even with momentary hardships, failures, or despair, that this life is worth living!  

A lot of what our lives become is in our will and hands to decide! Our emotions surely are, even if circumstances, events, and the state of the world overall are not. We could just go with the flow, allowing our lives to become purely reactionary in response, rather than purposefully choosing to be hopeful in spite of whatever happens to us or around us! Hope is God’s promises for our lives realized in our faithful perseverance through everything, knowing that we are ultimately here for His purposes! Things are not promised to us, our lives will not always be pain-free, happy-go-lucky, or even seen constantly through rose-colored lenses! Life happens, our duty is to learn, develop, change, grow, choose, and to move forward with hope. That is our chosen role. Hope for our own lives is not something we should leave to others who have their own lives to live. Hope is not a far-fetched concept only the lucky can master! Hope is merely a choice we make every single day to not just exist in our current state of being, but rather to look forward, through, beyond, and into the future with joyful expectancy as well as contented faith in God’s plans for us! Hope promises us that this is not all there is. Hope assures us that today’s events and our present emotions are not the sole markers of our lives overall. Hope affirms to us that life is uncertain, but the choice is always ours to be content, to stay peaceful, to stay joyful within, to feel what emotions we must for a time but then to heal and move forward. We owe it to ourselves to keep hope ever-present within, as it provides the comfort, compass, and blanket of rest over everything we experience and feel! 

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Change is Surely Inevitable . .

19 Monday Jun 2017

Posted by Cheryl Ries in aging, Attitude, Change, Choices, Conquering Fear, Lessons, Life, Maturity, Peace, Strength, Wisdom

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Acceptance, aging, Change, Peace of Mind

I miss the way things were earlier in my lifetime when I was younger and life seemed simpler. I suppose it’s a common phenomenon of growing older that change can leave a lot of our lives unrecognizable or just a wee bit uncomfortable. It’s inevitable, there are cycles in life, natural lifespans, and popularity, which impacts what we’re surrounded by each day we live. Everything and everybody which once surrounds us will ultimately fall victim to time’s passing, especially upon hitting mid-life. And the hardest part of growing old is watching all that is familiar give way to something new, different, or otherwise unfamiliar to us. Change is surely inevitable, but not always preferential! And accepting change is the most challenging but essential aspect of aging! Especially at a time like this when everything seems to change so much more rapidly than in years and generations prior. Perhaps we live in the time of the most significant change societies have ever had to absorb since the beginning of human existence in the world. I cannot say for sure, as I only live in this time.

 

Surely the earliest of human beings had to deal with a lot of perceptible development, just by becoming adults. There were significant and momentous developments visible through the ages, much like those evident during the industrial revolution or with the development of language in each culture over time. But these days, keeping up with things is literally imperative to know the ever-changing colloquial language, as well as all that which influences daily life. Imagine what would become of someone unfamiliar with even the most simple of technological developments these days? If someone didn’t know how to use a portable, instantaneous form of communicating such as a cell phone, they would probably feel very ignorant in this contemporary world! We’re able to instantly communicate, nearly everywhere in the world. We can speak, write, and even render our thoughts across the globe in seconds! Without an awareness of the internet, cell phones, computers, or other forms of technology, people would be clueless about much of the world’s modern functionality!  

And in that reflection, there are people in the world alive today who had the earliest form of telephone service available. They first had landlines which required operators to connect a call or which had multiple party connections, which meant negotiating for phone usage, and took considerable time for connecting from one place only miles away to others. A phone call was a great luxury when the telephone first became a household staple and even having a phone was not guaranteed in every household as a cell phone is expected to be these days. Having a telephone was a privilege one had to be able to afford to actually have. It was not that long ago that many of us living today had hard-wired phones, hanging on our walls or sitting on our tables. We had to manually dial all the numbers on a large rotary dial and we couldn’t move beyond the distance the length of the curled connecting cord between the base and the handset allowed. We didn’t always get through instantaneously because it took more time to actually dial, especially long distance, and there were often either interruptions or perhaps the line would be busy already. I’m surely not an expert on the history of such technology, but I lived through several technological changes over my lifetime which developed into the instantaneous, wireless, global service we have today! If Maxwell Smart were alive and spying today, would he even bother with a shoe phone? 

When I think of all the changes which I’ve witnessed and absorbed in my lifetime, I’m often disturbed by the pace of things! It’s not necessarily all that comfortable to grow old with things always changing, as things don’t often change for the better! As we age, change seems to be more prolific and more impactful such as with more of our family and friends passing away. It’s a matter of time’s natural passing and lifespan. We merely have to learn to become more accepting of living without those with whom we were first closely surrounded. And we must learn to let go of a lot of regular aspects of our daily lives. All things and people have a natural lifespan, including the familiar businesses, places, and landmarks of our communities and our hometowns. Everything comes and goes, with some random time pattern, not always of our choosing! It’s just a part of life. We might really enjoy a restaurant, perhaps we’re even regulars there,  we become our own version of “Norm!” from Cheers (a sitcom from the 1980’s) to some group we routinely encounter there. But then that place suffers from an economic downturn or the owners choose to retire, or some other random incident causes its closure. That happens repeatedly as we age, especially if we stay in the same place over a long period of time. We take notice of changes, of communities shifting and changing in demographics, in population, in prosperity, and economically. Landscapes with which we have great familiarity seem to morph into something unfamiliar and all-too-new. Change without our developing sense of acceptance is just unsettling.   

I often wish I could keep more of the familiar people and places in my life, sans change! It isn’t always comfortable or easy to accept a lot of the change which comes with age and with time’s passing. But acceptance is a strange bedfellow because it enables us to make as much peace as possible with something which inherently at first feels uncomfortable or unpleasant. And getting better at accepting things is making my life easier, even with all the bombardment of change which now seems “normal” at this time period of my life. I can’t go back to a time when life seemed simpler or easier, and I cannot slow life down to make it seem more tolerable. This life is going at a pace which requires my constant endurance and daily acceptance! And I work each new day to keep those muscles flexing for the fevered pace of change we’re experiencing in 2017! Who knows what is coming next in the world, by way of technological developments, or in my own community? It’s all constantly changing and morphing into a new version of today, each new tomorrow!

An Easy Escape . .

18 Monday Apr 2016

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Choices, Contentment, Escape, Gratitude, Happiness, Joy, Peace

≈ 2 Comments

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Contentment, Joy, Peace of Mind, Rest

When we feel the pressures, stresses and fears of life pushing inward upon our souls as well as our spirits, we have only to seek out nature and a quiet calm surrender within it. When we don’t feed our spirits or our souls with the nutrients of life – the beauty and tranquility into which we can easily escape even for a moment – we deny ourselves an idyllic meditative and prayerful place. Yes, you may encounter imperfections in nature . . you may find yourself in a sneezing fit from flowers that are blooming, or you may find a critter scampering near you that startles you a bit, or you might feel vulnerable just from the sheer quiet. But in truth, I find nature no more or less threatening than the city streets clamoring with traffic and noise.  1_flickr_mathhew_paulson_embed

I escape to the quiet surrender of mountains, streams, deserts, ocean vistas, and meadows. I find such great delight in the quiet of a forest, the gentle lapping of a stream against rocks, the wind caressing the petals of wildflowers in a faraway meadow, the desert filled with cacti unique and surreal. These are the places we have near. For myself, I also have made an effort to surround the house in which I live with those same things . . variations in height for interest, trees to provide shade and shelter for wildlife, the greenery of all variations and types for a never-ending blending of leaves, colors and textures, cacti of all sorts, as well as plentiful flowers to bring scent and beauty with each new bloom. I also have added features with the sounds of water moving and a bird bath to attract nature’s visitors during all times of the year. My goal is to make my yard not only a sanctuary for many of nature’s creatures, but for anyone who is here! I still enjoy greatly my trips to surrounding mountains, streams, lakes, meadows, and wilderness, but at least I have some place to easily escape here too.   20140608-115131-42691870

It’s amazing to me, how even just a block from a major street, life can seem completely tranquil amidst the beauty of nature all around me! I would suggest to everyone who struggles with the stresses of life to create for themselves, even in a small space, a tranquil retreat, a quiet spot to just be . . for nature is an abundant resource for our pleasure! And escape to nature often too . . it awaits you somewhere not too far away! There you will find a great place to calm your nerves, soothe your spirit and to connect with the Creator.    Signature02

Let It Go!!

13 Tuesday Oct 2015

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Change, Choices, Contentment, Freedom, Lessons, Maturity

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Forgiveness, Letting Go, Peace of Mind

So many people are held by some anger, some bitterness or resentment from their past or from past events in life that their entire lives reflect it. Often they’re like lit fuses waiting to flare whenever the mere mention of the original experience is even thought of or mentioned. But the actual toll upon the soul of bearing that burden isn’t from the original source, or the original insult long since concluded; it is derived from the feelings and emotions of anger, resentment, bitterness or pain still harbored within by choice!  93124-People+will+hurt+yougod+will+h

Nothing we allow to fester within us ever becomes anything but an open wound, an unhealed sore or a vivid scar. We have to face what bothers us, feel what we must; but then we must learn to release it once and for all. If someone wrongs us years ago, what is the point of carrying that as a badge of honor into a time and place where no one else can change it or carry the burden for us? It is our choice to carry, but it is often then our burden to bear and ours alone! By not letting go of anger, bitterness, resentment or some perceived wounding, we are allowing ourselves to be continuously harmed by it! Surely we don’t have to forget what we deem to be a wrong, but we don’t have to hold them in our hearts, minds and beings for eternity! Letting go of the sense of being wronged, and the anger, bitterness or resentment which comes from such an experience is necessary for our lives to seem peaceful and content, as well as joyful. Even the slightest taste of that wound relived repeatedly keeps the virus of it alive within us! And no one who lives will go through life without being wronged at some point. It isn’t always easy or natural to forgive, but for the sake of having peace within as a result by doing so. It isn’t as though we have to let people off the hook or go unpunished when we believe they’ve hurt us or done something bad. But when we choose to acknowledge wrongs, purposeful and not, we are placing some weight of that on our own souls by choice! Many choose then to relive the experience through angry outbursts, bitter diatribes or resentful comments repeatedly over many years to come. And like everything else which has already come and gone, nothing can change what has already occurred!  forgiveness2__1_2_8919

Choose to let go before what impacts you starts to wear on you. Give up the need to hold onto the wrongs done to you, or the wrongs you perceive that you bore unfairly, for your own sake. For just like forgiveness is a means of unloading one’s own soul of a burden by forgiving another, letting go of anger, bitterness or resentment over something long past is the healthier choice for the long run. There is nothing unjust or unfair about letting something go which no longer can be remedied or changed in any other way. Holding on to an offense you believe you endured only serves to keep you a prisoner and victim to its power! Letting something go serves to keep it from eating further away at you or from being its lifelong hostage and victim!  Signature02

My Joy Is Not Conditional . .

06 Monday Jul 2015

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Choices, Contentment, Faith, Joy, Positivity

≈ 2 Comments

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Faithfulness, God, Joy, Peace of Mind

It feels great to consider the possibilities of a new day joyful, even though there are many unexpected moments and uncertainties ahead. My joy is not conditional. It won’t come or go, untethered, as if adrift in some wind’s changeable currents. Joy is a state of being, a decision of one’s soul and spirit. It is not really changeable, unless the soul or spirit renounces it in favor of unease, negativity, misery and inner unrest. bible-quote

Joy comes from living contentedly, at peace and in faithful rest by purposeful choice in God and His will. Joy isn’t the same as momentary happiness, it goes so much deeper than that! Real joy dwells within the emotions and temperament of a determined and disciplined soul; and thus is tied to the self-control of emotions and the attitudes consistent within. No outer influence can take your joy, unless and until you cede your joy from within as a result. Things happen which take our happiness for a time and even bring us great sadness; but joy is a rebounding state within, whereby the soul refuses to don the gown of misery, negativity, faithlessness or hardness forever as a result.  bible-verses-4

Joy is the soul’s chosen acceptance of life’s bounty, beauty and blessings, in spite of moments of unhappiness and periods of great sadness! Being joyful is to keep one’s heart focused on the very blessings of life and the promises of God with faith, hope and a sense of calm; concentrating on what is positive and uplifting rather than to hold onto what saddens, breaks or strips from us our hope. Joy belongs to the over-comer; who with faithful expectancy and hope, sees each new day as a priceless gift regardless what is looming, what actually happens or what may yet come! Consider this new day joyful, for that is your choice!  Signature02

Savor This Day . .

09 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Choices, Contentment, Joy, Peace

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Contentment, Gratitude, Peace of Mind

 

 

 

 

I’m savoring the cool mornings we have right now . . windows open, birds chirping and the first rays of that sun rising to greet the day. It’s a bit of perfection, this time of year, this season. I know to be appreciative because it will soon enough change to something different. And although different doesn’t necessarily mean worse or in some way lesser quality, I want to be present in this moment because it cannot remain this way; this day will never come again, nothing is promised besides now.  th8LMLQURJ

I looked at all the peaches forming on my peach tree; each blossom once dotting the branches now becoming a small, forming fruit out of the beautiful, soft pink eruption of Spring’s first days. Although the blossoms had time to shine, now it is time for the fruit to prevail. In every thing there is purpose no matter longevity or brevity; in every day there is possibility and the opportunity to form something from the nothing of its dawning. There is growth and change from what once was to what now is. And so it is again with this day, my chance to seize upon this near-perfect start by making what is to come something as blessed as this moment right now!  thZ6KM4MMC

I believe it will be up to me as to how this day is played out and remembered. If I want this idyllic start to continue throughout the unknown day ahead, I better keep within me the attitude and appreciation which first enabled me to recognize the moment as it happened and then to be grateful for it! My attitude about this day shall direct my overall assertions about this day when all is said and done. I’m learning to take time in my day to realize how special the day and how blessed the moments, each unique, each precious and each serving a purpose in my journey.

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Constant Spring . .

08 Wednesday Apr 2015

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Christianity, Contentment, Faithfulness, Joy, Peace

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Attitude, Contentment, Peace of Mind

Every day of Spring is a new taste of beauty, nature, something unfolding after a period of closure and even near death. Winter is brutal, life seems to struggle to a silent demise or into a quiet surrender. The harsh climate of Winter is like the season of a person’s life in which death is near. But then comes Spring again! And with that new season, we are reminded that all is not lost and neither are we!  Lamb-sheep-30710619-1280-853

Spring wakens the lifeless, breathes hope back into the quiet and cold; it is the season of life which harkens to our need as human beings for continued faith and hope. In Spring, we can see life unfold anew, we feel warmth upon our skin again. We notice buds promising new leaves, new flowers, new growth and more reason to hope. In every creature newborn into the world each Spring, we can imagine how persistent life is regardless how near our own Autumn or Winter we are in life; and we see life overcoming our own fear about life ending. With Spring unfolding eagerly around us, we forget that life is dimming, dulling or lapsing. All we notice with Spring is the way in which life refuses to cede to death! And that is the message of God’s promise through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, at Easter-time, in Spring.  homeguides_articles_thumbs_10_best_plants_to_grow_in_winter_cover_jpg_600x275_q85_crop

He came so that we might know God; but He also came so that we might be with God eternally! That was His purpose in facing Crucifixion upon the Cross. He took our sin for all time so that we might live eternally with God. In Him, therefore, we have reasons every single day to await life; regardless the season and our condition! We might be overwhelmed, sickly, breaking down or facing turmoil; but when we realize we have seen God’s promises fulfilled through Christ having overcome death on the Cross, we can have faith and hope to live life regardless! Our hope and faith, like God’s grace, is new each day! We needn’t feel depleted or without our source of faith and hope in Christ because He overcame, and so shall we! So instead of feeling so low, wounded, broken or disturbed by life, we can take great comfort in the constant state of God’s promises to us. We are living a constant Spring every single day because no matter what comes of life, no matter the season, we have eternal life just because we believe! And in that eternal Spring we’re promised, we should sense as much if not more joy, contentment and peace as we do in each day of each yearly Spring we experience!  Signature02

Contentment, the Gift We Give Ourselves . .

18 Wednesday Mar 2015

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Choices, Christianity, Contentment, Gratitude, Joy, Peace

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Contentment, Joy, Peace of Mind

Nature and I seem just as content with this day sans sunshine as we were yesterday with its abundance! Contentment is the gift we give ourselves in a world eager to try it and test it right out of us. It comes from a practice of making peace first within us so that no matter what happens or the conditions of any given day, we’re equipped to “handle” it before it handles us.

Best-Inspirational-quote

To have peace within means accepting that things aren’t always in our control, going our way or turning out as we had planned. Peacefulness is taking our hits and hurts in those moments we experience them, but not letting them take from us our hope for a time or especially forever. Learning how to make ourselves tranquil within enables us to vanquish the chaos and madness of the world; we’re able to silence the incessant noises of distraction and bother, as well as the ramblings of our own mind seeking control over what we cannot control or answers for questions which still remain. Contentment isn’t complacency, it isn’t ignorance or disregard. Contentment is learning and practicing the art of staying peacefully centered within, when the world is tilting or turning off balance externally.     content

We need to practice this each and every day if we ever hope to be peaceful in life! Without contentment in spite of this or that, our peaceful minds and hearts can easily wear down, fatigue or give way, becoming just a part of this swirling eddy, that nasty fray, those turbulent tides and these negative winds of change. To be content with life as it occurs takes commitment and a concerted effort when life is pushing all of our buttons; but without that centered tether-hold on our soul, we risk losing who we are and what we’re yet to become! As Paul writes in the Bible, in Philippians 4: 11- 12 . . 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.      Signature02

 

Nature’s More Subtle Reminder . .

14 Saturday Mar 2015

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Celebration, Choices, Contentment, Fullness, God, Gratitude

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Contentment, Nature, Peace of Mind

Such a fabulous morning with windows open to let the cool air in; the birds are again delighting me with their magical songs and all the world seems filled with Saturday’s magic! I used to find the same type of magic on this particular day of the week as a child just by turning on some silly, familiar cartoons; but now I look to nature first as my source of entertainment! 1240126_703685716311915_1942277022_n

 

It’s easier I suppose to be distracted by the human world these days, to the point of being caught up in its chaos and busyness; it’s easier to be entertained to the point of neglecting our own peace of mind and our own comfort by all the new devices and instant access. I have even learned how to procrastinate to a whole new level because I so readily give my attention and time to things which cry out with buzzing, beeping, ringing, vibrating, or through notifications! We’re a distracted society now, busy and seemingly quite pressed for time; but nature soothes my soul and constantly reminds me of how life is so much more than tv, phones, all the stuff we have and even this silly box! I value those tools of human creation for what I am able to do and how I am able to connect to the world; but I value what God has created far more these days!

All those humans whom share my life each day, all the creatures outside my window on mornings such as this, as well as all the glory of everything under and around the sun, moon and stars has profoundly filled me with the most intense love and gratitude for God! I have learned that everything is a convenient trap, in that the more we have, the more we think we need. And often, what we think we need in a particular moment ends up being something which we readily forget about and set aside even a day later. Perhaps the trap is set by someone who wants us to forget how easily we can connect to God in other ways? Maybe if we put the stuff down, letting go our urge to amass things and focus on the persistent material things in nature (even though it usually doesn’t beep, buzz, or notify us as intently!), we will find more peace and contentment again.  I enjoy having all my stuff, being connected to the world through the man-made devices, all while being entertained; but I have realized if it all went away tomorrow, my value and that of the world is and always will be found in so much more! We came to life with nothing; and that should remind us that our value isn’t found in anything but us, what is around us in the form of other human beings, other creatures and what lives on in the world in nature!      Signature02

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Cheryl Ries-Author & Model

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