It may not be everything you dreamed of but...

When you are facing rough times you dream of what you wish would happen to fix it. When you are dreaming you tend to dream so big that it becomes unrealistic to think it actually could happen. So remember that when you do get it fixed enough to get through it. It isn't everything you dreamed it would be but you should be thankful that it is at least everything you needed. As long as you have what you need you can relax while you are dreaming. I believe that is why the divorce rate is so high because their dreams of what married life would be like were just unrealistic. I have been married for 36 years and just the simple fact that we are still married is a dream come true even though it was nothing like I dreamed about. You can be successful in business even if it isn't everything you dreamed it could be. Some dreams really do come true but you don't acknowledge them because they are not exactly as big as you had dreamed. Don't miss out on all of the "little things" that happen in your life because you are too busy chasing after something so big that you will probably never be able to reach it. To enjoy what you have you have to be thankful for what you have.

The sound of the rain

As I sat on my porch during the rain storm the sound of music was playing loudly. As the rain came down it landed on the metal chair making a steady rhythm like the beat of a drum. As it bounced off of the chair it made a ping as it fell onto the table next to it. At first it was music for my ears. Then all of a sudden came a loud bolt of lightning that shook the ground. You could no longer hear the sound of music only the thunder roaring.  In a flash I quickly ran inside. Once inside I could no longer hear the music it now sounded like a war. With every lightning strike it felt like a cannon had fell to the ground causing the house to shake. Eventually the storm had passed and the sky was blue and you could hear the birds chirping happily as they waited for the worms to come out. The frogs were all croaking with delight at the puddles they could play in. The sound of the animals after the storm was music to my ears. It reminded me that in life you go through rainstorms that sometimes turn into tornadoes but if you hang on when the storm passes you will be able to enjoy the sounds of music again.

Don't wait for an answer to a question that there simply is no answer to.

There may not be an answer to your question, not even on Google. But that doesn't mean that you can't keep moving along. We naturally want to know why things have happened. But regardless of whether we will ever know why or not, the fact is it did happen. You don't need the answer to why it happened, you simply need to know that you have to accept it. Which reminds me of the church sign that inspired me. "It's ok to sit on your pity potty every now and again just be sure to FLUSH when you are done." So when you find yourself with a question that has no answer that the answer is always JUST FLUSH IT to keep moving.

You don't even realize that you are doing it

My teenage son and I have in depth conversations about random subjects that are brought to our attention by our local news. One of his teachers also includes discussing current events in the news. Unfortunately we have had to discuss the school shootings that no child or parent or teachers or anyone should have to. The subject of the type of culture that we all have to live in creates these situations always comes up. For generations the "ADULTS" have ignored the deteriating compassion for one another. Family unity and community unity is necessary to stop the insanity we see in society. You can't possibly ignore that our children are not even safe at schools. They are not even safe in their own homes because the drive by shooter doesn't care who gets hit by the bullets they fire. They are desensitized to caring about any human life. It's time we stand United to stop the violence. It starts with raising our children to have compassion for everyone. To have respect for one another. Give them the ability to grow up without fear of a bullet coming at them.

If you decide before it happens then you will determine what happens

If you decide how something is going to turn out before you even get there then you prevent what was supposed to happen from happening. You can be so focused on what to expect that you are in defense mode. And the look on your face and your demeanor when you are in defense mode can change the whole situation. Have you ever looked in the mirror when you are agitated? The way you are thinking about things affects everything. That is why people are always saying you have to think positive thoughts if there is any chance for a positive outcome. Your thoughts are your reality. Keep an open mind so that when an opportunity comes along you don't miss your opportunity. Opportunities don't come along often so don't let your thoughts limit your chances of getting any opportunity at all.

Once upon a time

Once upon a time there was community unity. The phrase it takes a village to raise a child comes to mind. I not only had my parents watching me but the neighbors were watching too. And back then the neighbors talked to your parents to let them know anything they might have not seen. Nowadays everyone keeps to themselves and they do everything they can to not even notice anyone. If they do see anything they sure don't take the time to tell anyone. As a child I was annoyed when the neighbors would tell on me but as an adult I would give anything if neighbors still watched out for each other. Together we can bring back community unity by uniting to make our neighborhoods safe.

Changing with the times

As time goes by there are a lot of changes that happen. Like your new electronics become old and obsolete in a year. My grandkids even change what they like to eat from month to month making their old favorites that I just stocked up on obsolete. And when you get old the food you eat changes to what agrees with your body. What you can buy cheap one day can sky rocket the next day like the price of gas lately. What worked in the old days won't work today because times have changed. You will just have to accept the changes and change with the times to navigate through life. After you experience decades of changes you can barely remember how things used to be like not having a cell phone. Today it is a necessity that you can't imagine being without. If you don't keep up with the changes you will find yourself lost in the dark about things you need to know. You may not like all the changes but you will have to make the necessary changes to stay on track in life.

Talking about it and doing something about it are totally opposite

People constantly talk to each other about what they see as problems. They can give many details and examples of the problem. They are full of ideas about what should be done about them. But unfortunately they just talk about it with no actions to even attempt to do anything to fix the problem. Talk is cheap action speaks volumes. Just like you may talk about what you need to build and you can make a list of the supplies you need. Even if you have a good plan of how you can do it and you know what you need it means nothing unless you buy what you need and you do the work to do it. Don't just talk about it get up and do what you need to do.

It could take years before the reason is clear

I truly believe that everything happens for a reason. One day you will look back and the reason it happened will be suddenly clear because you realize had it not happened you wouldn't be where you are today. It can sometimes be so difficult when you are going through it that you can't see any positive reason why  it could be happening. The reason sometimes is to help someone else get where they need to be. But most of the time it is exactly what had to happen to get you where you need to be. It may feel like a tornado just came into your life and destroyed everything but whether you will admit it or not you were never going to get there so it took a tornado to move you there. Just hold on tight and see where you land when it's over. Then you can get up and put your feet firmly on the ground and grow wherever you are planted.

What are they being taught at home?

While I was doing my grocery shopping I saw two examples of "parenting" that will definitely have a negative impact on the adults those children will become. The first incident was a young girl around five years old. She accidentally knocked over a few items that were stacked on display. Her immediate reaction (as it should be) was to say oops and bend down to start picking them up off the floor. But as she was doing it her mother told her to stop and come on. So the little girl got up leaving them scattered all over the floor. What lesson did that child learn? Even though you are born with a conscience you can be taught to ignore it. Then in the freezer aisle I watched two boys around seven and nine start opening one freezer door after another grabbing an item out and putting it in a totally different section. Out of the two freezer aisles they scattered around fifty or so items. All the way through both aisles their mother would glance back at them as they giggled while they were opening and closing the many doors. But instead of stopping them she would turn her head and continue down the aisle. What lesson did those boys learn? Every home is a classroom and every parent is a teacher.

You may not always get it done in time but as long as you get it done that is what is most important

Sometimes you can be so busy that you run out of time. But as along as you get it done as soon as you can that is the important thing. Sometimes you just forget about it. But as long as when you remember you get it done that is the important thing. Sometimes you realize that it can't be done just exactly the way you had planned. But however you have to do it as long as it gets done that is the important thing. Doing things the best you can with any circumstances you may be facing is the most important thing. If is important to you then the only thing that matters is the fact you got it done. Everything in life doesn't always go as you had planned but if it is important to you then you can always get it done.

Do you think you should be doing that?

Think about all the choices you made today. Are you happy with the choices you made? Did you do anything that now after thinking about it, that you wish you would have done differently? Everyday we make choices that make a difference to ourselves and others. Don't forget choosing to do nothing is also a choice you make. At the end of the day we all want to be happy with the choices we made.

Trying to remember a word while it plays hide and seek in your brain

Sometimes the word you want to say is right on the tip of your toungue then poof it disappears. You might have even said it two or three times already but suddenly you can't think of the word. You concentrate real hard trying to think of what it was. It is frustrating when you know you know it. It is as if the word has decided to play hide and seek with you. It is in there but it is hiding within your mind. After searching for a moment you give up and go on with your conversation. Then later that day out of the clear blue the word pops up front and center in your mind. As if to say hey here I am did you forget you were looking for me. Of course you had forgotten. But when you see it you feel excited that you finally know the word. You know that you probably only got a fifty fifty chance whether you will remember that word the next time it comes up in a conversation.