A phone call away

A memory can keep them closer to you. As your children grow up, they may move to another state. Your friends may have to relocate to get a job. The distance between you may make it difficult to get together. Luckily your memories can warm your heart and allow you to feel closer to them. You can pick up the phone and feel as though they are sitting right beside you. Hearing their voice is the key to feeling them. Sending a text can keep you updated on things, but you can't feel a connection. But hearing their voice makes a human connection that you can feel. With all the new technology and gadgets, even being in the same room with them, it can prevent the chances of having any human connection with anyone. Without staying connected to your human side you can become desensitized to the point where you lose compassion for others. I was thankful that on Thanksgiving everyone stayed off their electronic gadgets and enjoyed each other's company. It felt like the good old days before cell phones. Do you remember when you had a two foot cord on your phone? Could you imagine if cell phones didn't exist? I was reluctant to get one but now I couldn't imagine not having one with me at all times. Technology is necessary nowadays but so is human contact. Spread some Humanity to replace the insanity we see in our society.

So much to do to be ready for our Thanksgiving feast

I didn't forget anything at the store this year, that I am thankful for. Even though I have been cooking for the last few hours, there will be a lot to do tomorrow. As I look at the mess in the kitchen from tonight's food I prepared, I know tomorrow there will be twice as many dishes to clean. Our China only comes out of the cupboard a couple of times a year. We have Currier and Ives from the fifties. I look forward to seeing it decorating the family holiday tables. I don't mind  washing them at all. As we each talk about what we are thankful for time slows down. I am so thankful for my family and friends. We can all be thankful that calories don't count tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

To change it you have to change

If you don't do things differently, nothing will be different then it is now. If you know that change will do you good, then you know you have to make the necessary changes. Habits are hard to break. But if it's a bad habit that you know is bad for you then you will be motivated to focus on changing your habit. As long as you stay focused on what you need to do and, or, what not to do, you will break the habit. Even things that used to work don't work anymore, things change. You have to change so you can go with the flow and that means you will have to learn what needs to change as you go. The older you get the more stories you have to tell about how things used to be. The first step to changing is to realize that it is something that needs to be changed. If you are not honest with yourself, then nothing will change. Choosing to do nothing is still a choice you make.

When it gets cold, you wear warm clothes

When it's cold weather outside, you find a way to stay warm. My fortune cookie today said, If the World seems cold, Kindle a fire to warm it up. You bundle up to stay warm before going outside on a wintery cold day. And unfortunately the World can be cold hearted. So a random act of kindness can warm your heart as well as the heart of the person you are kind to. If you spew your anger onto others, that is what you pass on. If you spew kindness onto others, that is what you pass on. And we all reap what we sow. What seeds are you planting in this World? To make a positive difference you have to do something positive to make a difference. The World won't get better on it's OWN, we all must do our part.

A Christmas present should not....

It's already Christmas Season again. This year flew by. Don't forget that giving Christmas presents shouldn't cost you for the next six months. If you can't afford it then don't finance it to buy it. Choosing what to buy someone shouldn't include choosing which credit card to charge it on. The reason for the season is the Joy it brings. And there is no joy in going into debt, nor is it necessary. The most important thing is that you relax and enjoy spending the day together. And of course making everyone's favorite foods that they only get on Christmas. I am not sure why I don't make certain foods but only one day a year. But it has become a tradition to only have them on Christmas. I guess because if I made them all throughout the year, they wouldn't be as special on Christmas. What you cook for Christmas, is the best present you could give to your family. So instead of spending a fortune buying presents they don't need, make an extra one of their favorite Christmas food that they can take home. They sure won't shove that in their closet with all the other gifts from past Christmases that they didn't need.

Patience is necessary

It is hard to wait but patience are necessary. Being impatient will raise your blood pressure which is not healthy. Getting frustrated because you have to wait is natural. But getting impatient will make waiting harder. Not to mention if you lose your patience, you will lose the chance for the positive outcome that you have been waiting for. Find ways to distract yourself while you are waiting to keep yourself from watching the clock and getting frustrated about how long you are waiting. My doctor's office is always a long wait, but since I love my doctor, she is worth waiting to see. They have a TV on and plenty of magazines to read. I try to face the window to watch the traffic go by to distract me. It isn't exactly what I want to be doing but counting a certain color of cars that passes is enough to help pass the time away. During the Holidays I know that there is going to be many traffic jams and long lines. I make sure I leave early so I don't get frustrated about the traffic making me late. If you know you have to wait then no matter how frustrating it is to wait, you know you have to wait. Make it easier on yourself and those around you by waiting patiently. In the old days they had fish aquariums in the waiting rooms to distract you from noticing how long you were waiting. Maybe there should be aquariums like back in the good old days.

If you don't know, do you really think they know?

No one knows you better than you do. It's okay to listen to the advice of others, it gives you a different point of view. Obviously though your point of view is the only one that really matters. You can't make your decision based on what someone else tells you is best for you because they have no idea what is best for you. That would be insane. To determine whether someone is legally insane or not is determined by if they can make sound decisions on their own. So you can see it may sound crazy to talk to yourself to figure out what is best for you, but the truth is, if you can't then you are legally insane. What works for someone else may not work for you. Because of our previous experiences, upbringing, culture, religious beliefs, and family values, we all make different interpretations of life circumstances we must face. You are the only one who has to live with the decisions you make which is why you should be the only one making decisions for yourself. That would be like being allergic to peanuts but because they are eating them, you do too. Every decision you make matters. Whether anyone else agrees with your decision, doesn't matter. You do what is best for you.

The reality is what you think it is, even when it isn't what you think it is at all

Your thoughts are not necessarily accurate but but your thoughts make up the reality you live in. Depending on your thoughts about anything, will determine how you feel about it. Your emotions that you feel will determine your behavior about it. Which will influence how you react to it. How you look at it determines how you feel about it. Being aware of the connection between your thoughts and your feelings is necessary to change a negative situation into a positive situation. Since thinking influences your feelings then it makes sense that if you want to change the way you feel, you need to change the way you think. The way you see it and the way you interpret it determines how you respond to it. You can't change the negative situation you had to face but you can change your negative thoughts and still have a positive outcome. You may have to look very hard to see anything positive but I am positive if you keep looking for it, you will find it. Like they say, when life gives you lemons you got to make lemonade.

Where did it all come from

As Thanksgiving approaches, it's time to dust from top to bottom. I started with the ceiling fans. I know those get done every couple of months and some how they always get pretty furry with dust. As I started on the top of the shelves, I began wandering where it all came from. How did I not see it flying through the air to get up here? Then as I took a break there was a bright ray of sunlight shining through my living room. And I could see millions of particles flying in the beam of light. So many tiny specks filling every inch of space. OMG I couldn't believe what was in the air I lived in, the air we breathe in our lungs.  When I looked elsewhere in the room where the beam from the sun wasn't shining, I couldn't see anything. I couldn't pretend like it wasn't there because every time I looked back into the bright ray of sunshine, it was clearly everywhere. I was sure all the dusting I was doing was sending dust particles back into the air. But I am still unsure where it all came from to begin with. With the dusting done I can start planning the feast. Before you know it Thanksgiving will be here. Time to make your grocery list. Make sure you go to the store soon so if you forget something, like usually everyone does, you will have time to go back and get it. Remember no diets allowed on Thanksgiving.

Round and round it goes

The circle of life goes on and on. Sometimes faster than we would like it to. When you are young it seems like it takes forever for Christmas to get here. But when you get old it seems like time is flying by, way too fast. One minute you got your whole future ahead of you, then all of a sudden you get old. You grew up hearing that when you are old they are your golden years. But when you get old you realize that it is merely fools gold. You realize what the phrase "Don't put off tomorrow what you can do today", really means. It means tomorrow you might be too old to do it so you better do it today. People make a Bucket List of things they want to do one day. But they actually should be doing all they can along the way so they can have a list of things they can reminisc about when they are old. You are only young once. No matter how young you feel when you get old your body will be too wore out for you to forget you are not as young as you used to be. Timing is everything.

When the Halloween stuff goes on the shelf in stores, so too the Christmas stuff gets put on a shelf near by

Along with all the spooky Halloween decor you can't help but notice the Holly Jolly Christmas cheer right by it. Thanksgiving doesn't have a chance of jumping in there to be seen. I have always noticed that but this year my teenage son noticed. He doesn't trick or treat anymore so the Halloween stuff doesn't catch his attention anymore. So as we walked past it the bright colored Christmas stuff did. He looked at me and said looks like they are jumping right over Thanksgiving as if it wasn't anything. Without Halloween to look forward to at his age, he had been looking forward to the Thanksgiving holiday with the family. It was nice that he noticed but also sad to admit the stores forgot a very important family holiday where you simply enjoy each other's company and talk about what each other is thankful for. We all need to think about what we are thankful for to be able to be grateful for what we have.

Trapped in your web of thoughts

Being trapped in your own web of thoughts can keep you from recovering from what happened. Relieving it over and over again in your mind, means you are getting damaged by it over and over again. Before you can begin the process of recovering from a negative situation, you have to accept it. Then JUST FLUSH IT out of your mind so it can't cause anymore damage to you. You can't move past what happened in your past if you don't let go and leave it in the past. If you want to enjoy today stop reliving yesterday so you can. It was bad enough that you had to endure the painful experience once through no fault of your own. Why would you choose to make a choice to relive it over and over again? Why would you choose to put yourself through it again and again? You can be your own worst enemy. Once was enough. Yesterday is already gone, tomorrow may never come, but TODAY is yours to enjoy. It is your choice whether you will enjoy it or not.

Seeing is believing

You may not believe it until you can actually see it. And once you see it you can't believe that you never saw it before. It was there all along hidden in plain sight. Have you ever lost something even though you know right where you left it? Like yesterday I lost my car keys. I looked where they always were, but couldn't find them. I started running all around the house looking for them. Even in places I knew I would never put them. Panic sets in knowing I won't make it to my appointment on time if I don't leave. As I frantically look everywhere, I ask my son to please come help me find them. He walks straight over to where I always keep them and says here they are. As he is holding up the keys I am happy yet confused. I had looked there at least 3 times in my fifteen minutes search. How on Earth could that even be possible that they were right there all along? How could I have not seen them? I will never know how I couldn't see them but luckily my son could. It can be right in front of your face but you can't see it. Which reminds me of a couple of friends of mine. We all had been friends and hung out for years together. We had been there to support each other through the ups and downs we each faced. Then out of no where the Sparks flew between two friends and they were soon married within a month. They had never looked at each other in that way before, then Bam. My own daughter just married her best friends brother whom she had known for over a decade. She only saw him as her friends brother. Then bam. You never know until you see it from a different view. It can be right in front of you yet you can't see it. How you look at it determines what you see. Not sure how I couldn't see my keys but my son could. But luckily they were found so I was thankfully able to get to my appointment on time. What you need may be right in front of your face and I hope you find it.