You become very creative when times are tough

When times get tough you have to get creative to get through the tough times. When you are faced with tough decisions, you will have to think of a way to have the best outcome. Which also will take "creative thinking" to figure out a way, by thinking outside of the box to make a positive outcome even possible. In stead of being angry during the quarantine about being stuck at home, get creative with ideas of things you can do while you are stuck at home. By the time the quarantine is over, your yard and your house will get a homemade makeover that you would have never done if you weren't quarantined. For years to come you will be proud of all the "little projects" you had done. Even going to get groceries when you find empty shelves takes creativity to provide food for your family. Who knows you just might discover some new family favorites that you never would have cooked except you had to get creative with what you had.

When you are in "defense mode" you can't see or hear

When you feel threatened you go into "Defense Mode." That is the natural human reaction to protect yourself. You build a "wall" to shield yourself from getting hurt. But you can't always live in "Defense Mode" or that "wall" will block you from all the good things in your life too. You don't have to, nor should you, let your guard down but you need to take the "wall" down if you want to enjoy your life while you are living it. You may be surrounded by those that love you but if you don't take the "wall" down, you won't be able to feel it. If you are always in "Defense Mode" then even though you may have a lot of love in your heart, no one will be able to see it or feel it.

You can't move past what you don't leave in the past

We all have had negative experiences at different times throughout our lifetime. You just have to learn from them to make sure you don't repeat them. You can't move past what has happened in your past unless you leave it in your past. Keeping it FRESH on your mind makes it the present moment you live day after day because you relive it over and over again. You have to take the painful experiences from your past and JUST FLUSH IT out of your mind so you can enjoy today. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow may never come but TODAY is yours to enjoy. No matter how many times you relive it, the outcome will be the same. You can't change what happened no matter how many times you relive it. But you can quit reliving your yesterdays. Otherwise everyday is the same as it was yesterday. Don't carry every past painful experience with you like a sandbag on your life's journey. Lighten your load, JUST FLUSH IT,

Are you waiting for something that may never come?

Having dreams is good but realistically, not every dream comes true. Don't miss out on the "little things" in life waiting on "something big" that may or may not come your way. To enjoy life while you are living it takes enjoying it while you are living it. Some of your most treasured memories can come from even the most not so pleasant moments in your life. Some of your greatest achievements were only possible out of necessity when you had been knocked down. It may take a "tornado" in your life to get you where you need to be. Life doesn't always turn out like we had planned but we only have one life to live to enjoy, so enjoy it while you are living it. Like the plaque on my wall says, so this isn't "home sweet home" ADJUST.

Do you see it as a weed or a wish flower?

Dandelions have two lives to live in a short amount of time. First they grow into a sunny yellow flower adding a touch of color in a sea of green grass. Then one day it shrivels up and before long it blooms a second time into a white fluffy flower. Some people see a red seed dandelion as merely a weed. While other people see it as a unique flower that is two flowers in one to enjoy.  They look forward to a chance to make a wish on it, that is if they catch it at the right stage of growth. When you see a dandelion do you see a weed or a wish flower? Do you see a glass as half empty or half full? How you look at something will determine what you see. If all you see is the negative side to everything then you will never see the positive side of anything. There are pros and cons to everything but before you make a decision about anything, you need to consider both the pros and cons. Sometimes the bad outweighs the good, but sometimes the good outweighs the bad. Which is why you need to think about the positive in each situation not only the negatives in each situation so you will know if the good outweighs the bad.

You may have thought about it but...

I read a story the other day about the generosity of a customer giving a car to a fast food employee, who's car had broke down. He had seen him walking to work and after years of coming to the restraunt he knew he was a hard worker and was always pleasant. He had an extra car so anonymously, with the help of the manager he gave him the car. Most people don't have an expensive way like that to help someone in need to that extent. But every random act of kindness makes a positive difference to them. The story inspired me to do something to help a random stranger. With the pandemic I wasn't going out to see anyone. After thinking about it I finally thought of something I could do. Since I didn't know what anyone needed I decided I could at least make someone smile. I gathered some of my grandkids toys that they had outgrown to put out at the road and sit on my porch and wait to see the smile on the face of who stopped by to pick it up for free. I put out the kitchen playset with the table, dishes, food, toy appliances, even a toy microwave, as well as many other toys they had outgrown. Within literally two minutes, a car pulled in my driveway and two women got out with smiles on their faces as they loaded up their car. I couldn't help myself, I hollared out have fun, as I waved with a big smile on my face. As I thought about all the fun times their children would have when they got it home, it warmed my heart to imagine the smile it put on their faces. Now more than ever before people could sure benefit from random acts of kindness.

When you care too much about what everyone else says...

When you realize that opinions are as diverse and plentiful as leaves on trees, you realize that your OWN opinion is of the greatest worth. That is when your confidence grows. Respecting your OWN opinion transforms you and your World. When you begin to care too much about what everyone else says, your confidence shrinks. If you keep changing your opinions based on what others say, you are no longer yourself. To determine if someone is sane or insane, is based on whether they can on their OWN make decisions for themselves. You will never gain someone's respect by changing everytime the wind blows, it is when you stand confident in your OWN worth that respect is earned. Before anyone else will respect you, you have to respect yourself. To be proud of yourself you have to be proud of who you are. Keep in mind that no one is perfect, we all make mistakes. But as long as we learn from our mistakes, it's just life lessons we learned the hard way. Just growing pains. So when someone gives you their opinion, invision it as merely one of many leaves blowing in the wind.