Be Inspired, Get Excited and Save Planet Earth
In recent months I have had the opportunity to be inspired by the actions of other’s in Australia or elsewhere in the world. I have found most of what I have been hearing not only inspirational but very exciting. For example I had the privilege recently to hear Scott Borrows talk and to see him walk!!! Now most of you are probably thinking “so what”. Well here is the “so what” – Scott is a quadriplegic who made a decision to do anything he wanted in spite of that. Scott walks, plays gold, scuba dives, skis and so on. Inspirational? – absolutely. But more than that was the excitement that I felt when I saw what is possible if you put your mind to it.
Late last year I heard about a plan by Gary Douglas and Dain Heer, the founders of Access Consciousness, who intend to take 300 people out into the Ocean off California and use their collective mind power to solve the problem of the floating garbage dump. If you have not heard about this problem, let me tell you about it. We have created what is thought to be the world’s largest garbage dump out in the middle of the ocean, stretching from California to Japan and in some places it is nine metres deep. Some refer to it as the plastic continent since it is largely made of PLASTIC!! Washed out into the ocean from where it has been dropped on land. Plastic bottles, bags, lids, chairs – anything at all.
Everyone of us needs to know more about this alarming problem and I invite you to go take a look on You Tube and further your education on this huge plastic garbage dump in the Pacific Ocean.
I then invite you to get excited, just as I have done, by the project that Gary and Dain have got up called Ocean 300. Anyone can be involved in a variety of ways so I encourage you to take personal action on this and exercise your personal development muscle by working on behalf of our wonderful planet. Support Gary and Dain and give this project every chance of success.
If a person who is a quadriplegic can do what Scott Burrows is doing by using his mind power, then surely our collective mind power from across the whole planet can solve this problem that scientists say is unsolvable. Give up? I say never.
Oh, and by the way, my sincere thanks to Scott for his vision and grit and for the inspiration that he is.
10 Ideas To Get You Started With A Daily Journal
There are a number of factors that contribute to overall happiness and one is the development of habits. The very best and most useful habit is that of daily journaling. Back in the day, it used to be called a diary and started with the words “Dear Diary”. Today, it is used to record one’s self improvement and journey towards enlightenment or that place where one is at their very best. A daily journal can be a great tool to use on the path to achieve success.
A daily entry to your journal can be a simple account of the events that have had an impact or it can be a complex entry of self-discovery. To help you get started, if you have not already done so, try the following tips:-
- Record 6 things for which you are grateful, appreciative or thankful that are occurring right now.
- Record another 6 that are coming to you in the future.
- Keep a daily list of the prosperity or abundance in your life. This might be a simple as having a friend shout you a coffee or another driver graciously letting you change lanes. Keep tabs on them all and let your abundance grow before your eyes.
- Write about what you have done over the day, action that you have taken towards your life goal.
- List what you intend to do the next day, week or month and check back later to see how you went.
- Spend some time writing what you believe are your strengths and weaknesses and then write about how you intend to grow your strengths to outweigh your weaknesses.
- Record the occasions during the day when you have successfully shifted your feelings from not so good to better by recognising your not so good feelings and changing your thoughts at that time.
- Work out a set of questions that will help you to challenge yourself around your limiting beliefs. For example – “What am I doing when I find myself having an argument with my partner?” “How do I get into the argument in the first place?” “How can I avoid it?” This is just an example; you can use anything that you like. Just make sure that you do not let yourself off the hook.
- Use your journal to help you to visualise where you intend to be in life, in the next year, next five years, next ten years. Write in detail about how your life will be, how that will benefit you and the community and why you need to have this life. Regularly check back to see how you are going on your journey.
- List the random acts of kindness that you intend to perform in the next 24 hours and then check back each day to see if you did them.
Above all, have fun with this wonderful daily habit.
Miracle Be
This lovely verse came to me from Maria Elita via a Facebook Group. Many thanks Maria.
M is for The Miracle, that you are.
M is for the Mystical light of a star.
M is for the Magic your heart can sing.
M is for the Manifestation that you bring.
M is for the Marvellous things you do.
M is for the Magnificence of you.
May you remember that you are The Miracle too!
Miracle Be!
Get Some Work Life Balance
Some people find balancing work and other life commitments is like walking on a tightrope over the raging Niagara Falls – one false move and you drown. For others work life balance is easy, they are satisfied with their commitments and feel they have control over their lives. It is a fact though, that there has been a shift over the last 20 years with Australians now working longer hours, more women joining the workforce and on average, we are working 350 more hours per year than our peers in the Netherlands! No doubt other countries have seen similar shifts.
Although many women now work more than 45 hours per week, men continue to shoulder the largest burden of very long work hours.
Often with longer and longer working hours people become absent from relationships either with their partners, their children or other family members to whom they have loving obligations. Friendships, a great source of debriefing, can be diminished or lost altogether and people who experience a life imbalance are also often lonely and isolated. While relationships can and do breakdown, there is also the risk of waking up one day and realising that there is no-one with whom you have shared the recent trials and tribulations of life. No-one to whom you are genuinely connected. Relationships of all kinds may have become surface and business-like leaving only loneliness and emptiness.
There is no doubt that joy in life can be found in relationships and connection with others. Material possessions obtained through the high incomes associated with gruelling hours may bring only temporary pleasure and happiness – even though they are fun at the time. In fact, studies have shown that fathers’ relationships’ with their children is directly related to the hours that they work – more hours equals poorer relationships.
A work life imbalance occurs when one is overtaking the other to the extent that it is impossible to meet the time and energy demands in all of your life roles. It may be that you simply have too much to do; either at work or at home or both. Commonly work gets in the way of family and at other times, family gets in the way of work. Many people who are caring for children, particularly children with special needs or those who are caring for elders often find that those family needs make it very difficult to fulfil their work demands.
Additionally, there are people in our communities who play a number of significant roles that make life for the whole community what it is. These are the volunteers with clubs, service organisations and charities who often rack up many hours per week. Usually very busy people with a multitude of other caring roles, sometimes they burn out due to their multiple commitments and inability to achieve that balance within their lives and they are lost to this special work forever.
So take charge of your life and relationships and see if the following three tips help get your work life balance back:-
1. All Australian Governments have policies that support workers to achieve balance. Check out your employers policies and try to negotiate reasonable work hours.
2. Ask for help, even of you find that difficult to do. There are always people who want to help – give it a go.
3. Take care of yourself. It all starts and ends with you. If you are strong and looking after yourself, you have more energy available to help and support others. Do something nice for yourself every day.
Give a Free Special Gift This Christmas
“Christmas gift suggestions:
To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect.”
~ Oren Arnold
