Love Can Heal a Broken Soul

We have a lot of broken animals in our house, rescues.  They have all had a hard start in life.  They were not fortunate enough to have been born to a mother who safely and securely raised them until they were old enough to be homed into a loving family where they would spend the rest of their days. For them, it was more a case of being thrown into the world on fight or flight mode.

From being dumped in a bin as a baby and left to die, to being thrown out of a 6th floor apartment window or merely just being born on the streets with no food or shelter, our furry friends have had a hard time. Most have spent some time in their lives living in a pound where food is rationed, toys are rare and beds are dirty and worn.  Dogs live in cages; Cats live in sheds.  It's a miserable existence.  It's a prison sentence without having committed a crime.

All of these animals have entered our home in a fragile state.  They have needed time, patience, lots of attention and most importantly love in abundance.  We have watched these animals blossom from being weak, afraid and traumatised, into confident, loving creatures in our presence.  They now feel safe and secure and feel a part of a solid pack.

Not everyone can understand why we have so many animals and continue to adopt.  They cannot see the beauty in these creatures that we see.  These animals are broken souls with big soppy eyes, just looking and hoping and praying that someone will open their heart and home to them.  It's so humbling to watch a broken soul become unbroken.  And knowing that soul is healed and fulfilled because you chose to love it.

We didn't choose our bodies and neither did the broken animals.  Help heal the broken souls and choose to love, love, love.

Fear Fuel: Turn Your Dreams into Reality

Is there something you have been wanting to do for a long time?  Maybe you have a number of different goals you'd like to achieve.  Or even bigger than goals, dreams! But you keep putting off doing anything about them and making excuses.  And the reason for that is because the thought of taking action gives you a dreaded feeling deep inside the pit of your stomach, you know, the one that feels like butterflies.  The fear.  Is it fear that is holding you back?

We fear things for different reasons.  Fear of failure, fear of judgement, fear that we might actually succeed and will be completely out of our comfort zone.  Well guess what?  Fear is a good thing!  We fear things that are new to us because we have never done them before.  It's new territory like walking around a neighbourhood that you haven't been to before.  You're not sure where each path will lead to or if you might get lost.  But just because you feel the fear, does not mean you should not take action.  We can only learn and grow as individuals by taking chances, by walking down new avenues.  Let your fear be the fuel for your human vehicle to achieve as much in this lifetime as possible.

You really can make your dreams a reality by tuning into your fear and using it positively.  The next time you think about doing something new and you observe yourself quickly deciding to change your mind because you feel 'the fear', pause for a moment and remember, your fuel has arrived.  Fuel up your vehicle and turn your thoughts into actions.  There are no losers, only participants, there are no failures, only those who choose to try again from a different angle with alternative methods.

Good luck and enjoy your fear fuelled journey!

You are Successful

Success is not merely about status, but also the path we have travelled to get to where we are today

There is a lot of pressure out there to be successful. To feel successful. Men and women alike are competing for the same job roles and income bands. Women are no longer expected to be homemakers but are instead if they should choose to reproduce, they must take the minimal time out of work and get back in line on the career ladder whilst making sure that they are keeping up.

In a relationship whether it is the man or woman who is earning more, there is almost always the presence of pressure on the person earning less or with the least responsibility. Why do we do this to ourselves and each other? Why have we among us created a culture in which we feel so pressurised to follow form and be 'somebody'? Equal rights are a beautiful thing but let's remember how we got here in the first place. Let's go back to basics. We are human beings and the 21st century is far from the way in which our long, long line of ancestors lived.

Let us take a step back. Forgot the pressure, loosen your shoulders and breathe deeply.  Now ask yourself, 'where did I come from?' and be honest with yourself. Did your family struggle for money when you were a child?  Did your parents separate? Were you ever bullied?  Have you been abused in some way? Were or are your parents supportive? Have you had to overcome any addictions? Was finance a problem when it came to education? Did you manage to get educated anyway? If you have answered yes to any one of these questions or you have anything in your past, which most of us do, that has made things more difficult for you, then you are successful.

I don't care if you're an ex alcoholic currently unemployed whilst you focus on recovering from your addiction. You are successful. You overcame your addiction and you will use the skills you have learnt to bring you more success in the future.

The journey's we endure are all so different and some have it so much harder than others. So do not judge one another on one's income or status, but on the obstacles we have each overcome to be the wonderful people we have become.

Congratulations on your success!

If you're happy and you know it clap your hands

A smile is infectious and can travel a hundred miles, so let's spread some happiness. There will always be someone out there who will appreciate seeing your smile. Maybe they are having a bad day or they are having problems with health, family or a relationship. Maybe they are old and feel alone or even may be young and feel alone. A smile from you may change their day.  Your smile may stop them in their tracks of misery and help them to perceive the world as a happier place.  Our moods play like domino's in our lives. If one thing goes wrong and puts us in a bad mood, accidents and mistakes continue to happen. We attract this negative energy through our negative mood.  And so the same thing happens when we are happy. Our happy, positive mood attracts happier, more successful outcomes. One person cannot change the world but united we are stronger. Let's make this world a happier place.

So, as inspired by the little people, if you're happy and you know it and you really want to show it, clap your hands, stamp your feet, shout hurray and smile! 

Turn your Hate into Love

I recently saw these words when I attended a local yoga class:

Live to love, love to serve

What beautiful words I thought, but how is that possible?  Are there people that actually manage to do that?  And so I took the thought and those lovely words with me when I left.

There are a lot of cruel people out there.  Some are mean intentionally, but most don't realise they are doing the things they do.  You see most people are talking in monologues.  It's all about them really.  They will ask  questions and take actions based on their own interests. And when they are unhappy with an outcome they project their insecurities onto the person easiest to do so.  

Let me give you an example to make it clearer:

Kate is going about her day.  She meets with a friend Terri for coffee and a chat.  Kate sits quietly listening to Terri talk about the latest things going on, nods in agreement and smiles politely.  Terri has always been open about everything whereas Kate will tell Terri what she needs to know, but not everything.  In the past Terri has always spoke often about her financial situation.  She has a lot of debts.  She talks about her salary, about how much she pays in rent, about everything to do with her finances.  There really isn't much Terri hasn't informed Kate about when it comes to how much or what little money she has.  

Terri has recently got involved with a new man in her life.  This new man is very private when it comes to financial matters. He discloses nothing to Terri about what he has and what he earns and he has made it clear to her that he is not interested in hearing about her situation.  Money is not one of the reasons why they started dating.  So now Terri is suddenly aware that money is something she 'used to' talk about.

Kate asks Terri "How is it going paying off your debts?  Are they nearly cleared now?".   Terri turns to Kate with an unimpressed look on her face and says "You always want to know about money Kate. It's not something you should talk about, some things are private".

Wooooaaaaahhhhh! Kate wonders where that came from.  So what just happened there?  All of a sudden Terri is aware that she talks too much about something her boyfriend thinks she shouldn't.  And she now feels guilty about having talked so much about money because her new boyfriend has made her feel like she did something wrong.

Kate would not normally bring up the topic of money, but she knows that with Terri it is something she often talks about so Terri has created an environment for Kate where it should be OK for Kate to ask such a question.  All Kate is really doing is showing her concern.  But instead, now Kate is feeling bad.  She is feeling bad about discussing a topic she knows outside of her environment with Terri, she would not normally talk about.  So what happened?  Terri feels guilty about the money topic as a result of her new boyfriend's attitude about the matter.  She has then projected her feelings of guilt onto Kate.  Terri feels better for viewing Kate as the problem, only temporarily however, whilst Kate now feels guilty due to Terri's reaction.

In a scenario such as this, and let's be honest, this type of thing happens all the time, everyday with different people on different topics, how do you find the strength to love?  Right now Kate feels a lot of anger towards Terri because she knows this is not right and Terri is in the wrong but she believes Terri cannot see the truth and therefore Kate continues to carry Terri's guilt.

Kate needs to take a step back, take a deep breath and let it go.  She needs to consciously be aware of letting it go.  She needs to take those feelings of anger and  turn them into pity and through pity, into love.  Kate needs to be the bigger person.  She knows she is not in the wrong here.  She needs to go with that intuition and stand tall, and just love.  Love that she is not Terri, love that she can see clearer than Terri, love that Terri is still Terri and Kate does love Terri.

Whether Terri has become toxic in Kate's life is a question that Kate needs to answer and if the answer is 'yes' then she needs to let Terri go.  By letting Terri go, Kate will be showing true love to both herself and Terri, for it serves neither of them any purpose to be in a relationship that is unhealthy.  It is still possible to love a person, even when they are no longer actively in your life.

Living to love, includes loving yourself and doing what is right for yourself.  This may sometimes include eliminating unhealthy friendships.  Toxic people are one of the most common problems that make people miserable.  Keeping these people in your life will likely lead you to hold a lot of hatred and resentment towards that person in your heart.

Once we have taken care of ourselves, we are then able to pass on our love to others and serve their needs.

Live to love, love to serve, turn your hate into love and set yourself free.