Wishing On Stars

Early this morning I had a magical experience watching the Leonid Meteor Showers. Breathtakingly beautiful, this meteor show was magical in the early morning hours. I was surrounded by pure peace, and I was able to witness the energetic cosmic bursts of light.

I first gazed upon this spectacular meteor show in 2001, when I had the opportunity to view them with my mother. She has since died and yet in the early quiet of the morn I felt her calming presence among the stars as once again, God put on his fireworks display.

As I watched the stars fall and listened to the quiet I was able to hitch my dreams and goals among those stars. As I lifted my eyes to the heavens, I knew that my dreams were shining as bright in my mind as they were in that pre-dawn sky. I Believe!!!….Do You?

When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you

If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do

Fate is kind
She brings to those who love
The sweet fulfillment of
Their secret longing

Like a bolt out of the blue
Fate steps in and sees you through
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams come true

Crazy Ideas Bloom Big Dreams

I have always been a fan of the "I Love Lucy Show." Lucy always had a wacky idea that seemed so out there that everyone wondered what was in her brain. The creators of the show seemed to top the ideas as the show went on. This show from the 50's is my constant inspiration of nothing is too outrageous to try.

I recently said to a friend just think of me like Lucy. She looked at me incredulously and said, "Lucy? You're Lucy? Oh, NO because if you are Lucy, then I am Ethel, and I am not going to go down whatever road trip you're on." We both started laughing as she had read my mind, I WAS about to hatch nutty idea.

You see what made "I Love Lucy" work was Lucy's ability to drag her friend into her dreaming and into her schemes. If you keep your ideas only in your head, they cannot grow.

Let's face it out of crazy ideas bloom big dreams. Do you have a friend who always has a crazy idea or are you the crazy friend? Today, share your dreams…laugh and play yourself into a new reality.

Ricky: Lucy's actin' crazy.
Fred: Crazy for Lucy, or crazy for ordinary people?

Ethel: There's lots of things you're good at. Lucy: Like what?
Ethel: Well, you're awfully good at...uh... You've always been great at...
Lucy: Those are the same ones Ricky came up

Asking for Help

One of the biggest lessons I have learned this year is that it is okay to ask for help. I know that I am not alone in having that particular fear of reaching out and asking for help when in need.

I, like so many have an aversion of hearing the word no. The word no has been a painful word for me. In the past it would cut me to the quick until I realized that no won't make you bleed. What the word does do for you is to look around for other options and to ask again.

If you have a particular need, I urge you to ask and keep asking until you get the help that you seek. After all what is the best that could happen, that person may just say YES!

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you (Matthew 7:7)

Clearing Up Misperceptions

I had the chance to watch the Oprah show yesterday in which she celebrated the 25^th anniversary of the Color Purple. What struck me was the conversation between Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg at the beginning of the episode. They spoke about how they cleared up a perceived misunderstanding they had when each thought the other one was upset with them.

I was impressed at the honesty of the moment and thought how many of us go through life and we do not clear up misunderstandings. We waste years on holding grievances, when a clear and direct question "Are you upset with me" or "Did I do something to offend you" would clear the way for honest dialogue.

One must be really brave to ask that question. Because what if the person answers yes, you offended me. How do you handle that? You have to stay strong, and just listen to them. To the best of your ability, make a sincere effort to clear up the misunderstanding. It takes even greater courage to say I am sorry.

Today, I encourage you to take that brave step and have an honest conversation.

In some families, please is described as the magic word. In our house, however, it was sorry. ~Margaret Laurence

Pursuing the Dream

I have been off the blogosphere and I miss all of you. I am glad to be back and want to share with you what I have been up to. I finally finished the book that I had been writing about my mother called In Memory Of a Saint: Lessons from My Mother that I Didn't Pay Attention to Until She Died. As you know, I have written many posts about her and as a result, I wanted to capture her spirit in a book.

The journey has been marvelous as I have been able to put into practice what I preach which is to strive for your goal and to go for your dreams no matter what. I also had the opportunity to take part this summer in Jack Canfield's Breakthrough to Success Training and was able to be among others dreamers.

Today, I hope all of you are pursuing your dreams with passion!

In Memory of a Saint-Honoring Mom

In memory of a saint, I honor my mother today. Usually it is customary to use a white flower to honor a deceased mom on Mother’s Day. I choose to pay tribute to my mother today with a red flower because her spirit is alive and well.

Everything that I am is because of the strength of my mother. People have asked me through the years where did I ever get my unwavering belief of self and faith in God. The answer is simple, my mother.

I keep her memory close to my heart and with great admiration for her joie de vivre. She was a great lady who took risks in life, and had a faith that was unshakeable. For someone who was small she was soooo mighty.

I am honored to be her daughter. I hope to one day leave a legacy that is half as great as hers. So with the greatest of love and respect, today I remember my mother, a saint in my eyes and my heart.

The Power of Forgiveness

During this season of Lent, I have been working on the lesson of forgiveness. I have to say that this hasn’t been the easiest thing in the world. With ongoing health issues, I made the conscious decision to release the negative toxins in my mind that can exacerbate pain.

I have come to the realization that yes, although I have been emotionally hurt by people, they have no power over me if I don’t let them. The choice is really mine. Now I am not saying that it is easy to release that pain and let it go. However, my perspective is that if I leave this earth, I can say that I worked on it.

The true power of forgiveness was demonstrated recently when a man forgave the drunk driver who plowed into him and he subsequently lost a limb. For the entire story: Weymouth man forgives drunk driver who cost him his leg. This man was an example of divine mercy. He has shown a grace of spirit and compassion that most of hope to achieve in our lifetime.

I am working on the seventy times seven principle and I urge you to do the same. Ironically, one of the Greek definitions for forgiveness is "let go.” Are you holding a grudge against someone, or has someone hurt you and you find it hard to forgive them. Today I encourage you to LET IT GO! I know I have long way to go but hey that is what living is all about. Have a joyous day!

“Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?’

Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven.’” Matthew 18:21–22