A Rare Inspirational Find

Warning! Shocking NEWS coming…Barbara and I are fans of American Ninja Warriors. Yes, I know you’d think I’d be the type person to run as fast as possible from anything with Warrior in the title.  But I have to say when you get past the over the top hype from the announcers, Ninja Warriors is inspiring. It is positively uplifting to see men and women, of various ages, competing against themselves to get through an amazingly hard obstacle course.

I admire people who challenge themselves.  Not one of us improves to become better, happier, more fulfilled in life, without constantly challenging ourselves. Sure the show is a competition to see who finishes the course in the fastest time to be America’s Ninja Warrior. But beyond the one winner takes all concept, this competition is one where all of the contestants are pitted against a common challenge.  So each must be well trained, strong, and smart to survive the seemingly impossible feats they are asked to perform.Continue reading

RYS 099: What is God to You?

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After  being raised in an atmosphere where I was taught to fear God I did not want to have anything to do with the Divine. But later in life I began to understand truly walking a spiritual path requires us to establish a personal relationship to the Divine source by deciding what God means to us.

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Love is Responsible

cigarette photoI was walking behind a man who was smoking. He stopped, dropped the cigarette on the sidewalk and crushed it out with his shoe.

Almost everyone I see smoking flicks the still lit butt into the street or drops it on the sidewalk or some other public place expecting someone else to clean up after them. For too many years that is exactly what I did until I became conscious of the negative impact my cigarette butts had on the environment, animals, children and other people. So I was very pleased to see the man bend down, pick up his cigarette butt and put it into the trash can.

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RYS 098: Staying Kind Makes You Feel Good About You

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This morning I said hello to a woman as I passed her home. I was walking by with my little dog Ruby when she came out of her front door. Wanting to be friendly I said, “Hi.” Without any emotion she just glared at me like I’d said something rude to her. Actually her cold stare seemed to be focused on something past me. I believe it was.

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Love is Kind

qq (2)Has anyone ever asked you a question like does my butt look big in these pants? I have been asked awkward questions countless times. It never felt good to be put on the spot.   It’s not kind to put people in an awkward position.

If we have to ask someone if our butt looks big in the jeans we’re wearing we already know the answer about our own butt. And, leaving people in an awkward position feels just as bad as being put in one.

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RYS 096: Love is Sweeter than Sugar

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During my early childhood years processed foods, TV dinners, and drive-thru restaurants arrived on the scene. The goal was for meals to be fast and easy. But with fast and easy came carton- loads of problems we’re just now beginning to grasp.

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Focus on You

Frog-and-castleHave you ever wished you had a magic wand?  You could wave that magically stick and people would change and at last your life would be happier, flow easier, and everything would be okay.

I grew up on fairy tales. Deep down I always knew magical wands are not really real but I stubbornly clung to the idea if I just screamed loud enough, harped long enough, bitched strong enough people would change and my life would suddenly be magical.  Never happened! Not once did anyone change because of my wanting them to.

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RYS 097: Time to Get Mad as Hell

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Remember the movie Network? If not, check out Howard Beale’s famous speech on YouTube, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.” Because mad as hell is how I want you to feel too. I want you to get so angry you are fired up in a positive, peaceful, and purposeful way to help do something about the mess that has been created in Washington and in our election process.

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RYS 95: The Tough Side of Love

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We think of love as gentle, cooperative, and enduring. Love congers images of fat, joyful cherubs with tiny bows and arrows piercing the heart of young and old. We don’t necessarily think of love having a tough side. But there is most definitely a tough side to love.

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Love is Refusing to Ego-Box with Others

Love is a way of walking through life.  Love is a way of BE-ING in the world.  Love is peaceful, kind, cooperative, understanding, forgiving, patient, and honest.  To give the positive behaviors of love to the people we have affection and caring for we must BE these in our everyday life.  So we cannot ego-box with strangers on the road and come home peaceful and kind to our family. We cannot be selective with loving.  We are either loving or we are not.  In every moment, in every circumstance, we have the choice to lead with love or to lead with the behaviors of fear – rudeness, self-centeredness, anger, rage, entitlement, frustration, disappointment, control, blame, and judgment.

You get angry at someone for the stupid mistake he or she made and you’re going to bring that anger home.  People do careless things.  Sometimes we don’t think.  Sometimes we don’t seem to care if our actions are going to inconvenience another person or not.

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