Living the 5 Star Life

It is hard to be kind to others when you don't find meaning and happiness in your life.


Excerpt from: Living a Five Star Life,
by Betty Mahalik

In this day and age, we are surrounded by messages that virtually scream, "Your life would be perfect if..." My life would be perfect if I had a different job, a different house, car, nose, spouse, bank account (fill in the blank). Or my life would be perfect if I could be like some celebrity whose life appears so well-ordered and perfect-o. This week I encourage you to stop playing "my life would be perfect if," and start playing "my perfect life." What's the difference? Three things: being in the present, an attitude of gratitude, taking action with what's available now.



When we're caught up in the "my life would be perfect if" trap, we've lost touch with the present. And the moment we detach from the present, we can no longer practice gratitude. Think about it: it's difficult to be grateful for what you don't have...and what you don't have is always somewhere out in future-ville.



Look around you right now. Think of 10 things you're grateful for. Do you have a roof over your head and food to eat? I'm guessing the answer is yes. Do you have at least a few good friends or close relationships? Then appreciate them too, right now. Keep going, and practice being in the present and being grateful for what is here and now at least a couple times a day.



You're also probably sitting there thinking "yes but." Yes, but I want more money, a better relationship, more time to travel, to be thinner, happier or whatever. It's one of the great mysteries I'll never figure out. The minute you stop focusing on what you lack, start focusing on what you've already got, and add the "magic" ingredient of action, you actually begin to attract more of what you want. It's an amazing formula for really living your perfect life!



Let's say you want to lose weight or get in better shape, but you don't have an hour a day to spend exercising at the gym. Therefore, you've pretty well resigned yourself to not losing weight or getting in shape. What if you had five minutes though...just about everyone can find five minutes to exercise, stretch, walk around the block or walk the dog. Would you be willing to be grateful for five minutes and make the best possible use of it? Therein lies the beginning of your perfect life!

A simple formula may help you remember how to apply this principle:

The present

+ an attitude of gratitude

+ positive action

= my perfect life.

Try it for a day.

Each time you start dreaming about how perfect your life would be if...come back to this moment, give thanks for what is, and do one thing to perfect what you have and who you are right now. There's a saying that "when the student is ready, the teacher appears." If you're ready to start perfecting your life, your teachers are all around you.

What are you waiting for?

Bring your Joy to others

Joy

“This is the day which the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

~Psalm 118:24-25

Today's Affirmation

I am blessed with a joyful disposition.

Today's Meditation

Dear God,

Joy flows like a river from You and covers my world.

You are the source of the song in my heart and the smile in my soul.

I rejoice in Your presence and in Your ways.

Thank You.

Amen
 
This is taken from a daily email I receive from Rennaissance Unity Church of Warren, MI

A beautiful quote on the spirit of kindness

To do something, however small, to make others happier and better, is the highest ambition, the most elevating hope, which can inspire a human being.


Sir John Lubbock

A meditation about Love which is sown in the seed of Kindness

From a church I attend...

Tuesday, March 24, 2010 – Love is Active


"It makes no difference how deeply seated may be the trouble, how hopeless the outlook, how muddled the tangle, how great the mistake. A sufficient realization of love will dissolve it all."

~Emmet Fox



Today's Affirmation

Love is willing if we are willing.



Today's Meditation

Dear God,



Many who read these messages have written about the challenges they are facing personally or that we face as a civilization;

Health issues for themselves or a loved one;

Financial challenges and issues related to finding employment;

Grieving losses of every kind;

The darkness of depression;

Loneliness;

Forgiveness;

Addiction;

Hopelessness;

Acceptance and diversity;

Finding housing that is affordable;

Concerns for people in the armed forces;

Concerns about war, the environment and peace.

For all of these problems, and all others - I know that Love is the answer.

Not just talking about love or sending a cute message; but actively loving ourselves, each other and the planet.

You are Love, expressing and realized, active in creation every moment.

As we join together in prayer today, let us all be the love we believe in.

Help us to really open our hearts to You and one another.

Help us to move beyond our self-limiting thinking.

Help us grow through and past our fears.

Soften our stony hearts.

May we collectively give birth to the highest of which we are capable.

May we demonstrate the Love we talk about so easily.

Help us to realize You in our lives, now.

And so it is.

Amen

A song that fits with the purpose of my blog.

Listen for the words...in the end only kindness matters....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfsS3pIDBfw

We are touched by angels...those who serve, have served and have died for our freedom

In business this past week, I met 2 women from Russia and one from Poland. All left their respective countries for the better life they have now here in the USA. Say a prayer or send positive energy out to those who defend our blessed way of life.. those serving in our military. Don't forget to do the same for those vets who have served us in the past.


And always say a prayer of love and thanksgiving for those who gave their lives and never returned:

never got to have that beer with Dad, never got to hug Mom, never got to steal a kiss from their one and only, never got a chance to marvel at their legacy....children.

I got a bit emotional writing my thought and my first comment. Imagine someone willing to give up their life and all that it entails so that others may live....I am in AWE...
and speechless. I just know their service and their lives have touched me............

An act of kindness X 2

I held the door open for this little, spry older woman who reminded me of my mom. It was yesterday, Friday, and my mom used to get her hair done on Friday mornings.


As the woman, with a nice hairdo, was leaving the bank as I was entering , I stated, "I do one nice thing a day and this is it." She laughed and touched my arm so slightly and said, "My friends say I am an angel, consider that you have been touched by an angel." I laughed and stepped aside as another customer was entering the bank. When I went to say something to the woman with the attractive hairdo, I discovered she was gone! I wonder to wonder, who was that woman and why did she show up at that bank at that time and that day?