Snowy Woods

 

A Life of Passion

"February 27, 2006
A Life Of Passion
Getting Back To What You Love

There are times in life when we are committed to pursuing our passions. Every molecule in our body is focused on doing what we love. At other times, necessity and responsibility dictate that we put our dreams aside and do what needs to be done. It is during these moments that we may choose to forget what it is that we love to do. There are many other reasons for why we may leave our passions behind. A hobby may lose its appeal once we've realize it will never turn into our dream job. Someone important to us may keep telling us that our passions are childish and unsuitable - until we finally believe them.

Forgetting about what you love to do can be a form of self-sabotage. If you can forget about your dreams, then you never have to risk failure. But just because we've decided to ignore our passions doesn't mean they no longer exist. Nothing can fill the emptiness that remains in a space vacated by a passion that we have tossed aside. Besides, life is too short to stop doing what you love, and it is never too late to rediscover your favorite things. If you gave up playing an instrument, painting, drawing, spending time in nature, or any other activity or interest that you once loved to do, now may be the time to take up that passion again. If you don't remember what it is that you used to be passionate about, you may want to think about the activities or interests that you used to love or the dreams that you always wished you could pursue.

You don't have to neglect your responsibilities to pursue your passions, and you don't have to neglect your commitments to do what you love. When you make an effort to incorporate your interests into your life, the fire within you ignites. You feel excited, inspired, and fed by the flames that are sparked by living your life with passion for what you love."

The Daily Om

Affirmations

"Moving Past Pain
Use these affirmations to help you overcome the past and focus on moving forward.
By Charlene M. Proctor, PhD

According to Charlene M. Proctor, PhD, "Every day we have an opportunity to choose our attitude and focus our intentions in the present moment." The following excerpts from her new book, "The Women's Book of Empowerment: 323 Affirmations That Change Everyday Problems into Moments of Potential," explains ways to help overcome the past.

Never allow the past to hold you back from enjoying a full life. What have you got to lose, except a heavy burden? Forgiveness is usually the key to moving forward, which is why it’s on the path to gaining insight. When you forgive yourself, and those who have hurt you, you are able to release negative patterns that visit you over and over again. More important, you will finally sever the control that a memory of another person has over you. Stay in the present, affirm the good that has been a result of a bad situation, and love your authentic self even more than you did yesterday. You can do it!

If You Have a Bad Attitude
Today I change my focus by championing a new cause. I am the ambassador of positive thinking. I spread health, wealth, love, and happiness wherever I go. I love watching how my positive statements dissolve negativity in others. I am my own instrument of renewal of positive energy, and my positive outlook is stored deep within me. Every positive statement I make is rewarded.

If You Can’t Release the Past
Today I take all my unhappy memories out of my body and place them in a basket. My pain, my anger, and my resentments are placed in this basket. I have an angel that takes this basket of unhappiness from my hands and flies to the outer reaches of the universe and transforms it into loving energy that will revisit me later today. I forgive those around me and ask for divine assistance to hold me in a state of continual forgiveness.

If Your Family Did Not Allow You to Bloom
Spring is guaranteed to come. I can bloom no matter what the weather, because I am growing spiritually each day. Today I take time to notice how I have bloomed so beautifully despite my circumstances. I am capable of reaching for the run and sky because that is my natural state. I am reaching upward every day and do so joyfully, knowing I am grounded in the life cycle of spiritual development.

If You Have Frequent Family Feuds
I choose to be a spectator, not a participant, in a negative energy generation. I facilitate healing by taking time to ask for divine assistance for this family’s difficulties. I visualize these family members embracing one another for their diversity and know that each one helps another on their soul journey. Every loving and positive word I speak about my family helps to generate more healing.

If You Have Trouble Forgiving
I forgive because I am capable of expressing compassion. By forgiving, I release this situation from my energy field and feel clear-headed and full-hearted. I forgive because I am able to rise to my higher self and feel lighter. My light knows no boundaries when I forgive. Life feels lighter when I forgive.

If Your Family Has Patriarchal Attitudes
I am a spark of the Divine; therefore I am of the same soul substance as everyone else. From this day forward, I recognize my gifts of both male and female energy and reclaim a balanced image of my infinite power. Those who do not believe in me are denying part of their own divine nature; therefore they have no power over me. I am supported by Mother God!

If You Have Regrets
Life is a curvaceous and fluid journey. Because I am always moving through leaning stages, I cannot look back or measure. I learn though my relationships because that is how I begin to define who I am. Nothing is unforgivable in life. I know nursing this hurt is holding me back from fully being with other; therefore I choose to thank the universe for giving me another opportunity to develop my soul by knowing another person. I move easily through this experience.

If You Repeat the Same Patterns
I keep experiencing the same events in my life because I have not learned a lesson at the deep level of the soul. I am committed to changing my behavior, attitude, and negative belief systems. I learn from past mistakes. Life is a self-educational process and I am a perceptive individual. I watch others as they model what I need to learn. I love all my talents as well as my imperfections because that is what makes me the beloved person I am."

Consciously Silent

"Consciously Silent

Every time, before you eat, take a moment to be silent. Close your eyes if you like, or just fix your attention on a neutral object or point. Take a few slow, deep breaths. Think about your body and that you’re about to feed and nourish it. Gather a sense of gratitude about the food, and know how lucky you are to have it when many others don’t. Remind yourself of your commitments to eat well, but just enough. Remember that you love your body, and yourself. Then be silent again for a little while.

Silence is anything but empty! When you put yourself and your thoughts aside, you let God come into your awareness. You come to sense that all is right and well with everything and with you.

Being consciously silent before eating can ground you, making you aware of the magnitude of what you’re about to do. You are taking another living thing’s life into your body. Food was once alive and by the act of eating it, you claim its life for yours. You are continuing the flow of God’s magnificently intricate eco-system with each bite.

The silence allows you to access the deepest part of your being -keeping your conscious mind's chatter at bay for a moment – for you to experience the truly awesome living God-energy that you are.

Return to the beginning of time, to the beginning of creation for a moment – in silence. "

Norris Chumley

Autumn Leaves

 

Four Seasons: Looking out my back door

Spring


Summer


Fall


Winter

Breaking Bread

"October 21, 2005
Nourishment For The Soul
Breaking Bread Together

As we rush to keep up with the speed of our busy lives, one of the first activities we tend to sacrifice is the sharing of a meal with other people. We may find ourselves eating alone at the kitchen counter or hurriedly drinking a cup of soup while driving in our cars. Yet taking the time to share a meal with family or a close friend not only feeds your body, but also it can nourish your soul. Companionship can fill the heart the way warm stew can satisfy your belly. Eating a meal with others allows you to slow down, while nurturing your relationships.

Breaking bread with others can be treated like a ritual where the gestures of sharing and togetherness are just as important as the food you eat. Planning, preparing, and consuming a meal are all stepping off points toward good conversation, bonding, and learning about someone else. Inviting a new acquaintance to share a meal can be the start of a wonderful friendship. A shared breakfast can be a brainstorming session between coworkers, or it can set the tone for a positive day for family members. Lunch with a friend can be a welcome break from the day's stress, as well as a chance to unwind. Dinner with loved ones can be a chance to talk about the day's events with people who truly care. Sometimes, there may even be no need for conversation, and you may want to share a meal with someone while sitting in comfortable silence.

The breaking of bread can be a fulfilling experience, especially when done among people you love and trust. So the next time you find yourself rushing through a meal in front of your computer, you may want to pause and reconsider. The warm feelings, sense of security, and enjoyment you experience from sharing a meal with others may be the kind of break that you really need."

http://www.dailyom.com/articles/2005/650.html

Remember your spiritual side

"The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays." -- Soren Kierkegaard

Reminding ourselves often of our spiritual natures truly changes the quality of our lives. It helps us relax, slow down, lighten up, and generally find more space and joy in life.

When we get down on ourselves or life, we can pull back and ask, "How might my soul regard this situation? What am I being invited to experience?"

This shift in perspective helps us let go of the resistance that always comes with negativity. As energy once again begins to flow, our outlook brightens.

"Spirituality is the sacred center out of which all life comes, including Mondays and Tuesdays and rainy Saturday afternoons in all their mundane and glorious detail. ... The spiritual journey is the soul's life commingling with ordinary life." -- Christina Baldwin

"It is not my business to think about myself. My business is to think about God. It is for God to think about me." -- Simone Weil

http://higherawareness.com/

Free - three adorable black kittens

6-7 months old, all boys. All three very sweet and loving. They are strays and have been outside their whole little lives but I have been handling them and getting them used to people. They desperately need a home before the cold weather sets in! I do not want to take them to the shelter.



They look exactly alike except one has a half tail (part Manx).

I am in the Elkview area but will meet you anywhere in the Charleston area, Chesapeake, Marmet, South Charleston, St. Albans, Sissonville. Will consider going as far as Teays Valley or even Huntington. Or will meet you halfway if you live further.

PLEASE if you know anyone who could give one or more of these kittens a good home, comment or email me at msjamie@charter.net

Maddie playing soccer 

My Ebay Listings

My Ebay Listings

Free Kitten 

The new Chili Willi's 

Inside the new Chili Willi'ls 

Sumac

I was wondering what these trees/weeds in my back yard were and finally figured it out - Sumac! The non-poisonous variety. It has red berries now andthe leaves are turning red now.





http://altnature.com/gallery/sumach.htm

TheSims2.com - About The Sims 2 Nightlife

TheSims2.com - About The Sims 2 Nightlife

It's here, it's here!

Wilson, Big & Rich To Tour This Fall

Wilson, Big & Rich To Tour This Fall

Charleston's not on the tour. Damn them!

Maybe we can go see them in Nashville at the Ryman. That would be way cool.

Nick playing soccer

Hayes Junior High
09/07/05

"People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and GOD.
It was never between you and them anyway."

-- Mother Theresa

Happy Birthday, Dave!