Inspiraelevation

George Carlin once wrote,“let a smile be your umbrella.”

Smokey Robinson once wrote what can be regarded as an apt response, but “…if you take a good look at my face, you’ll see my smile looks out of place. If you’ll look a little bit closer it’s easy to trace the tracks of my tears.”

In masking, there is a pretense. 

 Another writer once said, that he was “ Masquerading  as a man with a reason, and his charade is the event of the season. 

Like any strong person he was told to Soldier on, “Carry on my wayward son that he would find his peace when he was done .”

And, soldier on you must.

But there is a time and season for everything.

Entire life should not be lived as a charade but in earnest and honest.

Perspective says that sometimes it’s okay to feel and emote.

 Vulnerability can be a strength.

 It is in those moments, if we but accept and allow, we learn the greatest lessons, such as how to become an advocate for others.

I know, that just as I,  there will always be someone who will need a soft place to land, whether it be in arms, words, or as Sara Bareiles croons,” a dream.”

Every creature needs a safe place, a shield from the sharp steel toe of the enemy.

 A buffer from the beleaguered attacks. 

So I want to encourage you to never be afraid to live out your season, live openly, and learn freely. 

Don’t besmirch the moments when you feel the most vulnerable, tired, sad,  or alone but own those moments and use it as an opportunity to build and to grow.

For one day you may be the student or the one in need.  It’s not a step downward or backwards. It is rather preparation for times when  you must step up to become the teacher, or the safe place for someone else who’s been where you have been.

Never underestimate the value of connection. 

One of the most basic of human needs is the need to forge a deep meaningful bond that nourishes growth. It is a deep drive common to us all, so innate that even our art reflects the depth of that desire.

In fact, one of the loveliest lines ever written to a song portends, “one day, maybe If we keep searching and believing, we will find that rainbow connection of lovers, dreamers, and ourselves.”

Lyricist Eric Carmen once wrote, “All by myself, don’t want to be all by myself, anymore…”

Both are true testaments to human longing. We blossom when we bask in the sunshine of others. There is comfort when sheltering from a torrential downpour under another’s umbrella. 

When there is someone there who will cheer for you, walk beside you, and extend a hand when you stumble, you benefit.

You will  fall from time to time, the rocks of life will get slippery, and you will lose your grip. However, blessed is the person who has one to hold taut the rope.  

Establishing a dream is not easy, it takes a lot of energy and focus. Some days you will  want to fold your dream back into the fabric of life. But, blessed is the person who has  a voice of reason prodding them to hold on just a little bit longer. 

  Just a few weeks ago as I sat pondering next moves and directions my thoughts settled on connections. I told my dearest love, “You know what, I am searching for my tribe. I am looking for a team of like minded people with passion who are poised to help move each other forward with love and support.” And, I believe I will find them, because like attracts like.

I encourage you to too look for your connections (your tribe).

When you look for your tribe look for-those who seek growth.  Look for those who have their own vision but who also  seek to understand your vision. Never let another person attempt to rework your dream. Seek for those who are patient, kind, and humble. 

 Always check for rotten fruit. Do not let anyone in your circle that finds failure amusing. Rather, Seek for those who can endure with you. 

1^st Corinthians is a excellent pattern for finding the right people.

When you find them, hold on to them, and rejoice with them   

Then, remember to pay in kind what has been paid forward to you.

If perchance you can’t find them(your tribe). Then you must take up the mantle, become a beacon of light, and draw them to you. 

Perhaps it was you they were waiting for all along.

And you deserve some wind beneath your wings, don’t you agree?

Our lives of made up of several different parts. We are mind, body, and spirit. When one is compromised, they are all compromised. Thus, success hinges on building each part. Meaning, that it is important to address needs relative to our mind, to our spirits, and definitely to our body.

Health is something that I do not talk much about. However, health is one of the most vital factors of living a successful life. You cannot succeed with poor health. Poor health will bankrupt you on multiple levels. You will find that either you choose to pay up front or pay later. Unfortunately, if you have run up too much debt in this area it’s difficult if not impossible to come from under it.

We live in a society where a premium is placed on corrective and restoration methods. The price of existing service far exceeds the means of many. The system is not structured to benefit you. There is truth in the adage “prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

You only have one body, so take care of it.

Form good eating habits.

Get proper sleep.

Get proper rest (Rest is not the same as sleep. You need both)

Exercise

Drink lots of water

You will never know just how valuable your health is until you lose it, or its compromised.

Let us look forward.

Let us not only think better but become better. We got this!

Words have a unique power; they can destroy or build.

So your charge is to use words to your benefit, use them to help build your dream.

Remember that you think something long before you speak it.  And you speak it long before you act on it.  

Have you ever taken the time to count how many times you have actually said you are going to do something before you do it?

Have you ever considered why that is?

Well simply, it is because words solidify things, they promote action. Speaking something out loud is like performing a open contract with yourself. The more you say it the more it binds you to conducting an action to make it happen. That is why one of the most powerful things you can do when striving to reach your goals is to profess your desire.

Give your desires a name.

 Speak positively about what you want.

Speak as if it is already yours.

 You cannot claim it until you name it. Otherwise, it is no more than a thought.

Forewarning, it is of equal importance that you watch the negative talk.

 Do not talk yourself out of claiming what is yours.

That is because, words have sticking power.

So I encourage you to be deliberate in your practice of profession.

 And then walk through your day believing that what you have professed it is already yours.

To be a success you must have a vision.

A Vision is a larger mental image of where you want to go, what you want to have, who you want to be!

 Manifestation begins with visualization. You have to be able to see yourself obtaining whatever it is you are desiring.

Then you have to claim that it is yours.

The accomplishment of that dream is the substance of what you initially hoped for. Faith is the belief that whatever you hoped for will manifest, it is the immaterial substance of what is not yet come in to being.

Your goals are steppingstones you lay down to get you across the stream of present reality to the obtainment of that vision.

You cannot possibly create definitive goals if you do not have a larger vision.

Then comes the passion. Passion is the fuel.

When you have the vision, goals, and the passion everything is in alignment and there is nothing to stop you.

Today start developing your vision.