An open heart in a sad world

Dealing with the death of a close friend has been a difficult endeavor this week. Grief is an emotion that is the most difficult that I have ever encountered in my life and no matter how many times I have had to cope and go through these feelings, it seems to become more difficult. Since JR...

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The balance of control

We can dream, wish, pray as much as we want, work on a project to exhaustion giving it the best we can give, but in the end we relinquish those things out of our control to faith and hope. What can you do other than your best? The answer is nothing . . . However, much of what happens to us...

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Tragic society

The news of more and more foreclosures, rising unemployment and general financial disasters has made me wonder when things would start getting really crazy as society becomes so distraught, feeling like they are pushed against the wall with nowhere to go. It occurred to me tonight that the tragedies...

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Unconditional love

Unconditional love is a concept that means showing love towards someone regardless of his or her actions or beliefs. It is a concept comparable to true love, a term which is more frequently used to describe love between lovers. By contrast unconditional love is frequently used to describe love...

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The experience of survival

In the midst of a time of turmoil, stress, uncertainty all you want to do is be able to make it through . . . survive it . . . although it usually feels like the bad vibes will never go away and nothing will ever feel “normal” again. I am still not feeling “normal” every day and it could also...

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Another beautiful ending

Sometimes when I am feeling strong positive vibes with abounding faith, it seems like the powers that be want to test me. One of my best friends died in an accident today . . . sudden death. At least it happened fast and he didn’t feel the trauma of death upon him, although he had an accident...

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Peace and the irritation of challenges

There is an opportunity in every challenge to find something positive rather than expend energy being irritated and annoyed. It is said that a pearl is an irritation of the oyster. There is a treasure hidden in all things, good and bad. Emotional reactions and moods can heighten and fluctuate....

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Love yourself first

My romantic experiences of the past couple of years have taught me the valuable lesson of loving yourself first.  Desire alone can make you crazy and a shell of a person. Even in my wonderful married relationship . . . I was lost in my status as part of a couple, not an individual whose...

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Express love

When I finally found that man who loved me unconditionally and realized that we could share a lifetime together in peace, love and happiness, I had no problem telling him how much I loved him. My heart had been broken waiting and waiting for the one who never came back from the military and...

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Keep love alive

Consider these words from the song “Love Alive” by Heart . . . “You need a whole lot more than money, You need more than to survive, You need to keep your love, Keep your love alive”. I’m not talking about keeping tainted love alive . . . good riddance to a love that is not meant to be . ....

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What is love?

Love is patient, Love is kind, It does not envy, it does not boast, It is not proud, It is not rude, It is not self-seeking, It is not easily angered, It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. Love always protects, always trusts, always...

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The gift of today

There is a saying I’ve heard that yesterday is in the past, tomorrow is the future, but today is a gift, that is why it is called the present. Having to deal with the sudden death of my spouse has resulted in my belief that although we must be responsible in this life, we also must live for...

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The road to happiness

Happiness is a state of mind. When I wake up every morning I have a choice to either think positively or negatively. Life circumstances don’t matter if I have decided to think positively about my situation. Long ago I realized that we are very spoiled as a society. I was tired of wanting...

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No regrets

Regrets should not be present in our lives if we have paid close attention to our wants and needs and have been true to ourselves. One of the most freeing experiences in life is to not have regrets, even if we didn’t experience the desired outcome. Realizing that everything in life happens...

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Peaceful contentment

My favorite time of the day is dawn, as the sun rises . . . and my favorite place at dawn is my back yard in Florida. It is the magical time nature awakens as night turns into day, the birds sing, the squirrels come out of their nests to greet the day and the dew on the colorful flowers happily...

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Peace, Love and Happiness

Three simple words that have so much meaning. Those words take me back to flower child days that weave through the tapestry of my life through good and bad times. Together they sum up my philosophy of life having nothing to do with politics which lead me from one day to the next with optimism and...

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