Love and miracles

Where there is great love there are always miracles.

Willa Cather



The lyrics of a popular song proclaims love can move mountains . . . "there isn't a mountain high enough to keep me from you." In reality we know that love can't move a mountain, however, mountains are seen as obstacles . . . easily removed by love . . . sometimes not so easily, yet possible. In my opinion, the emotion of love is the most powerful force in the world . . . where there is love, anything is possible.

True love in itself is a miracle. How many people live this life and never find true love? It has surprised me in the years of writing about love and romance to find the number of people who have not experienced love in the true sense of the word.

The revelation of those staggering numbers of people who have never experienced true love made me so grateful that I found that true love, even though I am now a widow, but nevertheless, I experienced that magical emotion for over two decades. It is ironic that human nature allows us to not know what we have until we lose it . . . and when we find it again, we recognize it . . . and truly appreciate it for the miracle that true love really is.

It is amazing how one small gesture from the one we love can make a bad day almost disappear . . . a kiss can magically make hurts less painful. Taking a line from another popular song, "I've got sunshine on a cloudy day" . . . love can provide these miracles . . . or so it seems at the time.

True love is beautiful and everlasting . . . and goes beyond til death do us part.

I'm blessed that I have found it again!

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Work in Progress

December 6, 2009
Fluid Work in Progress
Leo Daily Horoscope

You may have a purposeful focus and be determined to continue along the path to your dreams today. This level of dedication can help you make great progress, but it can also cause you to become overwhelmed with frustration if events don’t go the way you planned. If you take a moment to think about the ways your goals have changed during the course of your life, you will realize that goal setting is a fluid, ever-changing process rather than a fixed destination.

With this new flexible outlook, overcoming obstacles today will become a simple matter of increasing the intensity of your efforts or shifting your direction to find a way around them. By choosing to see our goals as a fluid work in progress, we give ourselves the flexibility and stamina to stay motivated over the long-term. While a rigid approach to our goals can result in feelings of frustration in the face of challenges, a flexible approach can help us keep readjusting our efforts in order to achieve the most beneficial progress.

Just as we grow and change during the course of our lives, our goals must also shift to reflect who we are at any given moment. By choosing to see our long-term goals as fluid rather than fixed, we empower ourselves with the ability to stay motivated and excited, even when facing challenges. With a flexible focus on your goals today, you will create a greater level of stamina and develop an optimistic outlook that can help you stay the course.

I must admit that I have recently experienced those feelings of overwhelm and frustration, although I am the happiest I have been in a very long time since I am hitting many of my goals.

Sometimes I expect way too much from myself . . . like starting a new job and having the strong desire to bypass the learning process and effortlessly getting on with the daily routine.

Then there is my frustration with my relationship with The Captain . . . he's there and I'm here . . . and I still don't really understand it, although I do in many respects. It is such a contradiction, but that is what makes me crazy at times. I've found the man I love and want to spend my life with, we were together and in love . . . although it was a bit of a rocky road . . . now we are still in love, but with distance between us. Maybe we both needed it and was too soon to move in together.

Through all of these feelings regarding both my professional and personal life, I remain ever so optimistic that I am on the right track and a wonderful work in progress, no longer hopeless, lost and misguided.

Today I'm feeling so grateful for second chances in life . . . The Captain and I could have very well split up after he left, but our love has remained stubborn and continues to grow by the day. I'm grateful to have found a man who truly loves me and wants forever rather than a brief affair.

I'm overwhelmed and so grateful for being blessed with a job working at that place that gives me a purpose every day of my life, making a difference in the lives of others. I'm grateful for that feeling of satisfaction it gives me and the feeling of being so appreciative of everything that God has blessed me with that I have taken for granted for way too long. I'm grateful my eyes have opened to this reality.

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Nurturing love

When we reach out to nurture and care for others, we use the power of love to transform their lives. Most of us think of love as an emotion that we feel for another person. While this is true, love is also a powerful, transformational energy we can direct toward others. By expressing love to another person, either verbally or physically, we transmit a powerful healing energy that can transform them. If they are willing to accept this loving energy, it can help them to heal and become stronger. You can make a powerful difference in the lives of your loved ones today by generously sharing your loving, nurturing energy.

Source: Daily Om

There is nothing more fulfilling than feeling the satisfaction of helping someone in need . . . you made a difference in their life, no matter how big or small the difference is. Sometimes even a smile can go a long way . . . for another person possibly having a bad day, that moment can be the trigger of bringing on a better day for them.

My new job has brought out my compassionate side and I'm living that satisfaction daily. People in need, those less fortunate than I . . . for whatever reason . . . they touch my life as well, making me so grateful for everything wonderful I have been blessed with.

Keeping a positive attitude and existing in a pleasant mode is a form of love and caring for those who surround us . . . a good mood is contagious and spreading positive vibes can make a difference in our close relationships.

Making a difference in the lives of those we love . . . the beauty of co-existing in this world with someone we love deeply who returns that love . . . it is nurturing that can heal just about anything . . . at least that's my perspective on nurturing love.

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Regrets . . . or Stepping Stones?

"Your regrets aren't what you did, but what you didn't do. 
So I take every opportunity."

- Cameron Diaz


"You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done.
 It is what you haven't done that will torment you. 
The message, therefore, is clear. Do it! 
Develop an appreciation for the present moment. 
Seize every second of your life and savor it. 
Value your present moments. 
Using them up in any self-defeating ways
 means you've lost them forever."

- Wayne Dyer



"Never give up and good luck will find you."

- Falcor, is the Luck Dragon from the awesome movie "The NeverEnding Story" which came out in 1984.



Love Comes in Many Forms
By Meredith Banker 

(http://www.twitter.com/actressgirl218)

Love comes in many forms
Self-love is the best
It is better to want than need
But everyone needs
Find the need in yourself
And fill it with what you want
I wish; I grow
I challenge
I look for those who challenge my heart, my soul, my expansion
I am expanding and it is a beautiful thing
I always want, I always stay hungry
Never sacrifice yourself or your dreams to fulfill someone else's needs
I breathe, I am alive; I awaken the fire within me
Do not let your soul be deprived of its vision
Accept, awaken, enlighten
Challenge yourself
Do not look to others to challenge you
I see right through you

SOURCE:

- Follow us on Twitter! http://www.Twitter.com/TheDailyLove
- Check our our beta site! http://www.TheDailyLove.com


Regrets? Of course I have them . . . everyone does one thing or another in their life they wish would have never happened. But I choose to see those things as life's stepping stones, not regrets even if the situation didn't turn out as I had planned.

In my entire life, there isn't anything I would do over again because I would not be in this place and time in my life. Everything happens for a reason . . . even failures or those things we perceive as failures. My greatest lessons came out of what I perceive as failure.

On the other hand, I don't have those type of regrets because of something I really wanted to do and didn't do since I always try to make myself happy. Those actions have not always been successful, in fact, some were the most devastating failures of my life. However, I appreciate the lessons learned from those failures and can never go back and wonder "what if" . . . I was true to myself and what my intuition and heart wanted.

Just do it . . . whatever it is that you think will make you happy . . . don't have regrets!

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Moderation and balance

"By approaching our work with moderation and careful planning, we can accomplish more and still retain a sense of mental, emotional, and physical balance. Few things are more exciting and energizing than setting goals and planning for a better future.

However, our excitement can often be detrimental to our well-being if we take on too much, too soon. Rather than trying to run the race in a few giant leaps, we can instead pace ourselves and take smaller, more consistent steps to reach the finish line with less effort and strain. We then conserve our energy and accomplish much more in the long run than we would otherwise.

By being gentle with yourself and proceeding with moderation toward your goals today, you can make great progress without becoming overwhelmed."

Source: The Daily Om

Moderation and balance have become a recurring theme in my life as I've entered a new phase and into the "real world" again.

One step at a time is what it takes to make positive changes . . . being consistent and persistent is what made it happen for me. The result is peace and happiness within myself, not depending on anyone else to get there and the feeling of pride associated with standing on my own two feet after stumbling so many times.

The biggest change is a wonderful new job where I have taken on the equivalent of three positions that have been merged into one job description . . . without being totally overwhelmed at a demanding schedule. Everything is falling into place at a very comfortable pace . . .

My new attitude as a result of finding that balance in my life I have been searching for is what I attribute to hitting the goals I have set for myself. Striking that balance has set into my personal life, making circumstances that were almost unbearable a few months ago very tolerable and pleasant today.

A big life lesson I am learning is being patient with myself and the people who surround me.

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Expectations

Expect to have hope rekindled.
Expect your prayers to be
answered in wondrous ways.
The dry seasons in life do not last.
The spring rains will come again.

Sarah Ban Breathnach



Never losing hope is always a wise decision.

Long distance love takes time and lots of patience
that strengthens love, faith and hope.  

Anything worth anything is worth it.

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The burden of infinite mystery

Release yourself from the burden
of trying to understand all,
let God carry that
burden of infinite mystery


The quote profoundly struck me today as I went through some of the thousands of emails that have accumulated while I've pondered the infinite mystery that is my life.

While the pondering has gone on way too long and in way too much detail in a sea of confusion by way of personal happiness, peace, sadness, conflicts, blah blah blah . . . I have managed to find a rather decent job in a world where becoming gainfully employed has become like hitting the jackpot at the casino.

Maybe I should have focused on finding that job rather than carry the burden of other things going on in my life . . . after all, it IS survival we are talking about. Perhaps the alternative of remaining unemployed any longer and the worrying that goes along with it should have taken front stage in my life. But it didn't . . . I released that task to God, knowing that he would eventually take care of that situation.

Now . . . if I could only release myself from some of those other burdens bothering me at this moment in my life . . . maybe I would enjoy and appreciate that mountain of peace, love and happiness that is staring me in the face.

Why do we as humans have to understand, make sense of and control every little detail of life? What will be will be anyway . . .

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