Category Archives: Messages

What kind of messages are being directed at you? What kind of messages are you accepting as truth or not even considering the validity of?

iconJust Beneath the Surface

As I have eluded to in my previous post “Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder,” we are being bombarded by messages on a daily basis. Some of these messages are meant to help us, others inform us, others are trying to sell us something, and others influence our decisions. No matter what the intent, they are trying to deliver a message to us about someone or something – some of the time it’s a message … Continue reading →

Posted In | catalyst, change agents, just beneath the surface, liberation theology, look deeper than face value, Messages, political change, scratching the surface, social change
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iconThe Butterfly Effect

While this was also the title for a move featuring Ashton Kutcher, and it’s somewhat related to this post, my topic aligns a bit more with the original implications of the theory. In Chaos Theory, The Butterfly Effect describes how a small event can be related to a completely unrelated large event (the links are to Wikipedia for your reading pleasure). These two events do not have to occur in direct succession of one another, … Continue reading →

Posted In | altruism, catalyst, chaos theory, Messages, misdeeds, simple kindness, the butterfly effect
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iconValentine’s Day & Every Day

Valentine’s Day is a great occasion to express your love, admiration, appreciation, or gratitude for someone you love. Yes, it’s turned into a very, very commercial, capitalist, money-making, holiday – but it doesn’t mean you have to hate it because of it. At the core there is a good message… and chocolate if you’re lucky. I’m a huge proponent of showing your gratitude every day of the year by doing simple things for those you … Continue reading →

Posted In | altruism, gratitude, holidays, love, Messages, ordinary life, positive energy, positive thinking, valentine's day
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iconTake Time for Yourself

American life has been described as a rat race, and I think if you’re not careful it can be. We as Americans are always darting around, running back and forth, sprinting from one thing to another. When you’re younger it’s school, after-school activities, school trips, sleepovers at friends houses, not to mention the family events we all attend. College is very similar – class, studying, working, groups you’re involved with, sports, romance, family, the list … Continue reading →

Posted In | challenge yourself, good days, introspection, living in the moment, Messages, ordinary life, simple joy
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iconSelflessness is the Heart of Love

Selflessness -Altruism: the quality of unselfish concern for the welfare of others. This is the first definition of selflessness I find when I type the term into my web browser and ask the interwebs for an answer. Altruism is defined as: 1. The belief in or practice of disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others. 2. Behavior of an animal that benefits another at its own expense. It’s the second definition of altruism and selflessness … Continue reading →

Posted In | altruism, love, Messages, selflessness
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iconDon’t Say too Much

There are always times in our lives when we wished we had said less and done more, or simply just not have opened our mouths to begin with. There is a quote than hangs on my sister’s fridge, “Speak in anger and you will give the best speech you will even regret,” or something to that effect. There is a gem of knowledge in that simple phrase that is easily mined. Think before you speak… … Continue reading →

Posted In | being authentic, introspection, keep trying, Messages, self control, think before you speak
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iconWhy do we Complicate Life?

Life is not that hard. It really isn’t, and there really isn’t much to it once you understand what’s worth doing and not doing.  Someone once told me that they base their decision on a simple preliminary check: If things make them feel gross or badly then they shouldn’t do them. How simple is this for each of us to do, it’s a short gut check to see how we feel about things before we … Continue reading →

Posted In | being falible, do the right thing, failing, introspection, keep trying, Messages, simple living, think before you act
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iconLiving a Sound Byte Existence

One of my previous posts discussed this predicament we are all faced with at some point in our lives, or even our days: doing what we say we’re going to do. After talking to friends about this I think it has more to do with our ability to be consistent in life. Jumping from one thing to another is the 15 second television commercial lifestyle we are all conditioned to live. It only makes sense … Continue reading →

Posted In | byte back, byten, change, Messages, sound byte life
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iconDon’t Assume you Know the Truth

There are a lot of people who believe there is only one truth in every situation, when in reality the truth can be relative, and what is true to one person, in not always true to someone else. I’m not talking about telling the truth, or lying, or being dishonest, I’m talking about what people believe to be real in the world and their lives. Each person has a different version of reality, and it’s … Continue reading →

Posted In | lies, Messages, objective reality, subjective reality, truth
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iconToo Much talk, Not Enough Action

There are so many people who talk a big game, but when it comes right down to it, they have absolutely no substance. These are the used car sales people in life, always promising something better than what they have or they can give, only to let you down. The unfortunate truth is that most people don’t pay any attention to this because it’s become a societal norm. We as Americans in general talk a … Continue reading →

Posted In | being falible, follow through, Messages, ordinary life, promises, self control
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iconPositive Thinking Leads to a Positive Life

Very often we find ourselves in a funk, especially this time of year – shorter days, colder weather, less outdoor activity. With our lack of physical energy typically comes a lack of mental energy as well. It’s only natural for us to feel a bit low, but it’s not natural to let yourself sink into it. But what if you do… what if you are in a funk and all you see is gray? It … Continue reading →

Posted In | Messages, positive energy, positive thinking, thought patterns
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iconWhen Emotion Outweighs Logic

Oh, emotions, how you complicate our lives, make us feel alive, and make us wish we were dead! How many times a day are your emotions making decisions for you? How many times have you known in your head that you were unnecessarily sad, agitated, angry, frustrated, or upset about something in your life? This happens to me on a regular basis, and it takes practice to learn to stop it before it starts. Emotions … Continue reading →

Posted In | challenges, change, change agents, decode your feelings, emotional overlfow, introspection, keep trying, Messages, self control
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iconJumping to Conclusions

Sometimes I must think I’m clairvoyant given the amount I try to predict the future. I think it must be human nature to try and determine things we cannot and could never really know for sure unless told. But, despite the great disadvantage we commonly draw our own conclusions and make assumptions about life based on what we ‘think’ is right or true. It seems as though on a daily basis I’m trying to climb inside … Continue reading →

Posted In | assumptions, Messages, mind reading, preconceived notions
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iconLove in All its Many Formulations

Love. What a loaded word… it stirs all kinds of emotions just hearing it much less feeling it. In love, love you, love you like a brother, true love, love at first sight, unrequited love, falling in love… we have more versions of love in our society than there are types of snowflakes in the winter. But what’s at the core of all of these types of love, and what does all of it mean? … Continue reading →

Posted In | love, Messages, true love
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iconWhatever You do, do it With Passion!

When I was little I wanted to be a firefighter, something my mother explained to me would be very dangerous, and while not discouraging it directly, made it clear would not be her first choice of carrer track for me. We had a house fire when I was a kid and I thought the actions of those strangers going into our house and saving our cats and putting out the fire was nothing less than … Continue reading →

Posted In | Messages, ordinary life, passion, simple joy
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iconSometimes Life is Just Hard

While we all like to look at the positive aspects of life, and see things for their inherent goodness, sometimes life is just hard or bad, or even simply terrible. These times come to all of us, death, breakups, lost jobs, squandered experiences, tragic events… there is a just as long of a list of bad as there is good – sometimes it seems like it’s longer. Part of the reason I write this blog … Continue reading →

Posted In | being zen, dark days, friendships, good days, Messages, ordinary life, show gratitude
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iconThe Mortar of Life is Friendship

True friendships are mortar that bond our lives together, and bricks to hold us up when times get rough… They are the foundation of our joy and the refuge for us in times of sorrow. After our families our friends are the next group of people who are close to our hearts, and sometimes depending on our families or lack of, our friends make up our family. Nothing can be more fulfilling or frustrating than … Continue reading →

Posted In | Messages
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iconChange is the Only Constant

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. -Victor Frankl The quote above is one of my favorite statements for the way I live my life, and the way I believe life should be lived. Many people in life feel stuck in situations or lifestyles they don’t want or are tired of living… what stops them from changing things? The answer is very simple, they are stopping … Continue reading →

Posted In | introspection, Messages, rainmakers
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iconSimple Kindness & Showing Gratitude

This morning on my way through the drive-thru at Starbucks I was surprised to find the person in front of me had purchased my coffee for me. When I asked what the reason was the barista answered, “She said other people had done it for her and she wanted to return the gesture.” I sat there in awe of what had just happened, car idling as they handed me my free drink. How random is … Continue reading →

Posted In | gratitude, living in the moment, Messages, simple joy, simple kindness
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iconWhat is the Meaning of a Word

What does it mean to love someone? What does it mean to love ourselves? What is true love? Each day we describe our “love” for things – “I love that song,” “I love coffee in the morning,” “I love you.” With the frequency we use this word and others like it, it only makes sense that we’ve lost the true meaning, the true impact of the weight this term really has. When we use a … Continue reading →

Posted In | listening, love, magical words, Messages, thought patterns, verbal magic
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iconEnjoy Life Today

Far too often we are caught up in the stream of life, not taking the time to stop and actually live our lives as they exist today. We plan things for the future, we look forward to an event, we wait for the weekend, we anticipate a special event. What happened to living in the moment? Living in the moment is far too under rated and overlooked. We tend to forget that right now, this … Continue reading →

Posted In | living in the moment, Messages
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iconParadoxes of Life

Throughout life there are paradoxes that seem to make sense out of normally confusing situations. “You won’t find love until you stop looking for it,” “Sometimes you must first lose everything before you can have anything,” “You must let go before you really can have control.” These seemingly contradictory phrases counterintuitively make sense and sum up certain parts of life that are otherwise unexplainable or outside our initial understanding. What do these phrases do to … Continue reading →

Posted In | Messages, paradoxes
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icondistance makes the heart grow fonder…

Simple sayings lead us in the thought patterns of those who came before us. These symbolic colloquialisms amass a large part of our daily vocabulary and shape how we see our world. Why do we use them? We hear them all around us, used by people each and every day. Some of them are harmless, “Happy as a clam at high tide.” But others carry a message, “A penny saved is a penny earned, ” “He … Continue reading →

Posted In | Messages, paradoxes, preconceived notions, thought patterns
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