Daily Gratitude: Chaos! Our country is in a state of chaos right now. I feel it and I imagine you do too. Do you feel helpless and scared? I do. But I also know that it is not doing me any good to wallow in it and be a news junkie. Sure it’s important to know what’s going on and I think too many people have their heads in the sand….but…..it’s our responsibility to take care of ourselves too. And that means to find and do whatever we can to calm our nervous system. One of the best ways to do that is to help others. There’s volunteering or just helping someone on the street. Or just helping a neighbor or someone you see in a store. I’ve used this quite before (i think) but it’s one that we should continually refer to. Lots of people making a little bit of noise will eventually become a deafening roar. So speak up, stand up, act out, encourage and support those you believe in. There’s a reason all those annoying texts come in asking for “JUST $5 or $10”. If you get 100 people JUST giving $10, you’ve got $1000. Be a mosquito in your life but do it as you are also taking care of yourself and not overtaxing or overstimulating your nervous system. If you do that, it will short circuit and you’ll be like a mosquito that flies without paying attention and runs right smack into one of those bug zappers.

Daily Gratitude: I wish more people were aware that they have the power of choice. You can choose to be affected by all that goes on around you or you can choose not to. Do you want to be a puppet in the wind, constantly blown here or there- at the mercy of others? I am pretty sure you’d say no.

Whatever happened to you is over and done. It’s in the past. Why hold on to it? If it was something that you learned from, you can hold on and on to the lesson while letting go of the event and even the memory of it if it brings up negative feelings.

Have you ever asked yourself why you hold on to things that weren’t so good? Do you let those things define you and if so, why? Is this a leftover from your childhood? Is
What happened reminiscent of what you went through when the influential people in your life told you you were this or that. “You’re a bad person if you do x,y,z” “See, I told you you were a failure” “you’re no good at anything. Just a food good for nothing” and so on.

If that happened to you you have to work hard to overcome all of that. The good news, though, is that it is possible. And it’s fascinating if you engage in IFS (Internal Family Systems).

Always remember that you are you and you are not what happened to you

Daily Gratitude: Boy can I attest to this. My life used to be so very narrow. I was afraid of everything that involved interacting with people (outside of work). It was funny how I would become a different person when I walked through the doors of the ER, almost like Clark Kent (for those who know who he is). Not that I would become Superman but that I would strip off my cape and become a different type of person.

It took me over 70 years to shed some of those fears and to develop my courage (again i attribute that to IFS). As more and more courage came through the mucky goo concealing it for so long, my life really did expand. I began to be more comfortable around people. It was and continues to be a process but I am here to tell you that it’s worth every second of it.

One reason I write so much and do my daily call is that I hope I can help others change their lives sooner than 70 years. They deserve to enjoy everything and everyone much much earlier.

Make a commitment to yourself that you will make the journey into your inner self so you can find out where your stumbling blocks, your swamps and quicksand are. And as you come to each, do whatever it takes to clean them off so your courage can rise to the surface.