Just Simple Pleasures for Today

Image Credit: Nalin Costha

        All too often, we get caught up in the fancy-schmancy way of it all that only pushes us to ask, “Why is everything so hard?” Adults can make things complicated, seem out of touch, or just plain ole preposterous. Then, there is the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) response when asking how to do a certain procedure if you overthink things.

        For today, keep things simple, whether you’re cooking, cleaning, or working. Make it simple as you gain a sense of clarity that makes you wonder why you haven’t seen things, situations or people clearly before now. You’ll be amazed by how much you notice, appreciate, and marvel. Take it easy and enjoy the simple pleasures of life with gratitude.

Image Credit: Geralt

Image Credit: Scott Webb

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Giving While We’re Still Living

Image Credit: Goat_Girl

When I was part of a leadership team several decades ago, I found a copy of a parable I heard. While there was not an author credit attached to it, it was a story that made me think about what we do, what we give, and why.

“Why is it,” said a rich man to his minister, “that people call me stingy when everyone knows that when I die I’m leaving everything to this church?”

“Let me tell you the story of the pig and the cow,” said the minister. “The pig was unpopular and the cow was beloved. This puzzled the pig. ‘People speak warmly of your gentle nature and your soulful eyes,’ the pig said to the cow. ‘They think you’re generous because each day you give them milk and cream. But what about me? I give them everything I have. I give bacon and ham. I provide bristles for brushes. They even pickle my feel! Yet no one likes me. Why is that?'”

“Do you know what the cow answered?” said the minister. “She said, ‘Perhaps it’s because I give while I’m still living.'”

How much our gifts mean to those in the here and now are priceless. When we give and see how much our gifts change lives, as those lives change all who they touch, then we know our living is not in vain. What good are we once we die, when our life didn’t produce the good that could have been?

A Labor Day of Love

Image Credit: Simon jackson

What have you done lately that has been something you worked hard at, for the sake of someone else’s enjoyment or benefit, that you did not get paid for or received an award for? What was the task or thing you created that you enjoyed doing which brought joy to others and blessed them wonderfully? What did you do that produced a smile on someone else’s face and put a smile on your heart?

Today in the United States, we are celebrating Labor Day. This holiday pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers. It is traditionally observed on the first Monday in September. Created by the labor movement in the late 19th century, this celebration became a federal holiday in 1894.

To all of my dear friends, those of you living in the United States and those of you who don’t, I celebrate you, your lovingkindness and who you are, not what you have, but the spirit that makes you the compassionate, generous, and tenderhearted souls that you are.

💖 Happy Labor Day of Love! 💖

Let Your Light So Shine

When darkness falls across the land, where is your light? Where is our light in the murkiness of injustices that never seem to go to sleep? Injustices, deception, and human-causing disasters aren’t something new but have been going on since life’s existence. Yet, does this mean that just because it has existed for generations, are we to flippantly turn a deaf ear and blind eye to what is currently going on when we have the ability to stop it?

During these enormously challenging times, we still find people with caring hearts and compassion for their fellow man and woman, regardless of their race, creed, gender, religious, economic or political affiliation. Here, these folks allow their lights to shine without pomp and circumstance. They rise to the occasion to help and not hinder.

Right now, I think about the 800,000+ government workers who may be facing another furlough in the next three weeks. I think about non-government employees and the unemployed trying to find a job in order to make an honest living, to maintain some sense of dignity, and support their families. I think about poverty-stricken families, military veterans, and senior citizens who are held hostage by backlogs of paperwork and glitches in a broken system. It’s hard to see light when you’re amassed by dreaded darkness and feelings of hopelessness.

People who get ‘it’ bring that light of hope which shines without fanfare to help the struggling bleeding hearts who feel no one really cares, even if the helpers are struggling too. We reach down in our hearts of compassion to feed, shelter, nurture, listen and respond without judgment.

Each of us is equipped with a diverse gift and unique talent to shine our light in a place where darkness falls, just as a full moon pierces the night sky lending visibility to paths that could not be seen. Let your light so shine that others may see and experience your good works so they too will be inspired to pay-it-forward.

“Of Giving” – Poetry for #GivingTuesday

Image Credit: Venita Oberholster

Of Giving

Giving the best I have to give
a gift that’s meaningful from my heart
where compassion embraces our intimate souls
and stinginess only robs the giver from the start

I choose to give positivity instead of negativity
I choose to encourage instead of discouraging
I choose to lift up and not push you down
to listen without being deaf to your needs.

Of love, hope, and charity, to give the greatest of these
where money is not the only means thereof
for a small gift can make a big impact
humble acts of kindness boldly shrouded in love.

Although we celebrate #GivingTuesday today, continue sharing the essence of this message. Giving isn’t just relegated to a one-day observance, it becomes a habitual act of generosity year round.

Happy #GivingTuesday

Faith – Hope – Charity

Our reflection in the mirror should depict faith, hope, and charity.