Today's Inspiration

Today is the first day of the rest of your life.
- Anonymous

Whatever you want in life, start today. Not tomorrow - today. Let it be a small beginning - a tiny beginning. Your happiness depends on starting today - every day.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Healthy Reflections

Taking inventory of your gifts and blessings:

You'll probably spend some time this weekend thinking about the good things in your life and your loved ones. Before you do that, take a moment to just consider how lucky you are to be here in the first place. In the 21st century, we can experience more in a month than most people throughout history did in a lifetime. Instead of appreciating that fact, we usually just end up wanting to do and have more. We look at what's wrong rather than what's right. This is a perfect time to take a look at your life and priorities again. Can you make some extra time every day to just enjoy the moment and your loved ones? You've been given the gift of a lifetime of moments. Accept the gift and prove yourself worthy.

Quote:

Should you find yourself at a loss, wondering what life is all about and what your purpose is, be thankful. There are those who didn't live long enough to get the opportunity to wonder.

- Unknown


Side Note from Me:

As much as I complain about the cards that have been dealt to my family and I, recently, I know very well how truly lucky I am. I have so many blessings. I know I'm a lot better off than some people around this world. I do NOT take that for granted. I know things could be a lot worse for us than they are. I thank God every day, for the blessing of just opening my eyes every morning and having air flowing in and out of my lungs. Having my heart still beat. I'm grateful that my children are relatively happy, content and well. And that my husband is strong, capable, enduring and courageous.

With the new year upon us, I take stock of just what exactly in my life, I have to be thankful and grateful for and I know there is much.

New Beginnings: Time to Begin Anew

Celebrate endings - for they precede new beginnings.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.
- Lao Tzu

From small beginnings come great things.
- Anonymous proverb

It is again that time of year when people begin to think about New Year's Resolutions. I have mixed feelings about New Year's resolutions because EVERY day is the beginning of a new life for each of us. On the other hand, I appreciate that we set aside one day each year to remind ourselves of the power of new beginnings. In that sense, New Year's Day is similar to Thanksgiving Day. I think of Thanksgiving Day, not as the one day each year to express gratitude, but as a day to celebrate the gratitude that I feel each day of the year.

Appreciation:

Appreciate again and again, freshly and naively, the basic goods of life, with awe, pleasure, wonder and even ecstasy, however stale these experiences may have become to others.
- Abraham Maslow

Never let frustration or disappointment tarnish your appreciation for all that is good in life. Every day say Thank You to the source of all that is good