Crisis creates opportunity. We should never waste a crisis.

Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas

Opportunity is everywhere. The key is to develop the vision to see it. Jeremiah Say

Crisis creates opportunity, and even if we don’t take advantage of the opportunities they are still there and someone else will take advantage of them. How often do we look back over our lives and think I was there but didn’t see it? Many of us have been waiting for opportunities but only looking back do we see the opportunities that came our way.

I look at other lives and think why didn’t I see what they saw, what was I thinking when X was happening, why didn’t I jump on board?

How big of a life can we live if we are opportunity seekers and opportunity takers?

It’s time to start thinking about planting seeds, in our gardens and lives. The seeds we plant, like the thoughts we think will bear fruit. Are we planting for one season or for years to come? Are we planting something that will bring a blessing to generations?

My son tells me we are the worst generation; he thinks we haven’t been very interested in the legacy we leave behind. We haven’t been the builders but instead the users, not the conservers of what we inherited.

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. Winston Churchill

How do we look at what is happening in the world without fear? If it is possible, we have to have faith we can deal with what is coming, that embedded in chaos and crisis is opportunity. We need faith in our traditions that have helped build lives based on courage, fortitude, and trust.

We know if life is to be better for us, it has to be better for others. What does better look like, is it one more big purchase, one more memorable holiday, or is it building for the next generation? What choices need to be made as individuals and society to build better? Do we trust life can continue to improve for coming generations?

What would our grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-great-grandparents think of what we’ve built? Some of the good is very, very good, but some of the bad is very, very bad. How can we build a society with less of the very, very bad?

Why when we have an array of choices do some of us choose the very worst of what is on offer and others choose the very best, while still others muddle somewhere in the middle?

A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds. Francis Bacon

Opportunity often comes disguised in the form of misfortune or temporary defeat. Napoleon Hill

Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you. John C. Maxwell

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Competition and national interests.

Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas

In almost every case, whenever a tariff or quota is imposed on imports, that tax is strongly supported by the domestic industry getting the protective shield from lower-priced foreign competition. The sugar industry supports sugar tariffs, textile mills lobby for tariffs on foreign clothing. Stephen Moore

Who gets to weigh in on this conflict between America and the rest of the world? As a common person, I’m throwing out my two cents. What if what we are most afraid of will make us stronger and more resilient? What if we grow from adversity and become complacent with ease? What if all the angst can be harnessed for good and we will all come out better on both sides of the border?

What if self-reliance is needed because reliance on others means we can’t always get what we need? What if the price of a bargain is too expensive? What if fair trade and not free trade is what we need? What does fair trade look like, and is fair according to whom?

What if this trade war with America costs my household, but Canadians start doing things we should have been doing, we might all prosper in the end. We finish the pipelines to export our oil and natural gas to the world. We secure our borders.  We build houses, build up our country, and make things work. What if the kick in the pants we need comes from South of the border?

I listened to an interview with Jean Chretien, who served as Canada’s Prime Minister from 1993 – 2003 and turned 91 on February 1st. He tells us this is nothing new, we’ve always had trade wars with America, and he started dealing with America in 1968. What we sell to America they need.

There’s no such thing as a genius in politics, or at least I have never met one. There are only human beings, some better than others, who rise or fall on the challenges they meet. Jean Chretien

This might be a glass half empty, half full moment, and we choose to look at it either way. We have good people to negotiate for Canada, we have to trust they will do their best, and we also have to trust that America does not want to throw a wrecking ball into the parts of our joint economies that work tightly together. We must stay calm, Canada is not going to be the 51st state. Will we end up better because we get our house in order?

Let me tell you, my fellow countrymen, that all the signs point this way, that the 20th century shall be the century of Canada and Canadian development… For the next 100 years, Canada shall be the star towards which all men who love progress and freedom shall come. Sir Wilfrid Laurier October 14, 1904

A weaker currency is a national tariff. After we get a weaker currency, we have to take advantage of that. Or else, we will waste it once more in inflation and in the inability to raise competitiveness. Uday Kotak

Everybody talks about tariffs as the first thing. Tariffs are the last thing. Tariffs are part of the negotiation. The real trick is going to be increasing American exports. Get rid of the tariff and no-tariff barriers to American exports. Wilbur Ross

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The courage to be disliked, is this something we all need to develop?

Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas

Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you. Love me and I may be forced to love you. William Arthur Ward

The courage to be disliked doesn’t sound like something we want. But too many of us suffer from people pleasing and it is impossible to please everyone. It takes courage to please ourselves and be the person we think we should be, do what we can, and make peace with what we can’t, knowing everyone won’t be happy.

I finished listening to the book, “The Courage To Be Disliked” by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga, it is a book on Adlerian psychology. I’ll have to listen to it several times to take in everything, and I have the hard copy for reference. One of the big ideas in the book is all our problems are interpersonal, our relationships are where most of our problems lie, but also where we get the most happiness from, and one of the big relationships we need to master is with ourselves.

One surprising thing mentioned was neither, to rebuke or praise our children, but instead to thank them when they do something right. Why wouldn’t we want to praise our little grandson for going to the potty instead of in his pants? What about when he doesn’t make it to the potty? Praise is judgment but gratitude is not, and gratitude and respect are how we want to be dealt with. I’ve never thought of praise as, “the passing of judgment by a person of ability on a person of no ability, or lesser ability.”

Our dependency makes slaves out of us, especially if this dependency is a dependency of our self-esteem. If you need encouragement, praise, pats on the back from everybody, then you make everybody your judge. Frederick Salomon Peris

My grandson helps do something and he gets praise, but my husband does the same thing and he gets thanks, would it be better if we give thanks to everyone helping us regardless of age and ability? When we praise or rebuke, we use a carrot or a stick as manipulation tools. In equal relationships, we use gratitude and respect, but in unequal ones, we use praise and rebuke. Encouragement helps people shoulder their responsibilities and take responsibility for their lives.

This is giving me a lot to think about and when I think about Mom and Dad’s parenting there was not a lot of praise for doing what needed to be done. We were part of the family and had chores from an early age and we heard, “Many hands make light work.”

If we get used to hearing a lot of praise from an early age, we may always crave praise, which is someone else’s judgment, instead of relying on our judgment, is this how we become people pleasers?

If we can build relationships where we are equal but not the same it seems this might go a long way toward fixing some of the inequalities and injustice in society. We told our children from an early age, you can be equal or you can be special, but you can’t be both. Do we live in a society where specialness is desired over equality leading to a lot of problems?

Often people ask how I manage to be happy despite having no arms or legs. The quick answer is that I have a choice. I can be angry and not having limbs, or I can be thankful that I have a purpose. I chose gratitude. Nick Vujicic

Gratitude is riches. Complaint is poverty. Doris Day

According to my principles, every master has his true and certain value. Praise and criticism cannot change any of that. Only the work itself praises and criticizes the master, and therefore I leave to everyone his own value. Carl Philipp Emanuel Back

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Is it the best of times, the worst of times, or does our attitude make it so?

Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas

There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. William Shakespeare

Today a new President of the United States is sworn in and the world trembles, or will these next four years pass with some good and some not so good happening, with unexpected consequences benefiting some and harming others?

Do we have faith we can deal with the challenges ahead? No one knows what is ahead, but we all know it will be different. We see change is coming, but what if changes weren’t coming? Would life be better? Better for whom?

In the game of life, there are winners and losers and no one minds being on the winning side, but when we think we might not be on the winning side we’d like to stop the changes.

My parents lived through a lot of change, some good, some not so good, but they rode the roller coaster of life to the end. My parents lived through one world war, and my grandparents lived through two. We will live through the changes coming, some we may fear but never face, and some we aren’t worrying about will hit us with a force that brings us to our knees.

Is faith what will get us through, faith in ourselves, our countries, our fellow citizens, and our governments? Do we have faith in a higher power? We often don’t know what the ignition point of a powder keg will be, and we feel a powder keg building up with inflation, immigration, the rich getting richer, wars, and rumors of wars.

Is it possible to live in a precarious world with faith to deal with what comes? Hasn’t it always been a precarious world? What can we do in our own lives to make life less precarious? Being part of a strong family is a safe harbor in times of trouble. If we are resilient and able to see what is still possible and make the best of what is, life will be better than if we feel we are victims of circumstances.

A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart. Johann Wolfgang

Victimhood does not build a good life, what is the difference between facing hard challenges and feeling like a victim? When we face hard challenges do we have to find the courage to deal with what is, and when we feel like victims do we not take advantage of what we can do to make our lives better?

We are told we always have a choice, sometimes the only choice is our attitude, sometimes our choice is between two goods, and sometimes we have to choose the best of the bad. Our choices might be for our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Is what we stand up for, rail against, and support, for the greatest good? Do we even know what the greatest good would be? We always come up against the unexpected consequences of our decisions. Sometimes we get good consequences from bad policies and bad outcomes from what we thought would be good.

What are we reaping today because of policies that seemed good? Are we too short-sighted to know what the best policies are? What does a fair and just society look like and are we closer or further away from one than we were years ago?

Policies are in place and many were made with the best of intentions. When we see policies not working do our governments have the strength to turn things around? Will there be unexpected consequences for every change we try to make?

We might think we know the obvious direction we need to go. But we don’t know, we can’t know what the unintended consequences of our best intentions will be.

Even if we fear what the future holds can we be grateful for what we have? Building our country and making life better for our citizens is the government’s job. We need to trust the leadership we’ve chosen, and as we choose new leadership make the best choice, and have faith that they will do their best.

Is it best to hope for the best, and prepare for the worst?

Never let a bad situation bring out the worst in you. Choose to stay positive and be the strong person that God created you to be! Unknown

No one else can choose your attitude for you. Your perspective and choice of attitude gives you the power to be in control. Irene Dunlap

Choose the positive. You have choices, you are master of your attitude, choose the positive, the constructive. Optimism is a faith that leads to success. Bruce lee

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Canada an American State or America a Canadian Province?

Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas

Canada-American relations for many years did not develop spontaneously. The example of accord provided by our two countries did not come about merely through the happy circumstances of geography. It is compounded of one part proximity and nine parts goodwill and common sense. Harry Truman

Donald Trump is having a moment at Canada’s expense. He might not be able to unite Americans, but he’s bringing forth a rallying cry in Canada. In four years we might thank him for the greater unity we experience because we often don’t appreciate what we have until we think it is threatened.

America has always wanted more territory and felt its manifest destiny was divinely ordained to settle the entire continent of North America. Of course, North America was all one at one time, and America left and became the prodigal son. They got rid of a King and yet have always seemed to want one.

They even have the hubris to be insulted we don’t want to be a state, yet we are not insulted they don’t want to be a province?

America is not our enemy but they have not bought our goods because they are being nice to us. We have relied on them, they were an easy market, and now it is being thrown in our face. America is not our problem, we are our problem, America spurred us on before and perhaps they will spur us on again to become what we can be. Not poor little Canada beside the great America which is how some of us, and some of them, see us.

We’ve prided ourselves on good government and must return to that. We need to trade with the world, and we need to protect our borders. Our Prime Minister said we don’t have a core identity, is it any wonder the Americans want to give us one?

If I had influence over the minds of the people of Canada, any power over their intellect, I would leave them this legacy. Whatever you do, adhere to the union. We are a great country, and shall become one of the greatest in the universe, if we preserve it. We shall sink into insignificance and adversity if we suffer it to be broken.  John A. Macdonald

We may not like Trump for his views on Canada, but we are stuck with him for the next four years. We can live with him and like it, or live with him and hate it, but we can’t change him or America. He got elected to do what is best for America, not what is best for Canada. We need to elect someone who will do the best for Canada, a leader who sees a great destiny for Canada. We are a lot more than just not an American State. We have to build the Canada we want, and have the potential to be.

There is another way to look at this; Trump has upset many with his tempest in a teapot with Panama, Greenland, and Canada. He isn’t even the President yet, why is this being mentioned now, and how is this going to serve him? We don’t know what his reasons are, and some might think I’m giving him the credit he doesn’t deserve, but are we supposed to be upset about this, so we aren’t upset about something else? When he is President, and none of this happens, will what he does want to do seem reasonable?

Is he playing chess while some of us don’t know what we are playing? It’s good advice to not underestimate your opponent, keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. Interesting times are ahead, each country has to do what is best for them, and with adept leadership, Canada will remain the true North, strong and free.

When I’m in Canada, I feel this is what the world should be like. Jane Fonda

Our country has everything required to be a global leader in physical, food and energy security. We have an incredibly rich resource inheritance. We have a diverse, educated and peaceful population. We’re located far from most conflicts and we’re next door to the world’s richest nation. Perrin Beatty

We are the second-largest country on Earth, which means that we have the second largest, or perhaps even the largest, stock of natural resources on the planet – an enormous source of strength and responsibility if we would only recognize it, capitalize on it, and make its future development and stewardship a national priority. Preston Manning

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Letting our light shine and becoming a lighthouse, not a weather vane!

Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas

How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world. William Shakespeare

What changes will we make this year, what changes will happen we didn’t choose but must deal with?

I’m reading, “The Other 90%,” by Robert K. Cooper. He says his grandfather asked him two questions when he was still a young boy to help him be his best.

What is the most exceptional thing you’ve done this week?

What’s the most exceptional thing you will do next week?

That is putting ourselves on the spot and we might not have an answer but if we made it part of our mission to do one noteworthy thing a week we could probably do it. Even asking ourselves the question might help us better orient ourselves in the world, especially if we are getting to the age where we have the joy and privilege of interacting with our grandchildren.

We might decide like Robert Cooper’s grandfather did after having his third heart attack. He’d lived by the motto, “Give the world the best you have and the best will come back to you.” In living a life where he got very good at fitting in and going along he thought he was giving life his best. Still, after three heart attacks, he began to look at life differently and wondered what kind of life he could have had if he’d kept looking deeper and questioned yesterday’s definition of his best.

What if he’s right and we can learn more about the potential hidden inside of us? What if we can choose to be more than we’ve become? Listening to Tony Robbins last night he said more or less the same thing, if we continue to learn and develop throughout our lives, we will be capable of doing more things. There is always something to learn and it isn’t about fame and fortune although many people have found it by solving problems that need to be solved.

What if we are called to be a lighthouse and not a weather vane? I think of people who have been bright lights in my life. Hopefully, we’ve all had bright lights in our lives, and been a bright light in someone else’s. It might not be what we accomplish in life that is as important as that we are always moving toward something even if we never attain it.

All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle. St. Francis of Assisi

If we dare ask ourselves tough questions and answer them how would we change our life? If we don’t like the answer to the question about what exceptional thing we did last week, last month, or last year, we could plan to do something we would be proud of. We might make a call we’ve been putting off, heal a breach in a relationship, or implement a plan we’ve been thinking about.

We need to keep growing, what if, “Our life is a garden, our thoughts are the seeds, we can plant flowers, or we can plant weeds,” is true? Many beautiful gardens become unkempt, what if one of our biggest jobs is to become better with age, and be a lighthouse to those coming after us? Can we become a light in our little corner of the world, where it matters most, in our families?

We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. Plato

People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

There is always light. If only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it. Amanda Gorman

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 Happy New Year! What a year 2025 will be!

Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas

Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful. Joshua J. Marine

Today is the day we take final stock of 2024 and set our goals for 2025 if we haven’t already made them. Some of us have had many dinners and gatherings with friends and family and need a bigger notch on our belts! Normalcy will soon be here and fun, frivolity, and overeating will be over.

We catch up over food and drinks about how life is unfolding. Yesterday we saw two great nephews who have grown into men, each with a girlfriend. How time has flown and the years are kind to some and cruel to others. Keeping a positive attitude and a merry heart in times of adversity is a huge challenge and it seems as we get older, harder. Perhaps that is because we don’t have time to improve things, opportunities lost are truly lost, and we are beset by what could have been if only…

I wonder as I see people I’ve known a long time or known about, how some relationships go through the ups and downs of life and some disintegrate. We can’t spend our lives trying to make someone happy, nor expect them to spend their life making us happy. Happiness is our challenge and we find it amidst the humdrum of daily life, or we don’t find it at all.

Some new mothers find the demands of new motherhood demanding without fulfillment, and some find it the most fulfilling time of their lives. Being grandparents is one of the happiest times for my husband and me, we can’t imagine the void in our lives, but we wouldn’t know what we were missing.

Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict. William Ellery Channing

There is sad and happy news all around us. Some families have fallen apart over what seems like small things, and some have stayed together when we don’t see how they could get through it.

Even a big challenge like cancer, some people will talk about, and some people won’t. Does what we are willing to talk about define us? Should we keep everything close, but when we do, are we alone in our struggles? Does sharing our burdens lighten our loads?

Isn’t one of the problems in our society, the embellishment of so many lives on social media, and thinking so many people are better off than us? We are comparing the worst or at least the reality of our lives, to the embellished version they put out into the world. This isn’t new; people have decorated one room in their house to look opulent when they had almost nothing in the rest of the house. They roasted fat to make the neighbors think they were eating better when they all had hardly anything to eat.

Is there a point where putting our best foot forward, is aspirational until it becomes a lie? When we can accept ourselves the way we are, the good, the bad, the richer, the poorer, happy, and the sad, are we better off? Isn’t adopting a positive attitude a bit of a lie, or is it finding the silver lining in adversity, and we get more of what we focus on?

As we go into a New Year are we at peace with who we are, the life we’ve lived, the mistakes we’ve made, and the choices we still have? Pretending we are more than we are, is not the same as becoming more, can we be happy and grateful for where we are, even as we aspire for more? Can we embrace who we are, where we’ve come from, the choices we made that worked out, and ones that didn’t, accepting everything about ourselves while still harboring hopes and dreams for tomorrow, believing we can deal with what comes?

Our attitude, diligence, habits, and decisions shape our lives. Successful lives deal with hard things, and unsuccessful lives deal with hard things, there will always be hard things to deal with, and how we deal with them might be the deciding factor. It might mean success if we can get through the hard things, and keep going when we want to quit.

Whatever this New Year holds, I hope we have the strength to get through it keeping the good things in our lives intact.

Happy New Year!                                                                                             

It is not good for all our wishes to be filled; through sickness we recognize the value of health; through evil, the value of good; through hunger, the value of food; through exertion, the value of rest. Greek Proverb

Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:24

There are two ways of meeting difficulties: you alter the difficulties, or you alter yourself to meet them. Phyllis Bottome

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We don’t choose every change in our lives, but can we decide to make the best of them?

Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas

Nothing endures but change. Heraclitus

What if we speak our lives into being? When we say “It’s a good day,” it is. When we say, “We can’t, or that’s not for people like us,” it becomes our reality. What if what we say yes to and what we say no to in life is how we build everything, and every choice we make, makes us? If we accept this and own it, what choices would lead to a happier, fuller, and more impactful life? How much good do we talk ourselves out of, we don’t put in the resume, so we can’t get the job. We don’t apply so we won’t be accepted. We say, “Forget it,” before we voice what we want.

What do we want? Is that what so many of us don’t know? Are we better at knowing what we don’t want than what we do want? Change is stepping into the great unknown, and that is hard – we know what we have – but what if an adventure awaits? Especially for those who have raised children, are close to the end of their careers, and retirement looms. There is the FIRE movement of young people wanting to retire early.

We might have been looking forward to it, but now it is here or getting close and we are comfortable or at least familiar with where we are, and maybe we start thinking what if we work one more year, or ten more years? Will we be happier and healthier if we work right up to the end? Do we get too much of our identity out of our job? Are we okay with being retired? Is it different if we choose to retire rather than being forced to retire? Do we want partial retirement?

As a New Year approaches we naturally think about what we want to change, have more or less of in the New Year. What if we are a couple and the changes we want to bring into our lives aren’t the same? We don’t even feel comfortable exploring the different directions we might want to take. Do we take turns, we’ll do what you want to do and then do what I want to do. But, the question still is, what do we want, and what changes are we willing to make?

One must never lose time in vainly regretting the past or in complaining against the changes which cause us discomfort, for change is the essence of life. Anatole France

If the GoGo years of retirement are getting to be upon us, we don’t know how long they will last before the things we wanted to do, see, or accomplish are beyond our capabilities, and like Mom used to say, “All I want now is my old rocking chair.”

For some there’s never been enough time, for others, there’s never been enough money, and for many, there has never been enough of both. But, is a lot of that all in our heads? There’s time and money for what we decide there is time and money for. Otherwise, how can some people find the time and money in seemingly the same circumstances? They sell the house, rent, and travel the world. They sell the business, return to where they grew up, and build the home of their dreams.

What would we change if we could go back forty years to prepare for now? We can’t do that, but what if we could do something to make the next twenty, thirty, or forty years better? If we are lucky we have twenty, thirty, and even forty or more good years ahead of us, what do we want to do with them? Do we have a decision, or decisions that need to be made to make the years ahead of us the best they can be?

The time will pass whether we do anything with it or not. What would we like to change, add, or delete from our lives?

Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself. Rumi

If you’re in a bad situation, don’t worry it’ll change. If you’re in a good situation, don’t worry it’ll change. John A Simone

Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t. Steve Maraboli

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Change is coming and we can’t always choose the changes, but what changes can we choose?

Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas

To be able to look back upon ones life in satisfaction, it to live twice. Khalil Gibran

Where do we get our inspiration? We often get inspiration from others, and being part of a group can inspire us more than being on our own. This is my experience with Toastmasters and the Mississauga Writers Group. We can get so involved in the group we don’t accomplish our individual goals, but learning to say no is also a skill we need to develop.

As one woman eloquently said, “I wouldn’t want to deprive someone else of the opportunity.” Learning to manage our time and energy is one of the skills we need to learn in life. Sometimes we are stuck not knowing how to reach the next step until we get more information.

It was gratifying on Saturday when a new member approached me and said he created a KDP account with Amazon and published his book, “Being Lolo.” I’d mentioned to him it was how I published mine. All he needed was information, and maybe meeting someone who had done it, spurred him to do it too.

We don’t know what we can do until we do it, and holding your book in your hand is a wonderful experience. My two-and-a-half-year-old grandson comes into where I’m writing, pulls down my books, turns to the back cover, and says, “That’s you, Grandma,” and I love it every time he says it.

Finding a group of like-minded people is wonderful. If we’ve felt we didn’t fit in, finding groups we fit into can be even more special. At a potluck on Saturday we were a group of unlikely friends, we’ve met through Toastmasters, we are from all over the world, diverse in all ways but Toastmasters brings us together. We love hearing other people’s stories, and their accomplishments spur us to step out of our comfort zone.

The daughter of a Japanese Diplomat said, she has always felt like she didn’t fit in, and maybe we are a group of misfits who have found a group we fit into. Some of us might like being part of a group more than others. As the only spouse attending said, “We try to have separate interests.” I think she is correct we need separateness in our togetherness.

But let there be spaces in your togetherness and let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love; let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Khalil Gibran

Building our life never stops until it does, and until that time comes we don’t know if we have years or days left, so we should make the most of it. It might seem terrible to die without reaching our goals, but how much worse to live without having goals?

How many people have been surprised by living much longer lives than they thought they would? If we don’t plan and this isn’t a good surprise, wouldn’t that be tragic?

Your life is an island separated from all other islands and continents. Regardless of how many boats you send to other shores or how many ships arrive upon your shores, you yourself are an island separated by its own pains, secluded in its happiness. Khalil Gibran

If there is a group we’ve thought about joining, what is stopping us? Getting so busy we don’t have time for our family is not good, but so is not making the most of the life we have by reaching out, and expanding our horizons. We all have some “What ifs” in our lives. What if we started making choices to move in the direction of our dreams? Small, hesitant choices, test the water, what if a bigger life is out there waiting for us to come looking for it?

What if being too comfortable is part of the problem, we are resilient, and adventurous creatures, what if in the coming year, we choose to enlarge our comfort zone or step out of it? What would that look like, what changes would we have to make, do we know what changes we would like to see in our lives, or is that what we need to discover?

A New Year is coming soon, what changes will happen, what opportunities will we pursue, and what will we create? Small changes can alter the trajectory of our lives, for better or worse. But if we feel like a small boat bobbing in an ocean without direction, wouldn’t we rather steer toward something we want, even if it takes a little work to figure out what that is?

Maybe we need more people in our lives, more fun and adventure, creativity, or something we can’t name yet. When we look back on 2024 what kind of a year has it been? Can we learn to control what we can and deal with what we can’t? Maybe someone important to us passed this year, and we are dealing with the hard truths of life. We are never ready to face loss, it comes and life is forever changed. Had it happened later we would still not be ready for it.

Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother. Khalil Gibran

The lust for comfort, that stealthy thing that enters the house a guest, and then becomes a host, and then a master. Khalil Gibran

Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not laugh, and the greatness which does not bow before children. Khalil Gibran

Thank you for reading this post. Please come back and read some more and have a blessed day filled with gratitude, joy, and love.

To subscribe, comment, and see archives or categories of posts click on the picture and scroll to the end.

Thank you for reading my books, and a special thanks to those who leave a review on Goodreads and Amazon. If you click on the Amazon link and purchase an item I receive a small percentage of the sale through the Amazon affiliate program.

Are we turning our promises and hopes into plans?                  

Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas

Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans. Peter F. Drucker

On April 16, 2019, I wrote about the fire of Notre Dame Cathedral in my blog. It was and still is on our bucket list to see, and this past weekend it reopened. Because it has been rebuilt we can still see it. But, how many things we put off will be things we never do?

My oldest sister had a chance to visit the Holy Land some years ago but didn’t go because of the unrest there; she and her sister-in-law canceled the trip. Another chance never presented itself and how often in life is it now or never to do the things we want to do?

One of the problems many of us have is balancing time and money, when we have time, we don’t have money, and when we have the money, we don’t have the time. We can go through life this way, and I remember Mom and Dad always saying, “This is next year’s country,” as a kid, I didn’t get it, but I do now.

Maybe next year we’ll go to England and Paris, maybe next year business will be better, maybe next year… We can live our lives waiting for next year. What if we figured out what we want and put a plan in place to make it happen? The best-laid plans may go astray, but does that mean planning is not beneficial?

In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable. Dwight D. Eisenhower

If we get too set on our plans we can be disappointed because something will come along to derail our plans. But if we don’t plan we won’t know how to adapt to the circumstances of life. Can we be flexible and adapt to changing circumstances while keeping our goals in mind?

Making the most of life by wringing as much enjoyment from it as we can will make our life no matter how long or short the best it can be. This morning, holding my little granddaughter, life is sweet. Spending time with grandkids can be sweeter than traipsing the globe. If we are lucky our choices are between two goods and we can make the best of what life offers us.

We sometimes have hopes, promises, wishes, and dreams but if we want to turn them into reality we will have to turn them into goals and plans, keeping in mind plans may have to change as circumstances do.  

Long-range planning does not deal with the future decisions, but with the future of present decisions. Peter F. Drucker

A goal is not always meant to be reached; it often serves simply as something to aim at. Bruce Lee

There is a time to plan, a time to act, and a time to rest; it is wise to know which is which. Emily Rodda

Thank you for reading this post. Have a blessed day filled with gratitude, joy, and love.

To subscribe, comment, and see archives or categories of posts click on the picture and scroll to the end.

Thank you for reading my posts and a special thank you to everyone who leaves a review on Goodreads and Amazon. If you click on the Amazon link and purchase an item I receive a small percentage of the sale through the Amazon affiliate program.