When Time Doesn’t Heal

As many of us that have served in the military know, June is PTSD awareness month.

Many people have their own judgements of sorts, of people who have PTSD. I wonder what I can clear up today by writing about it.!  🙂

In short, PTSD is a set of biological as well as psychological symptoms that happens to a person following the experience or witnessing of a life threatening event such as military combat, natural disasters or other serious accidents & incidents; where the person is triggered or continues to be triggered in such a way that they re-experience the event or events.

Every sense seems to be intensified when a person is going through these moments or days of symptoms.

I have had a few of late ask me what qualifies me to speak on or do the work I do and I am about to tell you.

My military service started in 2003 sort of at the beginning of the major OIF & OEF conflicts.  I was a Distinguished Honor Grad from my Transportation  Logistics & Support military specialty.  I was attached to a local Transportation Brigade where we were activated & deactivated as needed to various ports throughout the country where I served as a cargo specialist meeting supply demands needed over in theatre.

I advanced pretty quickly for my outstanding service & in 2004 became a Specialist E-4 in my military specialty. And minus a few incidents my service was pretty smooth.

What most people don’t know is that on my in-activate times I had a civilian job as a housing officer for the City of San Francisco Housing projects that were contracted out to private companies.

A housing officer is considered a step above an armed guard in that we could handcuff and detain for criminal behaviour but we were considered a step below a City police officer in that our actions were only limited to the properties we were contracted to patrol & enforce.

During the year & a half that I worked in this position between deployments I was involved in numerous gang related shooting calls, involved in at least 4 separate 80 to 200 person riots, one the very first day on the job.!

I had to clean up & preserve 5 separate shooting scenes where those who were shot & died, 3 of which were under the age of 21. During the last 3 months of the neighborhood I patrolled there were almost daily shots fired & at least 5 different gang related shooting rampages that covered anywhere from 3 to 13 city blocks.  One of the last ones being where a steady partner I worked with was shot & seriously wounded by a 19 yr. old with an AK-47.

Now I can’t tell you what combat is like in a different country because I haven’t experienced it over there.  But I can tell you what it is like in our country because I HAVE experienced it over here.

I will spare the gory details, but I will tell you that being under unidentifiable fire (not knowing where it is coming from), hearing gun fire & having to investigate even when you would rather stay undercover, but you do it anyway  for the safety of those around you, that is a pretty stressful environment.

I can tell you that today when a rifle is shot or I hear distance gun fire I still jump as any soldier who has encountered live fire will do….my heart still races.  I still have nightmares of the kids lost…..I still try to make sense of senseless killing in hatred & I still sometimes cry & mourn the loss of precious life.  Since then I have had extremely difficult life situations that have brought some of my symptoms back & given me new ones to deal with.

My point I would like to make, is that these stories are not fictional, they are real life experiences that I have lived through that have forever changed me.  I can not make them “just go away” or “just get over them.”

Neither can our combat veterans returning home, nor those who have been home.  They are real life, soul changing stories that your soldier needs compassion & understanding in bearing.  He/she did not ask for those experiences & while altho we are trained for those experiences, one is never really prepared.  You just go through it the best you can.

Every soldier whether male or female when they sign on the dotted line makes a promise to serve their country including up to being injured & or their life. ALL soldiers are affected by their service whether their scars are visible or not.

PTSD like many other neurological disorders will NOT go away. But with proper tools, help & continued support one can live life. Our military members are not ‘crazy’ they don’t “just have issues,’ we need ears. Those who will listen with non-judgements, whether they served in World War I or returning from current conflicts.

While your veteran may or may not be ready to talk about their experiences, showing them compassionate & sometimes tough love, along with your seeking knowledge & encouraging them often to speak if not to you, then someone they trust, about their experiences, reminding them that courage is not about “toughing it out but getting it out.” Will go far in helping your veteran whether from current or past conflicts to begin a process of healing. And put an end
to the “22 a day”.

So what qualifies me to do the work I do.?

#1 I am a warrior & because of my experiences…I have compassion, I have an understanding & I can listen to others who are suffering…I can connect with others who have survived their experiences & listen to how they got through it, & I can help by pointing them & connecting them to the resources available.

Did you serve in the military.?  I would love to hear your experience. Do you suffer from PTSD.? What tools have you used.?

Sometimes You Have To Fake It

Unless one has been through it…One can not even begin to understand what taking a child away from a mother does to her….Physically, Mentally & Emotionally.

This is not the same type of challenge one faces when their child dies.  This is very different beast altogether.

I have said it before & I’ll say it again….A true mother will never leave a place or people with her child, where she feels safe….respected & valued…as both a person and a parent.

When a mother works up the courage to leave an abusive situation….she is protecting herself & her child…she has been threatened…& believe you me, that mother has probably done everything she can possibly think of to stop the threat or situation before making a monumental and scary decision to vacate her safety & home.

ANY mother whether in nature or a human being when threatened will do everything possible to get away from the threat.  For that matter almost any sane human would.

Furthermore, then when she is traumatized by authority because she made a decision to protect her children……ultimately having her child taken away from her & placed back with the very ones that hurt her in the first place….the message this sends to the mother is very devastating.

The journey that a mother has to travel to come back from this type of traumatic life challenge is one that is greater or equal to that of a warrior.

The mental focus she has to practice to not become disassociated from her child…

The motivation she has to practice to keep moving through every day life…even when every fiber of her body wants to just curl up somewhere….

The courage she must learn to overcome the fear she feels in  having to find and replace her ‘job’ which was raising her children….

The discernment she has to learn on which things to fight for & which ones to let go…….

The discipline she must practice to keep the rage she feels in her body from this unfairness in check….

The grieving process her entire being goes through – much like when an important person dies, but the mental part knows that the child is still out there……

This mini process that continues to repeat itself every time the mother sees the child for a brief period of time i.e. overnight/day visit.

Never has the term ‘you gotta fake it till you make it’ ever been more truer, than with a mother that has to set aside all maternal instincts and practice such life discipline just to survive in hopes that she might get to be with her child again.

But yet this is what is being done at a much quicker pace today than ever before.  We blame the woman, don’t believe her, tell her she is making it up.  Tell her she is a drama creator and all sorts of other excuses to NOT FIX the problem.  A majority of women either give up or turn to substance abuses to numb this raw pain that is raging through them over injustice.

Children are taken away from the very person who has given them life, structure, feelings of safety, & more, all for the sake of the $$$$$, or the illusion that someone can create when fabricating ‘better’ circumstances.

This is the ultimate form of torture one can place on another human being, especially to the one who has given life.

I think it’s time we come up with a better solution don’t you think.?

Please leave your thoughts in the comment section link above under the date.

Don’t Let Them Edit Your Story

There’s A Reason You Have A Scar

Everyone has their own level of sensitivity to the world.  How things effect them…experiences they have dealt with, people who have hurt them.

Have you ever had the experience where someone accidentally hit you or bumped into you and instead of saying,”I am so sorry…I didn’t mean to.”  They instead say, “Oh that didn’t hurt.!”  “It wasn’t that hard.!” ?

Don’t let other people edit your story.   What you have experienced is what you have experienced….when others try to minimize your pain….tell you its not true…don’t buy into their beliefs….

Just because they weren’t there doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.!  Just because they didn’t get bumps, bruised or scraped going through the same experience – doesn’t mean you didn’t.

There is a reason why YOU have the scar…& they don’t.!

The reason why you have the scar is because most people don’t play the game with everything they got.  You played the game, experience, situation with your whole heart.  You got through it.!

You got in there and played the game and probably had some fun doing it.  You probably also stood on the sideline…catching your breath watching the game go on and when you were ready, you jumped back in and played harder than ever.

You are the MVP of your life because you take risks, you play the game and you get banged up, you get hurt because your care, you get torn down because others get scared.  Scars tell us and others that we got through tough situations and we survived.  It reminds that we were there, that we did experience it.

Most people spend their whole lives on the sidelines never experiencing life because they don’t get out & play the game.  They wish and groan how they would like to do it – but fail to take the opportunity when given and run with it.

“Nothing when started is ever easy, it gets easier the more you do it and keep going when obstacles get in your way.” N. Harris  That’s the way to play life.!

There is a reason why YOU HAVE THE SCAR and they don’t.!

If you would like to share your experience or leave a comment click on the “Leave a Comment” link under the date above.

BE Fearless

Be Fearless Design by Laura Jordan  Balanced Expressions LLC

“Anyone can act tough. What takes genuine power is to be open. To care about others. To learn from those around you. To be human.” ~ Robin Sharma

Today while working with a few Veterans….I was reminded……that suffering doesn’t give anyone a license to hurt other people – ever.

Too often we tolerate people’s bad behavior because they have been through very tough times, and for that we feel truly sad for them.  But as much as we might want to, it’s not our role to heal them.  Nor is it a duty to tolerate their destructive behaviors to us, our children or anyone else.

Feeling damaged or destroyed or at a loss by an emotionally/high stress/abusive  situation/s is a normal and appropriate HUMAN response.

Recognize those feelings for what they are…remember you are so MUCH MORE powerful than your/their negative feelings they try to push onto you.

We are NOT what we feel.  Other’s see a side that we can’t always see….to some they see a broken human being and do everything they can to remind you of that by actions, words and unkind gestures….to other’s we see a hero who has seen, lost & gone through so much so that our country might remain free, we see a person of strength who handles challenges we can’t even fathom.  Who fall apart behind closed doors, but smile to the world.

Beneath all the damage and apparent destruction of emotional pain/abuse or anything else going on,  there is a wholeness, a sensitivity and a desire to help out another human being.

Being FEARLESS means that we, ourselves are willing to look at any situation and change what we can, – walk away and eventually accept what we can’t change.  Knowing that difference is not an easy task.  It means being open and vulnerable,  to look for ways to help out no matter WHAT we are feeling.

Our soldiers where-ever they fought, have had to learn these lessons by leaving  family, friends, sometimes their businesses,  losing good comrades, going into dangerous situations, giving their best & all no matter what they were doing or where they were at.  Their families and loved ones have learned this by supporting, standing by and ultimately losing their loved ones as well.  The ones who have lost much, seen the worst, and fought fears most of us wouldn’t even attempt to try, are probably the toughest, most fearless people you will meet….but the most amazing and kindest, most sensitive people to be around who will reach to the ends of the earth to help another.

So no matter how hard ANYONE tries to tell you differently your inner core will always be what you decide to be no matter what situation you have been in.

Please leave your thoughts and comments by clicking on the comment link above underneath the date.

When The Water Boils

A young woman went to her grandmother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her.

She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose.

Her grandmother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her granddaughter, she asked, “Tell me what do you see?”

“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.

She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they had gotten soft.

She then asked her to take an egg and break it.  After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.

Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The granddaughter smiled, as she tasted its rich aroma. The granddaughter then asked. “What’s the point,grandmother?”

Her grandmother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity—boiling water–but each reacted differently.

The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however.  After they were in the boiling water they had changed the water.

“Which are you?” she asked her granddaughter.

—AUTHOR UNKNOWN —

“When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?”

Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity, do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Not that this can be a bad thing as  being hard, un-bending and relentless can be good assets when used in good balance.  But being able to yield and change slightly even with circumstances at their worst without becoming soft & mushy can be a valuable asset.

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat?  Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff?   Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?

Sometimes becoming firmer can result in better experiences.  Knowing when to be firm and set boundaries and when to be fluid is key.

Or am I like the coffee bean?   The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor.

If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.   When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest do you rise to the occasion.?
Everything in Life takes Balance.  It is found only by trial & error – by learning how to apply in equal portions being tough and soft, light and dark.

Leave your comments above by clicking on the comments link under the date.

Happy New Year & Defending With Love

He who DeFeNdS with love will be secure; Heaven will save him, and PROTECT him with love.      By: Lao Tzu

 

To all who follow us & appreciate hearing from us:   Happy New Year.!

It is amazing how fast things ebb and flow in our lives.!  Here we are again at the beginning of another year.  Another chance to get things right.  Another chance to take great strides or little ones, another chance to move your thoughts, dreams and goals forward another notch.

Don’t worry, I am going to make mistakes along the way this year.  I am going to mess up.  I am going to say I’m Sorry, I will cry, I will feel pain, and I will fall down.

I will also be successful, I am going to get things right, I will get up, I am going to smile, I will laugh, I will enjoy the moment, I will be grateful and I will LOVE.

I will draw more, I will create more and I will help more.

This is living life, it is knowing that in each moment you are doing the best that you can.  People may judge you, tell you things about yourself that aren’t true because they don’t understand your life circumstances ~ BUT:

Because I defend myself & my family above all with Love ~ I will LIVE LIFE this year, not putting so much energy into what people wish to judge, but loving, appreciating and growing into a Good Life.

The above picture was created and drawn by me and I finally was able to finish it in the last couple of weeks of this first month of 2013.  It is a milestone, a marker, a reminder of who I am at the very core. It marks the journey I have been on this last year and it says that  I am  a survivor, a warrior, and a fierce-some defender of my right to love fearlessly even when others don’t care, to be appreciative and  live life presently every day even when others challenge and continue to act badly towards me and to dream endlessly even when your dreams are made fun of.

How will you LIVE LIFE this year.?

Please share and comment by clicking the above link under the date.

Honoring Your Vunerability

Honoring Your Vunerability

“We should not judge people by their peak of excellence; but by the distance they have traveled from the point where they started.” ~ Henry Ward Beecher

 

Today I received this message from someone, somewhere who somehow knew I needed to hear this:

It goes like this:

“Find a way to HONOR your vunerability while still moving joyfully TOWARDS your future.!”

This gave me great pause ~ especially where my journey has taken me these last four dark months.   And YES while it has challenged me to the very edge of what I thought was my limits…each day I had a beacon of light through people who took the time to care.  Those who have known me & the situation from the beginning and those who just met me.  Those who have read my ‘No Worries’ Community page who were inspired and reached out to talk. Old friends who just called to, ‘see how you are doing.’

And while life is always changing ~ it is natural that good things are on the horizon again.  However, it is with cautious optimism that I am slightly holding my breath while hoping that this time these good opportunities, good people etc. become reality that stay around for good.!

It is tricky to navigate through challenges and not get stuck in the natural emotions that ensue.  It is easy to be grateful and helpful when things are going good for us – it is another thing to practice the same when things are not so good.

But when things turn around again and great opportunities arise, how do we grab onto them fearlessly knowing what we know….having been through the dark valleys we have been, having had the experiences we have had?

I guess the only thing I can say from my experience ~ is that you just gotta dig deep & push through the fear.  You got to KNOW that when you are doing EVERYTHING you can possibly can,  when you can admit your mistakes, learn from them & do things differently, then even just being WILLING to entertain different thoughts or actions to old challenges is a start.

You can & should be realistic yet still be positive.  Real life is MESSY.!  Real life requires you get down in the trenches & work – but while your down there you can train yourself to keep looking up, keep thinking of when you are done, what you will do then.  What good things will you reward yourself with.  Real life also can be really good….

Yes, you can HONOR your journey and the hell you have just been through – but DO NOT stay there.!  Keep moving and looking for the opportunities, possibilities and people that flow in & out of your life.  Yes – it may be challenging and some days it may take all you can do to just keep hold of one thing that is positive – but do it.!  It will keep you moving forward.
Closing down is somewhat like committing suicide. It means You give up…. you give up on life , people, chances & opportunities.  Don’t give up on yourself, especially now that you are slowly reaching the other side.  You may still have challenges to face but hey after what you’ve been through…you know this is a piece of cake & somehow you will make it.

Honor where you have been, the scars that you carry, but do celebrate the new, the good that is coming along as well.!

What are some of the ways you can Honor your Vulnerabilities While Joyfully Moving Forward in your life.?

Please leave your comments by clicking on the link above  just under the date labeled ‘Comments’.

And KEEP MOVING JOYFULLY TOWARDS YOUR FUTURES.!

Happy Thanksgiving

Created By Balanced Expressions LLC ~ 2012

Happy Thanksgiving.!  🙂

Today marks a day in my country for giving Thanks, to remember where we came from, what working together can bring, and for being Grateful for all that we currently have.  A time to gather with family or friends or both & to appreciate those we love and care for.

This year as I reflect, this day has new meaning as I am so humbled & Grateful for EVERYTHING.

It is easy to be grateful for everything that we have when it is with us in abundance.  Not so easy when what we view as abundance is missing.  Life is always going to train us our job is to learn how to balance it…all training is no good…all resting is no good…one has to learn to balance.

It is interesting how others look at people who are having life challenges.  Some will disappear from your life, others will avoid you, others will look down on you and judge you thinking that you are causing the issues because of some un-resolved life experience, and still others will reach out their hands & hearts to you, open up their homes to you without knowing you & by looking at your character & following their heart say to you, “Your not a bad person, you’re just like me or anyone else who is being challenged by life, and I am only doing what I would want someone else to do for me if I were in a similar situation.”  True quote from a person who has worked as a firefighter for 30 yrs in a fire department in my new home town who welcomed me into their home for a couple of weeks, while I searched for a new home.

During the last four months I have experienced the loss of having my daughter whom I have taken care of since birth 24/7, for the last 7 years taken from me by her other family, the loss of my home, financial losses, being homeless & for a little while sleeping in my truck, a downturn of business, loss of a part-time job & having to give up most of my belongings.  During these months, I have had people stop talking to me, say really insensitive things to me, blame me, & judge me.

And then there are those who don’t even live in my own state, who would call me every morning to make sure I made it through the night safely while I had to sleep in my truck, those who told me how proud they are of me, who helped me to keep my focus in the positive by helping me list the things that I could still be grateful for, those who opened up their homes, couches and rooms to me & my little one, who have fed us, those who have believed in me & trusted me, who have given me a job, those who have just sat with me while I cried, who have reminded me how inspiring I am to them by striving to remain positive and those who have understood my pain and have stood by me as I travel this uncertain path, & those who kept reminding me of why I am where I am at because of my goal to provide a better place for my little one to learn, play, grow & have a chance to get better services & a solid foundation for her Autism so that she can become the best, beautiful little person I know she is.

NO, it has not been an easy end to this year & YES, it has been extremely challenging to stay positive & focused, and YES, I have not practiced it PERFECTLY.  Yet here I am today, thankful to everyone who have challenged me, because in doing so I know & have learned what I don’t want to become, I am thankful for the ones who have helped, loved & cared for me because they remind me of who I am at my core & I am thankful for the new possibilities that have shown themselves and continue to pour in.

So today I am a very GRATEFUL mama who happens to think she is pretty lucky to have so little but yet so much.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.  Thank you for being here.  Remember to always say & show how much those  you love and care for really mean to you always.  Everyone goes through life’s challenges and sometimes just giving something so small as a smile can help turn things around and all it takes is just one person to make a difference.

Feel free to leave your comments in the comment section above by the date of things that you are grateful for.

How Do You Set Yourself Up For Success?

My Kids Are My Strength

A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles. ~ Christopher Reeve

I always shake my head in wonder when we are brought to the very people who help us make it through whatever we are going through, and who are shining examples of living life in spite of all challenges.

These last two months have been extremely difficult and have really given me a chance to test my inner strength.  It has most certainly not been for the faint of heart…. and while traveling through this part of the journey I have found:

a) There are a few others who are going through very similar unjust experiences all over this country, which I didn’t think was possible especially for mothers.  And yes some father’s have gone through similar experiences.

b) One truly finds out what they are made of and who the people that really care about you are.

I have been through both kinds of loss….the death of my first daughter and more recently my 7 yr. old autistic daughter taken away from me by her other family.  Until just one month ago we had never been apart except for going to school etc…..I took care of her 24/7 – I did everything with her…..from working to grocery shopping to playing, traveling to all her appointments etc.

Any one suffering from the loss of a child is being forced on a journey that they don’t want to be on.  How one travels it,  is what will make or break you.  And yes – you will have thousands of critics along the way because unless they have been through it – they will not understand and they will judge you for every action you take.!  People as well meaning as they can be, have said some pretty insensitive things and yet others have stopped and either posted or given me gentle encouragement or just listened as I have expressed my thoughts & feelings.  I have also been put into a unique position where I am also working with a few other mothers that are going through similar experiences and so working together we are making it one step at a time to not only make a difference but change how things are done.

Along this type of difficult journey you can choose to retain resentment & bitterness, you can numb your feelings away or you can feel all your feelings, and choose to live life in such a manner that it is well lived.  And the ones that I have been working with who choose the later are the real heroes to me and role models to me of what my choice has been.

Writing does help a bit – I wrote several letters to my 1st daughter the first couple of years after she passed – but then the need for survival kicked in & I stopped.  Today, I am not sure which is worse – my first daughter and knowing she will not ever come back…..or talking to my 7 yr. old every night and only seeing her 1.5  days a week the rest of the time  just not being with her – either way I feel like a part of me is always missing.  I think with my 2nd child right now it feels like an open wound that just starts to heal & then gets re-opened every time I have to send her back.  One does eventually learn how to deal with the pain I suppose.

And while divorce and separations are never easy, in my situation having never been married the custody arrangements that are drawn out, never resolved fairly and the children used as weapons to make the other parent suffer because of resentments and bitterness from previous relationships can be heart wrenching.

But I think based upon my experience and conversations I have had with others, that it seems to be hardest for those moms who have spent the entire lives of their children as stay-at- home moms or single moms as for them it really is like losing one’s job but with a whole lot more attached.  The bond we have with our children starts before they are even brought into this world and when it is severed or lost, that loss of responsibility can leave one feeling useless, very unprepared and quite uncertain as to where to head next.

So how does one set themselves up to be successful in these types of situations?

Do the little things and do the things you can do:

When I talk to my little one every night for the few brief minutes I get ~ I read her a story – something we have also done together since she was 6 months old….and for those few brief moments my life seems to be ‘normal’ again.

I also write little notes on post-it-notes to her a week or two weeks ahead of time and leave them with the teacher so she can get them each morning.

The other day someone said to me how well I was doing holding up under all the circumstances…..my reply was that they didn’t see me behind closed doors where I fall apart.  😉

I have also chosen to find proactive positive things to do such as always making sure I am exercising every day….sometimes it is running around the lake, other days it is just walking sometimes feeling like I am only just crawling….other days it is just going to a martial arts class.  Finding others to talk with and help out where needed.  Finding  jobs and opportunities where I can use my natural mothering abilities.  And working really hard on my business and finding those who can help me bring it to the next level.

I am also setting myself up for success by planning ahead such as when I do have my 7 yr. old – I take her to places I know I will BE during the coming week when she isn’t with me anymore…..and in those places we share fun things, do fun activities and laugh and create really good memories and then when she is not with me; when I am in those places I have good memories to pull me through…..

“Sometimes in life our journeys are so painful that we mark them as a way to work through them, to remind us of where we have been, & how something so painful can be turned into something beautiful.” ~ LJ

I recently got a new tattoo created from one of my designs I recently finished – ‘BE Steady’  – it is an anchor in water with a ribbon winding around that eventually will have my daughters names on it.  I originally created the design because someone sent me a quote that said – ‘Children are the anchors of a mother’s life.’ ~ Sophocles.

Last night in researching the meaning behind the anchor(I can feel another post coming on about mothers and anchors.)  I found it interesting to find that aside from the obvious work that anchors do…anchors while being the oldest traditional tattoo also are symbols of:  “it is also reliable, stable, safe and unchanging.  It keeps ships and people grounded and constant…..a symbol of steadfastness, determination, strength, loyalty, and devotion. The surrounding currents and changing winds cannot move the anchor.  In relationships, anchors indicate that the significant other has a constant and positive presence in their loved one’s life. It can also symbolizes a person who refuses to stray and wants to remain faithful, loyal and monogamous.”

A perfect symbol to all that represents what I value and am as a person, a mother and citizen of my country.

How do you set yourself up for success during difficult and challenging times?
Leave your comment above by clicking on the link ‘Comment’ just below the date on the left hand side.

BE Reflective

“BE The Cup The World Passes Through.”

“As you go through each day there is one thing you should know, you make someone smile with every thought of you.”

This was a message that was left for me today in my e-mail which of course made me smile and for a brief moment feel spectacularly special.  It also gave me a moment to wonder – who it might be & who would have sent this and reflect on my actions over the last few days that would warrant being sent such a great message perhaps when I needed to hear it the most.

With the way things have been going…this message gave me pause to thing about how every smile, every kind act that we give another, however small – perhaps doesn’t go by so unnoticed as we thought.

So often it seems we get so busy with life and all the things in it ~ that we can sometimes forget the small things…or how little time just a smile or an extra second to hold the door open for someone can be so positive, and who knows……it might just be that small thing that helps turn someone’s day around.!

We would like to hear your thoughts on how the little things count in your life.  Leave your comments above by clicking on the “Leave Your Comment Link” under the date.

Have a Great Day.!