Sunday, August 31, 2008

Empowering by changing small things

Who am I? To answer this, we must first learn to become more aware of ourselves. To be aware, we must STOP and PAY ATTENTION! We need to STOP and objectively watch ourselves in action. We live most of our lives by habit. These habits keep us stuck in patterns that limit our experience of life. Once we detect a pattern we were previously unconscious of, we can choose differently, if we want. With awareness comes choice and with choice, we gain freedom. ~higherawareness.com

Changing small things in my life helps me be more aware and helps me stay grounded in the present. For example, consciously deciding what music I will listen to during my day, lighting scented candles, giving real thought to what I want to eat, buying some fresh flowers, putting potpourri in my car, taking a minute to watch the birds at the bird feeder - all these add pleasure and joy to my day. Just the fact that I took the split seconds (that's all it takes) to add these to my life, empowers me to further design a beautiful day for myself.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Fun

"Pain has important, but limited survival value. Pleasure drives us toward survival, loving our children and mates, and keeping our spirits up when times are bad. We might say pleasure is the root of hope and optimism. Have fun. Play." Dr. Drew Pinsky

Maybe a lot of our inborn power is generated by living a lovely life full of pleasure. This philosophy goes against some of the prevailing beliefs of our time, but what if the Creator is sad that the life given us is made painful by our running away from pleasure? Maybe the Creator hopes we will enjoy the beautiful life we've been given.

Friday, August 8, 2008

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." Helen Keller

The word "power" seems to elicit a sense of control -maybe even the ability to make other people do what we want. But "empowerment" has NOTHING to do with that kind of power. When we are "empowered," we live with a sense of responsibility and purpose - for our own lives and for our connection to the world.

When we are empowered, we have a sense of direction as well as the confidence and courage to move forward into adventure. Helen Keller's obstacles were as large as the Rocky Mountains. Most other human beings would have had to take a jumbo jet flight over them to be able to eat, dress, and communicate with other people. But she accomplished all that plus traveled the world having adventures. What in the world is our excuse for not living an empowered life? Who wouldn't want to be empowered to have a romantic if risky life?