What Oprah Knows for Sure About Miracles

Back to positivity! Was feeling sad all of yesterday and wasn't fully sure why.
When that happens I always try to surround myself with inspiration.
Here's a little article from Oprah...


My entire life is a miracle. And so is yours. That I know for sure.

No matter how you came to be—whether you were wanted or "an accident" (as I was labeled for many years)—your being here to read these words is awesome.

I say that not knowing the details of your life. What I do know is that every person carries her own story of hope and sorrow, victory and loss, redemption, joy, and light.

Everyone has had their share of life lessons. How well you learn from them is up to you.

When you choose to see the world as a classroom, you understand that all experiences are here to teach you something about yourself. And that your life's journey is about becoming more of who you are. Another miracle: We all get to share in the journey.

The hardest experiences are often the ones that teach us the most. I say this having just gotten off the phone with my lawyers discussing how to handle two pending lawsuits. The first question I asked them was, "What is this suit really about, and what am I supposed to learn from it?" Only when I can perceive what the real lesson is can I make the best decision—and grow from the experience.

After everything that's happened to me in nearly 57 years on this Earth, what I'm most proud of is that I remain open to evolving. I know that every physical encounter has a metaphysical meaning. And I'm open to seeing it all.

I want to keep doing better and being better at who I am until I fulfill the promise of the miracle that is this life.

"Your life's journey is about becoming more of who you are."

AAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Very, very frustrated. Stark contrast to yesterday's blog, I know.
Mother Nature is at it again.
First, she created a Winter Wonderland all over Europe while I was in France so that I was stuck there. Not so bad in Paris, but the entire day spent in a car going nowhere in Calais started to turn me loopy. But all was good. I felt blessed to have taken a trip with my best friends to the mainland.
But now she has struck again.
There is now a blizzard in New York which means my flight has been cancelled. No big deal I thought. I can just catch a flight the next day, in two days at the worst. But no, the earliest I can fly out is in six days time. Six. After the new year. Why this is the case is completely beyond me. Apparently there is some back log from Christmas. Not buying that, but there's not much I can do about it.
Being stranded at home isn't such a bad thing. At least, it wouldn't be if someone was actually at home, but there won't be anyone here. So home alone with nothing to do for a week...over new year as well. There had to be another option. And there was.
I am flying into Washington in two days time. But I have to figure out Washington to New York now which is proving to be annoying and expensive. Potentially lots of coaches, walking around, metro trains, further buses and then the lovely New York subway system before I make it home. All the while negotiating two suitcases in the freezing cold. Good times.
I'm beyond annoyed. Beyond irritated. Verging on mad.
I was writing this hoping that it would calm me down, get me rational and back to the present moment. There is nothing I can do about it so I have to let it go and make the best of it. Not quite happening right now. Maybe later...

Pure Thought

I receive 'daily om' emails. This was one from November that I hadn't read yet. It spoke to me because it's a perfect blend of various ideas that I believe. It draws on Eckhart Tolle's idea of being in the now, living in the present as well as the law of attraction's philosophy that our thoughts and emotions create our reality by drawing more of the same towards us. It's a nice amalgamation of various schools of thought whose root is the same.

Pure thought is focused attention which creates power and energy because there is no distraction.


If we make no effort at all, our thoughts usually scatter in a vast array of directions. They start and stop and move in surprising ways from one second to the next. If we try to follow our thoughts without controlling them, we will be amazed at how truly inconsistent they are. Yet, if we apply our minds to a specific task, especially one that interests us, they gather together and allow us to focus our attention, creating great power and energy. This is what is known as pure thought, because it is undistracted.

The law of attraction—like attracts like—influences all energy, including our thoughts, and this is what makes pure thought so potent. Our undistracted thoughts create a powerful magnet that draws similar energy into our vibrational field. As a result, the longer we are able to hold positive thoughts in our minds, the more powerful the positive energy around us becomes. We don’t need to focus on action and controlling so much when we are surrounded by energy that draws what we want toward us. We can simply respond to the opportunities that naturally come our way. When this is the essence of our experience, we can go with the flow, knowing that we will be okay.

If pure thought is a body, it is our emotions that supply the heart that can really bring it to life. Our thoughts and feelings exist in relation to one another, and they form a feedback loop through which they communicate and empower each other. When we hold a thought in our mind without being distracted, we have achieved pure thought. When we have a positive emotional response to that thought, we enable it to dance and move and breathe itself into existence.



"All that we are is the result of what we have thought."
Lord Buddha

Merry Christmas!!

It's Never Too Late

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life.
The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives.
Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.
Baz Luhrmann

No Limits

I'm not setting any limits for myself next year.
That is all!

(artwork Valerie Lorimer)

Belle, The Thinking Woman's Princess! :)

Gaston: This is the day your dreams come true.
Belle: What do you know about my dreams, Gaston?
Gaston: Plenty! Here, picture this: A rustic hunting lodge, my latest kill roasting on the fire, and my little wife massaging my feet, while the little ones play on the floor with the dogs. We'll have six or seven.
Belle: Dogs?
Gaston: No, Belle! Strapping boys, like me!
Belle: Imagine that.
Gaston: And do you know who that little wife will be?
Belle: Let me think...
Gaston: You, Belle!
Belle: Gaston, I'm-I'm speechless. I really don't know what to say.
Gaston: Say you'll marry me!
Belle: I'm very sorry, Gaston... but... but I just don't deserve you!

Bonjour Paris!

“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a movable feast.”
Ernest Hemmingway

Expectations

Being back home and interacting with certain people (mainly family members) has brought all sorts of thoughts and feelings to the surface for me - most of them uncomfortable. One thing that has stood out a lot is expectation. There is plenty of it when it comes to family. I believe it has it's place. It almost has to, even if ideally it shouldn't. For example, one of my cousin's got married and I haven't met his wife so far. I'm not close to that cousin, I haven't seen him in years and we live in different countries. But his wife happens to be here in the UK so it was my duty to go and visit her. There was an expectation that I should. That's fine.
But talking to her, I noticed that all of her questions were concerning my work and education, when I was considering moving back home, was I intending to do a masters etc. I'm sure if I had been there longer than an hour the conversation would have turned to marriage. We had only just met. My questions were concerning how she found it being in a foreign country, did she miss home etc. Her's were all the big life questions. The important stuff as far as my culture goes.
I'm some what of an anomaly in my family. In most families probably. But it got me thinking about expectations. And how I've pretty much defied all the ones that were placed upon me. But the big two hover somewhere over my head, flying lower and lower all the time. Will I get a 'proper' job/career? And will I get married and have children? The clock seems to be ticking loud as far as everyone else is concerned. Which is starting to make me become more aware of it. Is that a good thing? Was I just floating along in my New York bubble ignoring the larger issues in life? Or was I actually living my life the way I want to live it. I think I can be easily swayed at times. Not to the point where I'll act on someone else's feelings or suggestions, but enough that it will sow a seed of doubt into my head and make me question everything. With many points of view currently flying in my direction (most that conflict with mine) I have to remain aware. I have to sift through that information and other people's expectations to work out and define what I truly expect from myself and from my life.

Baby, Baby

I've been spending time with my nephew. He's about nine months old now and he's a really good, chilled out, fun kid. I adore him. BUT, I'm not one of those women that oooh and coo over babies. My mother pushes the poor kid upon me and when my reaction isn't to instantly jump and down in ecstasy over him it's a huge disappointment to her. It's no secret that she would like another grandchild - via her only daughter. But we're missing one vital ingredient here, as my best friend pointed out, the sperm donor!
But as she said to me yesterday, she's hoping that by me spending time with my nephew, he'll 'change' me. Change me into what exactly?
I have never been one to fawn over babies. Never will be. Puppies play that role in my life. I have always thought I wanted children and I still believe I do. The idea that it will be my own child. A product of the union of myself and the man I love. Sounds peachy. But someone else's child? Even if it's my brothers? Well, I'm happy to play with him, to hang out with him, to love him...and then hand him back!
But the pressure to conform into that type of woman is fairly high. The sad thing is that to be made to feel like you're lacking somehow takes away from how you really do feel. My mother's insistence on her version of me loving my nephew takes away from the love I do feel for him. It makes it seem like it's not enough. And it is.
All of this just serves to make me miss my baby Belle even more!

There's No Place Like Home

So the next two weeks finds me back home in England. I haven't been at home for over two years so it's a strange feeling. It gets you thinking about the concept of 'home'. Playfully, I wrote as my Facebook status, 'Dorothy's back in Kansas'. Apparently there's no place like home.
But home has become a fluid concept for me. I've been living away from home, overseas, for a few years now. I have created a different life for myself. But big city life in New York is an odd little experience. In a short time you can develop deep relationships. But they may only be there for a season. At the same time, it's also a very lonely place. Especially for the dream seekers and fighters. In the moments when I feel lost and alone I imagine being back home in England. But now that I'm here, I find myself missing my new home, and the people in it.
Part of me is here in England. My old friends, my family, creature comforts and home cooked food. Things you can't get anywhere else. People that have known and loved you for years.
But now, part of me is in New York. I have a new life, and I've been through so many life changing experiences there that I've changed as a person. There are people I've let into my life that know the me I am now. They've been in the passenger seat to so many experiences I've now been through. Events that have changed me.
So my conclusion? Well I'm still working it out. But I will say one thing I've found to be true. Home is definitely where the heart is :)

A Daily Om Quote

When connection is the goal of an interaction rather than captivation, and sharing rather than seeking, your energy speaks of confidence.

Sometimes Love Comes Around...

And it knocks you down.
Just get back up when it knocks you down...

Tell It Like It Is!

In a relationship I can be a little difficult to deal with at times. You know, in between those moments when I'm polishing my halo! So I saw this quote from Marilyn and absolutely fell in love with it!

"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."
Touche Miss Marilyn!

Wise Words From Tink!

Live today, await tomorrow, remember yesterday... everything happens for a reason. Life's too short... dance naked!

Did I Do It?!

The answer is yes!
When I woke up on the morning of November 29th I was about 12000 words behind. Over a fifth of my novel hadn't been written. And I knew I wouldn't have time on the 30th to get a last minute ditch effort in.
So it was that one day or nothing.
My day ended at about 5am but the satisfaction I got from completing my novel was amazing! I use the word 'complete' very loosely as it is nowhere near completion. I have to go back and fill in major holes in the plot, go more in depth on character and location descriptions, and I may not end it exactly where I did. Not to mention a major grammar and spell check that has to be carried out.
But I did it!
A novel (in some form or fashion!) has been written... now on to the edit!
And I'm already sure I want to participate in the madness again next year :)
Never underestimate the power in setting a deadline!

First Of The Last

First day of the last month of the year.
Time to start thinking about what I've accomplished.
But more importantly, what I want to accomplish...

*Don't forget - World AIDS Day 2010*