Right Now.

Sometimes we temporarily forget the goodness that surrounds us, because we become so engrossed with what’s not going well in our lives and loose sight of the good things we have going for us right now. We’ve been so programmed to plan and prepare that the very act of planning for the future stops us from living live “Now” and taking a break to just enjoy the time we have right now. If you are waiting for a job, to buy a car, a house, start a family, get married.
I urge you to:
Enjoy the “Nows” of your life, take a look outside your issues, go for a walk in the park, wonder at the changing times, and marvel at the beauty of nature, changes in the colour of the leaves from vibrant green to enticing orange. Let the beauty of Now feel you with awe, be invigorated again, forget about the onset of the bitter grip of winter and drink in the glow of autumn.

I am here:

I'm here living in this moment, basking in glory, assured of a flourishing finish.
I am here with head held up high, I walk tall a smile etched on my face.
I am here not in a maze of empty thought. I fully grasp the reality of my being.
I envisioned my future, an oasis of peace, love and joy

Sometimes I wonder what the outcome of my quest will be,
My soul quieten within is reminded to live in today’s reality,
The certainty of being here, right now in this moment
Enjoying the warmth and love of good friends and cherished family.
Today I am here, trying to show love regardless of its outcome, because this is my ultimate quest.
Now, in this moment,
I decide to be at peace, with myself,
I lay aside turmoil and strife,
I embrace the abundance of serenity, for right now, in this moment,
I am here in full breath, given to me for today.
I am here, right now enjoying the reality of a life filled with Love and Joy on my way to a flourishing finish.

Navigators

Navigators revolutionised lives in most western countries. Can you remember the days without them? How did you survive? I remember the good old days when we had to rely on AA or Multi map, hubby usually pre-print the instructions for me to help with the directions, but we often drive past our exit or turning before I gave my directors. My hubby would usually stop the car several times (fuming) to read the directions himself, needless to say I rubbish at map reading and he was very good.

My job requires going to new places daily so I had to learn to read street maps and did pretty well using them to find my way around. I am always ecstatic whenever I manage to find my way to my destination without too much hassle. I graduated from street maps to road maps and it was really a joy to arrive with the help of AA or Multi Map. So I was really reluctant to go the digital way. Hey! Wait a minute; I’ve only just started enjoying map reading, I don’t want to change!

I reluctantly made the change and bought a sat nav, it was said to operate within 95% accuracy and I must say, my journeys improved a great deal. I thought to myself, God bless the makers, “why did I wait so long to get one" rarely did my navigator took me the wrong turn or place. It may take me the long way but it always took me to my destination. That was five years ago, and the technology has improved since then and am still loving it.

So what's the point of all this you may ask? Am I a spokes person for the one of the Sat Nav Companies"? Well, no.

I was once a passenger on a journey with a friend, going to a place we hadn't been before and needed the help of the sat nav, she did alright at the start of the journey because she knew the way up to a certain point, and although the navigator was on we ignored it until we came to unfamiliar route. My friend became impatient, glittery and worried as soon as she started depending on the sat nav.

At one point I had to say, calm down and follow the its direction, immediately I said that she went on and on, on how these things cannot be trusted, on how many stories she's heard about them failing. I asked her “have yours failed you" "no" she replied, “so why are you afraid I asked:” “well what if it does she replied”? "I've heard stories of navigators taking people the wrong place". My reply was “if yours haven't failed you yet, I don't see why you should be stress and worry now”. “It may take us the long route, because it sometimes does”, she replied, “as longs we get there, I don't see the problem”, relax and enjoy the drive, I replied. Needless to say that she ignored me and continued to fret, but broke out in a big smile of relieve when we arrived at our destination.

This got me thinking: You see, we are like that with God, we trust him in the things we can see and it is easy to have faith then, but wait a minute, why have faith and hope for the things we see? We do not hope for the things we see, but we with patience, hope for the things we don't yet see. Quite often we become impatient, jittery and angry with God. Worry often kicks in when what we are waiting for seems to be taking a little longer, we begin to complain and remind ourselves of stories of others who are in similar situations as us whom God is yet to come through for.

Just as I was a passenger on that journey, the Holy Spirit is our passenger on the way to our destination, urging us to trust God, the journey may seem long but he'll take you there. Don’t make the journey difficult by resulting to old ways and wishing for the good old days.

Relax and enjoy the ride, focus your on God's goodness and personality, (He’s good, he’s loving, he’s kind, he’s faithful and he’ll bring it to pass), he will always bring you safely to your journey's end.

The journey may seem long and painful, but don't fail to grasp the beauty and lessons of life along the way, because you may not travel that road again, so you have an opportunity to grasp whatever it is you have to learn on your journey to whatever you are waiting for.

Just like my friend, you too will break out with a big smile when at last your destination you reach. Till then, Press on in faith, knowing that you too will arrive safely on the other side.

Pictures by "Photobucket"

Reflections.

Have you ever thought about sitting still and reflecting? Lately, I find myself reflecting more, I don’t know why, but I have found it helpful and I have had to let go of some issues I was holding on to.

It is hard not to notice when someone has done something to hurt us, it is hard to ignore a look with seemingly bad intent, and it is hard not to take revenge in our own way. For instance, if someone doesn’t call you or misses an event you’ve organised, our revenge may be to ignore them the next time we see them or be cold, and I think it gives us a certain satisfaction when we get even.

It is these little foxes, I’ve been dealing with lately and by God have I learnt. I’ve learnt that it is not what is done to us that matters, but how we react to what is done to us and also the next step in the process.

I can either hold on to a grudge or hurtful experience and have it eat away at me slowly or reflect over what I thought was wrong, make excuses for the person/persons involved and move on.
I have found the second alternative refreshing and liberating.

I use to think meditating, being quiet for a few minutes is daunting, being a very active and up and about person, I can hardly sit still for a minute, but now I’ve found ways to stop and be still.
I reflect when cleaning my home, walking to and from the station, when having a shower, just allowing the water to drip, I allow my thoughts to drift away and I reflect. The result, I am more at peace with myself and those around me.

So straight from my heart is this piece to encourage you to find time to sort out your thoughts, release yourself to the beauty of reflection, mediate on the wonders of you and nature and you will find strength to carry on.

I sit in silence pondering the meandering waves of the seas,and marvel at the birds and the whales.
Amidst the busyness of life and seas of wondering thoughts, my consciousness is restraint and stirred in the paths of quiet terrain.
A sweet reprieve I find in the stillness of time, reflecting on the goodness of nature and the wonders of the mind.
Strength I gain when I reflect on the wonders of God, and peace restored when in truth I release the clogs of dirt that blocked my mind.