Life's little lessons...

What lessons in your life do you live by?

I guess I can say I have learned a lot in my 36 years here on earth, but I know there will be many more lessons to learn as each year passes.  Here are my top 10 lessons that are important to me today:

1. My mother and father were and are always right
2. Always listen to my intuition
3. Never say Never
4. Be open to new things regardless of what those new things may be
5. Kill "them" with kindness - whoever "they" are
6. Realize I am NEVER too old, nor will I ever be too old to make a difference
7. Be a lover, and sometimes a fighter
8. Life really isn't too short, it's how you live it that makes it what it is
9. Dream... Never stop dreaming
and My 10th important lesson today is:  Listen.  Learn to listen to others and to yourself

My daughter and I were talking the other evening.  We had such a great conversation.  It is incredible how much you can learn from someone if you just listen.  In saying that, you can learn a lot from a person no matter how old they are.  Sure us older folk have lived longer, seen a few things in our lives, but we can always learn from others, as they can learn from us.  I realize we sometimes don't give the younger generation the benefit of actually being wise.  We have been taught that wisdom comes with age, but does it really?  Sure, wisdom is gained, but you can also be wise beyond years.  Hey, I guess that is another lesson I have learned.  See, we never do stop learning.

Learning something new everyday is inevitable.  No ONE person in this world knows everything about everything, that is just not possible.  Take the time to learn, to listen, to be open to new things.  You never know what you may find out about yourself and others along the way.

What have you learned today?

Isn't that a good question to think about?

TODAY...

Photo taken by me of My Dad and My Son




So, it is only fitting that today I write about the man who has raised me, loves me, and will always be the first man in my heart... My Father!

When I think of Superhero's my Father always comes to mind.  My Dad WAS "faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound".  Like Superman, he ran after the bad guys, taught other S.W.A.T and S.O.U. team members how to take down criminals, and  leaped from building to building.  He was truly Superman in my eyes.  Though he is older now, and can't run like he used to, no longer works with the S.W.A.T. and S.O.U. teams, and jumping from building to building is just simply out of the question - he IS still my Superhero.

My Father is the epitome of the perfect Dad.  I'm not trying to brag or anything (okay, yes I am...) my Dad is the BEST!  He worked hard supporting 5 kids, a wife and many different animals (our dog named Samantha, bunnies, fish, snakes, hamsters, turtles, reptiles, you name it, we had it) along the way.  His love for his family, dedication to his career, and his steadfast high morals and values are what made him the most incredible man on this earth.  Not to pat his back or anything (okay, I will definitely pat his back) but, he has been happily married for over 40 years, raised 5 successful and well adjusted children (YES, I am well adjusted and I have my own definition for success) and he is the best Grandfather to his four (soon to be 5) grandchildren, and 4 granddogs.

When I think of my Father I think of Love, I think of Strength and I think of Nurturing.  My father is Tolerant, Non Judgmental, and extremely Accepting.  He has always given us kids good advice, but let us decide to be who we wanted to be and celebrates who we have become today.  He is here as our biggest supporter and loudest cheerleader (along with our Mother, of course).

There seriously is NOTHING I can say bad about my father.  NOTHING.  He is the man I have always looked up to, the type of man I wanted to marry (and have married), and the man who will always hold a special place in my heart.  I am a "Daddy's Girl" and I soooo adore my Dad!!!

Happy Father's Day to the most amazingly incredible man on this great green earth!
Happy Father's Day to all the incredible men out there... Including my Husband!!!  (Darling, Once you have put up with me for 30+ years, I shall write you something like this too... HA!) Love you, Husband!

Important

Photo by Clip Art








What is important to you?

I have been asking myself that a lot lately.  What is important to me.  There are many things important to me right now like, setting up my website, blogging as much as I can, studying and reading.  Wow, everything I just mentioned that was important to me were things that weren't real, that don't have feelings.  Does that make sense?  I wrote that, because at that moment those things were important to me.  But what should be at the top of my list is My family (that includes my friends, as they are my family too).  I wouldn't be here in this place right now if they weren't what inspires and drives me to be my very best.  In saying that, I feel like I have put them on the back burner while I took this time to work hard at my own future dreams.

Remember the professor who did that rock experiment?  You know the one, right?  The one where he lectured on "Efficient Time Management".  I don't know the exact story, but I believe I know most of the story.  He was at the podium and pulled a glass jar from underneath it and then a bag of stones, large stones, like the size of golf balls.  He then proceeded to put the large stones in the glass jar and asked the students if the jar was full, and to his question, they responded simply, Yes.

He then pulled out another bag, this time filled with pebbles, he poured that bag in, which filled in the gaps between the big stones, and then asked the same question, if the jar was full, which the students answered, that they thought so.  To their somewhat surprise, he then pulled out another bag, this one was filled with sand, he poured the bag of sand in, which trickled down and filled in the small gaps between the pebbles.  Again, he asked his question, and they were finally getting the idea and said, NO.  He then pulled out a pitcher of water, that he poured in the jar to fill up the rest of the air pockets.

He stopped there.

His next question to the students was, "What great truth can we surmise from this experiment?"  One student answered something about thinking that even though they thought their schedules were full, there would be more time for studying, classes, and/or meetings.

The professor said, "NO!"  He then asked what the students thought the large stones meant to them and proceeded to tell them that the large stones were what matters most in life such as, Family, Friends, Health, their Goals, Doing what they Love.  The pebbles, sand and water are the little things that just fill up time.  He said, if they fill up the jar with the little things first, then they have no time for what truly matters.  He told them to fill up their "Jar of Life" with the big stones first, because if they did not do that, then they may miss out on life all together.

So, the reason for telling this story was that I realized, I have been filling up my Jar of Life with the smaller things, things that are important to me, but are not what truly matters to me.  I have decided to make time for those big stones in my life and just fill the gaps with the other stuff like worrying about my blog, or getting my website up and running, those things can be done, and will be done, but in time.  What truly matters to me are the people in my life, My Family, and making time for them.

What truly matters to you?  What do you want to fill your jar up with?