We are all here for each other in ways big AND small

Sometimes, the smallest of kind gestures has the ability to make the biggest of impacts. This video speaks to such gestures in a "paying it forward" kind of way. 

As I watch this video, I am again reminded that we are all connected and that we all matter. It shows acts of kindness in their simplest form and how it spreads/grows from one to another. My hope, dear reader, is that after viewing this little flick, you walk away feeling the power within to do a small deed. 

These deeds take little or no effort. 

You can even just start out with giving a stranger a smile. Yep, it's that easy!

Next time you're out and about, keep your eyes and heart open and the opportunity will be sure to present itself. In doing so, you will find the peace of mind within, that you made a bit of difference by planting this seed of kindness.

Stay Open. Stay Kind. Stay Beautiful.

Feeling that you are loved is one of the greatest gifts

While mulling over all of my worries and woes in my mind (which I seem to do a bit more often these days) all of a sudden an image of my mom popped into my head. This caused me to pause, exhale, and say to myself, "but at least I'm loved" and every negative thought went away. This little moment left me to thinking about the importance of knowing that you are loved makes in one's life. And since today is Valentine's Day, I thought it most appropriate to share my thoughts with you on this subject.

All souls are born to be loved but not all feel that they are. When one feels loved they tend to be more grounded, secure, and self aware; as well as empathetic. Knowing you are loved is a bit different then actually feeling it. Anyone can say that they love you, and you may believe them, but not necessarily feel it. 

To feel loved means that you feel unconditionally accepted. Not everyone has this kind of love in their life. There are many reasons whys one does not feel loved. Sometimes, it's due to lack of nurturing by one or both parents where they do not feel worthy of another's love and so they reject the notion. Childhood trauma of any kind can lead to a distorted view of one's self worth. Or it could be the way in which you view yourself, by being too critical. For example, hating the way you look.

Whatever the reason for not feeling loved, it does not change the fact that it puts you in a very lonely state of mind. Self destructive behavior is something that is not uncommon. Another detriment of not feeling loved, of course, is depression.

This is why I consider feeling loved a gift. Not everyone is blessed with the comfort of knowing that no matter what, you will always be one of the most important things in another's life (in a healthy way, that is). 

When life get clustered, for whatever reason, it's always a good idea to just take a minute or two and feel the love that you know to be true. There really is no quicker fix (for the moment at least) to an anxious mind. And who knows, it may actually help to guide you through whatever process you need to go through. 

I am so grateful for many, many things, most of which are priceless because of the human factor involved. My hope for you, dear reader, is that this feeling of love is abundant in your life also; and that it helps to carry you through the tough roads that we find must be traveled as well as the little moments in your head that need a bit of readjustment by reflection.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

FROM ME TO YOU

My Return to Blogger

After much debate within my own head, I have decided to just go ahead and come back to Blogger. There are a few reasons why I chose to do this. Some of which are, the following:

Blogger is much easier to manipulate/program, meaning that the User Interface is much more friendly for those of us who are not programmers and/or IT professionals. 

I miss the way in which I could easily connect to all Google accounts making connecting to you much easier.

Transferring my Wordpress.org posts was flawless.

And most of all, since I have not posted any blog post in what seems like forever, I wanted to reconnect in the most seamless way possible for me, hoping that it will encourage me to start writing again. And we all know that the easier things are to accomplish the better chance they have of being accomplished.

So as you reacquaint yourselves with "Peace of Mind", please take note of the additional posts that were transferred (from approx Sept 2010 till in December 2011). Also, please take a sec to check out  the "others ways to connect" tab in which I added links to a few of my social networking sites.

I've also added a ton more photos on the "We are Connected" page as well adding another page entitled "Complete Randomness to Inspire", chock full of really cool photos, quotes, gifs, etc.

And so, I will now consider this all a commitment to begin blogging for you again. In the mean time, I will be making a few more technical adjustments to this page and then I expect to be off and running!

Below are a couple of pics of our Furry Family Members:

SkippyDoodles

Our newest family members: Avery and Lucy

Avery and Lucy

2011 Year in Review.....

My daughter shared this with me today and I, in turn, decided to share it with you. This is beautifully done.

2011 has been quite the Year of Awakening.

I feel so grateful to be alive to witness such a monumental year in history. The good as well as the bad.

I hope you enjoy and appreciate this short video as much as I did.

Be forewarned: Have tissues at the ready!

PEACE ,LOVE, AND LIGHT TO ALL

Getting LinkedIn has been a most pleasant surprise!

 

I have now gotten to the point in which my reaching out has got to reach out farther. And so, I joined LinkedIn. I have been putting off this type of outreach for a while.

There are many reasons for my joining the LinkedIn community.

Basically, I have decided that working outside the home, part-time, may not be such a bad idea.  Also, I felt that this site would enable me to connect with other bloggers on a different and more profession level. And since I have started another blog, Piece Of My Mind, I thought it best to spread myself around a bit more.

 

I must admit that I had great apprehensions because of my preconceived notions about LinkedIn. I thought that it would have a professional smugness about it and that it would not lend itself well to those of us who do not hold a fancy higher educational degree. These were a couple of the reasons why I had put joining in for so long. Only after I took the plunge did I realize how wrong I was.

As a LinkedIn member, I now have access to a plethora of opportunities I would otherwise not have ever known about. There are not only business contacts and job listings but also blogging groups and many more connections on many different levels just waiting to be made.

 

So why am I sharing this with you, dear reader? Well, for me, this was another lesson in assumptions. That being so, I thought that maybe a few of you may benefit from what I learned and how I made my approach. Having these assumptions can hinder you greatly from making the changes and advancements that you may need to make.

Also, assumptions based on fear are never a good idea. In order to avoid this type of behavior one must first come to terms with what scares them. Since fear is usually the driving force behind most unhealthy and therefore unrealistic responses. It could be as simple as just not knowing what to expect and in turn, making up scenarios that seem too difficult or unattainable.

How did I finally make my move? Well, I first thought about it for about a week or two. Then one day, out of the blue, I held my breath and just dove right in!

 

My suggestions in order to work your way through these restrictive assumptions are not the same for the innately apprehensive than for the extrovert (yes, even some extroverts experience feelings of anxiety when trying new things).

 

For the innately apprehensive, I suggest taking approaching it in baby steps, incrementally. For the extrovert, your best strategy is to just take a deep breath and dive right in.

 

All in all, I cannot wait to finish my profile and begin to really dig into all that LinkedIn has to offer. I'm so glad that I was so wrong about this site!