On Gratitude the Only Way

As I usually start a quote on Gratitude: 

The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated

: o )  William James

If we understand this as one of a need then should we not tend to give out appreciation first?

Should we not act on our daily need with an outpouring of gratitude?

We must!

We all have things in our life that cause joy and peace, happiness and love.

The only thing we often tend to realize is we ignore the outward voice that gives thanks for this.

No we tend to speak inside of our heart and mind what we lack, what we fear and what we loathe.

So as we move forward I will share just a few tips on what gratitude means to me.

How it effects my daily walk.

Do I speak out gratitude in the morning (Tip # 1), each morning.  Yes indeed I do.

Do I say it aloud and proud not just to the bathroom mirror but carry it with me along life's walk.  

Yes again.

So crave your appreciation. Thats fine but as you crave it what are you giving out?

What are you putting out?

What are you sharing with self and those around you.

Til next time.....

Smiles are sent your way.  No charge as usual.

The ripples and the effect come back as well.  Thank you : )

Victor Yakin

www.makemesmileonline.com

Worry less about the mountains in your path

“Nobody trips over mountains.

It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble.

Pass all the pebbles in your path and

you will find you have crossed the mountain.”

~ Author Unknown

It is how we handle those small steps to any real challenge that makes all the difference.

Think of all the challenges in your life and you can roll back to the beginning of that and see that you either ignored a step, or thought it would all work out ..... just because.

Life has a pattern and when we alter that pattern and try to wing it without participation things go wrong.

A basketball player can't just make free throws with out practicing for a long period of time to be consistent at their task.

Go back even farther and a small toddler does not keep trying to walk just because he falls a couple times.  No he gets back up and puts his legs underneath him and finds their center to balance themselves then comes the first step.

They don't quit.

They push, and try harder. They keep giving and doing instead of waiting for things to get better.

The basics to a better day.

More rest and sleep.

Breakfast to fuel the body and mind.

Prayer to fuel the spirit and soul.

Gratitude spoke to acknowledge the gifts in your life that are working.

Being that person in the mirror that takes time to do affirmations and smile and acknowledge the greatness in you.

A review of your goals for the day.

A plan - steps and review of those steps to ensure your on the path to success for your daily goal.

Focus on whats working and whats not working and adjust

Taking time to smile, taking time to laugh and taking time to make a difference.

You get to that and your day will improve, it will be better.

You have the power. You have the ability.  Take the time to stay out of those pebbles way.

Prepare to get out of their way.

It is not the mountain you have to worry about or think about.

It is indeed the small pebbles that we often stumble over.

Dream big, Smile often and Love always!

A smile sent your way : )

Always smiles sent your way : )

10/26/11

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Acceptance is good

Acceptance of what has happened is the

first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.

~William James

Life happens.  Heard that one before?  Ok, maybe the first word began with an 'S' - - ended with a 'T'... LOL But we have heard it ... probably said it an hundred times as well.

That is a form of acceptance and it helps to let it go.  That event or misfortune that happens to us.  Sure it is easier to say to the person that this happened to but how many times have you said it to the reflection in your mirror?

Life happens.  Think about it, we say it to others so easily but when its us we tend to dwell on the negative event.

A misfortune that has consequences is never easy to get over.  It annoys us at best and it overwhelms us at worst.  Plain and simple it tries to derail us for an extended period of time.

But wait who defines how much time is enough?

Is there a rule book any where?

So we lose our favorite (fill in the blank)....  who defines how much we grieve?

Plain and simple answer here... we do.  We choose how long.  We say we want closure but we choose.

The classic is the damage we feel early in life from our family.  You know the dysfunctional family.  Those that feel the pain long after they leave home.

They instead of accepting the consequences and move on they blame everything on the past.  Those people you know.

It reminds me of the quote in the movie 'The Breakfast Club' (1985) when Andrew tells Allison played by Ally Sheedy:

Everyone's home life is unsatisfying.

If it wasn't, people would live with their parents forever.

Ok, some can say life was the Brady bunch I am sure but if it truly was it was still necessary to move on and get a life of their own.  True?

Yes we need to move on from things that hurt us, try to derail us and even stop us.  We need to move on....

But first we must accept.. acceptance is key.  For if we don't accept we will blame others and others will never give us final closure.  Only we can do that.

We must do that.  Acceptance that life happens and we can't change the past on the present and we are in control of that.

The art of acceptance is the art of making

someone who has just done you a

small favor wish that he

might have done you a greater one.

~Martin Luther King, Jr.

That is the focus on something good, sure bad things will befall us.

But even then we need to accept it and move on.

Accept it and move on and understand bad does not always happen and we truly do decide how quickly we look for that next gem that makes us smile, makes us laugh, makes us understand that good does triumph over evil.

We decide how to perceive the world.

Always have had that power, always will.

Move on to that simple act of prayer.  Giving thanks to the one who created it all.

Move on to that simple act of love.  That look in the mirror with the affirmation that you do love that reflection and that reflection is going places.

Move on to that simple act of sharing a sincere smile. Be random, look for that person who just seems like they need it the most. They may have ran out of their smiles temporarily and they so need one of yours.  Share it!  Watch the magic of that share happen.

Acceptance is very good.  We need to practice it more often with more speed.

Smiles sent your way and everyday..... Oh yeah this smiles is for you  : o )

10/25/11

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Affirmations and the Subconscious Mind

You will be a failure, until you impress the

subconscious with the conviction you are a success.

This is done by making an affirmation which "clicks."

~Florence Scovel Shinn

The power of the subconscious mind, it does so much for our actions and beliefs that are 'behind the scenes' of our actual knowledge.

Affirmations can prove to be your best friend for the subconscious mind.

I will share a few at the end, I use them and I feel them play into my life.  That is my personal testimony on the power of the affirmations.

Everything happens for a reason.  Cause and effect. Actions made and reactions played.  There is no pause button in life when we hit play the world records our actions and the energy that we cause to flow both positive and negative will flow back to us.

"The world is a great mirror. It reflects back to you what

you are. If you are loving, if you are friendly, if

you are helpful, the world will prove loving and

friendly and helpful to you.

The world is what you are."

~Thomas Dreier

This year has been very good to me and I will continue to praise God for the good in my life and the world that he surrounds me with.  The love, the kindness and the blessings that I have received are many and I thank him daily.

I thank him for the gift of my children who even now sit with laughter and a smile as they watch a movie or play a game.  I hear that laughter, I see that smile and I rejoice and give thanks to God.

I give thanks to God above for my dogs, Bear and Bella Mia, pictures of these two awesome pets are on my Make ME Smile Online web site and I have great pleasure from seeing them, hearing them greet me and acknowledge their loyalty to the family everyday not just somedays.  They are awesome.

I give thanks to you the reader.  The comments you send to me and the encouragement you have give me each and every day.

They warm my soul and the love and kindness I truly feel.

Thank You All.

I write with a passion, a passion and a mission to make a difference.  To share the knowledge and power of gratitude, the power of a simple smile, and the knowledge of allowing prayer and meditation to flow in your life every day and how it will make a difference.

The game of life is a game of boomerangs.

Our thoughts, deeds and words return to

us sooner or later with astounding accuracy.

~Florence Scovel Shinn

The game of life is playing everyday in your life and in mine.

Play with power, play with passion, play with laughter, play with that sincere smile that can make such a difference in the life of others.

Make a difference, Today!

Affirmation that I trust, and use:

Opportunities and advantages come

with each door that I open.

-----------------------

I AM here for a reason and I live my Life

with deliberate purpose.

-----------------

I rejoice in the Love I encounter everyday

------------------

The two words of wisdom are --- pay attention.

-------------------

Just four affirmations for you to try.  Say them 40x each day. Get these, cut them out and hang them where you get ready for your day, the car, the desk at work.  Use them, embed them in your subconscious and try this for lets say 30 days.

See what happens to you attitude and beliefs.

Add prayer and spoken gratitude and watch out you just may have a better you.  A kinder you, a more successful you, a more loving you, and maybe just a bit more wisdom.

To the last affirmation I think very highly on this one.

Everything happens for a reason, I truly understand and believe that.

Pay attention - Take time and make time to listen - Fuel your subconscious mind with affirmation that will empower your life.

Empower your life to love, to laugh, to experience joy everyday and to become everything you truly want to be.

Dream Big ~  Love Always and know that I send you smiles : )

Today and Everyday!

I send you Smiles.  : o )

10/23/11

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Waste no memory, save them, share them

Waste your money and you're only out of money, but

waste your time and you've lost a part of your life.

~Michael LeBoeuf

Ask anyone who has lost a loved the value of time.  Anyone who has lost a parent, a child, a partner what they wish about the lost and themselves, what they would want...one more day, one more moment to touch, to love or to ask that burning question.

Time ticks away, it moves forward and stops for no one.

To me living in gratitude helps color the time we spend a brighter hue.  It brightens the world for us and say - look at the colors how vivid how they come to life.  Thats what gratitude does for me.

But in order to feel and see those colors we need to look, to listen and to acknowledge that gratitude is present in our life.

We need to speak gratitude

We need to write down our gratitude

We need others to understand what gratitude exists for them.

Being thankful for what we have, surely is enhanced when we understand what we have lost.

We lose time, everyday and it never comes back. The memories of course do of time well spent.

Time spent with our family, with our love we seldom will remember or reflect on time spent at the water cooler at work or the meeting to discuss the work that needs done.

No these are the necessary but mundane things that happen while at work, the memories we will cherish is the walk through the woods on a gorgeous fall day.

The colors, the crunch of the leaves under foot, the trees swaying in the wind.  Those vivid colors and sounds leave impressions in our soul.  In our heart.

Add a loved one or a family member and the impression is even stronger, more vivid, more heart felt.

Live life each day not just to work but to share a memory, make a memory, and love.

For when that love is gone and passed away to the other side of heaven it of course will be missed, longed for and that one more day, that wish for one more moment will remain.

The day, this day is yours.....

The leaves are turning so colorful right outside your place you call home.  The sky is filled with possibility this day, your day.

Make magic, share love, share that simple sincere smile with another.  Share gratitude, speak it, and watch your life become more vivid more understanding.

This day....is yours.  Make the most of it and bank that memory for the future.  It indeed may be all the difference.  Not the dollars in that bank of yours but the memories saved and shared.

Smiles to you as always..... Smiles to you : )

10/13/11

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Believe and make a difference.

 

 

 

 

Twenty Thousand Little Ways

“The world is not a dream, but a reality, of

which we are the chief part, and in which we

must be up and doing something...Come out into

the world about you, be it either wide or

limited. Sympathize, not in thought only, but in action, with

all about you. Make yourself known and felt for

something that would be loved and missed, in

twenty thousand little ways, if

you were to die; then your life will be

a happy one, believe me.”

~ Charles Dickens

There are probably more than 20,000 little ways that you can make a difference in this world.  I like to stay on top of a few that I will repeat here.  These are little things and they take little time but will make all the difference not only in your life but in the life of others.

What are they? The word share is in front of all of these, but it must start with you.

A kind word - a sincere smile - laughter that is contagious

Joy -gratitude that is spoken - your acceptance - your love

Your imagination - your dreams -  your values

That is ten I think but they to me are so very important to share.

Yesterday I led with a quote that Steve Jobs shared with the world.

He wanted to put a ding on the universe with his products and his life. He did....

He shared a kind word and kept his family life private and personal.

He would share his love for his family thats clear but he protected them.  He made them feel safe and secure.

You can't say he did not share a smile or laughter.  His speeches and public appearances where full of laughter and smiles and in fact plenty of joy and love.

He had passion for life.

He accepted people, oh sure he wanted people to perform for him and his vision, his dreams, his value for a successful life are all within his 2005 speech to Stanford University's graduating class.

He shared his gratitude for the customer, for the Apple family that purchased, shared, loved, accepted and enjoyed the products.

He was full of imagination.  He was a dreamer that thought different.  He did not care about the status quo and when someone said it won't work, or it won't be popular, he did not care.  He pushed forward anyway.

He lived with his own values and beliefs and he pushed on and inspired others.

You can do the same, maybe you are not the CEO or founder of the next Apple.  But you are the CEO of you, the founder of your family, a mother, a father, a friend, a lover, a partner you are creating something and why not dream and reach for the stars.

Why not share a sincere smile everyday.

Why not?

Make that difference in your world.

Dream Big!

Share Love, laughter, joy and hope.

Yeah that 11 right, sharing hope.  Giving someone a shoulder to lean on.  Giving them the knowledge and belief that they are worthy, the road is clear ahead, this is the road map, here is a smile for you, oh yeah some laughter as well.  Things will get better here is why.

Words of hope for a soul that seeks it and often finds little.

Oh sure, we are truly responsible or our results, our thoughts and actions.  We need to be that for ourselves and our family.

But what is so wrong with our world when we if we took the time to share some hope and those ten other things listed above.  What difference would it make.

Could it save a teen from killing them self?

Could it save a young woman from selling her self?

Could it help a homeless person stand a little taller and have hope?

Could it inspire the next Steve Jobs to work in his families garage?

What if it could?  What if it does?

Is the effort worth the result that comes from it?

Just some thoughts.....

I write to get to you thinking, to inspire, to lift, to bring hope.....

I share my love and smile through these words, for you.

I cry out and have my own fears, my own solitude, my own sorrow but when that smile is shared with me, I smile.  When I hear laughter I laugh.

Do I dream....you bet.  Do I share gratitude spoken aloud, for sure.  Do I want to make a small ding in the universe?  Sure....

So I will.......

Picking up that hammer and tapping away, one smile, one post, one kind word, one shared laugh, one day at a time.

So should you....make your ding in the world.  Share, care and love.  Enjoy your day!

As always smiles sent your way !  : )

10/07/11

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We encourage - We want to entertain - We share -

Believe and make a difference.