Thursday, May 31, 2012

Success Stories


Hello from my heart to yours... 

"I write about people who sometime in their life have a vision or dream of something that should be accomplished and they go to work. 

"They are beaten over the head, knocked down, vilified, and for years they get nowhere. But every time they're knocked down they stand up. You cannot destroy these people. And at the end of their lives they've accomplished some modest part of what they set out to do."
— Clifford Irving

WE are these people... I write about all of US all the time.. but yesterday, a friend I have had for quite some time now, emailed me saying, "My inner voice is named Jeffrey. But he prefers to be called Jeff, and gets pretty upset if I don’t. And he’s very jealous of the other voices in my head."  lol... I was so cracking up... we proceeded to exchange a few "catch-up" emails about life and the kids... and then this quote popped up on Facebook and I immediately thought of him again... 

He hasn't had an "easy" life... he has definitely been beaten over the head, knocked down and vilified.. but he always stands back up... and though at times throughout the years, he has asked me to remove him from the blessings list because the message is of no use to him, he will email me later and say, "don't listen to me..I was depressed..put me back on" ... lol... he has raised his 3 children alone for the past 10 years... he has schlepped them from state to state to ensure that they see their mother whenever possible... he has a successful business in this horrible economy.. and I am proud to call this "character: friend... he has visions and dreams and sets out to accomplish them...  

Last year, a mile wide tornado went right through his city... from his house, you can see the hospital that was ripped apart... it was a scary time for him and his family... there is still debris everywhere, but the city is slowly recovering ... when I drove through Alabama last year, I saw remnants of this tornadoes destruction and let me tell you, even my boys had tears in their eyes... those of us who experienced Hurricane Andrew and Hurricane Katrina know that it takes a long while to recover from these types of natural disasters.. financially, physically and emotionally... but we still stand back up and continue our life journey...  

I believe that it is true of all of us here... I receive many emails asking for prayers and guidance and moral support... not because I am an expert in any of this, but I think it's because we are all connected to one another and don't want to stay down in our moments of despair... we are people of faith, hope and love in our hearts.. and even at our lowest moments, we know all we have to do is reach for another's outstretched hand... none of us want to fail... and none of us want others to fail either... we all desire to be "success stories"....and know people who are "success stories"... and if I knew each of your stories, I could write blessings about each of you for 1000+ days ... isn't that crazy wonderful?

Anyway, may we always be able to "stand up" .. may we be willing to pick ourselves up and start all over again.... if it helps, look to another's success story to get ideas and help... pray and meditate for yourselves and others... pray specifically for faith, hope and love... for as long as we have all these, we can never be destroyed... we are are loved beyond measure and cherished blessings to the world... remember to thank God for this love....

May your day be filled with all things good,
I love you,
Elena

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Inner Voice


Hello from my heart to yours.....

"The human voice can never reach the distance that is covered by the still small voice of conscience.....  Everyone who wills can hear the inner voice. It is within everyone." 

                                                                                                        Mohandas Gandi

If you let it.. life will overtake you.... things will happen in your life and you will have no control.. you will simply "go with the flow"  and by doing so, you are allowing others to dictate your life... People love to tell others what to do.. parents, grandparents, spouses and friends give advice and you listen because they mean well.. and granted, sometimes they do have good advice, however, you have to strive to listen to yourself... that inner voice that speaks to YOU.... that inner voice that I believe is GOD... 

I know that not everyone on this blessing list calls him God.. and when I googled the different names for "God", I found too many to mention here... also, in my search I read something very interesting, and possibly what I may have been trying to say all along in the blessings... we live in a society that has many cultures and many religions and though we may not agree with everyone's beliefs, we should be tolerant and treat everyone with respect and love because all religions are equally valid since our path's all lead to God...  interesting right? Of course, as a Catholic, I am supposed to say that unless you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, then you will not be with saved in the end... hmmmm? but as a Catholic, I was, also, taught that God loves the whole world and so then, why wouldn't He save people of all religions and allow us to live His Kingdom as brothers and sisters?  I don't know... more and more, I am of the simple belief that: "LOVE is my religion".... 

Pay no mind to my tangent writing.......Soooooo way off what I was going to write about... and as my best friend would say to me right now... "Look, something shiny!"  lol

Anyway, I'm back from the reef... and to my belief that we all have a spiritual purpose and something to contribute to this life.. to be able to be the blessed people that we are destined to be, we need to be able to tap into that direct connection that we have with the most powerful force in the universe...God.  That "intuition" (as it is called) is our spiritual guide, but we have to listen... YOU have to listen to yourself... there is nothing outside of YOU, not family or friends, that can answer your questions better than that "little voice."

So ask the question.. pray and meditate about it... and then LISTEN... listen with an open mind and an open heart... be willing to wait patiently for the answer.... be willing to accept NO, too.... it's definitely hard, but as I continuously say... with faith, hope and love in your heart, all things are possible....

My affirmation for us today:

We are loved beyond measure and are blessed to hear the "little voice" of God...  Our minds and our hearts are open to receive all the answers that are rightfully ours in our Divine Right... We believe the answers that we receive... and therefore, we will become the blessed people we are destined to be..... Amen.

May your evening be blessed with all things fabulous,
With love,
Elena

Friday, May 25, 2012

50th Day


hello from my heart to yours.... 

I read a quote that cracked me, but didn't write it down completely, thinking I could just google it and it would pop up... considering that I haven't written in awhile, I found it so reflective of that.... it went something like.....

"It's hard to write when the world is moving.."

 ... one of the truest sentences I have ever read... I don't know what I've been up to lately, but I have been up to so much... and I have a lot to write about because everyday something fabulous happens in my life... and I say, "I'll write today." ..but the world moves again and I don't...

So, as I am sitting in the barber shop right now watching my daddy and son being swiveled around in the chairs... I am writing... I I have been wanting to write about this upcoming weekend because Jews and Christians alike are celebrating the "50th Day" ....

We will be celebrating Shauvot and Pentecost ... the 50th day since Passover and the 50th day since Easter...  and we are celebrating it on the same day... this doesn't happen often as both our religious calendars fluctuate.. this last "Spring Feast" is a moveable feast... and perhaps because I try to live my life as if it were a moveable feast (the way Hemingway describes it to mean "the memory of a splendid place or happening that continues to go with you for the rest of your life..") I find the fact that we are all celebrating this weekend so fabulous... since you all know I LOVE to connect all of us spiritually....
  
Anyway, when God gave the Jewish people the Torah, they became servants of God.... the birth of a nation committed to God.. .. I read that Shavuot is the wedding anniversary of the Jewish people and the Torah is the marriage certificate between the Jews and God... 

 After Jesus went up to heaven, the Holy Spirit was given at Pentecost.... when the disciples received the gift, they became witnesses for Christ.... the birth of the church... a birth certificate for those who choose to be born in the Spirit... 

 Jews celebrated a joyous harvest on Shavuot...

Christians celebrated a harvest of newborn souls on Pentecost...

And so... here we are after 50 Holy days...united as brothers and sisters of one God... following the same Commandments... (or at least trying to)... praying and meditating by ourselves and with one another... because we are all loved beyond measure and are cherished blessings to the world... 

and so, I say to all my Jewish friends... Happy Anniversary... 
and, I say to all my Christian friends... Happy Birthday...

May your weekend be blessed with an abundance of love... I miss you all and love you very much... 
Elena