I'm Really Lucky!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

I got to thinking today about the word luck so I looked it up in the dictionary. According to Webster's New World Dictionary luck is defined as: "(1) the seemingly chance happening of events that affect someone; fortune; lot (2) good fortune".

What struck me are the words "seemingly chance happening of events". The word seemingly leads me to believe that it appears to the outside world to occur by chance. Perhaps it's really do to hard work or to finding an opportunity and acting on it. It may depend upon the circumstances.

On this St. Patrick's Day where we wish others luck, I need to count my blessings. Even though I have turmoil and several crisises going on in my life now, all I have to do is look around me to see so many people who are much worse off than I. I am basically a happy person. I live in one of the richest countries in the world. I have freedom, a roof over my head, a nice soft bed, healthy food on the table, a computer, a car, friends, family, love and my faith. Many of these things, I take for granted. Someone who isn't as fortunate as I, would probably consider his/her self lucky to have even a portion of what I have every day.

I am a lucky person. I am very blessed and I am loved.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

TBRANCH2 3/18/2010 1:17AM

You are ALWAYS thinking of good things and I am LUCKY to have you as my friend!!! Report Inappropriate Comment

SLENDERELLA61 3/17/2010 10:48PM

You are wise to count your blessings. You are right. We take much for granted. Hope your turmoil subsides and crises resolve. Continued good luck, Cyndi, whether it is from seeming chance based on hard luck or other circumstance! Report Inappropriate Comment

L*I*T*A* 3/17/2010 8:18PM

we are so lucky living where we do......... we should never forget to count our blessings.......... thank our military for the world we now have...... peace and more peace!!! blessings and hugs..............lita Comment edited on: 3/17/2010 8:19:19 PM Report Inappropriate Comment

POLYANASUNSHINE 3/17/2010 7:52PM

We are so very fortunate and do forget and take it for granted. Report Inappropriate Comment

My Progress In Learning To Love Myself As I Am Now

Monday, March 15, 2010

Today's assignment for the March Challenge, Learning To Love Myself As I Am Now, is to evaluate my own progress in the challenge at the half way mark.

This challenge has been a good one for me because I'm so self critical. I often expect myself to be perfect. It has helped me to see my tendency to counter positive statements about myself with "but" statements. Example: I have a big heart and trusting nature but this sets me up for being hurt. I need to learn to make positive statements and carry on positive self dialogue without putting a condition on it. I have made some progress with this as you can see if you read yesterday's blog. As I was writing the blog, I had to catch myself to keep from writing conditional "but" statements. This made me very aware of this action. I tend to do the same thing in conversations with other people and also make self depreciating remarks. I know that I do it because I'm trying to relate to other people and make them feel good by trying to make a connection. Sometimes, however, I'm doing it at my own expense. Doing things at my own expense is something that still needs a little work. The challenge has helped increase my awareness.

Another thing that the challenge has done is make me more aware of how "helpful/loving actions" affect my own feelings and the feelings of other people. When I took the time to think about it, it heightened my sensitivity to how others feel. It also made me aware of how good loving actions make feel too! When I feel good, my own actions/thoughts tend to be more charitable towards myself and loving myself is easier. I am seeing that everything is connected in one way or another.

The challenge has made me think. I've had to ask myself some tough questions. What prevents me from loving myself as I am? For one thing, old tapes from my childhood sometimes run through my mind. I learned to treat myself the way my parents treated me when I was young. As I became an adult, I looked at their treatment and had to decide if it had any validity. Although my parents taught me manners, it was painful to admit that they treated me badly most of the time. How can I undo the damage to my self esteem? I have to re-teach myself how to treat me. How I treat myself affects how I let other people treat me. I have to admit that I've let lots of people treat me badly. This stops now. There is a fine line between facing reality, being honest with yourself, and beating yourself up. I'm breaking the habit of being brutal with myself. I am learning to treat myself the same way I would treat a beloved friend. Love starts with yourself and moves outward. I am making progress. This is just one part of my journey.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

SLENDERELLA61 3/15/2010 10:30PM

"I am treating myself as I would treat a beloved friend." That is beautiful. You have many great observations here. Getting rid of the conditional endings of positive statements is a good one. Realizing that we do allow people to treat us in certain ways --we aren't just powerless in these relationships. And then, committing that you won't let others treat you badly from now on is a powerful statement. Making connections without putting yourself down is a good goal. So much good here in this blog! I am sorry you had a rough childhood. It makes sense that you would have to work some to overcome it. You are doing great with this challenge. Keep up the great work!! -Marsha Report Inappropriate Comment

L*I*T*A* 3/15/2010 8:01PM

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Noticing My Own Good Traits

Sunday, March 14, 2010

If I've asked myself once, I've asked myself a thousand times, why do I notice others strong points but don't notice my own? As part of the March Love Yourself As You Are Now Challenge, I am writing this blog about myself. This feels very uncomfortable and vain to me but I'm going to do it anyway! So here goes....

I tend to be a generous person who is overly trusting. (This often gets me into hurtful situations but I won't dwell on that here because this is supposed to be positive stuff about me.) I'm intelligent and have a wicked sense of humor. I love to laugh at the absurd things in life. Being silly and playful is something that brings me great joy! I have this huge capacity to love and empathize with others. I am very forgiving for everyone but myself (I'm working hard on this!) and like to make others feel good about themselves. I'm very sensitive, especially to the vibes around me (which also makes me tend to be intuitive). I am a woman of strong faith and morals. I am basically a nice person and I would like me if I were one of my friends. (See? I'm making progress here!)

That wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I've made some good progress since the beginning of the month!

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

JENSHAWN 3/16/2010 6:03PM

Awesome! Report Inappropriate Comment

L*I*T*A* 3/14/2010 11:23PM

what a beautiful person you are !!! have a great week..........blessings and hugs..............lita Report Inappropriate Comment

SLIMMERJESSE 3/14/2010 10:37PM

Bravo! Keep up the good work! Report Inappropriate Comment

2CATS2LOVE1 3/14/2010 9:38PM

We all need to focus on our positive qualities from time to time. Good job and you are indeed a very special friend. Report Inappropriate Comment

TBRANCH2 3/14/2010 8:55PM

I love it!!! And you are so right on the mark with this one!! You ARE all of those things and much, much more!!! I am glad that you are my spark friend!! Report Inappropriate Comment

SAMMYSWEETPEA 3/14/2010 8:35PM

Sounds like you're on the right track! Report Inappropriate Comment

PEGGYANNSCH 3/14/2010 6:20PM

sound great Report Inappropriate Comment

Strawberry Season

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

I love this time of year here in Florida! It is the season of strawberries and the annual Strawberry Festival. Although the weather has put a bit of a damper on the local strawberry crop, as it gets warmer and the berries begin to peak, they become plentiful and affordable. This year the berries are especially sweet due to the recent cold snap. The cold makes the mature berries very sweet but slows the growth of the immature fruit. That's why the strawberries are a little late in peaking this year. I love to buy local produce because the time from picking until being on the table is fairly short. This keeps the nutrients from breaking down before we can get them into our bodies. The strawberry is rich in antioxidants and vitamin C. I think I'll make a Spark recipe for a strawberry smoothie for lunch today!

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

L*I*T*A* 3/10/2010 7:07PM

great reminder.....love the berries and have been buying them for a week or so............blessings and hugs..........lita Report Inappropriate Comment

JENSHAWN 3/10/2010 5:57PM

RUB IT IN WHY DON'T YA! (LOL)STRAWBERRIES DON'T HAPPEN TILL MAY IN INDIANA! WHEN I GO PICK STRAWBERRIES I USUALLY EAT AS MANY AS I PICK! Report Inappropriate Comment

CONNEALS 3/10/2010 3:19PM

Strawberries are on sale this week at our local grocer...and I am picking some up tonight! Report Inappropriate Comment

I Am A Beautiful Person

Sunday, March 07, 2010

Today's assignment for the March Challenge, Love Yourself As You Are Now, is to write something positive about yourself in the status bar on your Spark page. After thinking about it for a while, I decided to write that I am beautiful and I deserve to be treated well.

Sometimes I'm so self critical that I forget all about my good points. Taking the time to acknowledge them is important. I have a great capacity to love and give from the heart to other people. I approach tasks with passion and energy. I love to make other people happy and to make them feel loved without demanding much for myself. This passion and giving makes me a beautiful person. Often times I am treated poorly in return. Whether this is because of jealousy or personality flaws in other people, I don't know.

I was brought up to allow others to treat me poorly. I have spent years trying to re-train myself to refuse to accept this kind of treatment. I know intellectually that I deserve to be treated well. Putting into practice what I know is a long process. The starting point has to be the way I treat myself and learning to love myself as I am now. So, today I will acknowledge that I am a beautiful person and I deserve to be treated well. It feels awkward to say that out loud but it is important for me to do it. I'm starting to make progress in loving myself as I am now.

  

  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

ANGEL0507 3/10/2010 1:31AM

U shurely are a b'ful person dear and .....never ever let anyone make you feel otherwise, now as you have realised it.... no one else is imp. you are the most imp. person to yourself!!! Report Inappropriate Comment

VICIOUS421 3/9/2010 3:22AM

Cyndi, Great Blog and very true!!!! Report Inappropriate Comment

DONNABRIGHT 3/8/2010 8:56AM

Excellent reminders for all of us! Report Inappropriate Comment

AMANDAJCD 3/8/2010 8:43AM

Cyndi, you are so right For about ten years I was told that I was worthless, stupid, inept... it's taken time for me to remember that I'm not. In fact, it's pretty much the opposite. We are worth this, y'all. :) Report Inappropriate Comment

SLENDERELLA61 3/7/2010 9:48PM

You truly are a beautiful person, Cyndi! You are a great leader and this is a wonderful challenge. Love your smile. Love your way of organizing events and encouraging people! Keep it up. And keep loving yourself, you beautiful, beautiful person! Report Inappropriate Comment

GINNY1215 3/7/2010 5:26PM

Thank you for sharing. We all need reminders of our self worth from time to time and we all deserve to be treated well. Report Inappropriate Comment

L*I*T*A* 3/7/2010 4:18PM

you are truly beautiful..........keep saying that to yourself because it is true !!! beleive and you shall acheive !!! blessings and hugs...............lita Report Inappropriate Comment

MARINE0526 3/7/2010 2:31PM

I loved your words, and are very true, You are a beautiful person no matter the opinions of others, Jesus was condemned, criticized, tortured and killed ... and he was the son of God, You are a source of love and positive things and you're willing to give it your best, and I tell you today that you have my full support in this journey we have begun and will succeed because we deserve it! Report Inappropriate Comment

PRINCESS895 3/7/2010 2:18PM

I AM BEAUTIFUL and I DESERVE TO BE TREATED WELL. Thank you for sharing this. Report Inappropriate Comment