Sunday Sunshine: Experience the Wonder

When you think back to your childhood, do you remember how you viewed the world? I would dare say that everything felt new to you back then. It was easier to see things through the eyes of wonder and amazement. Each moment was precious. It was all you knew.

There was only Now to think about. Just Now.

As you found yourself growing older, however, your so-called adult priorities likely found a way to creep in. Perhaps those grown-up priorities clouded your childlike vision. 

As the years pile up, there's an easy tendency to pile up your worries, fears, plans and stresses, as well. Often, you have so much on your mind that the precious moments in front of you go ignored. 'Now' gets lost in the midst of reflections about yesterday and plans for tomorrow.

Take a moment to pause this holiday week and drop the scales from your adult eyes. Allow yourself to be a bit of a child again. That little person is still inside of you and has lessons to teach you. Return to seeing the world with wonder. See the beauty in each precious moment. Be in a place of Now -- not yesterday, not tomorrow, but today.

Today, this week: Draw from the child inside of you to view the world. See each experience through the eyes of wonder, adventure and amazement.

Sunday Sunshine: Be a Blessing

As human beings, our wants are often greater than our needs. When we pause and reflect on our blessings, both large and small, grand and everyday, immediate and evergreen, everything changes.

When we're grateful, we often find that what we have is enough. There is peace in knowing that it is all enough. There is no need for more. What we have is already blessing.

And when we feel blessed, we often find that there is enough blessing inside of us to share them with others. That sharing of blessing doesn’t have to be big or grandiose. It can be small, everyday and ordinary, such as purchasing a few extra nonperishable foods for your local food bank, calling a homebound friend for some conversation, opening the door for someone as you both enter a building or writing a note of thanks for a kindness expressed to you.

Those small acts reflect good in the world. That goodness will have a ripple effect, extending goodness again and again and again.

Today, this week: Look for ways each day to be a blessing to others. Reflect all that is good.

Sunday Sunshine: Unexpected Places

The day is new, the air is fresh and there are opportunities just waiting for you!

We often find our hearts in unexpected places. There are signs all around you. Look for them. Listen for them. Remain open to the possibilities.

Be positive!

Anticipate good things and they will come—perhaps not as you planned—but even better!

Today, this week:  Be open to the possibilities for wonderful things to come into your life.

Sunday Sunshine: You Can Do It!

The glass is half full or it's half empty. Which is it? It's all in your perspective.

The same is true with what you can or can't do. It's all in your perspective. 

We hear story after story of people who have exceeded their limitations, gone against all odds to accomplish great things.

You are "wired" to do great things, too. When you direct your energies toward accomplishing something and do so with a can-do spirit, you may surprise yourself and find that you can do far more than you ever thought imaginable.

Today, this week: Remember that you are filled with energy to manifest the things you desire. Believe in yourself. You can do it!

Sunday Sunshine: Count Your Blessings

When the alarm clock rings, what are your first thoughts? Do you think about what you're going to wear? Do you worry that you might have overslept? Are you in a hurry? In a fog? Do you feel excited for the new day? Or do you feel a sense of dread? Or, perhaps even worse, a sense of resignation that the day will be the "same old, same old"?

What if you turned your mornings inside out and upside down until they were right side up by expressing your gratitude? That's right! Try being thankful at the start of your new day. How might your day, how might everything look if you chose to view it through the lens of gratitude?

At the end of the day, repeat the process. As you place your head on the pillow and get ready to relax, rest and renew, spend a few moments naming your blessings. Chances are you'll even sleep better. 

It's amazing what a little dose of gratitude can do. Try it! A grateful heart makes all of your hours a gift.

Today, this week: Spend time each morning and each evening counting your blessings. 

Sunday Sunshine: Stay Grounded

Just when you get used to something, it seems to change! Small things. Big things. It's easy to slip and slide as the sands of change shift underfoot.

In the whirling, twirling experience of change, stay grounded.

Be resilient in a changing world by always living your values, always listening to your heart, and always looking for the good.

Change loses its fear-inducing sting when you hang tight to your values, when you listen to the wisdom you hold within, and when you keep an open mind and look for the good things that can come out of change.

You can't stop change. It's going to happen, but you can control your response.

Today, this week: Roll with the waves of change by staying grounded to what's truly important to you.

Sunday Sunshine: Smile and Be Glad!

When Sunday night rolls around, our minds start to get ready for the week ahead. By the time Monday morning arrives, we may feel sad that the precious weekend has ended and we have to face the chore of getting up out of bed and getting into the groove of the work week. 

You have a choice!

You can decide to feel energized when the Monday morning alarm clock chimes. You can jump out of bed, ready to take on the new week with a spirit of adventure, curiosity and blessing.

You have been given the gift of this new day and this new week!

How do you want to enter that week? Regretting that the weekend is done? Or in anticipation that the new day and week will bring possibilities to you and opportunities for you to serve?

You have a choice.

Today, this week: Smile and Be Glad!

Sunday Sunshine: See the Good Everywhere

There will be times in our lives when we experience rainy days, dark nights, shadows and storms. Those difficult times provide the opportunity to break us or to make us into better people. 

When my mother was within the last hours of her life, a friend gave me a small brass leaf on which was inscribed the words "Give Thanks." Her thoughtful gesture, with its simple, yet profound message, changed my perspective. 

Instead of wallowing in self-pity, sadness and fear as Mom and I said our final goodbye, I began to start counting my blessings for having had such a wonderful mother, for having had such a delightful relationship with her and for having had the opportunity to walk her final journey with her. 

Soon, that difficult moment, though still filled with sadness, was equally filled with blessing and goodness.

There is indeed blessing everywhere, even when it appears hidden from view. Make time to change your perspective, to find blessing and the good will emerge.

Today, this week: See the good, even in the difficult moments. There is blessing, there is beauty everywhere, even when it seems hidden.

Fresh Thoughts for Your Monday: Rejoice in What You Have

As a society, we’re always looking for more—more time, more money, more things. We tend to believe that if we have more, then we might find that magical place of happiness and contentment.

True contentment, however, comes from being satisfied with what you already have, from knowing that you have enough to make you happy right now.

Today, this week: Direct your thoughts to your abundance and express thanks for that abundance. Focus on those aspects of your life that truly make you happy. 

You are rich already without having to acquire more. Rejoice!