Visit ONE MORE SERVING...and learn more
"But it's a pineapple plant,"my husband admonished, "It isn't meant to survive the winter." He stood holding a pathetically looking floppy palm I had planted from a pineapple eaten earlier this summer. Just a few days ago it was on my front porch looking every bit the way a pineapple plant was meant to, however I had forgotten to take it inside during one of the nights when temperatures sneaked unexpectedly below freezing.
Now my plant looked a little lifeless and if it had feelings probably in shock and disappointment because someone who had not forgotten to water and fertilize it all Summer and Fall and simply disregarded its existence when she was no longer spending time curled up with a book or some other activity on the porch.
I gave it water and put it in a place where it will get wonderful sunshine even if the outdoor temperatures are not creeping upward and today it looks better than yesterday and I suspect with a little love and care it will be back to its tropical self in a few weeks.
I can't help but think how much of our lives are like that pineapple's. We nurture and take care of the things that matter and then sometimes we just forget to pay attention to something we once enjoyed. This is especially true of the things that bring us joy and pleasure;things that allow us time to rejuvenate our lives and put them in perspective. They may be our hobbies or the causes that get us fired up or instinctively bring out our best gifts.
One of my friends shared that she had long forgotten how much see enjoyed collecting children's books since her own children are grown. Then she discovered a favorite book she used to read to her brood in a book store and decided to begin a collection for her grandchildren. She is enthusiastically invested in finding the parts of her past she loved and passing it along to someone else. I also know a man who used to love to do stand up comedy but long ago gave it up to take a job in corporate American and raise a family. After attending a theater performance recently, he decided to join a theater group and is getting ready for his first comedy gig later this Spring. He told me he feels enthusiastic about life in a way he hadn't imagined his return to performing would create. He still has a day job, but now he has a day joy as well.
I started this blog over two years ago sharing the stories of people who lived with purpose and my own feelings about how each of us was gifted to make a difference in the world. Looking at that pineapple plant just existing, barely surviving made me realize how we too have a choice whether we survive or thrive. Sometimes we go through our lives convinced there is no time, no money, no support and no opportunity to really thrive and like that pineapple plant we exist and go through the motions but we don't look as beautiful nor feel as special or even resemble what we truly could be because we are just surviving and we have lost or abandoned or long given up the things that make us thrive.
There is a huge difference between surviving and thriving. One is existing in spite of and one is existing because of. Many of the people who I wrote about in my first book not only survived but learned how to really thrive often in amazing circumstances. Everyone of them has made an amazing impact on my life. But countless individuals who live relatively ordinary lives like you, like me, have learned how to not just exist but truly thrive. They are able to discover what is amazing about each day because they have figured out their "amazing" they have to offer and they contribute it with enthusiasm, joy and a spirit only something truly thriving can exhibit.
I hope my current followers and new readers will want to jump on board an adventure everyone should take.We get but one life. Living it just surviving is like see the Grand Canyon or Aurora Bourealis in black and white instead of color. It's critical to find your fire and add it to your life to turn your surviving into thriving and later this week FINDING YOUR FIRE will make its debut as the blog that takes life to a whole different level.
Image via Wikipedia
I don't know about you but if a pineapple can survive the Winter given the right circumstances to continue to thrive how much better could your life be given the right circumstances to get it thriving?
Got an idea but don't know how to get it started? Tired of being stuck in the same old same old? Wondering what your real purpose really is? Always dreamed of something but never really made it come true? Still thinking that someday you will do something that makes the world a better place or even your life a more substantial life? Then come visit Finding Your Fire...soon LIVE and with a DRIVE TO THRIVE and grow and bring you along. Why should you just pass through when you can choose to go on life's greatest adventure?
Come visit...Tell me what you think and become a spark or an explosion in your little corner of the world.
Are you surviving another day or thriving your best life possible? What do you really wish you could do to make a difference and why are you waiting?
This is ONE MORE SERVING'S first blog post of 2012. I thought I would do things a little differently this year. While in the process of completing a new book, I have discovered it is nearly impossible for me to add to my platter without subtracting as well. I finally had to realize even with exceptional planning and organization, humans are at best just vessels and like any vessel, there is a saturation point where anything that is put in beyond that point is merely sloughed off and wasted.
So I want to make this blog meaningful and inspirational, but also effective and practical and I will attempt to do it best by highlighting ONE word titles that continue to profile incredible people but also extend relevant ideas to improve personal and professional lives and the way those lives interact with one another.
The first word this year is ASSESS. I think it is quite possible the most important word we need to have before we take on a project, make a decision, choose a direction or even respond to a question. Often a few moments of just assessing a situation, circumstance, remark, action or opinion can radically change what we might do or say otherwise, had we not taken a moment to look at all sides.
I want to try to assess something I see or hear before I immediately react. I hope in conditioning myself to assess what I am taking in, I might be more effective and less reactive. I most definitely will be doing this as I begin to transition the ONE MORE SERVING blog into the new blog for the new book, FINDING YOUR FIRE.
I am thrilled to be completing a second book but even more excited to share the experiences others have shared with me to bring it to completion. One thing I will be most certainly assessing is how I can best help YOU find YOUR FIRE as I know I have most certainly found mine.
This past year, one very personal and honest assessment made me realize if you can find what creates a fire in your belly, a passion in your soul and a drive in your life, you most certainly can change many aspects which you may have thought you had little power to change or little ability to handle.
What do you really need to take the time to seriously assess? Is it your career, your faith, your relationships, your anger, your obsessions? Everyone has something that needs assessing.
I invite you to take some time to assess ONE particular area of your life where you have been less effective or inadequate and honestly answer this question.
WHAT DO I REALLY WANT TO DO ABOUT IT?
If you can't assess and can't respond what you want to do about it, you also can't do anything about it but more of the same. Is that what you want again or is it finally time to assess what you really DO want?
Some see life filled with obstacles you must get over, while others see the same as stepping stones to get around. It's all how you ASSESS it.
Image by Getty Images via @daylife
Tomorrow will be Christmas Eve. It is celebrated in nearly every nation around the world. Today people are concerned about using the terms, "Merry Christmas" thinking it may be politically incorrect and offend those who are not Christian and yet we fail to realize that we celebrate Thanksgiving but don't find it offensive to those who are not native to this country, nor do we find Memorial Day or Veteran's Day celebrations, parades and holidays to be offensive to those who are pacifists. Why then Christmas? Maybe because it has such profound effect on many people as they get caught up in the giving spirit, celebrating spirit, grateful spirit, family spirit.
It is said, "all hearts come home on Christmas." but those who are Christian realize this world is really only a temporary home. To those who aren't believers I would suggest one activity to really do in the new year.
MAY YOU DISCOVER WHO YOUR DADDY REALLY IS.
Not your worldly father but your spiritual Father and if you don't believe you have one then I would ask you to research broadly and discover WHY you believe there is no God, no spiritual Father who has deliberately paved a path to salvation, no reason to believe in something bigger than yourself. I encourage you to find proof by resurrecting as much key evidence as you can. After all, if you are not convinced, you can at least be specific about the reasons you remain without faith.
You see, Christians realize one thing. This series of stories and letters which is over 2,000 years old and has been translated into every language has had a profound impact on the world. It is the most read book in all the world. If it had simply been a convenient fairy tale there would be no major interest in continuing to translate it for others and few would still be using the verses and stories as practical advice for today. Something that is not real or full of holes is generally treated as a myth and read as a tall tale or fairy tale. Today it is the basis for numerous religions, is used to swear in political figures or promise truthful testimony in trial and is still the most quoted book of all time. Do you know any quotes that have sustained this type of longevity from Cinderella or Rapunzel...hardly!
Image via WikipediaSo read or look into the things you have major questions about. Go to groups where you can challenge Christians to explain why they believe. Be pro-active in your efforts to prove yourself correct, prove there is no Divine Being, no heaven and no God and perhaps if you really go through with the effort, in your search you might discover something you little suspected...who your daddy really is.
So let's review and wrap up the 12 MAYS of CHRISTMAS and get on with the eggnog and the caroling and the reindeer games, but not forget this did not transpire because a glass slipper did not fit or a nose grew too long or because someone's avatar was in trouble...We celebrate Christmas because over 2000 years ago a miracle happened and all because one little baby arrived.
1st May of Christmas:MAY YOU DREAM BIG AND BELIEVE ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD
2nd May of Christmas: MAY YOU FORGIVE YOURSELF AND OTHERS AND NEVER LOOK BACK
WITH REGRET
3rd May of Christmas: MAY YOU FIND YOUR JOY AND GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO BE
BLESSED BY ITS PRESENCE ALL AROUND YOU
4th May of Christmas: MAY YOU ALWAYS REALIZE YOUR RICHES
5th May of Christmas: MAY YOU TAKE 5 GOLDEN MINUTES A DAY JUST TO BE
6th May of Christmas: MAY YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE WITH AUTHENTICITY AND BE COMFORTABLE
WITH WHAT YOU CHOOSE
7th May of Christmas: MAY YOU USE THE NEXT YEAR TO SATISFY YOUR SOUL HUNGER
8th May of Christmas: MAY YOU BE THE SUNSHINE IN SOMEONE'S STORM
9th May of Christmas: MAY YOU GIVE UP WHAT IS NOT WORTH SAVING AND GIVE OVER TO GOD WHAT YOU REALLY HOPE TO ACHIEVE. MAY YOU LET GO OF WHATEVER YOU NEED TO LET GO OF IN ORDER TO HANG ON TOWHAT REALLY MATTERS
10th May of Christmas: MAY YOU DEVELOP AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE
11th May of Christmas: MAY YOU DARE TO SHARE
12th May of Christmas: MAY YOU DISCOVER WHO YOUR DADDY REALLY IS...ALWAYS AND
FOREVER.
and may you and your loved ones find this Christmas more special because you just MAY be the ONE who can make a difference today, tomorrow and for many more Christmas's to come.
Live a Great Mission...AMEN
Image via Wikipedia
