Today is October 7, 2009, the 7th anniversary of the day my son Josh's heart stopped beating...October 7, 2002...The day after he was struck by a car at age 15 1/2, never regaining earthly consciousness.
Yesterday as I sat at his graveside, the words that follow came to me. I share them here with you....
Those of us who walk
Here on hallowed ground
Should know that what we have
Is life to be lived.
For those Souls who lie
Beneath my soles
Harken to our heads
And beckon to our hearts.
That we who live
Choose life and love.
That is what I hear
From deep within my Soul.
As if the space is
Gone between us.
A silent voice tells me
All I need to know.
© 2009. Nancy H. Rothstein
May you find joy and abundant blessings today and every day.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
21 Ways to Celebrate Life
Who better to suggest how to celebrate life than one for whom life is no longer on this earth but whose perspective is eternal. And so it was that Ways to Celebrate Life came to be. My son Josh was struck by a car and killed at age 15 ½ in 2002. My profound grief was tempered by a blessing. Josh began to communicate to me, often through my pen as he did before his 17th birthday on April 16, 2004. He gave me 17 Ways to Celebrate Life as a gift to share. For his earthly birthdays that followed, he offered an additional “way” to celebrate life. In honor of Josh's 22nd birthday, I share 21 Ways to Celebrate Life with you.
1. Smile. Smiling makes you and those around you feel good. If you don’t feel good, a smile can trick your brain into feeling better.
2. Eat ice cream.
3. Run on the beach. If you can’t physically do this, use your imagination.
4. Call someone who is ill or lonely. Listen to their story. Take the time. Tell them your story, if they ask.
5. Listen to music that touches your heart and soul.
6. Sing in the shower, or out loud if you are comfortable.
7. Visit the grave of a loved one and celebrate your continued BREATH. And tell your loved one what’s on your mind.
8. Play with a dog.
9. Thank yourself for putting up with all the things about yourself that drive you nuts! Activate your sense of humor!
10. Apologize to someone you have wronged in any way.
11. Take a day, or even a few hours, “off” to do something you always want to do but never take the time to do.
12. Eat something you never indulge in (unless allergic!) and savor every bite….slowly. No guilt permitted!
13. Re-watch your favorite funny or happy movie in your most comfortable clothes.
14. Make plans with 2 friends that you are crazy about but never see…near or far away.
15. Go outdoors to a natural setting. Sit. Close your eyes. Listen to the world. It’s all an extension of you! Your breath connects you intrinsically to the world.
16. Laugh. Do something fun or silly that evokes laughter. It has been said that laughter is God’s sunshine.
17. Place this list in an envelope and revisit it periodically to see how you are celebrating YOURSELF! If you are good to yourself, you can be much better to those around you.
18. Go to your heart and make all your decisions from there and all will be well.
19. Follow the path that matters.
20. Believe and feel the change you want to see and you will BE the change you envision.
21. Yet you must know that in the end, it is love’s garden you must tend.
An epiphany would come to me soon after sending out Josh’s 21st birthday tribute last April 16, 2008. #21 would be the last “way.” Josh would not communicate a 22nd Way to Celebrate Life for his 22nd birthday. This was clear. With the addition of #21, there was nothing more to say. For we “must know that in the end”…as well as in the beginning and in the middle… “it is love’s garden we must tend.” It is ALL about love. And when we really think and act from love, which ways 1 through 20 help us cultivate, life will be a garden of celebration…..and we will honor Josh and all beings, both those alive and those for whom breath and a heartbeat are no more.
I hope Josh’s 21 Ways to Celebrate Life will resonate for you, bringing inspiration and joy. In this Light, I hope to perpetuate ways to celebrate life today, tomorrow and always. The list is now yours to use and to share. From Josh and his Mom, happy celebrating!
Friday, January 30, 2009
My Most Valuable Real Estate
It hit me like a ton of bricks, a revelation that catapulted me to new meaning for a theme I have heard, read and tried to integrate into my life: You attract what you think and your thoughts become things. The Secret made me most aware of this truth. Incorporating it into my head and being VERY conscious of the thoughts I entertain and elaborate on has been another story.
Last week I took a book from my bookcase to reread, Ancient Secret of the Fountain of Youth, in which the “lost chapter” spoke once again about this ever present theme: “Whether you realize it or not, you create and shape your life with your thoughts. All things that become part of your physical reality are first created in the mind from the raw material called thought.” Thoughts become things. In The Secret, it is written “Your life is a mirror of the dominant thoughts you think.” Inherent in The Law of Attraction described in The Secret is that humans “have the power to intentionally think and create their entire life with their mind.” and that “Your thoughts are the primary cause of everything.” I understood the concept. Sure, I want to have all wonderful thoughts and a wonderful life as a result! Putting this concept into action is not so easy.
And then it hit me this morning, an epiphany that would shift my consciousness…and help me actually be more selective with my thoughts to attract the life I envision. I was thinking about some people in my life who cause me great suffering, disappointment and stress…especially when I think about them. WHY IN THE WORLD DO I GIVE THEM SO MUCH OF MY REAL ESTATE? That was it. It had suddenly and clearly occurred to me that MY BRAIN IS REAL ESTATE. The most valuable real estate I have in this lifetime, along with my body which enables me to be here. My brain is the place through which my THOUGHTS flow. My brain is the structure through which my thoughts come and from which I ATTRACT what I think about. So, I said to myself with a chuckle, “Why am I giving so much of my real estate….my MIND, my foundation from which I build my life…..to people and situations that are toxic and not life supporting for me?” Those who/that make me FEEL badly and put me on a negative frequency do not merit my attention, my thoughts. Just feeling badly is a sign that I am building a building I do not want to dwell in. If my thoughts are the building blocks, the bricks, from which I create my life, I must choose them to mirror the vision that I want my life to be. An ah ha moment had arrived.
When I contemplated and felt what this meant, I knew there was a shift in my brain. It was as if I had painted a room in a different color, a hue that was welcoming and bright. The sun was shining on my real estate! Since this morning, I have a new perspective. I can choose to be more discerning about what thoughts I entertain and develop, about the thoughts I choose to develop. I can be more conscious of just how destructive negative thoughts can become when I build them up and let them inhabit a permanent place in my life. We can’t stop an initial thought from arising, from popping into our brains, but we can CHOOSE not to let it develop further. Good bye to thoughts that are building blocks that do not reflect the reality, dreams and joy that I choose for my life.
Yes, my brain is like real estate, precious property, and I have the choice of what to build in and on it. I have the ability to discern what buildings I want to occupy my mind and who I want to dwell in them with me. I am excited about my real estate in a way I would have never imagined, thanks to a thought which popped into my brain and which I chose…wisely I think…to build upon. Starting today, I am going to put the highest value possible on my most valuable real estate.
© 2009. Nancy H. Rothstein
Last week I took a book from my bookcase to reread, Ancient Secret of the Fountain of Youth, in which the “lost chapter” spoke once again about this ever present theme: “Whether you realize it or not, you create and shape your life with your thoughts. All things that become part of your physical reality are first created in the mind from the raw material called thought.” Thoughts become things. In The Secret, it is written “Your life is a mirror of the dominant thoughts you think.” Inherent in The Law of Attraction described in The Secret is that humans “have the power to intentionally think and create their entire life with their mind.” and that “Your thoughts are the primary cause of everything.” I understood the concept. Sure, I want to have all wonderful thoughts and a wonderful life as a result! Putting this concept into action is not so easy.
And then it hit me this morning, an epiphany that would shift my consciousness…and help me actually be more selective with my thoughts to attract the life I envision. I was thinking about some people in my life who cause me great suffering, disappointment and stress…especially when I think about them. WHY IN THE WORLD DO I GIVE THEM SO MUCH OF MY REAL ESTATE? That was it. It had suddenly and clearly occurred to me that MY BRAIN IS REAL ESTATE. The most valuable real estate I have in this lifetime, along with my body which enables me to be here. My brain is the place through which my THOUGHTS flow. My brain is the structure through which my thoughts come and from which I ATTRACT what I think about. So, I said to myself with a chuckle, “Why am I giving so much of my real estate….my MIND, my foundation from which I build my life…..to people and situations that are toxic and not life supporting for me?” Those who/that make me FEEL badly and put me on a negative frequency do not merit my attention, my thoughts. Just feeling badly is a sign that I am building a building I do not want to dwell in. If my thoughts are the building blocks, the bricks, from which I create my life, I must choose them to mirror the vision that I want my life to be. An ah ha moment had arrived.
When I contemplated and felt what this meant, I knew there was a shift in my brain. It was as if I had painted a room in a different color, a hue that was welcoming and bright. The sun was shining on my real estate! Since this morning, I have a new perspective. I can choose to be more discerning about what thoughts I entertain and develop, about the thoughts I choose to develop. I can be more conscious of just how destructive negative thoughts can become when I build them up and let them inhabit a permanent place in my life. We can’t stop an initial thought from arising, from popping into our brains, but we can CHOOSE not to let it develop further. Good bye to thoughts that are building blocks that do not reflect the reality, dreams and joy that I choose for my life.
Yes, my brain is like real estate, precious property, and I have the choice of what to build in and on it. I have the ability to discern what buildings I want to occupy my mind and who I want to dwell in them with me. I am excited about my real estate in a way I would have never imagined, thanks to a thought which popped into my brain and which I chose…wisely I think…to build upon. Starting today, I am going to put the highest value possible on my most valuable real estate.
© 2009. Nancy H. Rothstein
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