Author: purposejoyandpositives

PURPOSE, JOY AND POSITIVES is a blog created to promote thoughts and ideas about gaining clearer PURPOSE in our lives, JOY in who we are and what we do, and sustaining POSITIVES. We are all on the journey called 'life' which has many paths for each of us. Sometimes, the path is clearer with PURPOSE and more JOY filled than others. Often, there will be crossroads........again we must chose. May our choices be about a fulfilling PURPOSE, JOY in the simple and profound, and abundant POSITIVES to sustain us on the journey. PJP

PURPOSE, JOY AND POSITIVES

purposejoyandpositivesLeave a comment

Friendships……….

Sunday at our Mass, the priest gave a great homily on friendship. He talked about the three main friendship types, which triggered reflection for me on the friendships I have made over the years. I will talk about his three categories for friends. (Thank you Father Patrick).

The lowest level of friendship is one of utility. In other words, you are more than aquiantances you say hi to in the grocery store, but you aren’t close friends. You are friends because you individually  have a commodity that serves the other. For example, one of you may have good tickets to a favorite sport game and the other may have a couple of unused concert tickets. So, from time to time, you go to these events together, but there is no real sharing of lives.

The second level is pleasure friendship. This friendship is filled with pleasurable activities that you do together on a regular basis, such as golfing, fishing, hunting, shopping etc. You both derive great pleasure from doing these activities together, but this is what drives the bond. However, when this friendship is not nurtured on a continual basis, it can easily slip back to the level of utility friendship.

The highest level of friendship is full of fun and pleasure you experience together, but also much more. The bond is one built on trust, confidentiality, respect, generosity,   and a real investment in each other’s lives. This friendship is one that will bolster your PURPOSE on this journey, comfort you in your sorrows, and celebrate your JOYS!

It is never about the number of friends in your life, but rather it is about the type of friends. Most likely, we all have a few utility friends and a few more pleasure friends. The goal I believe is to have a few true friends that fall in the highest category, ones who will be there from the beginning to the end and to say “yes, my life was definitely enhanced with this person in my life”.

One of my favorite quotes is from William Shakespeare: “A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.”

How do you define your friendships?

PURPOSE, JOY AND POSITIVES

purposejoyandpositivesLeave a comment

WE I.D.!!   Do we?

I. D.  …..can refer to an ID card or document that verifies we are who we say we are, user ID’s  for our personal technology devices, the ID number of a vehicle etc. Literally, it means identity.

We all have various types of identities: work, family, emotional, spiritual, community…… just to name a few. Perhaps, the most important identity we have is our authentic identity. That core of self that does not wear a mask; that self that is beneath our darkest fears; that raw emotion that is buried deep in our heart. Thus, the authenticity of our deepest being. Sometimes, it takes a lifetime to find our true identity, the type that is really authentic; and a lifetime plus to allow our true identity to bubble up to the surface of our daily lives. There are hurts, pains, wounds, traumas and life experiences, as well as the people in our lives that shape our identity. Sorting it all out can be a daunting task that will evolve during our journey.

I.D……yes, we must work at finding our true identity; the one that shapes our PURPOSE and brings us the greatest JOY in our lives.

WE need to I.D. …….every day, every week, every month, always. How can you I.D. Today?

Maya Angelou says it well: “We have to confront ourselves. Do we like what we see in the mirror? And, according to our light, according to our understanding, according to our courage, we will have to say yea or nay——and rise!”

 

PURPOSE, JOY AND POSITIVES

purposejoyandpositivesLeave a comment

Waking up this morning, bright-eyed and ready to go, not wanting to lose a day of sunshine and warm weather, I pondered various options of how to spend my time with PURPOSE today…… hike, paint in my studio with windows wide open, finish running the errands or a relaxing spa day. HMMMM??

Morning tea and a hot shower helped my discernment process…….Hike won!! My PURPOSE and intention for this hike along a lake is to regenerate energy and drink in the wonderful oxygen from the trees. Nothing more, nothing less.

Time is an interesting phenomena. I know I am sometimes guilty of forgetting about just how precious each and every second in a day is. Prioritizing time in our day is paramount. Time to be productive; time to be reflective; time to be relaxed. These times should equal JOY during our day and a sense of peace and calm at the end when we close our eyes to await yet another day filled with options for our time.

Matthew Kelly, Dynamic Catholic, in his book Mustard Seeds, says: “Time is a precious gift. It is so precious that God dispenses it to you one second at a time. Don’t waste time.”

What will you do with your time today?

PURPOSE, JOY AND POSITIVES

purposejoyandpositivesLeave a comment

“Just as Jell-O takes the form of the container it is surrounded by, so too are we shaped by what we are surrounded by”, taken from Nine Words, Dr. Allen Hunt.  

Jello is a simple liquid that has to be held by its container until it is strong enough, solid, to stand on its own.  Whatever the shape of the container will be the shape of the solid Jello. Magic right? Well, it takes just the right temperature to let it form a solid and too much water will totally ruin it….it will never get solid.

So it is with a ‘Jello’ analogy of life. When we surround ourselves with uplifting people, POSITIVE thoughts, and develop good intentional habits with firm PURPOSE , (the right container), we have created an environment that sets the stage for a successful and fulfilling life (solid firm Jello). That does not mean that it will always be easy, or that there won’t be times of turmoil that we have to untangle ourselves from (maybe we added too much water) . There are no guarantees about that; however, how we set up our environment and with whom will definitely influence the outcomes (the shape of the jello). And keep in mind, that jello can be made in many different shaped containers and comes in a variety of flavors! That keeps it interesting for sure.

It goes without saying that the firmer our foundation (the container), the greater the opportunity for amazing possibilities in our life (Jello outcomes)!

Who is in your Jello container?

PURPOSE, JOY AND POSITIVES

purposejoyandpositivesLeave a comment

“We never know how high we are

Till we are called to rise;

And then, if we are true to plan, our statures touch the skies”—— Emily Dickinson.

This quote is from the initial page of a novel I just finished reading, WE ARE CALLED TO RISE, by Laura McBride. It is an amazing, well written book, a page turner, that brings three lives together, which are inextricably interwoven. The struggling middle age woman trying to figure out her life after losing a daughter to illness, a husband to betrayal, and a son mentally to the horrors of war; a wounded war veteran who suffers from two horrible events during his deployment that forever change his life; and an Albanian immigrant family whose lives are tragically shaken by the events on a fine sunny day in Las Vegas. These three lives will intersect and each will have to rise to new heights to understand the pieces and put them together. This story, although a work of fiction, will refresh your belief in the goodness and kindness of mankind……the working together for the good of all.

In our own lives, we often do not know how we will be called to rise, for whom or when. Few of us will escape that part of life and will be called to do just this, probably more than once. We can and we will pull ourselves up,  go the extra mile for someone,  make our world a better place, and do the right thing. I think the old saying was “always rise to the occasion”. As I reflect on my own such moments, I know that some could have been done better and others were just right for the moment in time.

Are you ready, prepared and set to meet a challenge that will call you to rise?

PURPOSE, JOY AND POSITIVES

purposejoyandpositivesLeave a comment

What happens within…….

The caterpillar with its soft furry coat holds an inner key, unseen, yet still present, that will allow it to evolve into the iconic orange and black Monarch butterfly, soaring to great heights, literally. The hungry young caterpillar eats and eats  until it outgrows its skin, forms the chrysalis, and ultimately, on its own time schedule emerges into a beautiful butterfly, signifying life.

So, it is with each of us. On the outside, we may be a little furry when we are young, holding within us many undeveloped talents that others are not aware of yet. Even we at younger ages have no idea how we will evolve, or who will mentor us along the path of the journey, facilitating our growth and finding our true PURPOSE.   Often, we will have to rise above what is going on outside ourselves to reach our ultimate adult ‘model’. We will internalize much as we grow into our best selves and have to choose wisely to emerge and ‘take flight’.

In Finding True Happiness, Fulton Sheen states, “What is really important is what happens within us, not outside us.”

What is happening within that is important and life changing for you?

 

 

 

PURPOSE, JOY AND POSITIVES

purposejoyandpositivesLeave a comment

CELEBRATION!!

What are we celebrating in life?

Perhaps it is a birthday, a new year, a new child or grandchild in our family, a new job or career, a new house,  a marriage, or a celebration of life. Any one of these events certainly calls for celebration. JOY!

So let’s say it isn’t a big event or a holiday that we are celebrating, but something else. Is it wealth, good health, opportunities that have come our way, a new path in life, a movement from one phase to an evolution of a new chapter in our lives? What about the little celebrations in our lives each day…..the new morning sun, ever awaited rain, gratitude for waking on this day feeling better than the day before, new beginnings, or any other number of blessings we experience and perhaps don’t even recognize.

Our  celebrations, monumental or minuscule, noticed or unnoticed, change our lives. They shape what we think, how we feel, and our vision of the future…..because they were important enough to celebrate, they have meaning to us.

Matthew Kelly in his Dynamic Catholic August Newsletter (2017) states: “We are becoming what ever it is we are celebrating. And we would be wise to listen attentively to the answers, because these answers will utter prophetic truths about our future. We become what we celebrate”. I like Matthew’s direction about what we celebrate. If it is important enough to celebrate,  then it is going to change things in our lives. So, yes, we should listen carefully to our inner thoughts about our celebrations.

What are you celebrating today and what does it mean to you and your future?

 

PURPOSE, JOY AND POSITIVES

purposejoyandpositivesLeave a comment

Changing the calendar from July 31 to August 1 represents a shift in our thoughts about the season of summer. That dateline moves us closer to the beginning of fall. We are heading in the direction of letting go of this beautiful warm summer, even with its rainy humid days. We still long to bask in the warm breezes, sit and enjoy the warmth of the sun, and enjoy the fragrance of sweet flowers in our yards.

It’s a challenge to let go of these things and to think about the prospects of windy, chilly days, including the bright-colored changing of the leaves. It’s easy to hang on to these “good old summer days” and not think too succinctly about the future season. Funny thing, we often do this with our past; we don’t want to let go; we would rather stay in the past and memorialize our selective memories, perhaps even embellishing them a little. The future can be daunting, uncertain with all of its relative questions about what is awaiting us and how we will manage.

In reality, all we have is today and this very real present moment. That is where we need to be; that is where our mission today is. That is where we need to be to best accomplish living well, finding JOY, and ensuring our success for all the tomorrows to come.

Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, says it well: “Life is available only in the present moment”.

PURPOSE, JOY AND POSITIVES

purposejoyandpositivesLeave a comment

Focus on your mission today.

This can be a monumental task, can it not?  So many distractions and so many other necessities to accomplish that the mission line can become blurred. When we think too far ahead about our mission, it may get murky, as in how am I going to get THERE from HERE. It starts to become a burden and feel impossible to accomplish. Just like trying to climb that thousand some foot mountain in the picture.

The mission has to be doable, reasonable, and PURPOSEful for you individually. It is wise to remind ourselves that there are steps in the mission, incremental steps that will take us all the way. Of course, there will be some struggles on that path. Who said this statement……. anything worth doing/gaining is not easy or simple?

John R. Wood (Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Mission) stated: “Focus on your mission and you will come to see the struggles of life not as a burden but as an integral part of the process”.  That is the key to our mission……..it is indeed a process, one which makes us stronger through the struggles.

PURPOSE, JOY AND POSITIVES

purposejoyandpositivesLeave a comment

Step back; enjoy the moment; breathe deep; smell the freshness of the morning breeze!

Over the past weekend, I had an opportunity to do these things. It’s amazing how much more one can feel ‘present’ in nature.  The beauty of nature can be nearly overwhelming if we watch and listen. That tiny bird chirping, which often goes unnoticed,  is a JOY to hear. The breeze is fresh blowing through your hair. Sipping the hot cup of tea, you savor the herb flavor. Early rays of warmth from the sun send inspiration and gratitude to the depth of your soul. The swaying leaves above seem to say—–wait, enjoy, don’t go yet; there is no real hurry. Take time to dream a little. Herein, lies the beauty.

Life can be put on hold in order to experience these little moments in nature. Whatever you thought you had to do immediately, truly can wait. Technology and social media can be non – existent for the moment, if only to give one a short respite from the constant drum beat of ‘let’s get it done and hurry on to the next to do’. These moments invigorate and revitalize one’s PURPOSE and bring relaxation and JOY into your being.

John Muir, Nature Philosopher, said: “Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul”.

Where will you find your respite in nature this week to invigorate and revitalize your PURPOSE?