Here we are once again at the end of one year and the beginning of another. It seems like a natural time of the year to reflect upon and analyze our lives in an attempt to make some changes and hopefully improvements. We all need benchmarks and times to assess where we are. The New Year seems a popular time for this. We all know that for most of us the traditional Resolutions don't seem to inspire for long.
Trying something new often helps!
Last year I jumped on to the blogging bandwagon and decided to choose a motivational word to guide me through 2013. My word last year was Believe. Every time I would come onto my blog I would see that word and it did help me to focus on believing more in God, myself and others. It helped me to take chances, to put myself out there beyond my comfort zone and to just do things that were scary sometimes.
I think it helped me more consistently throughout the year to keep on believing that I could do whatever was in front of me that made me doubt. Contrasting that to a long list of things I need to change about myself, that inevitably wreaks havoc upon my self-esteem, I found the one word idea motivational. It was much more successful than a long list of things that invariably fall by the wayside by March, if not before. Especially when some of them in the past have been nearly impossible to attain. That is more a statement about being realistic, than one of limiting myself.
I think sometimes we put something on our list because we think we "should" even when we know in our heart of hearts it isn't that important to us. It is when we say something like...I would LOVE to play the piano!" But I don't take the necessary steps to make it happen. Then what I am really really saying is, I just want to be able to play without paying the price.
I just want someone to give me the gift. The reality is maybe that thing I think I am seeking so desperately in January just isn't even meant to be my gift no matter how hard I work. Someone else's wish list does not need to become mine necessarily.
So I like the one word approach. For me at least it will lead me on a path of thinking more positively, more abundantly towards what I can do and want to do. It will dissuade me from beating myself up when I cannot or do not accomplish things that seem like they should be on my list every year. It makes me feel like I will be intuned as to how to succeed when I am motivated for the right reasons.
Seeing the reflection of the light
To bask in the light of reflected glory means to remember the good things in my life, the things I have accomplished and to think about challenges that have been overcome. It also means to remember the times that I didn't, to analyze them by remembering why, and to make sure that something good came out of those lessons learned. Everything turns out to be a blessing or a lesson. There is glory in reflecting on the lessons and they do promote change if we are wise. Even if we have to learn those lessons over and over. We may be moving like a glacier but nonetheless, we are moving in a better direction if we learn something that makes us a better person.
I want to remember to be realistic. There are no free lunches. We must pay the price for what we want. That basically means working hard. I want to remember what is most important to me and place my work and efforts there. Remembering that is key because what is most important to me are the things that I will work hardest to achieve. It cannot be what someone else thinks it should be, but what I think it should be. That is where the motivation lies. Our expectations for ourselves, not someone's else's expectations of us.
Here are some things I want to Remember:
~Our thoughts govern our attitudes about everything, which govern our habits, which govern our behavior and our very lives.
~With God, nothing is impossible. I can do anything I set my mind to with His help. I consider it a good idea to keep that "anything" in perspective. To know ourselves and be true to it. In this life I will not achieve all the things I want to do no matter how hard I try. We are not meant to and I'm OK with that as I have gotten older and know myself better. So..."Know thyself and to thine own self be true." A sound byte of a quote that makes sense.
~Remember that God loves all of His children. We are all different and unique. Remember that not everyone thinks as I do. In fact no one does. Remember that it is OK to not understand what motivates others to do what they do. I need to remember to be cautious of judging them based on what I think about something, or my own needs, or my sense of the way I think they should be. That is not my job or my responsibility or my stewardship. My job is to accept, love, support, have realistic expectations and give what I can. I must remember to try to understand we all have a tough row to hoe.
~I'll remember, no one is perfect! Most people are good people with good intentions. Hurts are not intentional usually. I know I would never want to hurt someone and I want to believe the same of others. But when I do I want forgiveness and a little slack for the human side of things...and I want to give that to others as well. I want to live intentionally but when I mess up...forgive me, please.
~Remember that people makes mistakes. You, me, all of us. God has given us some wonderful ways to handle this. He teaches us to simply love, forgive, serve, and treat them as our brothers and sisters. He makes it simple~we complicate it. Remember He did not add at any point...if they deserve it. Remember to love another person (in spite of themselves, truly is) to see the face of God. Victor Hugo was right!
~ I will remember that when I give the gift of love to another it is also a great shield and protection for me.
It can fortify me against feelings that I have been treated unfairly by someone I love, by helping me recognize sometimes I over think things and see them differently then they were intended.
And if that hurt truly was intentional on their part, then my reliance on God's love for me and my love for Him and for them should lessen the blow so that I can forgive. God is light and truth, by remembering this and looking towards Him I can find the comfort and peace I need under any circumstances.
~When I wonder if God loves me I need only to remember. Remembering all the times He has blessed me with things that no one else had any inkling of, or that I even needed, prayed for or desired. I remember when He was there for me when no one else was. I'll remember when I feel a distance between us, it is me that has moved away, not Him. I'll remember that He loves me for exactly who I am right now with all my flaws, not for my accomplishments or my perfection (that doesn't exist) or the person I hope to be someday. Right now just like this, I am His daughter and he loves me. He always has even when I did not love myself. That is enough.
~I'll remember to listen to the Spirit when I try to make changes for the better in my life. He will guide me in the way I should go. Not the world, not the common helpful hints of the world that are blanketly given to all. They are deemed to be the "gospel truth" of the day, albeit ever-changing. I have tried that avenue before in vain. I choose now to remember to listen to the God who knows me personally and intimately and completely. Me as an individual, not a huge group called everyone. His spirit will guide me to what I need in my life to be the best I can be for Him. Not my to do list for 2014.
~I'll remember these things when I run into road blocks and challenges and trials and stress in the coming year. I'll remember where my comfort and solace and peace truly lie. And I'll remember them when I am gloriously happy and filled with joy and doing well with my gratitude. I believe that all good things come from Him and my proximity to Him and that the glory is always His when something good happens to me or changes, or improves or is learned or accomplished or overcome. I know this because I can bask in the light of reflected glory...my experiences from the past that validate and confirm to me where the true power to change and improve comes from in the first place.
