Don’t Let Bitterness Take Root

Years ago, there was a terrible outbreak of disease in a tiny village in a remote part of Africa. Both children and adults were getting sick with nausea. Several weeks passed, and the sickness became widespread, and people started dying. Word of the disease reached the main city in that area, and experts were dispatched to try to figure out what was causing the problem. They soon discovered the water was contaminated.  The village was getting its water supply from a mountain stream that was fed from a spring, so the experts decided to trek upstream and hopefully find the source of pollution. They traveled for days and finally came to the mouth of the stream. But on the surface they found nothing wrong. Puzzled they decided to send some divers down to search as closely to the spring's opening as possible. 

What they found shocked the experts.  A large mother pig and her baby piglets were wedged right at the opening of the spring. Evidently they had fallen in, drowned and somehow got stuck there. Now all that crystal-clear, pure mountain springwater was being contaminated as it flowed past the decomposing remains of the dead pigs. In no time after the divers were able to remove the dead pigs, the water begin to flow clean and pure again.

In our lives, something similar takes place. We all have negative things happened to us. Maybe last week, last month, or ten to twenty years ago somebody hurt us. Too often instead of lettings it go and giving it to God, we’ve held on to it. We haven't forgiven, and just as those pigs soured that crystal-clear water, our own lives have become contaminated. The Root of bitterness has taken hold.

Worse yet, after a while, we accept it. We make room in our hearts for that bitterness; we learn to live with it. "Well, I am just an angry person. That’s just my personality. I am always like this. I'm always bitter. This is who I am".

No, with all due respect, that’s not who you are. You need to get rid of the poison that is polluting your life.  You were made to be a crystal-clear stream. God created you in His image.  He wants you to be happy, healthy, and whole.  God wants you to enjoy life to the full, not to live with bitterness and resentment, polluted and putrefied yourself and contaminating everyone else with whom you have influenced.

Imagine yourself as a crystal-clear stream.  It doesn’t matter how polluted the stream may be right now, or how muddy or murky the water may look in your life today.  If you’ll begin to forgive the people who have offended you, and release all those hurts and pains, that bitterness will leave and you’ll begin to see that crystal-clear water once again.  You’ll begin to experience the joy, peace, and freedom God intended you to have.

~ Joel Osteen

You are NEVER alone. Love envelopes you on ALL sides. YOU ARE LOVE!

I received this message from a dear friend today…it has such a beautiful message that can speak to each of us, regardless of what we are going through.  I hope that it lifts you as much as it did for me. Peace, Love and Blessings!

"Choose to see the exquisiteness of your life as it is right now. Even if things aren't going as you had planned, even though you haven't found your Soul Mate yet, in spite of the fact that you still need to drop that last 50lbs and even if you feel completely alone, it is ALL PERFECTION.

And remind yourself, you are NEVER alone. Love envelopes you on ALL sides. YOU ARE LOVE. You can connect to your Source anytime you want or need to. There is comfort. There is peace. And there are most assuredly MIRACLES waiting to be summoned into your life.

CELEBRATE where and who you are RIGHT NOW in THIS MOMENT!! I don't know about you but I am ready. I have my paint brush in hand and I'm excited about creating the masterpiece of my life. All of the "lack" that my mind and eyes have been focused on simply created more lack and the fact is that it is simply an illusion. I choose to redirect my energy and mind towards the truth which is that there is nothing that I lack. Everything I want and need surrounds me in this very moment and it's up to ME to manifest it all. The emptiness, loneliness, and frustration that you feel is simply an illusion.

Make the decision to live your ideal life as much as you possibly can RIGHT now in this moment. Sit in peace right where you are and summon the miracles. Appreciate what you have now and where you are and I promise you the doors will open, ideas will come, a way will be made, and MIRACLES WILL RAIN DOWN"!

You're either in or you're out...

“There are only two options regarding commitment. You're either in or you're out. There's no such thing as life in-between.” ~ Pat Riley 

Your life deserves better than a half-hearted effort. Meet your goals with a weak handshake and they’ll soon be waving you goodbye. Since you probably don’t want to look back on a life full of “almost made it” memories, it’s time for total commitment. Leave it all on the field, don’t hold anything back. Is there anything more satisfying than pouring out your entire being, straddling the cliff, reaching your total limit, then looking up and realizing that oh-my-gosh-I-can’t-believe-I-really-did-it? And is there anything more tragic than failing and realizing you could have done more? If you feel “out” of your current life, that’s okay. Make your first goal to build a life that you can get “in”-to. Then don’t look back. Make every day count and live purposefully, live energetically, live completely.  ~ Via Life Quotes

Be Mindful of Your Health...

 “You’re never fully dressed without a smile.” ~ Martin Charnin

I pride myself on taking pretty good care of me. I swim regularly, I’m careful what I eat and I take my vitamins daily. I maintain a strong support network. I stay intellectually engaged and connected to my community by not shutting myself away.

Each day I wake up happy to be alive.

This philosophy didn’t happen overnight. I have always been a naturally optimistic person. That’s probably the influence of my Aunt Della who helped raise me.  She was a strong believer in pushing away the negativity and focusing on what you can do in life.

One of the things I can do is to be mindful of my health, both above and below my neck. I try to pay attention to how I treat others as well as how others treat me. I’m not perfect, but I try to be kind while still being responsible. If I let someone take advantage of me, that doesn’t make me feel good about myself. I can’t take the best care of my business or my loved ones if I don’t feel good, both inside and out.

So I air my feelings, rather than keeping them bottled up inside. But I do so in a way that is positive and non-judgmental. I make room for the possibility that someone else might have a better idea.

I take time every day to relax. Relaxation improves the mind, helps the body heal, and is so much healthier than stress and tension.

I read to children.

And, finally, I never forget to laugh, especially at myself. After all, laughter really is the best medicine, don’t you think?

What do you do to keep yourself healthy?

Written by Wally Amos

Grow Through Life Experiences

“When you are going through hell, do not stop to take pictures”. I firmly believe the thing we must do is learn to GROW through our life experiences. Extract the lessons and insert them into our future experiences. We are still a work in progress. “When you pray, move your feet” Leave the pity party behind and get on with your life. BE POSITIVE REGARDLESS!! ~ Wally Amos

(photo credit: favim.com)

You are what you allow yourself to be...

I used to blame others for the way I was.  I was twelve when my mother and father divorced.  I heard the fights and I knew they were not happy.  Still, it was a shock when my mother told me one day that she and my father were going to separate and I was being sent to New York City to live with my Aunt Della.  I wasn’t devastated.  I understood that it wasn’t my fault and I moved on with my life.

(photo credit: favim.com)

Years later, I told myself that I failed in my own marriages because I had not had the kind of loving example as a child that I needed to make the commitment that marriage required.   I told myself that I always wanted to keep the closeness with my sons that I lost with my own father when my parents divorced.  Yet, I failed to keep that promise to myself or to them.  I tried, but I was always busy on the road with the acts I was managing.  It wasn’t my fault, you see.

It took me a long time to come to grips with the fact that my failure to fully commit to my relationships was my own personal failure, not the result of a childhood trauma.  No one forced me to fall short.  I had allowed myself to be a disappointment because the grass was always greener on the other side of the street.  While I greatly regret the consequences of my shortfallings, I know that they made me the man that I am today.  I am still a work in progress.  But I take responsibility for my own decisions.  I wake up every morning, glad to be alive and aware that each day will be filled with as much happiness as I allow it to be.  It’s entirely up to me.

Written by Wally Amos

Three Letter Words

(photo credit: favim.com)

There is one three letter word that I refuse to use.  That word is “try.”  If I had my way, it would be removed from the English language.

When we use the word “try,” even in our heads, we’re giving ourselves unconscious permission to fail.  Leaving the door open for failure means we don’t have to take responsibility for that failure.  After all, we tried, right?  Wasn’t that enough?  Beyond childhood we no longer get bonus points for “trying.”
So stop trying and start doing.  Stop saying, “I will try,” and start saying, “I will do.”  But the job doesn’t stop there, because once you have set your mind to do a thing you have to take responsibility for it.  Once you have done this, you will be surprised at how easy it is to accomplish something that you thought was impossible.

Now, that doesn’t mean that you will never fail.  Failure is something that comes with the territory.  But don’t give yourself permission to fail before you even start.  Give yourself permission to succeed, and you will succeed.  Maybe not the first time.  Maybe not even the second time.  But each crisis you get through makes you stronger.  With each mistake, you learn something that will prevent you from making that mistake again.  The secret is to not give up.  Just keep moving forward.  Keep “doing” and one day you will discover that what once seemed impossible has now been accomplished.

All day long, every day, we are presented with choices. We can HELP life happen or we can HOPE life will happen.  It’s up to you.  To HELP is to be proactive.

Are you a can-do person?  Have you ever surprised yourself by doing something you didn’t think you could do? 

Written by Wally Amos