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15 December 2009 |
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Hello
again, and welcome to mid-December! Christmas season
is upon us, and we all have a season of goodwill and thoughts
of others to look forward to. We hope that you're able to see all
of the joy of this holiday season, accept it, and make it a part
of yourself and share it with others.
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The
joy of brightening other lives, bearing each other's burdens,
easing each others' loads and supplanting empty hearts and lives
with generous gifts becomes for us the magic of Christmas.
W.C.
Jones
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The
most vivid memories of Christmases past are usually not of gifts
given or received, but of the spirit of love, the special warmth
of Christmas worship, the cherished little habits of home.
Lois
Rand
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At
Christmastime, children play an essential part in our
celebrations. So much of what we do is intended to please
them--and all the while our hearts keep hearkening back to the
Christmas memories of our own childhoods. Christmas is so
much simpler for a child. Can we open our tired, adult eyes
to that same simplicity?
Ellen
Sanna
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Lay Waste
No Power
by
Tom Walsh
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Brand
new from Living Life Fully Publications!
How have you used your power and energy today? If you're
like most people, you've put a lot of effort into your
day's tasks, doing your best to accomplish all that you
can as well as you can. But have you been aware of the
ways that you're expending your energy? Over 150 years
ago, Wordsworth wrote the line, "Getting and
spending, we lay waste our powers." This line—as
well as an experience with a counselor many years
ago—has inspired me to examine the concept of how we use
our power in positive and negative ways, with the end goal
of helping people to be aware of the ways they use their
power. |
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Where
the Real Gift Is
Beth Burns
"The
best thing to give to your enemy is forgiveness; to an
opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your heart; to your
child, a good example; to a father, deference; to your mother,
conduct that will make her proud; to yourself, respect; to all
men, charity."
~ Arthur James Balfour
Are
you looking for the perfect gift this Holiday season?
Will you search and shop for THE perfect gift for someone
special? Will you watch with delight as that person
opens it? Won't it feel warm and fuzzy when that someone
realizes how much they mean to you because of your thoughtful
gift? That's a great feeling!
Ahh, but when the Holiday Season is over and the money is
spent, the glowing feelings tend to vanish as fast as Santa
dashes up the chimney! All too quickly, it seems, we are
back to the daily grind and the Holiday Spirit is long gone as
we head into a new year. For many folks, it leaves them
feeling depleted and very ordinary once again. That's a
lousy feeling!
Gift-giving
can be such fun! Wouldn't it be awesome to capture that
warm feeling each day? It is possible if we are
conscious about making it happen! Gifts don't
necessarily have to come wrapped with a bow on top -- in fact,
the very best gifts are not wrapped at all. I am talking
about our "first gifts" -- the ones we give to
others that are born from our character and love.
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Our "first gifts" are defined as those things that
we most want for others. Generally, these gifts are
what we most desire for ourselves as well. For example,
I most want people to have the gift of INNER PEACE. This
is important to me because I have been through some turbulent
times that rocked the core of who I am. So I
understand the gift of inner peace and the need for it my
life; therefore it is the one thing I most want people to
have. I do all I can to help others come to terms with their
world, their circumstances, and make peace with who they are.
That is my life purpose -- my first gift.
Perhaps
you have not felt safe before, therefore your gift to others
may be to provide a sense of SECURITY for others. It
could be that you know the extraordinary power of FORGIVENESS
and it is your gift to share that with others. Maybe you
know how MERCY can transform lives and so you offer this
present to others. If you have seen the miracle of HOPE
in your life, perhaps you are called to show others the good
news that hope brings. Suppose you have experienced the
darkness of depression and you value JOY in life -- share that
with others. Maybe you have experienced profound GRIEF
and you serve as an example for others who are in the process.
It could be that you have been imprisoned and your wish for
others is FREEDOM.
All
of our experiences -- the good and the not-so good -- happen
for a reason and have a lesson to teach us if we are open to
learning. The amazing news is that we don't need to have our
lives tidy and neat in order to give our gifts to others.
Every day, we can choose to grow more and give more.
Most often, sharing our vulnerabilities is what people find
attractive and want to learn from. Our first gifts are
created to be INclusive, and not EXclusive.
The gifts are endless! Consider these as well:
ACCEPTANCE, FAITH, COMPASSION, GOODNESS, KINDNESS, GRACE,
HUMILITY, PRAYER, PERSEVERANCE, ENTHUSIASM, PATIENCE,
SELF-DISCIPLINE, and GRATITUDE. These, of course, are
all acts of LOVE that we desire for ourselves and for others.
What words resonate with you? Think about it.
Write each of these words on down and explore the meaning of
each one in your life. You'll probably find a couple
that exemplify what you want most in your own life and for the
world. These are your "first gifts."
THIS is what you are on Earth for.
I
believe that every life can be a ministry. YOUR life is
a ministry. When you align yourself with your divine
purpose and then share your first gifts, you begin to change
the world. Yes, you are that powerful! Don't let
your Holiday Season end when the decorations come down!
Keep the Spirit in your heart and each day make the choice
(and it is definitely a conscious choice!) to share your
"first gifts" with the rest of the world.
Watch what happens in 2010 when you intentionally create
miracles for your life and others!
| My
Wish for You
I
wish for you a season filled with a growing faith and
deep meaning -- both in giving and in receiving. . . .
Beth
Coach / Writer / Human Being |
Beth
Burns is a Professional Life Coach -- partnering with
motivated people on their personal and professional goals.
Her mission is to teach people to love themselves and to love
the life they create. She offers two free email
newsletters and can be visited on the web at www.BrightSideCoaching.com.
She is also the Founder and Creator of The Inner Peace Project
(www.innerpeaceproject.com),
a journey in celebrating the masterpiece and divine person you
are, no matter what circumstances you are in. She can be
reached by calling 678-938-0419 or by email at Beth@BrightSideCoaching.com.
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The
Gift That Lasts
Joseph J. Mazzella
Christmas is in the air here in the mountains of my home.
You
can feel it’s wonderful Spirit just flowing out of people’s
hearts and into the atmosphere. The streets are full of colorful
decorations. The houses are alive with twinkling lights.
The
stores are full of beautiful music, special gifts, and cheerful
hearts. Little children are lining up with eager anticipation to
meet Santa Claus and sit on his lap. Adults are smiling and
laughing while they relive fond Christmas memories of their own.
Love is everywhere and joy is glowing from every face. It is a
time that puts the “Life” in living.
I think that if you could package and gift-wrap this
wonderful Spirit of Christmas then you would have the most
glorious gift of all. Just think of it. You would have a present
full of wonder and awe, peace and happiness, innocence and
faith, kindness and goodness, helpfulness and charity,
simplicity and fun, light and delight, laughter and smiles,
fondness and family, love and joy, glory and oneness with God.
It would be a present that didn’t rust, or break, or get
thrown away. It would be a gift that kept on giving to us, to
those around us, and to the whole world. It would be a gift that
lasts us all through this life and goes on with us into the
next.
Thankfully, you can give this gift.
You may not be able to
wrap it or put it under a tree, but you can give it from your
heart and share it from your soul. You can let it flow freely
from your every thought, feeling, and action. You can bless
others with it at Christmas time and all through the year.
Give
the gift that lasts then. Give the gift that keeps on giving.
Give the God-given gift of Christmas love and joy to yourself
and the whole world. |
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Living
Life Fully, the e-zine
exists to try to provide for visitors of the world wide web a
place
of growth, peace, inspiration, and encouragement. Our
articles
are presented as thoughts of the authors--by no means do
we
mean to present them as ways that anyone has to live
life. Take
from them what you will, and disagree with
whatever you disagree
with--just know that they'll be here for you
each week. |
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Lasting
Gifts
Gail Pursell Elliott
The most important gifts are not those that you can hold in your
hand. These, in their purest form, are simply an outward
representation of the gifts that are the most lasting: the gifts
of time, attention, thought, caring, peace of mind, true
friendship, acceptance, patience, tolerance, laughter, joy,
freedom of expression, companionship, insight, understanding,
compassion.
Sometimes what is really important in life becomes obscured by
outer concerns. These have a tendency to make us feel poor and
wanting when we are not and to pull our attention to focus on
the attainment of symbols of a rich existence, which can
ultimately leave us destitute if we lack perspective and
balance.
Money and possessions are not in themselves important.
Only what they represent has meaning. Note also that
power, recognition, reputation, influence, control, and
manipulation are not included on the list of lasting gifts.
Our real life exists elsewhere, for if those inner gifts are
ignored or lacking the rest are empty icons that can symbolize
ultimately not abundance, but lack.
You are fortunate to be both rich and generous with gifts that
have real value. The rest, in the end, is truly nothing.
My wish for all of us this holiday season, is the ability to
recognize, express, and appreciate the lasting gifts in our
lives.
Have a Wonderful Holiday and be good to yourself. You
deserve it!
© Gail
Pursell Elliott. All rights reserved.
"The Dignity and Respect Lady"
Innovations: "Training With a Can-Do
Attitude"TM Box 552, Roland, IA
50236-0552; 515-388-9600 www.innovations-training.com
gail@innovations-training.com
Promoting Dignity and Respect. No Exceptions. In Companies and Communities Nationwide. |
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Eyes Wide Open
tom walsh
The Joy of
Gift-Giving
I'll be the
first to admit that in our society we often tend to go overboard
with our gift-giving, especially during the Christmas
holidays. Many people use Christmas as an opportunity to
try to compensate for wrongs or neglect that has happened over
the course of the year, and many people try to compensate for
their own low sense of self-worth by spending inordinate amounts
of money on gifts with the subconscious hope that people will
like us more or admire us more if the gifts that we buy impress
them enough.
But most of us
just love the opportunity to try to figure out the best gift for
each person, the gift that will somehow be just perfect and
allow that person to have something that's a perfect fit.
I love to go to a store and just walk around and find things
that aren't expensive that I know someone would like. I
love to sit down and try to figure out just what I could make to
give to someone to show that person that I somehow know him or
her well, that I know what kinds of things he or she likes. To
me, that's the most important part of giving gifts at Christmas,
and I spend all year preparing for it. Just how well do I
know my step-daughters? Can I go to the store without
asking them what they want and find something that will
"fit" them well? I can do so only if I pay
attention to them all year long and listen to what they have to
say about everything--school and friends and music and movies
and whatever else they talk about. The same goes for my
wife--she talks to me all year long, but how well do I
listen? Do I know her well enough to be able to get her or
make her just the right present for Christmas? And my
co-workers? Can I find a small something that's very
inexpensive that they'll like to have? Only if I have a
good idea of who they are and what they like. I
know that personally, I'd much rather receive a scarf or a book
or a CD that says that a person has thought about me and my
tastes than an expensive watch or piece of electronics that says
only that someone had money to burn, and they burned it on
me. I'd rather see the money go to something much more
useful like a soup kitchen or a children's charity than to be
"burned" on a gift that I may or may not use. I
don't give out tons of gifts. I don't consider myself to
be Santa Claus, and I don't feel that it's my responsibility to
make other people "happy" by giving them things.
But I do like to share, and I do like to brighten other people's
days or moments with a special something. Sometimes that
something can be encouragement or a compliment, and sometimes it
can be helping out when they need help. At Christmas it
can be a small token, a small something that shows that I care
about who they are as people. Giving
gifts shouldn't be about trying to make someone happy with
material gifts, and it shouldn't be about trying to impress
people with our taste or our willingness to spend a lot of money
on presents. To me, the best gifts that I can give are
those that say "I know you because you're worth getting to
know." And once Christmas is over, I have almost an
entire year to prepare for next year, getting to know the people
in my life, learning more about who they are and what they like. |
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When
we work so hard at our preparations for Christmas, we often feel
cheated and frustrated when others fail to notice the
results of our efforts. We need to ask ourselves why we
are doing the things we choose to do. If love motivates
us--love for our families, for our neighbors, for God--then we
are free to simply enjoy the actual process of what we do,
rather than requiring the approval and admiration of others for
the results of our labors.
Ellyn
Sanna |
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If
you have not often felt the joy of doing a kind act,
you have
neglected much, and most of all yourself.
A.
Nielsen
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take good care,
and may your holidays be happy. . . . |
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