It seems that so many times we have some sort of inability to deal with whatever it is that life is trying to hand us. We feel out of control. When we practice yoga and/or meditation we begin to see that we may not be in control, but we are certainly in control to our reactions.

Life is full of uncertainty. We have no control over many things in life. What we do have control over is our reaction to those things. We can let them dominate our thoughts and control how we deal with life or we can use them as motivation for whatever it is we want.

What do you do when life gives you a hard time?

Namaste!

Old Man Winter

The cycles of the seasons often go by without our noticing. Oh sure, we feel the heat of summer and the cold of winter, but we rarely think about how the seasons mark the passing of time. They do you know.

Perhaps it is because I am swiftly approaching my sixtieth birthday, I think about this season of winter a little more than others. I know I want to do my yoga this morning before I go out to shovel, just to loosen up a bit, but I am not going to. I need to get it done sooner than that.

I also know that I feel the winters of years gone by in my body, but it still wants to go out and make a snow angel. My mind asks if my body has taken leave of its senses, but my body laughs and chucks a frozen ball of white rememberings and says “it ain’t over yet!”

What is life to you? Is it a heavy burden that seems heavier with each passing season, or is it the adventure you always wanted it to be? The choice is yours to make. You decide if it is the drudgery of the snow shovel or the excitement of the fresh fallen play-stuff of life.

The same it true, or course, in reverse. Your attitude affects other people. I have noticed in the yoga classes I teach that if I am up and energized, it rubs off. If I am in a silly mood, they start acting silly. If I am in a quiet meditative mood, they pick that up.

As I said earlier, if someone around you is in a bad mood, you will be affected unless you have your guard up and consciously act against it. I’ll bet you have had the reverse experience as well. You are in a downer and someone around is cheerful and you just refuse to let them cheer you up.

You want people around you, your co-workers, your kids to behave in a certain way? Start acting like that around them! No, it won’t get everybody and it may not happen immediately. People have the ability to not let others affect them, but they have to be conscious about it.

Smile, be happy, be full of life and it will rub off on others. You can change your life, the lives of others, and the world by just changing your attitude!

Life can throw situations at us that are hard to take. Like this woman, we are handed something that can either destroy us, or make us stronger. The question is, which will it be?

Sometimes we feel as if the Universe, or God is out to get us. One thing after another happens and we don’t seem to think that anyone else has the troubles we have.

The question isn’t way me, but how can I? We can let things like this get us down or we can look at them as gifts from the Infinite. I know what you’re thinking! How can a house fire be a gift? The truth is, life itself is a gift and that includes the good times and the bad.

Sure bad things happen, but you always have a choice. You have the choice of how you will deal with it and the choice to see it as terrible or motivation. What would you do?

If you are truly part of all that is, then there is always a way to make bad things turn to good. If you are part of the Creator, then you can create! How will you be a part of something larger instead of something small?

Now there is nothing wrong with any of those things, on the surface. Being overweight is bad for your health, of course, but there are lots of people who are over weight. There is nothing wrong with working in a fast food place, but not as your life’s career. There’s nothing wrong with living in a trailer park, and the family is nice, as far as I know, but most young couples look forward to owning their own home.

My point to all of this is that it breaks my heart when I see people like this, especially young people, who have no dreams, no goals. They want to just maintain what they have, put out as little effort as possible, and try for nothing better. They told me themselves that they have no dreams and no goals.

We are created to be reflections of the Infinite Source. We have the potential to do so much, to be great, and yet so many refuse to dream. How our world suffers because of this!

I have heard some people say that if everyone grew to their full potential that there would not be enough room for all of us to do such great things. The sad part is, I doubt we will ever have to worry about it. So many like this young couple have no desire and do not care to find out.

What about you? Do you have the desire to be better than you are? Do you have the desire to be all you can be?

Steve

Some of these people are the older workers who cannot seem to get a job because of their age. They are in their late fifties or early sixties. They aren’t told that’s the reason; that’s illegal, but they know it’s the reason. Some are just not getting jobs because there are hiring freezes.

Whatever the reason, they have tried to get a job and they have given up. I don’t mean to take away from these people. I have been through the same thing before and I know how helpless you can feel. I know how it feels to want to get a job so badly, to find work, and you do everything you know to do and still nothing turns up. It can strip away your self esteem and pride in a matter of days.

What I do want to say is that these people need to be given hope. They need to understand that they are in a battle of universal proportions and that they have to fight against the depression and the negativity. The more they believe in themselves, the more they hold onto positive thoughts, the better their lives will be. I know! It can be so hard that you just can’t hold up, but you must!

I have been in the position of hiring people. I can tell you that someone who comes in exuding a sense of confidence would get my attention. The one coming in giving me a sense that they feel a victim and that they really didn’t feel that they were going to get the job; probably wouldn’t.

Believe in yourself! Believe that, even though things are tough, it will get better. God, the Infinite, the Universe, whatever you might want to call it exists and wants good for you. The thing is, you cannot receive what you are not willing to or believe in. Celebrate this Labor Day as the last one you will ever spend unemployed. Believe with all your heart that this time next year you will be working a job or have your own business. Know that you deserve a better life. I mean, you really do, don’t you? Do everything you can to improve your life. Get an education, get a haircut, whatever you can do. Little things can be important. The best thing you can do though is to not let yourself be defeated by life. Please, do it for all of us. We are counting on you!

Steve

A Common Path

We all walk the Path of life. What Path are you walking? Is it the Path you would like, or is it one chosen by someone else, possibly forced onto you? If you are like most people, it is, unfortunately, not the one of your choosing.

We are a product of our environment, or so the Sociologists and Psychologists say. It is true that we are shaped by environment, our parents, teachers, and friends. The question is, can we break from this conditioning or is it permanent? Since we have all heard the stories of those who were raised poor and became rich, or born disabled and overcame the disability, we know the answer.

One of the greatest methods to walk your Path is to plan that Path. People who seem destined to walk a Path set by someone else, do so because they fail to think outside the box they have been put in. They accept the Path placed before them and never question or envision it any differently. Those who break free, see the vision of their dreams and desires, not as some fairytale, but as something that can be achieved, something to make plans toward.

Do you walk a life of no planning, or do you walk the Path you choose? Do you see your dreams as attainable, and work toward them, or mere fantasies?