Category: Optimal Health

The Outhouse

I grew up in a small rural town in Virginia where much of the population was considered to be at poverty level income. This included my family. The house I grew up in had no indoor plumbing for the bathroom. Yes, we had an outhouse. There, I said it. Out the back door and through the yard to the outhouse I’d go every time I had to use the bathroom. Rain, sleet, hail or snow. Out the back door I ‘d go. I can remember shoveling a path through the snow from our tiny home to the outhouse. I would find myself crossing my legs and holding it as long as I could but eventually I would have to bite the bullet and go.

Looking back, that outhouse taught me a lot of lessons. It has taught me to appreciate even the seemingly small things in life today. It has made me realize that most of us have way more than we need while others have practically nothing. The outhouse was one of many things growing up that made me who I am today. It created in me a more grateful, loving, and accepting attitude. It has brought an awareness of the many people who live without so many of the things that we take for granted or feel we just cannot make it without.

My memories of our tiny house with the outhouse live on in me. They will be with me forever as a constant reminder of how blessed I am today. They will stay with me as a constant reminder that material things do not bring happiness. Although we had no indoor bathroom, we had a loving, caring mother that brought me more happiness than an indoor bathroom ever could. We all have way more than we need to survive and be happy in this life yet it seems we keep accumulating and wanting more.

Our happiness is not founded on our 2 or 3 cars, our 2 or 3 bathrooms, our big homes, or any other material possession. Our happiness is something inherent inside of us. We can choose to be happy in whatever our circumstance may be. I have found happiness to be something that is not dependent on external things or people. It is very easy to get caught up in complaining about what we do not have as opposed to being grateful for what we do have.

As always, thanks for taking a minute to read my thoughts and experiences. Your support is appreciated. I hope you will take a moment to respond with your thoughts. Take a moment today to just stop and think about all you have in comparison to so many in the world today.

 

Peace and blessings

Four Healthful Tips for Quality Living 

Dear Readers, it is a pleasure to be with you once again for my Weekly Sunday Blog.

Life can be challenging at times. I must admit it is a struggle for me at times to keep my head above the water emotionally. There is a great deal of stimuli in our external environment, much of which is not positive nor is it reality. Then one must deal with the internal environment better known as the mind. Just keeping it in check is a full-time continuous job with the many thoughts that flood it daily. I have discovered 4 healthful tips that have been helpful in accomplishing my goal to live a happier healthier life when practiced consistently. I would love to share those with you.

 

1. Prayer: What is prayer? I see prayer as a form of communication with God, whoever or whatever you see God to be. I see it as a direct line that we have to reach God. He is always on the line speaking to us. We must take the time to pray in order to hear what he is saying. I used to think prayer was always about asking God for something. I have often even found myself forgetting to pray until I need something. I have also found myself going to God with a list of things to always ask for. What I’ve realized is the importance of communicating with God at all times and not just when I need something. I believe our prayers should be selfless and filled with love. Personally, I have found affirmative prayer to be helpful. Affirmative prayer is connecting with the spirit of God within and asserting positive beliefs about the desired outcomes. For example, a traditional prayer might be, “God please heal me of this cancer.” An affirmative prayer might sound something like this, “I am perfect health and I am open and receptive to the healing love of God within. There is no need to beg God for anything.   As it relates to prayer, I leave you with a final quote from Gandhi that goes like this, “Prayer from the heart can achieve what nothing else in the world can.”

 

2. Meditation: Spending time in silence has brought me true peace during times of distress and allowed time for reflection. Hundreds of studies have shown that it decreases stress, improves immunity, lowers inflammation and decreases pain just to name some of its benefits. We live in a busy, loud world. Taking time to be silent and meditate can lead to better direction for our lives. It has become a profound spiritual practice for me. When practiced regularly, it transforms my mind from negative to positive, from disturbed to peaceful, and from unhappy to happy. The key word for me is regularly. I have found consistent practice to be essential for me in keeping the mind in a healthy space.

 

3. Random Acts of Kindness: A random act of kindness can be defined as a selfless act performed by kind people to either help or cheer up a random stranger, for no reason other than to make people happier. It is a deliberate attempt to brighten another person’s day by doing something thoughtful, nice, and caring. Random Acts of Kindness do not have to cost money. I have found that simple acts such as holding the door for a stranger, giving a stranger a hug or big smile, picking up trash in a public park, or thanking a police officer or fire fighter for their service, to be heart warming for me.  I believe that what we give to others in our lifetime defines who we really are. I walked up to the dining room attendant in McDonalds the other morning and handed her a $20 bill. I had never seen her before. She immediately started crying and said, “you have no idea how much I needed this.” Random Acts of Kindness create an emotional warmth, which releases a hormone in our body known as oxytocin. Oxytocin is responsible for reducing blood pressure and protecting the heart.   In a world with so much hatred and division, be kind. Do something thoughtful, nice, and caring for another person.

 

4. Deleting Gossip from your Life: It is so easy to get caught up in gossip. We saw so much of this during this past presidential election.   I have learned that if someone comes up to me with, “did you hear”, or “child have you heard about so and so”, I am getting ready to hear some gossip. My antenna also goes up when someone comes up to me and says, “Promise you won’t tell anybody” or “keep this a secret.” Gossip spreads like wild fire with the story often changing many times during the course of the gossip chain. I finally ask myself, what does gossip accomplish? Does it lift anyone up? Is it positive? What does it say about me when I participate in gossip? There is really no reason to ever talk about another human in a negative way. I believe that our life is a mirror looking right back at us. What we talk about, and see in others, is actually what is inside of us. Gossip isolates you and is hurtful to others. We sometimes gossip about people because they make different choices than we do, or because they do things with which we don’t agree, but is that really fair? Every second you spend gossiping (which includes listening to gossip) robs the world of your capacity to help make it a better more peaceful place for all. Spread love and positive energy to all and love and positive energy will return to you. Your life will be more peaceful without the drama.

  

I look forward to your feedback and comments and stand in gratitude for your support. Thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts. It is always my intention to contribute to your life in a positive way. I am not always successful at the things I talk about in my blogs but I am increasing my awareness in an attempt to live my best life. It is a journey for all of us.

Many blessings.

 

 

The Truth

It has been a challenging week for me. One in which I have found myself straying away from what I know to be the truth. One in which I have found myself straying away from my true belief. It has been a week in which I have allowed fear, frustration, and confusion to overtake me. I have allowed the events of the week to cause tension, between myself, and some of the people in my life that I love the most. And so, this morning I take a moment to remind myself of the truth.

The Truth is, I am part of the Divine. The truth is every living person and every living thing is part of the Divine. This includes the Muslims, Gays, Straights, Christians, Atheists, Buddhist, Catholics, African Americans, Caucasians, Latinos and all others. The truth is, there is more than one path that leads to God and I will honor each and every path. Just because someone is on a different path, doesn’t mean they are lost.

Donald Trump is not my truth. Hillary Clinton is not my truth. Mike Pence or anyone else who tries to take away my rights as a minority is not my truth. I have even had to realize that the KKK, a hate group that has been one of Trump’s biggest supporters, is part of the Divine. I have had to find the love and acceptance in my heart for this group that I know is filled with hate, prejudice, and judgment. They are part of the Divine none-the-less and I must love them even though I am terribly troubled by their actions and beliefs. This week has caused me to realize more and more that I must align my actions with my beliefs. It is easy to belief one thing, but when the challenges arise our actions say something totally different.

It is my prayer moving forward that I come from a place of love in all situations. It is my prayer moving forward that I realize my truth and that I rest in the knowing. It is my prayer moving forward that I recognize and most of all respect ALL parts of the divine regardless of their sexual preference, the color of their skin, their religious belief or lack thereof. We each have a path. It is time to stop trying to convince or mandate that others be on our path. It is a work in progress for me but I am grateful for this week and the awareness and lessons I have learned as a result.

 

Peace and blessings to all. Have an abundant week and remember your truth.

The Secret Place

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the almighty. This is a scripture from Psalms 91 in the King James Version of the Bible. I’ve heard it quoted many times in my life but never really stopped to think about its true meaning for me. Where is the secret place? What is the secret place? Am I dwelling in that secret place or just stopping by for an occasional visit? Am I dwelling there or just spending a little time there on Sunday mornings during church?

Finally at the age 51, I began to realize where the secret place truly was. I realized what that secret place was all about. My life experiences have led me to understand the importance of that secret place. I have come to realize that the most high lives in me, as me, and flows through me to the degree that I allow him to. Many times I’ve gotten in the way. By dwelling in the secret place of the most high, I am actually dwelling within. That secret place is within because the most high is within. So simple yet so life changing for me.

As I continue to learn to dwell in that secret place, my life is more fulfilled. It is only when I start dwelling in the external that I find discord, worry, and anxiety. For me, learning to dwell in that secret place has gotten me through some difficult times in my life. The most high is not some external being. Too often I have found myself looking for answers outside myself. I find myself dwelling in the external and not dwelling, or spending time, in the secret place within.

There are so many distractions that can pull us away from that secret place. This election season has brought more awareness to me of the importance of dwelling within and not getting caught up in the chaos and drama. I have found it challenging to not get pulled in by the media and the social apps. Reading social media post such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as watching television, has made me more aware of what human behavior looks like when we are not dwelling in that secret place. It has also created a beautiful awareness inside of me that alerts me when I am not dwelling in that secret place.

Dwell there in that secret place.

In the midst of challenging times, dwell there.

When you are faced with difficult questions, dwell there.

When someone cuts you off in traffic, dwell there.

At home, work, family gatherings, and all through life, dwell there.

Dwell there in that secret place.

There is nothing you cannot have, do, or be while dwelling in the secret place and abiding under the shadow of the almighty.

 

Peace and blessing

Two Faces

The thought of 2 faces came to me upon awakening this morning. I decided to meditate and expand on it. Here are my thoughts as a result.

Growing up in church, I saw many of the members with behavior that puzzled me when they were outside of the 4 walls of the church. As a child I would see one face inside the church and a completely different face, most likely the true face, outside the church. I must say, still to this day, at times I remain puzzled by the behavior of people who say one thing but their actions are totally different. It’s as if they are 2 different people with 2 different faces. I always heard, “be on your best behavior in church.” What about out of church? On a daily basis, I witnessed examples of 2 faces. It got me to thinking how much of that still exist in my personal life today.

This has really prompted a time of reflection for me. How many times have I had 2 faces? I can remember pretending to be one thing in church when actually I was something totally different. The pretending, in this case, came from fear. Afraid to be the face I really was for fear of rejection and condemnation. And guess what, when I did decide to be the face I truly was, I was condemned and rejected by so many. Many of who were also guilty of pretending to be something or someone they were not. Many of who also had 2 faces.

I think we are all guilty of having 2 faces at some time in our lives. Is there a positive side to having 2 faces? I can remember going to a friend’s house for dinner one night and the food was less than desirable. When he asked me if I liked the food, I replied, “It was delicious.” “Thank you so much for cooking.” Was I being two-faced? My intention was to not hurt his feelings. So does that make it ok? There is a fine line between the 2 faces. In this political season, we hear what we want to hear so in a way we are encouraging 2 faces. We have a position, thought, or face about one thing, but we tend to do or say something totally different.

My experiences have brought a new awareness of the importance of being my true self.   Being honest with who I really am has lead to greater inner happiness and peace. No pretending. No hiding. No more need to have 2 faces. Be who and what you are fully at ALL times. Be your true authentic self at ALL times. Be the face that you are. It is okay. I set the intention for myself to be one face. At work, home, church, and out in the community. One face.

Thanks so much for taking a few minutes out each week to read my Weekly Sunday Blog. I would love your support by signing up to follow the blog. Just enter your email address, and then go to your email to confirm. The email comes from my website, Optimal Health. Thanks as always for your support and feedback. I always look forward to hearing your stories and reading your comments.

 

Peace and blessings