Follow 'YOUR' Yellow-Brick road

As we bid farewell to the end of yet another year and prepare for the sunrise of a new and glorious 2012, here's another opportunity for you to 'get it right'  or at least come as close to 'right' through action as you possibly can.  Will you continue to listen to voices that don't sound like yours? Will you continue to compromise your value system for 'status quo' and respond to mediocrity or will you honestly take inventory and surrender to the You that needs to live and breathe on the outside?  How long will you continue to hold yourself hostage?

Sure, everyone who claims to love you feels they have your very best interest at heart, when they indirectly/unintentionally and persistently convince you that you're doing just fine with the way things are. Do they honestly know what that 'best' is as it relates to you? Only YOU can recognize the genuine call of your name, your passion, your gift. Most often, those suggestions from others will be inconsistent with what you've been authentically equipped with for the journey. I know, you don't want to take a risk, because you have no idea what's around the corner.  You might be thinking, what if you step out and make a mistake.......then again, what if you step out and succeed? You'll never know either way, unless you step out......so.....Step! Dance, sing, paint, write, speak, sell, travel, just do whatever the call is directing you to do. 

 Yes, that call is God, your truth, your passion, your heart, leading you in the direction of what has been planted inside of you.  It needs to be released or you'll never be at peace....you'll wrestle because there's a growth inside of you, fully mature, that wants to be born.....Release it! It has reached full maturity and it needs to breathe! It needs to continue to grow and it can only do that when it has been given room to spread its wings. 

 Those around you may hear a tune, but it's faint and sure, it's something that you can sing and dance along to, but the true symphony of your life, only YOU can hear and you hear it the loudest.  I hope the sound drowns out everything around you this year until you address it and follow the road that it's leading you to. The compass/longing that is leading you to that place where you'll give birth to what has been growing inside of you all of this time is the only voice you should be listening to - the pull, the tug of that voice in that compass,.....in your spirit.

Today is your day......this is the year.......Step out....risk and gain the reward of receiving the Love that you'll share by giving birth to YOU! You can hear your calling the loudest.....Respond!
May your year be filled with all good things that derive from Love, Peace and a true Awakening of You!  We all have a roadmap for our assigned journeys.  Everyone is not travelling your way....it doesn't mean you don't care about their journey, it simply means that you must be accountable to the life that you were given and bless those as they journey on their assignments.  Roads will merge and then roads move in opposite directions.  Make sure that you are adhering to the compass for YOUR journey and not travelling on the road that doesn't scream your name! It's time for you to 'Follow YOUR yellow-brick road.'

 Happy New Year! -BG

"People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost." -H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Merry Christmas!

May the joy of Christmas remain in your hearts throughout the coming year.  May the spirit of sharing continue to be a part of your everyday living and not only reserved for one day out of the year.  Allow this joy to become the habit that you never wish to break! May this Love continue to be shared freely, with no expectations in return. Giving from the heart is the same as receiving.  Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones and Blessings for a wonderful, healthy and prosperous New Year!

President Barack Obama - A Man of the People

I am grateful each day to wake up knowing that a man with his heart, compassion and intellect leads these United States of America! May God continue to Bless him and his family and protect them from all harm...seen and unseen.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

A Christmas Prayer

God help us to end poverty in our time.

The poverty of having a child with too little to eat and no place to sleep, no air, sunlight and space to breathe, bask and grow.

The poverty of watching your child suffer hunger or get sicker and sicker and not knowing what to do or how to get help because you don’t have another dime or a car, money, or health insurance.

The poverty of working your fingers to the bone every day, taking care of somebody else’s children and neglecting your own, and still not being able to pay your bills.

The poverty of having a job which does not let you afford a stable place to live and being terrified you’ll become homeless and lose your children to foster care.

The poverty of losing your job, running out of unemployment benefits, and no other help in sight.

The poverty of working all your life caring for your own children and having to start all over again caring for the grandchildren you love.

The poverty of earning a college degree, having children, opening a day care center, and taking home $300 a week -- or a month -- if you’re lucky.

The poverty of loneliness and isolation and alienation -- having no one to call or visit, tell you where to get help, assist you in getting it, or care if you’re living or dead.

The poverty of having too much and sharing too little and having the burden of nothing to carry.

The poverty of convenient blindness and deafness and indifference to others.

The poverty of low aim and paltry purpose, of weak will and tiny vision, of big meetings and small actions, of loud talk and sullen grudging service.

The poverty of believing in nothing, standing for nothing, sharing nothing, sacrificing nothing, struggling with others for nothing.

The poverty of pride and ingratitude for God’s gifts of life and children and family and freedom and home and country and not wanting for others what you want for yourself.

The poverty of greed for more and more and more, ignoring, blaming, and exploiting the needy, and taking from the weak to please the strong.

The poverty of addiction to more and more things; drugs, drink, work, self, violence, power, fleeting fame, and an unjust status quo.

The poverty of fear which keeps you from doing the thing you think is right.

The poverty of convenient ignorance about the needs of those around you and of despair and cynicism.

God help us end poverty in our time, in all its faces and places, young and old, rural, urban, suburban and small town too, and in every color of humans You have made everywhere.

God help us to end poverty in our time in all its guises -- inside and out -- physical and spiritual, so that all our and Your children may live the lives that you intend.

 Marian Wright-Edelman, President - Children's Defense Fund

U.S. Flag Comes Down And Iraq War Is Officially Over

Gen. Lloyd Austin, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Command Sgt. Maj. Joseph Allen "case the colors" at the ceremony in Baghdad marking the official end of the U.S. military mission in Iraq. Read Article:  http://www.npr.org/2011/12/15/143791674/u-s-flag-comes-down-and-iraq-war-is-officially-over

Be Magnificent!

Why are you choosing to be second best, less than, not quite and almost there? Simply choose to be the magnificent being you were created to be.  You come from a source of pure beauty, magnificence and love.  Reach the  heights of your soul's longings.  Don't decide that because your goals have not yet manifested themselves, that it will never happen.  Continue to put in the work, dream and be inspired.  Be your Magnificent Self......and remember, that you come from a source of Love and Magnificence.....Your goal should be......... always  transcending to that greater, higher place .............Be Magnificent!!!

Happy Holidays from 'The First Family' 2011

President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle, Sasha, Malia and a host of elves.

Today's message is in the music.....'Keep Your Head to the Sky'....listen:

Master told me one day
I’d find peace in every way
But in search for the clue
Wrong things I was bound to do

Keep my head to the sky
For the clouds to tell me why
As I grew, and with strength
Master kept me as I repent
And he said

Keep your head to the sky......Keep your head to the sky

Even on a rainy day.......

Today is rainy, cold and not as pretty as a day filled with beaming sunshine. Yet.....it is still a day filled with opportunity and expectancy for 'all good things.' Even on a rainy day, you can find pleasure in the simple things......reading a book, listening to music, sharing a cup of tea/coffee with a great friend or simply just 'being' and listening to the rain.  Yes, even on a rainy day, you can be thankful that you were able to place your feet on the floor this morning and stretch your body and move into a day where your value is appreciated.

Even on a rainy day....the rain sounds wonderful falling on the rooftops and splashing against the windowpane.  A washing away,.....a cleansing......a renewing and a reminder to complete those unfinished tasks.....yes....Even on a rainy day.....it's still another beautiful day!

A rainy day compels you to get those 'inside things' taken care of....not necessarily in the world of inside work, but the inside work of the soul.  Allow the rain to motivate you to wash away sadness, despair, depression, doom and gloom.  Recharge while the raindrops are falling.....Propel yourself into a new, dry arena of possibilities. Dry the tears, if they're falling......you can do all of this.......'even on a rainy day.'

Sonny Rollins Receives Kennedy Center Honors!

Sonny Rollins Receives Kennedy Center Honors!

 

Sonny Rollins was one of five individuals who have been selected to receive the Kennedy Center Honors of 2011.

 Along with fellow recipients singer Barbara Cook, singer and songwriter Neil Diamond, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and actress Meryl Streep, Rollins was honored at the 34th annual national celebration of the arts on December 4."I am deeply appreciative of this great honor," said Mr. Rollins, "In honoring me, the Kennedy Center honors jazz, America's classical music. For that, I am very grateful."

I am personally, very excited about this honor and extremely happy for Mr. Rollins.  To read the entire article, continue here to Jazz Times: http://jazztimes.com/articles/29041-sonny-rollins-honored-by-kennedy-center-and-president-obama

World Aids Day.....Goal: Zero! The fight is NOT over -

As I appear through the eyes of a friend...........