Holiday Blessings to All

The greatest gift is time spent with family and friends. May you enjoy many treasured moments this Holiday season! 

Finish Strong - Start Fresh

Another year is ending....time to reflect.  How much is crossed off your list?  Has anything been  added?
There's still time on the clock.....more race to be run.....Don't throw in the towel yet.
Keep pressing....continue to run the race.  Persevere and Finish Strong!

This might be your best finish yet.  Finishing might just mean deciding how your new year begins - with a Fresh Start!

World AIDS Day

World AIDS Day is held on the 1st December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day, held for the first time in 1988.

Globally there are an estimated 34 million people who have the virus. Despite the virus only being identified in 1984, more than 35 million people have died of HIV or AIDS, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in history.

World AIDS Day is important because it reminds the public and Government that HIV has not gone away – there is still a vital need to raise money, increase awareness, fight prejudice and improve education. Although World AIDS Day is a great opportunity to talk about HIV, it is important to keep the momentum going all year round.

Support Small Business Owners

The majority of the country's employers are Small Business Owners.  Don't forget to support small businesses (mom and pop shops) in your community.....not just today, but every chance you need a product or service that meets your needs.  Today is Small Business Day.....Shop Small.....Support those who allow communities to thrive!

Happy Thanksgiving

May you cherish each day.... Recognize everyday blessings- big and small. Embrace an attitude of gratitude as a way of life.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Bury the noise in your head

Silence the voice that
tells you "you can't"
Quiet the noise that
says: "don't try"
Stifle the sounds that
remind you to give up
Bury the noice
in your head.

Have you noticed that you can be your worst enemy at times?  It's not about the circumstances or present situations we tend to find ourselves in, but the noise that we continue to tune into in our own heads.  It's not the voices of the naysayers, doubters, criticizers and the haters....but us buying into their messages and continuing to replay the doubt in our heads.

There really shouldn't be an enemy on the outside who is capable of distracting/discouraging/stopping/limiting/attempting to derail you from achieving the goals that you've set and envisioned for yourself.  Your story begins and ends with the courage that you'll muster up to take the necessary steps for walking the road of your own journey and pressing daily into whatever shows up on the road.  Change that tune in your head, believe in the dream, the vision....the goal.

...Believe in YOU and:

Silence the voice that
tells you "you can't"
Quiet the noise that
says: "don't try"
Stifle the sounds that
remind you to give up
Bury the noise
in your head.
© 2015 Brenda Gale

Prioritize your time

Wow......Where did all the time go?  We'er entering into the autumn season and it seems like spring just got started.....like we just celebrated the New Year.  So, have you stayed on track so far with your priorities or did you default to falling back on  what was easier and just going with the flow?  Are goals still being accomplished?

It's easy to start making excuses a few months before the year draws to a close because we find ourselves derailed, detoured or just plain....'didn't hit the mark'.  You still have time to say 'No' to the projects which are not aligned with  your goals for the year and most importantly: which aren't aligned with your life's purpose.

Stick to the plan......the Life Blueprint....Take a chance now while you still have time (you're still living) and make the first step in the direction that continues to nag and call at you....pull and tug at your soul strings....You know that's what you should be pursuing, so lay everything else aside that doesn't hold a candle to where purpose calls and see where it takes you.  You'll be pleasantly surprised.

So, again.....time didn't go anywhere....You simply need to prioritize how you're spending it.  Finish the year strong.....Prioritize in purposeful arenas.....Soar!

Grow in new experiences

What does your next adventure entail?  Will you be travelling to some unknown destination....learning a new language....starting a new business.....taking a chance on a new relationship?  What's tugging at you....begging to be expressed.....Why are you allowing fear of the unknown to deprive you of experiences that will awaken your life entirely?

You owe it to yourself to embrace every experience that lends itself to your imagination....shows up in an encounter....and you should feel grateful that you still have time to create memories and perhaps leave a legacy and experience for others.

Don't just marinate in the limited world of your familiarity.  Strike out and embrace new experiences. Stay curious about new things....greater possibilities....the unknown.  Once you've let go of fear in any area....your spirit will refuse to let you rest in the mediocrity of limited familiarity.

Wake Up...Stretch Yourself...New Experiences Await You!

Stretch yourself....

Remain uncomfortable with fitting into the status quo.......Continue to stretch yourself.  Learn a new skill, a new language....Eat at a new restaurant....take a new route to work.  Visit a new city, state, country.....Learn about cultures outside of your own.  Stretch yourself.....remain uncomfortable and Grow in the process.

A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.

— Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Just a little more

Puuuuush.....'just a little more' is all that's needed.
A little more determination, faith and love is what puts you over the top and takes you to another level in your career, life and relationships.

What sets you apart and separates you from average or mediocre is that "extra" step.......'Just a Little More' of whatever everyone else is doing.  The second wind is what the runner is fueled by to take him/her to the finish line and the extra phone call, push-up, waking up earlier, eating one less of whatever you indulge in that's no so good for you, drinking one less cup of coffee, puffing one less cigarette.....the list goes on and on and only you know what one less or 'just a little more' means in your life for you to meet or surpass a goal you've set.

So go ahead: think and reach higher and dream, push, plan and act intentionally and push 'Just a Little More' and go a bit farther.....the extra mile takes you over the top and ahead of the crowd....to the finish line....You Got This!

Your opinion of your life should matter to you...

How often are you handing over the delicate decisions for your life to someone else?
We often given permission without realizing we're releasing that level of power and control in our lives.
We often allow people whom we 'perceive' to know what's best for us (at the time) to make decisions for us, simply because we never disagree, raise our hands or offer suggestions within the confines of environments where we actually 'have a voice'.

So...again: How often are you handing over the delicate decisions for your life to someone else?
It's your life....you should have a voice....Your voice....and it should be heard, if no one else decides to listen except You.  Speak up...speak out and Take control of the driver's seat in your life.

Whose opinion matters: Yours!

The Inspiration of Nature

There is something and everything magical and miraculous about being surrounded by nature.  Yes....Nature: trees, flowers, streams running, birds chirping.....nature.  The vast beauty of the universe invites you to sit and be quiet and simply admire and appreciate the natural beauty that sustains us.

Take time each day to relax your mind, body and soul within the confines of nature, covered by an open, beautiful sky and the sounds of the earth.  There's nothing more refreshing.....Even if it's raining -standing, dancing or singing in it won't hurt anything. *smiles*

Today....start by taking a walk, running, sitting, skipping or just standing in admiration...listening to the sounds of nature and admiring the beauty of the handiwork of creation.....The vast, beauty of this universe will inspire you to create beyond your wildest imaginations.  Nature's gift Inspires!

Living a harmonious life

...flower from my backyard

Each individual composes the music of his own life. If he injures another, he brings disharmony. When his sphere is disturbed, he is disturbed himself, and there is a discord in the melody of his life. If he can quicken the feeling of another to joy or to gratitude, by that much he adds to his own life; he becomes himself by that much more alive. Whether conscious of it or not, his thought is affected for the better by the joy or gratitude of another, and his power and vitality increase thereby, and the music of his life grows more in harmony. (BoS) 

Beauty of a new day

 

With each new sunrise, an invitation awaits for us to discover the vast beauty that surrounds us all.  Allow each day to be an adventure of opening your heart and allowing the light to flow through. There are new places, faces and spaces that have been unexplored, unrecognized.....ignored.

Stay in the present moment of what life is extending....Don't clog your mind with thoughts of yesterday and cause anxiety contemplating tomorrow.  Don't miss the miracles on the path of today's journey.  Make this very present moment count.....create a memory that may sustain you when life tosses you circumstances that will test your resilience.

All things are new with each sunrise.....a blank slate....a clean canvas.  How are you painting the scenes of your life.....What colors are you adding.....what adventures can be added to the pages of the story of your life?  Is it all the same.....how does it change....Keep it Alive...Make it Adventurous....Keep it True...Make it Beautiful!

Find a way

I'm finding new ways

to hear from the inside out

New ways to find space

to create what's beautiful

from within.

I'm finding new ways

to share what I'm hearing

to manifest in

the space that I've cleared.

Have you found a way...

do you hear your voice, 

did you clear the space,

to share all the beauty

from within....If not,

Find a way....

© 2015 BrendaGale

Spring into action

Spring ~ the time when all things bloom and change is in the air.  Although spring brings with it the discomforts of pollen and other irritants, the simple thought of colors of nature, birds chirping and tossing of heavier garments makes it all worthwhile.

What are you tossing during this new season?  Are you on track with your resolutions for this year?  We're practically an entire quarter into the new year and some people are still struggling to get in motion and take action on what they 'promised' they would accomplish this time around.

Now is the perfect time to take inventory of those things which aren't working....which aren't adding any value to your purpose, which are weighing you down and causing chaos to abound in your life.  Rid yourself of anything that doesn't add value to any area of purpose in your dwelling, being....life.  Re-calibrate your plans....make the needed adjustments and forge ahead, but don't you dare give up.

Spring ---- Yes, spring into action and do some soul-cleansing.....Be honest with yourself and tell others the truth, so they might free themselves from what's holding them back as well.

Let's get on track and stay on track and Spring into a wonderful season of being the very best at catapulting our goals into full gear and staying in our lanes to finish a grand 2015.  Happy Spring!

Be Still....Seek Peace

Peace provides the foundation for all else to come in this life.  If your life revolves around rush, rush, rush and anxiety-filled days, it's hard to hear clear instructions from the core of where all answers lie.

Slow down today; Be still and listen....quiet your mind and soothe your spirit in the things that bring complete relaxation to your mind, body and spirit.

It's impossible to gain clarity in this life, with all the hustle and bustle and noise unless you are intentional about slowing down, getting quiet and simply listening.

Gain Peace....and then move, with assurance, in the direction of clear instructions and purpose.

50th Anniversary of 'Bloody Sunday'

This Day in History: March 7, 1965 - Marks 50 years since the attack on protesters, remembered as 'Bloody Sunday' -The march gained the nickname "Bloody Sunday" after its 600 marchers were attacked at the Edmund Pettus Bridge after leaving Selma; --- The three Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965 were part of the Selma Voting Rights Movement and led to the passage that year of the Voting Rights Act, a landmark federal achievement of the 1960's American Civil Rights Movement. Activists publicized the three protest marches to walk the 54-mile highway from Selma to the Alabama state capital of Montgomery as showing the desire of black American citizens to exercise their constitutional right to vote, in defiance of segregationist repression.

A series of discriminatory requirements and practices disenfranchised most of the millions of African Americans across the South since the turn of the century. The African American group known as The Dallas County Voters League (DCVL) launched a voters registration campaign in Selma in 1963. Joined by organizers from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), they began working that year in a renewed effort to register black voters. Finding resistance by white officials to be intractable, even after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended segregation, the DCVL invited Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the activists of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to join them. SCLC brought many prominent civil rights and civic leaders to Selma in January 1965. Local and regional protests began, with 3,000 people arrested by the end of February.

On February 26, 1965, activist and deacon Jimmie Lee Jackson died after being mortally shot several days earlier by a state trooper during a peaceful march in Marion, Alabama. To defuse and refocus the community's outrage, SCLC Director of Direct Action James Bevel, who was directing SCLC's Selma Voting Rights Movement, called for a march of dramatic length, from Selma to the state capital of Montgomery. Bevel had been working on his Alabama Project for voting rights since late 1963.

The first march took place on March 7, 1965. Bevel, Amelia Boynton, and others helped organize it. The march gained the nickname "Bloody Sunday" after its 600 marchers were attacked at the Edmund Pettus Bridge after leaving Selma; state troopers and county posse attacked the unarmed marchers with billy clubs and tear gas. Law enforcement beat Boynton unconscious; media publicized a picture of her lying wounded on the bridge worldwide.

The second march took place March 9. Troopers, police, and marchers confronted each other, but when the troopers stepped aside to let them pass, King led the marchers back to the church. He was seeking protection by a federal court for the march. That night, a white group beat and murdered civil rights activist James Reeb, a Unitarian Universalist minister from Boston, who had come to Selma to march in the second march. Many other clergy and sympathizers from across the country also attended the second march.

The violence of "Bloody Sunday" and of Reeb's death led to a national outcry and some acts of civil disobedience, targeting both the Alabama state and federal governments. The protesters demanded protection for the Selma marchers and a new federal voting rights law to enable African Americans to register and vote without harassment. President Lyndon Johnson, whose administration had been working on a voting rights law, held a televised joint session of Congress on March 15 to ask for the bill's introduction and passage.

With Governor Wallace refusing to protect the marchers, President Johnson committed to do so. The third march started March 21. Protected by 2,000 soldiers of the U.S. Army, 1,900 members of the Alabama National Guard under Federal command, and many FBI agents and Federal Marshals, the marchers averaged 10 miles (16 km) a day along U.S. Route 80, known in Alabama as the "Jefferson Davis Highway". The marchers arrived in Montgomery on March 24 and at the Alabama State Capitol on March 25. With thousands having joined the campaign, 25,000 people entered the capital city that day in support of voting rights.

The route is memorialized as the Selma To Montgomery Voting Rights Trail, and is a U.S. National Historic Trail. #Selma50 #BloodySunday  

“No one can construct for you the bridge upon which precisely you must cross the stream of life; no one but you yourself alone.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche

Progress begins with action

Don't be that judge, that critic, that bearer of negative review, whose criticism adds insult to injury and are intended, in no shape, form or fashion to empower those being critiqued by you. Are you the one sitting back waiting to find fault...to point out errors, to judge quickly, simply because you're too afraid to actually get on about the business of the "doing" of the thing that you so resent someone else attempting? 

Be careful of your assessments of those who have actually thrown off the cloak of fear and decided to step into the ring to follow their dreams, whether they come up short or they eventually make the great success of the vision they've dreamed about for years.  

So, take it easy and recognize what your true intention is when you start to "critique" a subject/subject matter.  Your task is secondary....progress can only happen by those who are attempting the task.

"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things." -  Theodore Roosevelt

You hold the keys to your own well-being

"God has entrusted me with myself." – Epictetus

If you don't take your personal success into your own hands, no one will do it for you. We may not be in control of every external influence or experience but we do have free choice and control of what we do and think. Excuses and placing blame on others or situations will simply stall any progress. Start with small practical changes. Ultimately, your success is dependent on you. (Taken from article: 8 Ancient Sayings to Inspire Health & Happiness, David Zulberg) Read more ancient sayings here from MindBodyGreen

Daily diet of Faith, Truth & Love

 It's not about what others are telling you or trying to convince you to believe.....It's all about what YOU Believe.  What's happening with your steady diet of "self-talk" - Are you feeding your mind what is needed to keep you healthy spiritually, intellectually and emotionally?  Be sure to include a steady stream of Faith, Truth and Love in your mind's diet. It does your life good...recommended intake throughout the day.....impossible to overdose!

Step into the Arena

Step into the arena! Start taking steps to start the business, write the book, finish school, start school, change your diet, begin the exercise plan, be kinder.....Whatever thoughts you have or whatever visions have been placed on the back-burner...Now is the time to start. 

Don't be the spectator, sitting back criticizing the deeds of everyone else, who was at least BOLD enough to take a chance....to actually, get in the arena and test the waters and see what the end results  would be.  Don't allow your resentment of those who've actually stepped up to the plate cause you to be the critical spectator.....Don't just think about, dream about and talk about what should be done ...Get in the arena and take the hard blows....setbacks heal in time, but at least you'll know what you're made of and you'll know that at least YOU Tried, so .... Step into the Arena!

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” - Theodore Roosevelt

MLK Day: Remembering Dr. King's legacy

It's a Day ON.....not a day off: On MLK Day, Americans across the country come together for a day of service, picking up the baton handed to us by past generations and carrying forward their efforts. As one people, we show that when ordinary citizens come together to participate in the democracy we love, justice will not be denied.

So make the commitment to serve your community throughout the year – and make MLK Day a day "ON" not a day off.  There is still much work to be done. 

Birthday Remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY: Martin Luther King, Jr., was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, to Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. and Alberta Williams King. His legal name at birth was Michael King. King's father was also born Michael King. The father changed his and his son's names following a 1934 trip to Germany to attend the Fifth Baptist World Alliance Congress in Berlin. It was during this time he chose to be called Martin Luther King in honor of the German reformer Martin Luther. King received a doctorate degree in theology and in 1955 helped organized the first major protest of the African-American civil rights movement: the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott. Influenced by Mohandas Gandhi, he advocated civil disobedience and nonviolent resistance to segregation in the South. The peaceful protests he led throughout the American South were often met with violence, but King and his followers persisted, and the movement gained momentum.

A powerful orator, King appealed to Christian and American ideals and won growing support from the federal government and Northern whites. In 1963, Bayard Rustin and A. Philip Randolph led the massive March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom; the event's grand finale was King's famous "I Have a Dream" address. Two hundred and fifty thousand people gathered outside the Lincoln Memorial to hear the stirring speech. In 1964, the civil rights movement achieved two of its greatest successes: the ratification of the 24th Amendment, which abolished the poll tax, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited racial discrimination in employment and education and outlawed racial segregation in public facilities. Later that year, King became the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize. In the late 1960s, King openly criticized U.S. involvement in Vietnam and turned his efforts to winning economic rights for poor Americans. He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968.

Additional information on Dr. King:
http://www.nobelprize.org/…/pe…/laureates/1964/king-bio.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.

Be About the Change this Year

We're now two full weeks into a New Year.  Have you committed to making 2015 better than last year?  Well, so far, the media has made this year seem like....it "could" be tumultuous.  If you were to actually lean on the news media updates to serve as the barometer for your daily living, you will be in some serious trouble, so limit your intake of negative/for entertainment only/repeat news updates. 

Commit to finding time each day for introspection..... for daily quiet, peace and tranquil moments, where you are seeking only to hear from God/the universe.  When you awaken each morning, you should not be rushing and jumping out of bed to blast into a new day.  Take time to open your eyes, breathe and first Give Thanks that you have been granted a new day....another chance. Be grateful that you were guarded and protected throughout your slumber and affirm that: All Is Well/All Will Be Well.

Commit to finding the time to volunteer for a cause that you've been talking about and promising to get involved in, but simply haven't made a real "commitment" to.  Become the change that you complain about....Be the model of good in the face of evil.  Don't just think about and talk about improvements this year.....Get out...make some noise...show up and Be About the Change!  

Within the silence

The deafening sound
of a voice silenced
A voice that no longer
speaks, but now beckons
for me to listen

The ending of a story
of a life that was truly
beginning...
Inviting me to this new
way of hearing

The deafening silence
of the laughter, the
long talks...the opinions
No longer

The beginning of
a new way of hearing
Inviting me to now listen
Listen to the memories
the laughter, the long talks
the opinions,
within the silence
© 2015 Brenda Gale

"On the mountains of truth you can never climb in vain: either you will reach a point higher up today, or you will be training your powers so that you will be able to climb higher tomorrow." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Faith or Fear

What will you feed this year?  Where will your focus lie?  Will you steer your life's focus in the direction of what Faith propels or will you allow Fear to paralyze and keep you stuck?

Just as you would strengthen a muscle by using it, you will also strengthen either Faith or Fear in your life.  What will you focus on this year.....what area will you add muscle to ..... Remember, you strengthen what you use more of.....so...You choose: Faith or Fear.

I would propose that you choose Faith over Fear....exercise it often....Even if you're afraid of stepping out on the venture that you know you've been called to walk in....Do it anyway...do it afraid and continue doing it until you're strong in that area and fear no longer has a place in your thought process.  Once you've overcome a fear....it no longer holds you hostage.

Allow this year to be a year of Faith....a year of stepping out and building and strengthening your Faith day after day after day and month after month until...you'll look up and notice that you've built your Faith muscle up by the end of this year and you're stronger and better for it.

Faith or Fear?  What will you exercise in the days and months ahead.....what will you feed this year?
Walk by Faith.....silence fear.

Happy New Year