Wednesday, September 25, 2013

What Inspires Me

I have had several people tell me that my bravery to overcome obstacles and my bravery for wanting to enjoy my life have inspired them. Either to put themselves out there and share their gifts, or to do that one thing that they have always wanted to try but were to afraid of what others might think if they tried it and failed. Or even sometimes to just start that internal journey of evaluating their own souls and finding what brings them their own personal bliss.

But for every person who has told me I inspire them there are just as many who ask who inspires me. So today I want to share a couple of links to some amazing people and their blog sites or vlog sites and show others those who truly have helped me become the person I am becoming with each and every passing day.

People who have decided that surviving is not living and have decided that following their own bliss is something that has value not only for themselves but also for their own personal journey.  People who I follow or who I watch and listen to. People who have helped me clear the fog often surrounding my brain and helped me see clearer regarding what is reality and what is fear based. The fear based and only holding me back from the things I enjoy and living the life I was born to live.  Or in the immortal words of Star Trek, Fear is only created to be overcome.

I have written about overcoming obstacles in your daily lives.  How sometimes those obstacles help us grow and become wiser and stronger for the journey ahead. But I also feel it is important to understand what is behind my desire to find my own personal bliss and to helping me with the road map of my journey that often remains a mystery for those without a network of friends and family or mentors that can guide you along the way.

First I want to mention Dawn Kirk,  this amazing lady although I have never met in person I have spoken with several times via the internet as well as I read her blog and watch her vlogs.  I am amazed at how strong she is even in the face of adversity and never gives up, even when most would say I am not making a difference and stop trying.  I will include a link to her sites below.

Dawn Kirk Imagine the shift Vlog Site

Dawn Kirk Imagine the Shift Blog Site

Dawn Kirk Facebook page for Imagine the Shift

Another amazing woman I have had the pleasure of knowing offline as well as reading her blog and always enjoying the many recipes and advise she shares in them is Lady Feri. Now that isn't her birth name but it is the name she writes under and is known by, She is a wonderfully strong and courageous woman who has taught me over the multitude of years that I have known her how to grab life by the horns and live it to the fullest. I personally do not think this woman is afraid of anything.  She is self employed success who goes where she wants, does what she wants and follows her own personal bliss on a daily basis.  She has inspired me to be braver to to take chances when they present themselves in my life in order to expand my horizons and live the life I was born to live.

Help by Lady Feri

Another less public person but just as important is a volunteer with our canine Rescue, Rose Burrow. She is our Director of Creative Arts.  That title means that she is our go to girl for handling anything having to do with PR or artwork or even fundraising.  She is an amazing person who has taught me to embrace my wild side and instead of hiding my head in the sand to actually go for it when my dreams need to become a reality.  She is my friend as well as my coworker and the editor of an online magazine called White Gloves and Latex Gauntlets.  This publication showcases local talent and what is going on within the artist community.  She has been a close friend and a sister by another mother to me for almost half a decade now and I am very thankful to not only have her guidance but to also to borrow her own personal strength from time to time.

White Gloves and Latex Gauntlets Facebook page

Another female that has inspired me whether she realizes it or not and is rather adult in nature is a website known as the twisted Broad. She is never afraid to address issues that others may shy away from. Sharing her knowledge and her experiences in hopes of encouraging others to take a walk on the wild side, or just communicate with those in their lives in hopes of improving the quality of life of her readers. She has a blog and a vlog sites and I adore watching her new videos or even just reading her status updates. 

Twisted Broad Youtube channel

Twisted Broad Facebook page

Another person who inspires me and makes me strive to be a better happier person is Dawn Spalding and her charming husband Adam.  They have even in these tough economic times started their own business and are working together as a team to make it a success. Their company cleans aquariums and I have known Dawn for many years prior to them beginning their company and she has always been the most honest straight shooting person I have known.  She inspires me because through it all she has taught me that true love, not the hollywood kind of love but a real partnership between two people can survive anything and that if you want something bad enough you have to work your butt off to make it happen.  She is an amazing person and she is one of the many intelligent people who motivate me to be the best I can be and to stretch myself to accomplish what I want out of this life.

The Aquarium Nerds Facebook Site

Another amazingly strong person who inspires me is Carolyn Dickerson, she runs a website called Look great, lose weight, and save money.  Her website is filled with tips and tricks on how to look your best and feel your best even when you are operating on a budget. I enjoy watching her vlogs and reading her latest articles. To me she is a super woman. 

Look great, Lose Weight, Save Money Website

Carolyn Dickerson Channel on Youtube

I have also been inspired by many people within my family who I admire their strength and courage. My youngest daughter Patricia Drach is very young but still an inspiration to those who know her.  She began her own photography site and is working towards making her dreams a reality.

Patricia Drach Photo facebook site

My middle daughter Amber Kolaski has written and self published her first book.  To me that is an amazing demonstration of determination to make her dream of being a writer a reality. She juggles the many responsibilities in her life with her dreams and goals and has a never give up mentality about it.  As well as publishing a blog sharing her insights and experiences as being a mom of multiples and learning to multitask on several different levels.

Fire Riders by Amber Kolaski

Amber Kolaski Blog Site

I am blessed to have surrounded myself with amazing and intelligent people.  I have chosen wisely when deciding who I would allow within my inner circle of friends to only pick those who not only understand my desire to be more than I am today but to encourage me to be all that I am capable of being.  There are many others that I draw inspiration from but most of those people are very private and don't feel the need to share their gifts with websites or blog sites or even a vlog or two.  I truly appreciate those as well.  But this handful of folks are just a sampling of the amazing people I share my life with and get my inspiration from. 

Sometimes it may simply be something said in a passing conversation, or perhaps it is watching them overcome obstacles and issues that would cripple the average person and stalemate their desires to reach their end goal.  But I draw inspiration from a wide variety of people and a very wide variety of places. From the television shows I choose to watch through the books I choose to read.  I don't allow negative people to limit my abilities nor do I allow them to feed off my creative energies.

If you want something you have to work at it, that includes being happy.  You have to decide what is in your best interest and in the best interest of those you include in your circle of friends.  You have to take an active participation in your life and in the choices you make or you will always be at the mercy of those around you.  I have learned that life lesson from watching these amazing people and many like them.

I am pretty sure that many of my readers thought when I labeled this blog What Inspires me that I would mention famous people or religious groups. I am inspired by those around me who are just like me, who do what they have to do and deal with the ups and downs of living a real life. Who plug away day after day pursuing their dreams and following their own bliss.  Who are role models for me to watch and learn from.  Who in my eyes are living the life I want to live and helping me figure out exactly how to go about doing that.

I hope my blog today has given you some food for thought. I hope that you click on one or more of the sites I have shared and see if perhaps these folks can help inspire you as well.  That you take each day for what it is a gift because our time on this planet is not guaranteed and  if you put off following your bliss until you have more time, more money, or more knowledge many times that day never arrives.  You don't have to be rich or famous to inspire people, you don't even have to be the best of the best. If you are out there living that dream, showing others that it is a doable thing. Many times they will join you on that journey and even help you learn first hand what works and what doesn't.

Until next time blog buddies, stay safe, stay sane and be happy.


 
I learn a lot from the dogs I share my life with.
They have taught me that there is nothing on this planet that cannot be solved with a nap and a full belly.  They have also taught me that when life gives you an opportunity for happy experiences you should grab it with all you have and hold on to that happiness. If it is a run in the yard or a nap on the sofa. To live in this moment, but to dream of next week and to always be as happy as possible.






Thursday, September 12, 2013

Through Adversity we often find our Truest Selves

Sometimes life throws you a curve ball, something that may or may not have set off your early warning systems.  Things sometimes appear on your horizon or even pop up out of the clear blue, but how you handle it will often help dictate how you live the rest of your life.  Many times we are all tried and tested by fire.  The loss of a loved one or the change of our employment situation can often trigger responses we were unaware existed within our own souls.  We may be anger or hurt, disbelief and shock are common as well. We may blame ourselves or others all the while wondering how this will affect our long term goals and dreams.  But don't stress it. Change is inevitable.  It is the only thing certain in our lives.

People come and go, some by choice some by accident.  Bad things do happen to good people but you cannot allow those feelings of pain and hurt to stop you from living a good life.  You cannot hide away in a shell and bury you head in the sand because those feelings will still be there when you come up for air.

I don't share many details of my personal life on my blog and I try to keep my blogs very generalized for several reasons.  One is my blog is read by a lot of folks all over the globe and to be honest I don't feel comfortable sharing my deepest darkest and sometimes saddest moments of my life.  Second I do it because if you know me well you already know what is going on in my personal life and don't need it to be in print to understand my words or my thoughts in my blog. And thirdly because we all have problems. Even the happiest people on the planet have bad days. Days when you burn your toast, spill your coffee and break a heal on your favorite pumps as you are walking out the door on your way to work.  We all have them. It isn't a matter of living a perfect life. It is a matter of being able to rise above the issues of every day life and putting them in perspective.

Some problems have longer lasting effects than others, but with time everything shows the reason for facing such adversity. It may be to help us grow into the people we wouldn't become without having a little drama in our life.  It may to help us understand another persons problem better for having been there done that.  It may simply be to shake up our world and remind us what is truly important in our life.  Whatever the reason always pay attention when bad times come for a visit.  Never simply assume they happened because you were due for a stretch of bad luck or that you have done something to bring the karma fairy to your doorstep. 

Sometimes things happen just because they can.  Sometimes we need that wake up call to remind us that life is short and if we are so busy focusing on what lies ahead we forget to stop and enjoy the moments that make life worthwhile.  Sometimes bad things happen just because they can.  I don't know that is a question for another time but it is something to think about while sitting in traffic cursing that slow moving motorist in front you who is making you late for your appointment.

Sometimes life changes in an instant.  It can go from sunny and mild to thunderstorms and lightening in the blink of an eye. Something we may have counted on being with us for the rest of our lives can be lost or destroyed without any warning or any red flags. Sometimes that nagging voice in the back of our heads may give us a heads up and other times its like being hit by a bus on your way home from work. You just didn't see it coming.  But never fear, if you can pick yourself up from the sidewalk after being hit and survive it chances are, things are looking up.

Things always look worst in the heat of the moment. You feel like your heart has been ripped out of your chest and you aren't sure you are capable of taking that next breath.  You want the world to stop spinning and you want the life you had 10 minutes before it happened. Sometimes you may even convince yourself that it isn't real just a bad dream and you will wake up just any second now. But then you don't and with time you come to the realization that it is real and this is your life and you cannot escape it.

But don't let it jade you or stop you from being happy.  A bad moment does not a bad life make.  A bad moment is just that a bad moment.  For this too shall pass, as my dear Mema used to say.  At times of trouble I often hear her wise words echoing in my head. Things she said when I was a child but I didn't understand at the at time, but now as I have grown older and wiser I finally understand. 

I was blessed to be raised by a very Southern Grandmother who always had a witty saying for every situation.  I look back on my time at her house during the summer breaks from School and wonder how I survived to adulthood.  Whatever she told me not to do I usually did anyway and often learned the hard way why I should have listened to her advice.  We had this very wild pony on Grandma's farm. It would let you touch it and it would take an apple from your hand and even let you touch its velvety soft nose. But you couldn't ride that pony. 

One day I asked my grandmother why we didn't ride the pony.  She told me that the pony has once belonged to a couple who had a bundle of small kids and the pony was ridden every single day until it almost dropped from exhaustion but as the pony grew older it became harder and harder for it to keep up with that whole passel of kids.  The neighbors decided that the old pony had seen better days and were going to send it off to auction when my grandmother stepped in. She herself had raised a handful of kids and she knew how it felt to never get a break when it came to all that energy kids often have. So she agreed to take that pony and to let it live out its remaining days in her back pasture. It came and went as it liked. She always made sure it had food and water and shelter from the heat and the cold. But for all intense purposes the pony was wild.

One day I decided I was going to ride that pony, even through my grandmother had told me not to. She said to be respectful of the old horse and let it be.  She allowed us to take it down special treats and we could sit and watch it graze in the pasture but no one was allowed to ride it.  My cousins and I spent every summer with my Grandmother. It was a chance for us to escape the boring summer ahead of us in our urban city.  And spending time picking corn and leaning how to live in a more rural setting was always a welcome break not just for us but for our parents as well.

So I made up a bridle from some old twine I found from a hay bale and slowly slipped it over that pony's head. No bit, no saddle just me and my rope bridle.  The pony allowed me to guide it to a near by stump and I jumped up on that pony.  At first it just stood there, probably as much in shock that I had done that as I was.  Then is began to slowly walk around. Its head very low to the ground.  Its walk turned into a trot and that trot turned into a gallop and the next thing I knew I was airborn sailing through the air headed for the old fence that the pony stayed in.

I woke up laying at an odd angle and could hear my grandmother screaming somewhere very far off but getting louder.  The pony stood about 5 feet from me just looking at me, that old rope halter askew on its head, one ear still in the other had already escaped. Just looking at me as if to say, you should have listened to your grandmother.

My grandmother was surprised that I hadn't killed myself, and I never tried to ride that pony every again and it lived many years after that incident.  But I stood up after I caught my breath which had been knocked out of me when I hit the ground.  Dusted myself off and learned sometimes grandmothers are right. There are some things on this planet not meant to be controlled.

Life is a lot like that old pony. They are beautiful to look at, gentle and exciting to touch and be near, but sometimes you just gotta know where your limits are.  Sometimes you have to be smart enough to know when to ride and when to walk away while you still can.  So my message to you my blog buddies is this.  Sometimes in the darkest moments we learn more about ourselves and our limitations than we will ever learn in bright happy days.  Sometimes it takes hitting that ground for reality to hit home and for your sense of self to be returned.

Now I don't advice anyone to go out and find a wild pony and try their hand at riding them. It doesn't always take being airborne for you to realize that gravity exist. And sometimes bad things can happen for good reasons.  Just know that if you can still move and think and breath after a truly bad thing happens that you will be wiser and stronger for having survived the moment.

Until next time blog buddies, Stay safe, stay sane and be happy.