Sharing Poetry - Inspiration

To all the wonderful people in my life:

 

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.

When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person...

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.

They may seem like a godsend and they are. They are there for a reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrong doing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.

What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Sometimes people come to your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. BELIEVE it, it is REAL.

But; only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons, things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.

Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.

It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

Thank you for being a part of my life,

whether you were a reason, a season or a lifetime.

Happiness is Sunday morning church with loved ones.

It is a journey, not a destination.

Happiness is a choice.

It is grabbing all the gusto you can get from life.

Happiness is sometimes strange in that it varies with time, experience and wisdom.

Happiness is in giving something to someone, although you still need it.

There is happiness in braving life’s storms.

Happiness is warm, yes it is.

It comes from within us, welling from the depths of our souls.

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.

It's smiling at a stranger as you pass by, and having them smile back.

Happiness is saying 'Yes' to life and 'Thank you' and 'I accept everything’.

Happiness is living as large as we can and saying, 'I'm so lucky to participate in this experience.

How we react to the changes of fortune often determines our happiness. When we are willing to let go of how we need to influence the outcome, to make things happen, and instead learn to enjoy the process and gifts we receive along the way, we can find happiness.

Happiness is being off on a lazy Sunday afternoon thinking back over the work-week,

basking in the warm glow of time well spent with family,

and giving thanks to God for His many blessings.

Make a grab for that golden ring of happiness. 

Try it, and happiness will find you.

© 2009 by Leona G. Shankle

Have you ever encountered a person who does nothing but whine and complain, about any thing and everything? I did, a few months ago and it came back to mind when the person’s name came up in a conversation with another friend.

The last conversation immediately reminded me that we need to preserve our positive outlook on life. We need to guard it as sacred. What's interesting is that it requires the same effort to dwell on positive, uplifting and inspiring things, as it does to think about negative things. The challenge, and the hard part for many of us, is to develop the discipline to focus on the positives until it becomes habit. 

I can't explain the effect staying positive has had on me, but I promise being in a positive environment yields positive results. It is also better for blood pressure, knots in the stomach, and many other physical maladies. I work hard to hold on to a positive attitude and succeed most of the time. Now I need to work on being a bit more positive ALL the time.

There’s this recent research that when people are too positive, they’re not believed, and it backfires. We all know it's easier to find the bright side when you start with something positive than it is when starting with something negative.  

The flipside of the coin is that it seems most people have a negative view of the world.  Why would we knowingly fill our mind with other people's negative stuff? It is a perfect recipe for pain. Whether one believes it or not, it is true -- staying with negative people can really affect you mentally.

I think because so many people are used to complaining and not doing anything about it that they are just negative in general, they don't know how to handle compliments, happy people or nice things being said about them or anybody else.

We can start to take control of the negative in our lives by limiting our exposure to pessimistic people and negative reports. It is empowering to stay away from both negative news and people. While we can't totally avoid negative people and negative actions, we CAN limit our exposure to them and consciously choose to not let it affect us. It might take some work on our part but, it is worth the effort.  

I find that by not constantly listening to the news or reading depressing news stories, I don't think about or dwell on negative happenings very much. That helps so that when there are situations I cannot control but I have to deal with, I am not already overloaded with negative stuff.

What are your thoughts on “accentuating the positive and eliminating the negative”? What do you do to stay positive? What do you do when you encounter extremely negative people? I’d love to hear your comments or views if you are inclined to share them.

Don’t Worry, Be Happy!