Dreams beyond the rainbows

“Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high, there’s a land that I hear of once in a lullaby.  Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.”

I have been thinking of this long time ago comfort song.  Remember the dreams you had as a child, a teenager, young adult?  Or maybe it was the dreams of young parenthood or young married couple?  What were the dreams that you hoped would really come true for you?  Ever have a dream come true that turned out to be more like a nightmare than a fantastical dream?  As I think about my own dreams I have hoped for things that if I would have gotten them it would have changed my life but not in the way I thought.  And by contrast, the things I never dreamed of have had a profound impact on my life and have blessed me beyond what I could describe in any number of words.  Perhaps the real value is not in dreaming too little or too much but rather on the right things.  So dream of your success, dream of your happiness, dream of how you can invest in the life of another, dream of how you can bless someone, dream of how you can change someone’s life.  Dream big.  Start taking the steps to make your dreams a reality.  And live your dreams wherever they take you.

What does Iowa mean to you?

Perhaps you are one of those people who are addicted to watching every news segment devoted to “Election 2012.”  You have read up, you know which pundits you like, who you agree with and who you will be watching just so you can mock them.  Or perhaps you are one of those people who woke up and said, January 3^rd, what will happen today giving no thought to Iowa.  Or perhaps you are somewhere in the middle, you may or may not live in Iowa, you will keep an eye on what happens out there tonight but it will neither make nor break your day.  And then again, maybe some of you are wondering, why is this chick from Memphis, TN talking about Iowa?  So tonight is when the citizens of Iowa go to caucus and they vote on who they feel should be the candidate for the Republican Party.  Iowa is a coveted vote because it the first actual people driven vote in the election season, this is not a poll, it is a vote.  It is the thing that candidates put a lot of emphasis on, and not to be outdone the news media also falls all over themselves to cover Iowa.  Perhaps though the greatest thing to come out of Iowa is a sense that one must become invested in the concerns of the nation.  I have been reading through the quotes of Seneca, and the one that seems to apply most to the events of today is this, “a well governed appetite is the greater part of liberty.”  As I reflected on this statement the wisdom contained within continued to become more inspiriting.  I wonder how different our election season would be if we had a “well governed appetite” for what is going on in our nation.  Perhaps we could all commit to that.  We could commit to not allowing sensationalism to sweep us away, we will not become gluttons of the opinions of pundits and media personalities.  How would election 2012 be different if we took the time to evaluate what is critically important to us and which candidate best represents that?  Imagine if we took a role in our government and instead of allowing it to happen to us, we became the creator of the nation we desire to live in.  Perhaps instead of looking for a single person to “feed” our nation what it “needs” we choose to become the solution that we long for?  What if we helped out our neighbors and changed our communities because we became involved?  What if we cared for the sick and elderly and allowed our friends to help when we are feeling overwhelmed?  What if we cared for orphans and widows instead of expecting a program to be the cure?  What if we developed our own appetite for a healthy society and worked to develop it more fully?  So when you turn on the news tonight and they announce who has won caucus – think about how you can govern your own appetite to increase the greatness of our liberty.

Tell me what you came up with, I would love to hear how you are becoming involved in these our United States of America.

Bad day?

I work in the midst of bad days.  Each day I meet, talk with and spend time with people who are having really bad days.  I have sat with people when the pain is palpable.  Yet in the midst of that pain, I see smiles, and I hear people talk of the “sample of joy” that they had in that day.  I am always amazed that life is what you make of it.  Oh please do not misunderstand, I am painfully aware that all the positive thinking in the world does not make the bill collectors go away, the lifelong illness disappear, or make the problematic spouse, child, boss or whomever go away, nor does it diminish whatever situation in your life is causing your discouragement and forcing you to deal with disappointment.  However, this reality I know to be true, how I as an individual choose to live my life does impact my experiences.  The Roman stoic philosopher Seneca once said, “As is a tale so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.”  Tragedy and pain, sorrow and heartache are the very things that make our stories rich, not because of the shadows that they bring to our life’s portrait, but because they highlight the contrast of the beauty of our excellence.  So the next time you are having a bad day, when tragedy explodes into your life when sorrow seems to be trying to consume you in the midst of the questions of “why, and how could this happen?”  Ask yourself, “what next?”  What can I do next to help me survive this?  What can I do next to help me remain focused on the things that are important to me?  What can I do to ensure that this tragedy does not become my legacy?  What can I do next in this situation that will help me move myself forward to a place where this is a shadow of my life’s portrait and not the theme?

So what helps you keep your eyes up, when circumstances are telling you to look down?  I would love to hear what works for you.

New Year, New Attempts

I love Christmas time, I love New Year's and all that it signifies to me.  However I often wonder if my experiences are uniquely mine or if other's share some of the same thoughts as I do.  Every year I watch my friends make lists of New Year’s resolutions.  They plan and strategize how their life is going to be different.  And they seem to believe that because it is January 1^st that their behaviors will magically change because the calendar says it is a New Year.  I wish I could say this makes sense to me, but it does not.  For some of my friends when they fail to be magically changed then they become even more distraught because they feel as though they failed. 

Perhaps I am more traditional than I realize as I do believe in resolutions.  However I believe in making them each and every day.  I resolve to be a better mom then I was yesterday because I am aware of the distress my poor choices caused today.  I resolve each morning to be the best employee that I can be, by choosing to set aside hurts, disappointments and frustration from yesterday and living today as it is.  I resolve every day to find one person that I can serve so that I do not allow my ideals of my own importance to become supreme.  I resolve every day to choose to try to serve the One who redeemed me better than I did yesterday, because as of yet, I am not a perfect (or even close) reflection of Him.

So as you set out at this point in the year, what are you choosing to do?  What can you do today better than you did yesterday, last month, last year?