Thought 10: Connecting in Meaningful Ways 30 Day Challenge

Kindness is a powerful way to change the world. That one kind word that lifted someone's spirits - changed their world. Change the world one kind act at a time.

Thought 9: Connecting in Meaningful Ways 30 Day Challenge

All those higher consciousness things that you do for other people like compassion, forgiveness, unconditional love, kindness...practice first with yourself to perfect it, and then with the world to engage it.

With Love,
Betsy

Thought 8: Connecting in Meaningful Ways 30 Day Challenge

Don't walk away from what you are passionate about, run towards it!

“I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. . . . In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness." Henry D. Thoreau

For me, this stage of my life is about simplifying and moving towards that which I am passionate about. It's a great space to be in.

With Love,
Betsy

Thought 7: Connecting in Meaningful Ways 30 Day Challenge

How much of our time is spent looking behind us, or in front of us, or looking over the fence at what we don't have, but might want? How much of our time is spent somewhere else besides, here...now...in this one time element that we DO have? The present moment holds amazing potential that we mostly fritter away worrying about the past, or planning for the future. Your love affair with life should be with the present moment, with those who stand before you, or just now walked into your life. A tree in an acorn is like your world in this moment. Don't ever loose sight of the wonder of that simple acorn that is this present moment.

With Love,
Betsy

Thought 6: Connecting in Meaningful Ways 30 Day Challenge

What if we were to look at life mathematically? What if we made KINDNESS the common denominator? Here's how it would work - as we go about our day, as we do things, as we interact with others, as we look, see, touch, feel, hear - do it with the denominator of kindness. 

Here is an example: As I take my morning walk - I do it with kindness. I give the dog an extra pat as I'm putting on her harness. I walk mindful of the earth and I pick up a discarded candy wrapper that I see and tuck it in my pocket thinking that being kind to the environment is as important as being kind to each other. I smile at the people I pass and say, "Good morning!" truly wishing them a good morning and a truly happy day.

It is a life changer - both for yourself, and for those to whom you choose to be kind.

With Love,
Betsy 

Thought 5: Connecting in Meaningful Ways 30 Day Challenge

When I see a homeless person, pushing a cart full of stuff down the street I find myself getting angry and indignant about how society is, and how government is, and how the world is, and how people are...

In that moment who has the problem? The "homeless person"...or me?

The personal insight provided in that moment is not about poverty, or the inequities of the world, it's about what I see and how I see it - that I used the lens of anger, and indignation, and righteousness and painted a truly confrontational and antagonistic world.

I ask myself, "what would this moment look like through the lens of love, of curiosity, of wonder, and of possibility? And I run that scenario and it looks VERY different...it feels VERY different...and I realize...WOW!...this is the way to engage with and change the world!

With Love,
Betsy

Thought 4: Connecting in Meaningful Ways 30 Day Challenge

Perspective determines how you move through life - how you see the world is how the world is. Don't get me wrong, this isn't about being delusional, but it is about that one thing that is truly yours...that one thing that nothing, and no one can change unless YOU let them. It is about the glass being half full or half empty and what does full and empty mean to you. In the end, the world IS, but the quality of your life is yours to create, to shape, to form. What masterpiece will today be? What's even more interesting is that what you consistently choose - your perspective - WILL start to change the world around you, and it reaches out like the waves created when a pebble is toss in a pond, changing your circumstances, impacting your future. Pay attention to your perspective and change the world - simple, but not easy.

With Love,
Betsy