Gratitude

The Happiness of Your Life Depends on The Quality of Your Thoughts. 

Gratitude Turns What We Have Into Enough
Some days you may feel down, depressed, saddened, etc... maybe something didn't go "right" today, or maybe NOTHING went right today. But is it the end? No, there is always tomorrow. Many times we may experience these up and down moments or days, but we must always remember the GOOD Things in our lives and BE GRATEFUL for what we DO HAVE and not dwell on what we don't.

The unthankful heart... discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings! ~ Henry Ward Beecher 

Instead of continuing to tell yourself of what you don't have in your life at the moment or haven't achieved, remind yourself of what you DO HAVE and what you HAVE DONE & ACHIEVED and how you can continue to do more! You may have already accomplished great feats and achievements, but remember, God doesn't set any limit for your dreams, so continue to let them grow and continue to chase after them set the bar high and don't be afraid to try!

Difficulty Presents Opportunity

Don't get discourage by difficulty, this is the only way you can learn/achieve something new. 

"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity" ~ Albert Einstein 

Sometimes, the days may grow long, work gets tiring, getting older seems to only proceed onward. But we cannot let these small matters overcome the larger picture. The larger picture that includes all of the positives in your life! How Grateful do you feel today? What are you Grateful/Thankful for at the moment? Good health, family, friends, a secure job, good weather, etc.. the list could go on. The list of things you should be thankful for is infinite & sometimes you just need to slow down and remind yourself of everything that is POSITIVE in your life at the moment. The cynicism and negative thoughts may always seem the loudest in your mind or among a group people, but the Optimistic, Positive, and Grateful thoughts are the most powerful and life changing! So let these fill your daily life and overcome the negative and cynical thoughts. 

Slow Down & Be Humble

When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself. ~ Tecumseh 

So I encourage you today and everyday to slow down and take some time out each day to reflect on this topic of Gratitude and Give Thanks for what you actually DO HAVE in your life. It may also it may help you to not get as easily discouraged by each day's events. Maybe it will help you become more humble for the small things in your life and learn not to take them for granted. You will start to notice the small little things that are often overlooked each day, such as; , having food to eat, clean water to drink, good health, electricity, money, entertainment, a good book to read, or friends and family. Whatever it is no matter how big or small hopefully you will start to realize you cannot take these things for granted no matter where you live and you should give thanks for each one. 

Gratitude & Appreciation

Give God thanks each opportunity you get and also never hesitate to give thanks to one another, show your appreciation and gratitude towards others each and every day. The smallest complement can make the biggest difference!

Appreciation is the highest form of prayer, for it acknowledges the presence of good wherever you shine the light of your thankful thoughts. ~ Alan Cohen 

Put your faith and trust in God and be grateful of everything and every opportunity he presents you! Many people wake up day after day and don't realize all of the little miracles, opportunities, and events God presents to them each day. If you haven't tried looking at it in that perspective, I encourage you to try tomorrow and one day you'll see how everything is connected. God is watching, listening, and waiting for you to reach out to him, it is never too late, He is a loving and giving God. No matter what you tell him that is on your mind or bothering you, he always listens. 

As for me, I'm  grateful just to have shoes on my feet, good health, the best family/friends I could ask for, and a loving God I can put my trust and faith in. I'm thankful for all of these reasons and so many more!
- Ross 

I'm Thankful to God and every opportunity He presents me. 

My Invincible Summer

"To see a world in a grain of sand, And a heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, And eternity in an hour." ~ William Blake

Your daily life can be any experience you want it to be. The choices you make, the thoughts you think, the actions you do or don't take. And also how you interpret things you encounter, such as how you hear, see, taste, smell, and feel. We are all unique and different in so many ways I can't describe. We may all hear the same thing, but do we all actually listen? We may all see the same thing, but we do not all see it in the same frame of mind. Are you open up enough to let life and love happen? 


Wasting Time..Worrying & Living in the Future... 

We spend our whole lives worrying about the future, planning for the future, trying to predict the future, as if figuring it out will cushion the blow. But the future is always changing. The future is the home of our deepest fears and wildest hopes. But one thing is certain when it finally reveals itself. The future is never the way we imagined it. ~ Shonda Rhimes

You, yes! you reading this post, (first off, Thank You for taking time to read my blog, you are in inspiration to me in so many ways). Do you sometimes question yourself or wonder if you are living your life to the fullest or maybe could be doing something different? I know I do at times. Maybe you wonder about being  happier, or maybe different job, or live in a different area, or wonder if this is what God had planned for you, or worry about the future? But with all these questions, we cannot have all the answers at once. Instead you need to stop worrying and start believing, trusting, and living.

"Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." ~ Howard Thurman

Live by this quote and strive to do what makes you feel "alive inside". Then you will not only feel happier and more alive, but you may impact and inspire all those around you.  Show the world what inspires you, what motivates you, what "drives/fuels" you, and live it!

We mostly work to live... Until we live to work?

Life should be about happiness for us while we experience our brief time on earth. Why do we concentrate and spend so much money and time on earthly possessions, working to spend money, then spending money to buy happiness? I encourage you to look at your purchases (other than food & utilities) do you really need all of this for happiness? So many other cultures and people in other countries the world get by with so much less than what we have each day in the United States. Think about this more often, do we always need more to eat, another helping? really? or more spending, buying, or more to endulge in? Don't buy your happiness, instead create it! Create it with what your given or what you already have and also with who you have around you. If you are only happy when you have rich earthly possessions, then you are poor mentally & morally. 

Your true wealth in this world, is how much you would have if you lost all of your money. Something money can never buy.  (Love & Happiness)

I encourage You to get back to working to "live" instead of living to "work"

Yes, earthly possessions can bring you joy or happiness, but it's not true happiness, and it's usually short-lived. So Have Less & Be More Alive. The world needs less hate, more love, less materialistic mindset, more creative, more grateful mindset. Less greed/envy, more generosity and humble people, Less pessimistic, more optimistic people. Less worry, more patience. less anger, more trust.    

“You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.” ~ Albert Camus

You can buy/waste life searching for happiness in materials and earthly possessions. You can also worry about the future until the future as already arrived and then realize all the worrying was time wasted.

The future will arrive whether you are ready or not. And happiness will only find you if you open your heart to truly experience life and the time you have each and every day. Once you do this, your life with be filled with "true" happiness and you will be ready for anything the future has in-store for you.

Stop worrying, start believing & trusting. Stop trying to buy happiness and open up your heart instead. Embrace every obstacle, every challenge, every opportunity life throws at you. Reach out and explore LIFE.

The Invincible Summer Within Us All

No matter how old you are or how much experience or in-experience you have, within you lies your very own invincible summer. What motivates you, what drives you, what inspires you and with that you can do and achieve anything you want to. You can feel young again, you can be happy, be joyful, be trusting, be optimistic, be someone who is making a better world,  be humble... The choice is yours... today. 
Sometimes it may take years of experience, sometimes it may not, but one day you will find your invincible summer.

"In the midst of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.” ~ Albert Camus

It's always been there, waiting to be free...

- Ross 

The Green Light

The Green Light....

We're all chasing it.... In one form or another.

You see the "Green Light" is different for each and every one of us. The question is; What is your "Green Light"? & do you see yourself reaching it and obtaining it? 

Maybe it's finding your; soul-mate, one true love, or the perfect job, your passion,  "calling" in life, your meaning, your truth, your purpose.  Regardless, it is something you seek with all desires of your heart. I Hope you see now how it is different for everyone around you, since we are all unique in our own way. Your heart desires many things in your lifetime, but one thing may stand out above the rest.

Just as Jay Gatsby stood at the end of his pier every night for all those years, reaching out towards the Green Light..... For His one true love.... 

"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us.

It eluded us then, but that's no matter---

Tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther....

And one fine morning---"

 ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Green Light.... 
If you haven't figured it out by now, F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" may have had a influence in the naming of this blog AND also it's continued passion to spread LOVE & HOPE to all of YOU! I actually read "The Great Gatsby" almost a year ago and was confused that it didn't quite turn out as I thought it would. I didn't quite understand what it all meant, but it took me reading a second time and more looking/diagnosing it over thoroughly, to understand what Fitzgerald was trying to get across in this "great american classic" as it is labeled by so many.  

The "Green Light" represents Jay Gatsby's hopes and dreams for the future. Therefore, to Gatsby, the light is symbolic of his "dream" which is Daisy. You can see in the beginning of the book, Gatsby is guided by the light through the darkness to lead him to his goal. It hit me hard, Jay was seeking his "Green Light" (his everlasting love) for Daisy, although she was married. He wanted to be as closest to her as possible without possibly disrupting her life. He had gone to war; traveled the world, been so many places,  but at the end of the day he stood at the end of his dock leading all back to Daisy. Which is what he most wanted in life. Standing at the end of his deck, [across the bay from Daisy & Tom's house] he would reach out at night, he had come so close, yet was so far away....

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.  ~ Henry Stanley Haskins

The Green Light in You.... 
So what do you seek and desire with all your heart? You see the thing is... it doesn't matter how old your are, whether you're 20 yrs old or 60 yrs old your heart still desires something or many things. It desires something more than anything else in this world. Only YOU know what it is....  The question will you seek it out or let it stay out of reach as Jay Gatsby almost did for so long...? 


We are all chasing something, just as Gatsby chased the Green Light. We all have different purposes in life; different meanings, different loves, different fantasies, the question is; Have you created a life for yourself where you're free to experience them? 

Things turn out best for the people who make the best out of the way things turn out.  ~ Art Linkletter

You Can Receive/Obtain It! 
Just as Gatsby believed in the Green Light. I believe in The Green Light also. No matter what the Green Light is to you specifically, it is out there for each of you. To seek, to desire, to chase after, to explore, to love, to welcome, to embrace, to dream, to discover, to hope and to learn from. You might not (achieve/acquire) or receive it all today or tomorrow for that matter. But remember if you put your heart and mind to it and give it your all [100%] then you may some day reach your "Green Light". 
Who is to tell you you cannot?

Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart. ~ Kongzi

And who is to tell you that you only have one "Green Light"?  I believe it is a series of "Green Lights" throughout our lifetime, so put your heart into it and obtain everything you seek. Promise yourself to live your life as a revolution and not just a process of evolution. ~ Anthony J. D'Angelo

"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past"   ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald 

Many of you may know, that F. Scott Fitzgerald ended his book with the quote/line above, but I think he forgot the most important part, So, I'll finish it myself.... 

"Even so, we shall press on against the waves, over each swell, continuing the motion, until one day, one moment, we finally open up and give it everything we got, and then we see..." ~ Ross 

Chase This Light.... 

Glasses of Water [Life In The Present]

Scared of losing all the time

He wrote it in a letter

He was a friend of mine

He heard you could see your future

Inside a glass of water

The ripples and the lines

And he asked

"Will I see heaven in mine?"

The past week, I've been having my struggles, with both worries of the future & pondering of the past. 

But as you know it, God was also trying to teach me something and gave me some signs along the way. The thing is it took me awhile to finally see them all come together and make sense. Do you also have times in your life that you get caught up worrying about the future or the past is on your mind constantly, reflecting on different events or things once said or done? 

Look For The Signs

One sign was earlier this week, one of my favorite Coldplay songs "Glass of Water" came on my ipod on the way home from work, and this song completely relates to this post, check it out! Another sign was the bible verse of Philippians 3:13-14. A thought came into to my mind out of nowhere to read through some of Philippians yesterday, so I was scanning though and found Philippians 3:13. As I started to read it, I knew exactly what God was trying to tell me. 

No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,  I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.  

How Full or Empty is My Glass? 

This is one question we should never ask, because it's something we'll never know. God has a plan for each of us, but we must be living in the "present" to be living out this plan and do our part. 

Son don't ask

Neither half full or empty

Is the glass

Cling to the mast 

Spend your whole life living in the past

 Going nowhere fast

Set Your Own Direction In The Present

Slow down, look around, open up, & live in the present making your own experiences. These "Signs" are all around you, for He is trying to tell you something. If you don't slow down and open up sometimes, then you'll miss out for sure. So don't get caught up in the media, news, earthly possessions, but take some time each day to not only speak to God but most importantly LISTEN to Him. (for more check out: Gatsby Life post - Breathe)  

Action & Living [Not Your Worries] in The Present Determine Your Future. 

God won't answer all your questions at once, and I know you may have never ending list of questions. So we can't look at this life as just a "Glass of water" because it will never be "crystal clear" to us. Don't let your water stand still by living in the past or constantly rippled of future worries. Instead live in the present, forget your worries of the future and days of the past. The decisions you make today to start living more in the present will ripple positively throughout your life and give you more peace in life. 

The Dalai Lama was asked what surprised him the most; 

He said: "Man, because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. 

Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. 

And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; 

the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; 

he lives as if he is never going to die, and then he dies having never really lived."

Live In The Present

So I encourage you to start living in the "Present" this is your life here on earth and remember tomorrow is not guaranteed, but Today IS . Yes, I know it is smart to plan financially for the future and remember those loving memories, but at the same time remember that LIFE is HAPPENING Now, no longer in the past and not yet in the future, but right now in your life! So open up your heart, listen and look for the signs, take chances, reach out, and be active in the present!  

Oh and what are we drinking when we're done?
just Glasses of water

- Ross

(Glass of Water lyrics by Coldplay)