I wasn’t going to write today. Today is a big, interesting, emotionally charged day in the history of our country. But then I saw this quote, and I had to make sure that it was kept in the annals of my blog. (I see my blog as my own personal “thought museum”). There are so many times, in the history of my own life, that my life has gotten better and bigger when I finally realized that I had been giving my own power away, and so I stopped doing it. I took control of my own life, and my own destiny. I started trusting my own inner compass, more than the noise and distractions outside of me. When you get these “a-ha” moments, much like Dorothy and her shoes, when she realized that she had the power within her all along to get home (to herself) and away from Oz, these realizations are shocking, upsetting, incredulous but then freeing and energizing and empowering. You are more powerful than you realize. Don’t give your power away. Stop letting your mind be your own enemy. Channel your own mind with the eternal wisdom of the life force within you. You are powerful. Step into it.
Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.
“You have no idea how long something you say can stay in someone’s mind.” – Scarlett Leithold
This is so true, isn’t it? What swirls around in your mind (good and bad) from things that were said to you days ago, weeks ago, even decades ago? As someone who is blunt and emotional and who doesn’t always weigh her words as carefully as I should, I pray that it is mostly the good things that I have said bluntly and emotionally, that are swirling around in my people’s heads.
Words are powerful. When I learned how to drive, my dad would say that he is handing me a loaded weapon, when he handed me the car keys. Words are so often used as weapons. We walk around with the ability to brandish these weapons, instantly, at any moment. And they can be weapons that act like shrapnel from bullets, which can’t ever be completely removed from someone’s emotional body.
At the same time, words can be healers. Words can inspire and give hope and help to find meaning in what sometimes seems meaningless. No matter how they are used, words are powerful.
Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.
Here is the question of the day from 3000 Questions About Me:
“Learning about it reminded me of my regular talking point — a sad irony of our world — that the people who fight the most are always the most similar. The Israelis and Palestinians, the Ukrainians and Russians, the Catholics and Protestants, the Indians and Pakistanis, etc.” – Isaac Saul, about experiencing the bitter divide between two ethnic groups: the Collas and Cambas in Bolivia, when he was on a trip/motorcycle adventure there recently.
It’s a strange irony, isn’t it? Even in the most dangerous neighborhoods in our country and around the world, the murders are typically done to neighbors, right inside of those same neighborhoods. Why is this? Some say that we disown our own worst qualities and project these qualities onto others. Perhaps the people closest to us are the easiest targets for our projections and mistrust. Also, power struggles are part of the human condition. We falsely believe that if we have power and control, then that equates to security. The need to dominate often stems from deep-seated fears of change, abandonment, and of perceived lack. But unfortunately, power struggles will not cease to exist, in situations where one person or group feels mostly powerless and dominated. So again, the irony is, until the need for peace is greater than the need to control, power struggles continue on into perpetuity. To end power struggles, empathy must be employed by both sides. Both sides need to be vulnerable enough to express their own fears and their emotions and their insecurities, and also to have a willingness to compromise, and to respect boundaries. Both sides have to trust that the other side is capable of this empathy, understanding, and the belief that the desired outcome is the same outcome for all: Peace. Power struggles stop when both sides drop the rope and become a team against “the problems” that continually hurt both sides. We see this phenomenon occur in science fiction movies, or even in real-life wars, when once fighting factions are able to unite against common enemies, such as invading aliens. Power struggles are part of our relationships and our humanity and our societies, but they are also able to be overcome with authenticity, empathy, tenacity, vision, and faith.
Do you have any power struggles going on in your life? With family? Friends? Co-workers? Why do you feel the need for power in these situations? What is similar in yourself, that you dislike in others? What is similar to yourself that you do like in others? Does your opposition have valid points? What do you fear about others? Why? What are your greatest fears? What empowers you?
“All struggles are essentially power struggles. Who will rule? Who will lead? Who will define, refine, confine, design? Who will dominate? All struggles are essentially power struggles,and most are no more intellectual than two rams knocking their heads together.” – Octavia Butler
“At the root of every tantrum and power struggle are unmet needs.“ -Marshall B. Rosenberg
Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.
Here is the question of the day from 3000 Questions About Me:
1336. What is your favorite part of the day? (besides reading my blog, of course. 😉 )
Never forget your power, my loves. And this comes from a woman who adores her amazing husband and her wonderful three sons every bit as much as she adores her incredible daughter and her magnificent self.
It’s interesting to me that Josie, our only female dog, rules the roost. Ralphie is bigger and older than her. Trip is more audacious than her. Neither of them has ever tried to usurp her authority. She has never had to raise her voice more than a gentle growl. They respect her. Ralphie and Trip tussle with one another all of the time. But ultimately, Josie rules the roost. She knows her worth and they respect that continually. Josie never gives her power away. She owns it. And everyone in the family adores Josie, including Ralphie and Trip. And even more interestingly, she is considered the favorite dog of ours, of anyone who isn’t in our family. She is continually called “the sweetie.” Sweeties, let’s rise. Have a great day. Never, ever forget your power.
Credit: Think Smarter, Twitter
Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.
Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.
In light of working on my self-care, I have yet another routine annual health appointment this morning. (All is going well, and I think that my body appreciates the love and attention. Self care goes beyond just getting your vaccinations, friends.) Therefore, I am borrowing from other writers/creators this morning.
My husband and I were watching Vikings last night and we stopped the show and rewound the scene depicting this quote by the Viking, Ragnar Lothbrok, several times. With all of the turmoil and chaos happening around the world these days, this quote speaks thetruth like no other:
“Power is always dangerous. It attracts the worst and corrupts the best . Power is only givento those who are prepared to lower themselves to pick it up.”
And this is my favorite chapter from the excellent book by Matt Haig, called TheComfort Book:
And I will end today’s post with an amazing truth spoken by an incredibly inspiring woman. Despite getting “the golden buzzer” on America’s Got Talent for singing a beautiful song that she wrote herself, she recently had to drop out of the competition because her body is being ravaged by cancer. Here is a link to her performance of “It’s Okay” by Jane Marczewski, also known as Nightbirde:
“You can’t wait until lifeisn’t hard anymore before you decide to be happy.” – Nightbirde
