The Power of Perspective

St. Patrick's day is always a special day for me. My dad was born in Ireland and after a tragic childhood left his homeland behind in hopes of a brighter future. As most Irish are, he was very proud of his heritage and belonged to several Irish groups. Being the Historian for one, he shared many Irish stories and songs of love and loss. You always hear about the Luck 'O the Irish but I doubt many have stopped to consider what that really means - beyond the obvious Leprechaun's Gold of course;-)

The people of Ireland were severely oppressed for much of history. The "lucky" aspect is that they have somehow managed to come out a free nation. If you look back without the final outcome, you might say that they were quite an UNlucky group of people. So here is where perspective has a power play. Because they stayed positive and fought for what they loved, they persevered. Not only did they make it through the rough times, they did it singing and dancing and drinking (of course).

So while many use St. Paddy's day and an excuse to party, I also remember the power of perspective, positive living, patience and perseverance.

I am grateful to my dad for teaching me to live positively through example in the hardest times of his life. Even though he has been gone for over four years, I can still hear him say "keep your chin up" or when he was feeling poetic he might say... "let a smile be your umbrella on a rainy rainy day."

Here's my Irish blessing for you this year...
May you make the most of what you have in each moment
May you see the beauty of life even in the presence of pain or doubt
And, may you persevere through life with a light in your heart and a twinkle in your eye.

Love you dad!

On Not Enough Time

“There is more to life than increasing its speed.”

—  Mohandas K. Gandhi

As I mentioned in the beginning of this blog, I wanted to create it as a space to organize inspirational quotes and photos for daily inspiration. Well, daily doses proved to be too much for me to commit to but I am always looking for good material to keep me as motivated and uplifted as possible. This quote which came from an email quote of the day felt so good, I just had to take the time to share. This quote came from Oprah.com and another good source is realsimple.com's thought of the day.

This quote really got me to thinking today. I hear it almost every day (and think it too)... "wow time is just flying by!" There are some individuals out there who are saying that time actually is speeding up. We've created all these conveniences to make things happen more quickly and easily yet many of us feel like we have less free time than ever. 

I know this is true for me. But I'm pretty sure that having children has something to do with it though. And believe me I know that there are even stronger time and energy zappers like caring for loved ones with illness. I grew up stuffing as much as I could into my days. I got used to do lots of work and lots of fun. These days I feel like I barely have enough time to do the things that feel like basic care - like cook healthy meals and for goodness sake - get a good night's sleep.

I also think it's crazy how fast people expect things to happen these days. It's really hard to slow down and relax when everyone else seems to be expecting us to live up to these ideals of super-fast. I think some of it is innate. I see it in my daughter. For her, first is best no matter what! I think first would be great if there was some consideration in the mix. I'm thinking of all the things that get lost when fast is the only thing that matters... quality, consideration, cohesiveness, harmony. If I wasn't ready to be done writing, I could think of more but I have bedtime stories to read and moments to be savored with my little children. 

Time you enjoyed wasting, 

was not wasted. 

— John Lennon

My challenge this week... be more patient with others, relish time rather than fill it up, and most importantly stop doing the things that feel like a waste of time. There is so much I want to do in life why waste any moment on anything that isn't fulfilling to me or helpful to others. 

Peace!