Simon Says

The Journey The journey starts whenever you want it to. You can stay as you are. It will be ok, but nothing will change. If you’re ok with that, stop reading. So you’re still reading. You know what that means don’t you? Something’s got to change! That’s pretty exciting. Let me encourage you. :) My journey began in 2012, I think. Lets say it was then. As my father likes to say, “Never let the facts get in the way of a good story.” I was pretty unhappy that year, so I called up my family and called off Christmas. No joke! I didn’t know what I wanted from life anymore. I felt I was spinning my wheels, on a treadmill, surviving, stuck paying the bills; without ever feeling like I was getting anywhere. You know how it is. My family are great and understood, or said they did. Either way it was pretty cool of them. They still had Christmas of course, but I needed some time out. Not knowing what to do with myself, I took my dog down to the ‘off the leash’ dog park overlook...

What about when things get rough? It won't always feel like this, but there's an opportunity in dark times to experience God. I'm not talking about religion. The opportunity is beyond all that... into personal experience. The best quote I ever heard about this was from a guy called Brent Rue who said, "Religion is like an innoculation; just enough of something to stop you from getting the real thing." So what's the real thing? That's for you to discover I guess, if you want to. 7. Pray When you're losing it and before that, try it. The Lord's prayer has got your back! There's also the Serenity prayer used in 12 step programs. I've found it to bring peace no matter what I've been going through. It gets you back in the game. "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can & the wisdom to know the difference." Hang in there!

Difficult times are what they are... There are certain things I miss about the worst of mine. The focus, the clarity, the sense of feeling amazingly close to God. That being said, not having the tools in the midst of them can be excruciating! Here are a few more pointers for the bread basket - 4. Separate what's necessary, from what's not. My counselor used to tell a wonderful story as an example of this. He called it the two sniff test. In hard times, when he picked up his young kid's clothes left on the floor, if they passed the two sniff test they went back in the draw! Always makes me smile this one. It speaks directly to what's necessary and what's not. 5. Everyone gets their needs met. Needs and wants are very different ball games. Meeting needs and meeting wants can be the difference between sanity and losing it. Keep your sanity and meet needs, not wants. If there's room for a few wants later on, sure, go for it but knowing the difference is a g...

If you are going through hard times, you won't be the first. That really doesn't help though does it?! What on earth has other people's pain got to do with one's own experience? No comfort really... Unless they had a few pointers that might help to get you through. In my most difficult years, I learned a few things that really help. Here's three to get started. 1. Start with Gratitude. It may sound absurd when you are struggling, but it really helps to set your mind on good things when times are tough. Anything good, anything at all - the smell of hot chips, the sun on your face. The little things really add up when you notice and appreciate them. 2. Live one day at a time. So it can sound like a cliche, but it is sanely good advice! Letting go of what might happen tomorrow and focusing on today. And make it a good day! Include at least one thing you enjoy, as you go about all that must be done. 3. Find someone to help worse off than you & help the...

New beginnings are awesome. A new space, a new life, whatever that looks like... it's the juice of life! We need them. But what do you do when the gloss wears off and they're not like new any more? I love old pairs of jeans. You can buy them like that, but they're even better when you wear them in. You treasure them, because of the process - You invested in them. Slow days can be good days when you can see down the track. When you have a vision and purpose,  the mundane everyday's of life don't have to be dull. You can take a break for a moment & enjoy life a little. "Without a vision, the people perish" wrote the wisest of men in history. What is it you want? Where is it you're headed? Life is good when you can answer these questions :)

You may not know it yet but you, along with every human being on the planet, have the power to create worlds. We are made in the image of our creator. It's a fearsome thing to think about and probably why so many of us can't do it for long. We worry and toil, thinking about the time and how much money we have, the smallest of things; while all of us are capable of creating anything. In fact we are doing so - creating our own worlds, right now, as we speak. Thoughts become words and words create worlds. That's a fairly big assertion , I get it, but take a moment to notice what you were thinking about a moment ago & the precise words you used the last time you spoke. Notice how past words corrolate to current experience. If the experience is negative, I don't say that to impart blame. Far from it. It's something to learn from, like the last time you burnt your finger. So how on earth can all this be true? How does it work? In its simplest form, our ...

In Australia, fruit can look really good and be tasteless. Finding good fruit is an art form! There are soooo many precedents in history of people looking the goods and being found lacking in genuine substance. History, in the end, tells the story of who we really were. So what on earth has this got to do with you?  There's something in us that can say we're not good enough and that looks to others for a sense of inspiration. We can live our lives vicariously, afraid to live as we were born to - free and uninhibited. Millions watched a beautiful Royal wedding on the weekend... It was a beautiful wedding. This has got to do with understanding your own Royalty. You have within you everything you need to live a life that astounds and delights you. "The Kingdom of Heaven is within you." ~ Yeshua So what will it be? The way things look or the way the things are & taking responsiblity for that? Get your Crown on!