Life is difficult. Many of the things we experience we may have made choices that have led us to the result, and some experiences may be no fault of our own we simply happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Whatever the cause for difficulty and struggle when we place our lives and faith into God’s hands we will have the strength, wisdom and peace to continue on and overcome adversity.
With Respect, Hope, Joy and Love, Carmela
Deep wounds cause pain. Everyone reacts differently to pain, some scream in pain, some lash out and try to inflict pain onto others, some stoically endure pain. If we are unable to explain why some individuals lash out so violently, how then can we ever hope to live in peace with others?
My heart hurts equally for all who have endured pain and loss this week. My heart longs to understand why people react so differently to pain.
Understanding the reaction to pain emotional or physical is what could bring peace.
Fear enrages pain, and Love calms pain. As I am writing this I cannot stop thinking of the elderly lady I met many years ago. The detailed story you can read by clicking here. This beautiful lady lived through the murder of her daughter. Her explanation of the events that she recounted to me seemed too unbearably difficult for anyone to get through.
I talked with her about how she was able to keep the rage, anger and unfairness of the hate filled act that took her daughters life from taking over. Simply hearing the series of events she explained made me wonder how any mother could live through such horror and not be consumed with rage and anger. She very simply said it was my faith that got me through it. Her Gentle spirit continued to explain to me that it was not easy but she had many loving people who supported her and she prayed.
This also makes me think of the Amish School shooting and the reactions of the Amish people after the horrific act, in offering forgiveness.
It is through faith and love from within the heart that cleanses the rage and allows the sorrowful drops that emerge as tears to wash away the need for rage-full acts of revenge.
Humans beings need and long to be heard. Everyone has a story that needs to be told. Expressing our feelings and having another person listen with respect and concern makes us feel valued and loved. When this does not happen our self esteem is compromised. When we do not feel and live with self respect how then can we show and share respect for others and life itself.
It is never to late to reach out for Divine Wisdom Strength and Love. Whenever you feel pain of any kind pray, breath, and Believe in Divine Strength to endure. The answer is never in hurting someone else because you are hurting yourself.
When you give love it comes back to you. Even if you do not feel the love returned from the person you extend love to, your life will still be filled with Love and Peace. No person who acts and gives Love ever lives without Love. Love is multiplies when it is given.
When you are at your lowest and pray for guidance to a higher power outside of your limited human abilities, the strength to act in love will take over to tame the emotional pain and rage.
It is the brokenness of a soul staying stuck within the human confinement of the body, and not looking to heaven for strength and guidance to get through difficult and painful events, that causes a person to want to inflict the same pain they are experiencing on another individual.
Before God we are equally wise—equally foolish. ~ Albert Einstein
Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. For the Lord grants wisdom! ~Proverbs 2:2,6
With Respect, Hope, Joy and Love, Carmela
As individuals we need to quiet the noise of the world and contemplate Love and true Freedom from within. The word freedom can have numerous definitions as any word can. Situations and experiences within individual’s lives hold many different depths of meaning. What one person may explain as imprisonment another person may envision as being free.
Human life and human emotions all vary and take on individual conclusive wisdom relative only to the situation and experiences we grew up within. If we were not exposed witnessed or taught to look outside our limited human abilities and seek wisdom and enlightenment from God/Deity, our experiences will be limited to human ability,conduct, and fear.
“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.”Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
By seeking out Divine Love and opening your heart and mind to Divine Guidance our hearts are filled with Hope and we are guided to act in Love.
“There is no joy without hardship. If not for death, would we appreciate life? If not for hate, would we know the ultimate goal is love? At these moments you can either hold on to negativity and look for blame, or you can choose to heal and keep on loving.”
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (The Wheel of Life, 1997)
Holy Spirit You Are Welcome Here………. My heart becomes free and my shame is undone…..
Invite Love into your heart. Choose to act in Love, and hold onto Hope.
With Respect, Hope, Joy and Love, Carmela
Increase your Joy by bringing Joy to others.
Light is love, darkness is fear.
A smile is God’s cosmetic. Let your inner light shine brightly, share kindness, love and compassion with a genuine caring smile, and help others find their way out of the darkness and seek Divine Love and Guidance.
There is no room for darkness in a room filled with light.
This post was written for the Daily Post prompt Burn.
With Respect, Hope, Joy, and Love, Carmela
This morning I was not in the best of moods. A combination of grumpy, overworked, sad, I guess a good term would be just sort of edgy. I am uncomfortable being grouchy, but thankfully I have friends that get grouchy with me and when we get together and grumpily discuss, silly options and solutions to our most pressing stresses it helps to calm the edgy demeanor and make us laugh.
Sometimes when sad events or memories creep into the mind it has a tendency to have a domino effect that can cast a shadow of sadness onto any experience if you allow it. The best way to counter act the domino effect is to make yourself laugh.
I found the Laughter Yoga video’s a few years back when I was working with adults with disabilities. It became a very fun way to distract or redirect negative behaviors on difficult days.
I hope you will watch the video completely….I am sure you will find yourself laughing along with the video. Silliness is a good thing.
When my children were young we loved the VeggieTales Bob the tomato, Larry the cucumber, could always spark a few giggles as well as relay many important positive messages and techniques for getting through life.
Hopefully you will take a moment to enjoy their silliness.
Larry shares one of his deepest fears with his therapist……. If my lips ever left my mouth, packed a bag and headed south…..
Thank you to my silly friend’s early morning phone call that sends me into the day envisioning silly options to the monotony of reality.
And thank you to Marianne’s along side of the road post for making me seek out some more silliness today 🙂 I hope you will click on the link and read her post. I am sure you will enjoy it!
With Respect, Hope, Joy and Love, Carmela
Divine Love, guidance and wisdom become clear to us through our life experiences. My entire life God has introduced me to beautiful people who I have needed to help me better understand myself.
As human beings we all hold wisdom and understanding we have obtained from life’s experiences. We can choose to examine and put words to those events or we can choose to look away, ignore the experience, and continue on never grasping the wisdom we were offered.
Painful feeling and experiences are meant to be shared. This is the only way to fully understand, overcome, move forward, and improve our lives.
Life can be peaceful and full of joy but we have to be brave enough and take steps to fully find it.
Sometimes this means sharing the hurtful, embarrassing, shameful experiences that we have lived through. By doing this our eyes,hearts, and lives are opened to a deeper level of awareness, peace, and connection to humanity.
The words “It is in pardoning that we are pardoned” come to mind as I write this from St.Francis Prayer for Peace Susan Boyle sings it below.
I must tell you that I am so grateful for all of life’s experiences and Truly Thankful for the Many People who God has introduced me to that have helped me find Clarity, True Love For Life and the Longing to Share it with Others.
With Respect, Hope, Joy and Love, Carmela
Every human being has had that OMG moment. A memorable moment of embarrassment. If we are completely honest with ourselves we most likely have several or possibly many of these moments in a lifetime. Yesterday I shared a link to Brene Brown’s Ted talk about vulnerability and shame. She is quite entertaining and informative as well, the link is here.
How we respond to situations where we feel embarrassed or ashamed is very important to our emotional health. When we keep feelings hidden inside they stay with us. It is like renting a room in your house to someone you can’t stand being with because they make you feel bad all the time.
If we share the feeling it looses its power.
Sometimes the feeling of shame may feel SO big that it is hard for you to actually give it a voice. Putting words to it seems harder than keeping it buried deep inside. The world is huge and we all have different backgrounds, and may find comfort responding in very different ways.
I find comfort in prayer. The unconditional Love and Peace we receive from the Love of Jesus comforts me.
We receive a name when we are born however, anyone can steel that name and attempt to sign it, speak it and claim to be you. But we are all created amazingly unique, with a fingerprint that is unlike anyone else, with a heart and soul that no-one else can own or understand! I believe our truest identity is within our heart and soul, our truest and most honest feelings, not in our names.
My heart wishes to be identified with God, as a child of God, an individual who prays for forgiveness, guidance, to know and share unconditional love and gratitude for life.
Unconditional Love means we are Loved and worthy of being Loved even when we do something that makes us want to hide our face in Shame…….
It is OK….. It is not that bad …….. you are still Loved…….
I remember worrying about my grandchildren who were dealing with some very serious life threatening health problems. In order to provide a tangible way in which they could share there feeling and concerns, I bought them Worry Dolls to encourage them to tell their worries to the tiny little dolls.
My grandson Wyatt stated he was only going to tell his worries to the “one that was wearing pants” 🙂
The girls did not express any preference, they were willing to share their worries with any of the dolls.
Myself “Nanny” was worried that the dolls were so tiny they might loose their worry dolls, and then be traumatically upset when they couldn’t find them to tell their worries too!
They used the worry dolls for a little bit, but the greatest comfort for Wyatt when he was faced with fear was praying and wearing our family ring of Peace as a reminder of God’s Unconditional Love and Peace that surpasses all understanding. The link to this story is here.
Searching within our hearts, sharing our deepest and most shameful feelings, forgiving ourselves and understanding that we are Loved and worthy of Love without being perfect will lead you to experiencing true inner Peace and Joy .
As Maya Angelo said…..~ “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better”~
It does not matter how you pray, or where you pray. It just matters that you put words to your feelings, voice them, and understand that you do not need to be perfect to be worthy of Love.
Allow yourself to accept and feel the Unconditional Love that is offered to you.
With Respect, Hope, Joy and Love, Carmela
https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/embarrassing/#like-247905
Below are two of my favorite songs. Hope you enjoy listening.
Francesca Battistelli~ Write Your Story On My Heart
Matthew West ~Do Something
Brave…… Spunky, Strong, Unafraid, Undaunted, Lionhearted, Herolike, Indomitable, Spirited, these are synonyms for the word BRAVE.
How does one become brave? Is it something that we actually contemplate and then act upon? This makes me think of my beautiful grandson Wyatt who was meeting the challenge of living with Mitochondrial Disease. He would often state before having to endure one of the many painful pokes or procedures required for that day “I’ll be brave”.
It is my belief that Bravery comes from within. It is also my Belief that we obtain it from Above. In my opinion as human beings we have limited abilities, knowledge and strength. When we rely on only what our human mind can plan for us we limit ourselves to small minded solutions.
By reaching outside of ourselves and inviting in Divine Solutions, Bravery will come forth from within.
This doesn’t mean we will function as the Incredible Hulk with a visible strength busting out of our clothing and a relentless hardhearted attitude. Boasting and singing our theme song and successes.
You may not know, but as we pray for Divine Support to fill our hearts and Guide us through difficult times, The Divine Spirit within your heart fills you with an endless wealth of Patience, Peace, Joy, Wisdom and Love.
True Bravery is not boastful and loudly visible it is more noticeable as a beautiful, quiet, gentle, nonthreatening calm, peace and comfort that we are able to function with through whatever daily life sends our way. A Brave person filled with the Divine Spirit is someone you want to draw near to, someone who you can tangibly feel their strength and wisdom. Someone you want to be with and get to know and share their secrets from within.
It does not mean though that we will be void of emotions. Even the toughest and bravest individuals even though they live with the assurance that they will have adequate courage to survive the challenges life sometimes deals us will experience sadness and tears from the life struggles we and others witness here on earth.
Pray for those in need, that they may be filled with the Strength and Peace for Above. Pray that the many humans struggling in “human survival mode” reach out for Divine Wisdom, open their hearts to “Be Brave” (as Wyatt so perfectly and simply said it.)
With Respect, Hope, Joy and Love, Carmela
Every person’s life has a story line of events that have brought them to where they are today. For reasons I cannot explain the manner in which people move forward from adversity and if they move forward varies tremendously.
I remember meeting the kindest elderly lady. Her husband had passed away and her only daughter had been murdered many years before. She was living alone with no relatives living to assist in her care.
Her and her husband had lived through traumatic years that involved a search for their missing adult child and court trials with horrific details of the event.
As she began telling me some history from her past, she entered another room and returned carrying a photo of her daughters wedding. Holding this one treasured photo in her hand, she shared with me the memory of her beautiful daughter as well as the photo of the person who murdered her. It was her daughters wedding photo and she had been murdered by her husband.
While listening to her explanation of the years of pain she and her husband lived through, and her much repeated statement, “I had a good husband, he took such good care of me” my heart was breaking over the thought of living with and through such pain. She explained that her faith in God was the only thing that helped her through the terrible experience.
She had such a gentle personality and was definitely one of the sweetest people I ever took care of. I loved my visits with her. She sometimes would very sweetly express frustration with the many decisions and changes being made for her safety. “They came in today and locked my basement door so I cannot go down to do my own laundry, and they turned the electric off to the stove and brought me a microwave, I would rather use my stove.” she said.
With almost every complaint she would end it with “I had a good husband, he took very good care of me.”
“He still is!” I told her. “He is the one sending all these people to your door, so you don’t get hurt.” “He is watching from heaven thinking, I better have them lock the basement door so Mary doesn’t fall and hurt herself!” She laughed sweetly at the thought and then said “You’re right”!
She amazed me with her strength and ability to move past such a traumatic event with such grace and peace. In hearing the horrific details of the murder, it was hard for me to imagine being able to get past the rage and trauma that must have consumed them both! She very peacefully explained it as Gods Grace. My faith in God is what helped me through.
Although her family had passed away, she had many friends who visited regularly and she had volunteered many hours of service within her community helping others. She still remained actively a part of a prayer chain and reached beyond her own situation to help others.
This person amazed me with her ability to move forward in spite of her difficult experiences. She was at peace and free from any bitterness, always appreciative and grateful and kindly showed concern for everyone she met! I am so thankful I had the chance to get to know her and learn from her wisdom!
When you quiet the noise of the world and focus on listening to other people and their experiences Heavenly Wisdom unfolds before you, and your path in life starts revealing itself and making sense. Every experience and encounter in our lives is significant! Every person we meet no matter how many words may be exchanged, or how short of time we spend with them, has an impact on and in our lives. It may be many years later till you realize that the pieces of Wisdom you received at that moment in time is what is giving you clarity and Wisdom for today.
I met a number of people who would tell me repeatedly about negative events in their past. Almost as though they allowed the negative events to define who they were. Being stuck in the negative event gave them something to talk about, and telling someone of a time when they were a victim would gain them sympathy and make them feel cared about.
Whether the stories were true or made up would not matter, what they needed was someone to care. Unlike the elderly lady they had very few friends and instead of reaching out to people they closed themselves off from people. Instead of sharing feelings and having a discussion they totally shut down any incoming information by leaving or by not allowing the other person to talk. They retaliated with very unkind accusations, belittling and demeaning words. They resort to attempting to gain control over others with passive aggression. When they later retell the event the story will be very one sided and they will be portrayed as a total victim of the other person.
Could this possibly be explained as a survival technique that is taught or learned as a result of living in fear. If each of us would have the ability to go back in time and be exposed to a completely different set of circumstances during our formative years would our lives be different? By saying this I am in no way placing any blame on any one adult individual in a child’s life, we shouldn’t truly evaluate a situation without considering the entire influencing factors and life circumstances.
One of the most important things we can teach a child is that he is Loved and to use words to communicate feelings. A toddler who doesn’t speak will simply take a toy from another child. If they have no way to communicate they may hit or bite to get the point across that they are not happy. Peaceful solutions need to be taught. Communication of feeling needs to be encouraged. Abusive words and intimidation tactics are equally as bad as physical abuse and can leave scars internally that can be harder to heal than a broken bone.
Memories can be twofold they can be awesome and they can also be traumatic. Make sure as a parent we are building a future full of fun and happy memories for our children to be able to draw from in their future lives as adults. But most importantly teach them they are Loved, and how to Live in Love and not fear or hate.
It is impossible to live through life without having any bad experiences, painful, traumatic or fearful encounters. An important part of healing after adversity is being able to reach out to others, communicate your feelings, and draw upon the positive events and memories from our past.
As parents we hold many treasured moments in our minds when our children or grandchildren say things or do things that make us smile. Sharing these moments with others and passing the stories on to our children helps us to compose an encyclopedia of our life’s moments. Freezing them in time for future reference. It is a tangible reminder that we were loved and appreciated.
Teach your children to pray. A simple prayer request to “take the scary stuff away” gave Wyatt great comfort, and our family saftey ring of peace serves as a visible reminder to reach out in prayer to receive the Peace of the Lord that surpasses all understanding.
Please pray for those in need of support. Never underestimate the power of Divine Love and Guidance. Share life experiences and Wisdom with others and encourage others to seek understanding and guidance beyond the natural human boundaries. When you make the choice to welcome higher consciousness into your life you will experience extraordinary beauty and vision among simple moments of common existence. Negatives will turn into positives and you will find the most truest levels of Peace and Joy.
With Respect, Hope, Joy and Love, Carmela
We may not always see eye to eye but we can walk hand in hand and promote peace
Carmela Snelbaker 