GUILTY

Many people feel "guilty" about things they shouldn't feel guilty about, in order to shut out feelings of guilt about things they should feel guilty about. Guilt has been getting a bad rap in modern circles. There's nothing wrong with guilt. In fact, guilt can be a very appropriate response to having done something we know is wrong. It's what we do with guilt that makes it a problem, not guilt itself. When we do something that we know (or come to know) does not fit into our belief system or something that we know is harmful to ourselves or others, or we know we should not have done, guilt is an appropriate response from our inner beings. It is appropriate that we feel bad about what we have done. These feelings of guilt can serve the very good purpose of being an activator to owning our behavior, making our amends, and moving on with our lives, all the wiser for our learnings. Indulging in guilt, on the other hand, can throw us and our lives out of balance. Indulging in guilt can be a massive, never-ending, self-centered process that serves no one. Guilt indulgence can only dig us in deeper. There's no learning that emerges. Are you hiding from some guilt that you need to feel or indulging in some guilt that you deserve to feel? Clean it up. HugsBob

WE NEED DISCIPLINE

Proverbs 13:18 "Poverty and shame will come to him who neglects discipline, but he who regards reproof will be honored." Discipline is one of the most hated terms of our times...right alongside patience and self-control. But have you noticed how often it comes up in the testimonies of those who win?...Here are some key uses of discipline : No runner completes the training or a race without it. No weight-loss program is maintained without it. No human body is kept fit without it. No mind is sharpened with it. No temptation is overcome without it. If you want to put a stop to mediocrity, to replace excuses with fresh determination and procrastination with tough-minded perseverance,  you need discipline!  Hmm! Hugs Bob

THE RACE IS ON

Ecc 9:11"I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, and the battle is not to the warriors." Whenever I scope out the scene here where I live, I observe a large number of people who are pursuing the so-called successful life. They would say the way to make it in this world- the way to succeed - is to increase speed, get stronger, be competitive, think more cleverly, plan longer, and have a visionary strategy - hire people with skills that are needed and life will be successful. The race is on. Get up earlier. Go to bed later. Make work a priority. Don't get sentimental about stuff like children, marriage, home, and the family. All that will have to wait...And religion? Leave that for the over-the-hill gang and preachers....The philosophy of our day will attempt to suck us in and convince us that if we're going to make it, we've got to run faster...We've got to be stronger and more competitive and more clever, even more manipulative. Otherwise, we won't be successful ...Don't you believe it!! Hugs Bob

RANDOM ACTS OF HELLO

I don't like the word stranger. It doesn't fit for me anymore. The more centered I am in myself and the more connected I feel, it just doesn't fit. The word stranger conjures up some foreign and frightening images. When we see people as strangers, we assume that they are different from us and that we have nothing in common with them. The truth is that most of us are more similar to each other than we are different. As human beings, we have great, wonderful differences that are rich and exciting and we are also very similar. When we start noticing and really seeing people, we begin to become aware of our similarities. Did U ever notice that when U begin to smile and nod at people, many of them smile back? A simple hello goes a long way toward establishing feelings of connectedness between oneself and others. Probably the most exciting and important aspect of starting to say random hellos is that we begin to change inside. We begin to feel happier. We begin to like ourselves better. And, we just start sensing more positive energy coming our way. Loneliness is a decision and a state of mind. We have a choice. Start saying random hellos and see what happens. HugsBob

HARMONY

Harmony
But one of the attributes of love, like art, is to bring harmony and order out of chaos. The offer of love to the person sharing this time in our lives softens them, ourselves, and the events we share. Giving and receiving loving thoughts eases any momentary difficulty; loving and feeling loved reminds us that we are never alone in our struggles. In partnership we can survive any troubling circumstance. Love of self, of family, of enemies increases the harmonious conditions that affect us all. Like the ripples from a pebble dropped in a stream, the act of loving moves beyond the object receiving the love at this moment. In fact, the love we give is the love we'll receive. It is a demonstrable fact that hatred breeds hatred. Just as absolute is the knowledge that the love we offer another makes easier their gift of love to yet another. Love multiplies itself and the harmony created nurtures us all. Love makes partners of us all. No circumstances can fell me when I'm in company with another. I will look among my associates today for willing partners. HugsBob

Being Right

Do U prefer that U be right or happy? We have a tendency to get ourselves into situations where we can develop the illusion that being right is more important than anything else in the world. As the issues escalate in our minds, we get to a place where being right seems like a life-or-death position. When we get this way, we lose all sense of perspective. We forget how important certain people are to us and what they contribute to our lives. We find ourselves more dedicated to being right than to running the risk of getting what we want, which is often happiness, love, and friendship. What has happened to us? It seems as though we have plunged into moments of complete insanity. And, perhaps we have if insanity is related to forcing ourselves to lose perspective, lose contact with reality, and risk abandoning what is most important to us. Are our positions more important than our happiness? Is whatever point we are trying to make more important than people we love? Very doubtful. The next time U find yourself in this state of mind, stop. Ask yourself if U want to be right or happy. See if U really care that much. See if U can reach out- even let the other person be right. What does it really matter? Choose very carefully the hill U want to die on and try not to sacrifice yourself on too many unimportant hills. HugsBob

Relief Instead of Revenge!‏

Proverbs 19:11 "A man's discretion makes him slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook a transgression. Are you aware of the joy-stealing effect an unforgiving spirit is having on Ur life? If Ur bitterness is deep enough, you've virtually stopped living ...It's not worth it. U need to come to terms with this lingering, nagging issue now. The peace and contentment and joy that could be yours are draining away, like water down the drain of an unplugged bathtub. It's time for U to call a halt to the dispute: the disharmony must be refused...Start by telling God how much it hurts and that U need Him to help U to forgive the offense...Get rid of all the poison of built-up anger and pour out all the acid of long-term resentment. Your objective is clear: Fully forgive the offender. Once that is done, U will discover that U no longer rehearse the ugly scenes in your mind. The revengeful desire to get back and get even will wane, and in its now-empty space will come such an outpouring of relief and a new spirit of joy that U won't feel like the same person. HugsBobOX