Quote to Live By.....

"Today is a new day to recommit to your goals. Think about how you have worked hard to reach your goals and how you deserve to reach them. Don’t be the obstacle in your own way, don’t allow yourself to be. Be the best you can be. Live healthy every day."

- Lora Heyl Erickson

This is going to be my new mantra....something I repeat to myself every day when I look in the mirror. In my daily quest to become a healthier, thinner individual I often browse other websites and blogs for inspiration. Today I read an article on one of my favorite sites, The Blonde Runner, about "self sabotage" and it really hit home. I have always known that for me, it has never been about lack of will power but more about fear, when I eat something that I know I shouldn't. I'm still not sure exactly what it is that I am afraid of when I binge or eat things that I know are harming my body, but I do know that everyday it is getting easier for me to make the right choices. Whatever the fear is that has been keeping me from being the person that I know I am, it is subsiding and I am conquering it one day at a time. Here is the link to this article....maybe it will be inspirational for you too.

http://blonderunner.com/2009/06/17/self-sabotagewhy-do-we-do-it/

We had a lesson in church today during Relief Society by Ellen Fagg. She is married now and Im not sure what her last name is but I LOVE it when she teaches. She writes for the Salt Lake Tribune. I've never actually read any of her columns, I am embarrassed to admit that. But, she is a writer....something I would love to be. I would really like to sit down with her and find out about how she got where she is. What she studied....how she got this job. She seems like a very interesting person. The reason I love her lessons so much is that she doesnt just read along in the book....she really discusses the subject matter. She allows everyone to express their thoughts or experiences....and then she uses them in the lesson. And, the best part is that she always provides the most amazing quotes, poetry, and/or stories on a handout for us to take home. Today's lesson was on enduring trials and how we can get through them and learn to appreciate them.....understanding that they happen to everyone. Here is the poetry she gave us today. I think you can interpret it anyway you want, either way...I thought it was beautiful.

The Way It Is

There's a thread you follow. It goes among things that change.
But it doesn't change. People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread. But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can't get lost. Tragedies happen; people get hurt or die;
and you suffer and get old. Nothing you do can stop time's unfolding.
You don't ever let go of the thread.

~William Stafford

On another note, Denver and I watched "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" last night. This was a really good movie. Not exactly a happy ending....but what an interesting way to look at life. The character was able to see different stages of life from the opposite point of view. Living as an old man but with a childs mind....and then the reverse...being young in body but having the mind of man who had been through life and was in his "twilight" years. Makes you wonder if you would do things differently having, or not having, the knowledge that life experiences give us.....

I am retiring this quote for a while but want to save it.....


To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty and to find the best in others; To leave the world a little better.. whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived..... This is the meaning of success.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Value of Time.....

My Aunt Chrissy sent me this little thought/poem about the value of time. I could personally relate to more than one of them as I know she can too so I wanted to share it......

To realize The value of a sister...

Ask someoneWho doesn't have one.

To realize The value of ten years...

Ask a newly Divorced couple.

To realize The value of four years...

Ask a graduate

To realize The value of one year...

Ask a student who Has failed a final exam.

To realize The value of nine months...

Ask a mother who gave birth to a stillborn.

To realize The value of one month....

Ask a mother who has given birth to A premature baby.

To realize The value of one week...

Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize The value of one minute...

Ask a person Who has missed the train, bus or plane.

To realize The value of one-second...

Ask a person Who has survived an accident.

To realize the value of a friend or family member:

LOSE ONE.

Time waits for no one. Treasure every moment you have.

You will treasure it even more when you can share it with someone special.

Risk....

Last night I went to a semi-private voice lesson with my 8th grade choir teacher and current choir director. I didnt sign up because I think Im a great singer nor do I think she can make me a great singer. I just want to learn how to sing better. So, the session went great and I learned some good tools to help me. There were just 5 women in there with me so it was nice that I wasnt singing completely alone and yet I still felt like I was getting personal attention. I enjoyed it and signed up to take her level 2 class next month.

My mom made the comment that she couldnt believe I would dare sing in front of someone by myself like that....she didnt think she could ever do it. While I was there I noticed a large quotation on the wall that struck me because it answers her comment as to why a person might put themselves out there like that. And, because I am sort of collecting good thoughts that I come across, I decided I would post it here. It kind of goes along with the Sir Francis Drake quotation that I posted a couple of days ago......

To laugh is to risk appearing a fool,
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out to another is to risk involvement,
To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.
To place your ideas and dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return,
To live is to risk dying,
To hope is to risk despair,
To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.
He may avoid suffering and sorrow,
But he cannot learn, feel, change, grow or live.
Chained by his servitude he is a slave who has forfeited all freedom.
Only a person who risks is free.
The pessimist complains about the wind;
The optimist expects it to change;
And the realist adjusts the sails."

- William Arthur Ward

Hugh B. Brown Quote

"Sometimes during solitude I hear truth spoken with clarity and freshness, uncolored and untranslated it speaks from within myself in a language original but inarticulate, heard only with the soul, and I realize I brought it with me, was never taught it nor can I effectively teach it to another."

Hugh B. Brown-Eternal Quest, Bookcraft, 1956, p. 435

A Thought To Share......

Sometimes I find myself feeling sorry for my situation. Angry that life hasnt treated me more fairly. What did I do to deserve this? Worried and anxious......I end up trying to place blame and then I find myself in an uglier place than when I started. Today at church a lesson was taught that incorporated this poem below. I was very moved by it. Although her lesson was not about the things I am mentioning here, this poem reminded me that no matter what life throws at me, I can only grow from its experiences. That without the turbulence, I wouldnt know or understand peace. Without the disappointments, I wouldnt appreciate the successes. Doesnt it always seem like when things are going well, something comes along to upset everything? You could blame Murphys Law.....I know I do a lot. However, read this poem and think about it with the perspective that perhaps we are given tough times in order to keep us humble and appreciative. To help us see what is important in this life and to continue learning and growing instead of "getting comfortable" and not progressing. Just a thought that I wanted to share with you today because it touched me.......


Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.

Sir Francis Drake - 1577