Compassion Begins at Home

"It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to us. It is easier to give a cup of rice to relieve hunger than to relieve the loneliness and pain of someone unloved in our own home. Bring love into your home for this is where our love for each other must start."

  ~ Mother Teresa 

The front page of The Denver Post showcased both the terrible unrest in Baltimore and the philosophical debate of the horrific massacre in a Colorado Theatre.  As I shielded myself from reading further, my heart sank and again I searched for some understanding in all this insanity. Then in the next moment, I experienced great sorrow for the devastation and loss in Nepal from the earthquake.  

Being aware and trying to process this heavy, tragic energy made me feel overwhelmed and powerless. I’ve learned feeling this way creates an illusion of being separate and lost without direction.  What can I do? How can I help or support those hurting?

Compassion is defined as empathy, tolerance, kindness ~ Love. Whenever I bring my focus back to the present, my ability to feel, express and be compassionate strengthens. The path for my contribution narrows and becomes clear.  

The quote from Mother Teresa reminded me that empathizing and practicing tolerance and kindness appears easier with the strangers of world. I can look past the pain and loss of the real relationships I have with my family, friends, and community.

Today I can take a personal inventory of sorts. I can choose to see who in my family is hungry, lonely or suffering.  Today I can refocus my attention, time, and compassion by bringing my Love home.   When I take that one small action and seize the opportunity to express kindness and empathy in the here and now, my heart breaks open and sings its song! 

Ponder This:

Take a moment to really look at your Life and the people in it.

1) Which loved one could be healed just by expressing your compassion?

2) What is one small way you could express your compassion to that loved one?

The Integrity of Bridge Mix

"Honesty is telling other people the truth.  Integrity is telling yourself the truth."

~ Dr Robert Holden

I must have been around 8 when I tasted my first lesson of integrity. I had a sweet tooth and was known to scavenge whatever candy or sweets might be available. Rarely were we allowed candy except for on Halloween or Easter. Even then our intake was closely monitored and sanctioned.  

When Mom hosted bridge was the only other time candy was in our house. It was always Bridge Mix and Butter mints; candy for the adults.  

My parents might have told this story differently and I am sure my sisters remember it in their own way as well.  Still, several days before the group was to play bridge at our house, I found the Bridge Mix in a brown paper bag on top of the refrigerator.  

I cleverly opened the bag and took out just a couple of chocolates thinking no one would notice. I prided myself with  being clever. I made several additional visits to the bag, each time being careful to quickly pull out a few chocolates before stealthily exiting the kitchen.

So when I heard my Mother shriek, “Who ate all the Bridge Mix?” I knew it couldn’t be me. 

I held that “position of denial” for most of the weekend long after the bridge game had come and gone.  My parents took turns offering me opportunities to fess up, to tell the truth, to just admit that I had eaten the chocolates.

There was a small voice within me that climbed to the surface several times. It desperately wanted to be honest, to relieve the heaviness that had closed in on me and made my stomach hurt. 

As I lay on my bed, curled in the fetal position from holding back the truth, I finally screamed out, Yes it was me! I am the one who ate all the Bridge Mix!  I don’t know what I expected yet my family seemed neither impressed or interested.  Only I experienced a profound shift. Only I felt this great release. I was the One who was free!  

Funny thing when I look back now at that experience.  I learned that telling the truth to others is really just a practice of self- preservation. When I am honest with others, I feel within me, an internal consistency. And that sense of being whole and undivided, is precisely… what sets me Free!

Ponder This:

What's an experience you've had where telling the truth set you Free? 

Share your reflection in the comment section below.

The HOW of Resolution

 “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking that created them.” ~Albert Einstein 

Do you think Albert Einstein meant that our troubles are of our own making?  Could he be challenging us to to look to our own thinking for the culprit?  Consider whether in our judgement of Life’s events, situations, circumstances, or relationships, we transfer our perceived limitations and fear onto that which we conceive as a problem?

Solving the problems we create in our lives needn’t be so ominous. When we understand how to resolve challenging issues, it can become a matter of just taking the next right step. 

HOW is an acronym for honest, open, and willing. Being honest means being truthful, sincere, straightforward. Honest in our thinking clears away fabrication and embellishment bringing forth our “true thoughts”.

Being open-minded offers that we are unbiased, objective and flexible.  Deciding to be open to something new or different gives way to the next message of direction or solution just waiting for it’s opportunity.

Then, being willing to change.  Willing means ready, eager, and agreeable.  In our willingness, we are prepared to do something, to take action!  And because of our honesty and open-mindedness, that action generally creates our resolution. 

For further support, tools, and guidance in shifting your thinking, join us for my introductory transformational workshop, Freedom to Change Stems from Within.

Ponder This:

Just for fun or perhaps in choosing forward movement, look at the different aspects of your Life. Where do you perceive a problem? Choose one to focus on and hold this problem in mind.

What solution do you find when you allow yourself to be honest, open-minded, and willing? 

Share your reflection in the comment section below.

The Key to Happiness

“The key to happiness is not to make yourself into a different person; it is to let yourself be more of who you really are.” ~Dr. Robert Holden

Making myself different sounds like such challenging work, yet letting myself be, reminds me of John Lennon and of a time in my Life when I was adventurous, creative and excited about moving forward in self expression. Funny how cyclic Life can be. Today, my passion to grow, change, and live authentically thrives.   

I still can do a cartwheel and at (almost) 61, this is something I am very proud of. In fact, the next time we meet if you’d like to see for yourself, just ask and that little kid in me, will most likely comply. 

Teaching, mentoring and coaching others to “let themselves be,  brings me joy and affirms my sense of purpose. I am excited to share my evolving expression with my new website, www.janimccarty.com and of course with this new Celebrate blog format.  

I’ve made a decision (which is the first step to choosing change) to share Celebrate with you on the 1st and 3rd Friday mornings of each month.

Thanks to all who have responded to Celebrate over the years. I always appreciate hearing how my topic inspires, reminds, or empowers you in your Life experience.  Now you can choose to click on the link below in Ponder This to make your comments directly to my blog and to share with others!

Another way to Claim Your Freedom and allow yourself to be ~ is to join me in my introductory transformational workshop, Freedom to Change Stems from Within.

Ponder This:

What is one way you can acknowledge who you really are in the coming week?

Share your reflection in the comment section below.

FOCUS is a Personal Choice

 "When you direct your thoughts toward good, 
you attract positive experiences
and people into your life;
but when you focus on 
what isn't working,
you create even more challenging situations."
  ~Denise Linn

March is our month to focus on. . . Focus!  I have been diligently focused on expanding, refreshing, and rebranding myself in my present transformational journey.  Life is; more is revealed, and daily I get to choose which direction to take and what attitude to contribute.

Watch for my new website and Celebrate Blog format launching later this month.   I am very excited to share with you my evolved vision of who I am, what I am passionate about and how I might empower you to reconnect with your best self and claim your freedom.

Whatever we focus on, expands. Look at the direction of your focus. Are you choosing to concentrate your attention, energy, and time on what you want in your Life?  Or have you been focusing on the negatives, the lack, or what's wrong with a situation, a relationship, or yourself?

We create or manifest whatever we focus on. Our freedom lies in our power to choose our focus.  Focus is a personal choice. 

Take a moment to look at your Life. Choose one aspect that has been challenging or disappointing.  In this situation or relationship, where is the direction of your focus? What do you continue to hold in place by focusing on it?  What thoughts and dialogue continue to attract more of itself to your present experience?

Why not exercise your power to shift your focus? - Make a conscious choice to center your interest on what you want. Concentrate and pay particular attention to it. Give whatever it is that you want more of in your Life; permission to reveal itself further and to expand!

It could be that simple!