Almost every day, I walk five miles with my friend and on those walks, we not only counsel each other through highs and lows but we witness things that teach us about nature, life and people. There's a silly woodpecker who's always pecking away at a tin roof. I call him our little neighborhood Forest Gump. There's a red tailed hawk who circles us most mornings and then flies away. We always hear the coo, coo of a lonely Carolina Dove. And there are three cats at various stops along the way who always leave their driveway to greet us -- quite a privilege if you know cats :)
But there are other things I see that disturb me greatly. Homes shut up on beautiful sunny mornings, their blinds closed against the light. Houses without a single glimpse of shrubbery aligning their perimeter. Or, worse, homes with hedges that cover half the windows and trees that are crying out to be trimmed. I always wonder, "if your yard is such a mess, what could the inside of your home look like? And if your home is in such a disarray, what is the state of your mind? Your soul?"
This past weekend, we walked by a house having a yard sale that was filled with junk -- used clothes and broken appliances. People were picking through the discards, and I thought, "This is limited thinking." Now, there's nothing wrong with browsing a great yard sale, but it led me to think about how so many people limit themselves, their desires and their goals.
Don't limit your thinking, don't limit your checkbook, your possibilities. When you do, you're telling the universe, "This little, tiny bit is enough for me. Thank you. Don't give me anything more."
My husband and I love to attend the Parade of Homes every year. It's fun to look at homes decorated to within an inch of their lives. We get a ton of great ideas for our house and always come home feeling inspired and hopeful. When I asked a friend to join us this year, she said, "Oh no, I could never do that. It will make me want things I can never have."
I have another friend who brags, "I never buy anything full price. Everything I own was bought on sale."
A family member often says, "Don't trade the devil you know for the devil you don't know;" meaning don't change, don't go beyond what you know. Stay where you are. Don't move. Life is fearful.
And don't even get me started on the common catchphrase, "You can't have your cake and eat it too." Who the hell wants cake they can't eat???????????????????????
Have your cake and eat it too. Enjoy every bite. Life is wonderful and limitless. The universe responds to us with the same energy we send out. If we send out fearful, limited energy, that's what we will get in return. But if we send out abundant, giving, hopeful energy, THAT is what we'll get in return.
Don't limit yourself in any way -- not in your home, your clothes, your job, your vacations, your expectations, your hopes and your dreams. Never say, "This is enough." We are created from a great and wondrous, limitless source. We are meant to achieve, succeed and grow. To do otherwise is to slap God in the face. It's the same as saying, "Gee, thanks for giving me life, but I'm not really going to do anything with it."
Whenever I feel limited in my thinking, I start giving anonymously. I tithe more at church, I give waitstaff extra tips, I hand money over to homeless people and sometimes, just for fun, I buy really pretty cards, stick a five or ten dollar bill in them, sign it from "Your Guardian Angel" and then I open the phone book, close my eyes and ask, "Who needs this card?" The first name my finger alights on gets the card. It's a ton of fun and affirms that even when we're feeling limited, we're not.
Think of this: the more you make, the more you earn, and the more you can give back to others and return.
Did I just rhyme? Yikes, it must be time for me to have a bountiful and limitless rest! Hope you all are having a great week!
Love it!
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