It’s the bottom line.

Everything else can and will fall away. We are left with this one thing. All our striving, our busy activities, our concerns, our vain imaginings – they disappear, and we are left with this one eternal element that is the sum of the Universe.

LOVE.

We need love on a cellular level. Take love away and we become twisted and tortured.

Some of us have mistakenly believed we do not deserve love – we are somehow less than, or we have caused so much harm, that we do not merit love.

But we were designed by love – if only by the power of Universal, love found in the miracle of Creation itself – and were designed to need and give love.

I’ve discovered that love has a handmaiden.

Grief.

When we love someone, we are committing to the grief that will surely follow when that love is taken from our physical presence.

If you have lost someone, the grief you feel is a testament to your love! That’s a big deal.

It makes loving someone an even more precious thing. What a gift!

“I love you fiercely even knowing that when we are physically separated, I will grieve and hurt – BUT it’s totally worth it and I freely do it!”

Moreover, that love never dies.

We may not realize it until we lose someone, but love is so much bigger than the here and now. Love exists on so many planes and in so many realms that we can barely understand it.

I think our souls must be a bundle of love light that when we are no longer here to hold or be held, we whisk away to be love on another dimension – and that the love we were burns brightly in the hearts and minds of our loved ones.

Love is light. Light gives peace and hope – they are all wrapped up together.

In this season of love, may we freely give and receive the love, peace and hope that is the ultimate force of change to ourselves, to others, and to the world.

You may share this message of love by using the options in the MORE button below.

In health and love –

Deidre

Merry Christmas everyone!

Sometimes we just have to wait.

Our little ones are gearing up for a season of waiting as they bounce and wriggle with delight in anticipation, just thinking about presents and festive activities heading their way in the coming weeks.

We adults are the same about some things. While we have mastered waiting to open beautifully wrapped packages, there are other anticipations that tempt us, and we become impatient.

I’m feeling a bit frustrated with waiting right now.

You see, there’s a big project that I’ve been working on for months that was going to be revealed to you this very day, but some of the many moving parts of this multifaceted project are just not in place yet.

So, we wait.

The deadline was self-imposed. It will come together – when it’s ready – and the big reveal will be well done and helpful to those who need it.

A recent message from the daily thoughts I subscribe to by Amit Sood, focused on Gaining vs. Becoming, and has helped me gain patience in my delayed project.

His message urged listeners to consider the difference between gaining vs. becoming as they approached their life goals.

Some people focus on gaining wealth, position, or possessions at all costs as they go about their careers, whereas others focus on the kind of person they want to become while doing their work.

Sure, we all need to pay the rent and buy groceries, but what kind of person are we becoming while we do the necessary work? Is our work requiring us to become less than our optimal self?

His thoughtful words reminded me of a saying about people remembering not what we say to them, but how they were made to feel while we spoke to them.

The first time I ever heard that saying, I certainly felt a pinch. From then on, I have tried to model being a more thoughtful, considerate, compassionate, and understanding person.

We can still get the job done while taking a path that includes honoring what kind of person we want to become.

No one is ever done becoming. Each of us can modify what we work on to become – at any age.

What is the kind of person you want to become?

What are you going to do to become that person?

Take a moment as we anticipate the holidays. Light a candle. Bundle up and step outdoors to gaze at the stars. When all is said and done, what counts?

Become that.

And if you are impatient to get the results of last week’s word search puzzle, you can relax, because the results are posted under this!

If you found this helpful, share with a friend using the options under the MORE button below.

In health with gratitude and thanks to each of our readers –

Deidre

We at foodtalk4you have always promoted improved health – one meal, one breath, one movement at a time.

Yep. There it is on our beautiful banner.

Lately, we’ve been hovering around the mental concepts of boosting our health. Maybe we could say mental/emotional/spiritual concepts.

But it’s all mental, really.

I used to think that our brain controlled everything, but have come to appreciate that the brain does not control things. We control the brain.

What the brain is allowed to send out, influences the outcomes we experience.

These past weeks, we explored a change in command as we recognize that – even if it’s totally new to us – we can purposefully say goodbye to the chains of the past so we can embrace the full potential of the present moment.

One goodbye release may not be enough; but over time, the more we can fully release our past hurts, disappointments, and traumas, the more we can feel that shift in power. We no longer allow the past to hold sway over our present.

This takes practice – along with the new belief that, “I am willing to change.”

Changing the habit of self-talk can take considerable mindfulness to recognize the subtleties of how ingrained our unsupportive and judgmental inner dialogue can be.

What’s the knee-jerk conversation you throw at yourself when you splash some coffee on the floor?

“You nimrod! What an idiot!”

Such a casual phrase, maybe meant to accept responsibility, is also heaped in judgement. Mess happens to all of us, dear readers. We all splash tumblers onto the floor, drop things, and stumble by simply tripping over our own feet – judgement is not needed. Maybe we need to be more careful, sure, but a stack of negative messages can grow over the course of time.

If our first thought is to be judgmental, we need to reflect on why we need judgment. Why do we think we deserve judgment? Because someone always judged us? That’s their message – an old message that we are giving life and power over us today.

Why don’t we forgive ourselves? Wouldn’t that be the kinder thing to do? Wouldn’t you like a little forgiveness?

As I dropped a jar of dill pickle relish on the floor a few days ago and watched half of its contents spatter all over the kitchen floor, I could have judged myself. Instead, there was a reminder to screw on the lid better next time and double check my efforts along with –

“Oops!”

“Man, I’m glad that wasn’t sweet pickle relish!”

“Hmmm, what’s the best way to clean this up?”

Do you groan and say you have to go to work … have to mow the grass …have to go to the store?

We need to do a word swap. Go from judgment to helpful. Go from negative to positive. Maybe just practice stating facts.

How about –

“I’m going to the store so we can have some yummy food to fix for dinner.”

“I choose to go to work so I can pay the rent.”

“I’m going to mow the grass before it rains.”

From the time we open our eyes in the morning until we close them at night, we are making choices. Practice using your power of choice as you actively guide your brain to set the tone of your day.

Be kind to yourself. Wouldn’t that feel good?

If you found this helpful, please share with someone you care about using the options in the MORE button below.

In health –

Deidre