Back To Center

by Helen R. Little

Life is an interesting journey. If you pay attention along the way everything you need to make this journey fruitful is right in front of you. With all of excitement of the plans you have for yourself a clear message should stand in the forefront of your thinking. You can't do it alone. God wants your attention. He puts situations in front of you to get you to acknowledge and turn to Him.

Today, and each morning tell Him THANK YOU for waking you up. Give thanks for life if nothing else. The message that rings true in times like these is to live your life differently. Make better choices. That's the only way your dreams and plans and goals will be fulfilled.

Think good thoughts. Thoughts are things. Your thoughts and words in particular are SO powerful. Be conscious of the messages you put out there. Good thoughts for good measure.

You are blessed with a strong will and a powerful presence. Shape that power in a positive way. Think and will good things for yourself and others. Ask, believe, and receive. Ask for what you want. Believe that it will be given to you. And be open and prepared to receive!

Part of my purpose is to share this with you. Your trials are about shaping something good out of something challenging. For that which does not break you will only make you stronger.So how does one do this? By getting centered, by leaning on and learning from those strong and positive people around you. By not ignoring the messages that God is sending you. He does have BIG plans for you. But he wants you to slow it down, pay attention, and come back to the center.

And where is the center?

It's Him.

Little-Ideas! Dream Into Action

How do we find our way from dreams of success to reality? Here are some questions to ask yourself to hel discover your answer.

What motivates you?

What are you most passionate about?

What job would you do for free?

Ten Qualities for Success and Growth

1. Integrity
2. Passion
3. Determination
4. Focus
5. Initiative
6. Positive Thinking
7. Quest for Knowledge
8. Confidence
9. Faith
10. Gratitude

Action Steps to Get There

-Research! Always learn as much as you can about your field of choice
-Ask questions
-Read books on your field of choice
-Study people who have been successful in your field of choice
-Network with people in your field of choice
-Picture yourself doing what it is you dream of
-Create visualization pieces to help you see your dream
-Set achievable goals with time lines
-Start working on a plan of how you will achieve your goals
-Never stop learning
-Practice patience
-Give back

Summary

Life is all about choices! We choose what we think, what we do, who we spend our time with, where we go and what we want. Make smart choices. Believe in yourself and have faith that things will work out the way they are supposed to.

AND DREAM BIG!

Kira The Butterfly

by Helen R. Little

I give every opportunity to
Love me
But don’t blink an eye
I’m a butterfly
And will be soon
To pass by
On a breeze
To more colorful flowers
And stronger trees

I give every possibility to
Endear me
But take time to satisfy
I’m a butterfly
And flight calls me
So I justify
My movement
Fluttering wherever fancy invites me

I give every occasion to
Engage me
And hope that you try
I’m a butterfly
Who is resting
While I verify
If this nectar is
As unfeigned as it is sweet

I give every authorization to
Possess me
But you testify
I’m a butterfly
And sequestering me
Would only amplify
Why it is that
I’m a butterfly to begin with

Mother's Day Therapy

Toward the end of April I noticed a marked difference in my mood. I started to feel agitated, weirded out, edgy, and curt. I wasn't sure why until a friend of mine help me to identify that on more than one occasion I had mentioned my dread for the upcoming hallmark holiday intended to sell us more stuff under the admirable guise of honoring our Mothers and a month later our Fathers.

You see, I'm an adult orphan. My father died decades ago when I was 15 but this is my first motherless mother's day. For the weeks prior I kept playing commercials on my radio show and promoting station activities that were on our website that are centered around the celebration of mothers. I no longer have one. Everyday for 5 and half hours I was reminded of that fact by sixty or thirty seconds of mini theatrics hawking everything from jewelry to electric toothbrushes (go figure) to flowers and candy. Meanwhile I was being sold grief and the reminder that perhaps over the last nine months or so that I hadn't fully let go of the pain or the loss. And to top it off, in another month I've got to be reminded all over again how truly orphaned I am. Good times...

I'm a terminally happy person so anything that ruffles my smiley face disposition is unwanted and unwelcome. Being from a large family my first course of action was to turn to my siblings only to find out that sharing with them only made me more unhappy because we all happened to be in the same space. Quickly I disconnected from that sad-fest to salvage any hope for overcoming the overwhelming feeling of sorrow and sat in the midst of what to do now?

Cry. Read. Cry. Write. Cry. And then cry some more. Where was my faith and leaning on for understanding during all this? Oh, it was there as I acknowledged that I was in this state for a reason and didn't curse it, discount it, or try to ignore it. It is what it is and has great purpose.

I also can't discount conversations with friends that still have their Moms. But it wasn't until I spoke with someone who buried his Mother a few years ago and within a year buried his younger brother that I started to see things differently. His Father had passed over twenty years ago and they were the ONLY family he had left. He was a family of one. Not even a dog or cat.

Ouch.

All of those forms of dealing with my space benefited me in a different fashion. Crying was a cleanser. Writing was a release. And reading was an intake of information that soothe the raw soreness of it all. And I perused all different types of literature but it was the story from the Los Angeles Times about a book written by Jeanne Safer that made the greatest impact on my attempts to emerge from this week with dryer eyes and at least a half a box of tissue. Safer encourages adult orphans to see their way through their sadness on into the freedom to be your truest self sans parents.

OK, I'll try it. And I'll admit it's not the easiest task I've ever taken on but it does allows me to develop yet another perspective on being too old for the orphanage or to be adopted.

So to those of you that have lost a parent, I hope my sharing helps

when you still hurt. To those who still have Mom and or Dad

around, cherish and enjoy that gift. And to those that are celebrating this Sunday with a Mother or as a Mother, have a Happy Mother's Day!

Spend Wisely

"Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent." - Carl Sandburg

Life is like a pocket full of coins, each chapter, each episode, each moment a round shiny piece of precious currency. We are born with unlimited change. We learn how or teach ourselves to believe it is limited and often times waste it or harbor it. Everyday a coin is dropped in time’s vending machine whether we choose to spend our change or not.

When the number of coins appears to dwindle due to a lack of awareness of how limitless our spending power is, we panic and look to all kinds of sources to help preserve our account balance. However, it doesn’t matter the amount of coins you have but what you spend them on, how you regard them, and the investments you make in the time you have here on earth.

Take control of your coinage by not controlling it at all. Give it to the Master Investor to advise you on how to spend it. God is like a Financial Analyst who knows the best investments for the coins of our lives. He gave us an allowance at birth and ALLOWS us to spend it however we choose.

Change is a big part of life. The surface of this paper changes with each letter I type. How will you spend your change? How will you invest your coins? Who will you have manage your portfolio? What kind of return do you expect? Make the choice to choose wisely and put your change, your coins, your days here in capable, trusted hands for guidance. Only you can choose how yours will be spent.

I Pledge Allegiance To The Flag

An engaging story was shared with me by a colleague that penetrated my soul. He lost the father that he had not seen nor spoken to for thirty years since the age of ten. He was blessed with the opportunity to connect with his father just before the end. The father that didn't bother lay there in the hospital most certainly aware that this was his last glimpse at his extremely successful son who was emotionally unplugged from the man who gave him life. It was understandable that thirty years with no contact could create such a scenario.

Following his father's passing, days after his farewell visit, my friend attended the funeral. At the full military ceremony the oldest son was presented with the tri-folded American flag that had draped his father's coffin. The deceased was a veteran who had fought for his country and returned from war to a more monumental fight - the one in which the people he protected had no idea of how to protect him. It was at that moment as the rifleman's twenty-one gun salute was firing and the flag rested in his lap did my dear friend pledge allegiance. His allegiance is to making a difference, to making a positive impact, to freeing himself from casting judgment, and to choice, otherwise known as the still small voice of his maker.

Where is your allegiance? What flag rest in your lap that you are prepared to proudly fly at full mast? Identify it and use it as a reminder of these actions.

LISTEN.
LIVE.
LOVE.
TODAY.

Now is never too late!

Be The Next You!

It's not unusual to hear someone say, "I'm want to be the next Beyonce, or the next Angelina Jolie." Whereas it's admirable to acknowledge the success these accomplished individuals have achieved and it's equally honorable to be influenced by their trek, one can never truly be the next anyone other than themselves which entails knowing who that is.

Aspire to be the next YOU! As I look at myself, I can reflect on the evolution of the many versions of me that have led to who I am today. And I'm tirelessly working on being more powerful and more dynamic as the next Helen Little! Although it's noteworthy to respect and regard the milestones of others as they are absolutely deserving of recognition, see it as just that. Take interest not in being the next great someone else but in the greatness of yourself!

Each of us is a unique creation. Your path is YOUR path and only YOU can truly be you in all your singular splendor! You may do some of the things that those who have paved the path ahead of you have done. Perhaps you may even do it better! But the next Oprah Winfrey and the next Michael Jordan can only be achieved my Oprah and Michael.

Focus on being you and being the greatest version of you. This is how we honor our Maker. We do, become, and give our utmost as a way to show appreciation and glory for the individual talents and gifts we are each blessed with. Certainly you are not to be reduced to an assembly line edition of someone else with the slight possibility of an upgrade making you the newer, improved version of them.

You have the specific requirement to be you. No one else can fulfill that purpose. And that purpose requires you to be your most outstanding YOU! So as you work toward growing and moving forward on your life journey, look to impress the Creator and the world by being the next YOU!

WAIT! A Beginner's Guide To Patience

I have not always been the most patient person in the world and until recently did not have a lot of experience on the topic. I’m one who always hated to wait for anything. A bus, an answer, a desire, a slowpoke, you name it I was not interested in waiting for it. And yes, I'd heard the saying that “good things come to those who wait." But I was doing quite nicely with good things coming in a hurry or on demand and definitely without a patient pause. So why should I wait? Now is what’s important right? At least according to many philosophies that I had delved into. It was all about the moment. And the moment didn't say "Wait" it said "Now"! So I was a total supporter of Now. But Now started to stall, stand still, no...grind to a screeching halt! Huh? What happened? Let’s get this thing moving again. Where are the jumper cables? I gotta get back on the road of life quick, fast and in a hurry.

Uh, that would be no.

I started to hit roadblock after roadblock, wall after wall, obstacle after obstacle. Only to be knocked down on my rear and have the faint whisper of that dreaded four letter word softly spoken in my ear, “Wait…” Talk about an unhappy sister. I was known for not waiting on anything or anybody. I was privileged. I didn’t have to wait. I was quick. I didn’t have to wait. I knew where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do so what did I need to wait for? Waiting was for the indecisive. Waiting was for the weak. I was a go-getter. There’s no waiting for go-getters. We go get! We don’t wait. For years this was my reality and my existence. From drive-thrus to EZ pass to fast food to ATM’s I was encouraged by convenience to wait even less. Microwaves, instant breakfast, modular homes, overnight success, fed ex, pop and fresh rolls, life in the fast lane!

Well, what happens if I wait and it never comes? Wait could bring disappointment and uncertainty. Then through the wait something better than what was expected comes along instead.

Hmmm, ok...I could get into that.

Wait is not about doing nothing. It’s about setting things in action and then allowing the results to come. It’s a mix of choice and consequence based on the options and actions we take. It’s about being open for life to take its course based on the paths we choose to follow. It’s about patience and perseverance. It’s about determination and dedication. It’s about a joint effort between man and God to uncover life’s treasures and desires. It’s about tolerance and resisting temptation. It’s about action and non-action. Every action has a course and a reaction. Anything worth having is worth working and waiting for.

So what do we do while we wait? We enjoy the present. We revel in the moment. We are grateful for every breath we inhale and exhale. We feed our creativity. We help someone in need. We pray and talk to God about our wait. We love ourselves. We love others. And then we wait some more.