Inspiration Shared By Lady Braids

Inspiration On 2/16/12

We, as a society, are still teaching our young women to love backwards.
The message is boldly promoted on the cover of nearly every women's
magazine. There are tools to find love, tricks to catch it and rules to
keep it. The glowing faces of the toothpick models on the covers hold
the promise of great secrets to be revealed on the pages within.

Romantic love is secondary to real love, not the reverse. When there's
an absence of love within, the void cannot be filled by reaching out
and bringing love to you.

Respecting and honoring the person you see in the mirror, is real love.
Genuine care for the lives of every citizen on the planet, is real love.
Gratitude for the things we receive from the earth and concern for
the environment, is real love.

Of course, there are exceptions to the rule: parents who nurture
the spirit of their children and teach them real love. Even more
heartening are the mentors who share their love and wisdom with
children who do not receive that type of nourishment at home.

Not a single one of us is ready for romantic love until we are truly
living in real love. When we love forward, from the inside out, we do
not seek false romance, which is a needy emotion. We seek true
romance, a love that compliments who we are and everything we
want to become.

 -- Living in love and loving life,
     Terri McPherson

Inspiration On 2/13/12

 

When you see geese flying in a "V" formation, you might be interested in
knowing what scientists have discovered about why they fly that way. 

 1. FACT As each bird flaps its wings it creates an uplift for the bird
    immediately following. By flying in a "V" formation, the whole flock
    adds at least 71 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew
    on its own. 

    TRUTH People who share a common direction and sense of community can
    get where they are going quicker and easier because they are traveling
    on the trust of one another. 

 2. FACT Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the
    drag and resistance of trying to go it alone and quickly gets back
    into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird
    immediately in front. 

    TRUTH There is strength and power and safety in numbers when
    traveling in the same direction with whom we share a common goal. 

 3. FACT When the lead goose gets tired, he rotates back in the wing and
    another goose flies point. 

    TRUTH It pays to take turns doing hard jobs. 

 4. FACT The geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up
    their speed. 

    TRUTH We all need to be remembered with active support and praise. 

 5. FACT When a goose gets sick or is wounded and falls out, two geese fall
    out of formation and follow him down to help and protect him. They stay
    with him until the crisis resolves, and then they launch out on their
    own or with another formation to catch up with their group. 

    TRUTH We must stand by each other in times of need.

We are fortunate that there are more geese in life than turkeys. Let's remember
to uphold each other in friendship and give each other a big 'HONK" more often.

 -- Author Unknown 

Inspiration On 2/8/12

A good barometer to use, when determining how
a big a role you allow someone to play in your life,
is how they treat others - not you.

If a person is kind and caring and compassionate
in their dealings with people, we are not surprised
when they treat us the same way. Yet, if they are
good to us, and mean spirited toward others, we
are shocked and hurt when, somewhere down the
line, they treat us in the same manner.

"But," you say, "He would never do that to ME."

"But," you say, "She would never treat ME like that."

When we care for someone, and we truly believe
they care for us, we tend to overlook certain
things, and we should. None of us are perfect.

But a person who lies... lies. A person who
gossips... gossips. A person who cheats...
cheats. A person who betrays... betrays.

This is a difficult lesson for many people to learn,
myself included. It took a few good-hard-knocks
on the head, before I realized that friendship is
not a safety zone. If I associate myself with
someone who tends to tell lies, I have no logical
reason to be upset when they tell a lie about me.

People show you their true colors all the time.
Simply look at the way they treat others. It's a
pretty reliable indication of who they really are.

Your friendship garden may be small, when your
closest companions are those who treat the
world with the same love and respect that you
do, but their wondrous blossoms will always be
there for you to enjoy.

 -- Living in love and loving life,
     Terri McPherson

Inspiration On 2/2/12

The only accurate label, is the one that identifies a dangerous substance.

I am, for the most part, an introvert. I enjoy the setting of my quiet country
life, I keep my own counsel and enjoy my own company. But, if you labeled
me an introvert, your assessment of me would be incorrect.

I love to laugh and converse at social gatherings, and I'm perfectly comfortable
standing at a podium and addressing a room full of people. If you stopped by
the local high school on a Wednesday evening, you'd find me dancing up a storm,
with microphone in hand, and calling out steps to my clogging class. You'd hear
a lot of loud laughter too. (Especially when the dancers are following my lead
and I flub a step.)

The 'quiet' me, is the person I am at my core, but my outgoing characteristics
are an integral part of my makeup.

So... how would you label me? An introvert with extroverted tendencies?

You can't slot me into one specific category.

Labels are inappropriate and misleading when they're place on people.
Often times, they're hurtful or have negative connotations. Vague labels,
used to differentiate the 'us' group from the 'them' group, are one of
the biggest blockades on the road to world harmony.

Save your labels for poison. Don't poison your perceptions with them.

 -- Living in love and loving life,
     Terri McPherson

Inspiration On 1/23/12

Do you love to be loved, or do you love giving love?

Those who want love, seek love and crave love, will
find themselves in times of great darkness and despair
when that love is absent or they feel it has wronged them.

Those who give love freely, without strings or expectations,
in all they do, live in the sunshine of that love for all their
days.

Life is an adventure when you bring your love to the world.
You are unburdened and free. Like minded people are
attracted by your tenderness and reverence for life. Bias
and bigotry are foreign and unfathomable. Dignity and
respect are your currency, and the more you give away,
the richer you become.

You will never have to look for that kind of love.

It will surround you.

 -- Living in love and loving life,
     Terri McPherson

Inspiration On 1/11/12

There is a period of life where we swallow a knowledge of ourselves and it
becomes either good or sour inside.

For too many of us, feelings of shame, even self-hatred, are paramount.
No one of us has a fully untarnished past. Every man, every woman, even
every child experiences regret over some action. We are not perfect.
Perfection is not expected in the Divine plan. But we are expected to
take our experiences and grow from them, to move beyond the shame
of them, to celebrate what they have taught us.

Each day offers us a fresh start at assimilating all that we have been.
What has gone before enriches who we are now, and through the many
experiences we have survived, we have been prepared to help others, to
smooth the way for another, perhaps, who is searching for a new direction.

We can let go of our shame and know instead that it sweetens the nuggets
of the wisdom we can offer to others. We are alike. We are not without
faults. Our trials help another to smoother sailing.

I will relish the joy at hand. I can share my wisdom.

Painful pasts can brighten someone's future, when openly shared.

 -- Author Unknown 

Inspiration On 1/6/12

What is the disposition, attitude and integrity of the
people you draw in to your life? Draw, as in, attract
and pull toward you.

Your friends and your mates are not playing a role
they got by accident. They are there for one reason
and one reason alone. You allow them to be there.

When you address the world from a place of self
surety and calm strength, people who belittle and
dominate others in order to feel good about
themselves are powerless in your presence. They
feel disconcerted and uncomfortable, and they
don't stick around for long.

When you address the world from a place of fear
and cynicism, people who greet the unfolding
mystery of life with enthusiasm and delight, will
shy away from you. The burden of your negative
behavior will leave them feeling weighted down
and looking for the first opportunity to break free.

The people in your life are a direct reflection of
your beliefs, your attitude and your integrity. They
show the world what you will and will not tolerate.

 -- Living in love and loving life,
    Terri McPherson

Inspiration On 1/5/12

Often in life we make no time to listen. Really
listening to our partners or our children requires
us to move away from the human nature of
"what about me".

Listening and understanding other people helps
in our inner journey of self understanding. I have
found that the time spent making other peoples'
dreams spring to life has been the most rewarding
experience for my own personal growth.

Too often we get locked away in the I syndrome.
I did this, I done that, I am important,
I ... ,
I ... ,
I ... ,

We all need to feel important and loved - that is one
our strongest human passions. I find true importance
in listening and helping others. Try some today, you
will be pleasantly rewarded.

 -- © John Ahern

Inspiration On 1/1/12

To leave the old with a burst of song;
To recall the right and forgive the wrong;

To forget the things that bind you fast;
To the vain regrets of the year that's past;

To have the strength to let go your hold
Of the not worth while of the days grown old;

To dare go forth with a purpose true,
To the unknown task of the year that's new;

To help your brother along the road,
To assist with his work and lift his load;

To add your gift to the world's good cheer,
Is to have and to give a Happy New Year.

 -- Author Unknown

Inspiration On 12/22/11

Do we not sometimes feel, in trial or perplexity, that others might
help us if they would only stop and listen? But they will not, and
in their constant hurry we know it is little use to speak.

Let us note the lesson for ourselves, and give what we ask - leisure to
hear, attentive, concentrated, not divided - calm, patient consideration.

It may be our busy work, as we think, for the Master, which so
overcrowds our lives that we have not time for this "standing still."
Sad eyes meet ours, but we cannot stay to read their story. Some
look to us for help in battles which we fought long ago, but we
cannot turn aside to see how it fares with them in the strife, or
to whisper the secret of victory.

But He would have said, even though some plans of our own for
His service were put aside, "I tell you the truth, whatever you
did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for Me."

 -- H Bowman