That's right friends, this blog is officially MOVING to our own domain space. YAY! Please make a new bookmark for us at our new site. See you there....I'm so excited!
http://charityisavirtue.com
Jill
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Sunday, November 7, 2010
tamron.lens
I am in need of a good camera for this blog because I am using my cell phone to take pictures. I regularly visit a wonderful lady's blog called "NieNie Dialogues" and she posted a review for a new Tamron Lens and how awesome it is and also put out an offer for someone to win the lens. This is one of the stipulations to be considered to win the lens....putting a post on my blog about it, so here it is. Thanks Nie and Tamron!
Here is the link if you want to check it out!
Jill
Here is the link if you want to check it out!
Jill
week.1.enthusiasm
Aren't you excited? I am!
This is the virtue we are going to start with tomorrow {Monday} and work on all this next week {through Sunday}.
If you are looking for practice ideas for this week, here are some that may spark your interest:
1. Stay enthusiastic at work when a co-worker gets on your nerves or your boss puts pressure on you.
2. Be excited about working out.
3. Show enthusiasm when cleaning up after/taking care of your pet.
4. Have enthusiasm for learning or being at school.
5. Act excited when your 3 year old ask his/her 100th question for the day :)
6. Be excited about living and growing!
Have a great 1st week! Watch for little goodies from me throughout the week and don't forget to post comments about what you are doing/feeling. Also please email me if you have questions.
Go in peace {with inner excitement}.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
taking.a.new.direction
My blog already has good pieces. Which is why I am leaving them for the world to see. The Spirit however has told me to go another direction with this blog; to do something more simple, so here it is:
Each week I am going to choose a virtue to work on and find at least 3 opportunities to practice that virtue within the week. I will share with you (the world) those practices while also providing you with smiles, laughs, and celebrations along the way.
I want to also invite you to practice that same virtue with me during that week, but in your own unique way. For example, if it is something spiritual we are working on together, you would practice that virtue using your own personal beliefs. This blog is for everyone, it is not exclusive.
I would then ask you to post comments to share with the world your own experiences {anonymously or not} and ways you practiced that virtue. There are so many virtues -- {see here and click on one if you don't know what it is}, that it is feasible to practice a different virtue each week and it last all year. A few examples of virtues we could work on this year would be: gratitude for others; increasing your inner {and maybe outer} strength; self-discipline, and cleanliness {home or even personal(?)}.
I want us all to share the good things within us and around us. I want us to share moments like a good belly laugh, something that made your day, or a picture that is worth a thousand words. The simple, enjoyable things of life.
Through this journey, I hope to become a better, stronger person inside and out. I hope to spread love between people and bridge gaps between cultures. I wish to be more in tune with my Spirit.
I hope to change the world, one small, good moment at a time.
Each week I am going to choose a virtue to work on and find at least 3 opportunities to practice that virtue within the week. I will share with you (the world) those practices while also providing you with smiles, laughs, and celebrations along the way.
I want to also invite you to practice that same virtue with me during that week, but in your own unique way. For example, if it is something spiritual we are working on together, you would practice that virtue using your own personal beliefs. This blog is for everyone, it is not exclusive.
I would then ask you to post comments to share with the world your own experiences {anonymously or not} and ways you practiced that virtue. There are so many virtues -- {see here and click on one if you don't know what it is}, that it is feasible to practice a different virtue each week and it last all year. A few examples of virtues we could work on this year would be: gratitude for others; increasing your inner {and maybe outer} strength; self-discipline, and cleanliness {home or even personal(?)}.
I want us all to share the good things within us and around us. I want us to share moments like a good belly laugh, something that made your day, or a picture that is worth a thousand words. The simple, enjoyable things of life.
Through this journey, I hope to become a better, stronger person inside and out. I hope to spread love between people and bridge gaps between cultures. I wish to be more in tune with my Spirit.
I hope to change the world, one small, good moment at a time.
Friday, November 5, 2010
choose.wisely
Goodness. It is a quality that radiates at the very core of most humans. We strive to be good people and to be good to others; we love one another and want to lead "good" lives. Most practice spirituality regularly and support their loved ones in whatever they choose to do. Humans, I believe are inherently good.
Life is full of goodness! If it doesn't seem to be coming our way, then it is up to us as individuals to go and find it within ourselves and in the world.
Creating our own happiness within each moment is key. Accepting ourselves for who we are is helpful. Being virtuous is essential.
Good, happy moments must be created from the simplest of things for everyone is entitled to have them. Basic needs like eating, sleeping, and maintaining personal hygiene are a given when it comes to a person's happiness. Grumpiness and hunger go hand-in-hand, so take care of yourself! Eat sensibly and drink a good amount of water each day.
Once our basic needs are taken care of, our brains are free to make choices. Free to choose to have a good moment in our life, or a bad moment. Free to choose to have a positive attitude, or a negative one. Free to choose to hold open the door for an elderly person and free to allow someone else go first at an intersection. Freedom to make a difference in someone's life or your own.
I want to find happiness within each moment I am given...within my life. It isn't perfect but it's mine.
God is good, and if my desire is to be with God someday, my mind and body have to be in a likewise place. So begins this journey.....to find, be given, or create good within my life or the life of others. To live a virtuous life.
Life is full of goodness! If it doesn't seem to be coming our way, then it is up to us as individuals to go and find it within ourselves and in the world.
Creating our own happiness within each moment is key. Accepting ourselves for who we are is helpful. Being virtuous is essential.
Good, happy moments must be created from the simplest of things for everyone is entitled to have them. Basic needs like eating, sleeping, and maintaining personal hygiene are a given when it comes to a person's happiness. Grumpiness and hunger go hand-in-hand, so take care of yourself! Eat sensibly and drink a good amount of water each day.
Once our basic needs are taken care of, our brains are free to make choices. Free to choose to have a good moment in our life, or a bad moment. Free to choose to have a positive attitude, or a negative one. Free to choose to hold open the door for an elderly person and free to allow someone else go first at an intersection. Freedom to make a difference in someone's life or your own.
I want to find happiness within each moment I am given...within my life. It isn't perfect but it's mine.
God is good, and if my desire is to be with God someday, my mind and body have to be in a likewise place. So begins this journey.....to find, be given, or create good within my life or the life of others. To live a virtuous life.
sweet.nothings
I smell: her fresh-bathed skin
I hear: her sweet breath -- in and out, in and out. rhythmic.
I touch: her curls between my fingers
I see: my girl curled up asleep at my breast
I whisper sweet nothings in her ear and nibble her shoulders.
After all, she is only soft and little once.
I hear: her sweet breath -- in and out, in and out. rhythmic.
I touch: her curls between my fingers
I see: my girl curled up asleep at my breast
I whisper sweet nothings in her ear and nibble her shoulders.
After all, she is only soft and little once.
dont.pitch.a.fit.about.pitching.in
I want to live a virtuous life, however I don't want a huge amount of recognition for the things I am doing. I want to live simply and to know that my actions are possibly changing others' lives for the better and for good.
I have chosen to focus my life on serving others {charity} for the time being. My reasons for this are both personal and spiritual. Each person will have his/her own reason for choosing which virtue to work on, and the virtue worked on will and should change over time. There is no absolute right way to achieve the goal of becoming {to come into being} the person you are meant to be. But I do believe that doing good in the world is a start in the right direction.
I have chosen to focus my life on serving others {charity} for the time being. My reasons for this are both personal and spiritual. Each person will have his/her own reason for choosing which virtue to work on, and the virtue worked on will and should change over time. There is no absolute right way to achieve the goal of becoming {to come into being} the person you are meant to be. But I do believe that doing good in the world is a start in the right direction.
Here is a pic of my loving work: picking up trash off the city streets. I picked up as I took my walk. When my bag was full, I was done. Tomorrow I will take another bag and do the same thing. Small differences.
day.1
Each morning of each day allows you to wake up and start over. This surely is one blessing that everyone {still alive} experiences on a daily basis. The warm shower arouses you from the dream world, and the smell of coffee lifts the cloud off your brain. "What a great day," we say. And let it be.....a great day indeed!
Each day, I commit myself to take my 1 year old daughter on a walk. It takes anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour of my time each day and boy, do I ever delight in that time together. It has been therapy for me, and exciting exploration for her {my body being more toned is definitely a perk}! We walk in every direction we can from day to day and I take pictures of things I see that make me happy. I have things I am healing from, as are we all. I have found that choosing to do one thing for ME each morning has helped the rest of my day to actually be great, and allowed personal healing to begin.
Please choose yourself today. You are important enough.
P.S. Here is something that makes me happy....the mountains.
Each day, I commit myself to take my 1 year old daughter on a walk. It takes anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour of my time each day and boy, do I ever delight in that time together. It has been therapy for me, and exciting exploration for her {my body being more toned is definitely a perk}! We walk in every direction we can from day to day and I take pictures of things I see that make me happy. I have things I am healing from, as are we all. I have found that choosing to do one thing for ME each morning has helped the rest of my day to actually be great, and allowed personal healing to begin.
Please choose yourself today. You are important enough.
P.S. Here is something that makes me happy....the mountains.
What makes you HAPPY?
charity.is.a.virtue
Charity is different things to different people. For some, it may be lending a hand to those in need. For others, it may be donating no-longer used items to their local Salvation Army. And still others may view it as simply giving money to whichever organization they find fit. For me, it is a vast combination of things that all come down to 1 thing: love. Agape = love = charity. Charity is unconditional love and kindness towards others which is why it is a virtue.
Virtues are thoughts and actions that consistently confirm a person's core values and beliefs. They are good(ies) that people experience and strive for on a daily basis. Virtues are important and should be practiced often within one's own life and in other's lives.
People feel happier inside when they act in virtuous ways throughout their day.
(and even more important...)
Others are blessed by those who practice charity.
Let's share and celebrate our small moments.
Let's not hope for a better tomorrow, let's make a better tomorrow.
Let's bring forth the change we want to see in the world...together.
Let's bring forth the change we want to see within ourselves...together.
Are you with me?
{You can find a complete list of virtues here.}
With Love.......
Virtues are thoughts and actions that consistently confirm a person's core values and beliefs. They are good(ies) that people experience and strive for on a daily basis. Virtues are important and should be practiced often within one's own life and in other's lives.
People feel happier inside when they act in virtuous ways throughout their day.
(and even more important...)
Others are blessed by those who practice charity.
Let's share and celebrate our small moments.
Let's not hope for a better tomorrow, let's make a better tomorrow.
Let's bring forth the change we want to see in the world...together.
Let's bring forth the change we want to see within ourselves...together.
Are you with me?
{You can find a complete list of virtues here.}
With Love.......