Tag Archives: practice kindness

22

Learning to Be Giant

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Giant- an imaginary or mythical being of human form but superhuman size.

giantsAre you a giant? What if we were all giants? Some opportunities exist every day to accomplish goals, take positive actions, or help someone find what they are looking for in life.  These things are accessible for a giant to do in this world.  Today, you can become a giant, maybe not in physical stature but in how you look at your life and the lives of others whom you interact with regularly.   Becoming a giant is possible when you focus on the thoughts you think, the emotions they produce, the words that result, and your actions in all situations.  Today you may be a giant.

Be Their Giant

When you are down, for whatever reason, anyone who encourages you is a giant to you. Look for the people you know that could use some positive encouragement today and give it to them.  It is a massive action to giantsshow kindness to others, and it doesn’t cost you a thing but to be more empathetic to someone else than you usually are.  Random acts of kindness are tremendous, and expressly directed acts of kindness are even better.

Look around you and see where you can apply your giant acts of kindness. See a sad person and give them a reason to be cheerful. If someone is discouraged,  find a way to encourage them.  A compliment, a smile, a kind recognition about them, or anything you can think of to do that will make the existence of another human being a better experience.  That would make you a giant today in the eyes of whomever you can help. That person may just be yourself.  Giants do this.

Chase Your Giant Dreams

Giants are mythical creatures, but all myths are based on reality.  You can decide if your story moves from the pages of your mind into the history books of fact. This story happens when you firmly establish your desired ending and then begin to take steps toward making that ending reality in your life.  It is not just a story, and every success story in the world starts that way and ends precisely the same, a quest fulfilled.

Don’t be afraid. Set your big goals as big as you want. It would be ashamed if you found out that you could have had anything you wanted, but you aimed entirely too low.  Be a giant, and ask for what you want in life. See the place in your life that is ready to contribute to the world and give.  Find your giant calling and follow it.  Be brave and go for what you want. There is no other way for the giant in you to show.  Be rich. Be famous. Be talented. Be everything you want.  Giants do this.

Show Giant Gratitude and Appreciation

No giant became all they could without the help and assistance of many others along the way. Put some of your focus on the gratitude you have for all of those who have shown you kindness, caring, and love throughout your life.  Someone has believed in you. Someone has seen the giantsgreatness that exists in you. Someone has been kind and encouraging to you.  Take a moment and be grateful for these things.  If you honestly have never had these experiences, it is not too late to start.

We are all giants, and that greatness does exist in everyone. Sometimes we have to be the ones who recognize it.  It helps when others understand it, but there is no denying it when we see it.  Lose all of your judgment for yourself and stop seeing your flaws.  It is impossible to feel gratitude and experience simultaneously, and you are making that choice every day.  Choose gratitude and let your giant persona ride through the countryside.

Be a Giant Today

Maybe giants are imaginary creatures from old stories, or perhaps they are here, all around you.  All it takes is to recognize the giant in others and allow it inside yourself.  Be a kinder, self-directed, and grateful person to your ability.  How big a giant you are today will depend on the thoughts you entertain, the emotions you feel, the words you speak, and your actions.  We are all giants in the land of giants, and we have to choose to notice it.  When you see that giants exist all around, your view will determine your success and enjoyment of life.

“It is the mark of a great man that he puts to flight all ordinary calculations. He is at once sublime and touching, childlike, and of the race of giants.”-Honore de Balzac

“As soon as a redwood is cut down or burned, it sends up a crowd of eager, hopeful shoots, which, if allowed to grow, would in a few decades attain a height of a hundred feet, and the strongest of them would finally become giants as great as the original tree.” – John Muir

 

 

 

21

Favorite Things

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I have learned a few things throughout my life to assist me in navigating the sometimes stormy waters I have encountered. They aren’t tricky in concept and have proven useful when the challenges of existence come my way.  As we all know, there are always two-sided to life. It will bring you decisive, secure, happy moments, but along with each of those will come challenges that will bring you growth. These things we feel we could do without, but these things have a purpose. They allow us to grow beyond where we are right now in this moment.  “What is this trying to teach me?” 

I am sure we can all do without the suffering moments, loss, and sadness in life. The bitter provides value to the sweet.  You can try to prepare yourself to handle the tough times and persevere in life and not have the unexpected challenges of life bury you alive when they hit. You lose a job, a relationship ends, someone passes away, or even a natural disaster hits.  You will either grow from these things or be beaten by them. Don’t be beaten. Use these little weapons to help you win.

Foul Weather Gear

Foul weather gear is a term I picked up from some friends of mine many years ago. They raced a boat on the ocean for fun and took me out for a sail quite often. The experience was excellent, and I enjoyed the gentle waves on the sea on a bright, warm summer day.  It was relaxing and utterly enjoyable. Life is often like this. But……Sometimes though, the weather will turn, and it isn’t so lovely, and it rains hard, and the winds are no longer favorable but merciless, which can be quite dangerous. When the storm hits is when you break out your foul weather gear, and it will help you make it through the storm and enjoy the ride as much as possible. It is a measure we should all take in life. Life often seems like a sunny day with beautiful weather, but a storm can arise out of nowhere. It is always good to have foul weather gear at hand, just in case.

Some people are so attached to the sunny day and calm sail they will never see the joy and excitement that comes from the harsher weather heading your way — this chance to use your wits and develop your skill on the boat. You can grow as an individual and with the crew as well. There may be some danger, but life is full of uncertainty. It allows us to learn to deal with it.

Life Gives What We Need

In a perfect world, we would always find an immediate reward for good behavior and positive actions. And those who treat people poorly and make decisions that harm others would be immediately punished. But that is not how things work. If you look at the short game, life will never seem fair.  But when you look at the extended play, it appears that all things work out exactly as they should. Those who live their lives based on fear have little joy and happiness, and those who live in love are happy and enjoy life. Never expect life to give you everything you ever wanted on a silver platter, it won’t, and you will spend your time wallowing in self-pity if that is what you expect. But life will allow you the chance to grow and become the best person you can be in all areas.  Never worry about the fairness of life, worry about your ability to deal with what you face, and making positive decisions based on kindness, caring, understanding, acceptance, and love. This ability will allow you to see the long game of your life because that is all that matters.  Life gives us all an equal opportunity to become our best, so it is the ultimate level of fairness.

Practice Kindness

There are no situations where practicing kindness can hurt anything and always contributes to a better day for those you practice kindness. Sometimes we get wrapped up in our desires and feelings, and the fear of not getting what we want or feel we need can diminish our mood and make us less a lower version of ourselves. Negative thoughts make us move around in a bad mood, and we distribute negative energy to all folks we encounter that day.

Viewing the world from the scope of what we can do for others rather than what we can do for ourselves will benefit all involved, including the world in general.  Look at your expectations for the day, see what you seek for yourself, and then look for the simple things you can do to make someone else’s day a little brighter. Kindness is easy to practice because it feels good to be kind. Put other people first and treat the world with that attitude, and it will generally treat you that way too.

Build Your Body

Exercise is a choice, and participating in it regularly will bring you many benefits. It is suitable for the functioning of your body in heart, mind, and spirit daily, and that by itself is enough. Along with a sensible diet, it will help you maintain a healthier weight and feel better in overall health.  But there is also another benefit that many don’t contemplate.

When tragedy comes into your life, you will be mentally and physically able to handle things better.  Many people have their lives jump off the rails at the slightest bump of adversity.  Working out teaches you to reach deep inside yourself and know that there is a strength to do what you have to do, even if sometimes you don’t want to.  Without a consistent exercise regimen, I think that we tend to move to the soft side and become vulnerable. Whatever training and physical activity resonate with you, participate in it.  Lifting, jogging, biking, yoga, martial arts, or any other type of exercise will provide you strength inside and outside.

Find Moments of Quiet

It is in the moments of quiet that you can hear yourself. Take time to find the places in life where you can get your mind to stop making noise and listen to the natural inner guidance we all have. Experience provides us with many rules and expectations that teach us what society expects from us, but they don’t help our soul express itself in the way one needs. To follow this inner guidance, we need to quiet the mind and stop chasing the world’s expectations. Listen to the inner voice that exists in each of us.  The sound is your intuition, and it is much wiser than your thoughts will ever be.

Don’t ignore your intuition because of the thoughts you think about the fears and expectations of the world.  Find the quiet and ask simple questions and follow the answers you hear. It sounds simple, but it takes commitment because as soon as you get a response, your mind will kick back in with a million objections and doubts. What will people think? How can that work? Will we lose the respect of others?  Those we love will judge us harshly.  Nobody will understand. Soon the right answer seems like an impossible challenge.  It is much easier to maintain the status quo, but it isn’t very fulfilling. Life brings a growth experience and avoiding growth leads to atrophy and death.  Listen to your inner voice.

Meditation

Taking on meditation is a great way to calm your mind and stop the constant chatter. There are many misconceptions about the practice, it is not difficult, and it is not religious. It is a tool to work with your mind and the thoughts you have rather than be bowled over by it. It can also help you find a way to deal with your emotions more healthily.  Since we get very little guidance in our lives on how to do this, meditation has been a savior to me in making sense, accepting, and moving past the inevitable negative emotions which arise from life.

There are many different ways to meditate; to me, there is no wrong way. You will be able to find guided meditations easily. I use an app on my phone called Insight Timer, and there are many others.  They offer a chance to be conducted in a direction you need to work on, or you can use their timer with ambient sound and focus on your breathing.  Whatever method resonates with you and helps you live a healthier life is a good thing to do. Give it a try. You will only find positives.

These are a few little thoughts to make life a more enjoyable experience.  Keep your foul weather gear handy and ride out the storm. Understand life is a long game, it may seem unfair at the moment, but it all equals out in the end. As long as your alive, there is a chance for a comeback.  Kindness is always the right choice. If you are questioning whether or not understanding will work, practice compassion.  Find your moments of quiet, just for you, because you deserve it. We all need to contemplate the things which make us feel fulfilled, what steps to take next, and where our power lies. To that end, give practicing meditation a chance. It can allow you to tame the negative thoughts and produce a positive force of action in your life. Be physical, and take care of your body in some way. You only get one of them, and it will take you as far in life as you let it.

Keep these tools at your disposal, and they will help you overcome the hard times and answer the question: What is this trying to teach me?