Making a choice to change can be choosing to believe the impossible.

    

“If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable,

you disconnect yourself from what you truly want,

 and all that is left is compromise.”  Robert Fritz

Believing in the power of 1 suspends believing in only what seems possible.

Have you decided there is power in one?

Decisions impact choices, impact actions, impact reactions.

 What will you decide to do differently?
What will you decide matters most to you?
How will these decisions help or hurt you?
How will these decisions help or hurt others?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja9BFx5Mhqo&feature=fvwrel

Title of today's post refers to post 7.14.12
incase you missed it

It's not what others believe about you that matters...

Beliefs impact choices, impact actions, impact reactions. 

 The greatest source of action or inaction comes from our beliefs about ourselves. 

 Be careful what you believe you can or can't do.

Be careful what you tell others to believe about themselves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YUExPsgs60&feature=related

Does it make a difference?

Beliefs-

we are more alike than we are different

inside everyone a desire exists to connect with what is true and pure

giving to others is far more satisfying than receiving

being blessed is an opportunity to be a blessing

change is possible through the realization that change is possible

every choice has an impact

I've been a mission seeking and finding examples of resiliency and the amazing impact everyday choices have not only on ourselves but, on  those around us.

It's such a simple concept and generally not deemed as any kind of monumental statement.

But I believe it is monumental

 living as much as possible, in that realization that with every choice we make,

we make an impact, we can change our lives and the lives of those around us.

The Power of One video

isn't shared by me to promote one cause over another or one strategy over another.

 I share it because I need to be reminded and hope to inspire others that there is power in one.

 Each choice we make does have an impact. 

 Put passion into your decision making~

 you can make a difference for yourself and what you care about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz_pVmf5NgE&feature=relmfu

What will become of Us?

Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value.
~ Albert Einstein

In memory of... small town ideals

Lovingly looking back to a simpler time.  Thinking about small town ideals and being there for others, not as a governmental instituted source of support, but people helping people.

The simplicity of helping others in the way that you, as an individual can.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPkxmH0l8_k&playnext=1&list=PL4FDA977D60C76E8A

Try to Remember NOT to Worry

Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.
~ Corrie Ten Boom

Value of Work

Many of the great achievements of the world were accomplished by tired and discouraged men who kept on working.
~ Unknown

My Blog List... choosing what to lose, keep & add

Some soul searching... I regularly scroll down my blog to review the blogs list in the right hand column, looking for updates.   I realized I had some blogs I generally skipped over, feeling like their posts weren't exactly relevant to the purpose of my blog.  I'd  decide to look at them later, when I wasn't really working on my blog.

It's like the playlist you have... there are always those songs that you put on the list, but you almost always skip over.  It's not that they aren't good songs, just for whatever reason they don't really speak to you at the time.

In an effort to check myself, clean out and keep things organized, I went through the blog list and in all honesty, the blogs that I regularly "skipped over" are great blogs, they just really don't have anything to do with resiliency or about true value or abundance and generousity.  They're fun and informative and appeal to my interests of FOOD :) and wellness, but just weren't true to the heart of this blog. 

And now for the ugly truth...  they have huge readerships and I'm sure my "hidden"
now exposed motivation was to somehow increase my readership by associating myself with them.
Sigh.... okay so now that the whole truth is out about the pruning of my blog list. 
Check out some of the newly added blogs, I've found so inspiring!


True Worth
http://trueworth.wordpress.com/2012/06/29/a-woman-of-confidence-today-at-reluctant-entertainer/

Encouraging Others
http://carolineteselle.com/live/2012/06/we-opened-a-can-of-worms/

Bead For Life- Fair Trade (Hand Up in action)

http://www.beadforlife.org/blog/

Be reminded and renew your thinking daily,
 knowing that individually and collectively
our everday choices have extraordinary impact.

How Do You Define Winning?

Winning isn't getting ahead of others. It's getting ahead of yourself.
~ Roger Staubach

Water is Life

Rain has been less available than we are used to here in the Midwest.  We have come to take so many things for granted.  The video in today's post is the epitome of how true resilience is available through the one and only power source. Accessing living water empowers resilience.

This movement is truly a comprehensive alignment of all human need fulfilled out of the spiritual living water and the provision of physical water necessary for all natural life.
The ultimate hand up -
rejecting hand outs and dependency reaching for freedom.

http://vimeo.com/19540971

This will be an ongoing theme for the blog and our web store as we join the movement.
More to follow!

Stop Screaming for Help... Be Resilient

Resiliency means different things to different people.
For me it's definition continues to evolve.

The video I am posting today has had the most powerful impact on me to date as an example of resiliency. 

I see this clip as a snapshot of how resiliency is a continuous act of discovering the gifts God has already given us and honing them, as God carefully, lovingly watches over us. 
. 
To recognize that a real rescue, isn't screaming for help and having the problem at hand solved, it's leaning into the problem and developing the gifts God has placed within us.  Using what we have, developing skills to move into the life God has planned for us.
 
Getting picked up and dusted off, doesn't develop resiliency. 

A huge thank you to Mark Walz for sharing this amazing video at Granger Community Church this weekend so that I could continue to share it with you.

http://www.wingclips.com/movie-clips/ray/i-need-help?play=1

Book Covers & Powerful Thoughts

Funny... as a baseline, I don't actually like the "talent shows"....

But as you can see, in the right hand column of my blog,
 there are several videos from these shows.

They are simply the  most moving, literal examples of

dreams coming true and resiliency I have found.

The latest addition speaks to me in multiple layers as an inspiration...

Don't judge a book by it's cover!

Change your thoughts, change your world!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHUb55uWuAY

How easy it is to make quick categorized judgements of the people we see...

 just "sum them up". 

This young, articulate, talented person, not what most would assume by his outer appearance. 

His music choice... surprised?  Ask yourself why?

As I journey through this focus on resiliency and empowerment,

 I find this example incredibly powerful.
The multiple lesson opportunity shouldn't be missed.

The preconceived ideas based upon his appearance don't match the real live human being behind the make-up and clothing style. 

Go beyond the simplistic idea of

 "don't judge a book by it's cover",

consider his deliberate choice to create that facade,

consider our deliberate choices to create facades.

He clearly states that he has felt himself as an outsider, generally rejected.

He chose a facade that says, I'm different, I don't fit into what is generally expected.

Feelings of rejection lead to choices....

Choices about outward appearance can provide a safety zone.

 I can reject you, before you reject me!

Creating a facade can go deeper than the styles we chose to represent us.

Some work hard at maintaining an air of arrogance~

I reject you 1st, I hold the power to reject.

Still others use the clever snarky facade~

 I reject you with my mean spirited wit.

Putting on an exterior to attempt to save the interior... 

 it's a lot of work to maintain a facade.

All that is such a great lesson available to revisit  in both how we choose to perceive what we see in others and what we choose to put on ourselves to create "who the world sees".

The Cover of a Book can be Deceptive...

The equally amazing lesson from this young man
  is that changes become possible with a shift in thoughts...

He chose to be vulnerable to millions and show something highly personal.  

He began the long road of changing his thoughts, to change his world.

Although those negative thoughts are clearly still there...

not good at anything, outsider, rejected....

There is an emergence of the possibility that the negative can be replaced by the positive.

He shared his carefully guarded secret, his true talent...

 at the risk of tremendous rejection.

And now his world is changing...

Change your thoughts, change your world.

Yesterday my husband bought flowers for another woman.

Yesterday my husband bought flowers for another woman.
It made me sad, but not for the reasons you might guess.
Today it is 21 years since his mother left us, cancer took her body.

Loss is such an evolution.
I remember the sadness of that day... and the momentum forward and the "healing" from sadness. 
But what's most remarkable to me...
is that as we go through life, it is how that loss revisits in new ways.

When she passed his brother was in his late twenties with three children, we were in our early twenties, just graduated from college and not yet married and his sister was sixteen. 

Over these past 21 years... his brother's daughters have grown, graduated and had children of their own... she would now be a great-grandmother. 
We have married, had children and gone back to school ourselves.
His sister had proms, graduated from high school and college, married and had children of her own.

This year my baby turned 16...
that hits any mother like a ton of bricks anyway. 
But what struck me, was that this was the age that Dana lost her mother.
I sob just thinking about that for her, and now from the perspective of the mother of a 16 year old.

All this loss and sadness could and sometimes does cripple. 
It certainly changes perspective.
 
Wallowing in sadness and anger, while tempting at times,
 really just continues to steal from you.

On the right column of the blog is an amazing poem about survival...
when I read it I think about how it's really a tribute to resiliency and the keys to knowing what to cling to.

I'm continuing to build our web store in hope of making a difference in the lives of any family battling cancer, by supporting United Cancer Services. 

Today we will choose not to focus on the loss, but on the fun.... actually hilarious memories and realize she is always with her children and is helping others battle as we now begin this leg of the journey supporting United Cancer Services.

Please visit their page to learn more about their great work...
http://elkhartcancer.org/

If you are interested in our products dedicated to raising awareness and funds for United Cancer Services ...
http://shop.charmedbychoice.com/

Also see our pin on Pinterest...
http://pinterest.com/source/shop.charmedbychoice.com/

Straight from Pure Citizen

PLANTLIFE
Plantlife creates all-natural body care products that are good for you, using the purest ingredients such as fresh herbs and 100% pure essential oils. Each of their therapeutic blends and aromatherapy creations is prepared with the intent of enriching our lives as well as our environment.
All of their products are chemical free - no SLS, no parabens (preservatives), no phthalates, no artificial colors or fragrances, no dyes or synthetics. They are manufactured in the USA in small batches to ensure product quality and freshness.

Find link on the left column along with many other socially responsible shopping opportunities!

Strength

Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong
~ Lao-Tzu

Today it's about us...

Today my husband takes another step into our personal journey of resiliency. This blog was 1st inspired out of pure need to find examples of resiliency. I wanted to see as many others as possible surviving and thriving. The news seems to provide me with a never ending supply of anti-inspiring examples, hopelessness sets in so very easy that way. The blog has grown from that simplistic desire to find examples of hope and resiliency in everyday people like us, rebuilding through the economic challenges, to discovering resiliency internationally through EVERY imaginable and unimaginable circumstance. This exploration has given us perspective, hope and heroes.

But today, my thoughts are with my husband. Choosing a new career, finding that something that will not only bring us financial support, but something that helps others. Not just a job, not just a career...
All that it has entailed boggles our minds...
student loans on top of loosing income, studying, internships, studying, studying....
physics in your forties, yikes!

Today we're sitting about 4 years past his initial job loss, the journey was much longer than we expected, but today we're another step closer, today he takes another in a series of board exams...
a 5 hour test!

One of my favorite blogs.... Ordinary Courage.... inspires me so often when I apply it to myself, but today I reflect back about the courage it took for my husband to move forward, the courage to start and stay with this journey. Giving up sometimes may have felt like an option.
But here we are today, another step closer.

Today I am inspired by him, not because he's a perfect, not because things are easy and there's never a conflict, but because he had the courage to start over completely with all the opportunity that brings to fail and try again, to look for that light at the end of the tunnel and keep moving forward.
Today he takes another step.
My thoughts and prayers are with him and all of us choosing to stare at the possibilities, not stuck staring at the problems.

Having the courage to choose steps toward resiliency is heroic.

In HONOR of.... ultimate sacrifice

Signal the start of summer...
 pools opened, boats launched, lake homes homes readied for the season, barbecues in back yards, beach trips.... it must be Memorial Day week-end!  I must admit, those are my 1st thoughts.

But then there's the name of this glorious 3 day break from the regular routine and in our 4 season world here in southern MI, the starting gun to the summer season.

Memorial Day weekend has muddy roots, but came together as a declared national holiday May 5, 1868 and was first observed May 30, 1868.  It was initially a recognition day of those soldiers lost during the civil war.  After Word War 1 it became a day to honor those whom gave the ultimate sacrifice, those who lost their lives in any war.

It's intent is to honor the war dead.  This reminder caused  a  knee jerk response that I should feel guilty that I've had a nice break, enjoyed the beach and generally am excited to see summer come. 
I felt like the reminder of the intent behind the holiday should put me in a somber state.
Should I  be crying and praying for the families who lost loved ones?   Should I do something to somehow show respect for those who gave their lives so I can enjoy mine in a state of freedom?

Then it struck me.... they gave their lives so I can enjoy mine... if we see our country as the land of opportunity, where hard work is rewarded and enjoyment of freedom is honored, what better way to remember those heroes than to fully enjoy the weekend, because of the countless sacrifices made, we can enjoy freedom. 

Showing respect isn't necessarily about a somber day of remembrance, showing respect can be a true appreciation of our freedoms, enjoying our families, our landscape and thankfully, joyfully enjoying freedom.

Enjoy this day!  Remember our freedoms come at a cost and be thankful!

Time & Reaching Your Goals

Once you have mastered time,
you will understand how true it is that most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year -
  and underestimate
what they can achieve in a decade!
~ Anthony Robbins

Bright Future Possible

BRIGHT ENDEAVORS
Bright Endeavors is a Chicago non-profit social enterprise, manufacturing and marketing eco-friendly home and bath products, helping adolescent parents (aged 17-24) transition into economic stability. Through its parent agency, New Moms, Inc., Bright Endeavors provides on-the-job experience to some of Chicago’s most at-risk youth.
Dreambean eco home & bath is an eco-friendly and socially responsible line of home and bath products hand made by participants of Bright Endeavors by New Moms Inc. By using green products such as soy, natural botanicals and Dead Sea salts, recycled glass and bottles, Bright Endeavors renews spirits with renewable resources.

Proceeds from the sale of Dreambean eco home & bath products go to support training, mentoring and permanent job placement for the young women that lovingly create and package each product. By purchasing Dreambean products, you create the opportunity for associates to create a future rich with personal achievement, confidence and self-respect.

http://www.shop.brightendeavors.org/main.sc