Calm before the storm...

written by pamela(pam)scholes

      The calm before the storm...an age old saying that now seems to apply to most things in life. It is strange how we know when it is coming-the world gets still with no air moving, like trying to breathe water. We feel it in our gut as every nerve sits on edge. We have to sit in limbo of a state of panic just having to wait for it to arrive so that we can hunker down and ride it out.
       We will sense the storms coming and the anticipation of what is in store quicker than we sense good things that are also on the way. Why is this? No bad thing lasts forever and no good thing comes easy but the clouds will always roll on by and the spring will surely always come. Hold onto your faith and hope and belief of better things to come instead of worrying too much about the calm before the storm...

Misery takes work also...

   We all know that misery does enjoy company, but do you know whose company it enjoys the most? YOURS!! It always delves deep inside of us first in an attempt to break our will and drive and motivation...it seems to love to see us lost. But bear in mind that, odd as it sounds, it takes work to be miserable and it takes work to be happy so why not focus your fight on defeating misery and winning the fight for happiness...it is far more rewarding.
     Misery can only happen if we allow it to consume us and invite others to be miserable with us. I have never understood why people wish to have a crew following them down a moment of misery when that crew would rather be on your road of joy. Do not let misery take over your company; consider yourself far more deserving than that. Happiness is indeed hard work and sometimes we have to make our own joy. People do not even realize, however, how much energy and time they just toss away while sitting in that fallen house of cards. It's true, misery will keep you struggling constantly and that struggle takes work also...

Pam's daily thoughts...

What is your personal poison...?

   There is just no attempting to deny this one folks for we all have them...we all have those poisonous little enemies that reside inside of us. Naturally some will vary from person to person, but I have found that so many seem to be across the board in this era we are living in. Enemies do not have to loom large in order to be damaging, especially those internal poisons.
     Do you beat up on yourself when you have fallen short of an endeavor? You should, rather, see it as a lesson learned and you will know how to do better the next time. Why poison yourself for such a thing?
     Do you compare yourself with others? Do you measure yourself by what others can do that you do not think you can do? You should be seeing those as opportunities for growth by sharing...not comparing. Be the unique person you were meant to be for comparing yourself with others will only make you vain and bitter. Why do such a thing?
      Do you fight the good fight every day, win or lose? You always should so long as you are fighting the fights worth fighting for. Do not fret for some things in life are just not worth fighting for or about. Choose your battles wisely or you will poison yourself yet again. Why do such a thing?
       Some of the poisons are small things that loom large and can become overwhelming. Remember that everything has a 50/50 chance at the beginning and that every coin has two sides. You MUST search for the positive side for each time you allow yourself to be against yourself then you are only poisoning you. Why do such a thing? Give things their due attention and thought for nothing can be fixed until ask yourself the question of clarity...What is MY personal poison...?

Has your spring, sprung...?

     Do you spring out of bed each morning to greet your day or do you crawl from under the covers with the dread of what this day may hold?
     Do you spring into your job with passion and fury, really loving what you do and doing what you love or do you kind of just show up for work some days because you have to and it's a paycheck?
      Do you spring into the idea and action of meeting new people and engaging in all different kinds of experiences or do you just hang with the close circle and stick to the things you KNOW you like as opposed to trying something new?
       If you answered yes to the first part of the questions then you are doing well. If, however, you answered yes to the second part then perhaps it is time to consider that your spring has sprung...

Realist or Optimist...?

written by: Pamela (Pam) Scholes


       So, which is shall we be? Shall we be realist or should we be optimist? The two almost collide by definition. My question really is, why do we have to choose one over the other when, tough as it may be, we can be both? That's exactly right , we can be both and a dose of each is important. Keeping up with a daily dose of reality is often hard when you look around you and see the struggles everywhere and the endless list of things that are just wrong. It is tough to see light through so much darkness. But that is life and it doesn't get anymore real than that and accepting those factors makes part of you a realist...seeing things just as they are, bare and without mask.
        But, every coin has two sides and this one deserves no exclusion. Optimism, of course, is always being able to manage to see the sun through the clouds and believe in the positive no matter what. This is a grand virtue to have and a tough one to practice for the load in holding faith can sometimes be heavy. Optimist and realist aren't so very different. You look at a flower in the fall and see that it has died for the winter-that is being a realist for it is a fact. The other side of you will whisper and tell you that the flower will bloom again in the spring and that is you being the optimist. We take what we have around us for exactly what it is while all the time holding on to the hope of the good in things. It takes some juggling but you do not have to choose between being a realist or an optimist...

Captured Grace...

    They tell us to "grow old gracefully," as the old saying goes. And what a beautiful piece of advice this is for if we do this then we will be gathering elegantly the bounty of passing years. We should not be afraid in surrendering our youth but rather looking forward with all that we already know. Be gracefull  like that of the hummingbird taking flight around an exotic flower. Be strong as oak and delicate as a rose petal. Be bright and unique.
      Capture your inner most being, cultivate it, and wear it in the way you walk and the way you talk and think. Hold your head high and your grace will shine through like a beacon and the further along we go the more lives we get to touch and the more others touch us in return. Be so that your grace brings great memories to many people; therefore a piece of you always lives on. And that is pure and simple Captured Grace...

The betrayed and forgotten...

    All who have visited me here before know I do not speak of politics or religions but I have another concern that bothers me so; a group of people we have thrown away the key on-VA Vets. I have met and spoken with many men who returned from this war and thier experiences they shared with me are images that will never leave my mind and I can not begin to know thier inner sufferings. These boys were patted on the back and sent off with great support to defend thier country and so many of them died for thier country and our only acknowledgement is a wall bearing thier names. At least they were honored, as they should have been.
     But what about the young boys that came back broken down into old men with scarred minds and tattered souls-what about them? I will tell you- they came back and I watched a biography where people actually spat on them-the support was gone. Many are jobless-employers see them as not viable-or too many are homeless. We offered up no help to these that served thier country when they returned to a shell of a home. I honor those men, hold a hand high and grant them thier due attention. They are people too and deserve the same chances as anyone else. Let us no longer turn our heads and continue to forget about the betrayed and forgotten...