More tomorrow-MKMMA Week 23

Week from hell. Will post more tomorrow when I’m in a better space.

I Want it All – MKMMA Week 22A

We can have anything we want, but we can’t have everything we want all at the same time.

Bam! That hit me between the eyes. WHAT?
But I have a big ‘ol hairy list of everything I want to do, be and have in life and now that I’m in my 50’s I’m not sure I’ve even got the time to do, be or have it all. Who was it that said we can have it all? I must have missed the “not all at the same time” part.

The important piece that I got from this sentence is that because I have a tendency to take on lots of projects all at the same time, I am then scattered and don’t accomplish any of them well and I tend to get frantic. There’s truly only so many hours in a day, week, month…and those hours, minutes and seconds seem to be moving a lightning speed the older I get. (Truth is, we never know how much more time we have, but that’s for another blog).

Also…and this may be most important…taking on too many things at one time keeps me from becoming a Master at any one of them. I’m pretty good at many things but not excellent or masterful at any one thing. For me, I think it goes back to a ‘being responsible’ thing. If I’m scattered and frantic with lots to do, people understand if I’m flaky and don’t keep my promises, and that’s simply bull dookey!!!

So it’s time for me to focus. Time to take a stand and be committed to what I REALLY want to accomplish with whatever time I have left.

And so it is.

 

Mom – MKMMA Week 22

My mom is going to be 86 in June. My mom has dementia. My mom has been living in a memory care home for nearly 2 1/2 years. My mom recognizes me but I’m not sure she remembers that I’m her daughter. She now has 5 great grand-children but she doesn’t understand what that means. I have no way of knowing what’s going on in her mind because she’s lost the ability to put the right words together to make any sense.

I just received the March newsletter in the mail from the facility where she lives. My mom is the Resident Spotlight. Under her picture is says (I’ve left off some of the details for security)  “Emily was born on ********* in Astoria, NY. She married Bob ***** in Oakland, CA in 1958. She has two daughters, **** and Robin. She enjoys spending time with people and loves interacting with animals. Fun Fact: She LOVES sweets!”

SHE’S SO MUCH MORE!!! This woman actually took off with a girlfriend in 1957 and drove around Europe for 3 months! And that’s just one of her many adventures.

Well, I found myself just staring at that photo of her as the Resident Spotlight and tears filled my eyes. I’ve heard it said before that with dementia or Alzheimers your parent is gone but not gone. And there are so many of us dealing with a beloved parent who is gone…but not gone. I visit my mom as often as I can but for some reason, seeing her in the monthly newsletter hit me. This nice old lady who gave me life, took great care of me, loved me, taught me to be kind and loving and gracious…well, I’m just sad.

Here I am fully immersed in the teachings of the Master Key Master Mind Alliance. Studying about the power within, the power of our thinking, and I wonder if this ‘thinking’ could possibly reduce the incidence of dementia in my generation. I’m going to say YES! The mind is more powerful than we may ever know.

A Big Idea – MKMMA Week 21

I’m finding that I’m a Big Idea woman. Some of them are crazy and some of them are actually kind of cool. Some of them I want to act on and some seem WAY TOO BIG! My thoughts then move to trying to figure out how I can implement my idea and that’s when I get into trouble. Trying to figure out all the details. But as we read over and over and over again in the Master Key, keep your attention on what you want and the ‘how’ will work itself out.

Back to my BIG ideas…in Part 21 paragraph 6, Haanel writes “Large ideas have a tendency to eliminate all smaller ideas so that it is well to hold ideas large enough to counteract and destroy all small or undesirable tendencies”. I must say that I have found this to be true. If my attention is on a large idea I just don’t have time for the little stuff. Who was it that said “Don’t sweat the small stuff”?

One last thing about ideas. There’s a fabulous children’s book written by Kobi Yamada called, What Do You Do With An Idea? I highly recommend it…and not just for your kids.

SPOILER ALERT…Stop here if you don’t want to know the very last page of the book.

“And then I realized what you do with an idea…

You change the world”.

A Life Begins – MKMMA Week 20

Marshal James born February 19, 2016…my 7th grandchild.

What an amazingly extraordinary and emotional thing it is to be born unto this world. The beginning of life. Tears flowed at my first sight of this precious little sweetheart. So fragile and helpless. I am instantly in LOVE.

And so it begins…Day 1

We (Marshal’s family) get to protect and guide and love this little guy as long as we can. In a short time he’ll begin to experience some independence and then more and more until the time that he’s on his own. We want to protect him from the difficulties of life but we know that it’s often the hard times that build our strength and character. We also know that he’s going to make up ‘stupid crap’ in his head that just isn’t true. But maybe…just maybe, if we teach him about the power of the world within, and the power of his thinking, he can steer clear of some of that.

So I will teach him to greet each day with love in his heart, to persist until he succeeds and to live each day to the fullest. I will teach him to master his emotions, to laugh at the world, to be of value and to give value. I will teach him to be in action and to know that he is nature’s greatest miracle. I will teach him to be kind and loving to all others and that “In HIM we live and move and have our being”, so always keep God, the universal mind, first and foremost.

I will remind him that he is whole, perfect, strong, powerful, loving, harmonious and happy.

And the most powerful way for me to do that is to live it myself. And so I shall.

 

 

Was it elves? MKMMA Week 19

I have always considered myself to be chronically UNorganized. The conversations in my sounded like this, “As soon as I get organized, then I’ll be able to…When I get my desk cleaned off then I can…I know there’s something important on my desk that needs to get done but I can’t find it…and so on.” I’ve noticed that it’s just been a good excuse to keep me from doing some of the things I knew I should be doing.

So last week, for the Franklin Makeover, I took on the virtue ‘well-organized’; noticing it, watching for it, looking for the lack of it. Then over the weekend something miraculous happened. I think elves showed up during the night and completely cleaned off my desk. Ok, so it wasn’t elves, it was ME! WHAT? It was very strange. I just started cleaning off shelves, recycling old literature, and putting things away. I went through every piece of paperwork on my desk and put it where it belonged. Then it was done and it didn’t even take long and it was easy. I turned to my husband and said, “Look at my desk? Have you ever seen it like this?” And all that worry and anxiety over losing something important? Well I ended up with a small pile of ‘non-urgent to do’s’ that won’t take long to do at all. And nothing to be worried about. Now I’ve been away in meetings all week and I’m actually excited about coming back to my home office and an organized desk.

I love the subtle way this program (MKMMA) works its magic. Pretty amazing!

 

 

 

One More Day – MKMMA Week 18

As my mom got older she would read the obituaries every morning. She said she was looking for people she knew. I thought it was an awful habit and depressing too. I figured I’d hear about someone close to me passing away from a friend or family member so I wouldn’t need to look at the obituaries.

So now, part of our MKMMA homework is to read a couple of obituaries every day. Then ask myself the following question…What would that person give to change places with me and have just one more day?

Crap. I hate reading obituaries. But, I’m committed to the program and I trust the process. So I read…Ruth H., died at 104. She finished second place in a high school public speaking contest. One of the judges told her that she would have won first place but the top prize had to go to a boy.

Marilyn K. was 80. We graduated from the same high school. She founded a contact lens business, was two term president of the Sacramento Children’s home and a founding member of Los Amigos. She was on the Del Paso Country Club board of directors, a Junior League member, two ski clubs and an elite golf club.

Then Boneta J. She was only 61. Had kids, grandkids and lots of family that will miss her smile, laugh and generous heart.

Okay. So now I’m kind of interested in these people’s lives. Some have done amazing things in their lifetime. It’s pretty cool. These are individuals who left their mark on the world in many different ways. But back to the question…What would that person give to change places with me and have just one more day?

The question itself confuses me. Is it something about MY Life that they would want to have for just one more day OR is it just having one more day alive? I think the question is meant for me to look at MY Life. Am I stepping up and creating an extraordinary life that someone would want to have?

Geez, I don’t know. If I could have one more day I’d give up everything to just be with the people I love…I’m struggling with this one…what do you think?

One Think Leads to Another – MKMMA Week 17A

Giving attention to one negative thought can lead to another which leads to another which leads to another…then you find yourself looking up from the bottom of a pit wondering how you got there and somewhat hopeless of how to climb out. What if God is saying,”Why are you at the bottom of the pit? You’re making it more difficult to reach you down there. I’ve given you the power to choose your thoughts, lift your gaze and turn to me”.

I know there is tragedy in the world. People are suffering and facing tremendous challenges and I don’t mean to make light of our hardships. Changing a difficult situation can be the hardest thing we will ever do. It takes work, dedication, and focus. I’m sure you know someone in your life who’s done it…maybe it’s YOU.

One small exercise that’s made a difference in my outlook and my happiness is reading my 3×5 cards. Those cards contain great memories of events and achievements in my life. Things I’ve done that I’m proud of. Places I’ve been. People I love. Affirmations that call to me. Something nice that happened every day, and three things every day that I’m grateful for. I currently have 4 piles of about 50 cards each (and growing daily) and I read a few of them every day…it makes me smile…it makes me happy.

So maybe, just maybe, focusing on a positive thought will raise me up, lift my spirits, alter the course of my day…alter the course of my life. Maybe those positive thoughts are like God lifting us out of the pit…Maybe

The Art of Thinking. MKMMA Week 17

The art of thinking.

Have you ever considered your ability to think as an art?

As a fairly new artist I spend time focusing on the image of what I’m painting. I think about what colors to mix together to get just the right shade, value and depth. Then the brush strokes. Are the edges soft or hard. Where is the dark. Where is the light. The smallest touch of paint in the perfect place will make all the difference. I’m still learning and my paintings take dozens of hours of focused attention.

Now, can you imagine giving that much attention to your thinking?

Thousands of thoughts pass through our minds every day…spouse, kids, grand-kids, aging parents, work, customers, emails, Facebook, twitter, food, sleep, friends, exercise, how do I look, how do I feel, school, Angry Birds, baby shower, am I doing okay, jewelry, clothes, texting, business partners, the weather, the economy, our next president, do these jeans make my butt look big…Many are important…some aren’t, and some are just plain unnecessary. It can be overwhelming and exhausting!

Then all of a sudden, one catches your attention. Stops you in your tracks. Is it actually worthy of your attention? Will it empower your goals? It sticks around for awhile. Your insight and intuition gives you the opportunity to play with the thought before you commit to it. YES. Like the artist you give it your focused attention. You see the details in your mind. You feel passionate about it, you love it, you dream about it, you talk about it. It moves you in ways that you’ve never been moved before. Your actions are new. Your mind is clear. You relax. The pathway is set. Your subconscious mind goes to work. Your desire is in harmony with the Universal Mind…

And so it is.

A little more Kindness please – MKMMA Week 16

Kindness is everywhere. It’s been surprisingly remarkable at what I’ve experienced this week focusing on the virtue of kindness. I wasn’t expecting anything special but that hasn’t been the case. Not only have I noticed the kindnesses of others it’s worked its magic on me. I’ve always considered myself a kind person but keeping kindness in the forefront of my mind has really made a difference, and it hasn’t been forced, it’s occurring naturally.

What a great exercise. Can you imagine what the world would be like if everyone focused on a little more kindness?