Patience, Pearls, and Joy. Quotes for the Depressed.

"Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them -- every day begin the task anew."

Saint Francis de Sales

"A pearl is a beautiful thing that is produced by an injured life. It is the tear [that results] from the injury of the oyster. The treasure of our being in this world is also produced by an injured life. If we had not been wounded, if we had not been injured, then we will not produce the pearl."

Stephan Hoeller

"Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy."

Thich Nhat Hanh

I haven't felt like writing much lately. And at first it was because I had the flu. It's still not all gone but for the most part I feel fine, if not a little tired. So I've come to realize that I'm just in a funk again. It happens once in awhile with my writing. I just feel like I can't be creative at the moment. I still try to open my writing assignment's every day, but within 5 minutes I realize I really am not in the right mind to write and close it. This is one of the reasons I haven't really taken to finishing my novel seriously. I say I want it published, but I know I am probably years away from doing that, if ever. Bottom line is that my writing is still a hobby, and that's OK. But I want it to be so much more. 

The above quotes really speak to me today. I feel stuck in my life. No matter what we've done it's backfired on us. We've yet to find jobs, a place to live, etc. I'm beyond impatient at this point. The pearl quote really speaks to me too because I've had a hard life. One too many kicks gets a girl down, but it's always made me stronger in the end. And if all else fails, just paste a smile on your face, and soon the outward joy you show to the world will become a reality.

Have Courage

“The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.”
~ Robert G. Ingersoll

“True courage is like a kite; a contrary wind raises it higher.”
~ John Petit-Senn

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’”
~ Mary Anne Radmacher

Positive and Negative thoughts plus School performances

"Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results."
- William Nelson

This quote couldn't be any more Pagan. If you know how magick works you know that it's the manipulation of energy. We all have our own energy called the aura. Our thoughts and actions are all energy in motion. When you have negative thoughts you bring negative energy to you and vice versa for positive energy.

Right now, my energy is one of irritation. My daughter has been practicing a recorder this year and she's had a lot of fun with it. She has a performance at school in December and she just now brought home the songs she needs to learn the words to. One of them is Silent Night. Now, I don't really mind her doing some Christmas songs, but Silent Night is not a fun secular song. It is obviously a Christian one celebrating the birth of Christ. I feel this isn't appropriate for the school to be doing it.

So my quandary is do I make a big deal about it and talk with the teacher and principle? Or do I just let it go? What would you do?

I have not "raised" my daughter in the Pagan path. I feel all children should be able to decide for themselves. Until the time she's ready to learn about all religions, she doesn't really participate or learn about my own. She knows some things just by watching and asking questions, other than that she has only chose to participate twice.

But she didn't choose to do this performance. It is a school requirement for her music class. I just wish schools would keep ALL religions out of their curriculum.

Opinions of You

“Someone’s opinion of you does not have to become your reality.”
- Les Brown

I probably should have combined this quote with the one I was talking about childhood teasing with. It's appropriate and honestly I don't feel good so I don't feel like coming up with any interesting story to share. How about you tell me a story related to someone's opinion of you.

P.S. I hate winter! All of us are sick. So sorry I'm not at my best.

Going Against the Grain

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."
- Mark Twain

This quote makes me think about my husband before we got together. I've always been teased in school and as a result I had a very low opinion of myself at one point. He noticed that I was constantly belittling my worth and commented on it one day. I'm paraphrasing what he said, but it was something like this.

"How can anyone else love you, if you don't love yourself? I am number one in my life, and you should feel the same. If you really wanted to change something about yourself, you'd do it not just talk about it. When you love yourself, you become easy to love by others."

It was then that I realized I needed to stop being so critical of myself. I was never going to be a super model. I may never be thin. And I realized over time that it's societies pressures to be beautiful that make me want to loose weight. Not for health reasons nor to be more beautiful. Because honestly, I'm beautiful no matter what size jeans I fit into.

My ambition in life has been to be who I am regardless of what other people think of me. The day I realized my worth is the day I took my future in my hands and shaped who I am without fear of societies rules. Has it stopped others from teasing? No. Someone will always comment that I'm a hippy tree hugger or that I'm a fat woman.

But as long as I remember that I am number one, no one can belittle me.

I promise not to keep quoting childhood cartoons, but please forgive me for adding one more.

Image source

Failure is Opportunity

"Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently."
- Henry Ford

I certainly hope this quote is true. This whole year has been about change and starting new. I thought we were starting more intelligently. When Dh and I first discussed making the move from KY to OH we knew we couldn't do it all at once. So in January DH came to Ohio first to make a start for us. I spent 3 months living in a tiny space with my mother. Did I mention I was pregnant at the time? Tiny spaces and big huge belly doesn't mix well. Plus, though I love her, my mother and I just don't get along very well. I prefer to take her in small doses only!

During this time so much was going on. I was trying to hold it together for my daughter, said daughter was missing her daddy and crying every day over it. I was still working, worrying about a frivolous lawsuit my aunt had filed against us, my brother was having some legal issues, etc... Everything just piled onto us at once.

Once Dh got to Ohio it soon became apparent that there were a lot of impediments to our course of action. He didn't have transportation. We had asked previous to the move if he could borrow a vehicle, but once he got here it was unavailable. I told DH then that I should just move to Ohio too so he could have the car. But he said no because we needed my job. And me finding a job in Ohio while heavily pregnant was unlikely.

Fast forward to March and I'd had enough. I was still getting "legal" threats from my aunt, Dh wasn't finding a job because of the way he was let go at his previous employment, the car he had bought with our tax return $ wasn't running right and we hadn't the $ to fix it. Plus social services were going to investigate my mother because they had heard a rumor about living arrangements.

Me & my dog Kota just one day before I left KY.

That Friday I talked with Dh and we decided it was just best I move to OH at that point. I told my boss I had to go and they did a little farewell party. I was very touched that they took up a collection and gave me $60. It really helped on my trip! By then I was 32 weeks pregnant.

I started our trip at 1:30 am that Saturday morning. By 5am I was in Ohio but just didn't have the gusto to go on. I stopped off at a run down cheap hotel and grabbed a room for a couple hours. Then continued on a couple hours later.

We've been living with MIL every since. That was in March. Now it's November and no sign of better circumstances.

So, if failure is the opportunity to begin better circumstances, the house we do get, and the job I do find, had better be at least 3x better than anything we've had before! lol

One can only hope and have faith. What I do know is that I am where I'm suppose to be. 

Just do it Yourself

"I am thankful to all those who said NO to me. It's because of them I did it myself."
- Albert Einstein

I learned this lesson really early! I remember when I was about 5 or 6 I wanted a bike for Christmas. It's one of the Christmas presents that I actually got! I learned from an early age doing a Christmas list was pointless since I never got what I put on it. But the bike was the one exception and my mother made a lot of sacrifices to get it for me.

The only thing was, I didn't know how to ride a bike! So Christmas day we bundled up and went out to ride it. I got on and my mother's boyfriend held it while I rode around in a circle. That was OK but I quickly became bored of going no where. So I turned to go down the street. Mother's BF kept a hold of the seat as I went, but I was almost doing it alone. Well he ended up pushing me into a sticker bush because I didn't know how to turn it myself.

From then on, I vowed that if I was going to fall, it wouldn't be because an adult pushed me into one. lol So I cleaned myself up and went for my second attempt myself. Within minutes I was going up and down the street with a happy sense of glee and accomplishment. I lived on that bike till I was 12 when we moved to KY. I found that riding my bike in KY was more difficult with all the hills. Plus there just wasn't enough space for me to ride.

But I loved it while it last, and I kept stick thin too! I think I rode all over the county (or two) back then. I had other friends who rode with me and back then no one thought about letting a kid go off on a bike. As long as we stayed in a group there really wasn't anywhere I couldn't go.

Though mom doesn't know about leaving the county. Shhh. Don't tell her! lol
I just wanted to see the Standerdbred Horse farm. And I saw plenty too. Unfortunately what I saw was a dead foal in their big trash bin. :( 
But that day I had packed two sac lunches and myself and "boyfriend" rode all over town.

Objections

"Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome."
- Samuel Johnson

This is something my husband does all the time and it drives me batty! He's someone who has to plan every possible outcome and if he sees something that goes wrong he'd rather not take the chance. Life is about chance! I'm not saying take chances that are likely to harm yourself or others, but a well calculated risk is worth the possibilities.

The Magic School Bus

As Mrs. Frizzle from The Magic school Bus says, "Take Chances, Make Mistakes, and Get messy."

 

Impossible Tasks

"It always seems impossible until it's done."
- Nelson Mandela

As a writer I can attest to this fact! My novel, Humanly Goddess, has been in the works for over a year now. I have close to 20K for a word count, yet it's not nearly finished. I had originally wanted to keep it around 30K but I don't see that happening. Right now it seems like it's a very daunting task and one I'll never complete. I can't wait for the day when I can say, "It's done!"

 

Perception of Reality

Picture source

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
- Dr Wayne Dyer


This quote represents a big portion of my beliefs. Perception changes our reality.Example: If a woman believes she is ugly and unworthy of love, then to others she soon becomes undesirable. The way to find love is to first love yourself for who you are.

Only by giving...

"Only by giving are you able to receive more than you already have."
- Jim Rohn


Today's quote is pretty simple. Don't worry about what you are going to receive. Worry about what you can give others. In doing this, you get what you need in life - not what you think you need. Presents are just tangible representations of another persons love. The real present, is that the person loves you enough to think about you.

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Welcome to November

 I'd like to thank everyone who commented and participated in my 31 Days of Samhain. It was a fun 31 days but now I'm moving on. This month I'm doing Inspirational and Motivational quotes. As we move into November and December there are some people who become despondent. Especially if you do not have family to share it with. Well on the net your never truly alone. That's what I like so much about Networking!

So here is our first quote to start us off.

"I had no shoes and complained, until I met a man who had no feet."
- Indian Proverb

First off, I love this quote. It reminds me of my childhood when we had very little and yet my mother made it feel like we had the world. Around the time I was 3 or 4 my grandfather kicked us out of the house my mother was renting from him. First lesson, never do business with family! Second lesson, how to survive Autumn in a tent! We camped in the back yard. 4 people in a small tent keeps pretty toasty. I never knew it at the time but we stole corn from a local farmer to survive those few months. Eventually my mother was able to save up some money so we could move. But all I remember of those days was being in the back yard with my family and having fun. To me, I didn't know that we were homeless. I didn't know to complain. I had what I needed. Food in my belly and a warm place to sleep. I didn't know my mother went without dinner, or her boyfriend gave his boots to my brother for warmth. Those are the sacrifices parents make to keep our children in a happy healthy home.

So a big thank you for those who make sacrifices for our children. A a huge hug to those going without this holiday season! This year has been hard for us. I don't know if we'll have a lavish Thanksgiving feast or exchange gifts for Yule. But we will have our family.

 

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November is Inspirational Quotes Month

I've decided that I'm making November Inspirational and Motivational Quotes month. Once a day I will post quotes I collect from around the web and share how they impact my life or why they resonate with me. As we gear up for Thanksgiving and Yule a lot of people fall into depression. I hope that if your one of these people who always go into a depression at this time that my quotes can help lift my readers spirit and get you into a more cheerful holiday mood.

The holiday season means we are spending more time with family and getting ready to cook for Thanksgiving. I'm not a very good chef so I'll leave the cooks to give you Thanksgiving ideas. But I'll also cover some craft ideas and one or two family recipe's.

Don't forget, you can like me on Facebook! I try to post at least once a day with my blog posts plus other blogs I find interesting or just daily thoughts on Facebook. So make sure you follow and who knows, maybe I'll do a little advertising for your blog too!