Yes, We’re all Connected

From the plants to the animals and on up to the human race we all need each other, even the moon effects what goes on here on earth.

Recently I was looking at all the plants I have in my home and I got to thinking about what they need to thrive. They need water, sun, soil and nutrients are the obvious components

Plants can do fine on their own in the elements. In their native environment they don’t need me. But wait they do.  They need animals and I qualify. Plants take in carbon dioxide the exact thing mammals expel. Plants give off oxygen. We definitely need that.  For some animals, plants are their only source of food. We humans are lucky we can eat plants or animals, hence being at the top of the food chain.

However we don’t just take, through our body eliminations and garbage we produce gets recycled through decay and provides plants with the nutrients they need to thrive. Isn’t nature grand? There’s a full circle going on all the time. Nature is always in perfect harmony. We play a part in it too.

This is just a reminder how we’re all connected in a natural sense. We’re even connected in other ways but now I’m getting ahead of myself.

What has Made America Great?

One could state technology, agriculture or manufacturing but that would be just scratching the surface. What’s behind all that?

It’s the people. The people are the ones who make it happen.  They were given the opportunity and resources to let their imagination run wild, a free reign to create. I get chills just thinking about it. The constitution certainly encouraged such endeavors, the philosophy that anything you set your mind to, combined with your powerful drive and ambition, could happen. 

But what is it that one common thread that has pulled the nation together, all the people? What is that one commonality that ensures as a nation we stand united, assimilation?

It didn’t matter if you were just off the boat from Ireland in the 1800’s, brought here as a slave, or ostracized for being a German or Japanese after WWII, everyone eventually assimilated into the American culture by first learning to speak English and eventually adopting  the customs, sometimes even more so than the families that have been here longer.

One such memory is when my husband and I were invited to a Russian friend’s 4^th of July celebration. It had the usual amount of food, celebratory mood and fireworks. However, I couldn’t figure out what was so odd about it. I finally realized what it was. I was surrounded by people from Russia, Romania and Slovenia who recently became citizens. I was the only one there who had a family history of being US citizens.

Everyone celebrated the event but for them it had greater meaning.  I guess coming from countries without the freedom we take for granted does that to people. The people I was with were successful in their fields even more so then many of the people I knew at the time. They had embraced the American Dream.  It all made sense when I asked the Russian host when he had become a US citizen, He replied, “I’ve always been an American”.  Hmmm, that told me that inside he’s always had the entrepreneur spirit but wasn’t able to express it due to his government.

Yes we are the melting pot and assimilation is what helps the people unite.  It’s the commonality that brings us together not the differences.  Let’s focus on that!

You CAN Have Absolute Control

You have absolute control over but one thing, and that is your thoughts. This is the most significant and inspiring of all facts known to man. It reflects man's divine nature. This divine prerogative is the sole means by which you may control your own destiny. - Napoleon Hill "Think and Grow Rich"

Wow! That is profound and so true. It is your thoughts that become your language, that becomes your actions and thus your life - destiny. YOU have the power to control it. The question is, what are you going to do with it? You can create by default or design, the choice is yours.

What’s Your Cross to Bear?

Don’t’ kid yourself everyone has one. What is yours?

We’ve all made bad decisions along the way and now we have to live with them. Maybe it was a cruel comment to someone who has never forgiven you or a falling out with a parent, sibling or friend that has caused you not to speak to one another. All you can do then is forgive yourself and move one.

The lesson has been learned, or has it? If it hasn’t you’ll continue to repeat it in different ways. You may not see the similarities between the situations but others will. Your challenge is to recognize what you can learn from the experience, to learn a better way to handle it in the future.  You still may have a cross to bear due to your prior decisions but at least you won’t be making the same kind of error.  I’d say the hardest part is forgiving yourself, for the cross you create is of your own doing. Forgiving yourself is loving you.  By not forgiving yourself you are saying you’re not worthy of love, but you are. No one can give you that you give it to yourself by releasing the negative emotion and allow the love to return.

Cross/challenge, they are the one and the same, time to grow by letting to and move on.