"I Choose Love"

Check out the newest addition to the "Live YOUR Life" store.  It is a really nice design that looks great on both apparel and other items such as cups, keychains, and candle holders.  It makes a great gift for yourself or someone you love.  Show the world that you choose love over hate.

Check out the items at http://www.cafepress.com/LiveYourLifeShop

The Store is OPEN!

The official "Live YOUR Life" shop has opened at CafePress!  Check it out for some neat apparel and household items featuring the logo below.  Let everyone know that you are choosing to live YOUR life and spread the positive attitude around!

As I get more creative, I will work on adding different logo and quote items to the store.  I will also let you know via this blogs Facebook page as to what sales are being offered throughout the year!

Check out our store at http://www.cafepress.com/LiveYourLifeShop 

Roots Before Branches...

This post is inspired by the song "Roots Before Branches" by Room for Two. Many people try to take on so many things in their life before they are stable themselves.  You may have heard the phrase, 'before you can love someone else you need to love yourself'.  Well that has many meanings and applies to all the things that you do and the people you let in your life.

You need to take time to get to know the most important person in your life....YOU!  What do you want out of life, what do you need, what aspirations and dreams do you have?  Who are you? Not the material things like your house, car, job, partner.  But instead who are you, who is the soul inside your physical body and what do they want out of life.  Take others opinions and outside expectations out of it and ask yourself "What do I want?"

"There is always a seed before there's a rose.  The more it rains the more I will grow" 

Know that by finding out what you want out of life and what your purpose is that you will come across people who do not fit in your plan or who will try to make you take a detour from your plan.  However if you are conscious of what you want and have establish strong "roots" of who you are, they cannot change you.  There will be plenty of rainy days in your life, but just know that those are there to water the rose that is you to help you grow.  The seed is you at your core.  It needs trials and tribulations, experiences and care to grow.

"The wind can come and do its best.  Blow me north and south, east and west.  But I'll still be standing" 

Stabilize your life by being clear about what you want.  Firmly stand up about what you believe and who you are.  That way no wind will blow you down.  It may bend and cause some surface damage but in the end you are still you and still standing.

"I gotta have roots before branches.  Before I know who I am, before I know who I wanna be.  Faith to take chances and live like I see a place in this world for me."

Never be afraid to take a chance and do what you feel is right.  The worse you can do is look back and learn a lesson from it, but be all the wiser for doing it.  Have the faith to do what you want and take that chance to live YOUR life!

Do You Believe??

This is all my opinion and can be taken as you wish.  I am not a huge fan of religion, though I am consider myself spiritual.  Therefore while I know the story of Jesus, think it can be a pretty story, and I have a manger as part of my decorations, that is not what Christmas means to me.  With that being said, Christmas is my favorite time of year!

There is something about the sights, sounds, smells, and just the overall atmosphere around the season.  I love it all and don't get sick of it.  I even get a little sad when I see the countdown calendars to Christmas because I know it will be over soon.  While the actual day is great I enjoy the season as a whole more.  We can all get lost in the shopping, the presents, the weather, the traffic, and the cranky attitudes that sometime come around with it, but its also all part of the season and still adds to the atmosphere. 

Christmas has a sort of magic quality to it.  When you were little you can remember it more so than you do now I bet.  The idea of Santa Claus coming was always a mystery but also such an exciting thing.  You went and saw him at your local mall, wrote to him, and did your best to be good all year long.  All so that you would make his "Nice" list and get a present under the tree for him.  As you grow older you tend to stop believing in Santa and the logical side of your brain kicks in and says there is no way it is real.  Well I am here to tell you that he is as real as you and I.  And how do I know? Because he IS you and I. 

Through the years I have read many cute poems, stories, and seen many movies about the man in the red suit.  At times it has made me sad that I don't get that excited feeling Christmas Eve that he is coming and that I lost the belief in him being real.  When in reality he is the spirit of Christmas represented in all of us.  Christmas means love, kindness, gratitude, giving over receiving, family &  friends, magic, togetherness, and peace.  All of those things are what Santa Claus is and represents.  Santa, through all of us and all the parents around the world, helps to bring presents and watch the behavior of all of us throughout the year.  Santa is the feeling of happiness, joy, and comfort that we all feel in the air around Christmas.  It is the end of a year and it is time to look back at what has come and gone and spend that time with those in your life who mean a lot to you.  Why do you think when we watch movies like "Polar Express", "Miracle on 34th Street", "The Santa Clause", and even "Grinch" we all can't help but smile?  Because even though we may not be little children waiting for a man in a red suit to come down the chimney, we still FEEL Christmas and what he represents.

So asking if you believe in Santa is not necessarily if you believe in the actual person so much as if you believe in the true spirit of Christmas.  And in doing so you hold it in your heart throughout the whole year, not just for a month or so at the end of the year.  If you still believe and can still feel the magic of Christmas then you should be grateful and spread it to those around you.

Do the bells still ring for you?  Do you Still Believe?

The Gratitude Challenge!

Welcome to the "Gratitude Challenge" from "Live YOUR Life" Blog!  Gratitude is one of the most important things you can practice on a daily basis to live a more positive and fulfilling life.

"Saying thank you is more than good manners.  It is good spirituality."  ~Alfred Painter

We all learned the magic words as a child to say "Thank You" and we know that it is good manners to say them after someone does something kind for you, helps you, or gives you something.  However the act of saying thanks and being grateful can unlock much more in our lives and open our eyes and minds up to the world that is around us.  You will be amazed at how your view of life changes once you truly put gratitude into practice and really mean it.  There is a reason "Thank You" has been dubbed the magic words; because they are.

The "Gratitude Challenge" will start December 1st and run for 12 days.  Sort of a 12 days of Christmas, if you will.  Each day there will be a small activity for you to try out to help you realize the things that you should be grateful for around you or perhaps just help to remind you of things you may have overlooked.  I urge you to follow along.  It is only 12 days and the activities will not be anything difficult or lengthy.

The activities will be posted on our Facebook Page, so please make sure that you have "Liked" the page so that you will receive the updates.   I would also be so grateful if you would share and pass this around on your own Facebook page as well as share the activities so that the attitude of gratitude will spread this season.  I will continue to edit this post to keep a tally of the activities so you can check back if you missed one, but the actual descriptions will only be posted on the Facebook page.  We are at 38 Likes now and I know there are more than 38 people that read this blog, so please make sure you click the "LIKE" button on the right hand side of this page to get updates for the "Gratitude Challenge" and further posts, quotes, and inspiration.  And PLEASE post your comments under each post with your thoughts and how you did for the day's challenge.

----------------------------------------------------------

The Gratitude Challenge 

Day 1 - Thank 3 people who make your life easier on a daily basis.

Day 2 - Thank 1 person who helped you through a dark/rough time in your life.

Day 3 - List 5 things, not people, that you are grateful for in your daily life.

Day 4 - Say "Thank You" to someone you have not spoken to in a while, but still appreciate.

Day 5 - Tell a difficult coworker that you appreciate them and compliment them.

Day 6 - Do a favor for someone today, just because you are grateful for them.

Day 7 - Think of a negative situation in your life and list 10 things you are grateful for because of it.

Day 8 - Throughout your day, mentally or out loud, say thank you to the objects you use that make your life a little easier.

Day 9 - Tell 9 people that you appreciate them today. Simple as that!

Day 10 - When you pay a bill or write a check, write "Thank You for ___"  Fill in the blank with whatever service the company or person provided you.

Day 11 - Write an old fashioned thank you letter or even email to someone.  Make it more than just a quick thank you.

Day 12 - Make a post on Facebook, or whatever social media outlet you prefer, saying what you are currently grateful for in your life.

----------------------------------------------------------

Being Grateful

This time of year is always a great time to reflect on what you are thankful for in your life.  The power of gratitude is one of the most important things you can use in your life.  Gratitude is the magic that can change the way your life plays out in front of you and how you feel.  As most things that are talked about in this blog, the law of attraction plays a huge part in gratitude.  As Oprah's quote above states, you need to concentrate on what you have and not the lack of what you do not have.

By focusing on the lack in your life you are basically telling the universe that you want more lack.  You are putting all of your energy into worrying and complaining about what you do not have, therefore the universe has to present that.  Think about how you feel when you are concentrating on what is lacking in your life.  Do you feel good?  No.  Feelings are your body's way of telling you if you are on a positive or negative vibration.  Why would you want to do something that does not make you feel good?

Each new day is something to be thankful for.  You are alive!  You are here!  Start each day and simply say "Thank You".  Notice all the things around you.  The items in your house, the warm running water of your shower, your cup of coffee on the way to work, the air in your lungs and your eyes that show you the world around you, the traffic light that stayed green, the fellow commuter that let you in their lane, etc.  Do not simply focus on the major things that you should be grateful for, but rather everything!  Once you start to really focus and be thankful for all things in your life, more abundance and beauty will show up.  I promise you that if you really become aware of what is in your life, you will become immensely happy and have continually good days.  Like attracts like, as the law of attraction states.  Abundance, happiness, thankfulness, and positivity will attract all of those things back to you!

"You say grace before meals.  All right.  But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink."  ~G.K. Chesterton

Gratitude is the key that will open your life up to what it truly is and can be.  The power of 'thank you' is more than you may realize.  This doesn't mean just saying it to other people, but to everything in the world around you, even yourself.  Even in tough times there are things to be thankful for.  You are still here and made it through those times.  So be thankful for the "bridge" that carried you to the other side.  Make it a challenge to yourself to look for things throughout your day that you should be grateful for.  Saying thank you is not just a matter of manners, it is a matter of a true appreciation of life.

Stay tuned for the "Live YOUR Life" blog's Gratitude Challenge...get ready to say 'THANK YOU' to the world!

Happy

"The constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness.  You have to catch it for yourself" 

- Benjamin Franklin

The feeling of happy is something that we all enjoy and want to feel more of.  However, what does it mean to be happy?  It is the same for everyone?  What makes you happy?  There really is no right or wrong answer.  Each of us has our own people, situations, and things that make us feel happy.  Happy can be defined as pleasure, joy, contentment, achievement, fortune, or being lucky. 

Many spend their life trying to find happiness which is a waste of your time here on earth.  You need to stop and be grateful for what you have in this moment.  And realize that even the smallest things in life bring joy.  The sun shining on your face, your dog sitting at your feet while you read, the calming sound of the rain on the windows, the color and smell of the flowers, and the smile from a stranger.  All those things are worth taking a second to notice and realize that you can be happy now with what you have...not when and if something happens.  Happiness is something you feel and discover from within yourself, not something you seek from others because you feel you lack it and only they can fill that void.  Likewise you cannot seek it from material things.  You have heard the phrase, "money doesn't buy happiness", well it is true.  You have to be happy with what you have now and not with what you could have.  If you are constantly waiting to be happy then you are missing out on your life now.

Happy may mean something completely different to you and I.  In the documentary "Happy", the filmmakers travel the globe to see what happy means to different people and cultures.  A village that some may consider poverty stricken actually showed higher levels of joy and contentment with life than the thriving and more financially fortunate lives of people in a first world country.  They appreciated their daily life, the relationships among each other, and the time they spent together and with the world around them.  That is not to say that those of us in a more financially fortunate culture are not happy.  But it just continues to prove the point that happiness comes from within and gratitude from what you have, not what you don't.  The film is available to view on Netflix and purchase from www.thehappymovie.com.  It is worth a watch.

Take a moment today to list 5 things that you are happy about now.  Continue this practice every day, if you wish, and you will see how much in your life you truly have to be happy for.  Smile and enjoy life and remember that happy is a state of being that only you can control and bring to yourself.  Don't worry, be happy!

"People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness.  Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost."  ~H. Jackson Brown