I know I’ve said it before and I suppose I’m repeating it as I feel it’s important to . . . . . repeat; Pick your favorite people to surround yourself with and cultivate those relationships as if there’s no tomorrow.

We certainly have a choice of who we spend our time with. And when you do, make sure they Love you in a way that challenges you, pushes you to be your best, listens, shares with you and looks out for your best interests in the long run.

These may be family members. They may be close friends. They may be acquaintances that are brave enough to tell you the truth. Either way, know who these people are and spend time with them. Talk with them. Ask them questions. Have deep discussions. Question everything. Ask ‘What if. . .’

This is the lab, the testing the ground, the workshop and the think tank we all could spend a bit more time doing.

Why not?

Wherever you come from or whatever your beliefs may be, it doesn’t matter.

Here’s what I know: I know that we live in an invisible world and not a physical world. What manifests in the physical is just a culmination of what is going on inside of us. You’re mindset, the way you frame your past, your perspective of the world, what you think of yourself, what you believe you deserve, the color/tint of glasses you wear with which to see the world, the amount of baggage you’ve held onto from your past, etc. It can be said a 1,000 different ways. And it’s all real.

This is what I’ve found; All of these elements have a profound impact on our lives no doubt. So, we must get right with them. Our past. Our present. And our future.

What I’ve also found to be true is we attract what we focus our attention on and it can be oh so mysterious at times. The perfect person shows up at the precise moment we need them. A check comes in the mail at the right time and you book that next job when you didn’t think you had anything on the horizon.

However, there’s one caviet; we have to show up and put in the work for these wonderful manifestations to show up in our lives. It’s not going to happen while laying on the couch.

We must move our feet and expect the everything.

“The universe rewards us for taking risks on its behalf”

I’m fully aware of what I’m about to say sounds hokey, but I’m going to say it anyway. We need to find a way to fall in love with ourselves again.

I say ‘again’, because I believe there was a time when we truly did Love who we were. And maybe we still do. Maybe we were young. Maybe we were real young. But, I think there was a time.

A time when we viewed ourselves in a different light. Maybe one with a bit more sunshine. More grace and more empathy.

But, now were older and we don’t cut ourselves as much slack. Maybe we should.

Maybe we can re-frame the way we look at our past as evolving in order to give ourselves a bit more credit than we’ve been doing.

Maybe we can find a way to forgive ourselves, drop any regret and move on.

Maybe, just maybe we can fall in Love with who we are right now.

I don’t do it nearly enough, but I love sending out thank you cards. It certainly has evolved over time.

I used to think only old people did that. Well, either I’m old or I’ve changed my ways. Probably a little of both.

A friend of mine set up an informal meeting with a successful business that we’re both interested in getting a closer look at how it operates as they produce a great product we can both benefit from. The owner of the business graciously took an hour out of his day to personally walk us through their shop answering every one of our questions and more.

It was an absolute treat for both of us and was the highlight of my day.

He definitely deserved a thank you card in order for me to express my appreciation and shower him with some Love acknowledging his efforts. And I felt fantastic dropping that in the mail as I was inspired to be able to further our connection.

I know he will feel my heart-felt appreciation and I get a little giddy thinking of it.

And if he doesn’t, oh well. I felt great writing it. And, I’ll do it again. And again. And again.

I want to explore the silence between the notes. The space between the bars of a cage and the ‘down time’ between activities.

Whether it’s through sitting quietly by myself and letting my mind wander while staring out a window, taking a long leisurely walk in nature or even being with a loved one not having to say a word between us while driving down the highway.

Instinctively, I know there’s power in these times. There’s insight. Wisdom. But, I continue to get caught up in the race to . . . . I’m not sure where.

Many of my best ideas have come from my ‘down times.’ I can’t forget this.

We can all benefit from these times of ‘slowing down’ and letting silence gently blanket our minds and body in order to gain the clarity we could all use.