Spirit Online
January 1, 2012
Happy New Year ~ Happy New You!
Quotation
"You are goodness and mercy and compassion and understanding. You are peace and joy and light. You are forgiveness and patience, strength and courage, a helper in time of need, a comforter in time of sorrow, a healer in time of injury, a teacher in times of confusion. You are the deepest wisdom and the highest truth; the greatest peace and the grandest love. You are these things. And in moments of your life you have known yourself as these things. Choose now to know yourself as these things always."
~Neale Donald Walsch
Message
For many of us, New Year's resolutions just seem to "go in one year and out the other." Each year we set new goals: to spend more time with loved ones; eliminate debt; start working out; lose weight; overcome an addiction; or begin to eat healthier. And while our intentions are always noble, research shows that only 12% of us actually achieve what we set out to do.
Why is it that we struggle so much to fulfill the goals, dreams and desires we set for ourselves?
It could be largely because our approach and mindset for setting goals is not as healthy, centered or effective as it could be. Most resolutions spring from a place of unworthiness ... from wanting to make a change because we feel bad about ourselves or for what we haven't yet been able to achieve.
We would be far more effective in achieving our resolutions if we started by feeling good about ourselves: happy with our lives, proud of who we are, and confident about our abilities. In her book, Life Makeover, Cheryl Richardson says, "A high quality life starts with a high quality you." Life gets better when we get better. We are the only vehicles through which more love, light, joy, creativity, passion, success and abundance can flow into our lives and world. Feeling good about ourselves is what enables us to achieve our goals and be happier and more fulfilled. We can make all the resolutions in the world, but if we don't first feel good about ourselves - and worthy of what we desire - we simply won't be successful in achieving our goals.
So how can you begin enjoying a higher quality you?
#1. KNOW YOURSELF. How well do you know yourself? Many of us describe ourselves with outward features or visible characteristics ... yet there is a much deeper invisible essence within that most of us haven't explored very well: our divinity and spirituality. In his book, Discover the Power Within You, Eric Butterworth says, "Oh, man, the only real sin in thee is not to know thy own divinity." Scripture tells us that we are created in the image and likeness of God. Jesus said, "You are the temple of the living God" and "You are the light of the world." Yet may of us don't realize or believe the depth of spiritual magnificence that lies within us.
We're so caught up and mesmerized with the material world that we don't take the time to turn within and discover who we truly are. But Jesus told us where we need to look: "The kingdom of God is within you."
Are you willing to invest five minutes a day to turn inward and discover the truth of who you truly are? Are you willing to spend just five minutes to be still, connect with the divine, and explore the rich, incredible Spirit within you? Will you set aside just five minutes daily to get to know the depths of the spiritual brilliance and magnificence within you?
#2. ACCEPT YOURSELF. Most of us have a great deal of difficulty accepting and loving ourselves. We dislike or deny many aspects of ourselves because we feel we're not "good enough" ... that we should be smarter, prettier, richer, kinder or more talented. We reject how God created us, and wish we were something different. Yet Genesis tells us, "And God saw everything that he had created, and, behold, it was very good." So why don't we think we're good enough?
At some level, we believe that viewing ourselves negatively will motivate us to do the work necessary to change and grow. We judge ourselves harshly and unfavorably, thinking that will motivate us to become different and better. Yet, in reality, all that negativity does is create a vicious cycle of dissatisfaction. It's important to realize that we are good enough and to accept ourselves exactly the way we are: perfectly magnificent, brilliant, talented, unique expressions of God.
The great comedienne Lucille Ball said, "Love yourself first and everything else will fall into place." The most powerful and important thing you can do for your own peace and happiness, and to help you fulfill all your dreams, is to love and accept yourself just the way you are. God created you beautifully, and who you are is enough. Accepting yourself completely actually opens the door for you to unfold and become even greater. Accepting yourself fully releases your resistance and negativity and transforms that energy, instead, into growing and developing to an even higher plane.
Are you willing to work on loving and accepting yourself exactly the way you are? Doing so will guarantee that you bloom, blossom and become even brighter and more brilliant!
#3. BE TRUE TO YOURSELF. Being true to ourselves is about honoring who we are, who we came here to be, and the life we are called to live. Many times we do and say things that aren't in alignment with our genuine selves, mostly because we want to "fit in" and please other people. Yet we can never be happy or fulfilled if we aren't true to ourselves. We dishonor the calling and greatness we have been brought here to do.
Raymond Hall said, "He who trims himself to suit everyone else will soon whittle himself away." Every time we don't speak up and say what's really in our hearts, every time we allow ourselves to be persuaded to do something we don't really want, we are whittling away the truth of ourselves. We diminish and deny ourselves - and the world - the gifts, abilities and talents we came here to share.
Madam Curie - the physicist and chemist who was honored with two Nobel prizes for her work - once said, " Life isn't easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and, above all, confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that thing must be attained."
The fact is that every single one of us is gifted for something great. Do you have confidence enough in yourself to be true to who you are and live the life you have been called here to live? Being true to yourself doesn't mean you're inconsiderate to others; it means that you don't let other people define who you are or allow them to make the decisions that you are meant to make.
What is your soul calling you to do? Are you willing to honor what your heart says and follow your bliss? To follow what Spirit is calling you to give and share with the world? The most happy and fulfilled people in the world, the people who make the greatest difference in the world and bless the most people, are those who are absolutely true to themselves.
With this new year comes the promise of great opportunities and possibilities. This can - and will - be a happy, happy new year ... but it must begin by turning within! Take time to sit in the silence and discover that divine presence and magnificent Spirit within you. Take time to turn inward and make peace with yourself, knowing that you are good enough just the way you are. And, finally, take time to turn inward and follow the divine guidance you find there. Be true to yourself, and honor what your heart is calling you to do!
Happy New Year and God bless you!
Prayer
Thank you, God, for showing me the truth of who I am. I am created in the image and likeness of God. I am the temple of the living God. I am the light of the world. God and I are one. All that God is, I am ... and I love and accept myself just the way I am. Thank you God, for the truth of knowing that I am enough. Thank you, God, for knowing that I am good. I am great. I am amazing ... just the way I am. For this truth, and for the truth of knowing that I am one with God and all that God is, I truly give thanks. Thank you, God. Thank you! And so it is. Amen.
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