Channeling Peace

Channeling an armor of peace to get me through today.  Just reading up on the news is a sign of a world spiraling in chaos.
 
May YOU find a moment of peace to latch onto and get you through the day; past the irate and unreasonable; past the miserable and hate filled; past the loneliness and grief; past the sadness and pain; past the obstacles of life...

There is hope and peace to be found.  I find mine by taking to my knees in prayer. May you find yours in a way that fills you with light.

Find HOPE for the PEACE of YOU
<3 Always & Peace Forever
- CAG 03152013

The Blessings of Bonds

I came across this FB post this morning - I wrote it back in 2011 and wanted to share it again today...

Blessings...abound. Where are they? They’re everywhere! Take last night for instance. I saw them in the faces of my family and friends - those I see everyday and those that I maybe only see once in awhile. Blessings…abound. I even see them when I think fondly of those I don't see as often as I should, or in the memory of those who have passed on. I see them in my friends both near and far. I hear them through the words we share. In the letters, emails and texts we write to each other.

Bonds...my bonds with my family; my bonds with my friends, they are tight, strong and everlasting. Even tenuous bonds created in the exploration of new relationships are blessings. The beautiful thing is that it costs nothing to deepen your bond…you do that by sharing love. Bonds are like the thick braids of shipping rope, the strands are many and coiled tightly, repeatedly; intertwined to form a rope that can be thick as a forearm or as thin as the finger. The rope’s size and strength varies upon its need.

Familial and friendship bonds are strengthened with a call, a visit, a letter…I know there are bonds that I need to strengthen, as I’ve been remiss with some people I love dearly. I know I’m going to have to be more diligent in strengthening my bonds. There are bonds that I have which are so strong that they make me float in joy every day. Others, well there are others I need to work on. To be honest, there may even be a few that I need to cut. But that is for another post. This one is about the bonds that build up and empower you.
How about you? Who are you bonded with? Do they feel the bond you share? Strengthen your bonds…and watch the blessings for everyone intertwined in that bond grow.
- C. A. Griffin

Saturday's Missive - March 9 2013:

It used to be that one of the things I craved most was to sleep in; to sleep past ten in the morning and maybe roll out of bed in time for lunch.

Now, I wake up at 6:00 am EVERYDAY and not simply because I HAVE to but because I WANT to. I want to squeeze all the time I can out of each day. Is it because I'm older? Maybe, but I think it's because I know that each day is a gift that I want to unwrap and enjoy while I can. I want to truly live each day.

I want to savor the laughter, the smiles - no matter how few of them there may be due to a difficult circumstance. I want to cherish the heartfelt moments of uniting with work-family, church-family and blood family. I want to celebrate each day.

I want to shed the tears of sadness and feel the solace offered through a kind word, a touch, an embrace. Yes, I want this too because I cannot avoid them, I must go through them, live them and heal from them - no matter how slowly or painful it maybe. I don't have a choice, so let me mourn and remember and heal. I want to heal a little more each day.

I want to pray the prayer of gratitude; the prayer for strength and peace, the prayer for divine intervention; the prayer for unity and enlightenment. I want to pray each day.

I want to truly live each day.

 LIVE TRULY for the Life of You.

 ♥ Always & Peace Forever

Pray earnestly, travel safely, arrive joyously, depart exuberantly;

Relax completely, party hardy, read voraciously and play delightfully.

In other words…LIVE.

Grace, Passion and Serenity…my GPS for Living this weekend.

May it also be yours.

LIVE for the Life of You.

<3 Always & Peace Forever.

Note to Self...

Note to Self: Reflection does not always need to end up with thoughts of regret and deep seated feelings of guilt.  Yes, you know you made mistakes but those are now in the past. Take the lesson from your errors and move on.

The sad moments of loss are heavy and will not easily dissipate. The ache of loved ones who are gone will beat in time to your heart.  Nothing can remove that; it is as it should be.  Grief works its way out through tears and laughter; just let it be so that you can heal. 

But instead of only guilt and pain, wrap yourself in memories of love and happiness as much as you can and let it guide you into 2013 with a hopeful heart and strong resolve.  Life is journey for which there is no road map.  Our compass is our faith; our sustenance is in love and hope and our companions are our loved ones both here and on the other side.

Hope for the Life of You.
<3 Always & Peace Forever
- CAG

Heartbreak...

I sit here, in my home, emotionally reeling as I finally give over my thoughts to the devastation that has wreaked havoc on so many this past year; these past months, these past few days. Tears are falling so freely for so many that I do not know and sadly will never have a chance to know because their lives have been snuffed out by tragic events of natural causes or the horrific agenda of a deranged individual. There are no words to comfort the families that have lost so much. There is nothing that can be said or done that will erase the pain, the unimaginable grief that so many are suffering through. I have not one clue as to how the parents must feel, the families, the siblings, the friends…All I can do is cry and pray.  Consider, the story I found from a friend’s page about Victoria Soto.  She hid her twenty-seven students in a cabinet and closet and told the shooter that the children were somewhere else before he shot and killed her.

There are others like her, I am sure. Yesterday, I like so many, many others, raged at the senselessness. What caused this? Why did this happen? The truth of the matter is that whatever answers we find to those questions won’t bring them back. I could feel myself spiraling into a dark abyss and so I shut off my head, prayed for the dead and the families and tried to put things in my emotional safety vault.

Then I found this story about Victoria Soto. Her story broke through the barrier that I built to hold back the crushing sadness. Reading about Victoria Soto’s courageous act reminded me that it’s okay to cry, to be angry and to wail here at my desk. That to think this woman so unselfishly acted to save the lives of her students, unhinged me and even though I do not know her, it broke me, and my God how thankful I am for her bravery for children I do not even know. I know it may seem that I am rambling here…I guess I am.

I don’t know the answers of how and why. I’m not so sure that I care. I don’t know what the answer is to stop this from happening again. I’m not sure there is one. All I am sure of is that nothing is for certain. That time is short. Fill your time with love. May we all find a moment to hug someone and let them know the depth of our love. Sending up prayers.

Yeah It's Tuesday...Bring It

Tuesday is NOT a day for wimps.

Tuesday is a HARDCORE day. It's far enough from the weekend to actually make one squeamish. It's a day filled with deadlines and spreadsheets; a crippled scanner, weak coffee, hour long conference calls each with an agenda the length of your arm with at least one dysfunctional team member participating; phone calls from vendors, telemarketers and international cold callers all seeking to pluck "just five minutes of your time" to sell you the next best thing since stink eliminating air freshener and random unexpected acts of stupidity during your commute that will test the limits of your sanity.

Yeah Tuesday is NOT for wimps. Luckily, I'm one HARDCORE woman.

Are YOU hardcore? Yeah, I thought so. Go. Get. You. Some.