From the Jack’s Winning Words blog comes this thought for the day – “Stop focusing on how stressed you are and remember how blessed you are.” (Gratitude Habitat.com) Gratitude Habitat is an online site where people can share blessings they’ve received and inspiration that has come to them.
One could start by asking what it is that you might be stressing about. For most that might be something left undone at work or at home, some possession that you don’t have or can’t afford, some bills that you don’t know how you are going to pay, some person that you haven’t met yet, something new that you’ve never tried before, or maybe a decision that you have to make that you just aren’t sure about. All of those things have something in common – they are about the unknown (one might say for many about the unknowable). We all tend to stress when we get outside of our comfort zone and face the unknown.
Today’s inspirational little saying is trying to get us to stop worrying (stressing) about the unknown (and unknowable) ad focus instead focus upon on being happy with what we have, what we know. There is another little popular saying, “it is what it is”; which I’ve opined about here as being to passive for my tastes. I’ve suggested the alternative view of “it is what we make of it”. Taking that approach doesn’t mean that we spend time stressing about it; but, rather, that we proactively pursue whatever resolution is required 
to make it what we want it to be. The foundation of that approach to life it to first be happy with what you have, with where you are and with who you are – to remember and be thankful how blessed you already are.
Building upon that base you can then ask God for help with the things that you would still like to do or to provide for yourself or your family. There’s nothing wrong with having those kinds of goals in life and pursuing them, but they are not worth become points of stress in your life. If you start your daily prayers by giving thanks for the blessings that you already have and perhaps that will help put the things that you don’t have, but want, in better perspective and take some of the stress out of your pursuit of them.
So, spend some time counting your blessings each day, before you get to the tasks needed to achieve or get the things that you don’t have.
Posted by Norm Werner 
or something. Jack wrote about that social media phenomenon in his post that went along with this quote. He observed that young people in particular seem to crave the acceptance of “likes” on Facebook or other social media. “Likes” are even a measure of the acceptance of posts to blogs like this one and I must admit that it feels good to have some of my readers take the time to “Like” a specific post.
t peach in the world.” Understanding that and accepting it will make life much easier and help you avoid getting down on yourself because someone doesn’t “Like” you, which is the pits. Some people are just natural contrarians who find the behavior of happy, friendly people to be offensive. They enjoy being grumpy and resist any amount of effort from you to cheer them up. For them, disliking you is as much a mark of your impact on them as a “Like” might be from someone else.
anger or frustrations with life by disliking you. Perhaps you have become, as some might put it, “too sweet, too cute or too syrupy” in your approach to others. What that says to them is that you are oblivious and insensitive to their needs or situation and too wrapped up in yourself to make the effort share in their current feelings or needs. To their way of thinking you’ve become the pit and not the peach that you think you are.
yourself. It’s OK to try to cheer them up or to share your happiness with them, so long and you first understand their situation and make an effort to earn their “like” through empathy to their needs and not just through the aura of your own happiness.
begin to make new endings for ourselves. It begins with Easter, which is a celebration of the new beginning that was ransomed for us by the death and resurrection of Christ. If one can accept and embrace that thought, then the trials and tribulations of this life fade into the background noise.
maze, life starts for everybody at the same point and ends at the same point. It is the journey through the maze that is different for each person. Perhaps, if you look at all of life’s trials or set-backs up until now as learning experiences, you’ll find it easier to see the path through the maze. The other thing that can help in traversing the maze of life is a good moral compass rooted in faith. If you stop and really consult that compass at each decision point in your life you may find it easier that you think to make the right 
decisions.
that are not of our own making. How we react to them and our ability to go to our happy place in times of stress or pain determines how well we make it through those times.
A key thing that both yoga and meditation focus upon is helping you find a way back to your happy place, so that you can let go of the stress and let your body’s natural ability to heal itself make you well again. Of course there are lots of other things involved, but being able to get to that happy place is central to both. It is also a key to a happy and healthy life, whether you practice those disciplines or not.
even seek out a good hypnotherapist. Talk with the instructor/therapist and let them know that you are there to try to recapture the ability to put aside the day’s stresses and get to that place that gives you peace. They will understand. Then, focus upon the process that they take you through to relax and let go and begin your search for that happy place that is still there, somewhere in the deep recesses of your mind. You knew it as a child and you can find it again. When you do find it; you will know that “everything’s gonna be alright”.
out why they always seem so calm and happy. They are at peace with God and themselves and that is a happy place to be, indeed.
place is out there waiting for you and you know that you can get back to it when you want to – and that’s a good thing …a happy thing.
because we believe that it shows us what the world sees when they see us. Wrong. The mirror provides a mere glimpse of what the world sees when it encounters us. We do not come into focus in the eyes of others until they get to know the parts of us that the mirror cannot reflect. We look and we see “I’m too fat or my ears are too big or my hair is terrible today or my clothes aren’t the latest style or I’m ugly or I’m not this or I’m not that.” Why do we do that to ourselves? Because we lack the self-confidence to just say, “this is me, take me as I am and get to know me”.
is the most undemanding and appreciative companion that you could ever have. Dogs love their owners and that love expresses itself in happy tail wagging and licking and jumping and excitement at their every return after being way. They are genuinely happy to see you. Dogs don’t judge you on your looks or your clothes; they judge you on the affection that you share with them and they reward you with unconditional love in return.
you really are will be revealed in ways that the mirror could never show them. They will begin to see the real you. The mirror doesn’t lie, it just doesn’t show the whole truth about you.
act in ways that also makes you feel good. You may lose a few pounds, not because you thought you were fat, but because it makes you feel better. You may try a new hair style, not because you’ve seen it on some model in a magazine somewhere; but, because the new style is more about the “you” that you want to be. People will notice, too, that you carry yourself differently – confidently and with more pose. Why? Because you feel good about yourself and you want to share that good feeling with others.
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