Give… two, three, four, Receive… two, three, four.   Give… two, three, four…   Give… two, three, four…

Remembering to dance is remembering to move.  To move, is to remember to live.  When we stop moving we die.  One of my favorite quotes is, “Live your life like a beautiful prayer.”  What if each of us lived our life like a beautiful prayer or a beautiful dance?  What if we were in harmony and in step with each other and the natural rhythms of life?

Who Is Blessed Most?  The Giver or the Receiver?

So, let’s learn a new life dance together.  It’s a simple dance with only two steps, one is giving and the other is receiving.   Some are comfortable with giving, but not receiving.  Others are only comfortable with receiving but not with giving.  We need balance.  With practice the dance can become so precise that the two steps look like one, as expressed in the adage, “A deed is its own reward.”   When you give from your heart and the other person receives and is appreciative, the joy you receive as the giver is so great that you wonder who was blessed the most.

Allow Yourself  to Be Swept Away

When is the last time you just danced and allowed yourself to be swept away by the music and the moment?   Think about your favorite song and your favorite dance.  Go ahead, right now; close your eyes and take a stroll down memory lane.  Or even better, get up and dance to it!  Do you feel lighter, happier, and freer?

To dance, we have to get unstuck; we have to move.  While dancing, at least for that moment, we let go of our stresses, our fears, and our inhibitions.  Most of the time in this dance of life, we must dance with others, but sometimes we will dance alone.   At first we may feel awkward, but that’s only until we stop caring about what others think and realize that we dance for our own enjoyment and to the beat we hear in our own hearts.  We must each take some time out regularly to think about what makes our hearts and souls dance.

Giving and Receiving Are Not Confined to Physical Things

There are many dances in life and each in its own time shows up to shape our lives. There is a time for everything, “A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.”  (King James Bible, Ecclesiastes)  Yes, we are told that “to every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”   So, there must also be a season or time to give and a season or time to receive.  Sometimes we give, sometimes we receive.  We can’t be the one giving all the time and we can’t be the one receiving all the time either, this makes our lives unbalanced.  Giving and receiving are also not confined to physical things.  We give love, compassion, and encouragement and we can receive love, compassion, and encouragement.  Now this is the type of dance that enriches everyone.  Care to dance?

Giving or receiving, which one is the greater gift?  You decide!  Give… two, three, four, Receive… two, three, four.

Barbara S. Talley is a speaker, author and poet.  http://www.thepoetspeaks.com

We Have Creative Power

Today’s motivational message is on the power of first words.  Spiritually speaking, we are told that in the very beginning, ‘was the Word’. We are told that words created all that there is and that we also have that same creative power.  All the Holy Books, Spiritual Leaders, and Motivational gurus teach us that we are in control of our destiny.  We create our reality through our thoughts, and the building blocks of our thoughts are our words.

All Thoughts Produce An Outcome

We know from experience that both loving thoughts and hateful thoughts, fearful thoughts or faithful thoughts, hopeful thoughts or hopeless thoughts all produce an outcome.  They influence our actions and shape our lives. The Bible states, “As a man thinketh, so is he.”  Buddhist Teachings state that ‘we are what we think, having become what we thought’.  The Baha’i Teachings state, “The reality of man is his thought.”  So if words have so much power, wouldn’t it make sense to monitor our words and thoughts and use them to our advantage?

Choose Carefully Your First Words Each Day

The first words you utter each day ‘prime your pump’.  They get you going in a certain direction.  Since we have free will, we can change that direction at any time.  But since we are habitual creatures, we usually don’t.  We just ‘go with the flow.’   One way to really get on track, on fire, and on purpose is to conscientiously choose our first words.  Are they of gratitude or they complaining of something that’s not going your way.

What You Think About Multiplies

Since what you think about (good or bad) multiplies in your life, it’s essential that the first words (and first thoughts), having creative power, should be focused on what we want, appreciate, and love.

Take Some Action

So for the next few days, monitor and write down your first thoughts.  Then conscientiously, plan to make them positive, affirming, and loving.  Some may start off with prayer or meditation.  Others may focus on what they have to be grateful for or on their goals.  Just take control of your thoughts and you’ll be surprised at how powerful you really are!

Barbara