Tag Archives: Gratitude

Slow Down

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A yellow light means that we should prepare to slow down. Yellow lights are different for each of us. To some they may appear as illnesses, broken relationships, unhappiness, or feelings of  depression or of  just feeling disconnected  or uninspired.   Some of us are moving way to fast and could even cause an accident if we tried to stop too abruptly at the speed we are going.

Let’s say you’re driving down the road of life at high speed and you notice a desired destination just as you are passing it.  If you stop too quickly, you can cause an accident.  That’s why we have yellow lights in our lives.  Some of us are speeding down the road of life so fast that we are missing life itself.  We’re missing out on the important events in our children’s lives.  We’re missing out on capturing those stories our elders have to impart to us while they are still with us.  We’re missing appointments to take care of our physical health, to exercise, and to eat healthily.  And, we’re missing out on building that spiritual connection that only prayer, meditation, and service can provide.

Do yourself a favor. Take time now for your spiritual development, your family and relationships, and more importantly your physical health.

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.
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Stop, Slow Down, or Go?

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STOP! Look, and Listen

Have you ever wondered why there are three settings on a stop light?  It’s because all three are necessary. Everyone needs to stop sometime.  You can’t keep going and going like the Energizer Bunny.  You’ve got to take time out to pause, reflect, plan, relax, and regenerate.

Green Lights Mean Go!

Now some of you have the opposite challenge.  You can’t seem to get moving, to get motivated, to get on track, on fire, and on purpose.  You are simply stuck.  Some of you are moving so slow that you’d have to speed up to just stop.  And, some people are sitting there with no plans while others with detailed plans are doing nothing with them.

What are you waiting for?

If you’ve gotten the green light in life, GO!  Is there an opportunity in your lap right now?  Are you procrastinating, doubtful and worried about failure.  No risk, no gain! Get going. You can’t stay in limbo forever if you wish to reach your goals.

“Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”  Zig Ziglar

Remember we are not PROMISED tomorrow even though so far each day we awaken to the gift of another 24 beautiful hours.  Show that you value that gift each day by slowing down long enough to show your gratitude, by stopping to smell the roses, and by getting going to make the most of every single moment.

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.
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My Odds Are Improving

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My odds went from 1 in 15,000 to one in five in a year.

Last year at this time I entered a competition for my own show on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).  There were over 15,000 video submissions, so my odds were roughly one in 15,000.  When I entered the competition (with only a few days left to get votes), the front- runner was already 8 million votes ahead of me.  But, that didn’t stop me.  When you believe in yourself, you take a chance on yourself.   I entered anyway.  I however was not one of the finalists,  but I still consider myself a winner for having the courage to get into the race in spite of such odds.  I learned a lot and gained a lot from participating.

I Guess You Can Say I’m in the Finals!

My prize for entering last year’s competition was a re-igniting of passion that I had put aside many years ago to focus on raising my kids.  Going through that process inspired me to “make space for my grace” and start doing something to make it happen.  The very next week I signed up for television classes and continued them through the Spring of this year.  Now almost exactly a year later through a series of coincidences that I like to refer to as God-incidences, I’m being considered for a major role in a pilot for a national television network.  But, here’s the difference.  Now my odds are so much better for there are only four or five other people being considered.  So my odds in a year went from one in 15,000 to one in five.  Now that’s progress and a reason to give thanks and be grateful!  Wish me luck on Friday as I do a screen test and meet the producers in person for the first time.  I appreciate your prayers more than ever.

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.

Listen for Your Inner Wisdom

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We each have an inner knowing that we must learn to trust and rely upon. On Sunday afternoon I got the inspiration to call my stepmother who is recuperating in a nursing home.  It was just a spark in the middle of the day, at a time that thought she’d be at the church service and I almost talked myself out of calling right then.  But the impulse was strong and I listened.  I called her and she didn’t sound good at all.

She said, “Make the nurses stop drugging me.  They are giving me too much medicine. They have me in the hall.”  I asked her did she want to be there and she said, “No.”  I told her my sister and I would work on it.  Then there was silence.  The last few conversations we’d had she’d fallen asleep in the middle of the conversation or just asked me to call back because she was tired or sleeping, no matter what time of day it was.  When I questioned the nurse I found out she was not in the hall at all, but something was wrong.  She was obviously disoriented.  I reminded them of her bad heart.  They ended up sending her to the hospital for evaluation and deduced that she had had a heart attack.  In addition as a dialysis patient she also had elevated calcium and potassium levels.  And if that were not enough, she had a bladder infection.  So many things were wrong and yet had I not called, they perhaps would have been calling me with that final dreaded call.

I am so grateful that I listened.  I had a few deadlines at the time and it was not the best time to stop and spend the afternoon on the phone with nurses, caretakers, doctors, and family.  But I’ve learned that when we care, we are guided.  When we listen, the eternal source of wisdom speaks to us.  When we are “interrupted from our mundane reality,” it’s because something MORE important needs our attention right then.  It’s so great to not have to live with, “I wish I would have….”  Today’s lesson is to listen, appreciate the intuition, trust it  and act on it.  Now she’s recuperating in the hospital and on the road to health, we hope!

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.

Find Out What’s So Special About Today

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Today is a special day.  This hour is a special hour.  This moment is a special moment.  Why?  Because you are in it.  You are alive?  You get to breathe and see another day.  You have a mind and that makes you a co-creator in creation.  You have consciousness and you have another beautiful day to mold as you choose.  You’ll appreciate today even more when you realize that everyone doesn’t have that luxury. No matter what challenges you have in life, remember if you are alive you have a chance to fix them.  I just heard from a cousin today who lost her husband of 50 years.   And, even with such a heavy heart, she is choosing to focus on the fact that her soul-mate is no longer suffering and that is giving her the strength to make it to the next hour.

What’s So Special About Today? You Get To See It!

You are not promised today and you are not promised tomorrow either.  One of my father’s favorite quotes was, “It could be better, but it could be worse.”  That quote always puts things into perspective for me, no matter how bad things got.  There will always be things going wrong in your life, but at the same time, there will be things going right too.  We get to choose what we will focus on each moment and consequently what new tracks are being laid down in our subconscious that will become our memories and history.   Do you have sight?  Can you walk?  Can you speak?  Can you smell or touch?  Can you think?  Can you dream?  Can you believe?  Can you appreciate what you have? Today is special because it’s here right now and we get to see it.   You are special too so make today by appreciating and making the most of it.

’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.