Your Future Within

Let us appreciate the human spirit. And absolutely–love and appreciate the Holy Spirit, the source that feeds and nourishes our human spirits.

There are some human spirits that are pure Giving. Daughter and son-in-law, Jules and Roger have virtually re-decorated and re-wired my 4 story townhouse over the last 8 years.

Every time I need something heavy carried to another floor, and each time a TV is replaced or a new piece of furniture must be unpacked, they are here making the changes with energy and good spirits!

They gave me their good dishwasher and Roger installed it for me!  Just so as  not to be ‘lazy’, Jules worked along side him cleaning my refrigerator!

Their good-natured and sometimes ’spirited’ banter has earned them the  title “The Jules and Roger Show”.  They are entertaining and they’re spreading good cheer.  They inspire love and appreciation PLUS!

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“I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit.” -John F. Kennedy

Appreciation Plus

Inspiration comes from people who have endured catastrophic life experiences and emerged the victor, rather than the victim. Helen Keller, Mahatma Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, and Elie Weisel are some of the more familiar names, but many of us have personally known individuals who have come through the other side of a wrenching experience with love, grace and humility.

If we could ask each one-the familiar and the famous, “What got you through your crisis?”, in all likelihood the responses would be similar. One by one, they would think back, look within and describe inner resources that enabled them to survive. Brian Luke Seaward, author of Stand Like Mountain, Flow Like Water, calls those qualities “the muscles of the soul.” Courage, faith, humor, patience, compassion, imagination, humbleness, forgiveness, intuition, creativity, optimism, honesty, and love.

It is in exercising those muscles that the health of the human spirit is maintained. And the fitness of the spirit is vital to our total well-being.

With the understanding that there is a definite link  between stress and disease, and a greater appreciation for the healing power of the Divine spirit, practitioners in all areas of health are beginning to acknowledge that to be healthy, one must acknowledge and nurture our own human spirits, which are made in the image of the Divine.

The following are seven suggestions Seaward offers to enhance the health of the human spirit.

1. The Art of Self-Renewal: Self-renewal is a continual process. To be present and attentive to those around us and strong for others in times of need, we must first attend to our own capacity for strength and endurance. Typically this begins with some aspect of the meditative process, going within to calm and refresh.

2. The Practice of Sacred Rituals:   We attribute some habits and customs as more special than others, then gravitate toward those activities and make them habitual so that we are reminded of life’s sacredness. Special readings or meditations in the morning, witnessing the sunset every night, regular meetings of certain groups to which we belong-all manner of activities can serve as an enrichment that connects us more closely with the Divine.

3. Sweet Forgiveness:  Every act of forgiveness is an act of unconditional love. For forgiveness to be unconditional, you must be willing to let go of all feelings of anger and resentment. We must forgive others and ourselves.

4. Embracing the Shadow:  Embracing the shadow means to acknowledge negative, judgmental thoughts, and send a message of acceptance and compassion, and separation, to that part of ourselves where those thoughts and perceptions originate.

5. Keep the Faith:  The power of faith requires balance. It is good to remember that “We are given no task too great to bear.”  Faith is there to guide us through moments of turbulence.

6. Live Your Joy:  Living your joy is seeking and appreciating our personal beautiful side. It reminds us to live in the present moment rather than become immobilized by that which is past or that which is yet to come.

7. Compassion in Action:  Compassion in action can be explained in one word-service, and service offers a dividend of love to everyone  involved.

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“Appreciation can make a day – even change a life.  Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary. ”
-Margaret Cousins

Tags: and Elie Weisel, appreciation, helen keller, Holy Spirit, human spirit, John F. Kennedy, mahatma ghandi, nelson mandela, Patricia Muscari, Your Future Within