A Valuable Key To Whole-Hearted Living

Posted on October 25, 2015 by Dee Clark

According to researcher and author, Brene Brown, people who live whole-heartedly and experience more joy cultivate an atmosphere of gratitude in their lives.

The most valuable way I have found to do this is to pay attention and celebrate the small stuff.

We can all get excited over the dream vacation, huge holiday celebrations or our favorite team’s landslide win.

But the purest joy comes from the things that ordinary days are made of celebrated each moment of the day. You know, the things we sometimes take for granted.

It’s the small things that give life it’s interesting flavour like the sprinkled cinnamon that tops my chai latte.

If you are looking for fuller joy and the ability to engaged more whole-heartedly, the most valuable key is to celebrate the small stuff and cultivate greater levels of gratitude in your everyday life.

Journey on,

Dee

what happiness means to me

Posted on July 4, 2014 by Dee Clark

for me, happiness is born out of gratitude.

in my life, gratitude accesses joy.

joy is a gift that produces brilliance from deep within my heart and soul.

as a young woman, my mom used to tell me that i may not always be happy about my circumstances but that i could be content.

contentment nurtures and guards gratitude.

as women, we can find ourselves in a state of wanting…

to be less sad…

to be more beautiful…

to be more alive…

to attain more of the things we want when we are not satiated from within.

when i find myself drifting in this direction, i have learned the importance of getting alone with my heart.

time for a heart to heart.

i’ve even stood in front of my mirror so i could look myself in the eye, as i would a friend.

i direct my thoughts toward gratitude…

for all that i am and was created to be…

And for all that i have divinely been blessed with.

the warmth of the sun on my face makes me happy but unfortunately summer is short lived in NZ. therefore, i am grateful for warm hugs, an electric blanket, and new warm jacket my daughter blessed me with this week.

watermelon and American style pickles make me happy but are difficult to source where i live. therefore, i grateful for every sweet bite i enjoyed on my vacation last month.

getting along with my husband makes me happy but sometimes we disagree and must work together to restore peace between us. therefore, i am grateful that God brought love into my life and that i have someone special with whom i share my life.

gratitude and joy colors our world with real happiness.

happiness paints our world with a brightness that shines from deep within our heart-the core of our being.

this is what happiness means to me.

it is a gift from God

and i am forever grateful.

how about you? how grateful are you for all of who you are and all that you have?

answering this question with require a deeper look into your heart where your emotions dwell. discovering the answer will lead you toward real happiness. happiness that can not be easily stolen.

i’m happy that you stopped by today!

forgiveness test…this one will nail it!

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Dee Clark

i’ve been talking alot about forgiveness over the past couple of days. i had a reader write to me and say that forgiveness is important but is very difficult to do.

so, true!

even when you think it’s all done and dusted…whamo…you can feel like you’ve been hit in the gut by the whole thing over again. i totally understand! keep working on it. believe me…you will get there. you will surprise yourself with how much strength you have to do this!

i love quotes…and the proverbs…as i’m sure you have noticed. i found a great one today.

guess what?

it nailed my heart! i am calling it my forgiveness test.

want to see it? (i will warn you that if your wound is still fresh…you may not want to yet.)

but…here goes….

i have to admit…as soon as i read it…one of my offenses flashed into my mind and i thought,

“i will NEVER say “thank you” for that experience!”

so, i reminded myself – “dee, you have forgiven that offense and you wouldn’t be the woman you are today without it. what you have to share flows directly out of your heart’s experience.”

i can’t say that i am totally there…but it was great that i came face to face with this heart test…because my goal is complete wholeness. i don’t feel any pain from the offense any more. i am way past it in many ways. however, i like a challenge…and this challenged me today.

like i said above, newly wounded hearts will not be able to accept the challenge…today and that is perfectly ok!

i had someone tell me recently, that a dirty pair of underwear on the floor can be as damaging to a relationship as betrayal – if forgiveness is not applied.

that is far too much power. i don’t want to give the power over my happiness away…so again today…

i choose forgiveness.

and i hope you will as well.