I was walking past some litter on the ground the other day. A thought crossed my mind that if I don't pick it up and put it in the trash, who will? And even if I do dispose of it it will still find itself blowing around at a dump somewhere. So why bother?

I picked it up and put it in the trash container. Why? To do my small part to make where I live a nicer place to be. If we each viewed our neighborhood like that, wouldn't we have a much nicer community, planet, universe?

Do the right thing, especially when no one is watching to see you doing the right thing. And if they happen to see you doing the right thing and change their mind about their self, then good for you, you fulfilled your purpose as a human. 

Don't leave "it" for someone else to do. Just go ahead and make a difference in someway. It will make you feel good and make others feel good, And that is what we need more of in this world of ours. <3

It's been a struggle my entire life to be a phony. I've tried to be kosher with the nonsense that us humans put each other through, but it has never worked out for me. 

So I came to the conclusion that authenticity, honesty, transparency, and pure intentions was how I was going to live my life. It was a good decision.

To not have to carry around the burden of faking my way through life, I've acquired peace. I don't have to keep track of how I need to act in any situation, I just get to be myself. 

Being myself means that I do all things with pure intentions. I don't contrive ways to hurt others. What I do is try to leave everyone feeling better than they were before I interacted with them. My love and empathy for others makes this easy. 

I wear my heart on my sleeve. That makes me vulnerable and I'm okay with that. I'm okay with being real. <3

Alchemist: a person who transforms or creates something through a seemingly magical process.

Alchemy: is the purification of our bodies so that it can hold more of this universal energy supporting life. Inner alchemy provides us the means to better understand ourselves, the universe we live in, and our purpose in life.

June 2022 to now has been a true test of my alchemy. I left a ten year management position to publish a book that I wrote twenty years ago. I moved from a city in which I lived for over forty years to a city where I am unknown. After owning only canines as pets I have taken on a feline that survived what must have been a harrowing one hour drive under the hood of my car. 

The purpose of these changes is not fully known to me, but I understand that they are necessary in the whole scheme of things. Was I fearful of the unknown? Of course I was, but I was more fearful of never knowing. 

I want to live a life of no regrets. I want to be able to know that I was the alchemist in my life and that I did what was right for me to feel peace. Mostly I wanted to do what I needed to do to have passion for life. <3

Don't go messing where you shouldn't be messing. That's what I hear inside my head when I want to control something that is not within my control. Many times in life I've tried to alter an outcome to be with what I thought was in my favour, but it turned out to be the opposite.

A false sense of importance (ego) propelled my mind to overshadow my sensibilities. Instead of accepting the "now" for what it was I went messing where I shouldn't be messing.

It takes a lot of self-awareness to understand that the actual outcome is always better than what I could have ever made it out to be. 

Accept what is. Let go of what was. Have faith in what will be. This is not as simple as what its made to sound like. The work that one has to do on themselves to get over this first hurdle is not for the faint of heart. It means silencing ego and listening to soul. It means giving up control of what you never had control of anyway. It's a scary place to be when you think aren't ready to be there.

What do you need to accept today? What do you need to let go of today? Do you have faith in what will be? Start with acceptance and see where that takes you. <3

The variables that have to line up for your life to happen everyday are astronomical. You have zero control of these variables. The only thing you can control is your reaction to receiving or not receiving what you feel life owes you.

You getting a raise at work means that someone else didn't. You not getting a raise at work means that someone else did. 

You waiting for a train to pass is making you late for work. You leaving earlier for work allows you to not have to wait for the train and you are early for work.

Of course there are far more complicated scenarios than these, but you get the picture. How you choose to cope in any situation is what is most important. 

We are not machine's and therefore we will feel all the positive and negative emotions that come with our decisions. You see, nothing can happen in your life without your decision to make or not make it happen.. You would have had to make a decision to be in any situation you find yourself. Those decisions tipped a domino of variables to bring about an outcome. (The only exception to this rule is as a child when you could not make your own decisions). 

It could take years, it could take days, it could take seconds, but everything that transpires in your life is because you wanted it to be that way...good and bad. 

Your thoughts and actions are powerful forces, use them wisely. <3

In the beginning years of my son struggling with a substance use disorder I came up with the four H's. They became his mantra while finding his path to recovery.

Hope: never lose this.
Honesty; be truthful about why you use a substance.
Healing: own what causes you to use a substance.
Honor; cherish your sobriety.

These four words can be transposed into anyone's life while they deal with challenges. 

Hope: never lose this.
Honesty; be truthful about your why.
Healing: own what causes you to harbor.
Honor: cherish your inner peace.

If you cannot control yourself, what makes you think you can control others? Start with you. It will become apparent that the only path forward in life is your own. Keep that path maintained and you will have found inner peace. <3

We want "it", but we aren't ready for the accountability that comes with getting "it".

The persistence that is required for "it" to show up isn't to wish "it" to happen, its your self-awareness that brings "it" to you.

Asking God, Creator, Universe, Higher Power for a new job won't bring you the job. Making a vision board with a new career on it won't bring you the new career.

What have you done to prepare yourself for a new job or a new career? Are you prepared to take accountability for the responsibilities that come with a new job or a new career? Why should God, Creator, Universe, Higher Power give you something that you aren't ready for?

If you want "it" bad enough you will do the work on yourself that is required to achieve "it". Your persistence to prepare yourself for blessings is what brings them to you. You decide outcomes by your actions or your inactions. It starts and ends with you. <3

I'm a firm believer that what you put out into the universe you will get back...good and bad. I don't just mean physical energy that you exude, but also your mental energy as well. This is spoken about in the bible. 

​When God said, “You shall not murder” in Exodus 20:13, He meant no one could take the life of another. But Jesus clarified that one should not harbor hatred, murderous thoughts, or wicked feelings for a neighbor either.

Jesus forewarned us not to feel negatively knowing that by doing so we will draw negativity to us with our thoughts and feelings. Yes, we are that powerful. Look around if you doubt that.

When ego allows dark feelings to emanate into the universe it is adding hate. When the heart allows light feelings to emanate into the universe you are adding peace. Fear dictates what we emanate. We've been taught to fear and that means we can unlearn fear. 

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking, so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Marianne Williamson

"Anger is the punishment we give ourselves for someone else's mistake". Unknown

Anger is a choice. Each day when you rise you have to revisit anger in order to keep it around. You make the decision to feel it and to make it your prominent emotion. You choose anger over forgiveness. Is this negative emotion the best use of your time on earth?

​Forgiving doesn't let someone off the hook. They must deal with the karma of the hurts they caused. Forgiving allows you to carry on with life without baggage that isn't yours. You have enough of your own baggage to contend with, you certainly don't need to add to it. 

The most important forgiving that you will need to do in life is to forgive yourself. The anger you bestow onto others is the misdirected anger that you feel for yourself. Forgive yourself. Forgive others. And then get on with living life in a meaningful way. <3

What is my purpose? Why am I here? Two heartfelt questions that each human has asked themselves at one time or another. Some will go on and seek the answers, some will be okay with never knowing, and some will live life like it doesn't really matter. Which one are you?

I believe that everyone has a purpose to fulfill for as long as they are able to draw their next breath. No life is meaningless. Every life serves a purpose in the tapestry that is humanity. 

We are here to bring peace. Negativity goes against our very nature as a human. The discontent we feel in the world today is because we know that hurting one another is wrong. We've dug such a deep hole of hate that it feels futile to try and dig the opposite hole of love.

Forgiveness. We need to forgive ourselves for our shortsightedness and we need to forgive others for theirs. We need to start thinking more with our hearts and less with our egos. This is the path to accepting love as our purpose. Our purpose is to love, not hate. 

You now know your purpose. Please do something with it. <3