365 Inspirations—92: A Really HUGE Magnolia Flower

"Learn to...be what you are, and learn to resign with a good grace all that you are not."—Henri Frederic Amiel

Even if I've had a bad day, I can always find something that made me smile or stop and pause or see things in a different light. To be quite honest, today was a hard day.

 I think the world presents us with exactly what we need to see and experience. 

Today it was a really HUGE Magnolia flower in the Washington State Arboretum that made me stop. The flowers are all in full bloom and my husband and I drove straight to the park shortly after we woke up. When I saw this flower, I just sat there in awe staring at it.

It was speaking to me. It was telling me to make a statement and live my dreams. It was telling me to speak up and hang on (all the other flowers had already fallen from the tree). 

It was larger than life and it made a statement by simply being there. 

Lately I've felt I may not be on the right path. I can't really explain. I've been ignoring something I need to do. I haven't been listening completely to my heart. I haven't been completely myself.

Perhaps I'm just tired, but I think it's really more than that.

I feel like I want to run away.....and I want to simply "be".

Like this flower that was high up in the tree.....speaking directly to me.

Good night friends...

Oh, and one more thing....a QUESTION for you........

Have you ever felt like you need to change something in your life? Did you listen to that feeling and did you follow through with it?

365 Lessons-Lesson 130: One Person's Words Can Change a Life

Words. How are you using them? Are you using them wisely? How easy it is to hurt someone with these sounds that come from our mouths and symbols we type on the page. Harsh words can cause immeasurable damage. Children are particularly susceptible to the utterings of their parents. How easy it is for parents to forget the words they choose to use with their children. But children never forget.

Encouraging words can change a life and in return YOU are changed. It is an exchange. Do you use your words to gain friends or followers? Are you really concerned about their well being? Do you REALLY care about your own well being?

Understand that the words you tell yourself are the most important in the world. I've gone for 45 days without speaking or scribbling a word. It made me more aware of the power words have. Since I was ten years old, I've written in dozens of journals. They are all stuffed away in closets. I've never shared what's written on those pages. Forming words became my way of understanding the world around me.

During those 45-days, during which time I was in a long course of silent meditation, I realized I wanted to share my words. That I had something to say that was important. Important for myself and perhaps important for you.

Choose your words wisely. Be honest, but don't use words that hurt or deceive others. When you write or speak, speak from the heart. Don't be afraid of who you are or try to cover yourself up in words that others want to hear. Forget about what others THINK about what you have to say. Be YOU.

You don't know how powerful your words are. One person's words can positively change a life, a town, a city or a country. You may think you have nothing important to say or write, but you have more than you know or will ever know. If your intention of speaking and writing is for your own good and the good of others, then SPEAK and WRITE by all means. Keep shining your light. And when someone else shines their light and you see it and are affected by it, let them know with WORDS.

Thank you dear readers for all your kind and encouraging words and letters. They keep me going and they have changed THIS life.