Be kind to one another. –Ellen Degeneres

Ellen closes every show with these five words. Be kind to one another, such simple little words but yet so powerful when you do them.

We may never truly know the reach of an act of kindness or the mark that it leaves on a life. I can only imagine how God must bend down and listen a little closer in those moments. -Topaz

As a parent, I think I got a tiny glimpse of exactly how God must feel when we are kind to each other. Tonight, when I was alone with one of my sons, before everyone got here for family night, he told me of something that he and his wife prayed about and decided they wanted to do for his brother. There are no words than can even begin to tell you how the words that followed of how much he loved his brother and how important his brother was to both of them made me feel, and I can honestly say that my other son feels the same way. There are no words. But, oh, how my heart welled up with tenderness, joy, gratitude, and so full of love that it felt like it was straight from Heaven.

I thought to myself that this must be a tiny glimpse of what God must feel when we are kind to His children, when we do kind things for each other or say kind things about each other.

I love my children all of the time, just as God loves us all the time, no matter what we do, but I can sure see how when we are kind and caring to each other that it commands His attention in a way that makes angels sing. I can only imagine how He must bend down and listen a little closer in those moments because they make Him so happy, too.

This must be how God feels when we are kind to one another. It just must be. And not just when we are kind to the ones we like but when we are kind to all of God’s children because He loves us all.

So today, I ask you all to be kind to one another. Sow seeds of greatness with acts of kindness. Do something for someone today, not to be repayed to you, but just to pay it forward for all the we have, because no matter where we are in life or what we have or don’t have, someone, somewhere would give anything to trade places with us. Be grateful for that and pay it forward in acts of kindness. We really never know what another person might be going through, even those that are smiling. Everyone has a story. Most of the time we will never know what a small, random act of kindness means to someone, but I can tell you this. Many are never forgotten and will live on in a heart forever. I shared the story of how I felt led to connect with the cashier at a store one day. Wow, did she have a story! I had no idea the story that would unfold as I began a conversation with her. We never know what someone is going through. Be kind to one another.

Be kind to one another. It is the mark of a true leading lady.

~Topaz

Want to do something that will change your life? Practice daily gratitude.

And a gratitude journal is the perfect way to start.

It is amazing that we can become so focused on our problems that we fail to see all the good around us. Focusing on the negative becomes a habit. A bad habit. Focusing on the good is also a habit. A wonderful attitude-changing habit. And what I love about the habit of gratitude is that it is a habit that can be learned and practiced by anyone. A gratitude journal will help make gratitude a habit in your life.

It doesn’t depend on anything else or anyone else in our life. It is only up to us. There is so much to be thankful for all around us. Nothing is too small to make us feel grateful. Begin to be a good finder in your life and look for all the good around you. There are so many everyday things in our life that we take for granted. Let’s take time to really look at our lives and see how much we actually do have to be thankful for…even if it’s as simple as having a washing machine and dryer in your home. Something many of us have and take for granted. Imagine your life without this luxury that has made your life so much easier. Instead, we tend to complain about having to do laundry. I am guilty of this. I have yet to run skipping to my washer and dryer exclaiming, “Oh goody! I get to do laundry today!” But give me two weeks without it and, I bet you I would. The same goes for simple things like lotion for our dry skin, shampoo that makes our hair clean and smell nice, a dinner with friends. Imagine your life without these things and learn to see them with new eyes.

The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate. – Oprah

When we become grateful about our lives, we become excited about our lives. What if you gave someone a gift and they neglected to thank you- would you be likely to give them another? Life is the same way. In order to attract more blessings that life has to offer you must truly appreciate what you already have. -Ralph Marston

The best way to make this a new habit in your life is a Gratitude Journal.

Gratitude Journal Ideas & Tips

• Phone Apps are great and handy and many are free.
• Art Journals are an option for the creative types.
• A simple notebook on your bedside table is a no muss-no fuss way to go.
• Set a time period…a year, 30 days, etc.
• Write at least one thing every day for this set period of time for which you are thankful, more is fine also.
• Set an alarm as a reminder.

Make your life a masterpiece and let it begin with the art of gratitude. – Topaz

Be grateful…even for little things. Each day write three different things for which you are grateful to have in your life. It could be something as small as being thankful for a warm pair of socks on a cold day, lotion to soothe dry hands, etc. No matter what is going on in our lives, there is always something good. Remember those things every day.

Start a gratitude journal today and watch your attitude begin to change. If you want joy in your life, begin with gratitude. If you don’t know what else to do, begin with gratitude.

Today I am grateful for _____.

I’ve been reading lately and this single thought seems to keep popping up in what I read and in my thoughts.

To have what we desire, we must make room for it. We tend to think empty spaces in our lives are bad and must be filled, filled with an activity, work, or even another person. But maybe these space are there to allow room for the desires of our heart.

This strikes a chord with me. The times in my life when great things happened, there was a new open space for them. And honestly, I am not sure those things would have happened if there had not been the space for them. And rarely do we have time for what we want. If something is important to us, we must MAKE time for it. We must remove something from that time in our life in order to make time for what we desire.

There is dissonance in my life now. I have felt it for a while, but the feeling is getting stronger every day. I am sure that is why the same thought is popping up in everything I read. Maybe it’s midlife. Maybe it’s my intuition drawing me and asking me to show up and live my days the way I want to live my life. Inside, my soul is yearning to live one way, but I look around not quite understanding how to get there from here. Here can be almost paralyzing. But the call of my soul is too strong to ignore. It won’t be silenced and won’t let me rest. It is time to begin creating my life, to begin living my days the way I want to live my life.

So this week, I am going to make two lists. One will be for the things that I need to remove. I am going to take some time to look around in my life and start removing what takes up time and space in my life that does not represent the way I want to live my days. The second list will be what I want more of in my life.

Are there things filling up your life that are taking up space and time and keeping you from what you want?

We all live lives that at some point will lead us down a dark path. We lose our joy and our hope. We seem unable to take our eyes off the problem and are lost in despair. I have been there and am here to say that there is light on the other side of darkness.

This is to all those who are lost and hurting.

7 Steps Out of the Darkness

• Start where you are. If it’s just remembering to just breathe and to remind yourself to take one day at a time and do not worry about down the road. Just focus on today. This moment.  I was so low a few years ago that this is where I had to start. Start where you are.
• Write. Write your thoughts. Write to God. This is healing and good for the soul. God meets us in the sacred places of our deepest thoughts.
• Create. Do something that stirs the creator in you. It could be photography, painting, art journaling, crafts, cooking or whatever you enjoy doing, but take time to create. Take nothing and make it something. It puts our soul at peace.
• Be grateful…even for little things. Each day write three different things for which you are grateful to have in your life. It could be something as small as being thankful for a warm pair of socks on a cold day, lotion to soothe dry hands, etc. No matter what is going on in our lives, there is always something good. Remember those things every day.
• Read. Read something good for the soul – the Bible, quotes, or an inspirational book. It is important to feed yourself from the good and the inspirational, a little chicken soup for the soul. 
• Laughter is good medicine. Read or watch something funny. Sometimes we forget how healing laughter can be in our lives.
• Distract yourself. Many times we are so focused on the problem that we forget that there is anything else out there. In the movie, What About Bob, he was given the advice to take a vacation from his problems.  This is actually a good idea. It can be a much needed reprieve, and sometimes just the thing to break the cycle and to remind us there is still life to be lived. Distract yourself with a great novel, a hobby, a passion, or a new adventure. Just focus on something other than where you are right now. It will help to clear your head. Many times we are stuck simply because we  have not moved forward. 

You will have good days and bad days on your journey out of the darkness. A bad day is not a setback. It is simply part of the process. Just keep taking the actions above as you continue walking out of the darkness.

Our situation may or may not change, but we will. Blooming is still possible even when our world has been turned upside down.