Tag: Finding your happy place

So Much Beauty

In the early morning light I see so much beauty.
I focus on what's above
Not what is below
and I see a perfect world.
In the quiet of the first blush of dawn I feel life
on the empty streets.
There is no sound 
to interrupt the flow of how things were meant to be.
I marvel at the clear sky that hold untold secrets.
Secrets that will never be discovered - 
they were never meant to be.
There is so much beauty everywhere!

Alone in the dark just before dawn breaks,
I feel so safe.
There is no one to judge nor truth to make up,
nothing but the beauty of the creator.
As the coconut trees compliment the skies 
I alive 
to the wonder of how small I can be 
and how great I Am.
There is so much beauty everywhere!

Nothing has been added yet,
to distort what you see.
Just the fresh crisp air as your company.
The silence has grace form and yes
beauty.
There is no need to be afraid of what you cannot see.
There is so much beauty everywhere!

The most beautiful scars 
with the most beautiful treasures.
The finest presents 
that can never
be stolen 
that can never be bought
owned 
or controlled.
It belongs to no one and everyone.
There is so much beauty everywhere!

In those quiet moments
all wrongs are forgotten
all wounds healed.
All imperfections perfect,
there is no room for lies or deceit.
In those silent moments
you can reclaim your humanity
snatch that reflection and make it real.
There is so much beauty everywhere!

In the stillness of early morning
when the whole world sleeps;
when all you have is the evidence of the Creator,
You can see and breath.

Beauty forgotten. Beauty reclaimed.
  - S. Grant 2020
Silhouette of Tree during Golden Hour

Ride It Out.

 Ride out your storm
God is there with you
You may not feel him
But you're not alone
Image result for ride out the storm

It is so easy to stop and let the waves sweep you away when you’re overwhelmed by its size.

This is especially true if you’ve been there all along trying to put out the little fires that suddenly appear, that threaten to burn away all that you have been able to accomplish. So, when you think that you finally figured out how to put out the fire, along comes the water.

The trickle of water appears and you think to yourself, “oh well at least the place wont be so dry.” However, the water keeps coming. Then all of a sudden there are waves that fill your vision, until that is all you can see.

At this point you start thinking about the fact that you cannot swim and there are no life jackets near by. You look all around and see no one whose hand you can grab, to save you. Just when you decided to let the waves take you, wherever it wants to take you. But, something deep deep down, something forgotten, yells telling you to swim.

Then somewhere, some how along comes the ability to swim. Even though the water fills you to bursting you cannot stop swimming. You swim when you’re tired, when your breathing starts then stop. You swim even when you feel the sharks circling, ready to consume. You swim even though all feeling has left your body and you know for sure you will die. A strength you never knew you had prevents you from stopping, when your body has been shredded into a million pieces.

 You're hurting now
But your morning is coming
Just hold on to Jesus
And ride out your storm
Related image

Born To Fly…

It wasn't suppose to be like
 this.
I was created for so much
 more than to be bound to the land.
It wasn't suppose to feel like 
this.
To be pinned down by so 
much weight.
Breathless
Hopeless
helpless.
It wasn't suppose to look
 like this.
All Thunder and Lightening
Flashing lights.
I was never suppose to be 
constantly looking down for 
me.
I want to soar
be free.
To feel the wind caressing every single inch of 
me.
I want to be free.
I want to be still in midair
explode with power.
I want to be free.
I want to reach the heights of heights and never come down.
I want to be free.

I was born to fly
so high.
I was born of the air.
To glide this way and that
turn 
swirl
spread
my wings.
I was never meant to find peace in the dirt.
I was born to fly
I was born to be free.
   - Simone Grant (Jan 2020)

No Lie.

The truth is, we are all a little vulnerable, if we allow ourselves to be. We try to do the best we can even when we mess up. Trying should be enough.

When we feel sick both physically and mentally and someone ask how we are doing, sometimes the answer so simple as the question.

Often times when this happens we give the generic responses, take your pick:

I’m okay

I’m good

I’m fine, thank you

Everything is great.

Related image

However, sometimes it’s hard to get those words from the pit of our stomach. All we can manage is, I’m trying. For today and even for the rest of the week that will have to do. It will have to do because it is our truth. We do not complain about what’s happening to us and neither do we need sympathy. All we need is the acceptance that we are trying.

The truth is, the thought of not knowing what will happen to us terrifies us, even though that’s not how we should feel. It’s hard to face the truth of how vulnerable and small we feel from time to time. When nothing goes as planned but you decide to smile and trust the process. When you are even scared of a breakthrough because the reality of that breakthrough, may differ from the one you envisioned.

It’s hard to adjust to reality, when you operated on some premise of how you want the world to be. When you realize how close many people are to losing their humanity and you still have to be here, to witness it. It’s challenging when you know it’s going to be hard for others to understand you, because you don’t understand yourself.

It’s scary to know that your gifts may not be useful to anyone because in their reality it is of no use.

The truth is sometimes when we have tried all that we can and nothing works, all we can do is pray that God will do the rest.

Image result for Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen

Motivation

 “When there is no enemy within, the enemy outside can do you no harm.”

African Proverb

Is it then true that the only locked doors we have are the ones we construct in our minds? Is it as simple as this?

It’s hard to know what’s true, but what is true about each of us is that our minds are the most powerful and valuable possession we have. It is also true that if we do not use our minds for good, it will turn on us. It will produce what we plant there and can either build or destroy our dreams.

Image result for May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.

It’s hard to know what to do when you’re the only one complaining. When you’re the only one who see something more, just out of reach, if only so many eyes were not looking at you, judging, waiting to tell you, “you see, it was all a bad dream, it will never be”. It is hard to keep going when you do not trust the process and your doubt s block your vision. It makes you sick to your stomach, when you look away from the Light that has kept you for so long, and look instead into a bottomless pit. You may smile, but we know that behind that smile is a helpless quivering mass of human frailty and fragility.

Do not quit they say, even when you are staring death in the face. If you do then you will surely die. Do not give up. even if physically, your body betrays you, because if your mind does that too – let’s not imagine that!

Related image

Let us not imagine, with a damaged vision, where we do not want to be. Instead let us focus on where we want to be so we can get there. Focus on what you can be and not what you are, especially in the eyes of others. Outside of God, your future depends on you and no one else. Anyone can give you advice but no one knows you better than you can know yourself. Be good being you, and do what you are being led to do by the Holy Spirit, even if no one can understand, that’s okay.

It is good to be an outsider, because you will always add something interesting to a predictable mix. Decide to follow the path that is for you and confidently go forward. With any storm you face, God will bring all that is good.

Also, here’s a secret you may not know or have forgotten:

In the midst of life we do not die but become transformed by the renewing of our minds.

Image result for Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you

Be Flexible.

Sometimes we have our hearts set on what we think we want or need. However, it is when we are most desperate in pursuing what we want, that we should be flexible, so we bend and not break.

Woman Covered With Red Mesh

Being rigid in our opinions and thoughts should not be how we live our lives. This is dangers. It is dangerous because it means we are not willing to change and learn from the mistakes of the past. We need to realize that we have limited power, to order our world, unless we rely on the wisdom of God and His power to strengthen us.

It’s easy to believe in our own power when things seem to be going our way. We slowly begin to replace God with our own sense of self importance. Then, we no longer thank God for what he does for us but instead boast “hey look at what I did”.

Image result for flexible meme

It is often times when we are most blind to our faults that life steps in and reminds us of our humanity, our mortality. We are attacked by diseases, doubts and anxieties that seem to flow like a never ending river. We are swept along and taken to places we never imagined we would end up and we have to be alright with this.

We have to be alright when our plans fail, because we did not consult God. When we leave Him behind and jump off the ledge, He may allow us to fall, but He will always, in His own time and in His own way, provide us with the means of getting back up. We will just have to accept that things are not going to workout the way we want it to –

But things will work out.

Image result for psalm 18:30

Perfect Timing.

Is there really a perfect time to do anything? I use to think so, but now I’m not so sure. Maybe the idea of the perfect time does not rest with luck but with us.

We seem to belief that things happen by chance – well some of us do. Therefore, we sit back and wait for the perfect opportunity to move, to chase things down or receive what’s always been coming to us. When none of that happens we instead fall back on the comfortable cushion of, “it wasn’t the right time guys”. For some of us when we never see what we want to see, it never ever will be the right time.

Related image

It will never be the perfect timing because we have cultivated a negative perspective of our circumstances. Sometimes when we are waiting for the right time, we do not realize that things have been happening to and around us and worse still that the perfect timing was always there, waiting for us to seize it, before it left us because of our inactivity. We feel we will make a move when we are ready but on our own, we will never be ready.

Does it mean we have to act on everything right away? I also do not think we need to grab whatever comes and run with it. We really need to think about what we are getting into before we commit. There is real value in waiting, because it is what is required at the time. But if we pass up opportunities because we are waiting for the perfect time then this reason alone is flawed. The opportunity that you think is a great one that just came at the wrong time according to you, may never come your way again. Maybe it’s not up to you to determine the right time. If you prayed for something and you are given it, why then do you refuse to accept it because for you it came ten days too early? That thinking is madness, and don’t worry it is a madness That I too have been guilty of.

How often do the stars align? Here is what I think, everything will never come together perfectly. Thinking about it, do we really need that to happen. Don’t we get more excitement out of the journey than the destination? Or maybe not, but the idea that things happen perfectly, only happens in a perfect world and we don’t have one. Also guess what? Stars are usually aligned, and will always be, as long as they are around. So too, you will find that there is no grand event that will make you rich, successful or happy. The opportunities have already been set aside for us by God, all we have to do is to forget the perfect time and reach for them in time.

Image result for perfect timing meme