Last Day of September….Autumn Days and Thoughts.

I cannot believe we are already in October, a great month for Harvest and Halloween Events. School-aged children are in the swing of their studies. Football is on a roll. The temperatures are dropping and the leaves are changing colors and falling.

The hottest topics…political campaigning and bullying. Funny how both are in the same arena. For once, I would love to see our candidates take the high road and be role models, especially for our children. The political ad campaigns I have seen are more often than not, mean-spirited. May the best man win through accomplishments, not because one candidate had better smears than the other.

On the flip side, what started out as a bullying prank in West Branch, Michigan to a wonderful teenage girl named Whitney Kropp has turned out to be a positive and memorable time for her. You can read the full feature here: Town Turns Tables on School Prank. I will keep you posted as I learn more.

I feel by talking about things such as bullying and smear campaigns, we can spread awareness. Through awareness comes brainstorming solutions and later positive action steps, like in Michigan. Let us each do what we can to promote a more positive and loving world by being more positive and kind in our own communities. What will you do in October?

Related articles

• Bullying ‘prank’ by sophomore’s classmates draws community outrage to support Whitney Kropp (fairnessworks.com)
• Michigan town tries to correct apparent bullying prank (foxnews.com)
• Bullied Michigan teen shines as homecoming princess (fox6now.com)
• I was unpopular before it was cool. (joshmosey.wordpress.com)
• Community Cheers Homecoming Prank Victim (foxnews.com)
• Whitney Kropp: A tale of rising above bullying. (saintleoinkblot.com)
• Whitney Kropp shines at West Branch homecoming, tells others targeted by bullies ‘to be brave’ (mlive.com)
• Learning lessons from autumn (livingyogawithstella.com)
• Teen Suicide Cluster in Pennsylvania (ronskemp.wordpress.com)
• Dustin VanLaningham, 17, Gone Too Soon (ronskemp.wordpress.com)

Dreams and Passion

When you make passion your traveling companion in the pursuit of your dreams, you will have an amazing journey and meet extraordinarily positive outcomes.
~ Dr. Angela Kowitz Orobko

Dreams are a culmination of memories and desires. Dreams are ultimately our largest and greatest of intentions. Passion is any POWERFUL or COMPELLING emotion. Merging dreams and passion can produce amazing results.

Dreams can be reality even sooner when we plan, build and act on the steps that will create our dreams with passion! Taking ACTION toward our dreams with enthusiasm is the BEST way to realize our dreams. Enjoying the journey in the pursuit of our dreams with strong feelings can bring such deep satisfaction and happiness.

A great instrument in making our dreams a reality is visualization. When we visualize our dreams as if we are already there we can gain insight from our future self. For example, I have a dream to be well-known, published author and artist. By visualizing daily myself as an established and renowned author/artist, I see that I have scheduled time to create, that I have a support system, that I take time to relax to refuel my well of inspiration, and so on. With that insight into the future, I can plan, develop and act on my dream. And, the more I visualize, the more enthusiasm and gusto I generate in my very core being.

Can you guess what I do, now? I am taking action steps toward my dream. What are your dreams and passion? How can you best support your dreams?

I am deeply grateful to all you for reading, following and commenting on A Kiss of  Bliss. Each time you visit and provide feedback you fuel my heart and my dreams. How can I support your dreams?

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Hope Revisited

 

What is hope? Hope is holding onto a belief of a positive future. It is having faith. It is trusting that everything will be alright. The anticipation of a positive outcome or event can also define hope. Everything will turn out for the best. Hope is to wish for something with the expectation of its fulfillment. Can hope lead to disappointment? Maybe, but I would rather be hopeful than despondent or in a state of despair. There is more joy in hope.

On hope, the wisdom of the following express what I, too, believe.

Albert Einstein stated: “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”

Martin Luther King, Jr. said: “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”

Thomas Jefferson expressed: “My theory has always been, that if we are to dream, the flatteries of hope are as cheap, and pleasanter, than the gloom of despair.

My question to you is: what are your hopes? Never stop hoping.  (from January 22, 2012)

These words still hold true for me now. Hope is optimistic! Hope gives one something for which to strive. Giving up hope is failing to try to live a life of possibility.

Why go down that road to despair and depression? Even if a situation seems hopeless, you gain so much more in reaching for the winning outcomes and experiencing life. We will lose/fail one hundred percent of those things we never attempt. Failure only occurs when we stop trying. Hope keeps our hearts blissful. It is that positive anticipation that drives our life purpose.

You decide, what are your personal gains or losses to hope? Do the gains out-measure the losses? I have a feeling that they do.

 

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Revisiting Possibilities

Our possibilities become limitless when we use our imaginations and get creative.
~ Dr. Angela Kowitz Orobko

I love exploring within my mind as I ponder within my being and sit in peace with only instrumental music or natural sounds playing in the background. Come to think of it, I can be pulled into my own personal world whenever and wherever a certain object, smell or sound grabs my attention. It could be anything. Usually it will be an item that is colorful and bright like balloons or rainbows; or, it is fragrant like fresh-baked bread or honeysuckle after a light summer rain shower; or it is a joyous sound like the laughter of children or melodious like a birdsong or symphonic excerpt. These triggers will have my mind, heart and soul acting together in synchronicity sending my entire being into a land of imagination and wonder where I can investigate and consider possibilities. It is a wondrous time being able to explore possibilities as they are truly infinite when I open up my heart, mind and soul.

What may be impossible… truly is not; because, if you can imagine it, then it must be possible. It was once believed that flying machines were impossible. Look at all our innovations now that would seem quite wondrous, fantastic and impossible to our ancestors. Shall I even attempt this inexhaustible list ? There is: electricity, radio, television, telecommunication, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, the pencil, the pen, telephones, cellular telephones, movies, photography, printing presses, computers, international networking, airplanes, helicopters, hot air balloons, synthetic fabrics, heart transplants, conventional and microwave ovens, coffee makers, fiber optics, elevators, escalators, skyscrapers, Velcro, zippers, spacecraft, satellites, air conditioning, heat pumps, x-ray machines, printers, scanners, intercom systems, DNA testing, cloning and so on and so on.

It was not all that long ago when cloning, cellular/mobile phones and landing men on the moon was considered science FICTION, NOT FACT. The possibilities are only limited by a closed mind. If we can think it, we can do it. Can we defy gravity? Yes, via magnetism and with rockets. Can we travel the speed of light or even thought. I am certain someone is working on it. We are already sending messages almost as fast as a thought using computers and telephones. It seems instantaneous. At any rate, possibilities are fun to think about. I believe all things are possible. The possibilities are endless when we use our imagination. What are you open to imagine? What possibilities are in store for you and your future?

(Revised from January 25, 2012 edition)

Belonging

Video

Ricky, the name used here for the young man in the video has been a victim of bullying and teasing. Here is his story:

Sometimes
I Feel
Like I
Need
to be
Someone
Else
So that
People will
Like me
And I Will
Belong to
Their group
But really
If they don’t
Like me
For Who I am
They’re not worth
Acting for
Personally
I Think
That Everyone should
Just Be Themselves
No One should Judge them…(see video for more).

The wisdom of this young man is beyond his years. He truly has understanding. May we all learn from him. He belongs. We belong. We all need to just get along. Love and kindness are the solution.

Shine On!

 

PUTTING others DOWN and pointing out their flaws does NOT make ONE look better…it actually makes HE or SHE look judgmental, critical, hard-hearted and cold. Why not just outshine the competition through love and positive action? ~ Dr. Angela Kowitz Orobko

I guess I am getting a bit cynical (oh-oh!) with all the negative campaigning that seems a bit more one-sided than the other. Then, I put on my rose-colored glasses and found that there is a lesson in this! We can outshine our competition by what we do. Let us learn from our less enlightened political candidates! Action speaks LOUDER than words. We do not need to point out the flaws in others. That just makes us look judgmental or worse. We just need to be our shining selves.

If others are putting you down or pointing out your flaws, then consider the source. Smile, and outshine them with your positive attitude. At first you may take some of the negative talk to heart, but your light will shine through it. Furthermore, others are paying attention to you.

Take delight that they have so much time on their hands to take notice and they are able to find the needles in the haystack. They can watch you be the best person you know how to be as you continue to be your positive self. Be the star that your are and shine!

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Are You Being Served?

 

One of my goals is to surround myself with only things that serve me. I have made a zillion (seems like that many) decisions on whether the items are still functional, make my life easier, fit well, have not expired, make me happy and so on. As I was making these decisions today, I thought about how this could also apply to people.

Are the people in my life serving me? Do they love, respect, and/or support me and my dreams? Are they a positive influence? If not, is it possible that I can limit the amount of time I spend with them? Will my love and kindness influence them?

Sometimes, you need to just bless people and move on. They are doing the best they can with what they have experienced in their lives.  And, then limit the amount of time you spend with them, where you can influence them without their negativity affecting  you.

So, why not ask the question, am I being served? Or, how is this item, situation or person serving me? How can I render the item, situation or person such that it will be a positive part of my life? It is also good to remember that I get to decide how I wish to feel about any person, place, situation or thing. And, I can detach myself from outcomes because that is my choice. Are you being served?

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• Spreading Your Light – How You Affect Others Daily (stephaniespeakingllc.wordpress.com)
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• Are we serving mankind correctly?….. (stervelim.com)
• DREAM BIG! #7 of 12 (loveracheljoy.com)
• Dogs (theharvestprinciple.wordpress.com)

 

To Be Gentle and Patient…

I often need to remind myself to be gentle and patient…with myself.
~ Dr. Angela Kowitz Orobko

Transitions that I wish to make need to be gradual. I cannot expect to do it all in a day. It is impractical and unrealistic! No one decides in one moment to run a marathon and then try to do it the very next day! No! You need to start out gradually by slowly adding time to your walking/jogging/running routine. If daily exercise is not a part of your daily routine, then start out by walking/running for 5 to 10 minutes everyday the first week; then add time as you feel comfortable. Eventually you will be able to run the distance of a marathon.

This is the same for any major life style change we wish to make in our lives. If you wish to change your eating habits, you would gradually add and/or eliminate various foods over a course of a month or more until it becomes a habit. For example, if you wish to become a vegetarian, you would start with one or two meals a week eliminating meat and adding other protein sources. You would slowly and gradually create a bank of recipes and reorganize your refrigerator and pantry to support your life style change.

Right now, reorganizing is my pet project. I have decided to rearrange and re-do my studio so that it is more functional. I am streamlining it for efficiency, but this is taking me more time than I expected. I am going through a period of disarray, which is overwhelming. I need to remind myself to be gentle and patient…with myself. As with all things in life, it is a great reminder.

Rome was not built in a day. Gradual, doable steps are what I need to take; furthermore, I choose to do each step with joy or not do it at all! If it isn’t fun, why bother? I am also visualizing how wonderful my space will look after I have completed my project. Oh, YES! It is going to be AMAZING! I will post before and after pictures after the everything is done; but, for now, I am in process. And, I am choosing to be gentle and patient with my progress.  Are you choosing to be gentle and patient with yourself?

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Hand-written Notes

There is something special about receiving a hand-written note.
~ Dr. Angi K. Orobko

Hand-written notes and letters are such a gift! I feel that the person behind it took that extra special time to scribe it just for me. Handwriting is becoming a lost art as more and more of our children are learning keyboarding instead of handwriting. I am aware that many school system’s no longer require and/or include cursive writing in their lessons anymore. I feel that is quite a loss.

With the dawning of computers and hand-held digital devices, more and more of us are typing and text-messaging (texting). Our own language cannot even keep up with the new verbs we are creating as we type messages on our mobile phones and other electronic devices. Furthermore, our words have been reduced to acronyms. LOL (laugh out loud) Am I the only one finding it hard to keep up with all of this digital-techno-speak?

Oh, please do not misunderstand. I do appreciate the convenience of being able to communicate any time I like, 24/7 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week); but, it does seem just a tad bit less personal. Don’t you think? The internet is certainly an amazing source for information (and misinformation).

Most questions can be answered at the tip of our fingertips by doing a Google search. Has “google” become a verb? I googled it and Wikipedia states that the Oxford English and Merriam Webster Collegiate dictionaries have added it in 2006. Really? And yet, my spellchecker has it red-lined. Hmm!

Let me get back on the topic of hand-written notes. On the one side, I love receiving them. On the other side, I love to write them. Why? When I hand-write a note, a letter, or a journal entry, it allows me to slow down and take time and reflect. It can be quite meditative.

One of my favorite gifts to give others especially around the holidays are hand-written messages (in their holiday cards). I believe these messages are deeply appreciated, even though many of my loved ones do not reciprocate this. I usually get a Merry Christmas and a signature. It saddens me to think that holiday card exchanges have been reduced down to a chore. This is a golden opportunity to scribe a special message to share how much we appreciate our family and friends with hand-written messages. Consider taking the time to reflect and appreciate your loved ones this holiday season by sending a  hand-written message of love, appreciation and blessings.

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• As Computers Rise, Schools Witness The Slow Death Of Cursive (rferl.org)
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Welcome Autumn

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. ~ Albert Camus

Welcome, Autumn! The paintbrush of this upcoming season is transforming trees from variety of greens to oranges, reds, browns and golds. Yes, indeed, every leaf is autumn’s flower as a collection of them color our world in earthy tones. With the change of season comes cooler and crisper air that invites even the most reluctant of souls to come out and play outdoors.

Tomorrow is the first day of Fall; the autumnal equinox is upon us. One of two days in the entire year where we have equal parts day and night. It is balanced. It is a great reminder to find balance in our lives. And, it is such great timing as it comes to us on a weekend. Will you take time to reflect on change and balance? I will.

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