Healing thoughts never lose their way

I ended last week’s column with “I am the luckiest girl I know,” and yet when I saw that in writing after the newspaper was printed I thought, no, I’m not lucky. Luck is for lottery ticket winners.

I believe I deserve to have a happy life and I live for that goal and I am rewarded in my hard work to get it.

I practice acceptance. I practice reassurance. I practice believing that I have more than once chance in this world to get things right and when I doubt my timing—and I do doubt my timing a lot—I always come back to believing I am right where I’m supposed to be. I believe everybody else is too.

I’m writing today’s column at 5 a.m., before the sun shines and the day takes on its “have to do” hue.

This is my favorite time of day. I can enjoy the virgin-like atmosphere of a day on the leading edge of its history not yet touched by anything but the rising sun.

I have a ritual every morning where I stand outside on my porch facing east as the sun peaks over the horizon and I slowly bow three times and say out loud, “Thank you for this day.”

I try never to miss the opportunity to practice this ritual and to be thankful not only for being alive to see the sun rise, but also to be accepting of whatever the day has in store for me before it happens.

I’m sticking to my guns about believing I am where I’m supposed to be all the time.

I started this bowing ritual at the beginning of the summer. It has changed my attitude and my gratitude level, and keeps me grounded in present-moment living.

I haven’t written a column at 5 a.m. in a very long time. It is my “me” time and not traditionally my “creative” time. 

However, if anybody can change his or her thoughts on a thing, it’s me.

The following is a smattering of the stuff I read about every morning—a fraction of the stash of healing thoughts that I dwell on as I edge nearer to the cusp of the old “9-5” routine and beyond. I didn’t write any of it. Thanks to the geniuses who did.

“Go forward. Finish what you start. Don’t look back.”

"There is magic in what we believe. Our beliefs tell our future better than any crystal ball or psychic can. ‘As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he,’ says one holy book. Be mindful of your thoughts and beliefs. What you think and believe today, whether it's ‘I can't’ or ‘I can,’ is what you will manifest tomorrow.

Do you have any beliefs right now that are holding you back? What are your ‘I can’s’ and ‘I can'ts’. Take a moment. Look into your heart. Examine what you believe to be true. Is there an area in your life that could be benefited by thinking and believing something else? If you are going to use the power of your mind, use it to form a positive belief.”

"Stop trying to protect, to rescue, to judge, to manage the lives around you... remember that the lives of others are not your business... They are God's business... Leave it to God... Unclench the fists of your spirit and take it easy..."

“Make it a rule of life never to regret and never to look back. Regret is an appalling waste of energy; you can't build on it; it's only good for wallowing in.”

“Practice self-care. Pay attention to the one you care about. Listen when they speak. Respond with kindness and understanding. Hug every day. Kiss often, and repeat.”

“There is no choice you've ever made, nor any you will ever make, that will limit you as much as you may fear.”

“Don’t be afraid to be a fool. Remember, you cannot be both young and wise. Young people who pretend to be wise to the ways of the world are mostly just cynics. Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us. Cynics always say no. But saying yes begins things. Saying yes is how things grow. Saying yes leads to knowledge. ‘Yes’ is for young people. So for as long as you have the strength to, say Yes.”

Yes.