GIVE YOURSELF AN INFUSION OF JOY - CHANGING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS - DAY 62

Do you have days that seem a bit blah?  Are you bored?  Are you harried ?  Are you tired?  We all have days like that from time to time, but there are things you can do to lift your spirits (and the spirits of others at the same time).  It is as simple as using your phone to call someone you have not talked with recently or with whom you speak frequently.  Friendship and love are gifts that sometimes we overlook because we get so bogged down in the chaos that seems to be going on all around us in the world today.

Today's message is an easy one:

CALL A FRIEND!

IS LOVE REALLY IMPORTANT? CHANGING YOUR LIFE WITH WORDS - DAY 59

Currently I am reading a book recommended by my son who is in private practice as a Family Therapist in Tokyo.  The book is Emotional Orphans by Cate Shepard.   I became so engrossed in it that I did not put it down until three o'clock this morning.    Immediately the author writes of her true experiences in working with children who have been abandoned, abused, neglected, and the suffering that these kids endure themselves as well as subjecting to their pain and suffering all the people who try to help them.  Thankfully, there are many who are helped.

The one thing that is abundantly clear is that these children do not feel loved and may have never been given any love so lack emotional security.  Fear of abandonment by their own relatives or foster families really renders them almost unable to let anyone near them.  The inhumane treatment that the most innocent among us have received is heart-wrenching and appalling.

Love is most certainly important, and to make the people you care for know that you love them is the greatest gift you can give them.  Equally important is for you to know you are loved.

There was a pastor on television for years whom my dear mother watched weekly.  He always told people who shared their stories with his congregation, "God loves you and so do I."  For those who heard him anywhere in the world and who held religious beliefs, I am sure it was comforting to any who felt alone in this world or were in difficult circumstances.

There is love on this planet for every person.  There is parental love, filial love, friendship love, romantic love, religious love, animal love, and just plain love of all mankind.  If a person withholds love from you then find it from another source.  You need it.  You deserve it, and remember that giving love is as important as receiving it.

Today's message is:

KNOW YOU ARE LOVED!

When Is It Happiness and When Is It Joy?

Happiness is wonderful, but joy is a rare and incredible feeling. It is a feeling that races through your body and bubbles like champagne in a crystal flute. I consider myself to be a very happy person, but this weekend I was treated to a dose of pure joy. I was in San Diego to attend the 30th reunion of the management team with whom I opened Neiman Marcus San Diego. They were all very young then, and I was the eldest. Working 24/7; getting to know each other; living on pizza and snack machine food; getting punchy from being tired; having anxiety about whether all would perform to the level needed to ensure a superb store opening; going through all types of team building exercises filled with laughter and learning meant that we bonded in a very special way. It is a way that does not happen when joining an already up-and-running entity. I was a person who always wished to be like television's Mrs. Walton with a huge family (a wish God in His wisdom did not grant). The youngest of my two children went off to college at the time of this store's opening, and the prospect of an empty nest was very unappealing. All of these then young people became like my own children. They worked hard; had fun; made me proud of them; allowed me to love them; spent Christmas Eves in my home if they had no family in the area; and bestowed upon me the great gift of loving me in return. As years passed we went our separate ways, and I watched with pride as they achieved success, married, had children, and moved to various locales. Most of them remained in touch with me which has both pleased and honored me. Our 10th, 20th, and 30th reunions have been so much fun that everyone wants to do it again in five years instead of waiting ten years. Watching these people I love reunite with each other, seeing them pick up where they left off the last time they connected, and knowing that their affection for one and all remains gave me an overwhelming infusion of joy. I am still bubbling!