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Use The Talents You Were Given!

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“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me.” – Erma Bombeck

 

When I read the quote by Erma Bombeck I thought, “Wow, that would be amazing to be able to say that you used all the talent you were given.”   As of right this moment I cannot say that is true for me.  I have not lived long enough yet and not in a way that uses all the talent I have been given.

 On that note if I were to direct my life to be able to utilize all my talents then I have some major changes that need to take place.  I will definitely need more time to write, to draw and paint, to play music, to dance, to do needlework, cook and that’s just a start.  There are a lot of talents I don’t possess, and just as many I haven’t tried yet.

 There are many talents that I have put on the shelf through the years, knowing that I would not have time to devote to developing them or to enjoy them as I took care of children then later parents.  It is amazing what you forget while you are busy watching the little one’s take their first steps and grow to make their way in the world. 

 Then one day you find you have teenagers instead of small children and more time available than you had before.  You find yourself doing some soul searching, even going back to those shelves in the back of your mind to see what talents can be dusted off and used again.

 I haven’t utilized many of my talents for years.  I dare say that even before my children came along, I didn’t use some of them on a regular basis.  Yet, talents are given to us for a reason and some, if not used over time, can be lost.

Perhaps it is time to go back and dust off some old interests, memories, and talents to see where they fit in this journey going forward.  Life should be enjoyed and shared with others often.  What fun to go back and remember who we were, then discover who we can become as we continue to grow and develop the talents we were given. 

 Cherry Coley ©

 

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Trying To Get Inspired Here!!

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Have you ever had a day or week when it seemed all you did was run from doing one thing to the next?  There just didn’t seem to be any downtime, much less time to get inspired and actually write anything.  When we get really stressed our creativity suffers, after a few days of that we start to feel strained, stressed, or down.

So what do you do to get inspired?  For me inspiration can come in many forms, a good book, a blog post, a commercial or television show, nice weather, stormy weather, a song, there are unlimited ways to get inspired if you stop and notice.  My problem is when I get busy I rush past things and don’t see what is right in front of me.

It’s a good reminder to not get so busy that you miss things.  I think we are all guilty of that at some point.  Life offers fresh ideas, new dreams, refreshing thoughts and moments, as well as little miracles each day and it all gets lost when we make a habit of just rushing through.

 Yesterday I watched a squirrel playing with our dog.  The squirrel was staying in the tree just above the dog as he ran in circles barking and leaping up into the air happily pointing out that there was a furry little intruder in his tree. 

Meanwhile, the squirrel sat watching the dog wear himself out while munching happily on a pecan which he finished then chunked at the dog.  The dog began sniffing all over the ground searching frantically for the nut.

In the mean time, the squirrel ran up the tree, leaped the branches, landed in another tree, went down that tree and up over the next door neighbors fence. 

The dog couldn’t figure out where the squirrel went, and while he had been busy running around and chasing the bait, the actual prize went out of sight. 

Don’t lose sight of the goals and dreams you have in the busyness of everyday life. 

Cherry Coley ©

In the Spirit of Thankfulness

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Don’t give your strength and focus to the things that you want to be rid of in your life.

I confess to falling into this rut from time to time, but I have definitely gotten better about not allowing myself to follow down the self-sabotaging road.  When you dwell on something, play it over and over in your mind, look at it from every angle, and even role play what you will say and how you will react, make sure it’s something good.  Otherwise, you are setting yourself up to manifest the very thing you keep dwelling on. 

 If you find yourself thinking about losing your job, and worrying about getting fired, are you really going to be concentrating on doing the best you can or are you focusing on being met at the door? 

 Instead center your heart and mind on where you want to go.  Greet each day in the spirit of gratefulness for the people in your life, the things you enjoy and the opportunities that are going to present themselves to you today.

 When you train your brain and your heart to be grateful and aware, you will be surprised at the things you will start to notice and the people who will come into your life.  Then take a moment at the end of the day to be thankful.

 A day that begins with being grateful and ends being thankful can’t go wrong because you’re already in the right mindset.

 Cherry Coley ©

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Getting Here From There, and There From Here

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Time management is supposed to be key to reaching your goals. Time management is the self discipline that will get you to where you want to be, along with a positive attitude of course.

There’s something to be said for major life changes.  Whether it’s getting a divorce, losing a loved one, moving, getting married, losing a job, a life changing injury, or addiction, they are called life changes for a reason.  For some reason I guess I thought I would be immune? Or maybe I thought I could just zoom past parts and pieces of it all.  Not! 

The truth is, sometimes I have a heck of a time adjusting.  Time management and I don’t always get along well.  Now and then I get out of sync somehow it all just knocks me completely out of the water and I feel lost until I can sit down, regroup and get back on track. 

As time management requires, I will set goals, create a “to do list,” create a calendar, prioritize and get everything going along really well, have a great week, then something will throw a spoke in my wheels and I am suddenly flying over the handle bars, and wind up lying on the ground and wondering what just happened.  For the record, I hate that!

What really bothers me is that for as long as I can remember I have lived a high-stress life.  I had for as long as I can remember, been running back and forth to do things for or with my parents, running to do things for or with my kids or friends, working one or two or sometimes three jobs at a time because to be constantly busy made me feel wanted, needed, productive and accepted.   IF there was any time or resources left, then I might do something for myself along the way, or spend time on something that interested me.

Now I am in unknown territory.  Here I am at a time in my life where I somehow seem to keep trying to get my momentum back and it’s not that it’s not there; it’s that it’s no longer necessary.  That is a very unnerving thing and I find myself feeling at odds and off kilter instead of wanted and needed.  Nightmare of searching through fog, looking for people or items that aren’t there.

So I rework my schedule, and redo lists, and still I wind up taking on too many things at a time, because I’m used to high-stress and being busy.  Then when something doesn’t work out, I basically trip, fall down on my face, then look around to find a tiny piece of nothing that knocked me not only off schedule, but completely out of sync.  It takes me a few days to get back in a rhythm of doing things again.

Here’s the thing, life changes are just that – life changes.  In my case, in the last two-three years, I lost an aunt, an uncle, a good friend – or two, my mom, my dad, moved twice and lost a job.  I have finally come to the conclusion that my comfort zones and old way of time management and project management just got blown away in the wind because no matter how hard I try, the old way of doing things, just isn’t working anymore.

I am now required to learn to do some things I’ve never really done, take more time for myself, personally relax, and get healthier, but at a slower pace. 

So, I will begin again, and try new things, set new habits, find out where my new comfort zones are, try to find a place to retreat and feel safe when chaos reigns, and learn to be a better surfer on this ocean of life.  I have a feeling this could take a while, a lifetime perhaps.  

Cherry Coley ©

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End of a Hard Week

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This week has been hard.   There have been a lot of odd things to deal with in many areas.  One of the things I was working really hard on fell through and it completely threw me off track. 

My dad’s cat passed away and somehow that was like losing another piece of both of my parents again.  Yet he was an old cat and just got sick, so it was one of those things. 

I suppose there are times when the days will just seem harder, longer than others.  I don’t like it, just for the record.

I found myself spreading myself way too thin on too many things.  I still have a ton to unpack and sort through.  I will be going along and making good progress, then I’ll run across a stack of coasters my mom crocheted and get lost in the memory of sitting and talking to her while she made them. 

Or I’ll run across some pictures, an old card or note, and will just wind up staring at it for a long while not realizing how much time has passed. 

This week has also been a week of nightmares.  Sleepless nights and what sleep there was to be had was tainted with dreams of searching through fog and darkness trying to find my way.  It’s a mirror to how I’ve felt this week. 

Today, I just didn’t feel good.  Worn out tired from restlessness, allergies that are trying to turn into a cold and worry over our little dog who managed to somehow hurt himself yesterday.  Lord, I really don’t need all this right now.  I was able to get some medicine and go home to take a nap this afternoon and that made a world of difference.

Some weeks are just harder than others for no particular reason, just a lot of odd and unrelated stuff.  One thing I’ve noticed to be true though is that before good things happen, often there is a time of trail and struggles.  I am choosing to think that this week is a precursor to a much better week next week. 

Cherry Coley ©