facing life’s challenges

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Relay For Life – The Silent Lap

Relay For Life

I have been asked to read the following poem that I wrote at the Gardner, MA Relay For Life 2014.  I am extremely honored and excited.  Cancer has taken the lives of several relatives and friends and I have several relatives and friends who are also amazing survivors.  Hope, Pray, Fight for a cure!!

 

Relay For Life – The Silent Lap

More than a thousand people
On a quarter-mile track.
Gardner, MA
One of the largest Relay’s in North America.
So many people
Focusing on how cancer has touched their lives.
The silent lap begins.

Thoughts turn
To celebrating the Survivors;
Our loved ones,
Other people who have shared their stories,
The differences they have made
In other people’s lives
Through their journey,
All they’ve done since their diagnosis.
We are filled with gratitude
That they are still with us.
Silence.

The walk
Turns to a shuffle
As the track is filled,
One by one by people
Who are filled with sorrow and hope.

Silence falls over the large crowd
Except for a few teenagers
Playing basketball away from the track,
Unaware of the depths of what they miss.
Even the children are silent.
The tiniest of babies, are silent.
Memories,
Gratitude.
Hope.
Tears fall.
Silence.

We remember those
Who have lost their battle with cancer.
Luminaries line the track…
There are far too many and we wish there were none.
There are decorated in honor of…
Relatives,
Sisters, brothers, parents;
Grandparents;
Aunts, Uncles, Cousins.
We look for ones we recognize.
Friends
Coworkers,
Acquaintances,
Those who have touched our lives,
Loved and cared for us,
Made us laugh,
Made our lives better because they were here.
Memories.
Silence.

People standing
On the side of the track,
Missing their loved ones,
Praying for the survivors,
Hoping for a cure.
We are all united as one.
Thousands within a half mile radius
Contributing to the search for a cure.
Hopes and prayers
That no one else they know
Is added to the list they honor
At a fundraiser.
Silence.

In honor,
In memory,
In celebration of life,
With hopes for a cure.
Silence.

 

Please “Like” below if this has touched your heart and “Share” by using the buttons below if you feel others will be touched as well.

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Does Procrastination Get The Best Of You?

We often go through our day-by-day routines and get so caught up in our daily lives and the distractions that surround us, that when we look back, we realize we’ve missed something.  When we procrastinate on what needs to be done for things less important, we find that we miss out on opportunities because we are just too busy.

1378095_10151712087208456_1825873859_nAs time progresses we realize that, even with good intentions, we may not be where we want to be.  We find that regret sets in and we start beating ourselves up for things we have not accomplished.  In reality, when we were in those moments of our daily lives we were doing the best with what we had and what we were able to do with the time allotted.

It’s often that time becomes the enemy.  We never seem to have enough of it.  I know the older I get, the less hours I feel I have in a day.  It seems that if there was a way to stop it, for whatever we needed it for; if there was a way, we would have already found it.  All it seems we can do is recognize what it is we feel we are missing or need to accomplish, manage time better and find a way to fit it in.

Recognizing it before we fall too far behind is very essential. The best way to do that is to evaluate more instead of just going through the day-to-day motions.  I know, it sounds so much easier than it actually is.  It’s important to slow down daily and make it a routine to check in with yourself.  Scan your day and acknowledge what went well, what didn’t and what you missed that could be scheduled the next day.  Write it down then give yourself a time frame, maybe even set an alarm. Then take solid action.

Some days will seem so out of control with everything that is expected of us.  It’s important to not be too hard on yourself.  Make every effort to do your best in every moment.  When you do your best, there should be no regrets.

weiselcantlin2

That’s Inspiring

I have asked this question before through Facebook and seem to get the same answers from a high number of people. They say that their children inspire them.  A friend of mine posed the same question to her friends and received a slightly different set of comments but it brought me back to the answer I received on mine.

I think it’s fantastic that your children inspire you.  Our children keep us young at heart and motivated to stay good people, amongst other things.  But it is important to think about what else inspires you.  What happens when your children are grown and have lives of their own?  You will need to be sure that you have many sources of inspiration to keep you going.  You should be sure that you are close to the top of that list.

When you draw from several sources, your options are wide open.  After giving it thought I came up with my own short list.  It is incomplete at the moment because I know I need to give it further thought.

InspirationI am inspired by challenges in my life that force me to look inside for strength.  I seem to thrive on the personal challenges that I take on, the challenges where I force myself to step outside the box and say, “I’m not really sure that I can do this,” then I do it. I’ve learned to stop looking for outside motivation as often, I turn within.  I find ways to pull my own energy into higher thought and search my spirituality for inspiration and encouragement.  When I need it externally, I read different authors such as, Napoleon Hill, Bob Proctor, Don Miguel Ruiz, Anthony, etc.  I talk with my family, they know me well enough to give me strength in just the right areas when I need it.  I am inspired by dreams of my future, friends, reminding myself of what I’m grateful for, other people’s accomplishments, music, love, hope and happiness. 

I can’t stress enough how important it is to have more than one source of inspiration and to know what know what they are.  It will help you get out of situations when you find you’re having a bad day.  Make your list, include as much as possible.  You can write it or create a collage.  Keep your list with you.  Draw from it on your down days or when you need a pick-me up.  Reading or looking at it will trigger happier thoughts to help you move forward.

If you can create your own inspiration, you have truly won.  Be sure to find ways to be your own hero and inspiration.  There is nothing truly like it.

Thank you for stopping by.  Please check out the list of other inspirational posts in the side bar.

Missy Bell

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Faith And Inspiration To Lead You To Success

“All thoughts which have been emotionalized (given feeling) and mixed with faith begin immediately to translate themselves into their physical equivalent or counterpart.” – Napoleon Hill

What are you telling yourself that is stopping you from success?  What are those internally spoken words that you have faith in, that are stopping you from getting through a tough situation?  What if you could change your belief, have faith in yourself; what would you accomplish?  Have you ever stopped to think about this?

This quote takes me back a month or so to when my husband and I did the Spartan Race in Vermont.  The major obstacle was to climb the Killington Mountain Black Diamond 3,000+ feet to the peak.  I’m glad I didn’t know that when we got there.  It took everything I had, or so I thought, to climb to the last plateau.  As we rounded the last curve I realized it was not the last,  There was a vertical climb, straight up to the summit.  I thought we had already reached the summit!  After several hours of climbing already, I had given it all I ad and I didn’t have any more.  I took one look at that vertical insanity and said to my husband, “there is no way I can do that… <short pause> but I WILL!”

Inspiration

It was in that moment I had to flip the switch in my head and change my disbelief to faith, faith in myself, in my body and in my mind.

As I ascended the steep rocky climb to the top, I would tell myself, just take 20 steps then you can rest.  I took 20 and added 10 or more.  My heart was beating through my chest, my body covered in dirt, sweat pouring down my face and my legs were ready to give out from under me. I was more than twice the weight of 95% of the participants.  I would take a break for a few minutes, listening to the encouragement of people as they passed me by.  I knew they could cheer me on all day, that’s not what was going to get me to the top and back to the bottom, it was my own thoughts.  If I didn’t believe I could, I knew I would fail.  The recurring exclamation that I heard was an, “I PAID FOR THIS?”  It wasn’t just me.  Even the athletes were struggling.

I had to dig deep, sometimes with every step, keeping the attitude and faith that I could make it. Not only did I make it to the top, I made the descent, having to crawl backwards down very rocky terrain.  My husband, who is always my biggest supported confided afterwards that once he saw that last climb, straight up, he too thought there was no way I was going to make it to the top. I am not sharing this for the accolades, I am hoping you will draw inspiration from this story.  It was not my physical ability that got me to the top, or back down.  It was nothing more than the belief that I could and one baby step at a time.  That is what drove me.  I If I can do this, with the power of thought, what can you accomplish?  It is as simple as having faith that you can succeed at whatever you set your mind to, whether it be a business venture, a physical adventure, or overcoming something that has struck you down emotionally.  You must have faith in yourself. Perhaps you are not aware of exactly what the path will look like.  It will take planning and effort but you must first believe.  Follow me here as I go into further detail of how to strengthen your beliefs in order to reach your goals. Thank you for stopping in today. Missy Bell

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Destined For Greatness – A Poem for the Special Ed Teacher

DESTINED FOR GREATNESSDestined for Greatness

 

 

I am destined for greatness

This much I know

Exactly how I’ll get there

Only time will show

 

I believe I owe you thanks

For whom I will one day be

Because you have shown

So much faith in me

 

You have taught me lessons

Both big and small

I will do my best

To remember them all

 

So many days I struggled

To pay attention to what you say

You showed me patience and love

And forgave me those days

 

You have stood by me

Trying to find what works best

I’m sure all that you’ve learned

Has been put to the test

 

I truly feel

That you believe in me

That’s why am destined for greatness

You will someday see

weiselcantlin2

Photos of the Fall Foliage in Vermont and the Killington Ski Resort

My family and I live in Massachusetts.  This weekend we got to travel and spend the weekend in Vermont.  Since many of my readers are from around the world, I wanted to share some photos with you of the beauty of New England in the fall.  This week is the perfect week for trees to be at the height of their beauty.

The reason the leaves change to such beautiful colors is sadly, because they are dying.  The cold nights mixed with the warmer days contributes to the acceleration of the process of the photosynthesis.  As the leaves start to fall, our back roads will be as slippery as they are with the winter snow if these leaves get wet.

Here’s some of the beauty we captured on the way to Vermont’s Killington Mountain Ski Resort from where we were staying in the town of Quechee.

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My absolute favorite picture is of a random driveway on the way.  I think I may have this one framed with one of my original quotes written below it.

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This next one is of a plant that decorated a street light on the main street in the cutest little town of Woodstock.  Every light post in the town had one just like it.  The streets were lined with unique shops and eateries and filled with tourists both times we passed through.

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Here are the shots we took when we arrived.  And to think, none of these compared to the black diamond we had to climb two weekends before.  These looked like bunny hills in comparison.   That trail was not visible from where we were is was to the left of these:

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I had sprained my knee a week before the trip so, we went with the intention of riding the gondola round trip to the top of the mountain and back.  As we ascended the mountain, high above the ground, we could see the gravel trail in the distance that we originally intended to take.  We had been to Killington Mountain two weeks prior and participated in the Spartan Race.

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Since we were unable to take our phones with us (there are obstacles where you are submerged in mud,) we were unable to get pictures of the incredible view the mountain supplied so we vowed to come back and take pictures.  The crest was foggy and misty as you will see and it was difficult to get pictures so I decided I would brave the climb down, injury and all.

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I was so grateful I made that decision (as well as my husband’s assistance in areas where I really needed to watch my footing.)  Are you ready to see why? Look at the beauty we got to witness on our hike back down the mountain:

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As we returned after the long day, my husband pointed out a hot air balloon in the distance.  I have had a special place in my heart for them since we lived in Albuquerque, NM, home of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.  I worked the event when we were first married and fell in love with their beauty and unique designs.  As we drove toward the one he could see in the distance, he spotted this one hanging not far above us.  We turned around and found a few perfect spots to take some really great pictures.  It was a perfect way to end a perfect day.  We never were able to catch a shot of the other one but we believe it passed right over the house we were staying in.

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I hope you have enjoyed the beauty and the pictures brought you a bit of peace to your day.  The view and hike certainly did for me.

I hope you will visit other posts on this site.  I focus on tips, motivations, and inspirations that will decrease your stress and increase your peace and happiness.  I hope you will stay a while.  I also have another site.  If you are interested in the paranormal, you should really check it out.  You can find it at Where The Ghosts Live ~ The Haunted United States by Missy Bell.

Thank you for stopping by today!

Missy Bell

weiselcantlin2

What Do You Mean, You Don’t Like Me?

It should never be our goal in life to please everyone nor should we ever expect everyone to like us.

There will always be people who do not agree with our views or what we say, do or act around them, just as we too come across people we don’t like.  Everyone acts differently around different people.   Some people bring out the best in us and we can relate to them easily.  Some have an easy-going personality and aura, others do not.  Some people will make us uncomfortable or may offend us (sometimes unintentionally and sometimes intentionally.)  There are others who engage in lifestyles that we just don’t agree with and that may cause us to feel uneasy.  For whatever reason, we were not all meant to get along.

It is usually the people we don’t get along with who don’t like us.  There are others who will not like you and you have no idea why because you enjoy them.  If the friendship, or even business relationship is important to you, it never hurts to ask if there is a reason for (their actions that make you think they don’t like you or words that they say that are indicators.)  It’s then on them to be honest or glaze over the subject.  The way they are acting may just be a part of their personality and you were just taking it personal or they may reveal a true issue, in which case, you have a starting point to work with.  This should only be done with people you truly care about or enjoy being around.

For those who are just acquaintances who you don’t particularly plan on having in your life, it’s not important that they like you, at least, it shouldn’t be.  There’s no need to waste your energy worrying about it.  I’ve watched and heard people, and even been guilty of, wasting hours of time that could have been spent being productive, happy and positive instead, being disappointed and racking my brain trying to figure what I may have done wrong for them to dislike.  Let it go.  As long as you are being your authentic self, it doesn’t matter.  You shouldn’t try to change who you are just to please someone else.

One of my favorite says is from Eleanor Roosevelt, “What other people think of me is none of my business.”  Let them think what they want.  You, go on living as you normally would.  One thing I like to point out often is that we are with ourselves 24/7.  We are the only ones who are.  The most important person we should care about liking us, is ourselves.

If you are interested in more tips on how to decrease your stress and increase your happiness, please see the sidebar for categories or titles that may be of interest to you and feel free to follow this and share it with others.  You can also visit my newest blog site, “Where the Ghosts Live – The Haunted United States,” for all things paranormal.  Check that one out at http://www.WhereTheGhostsLive.WordPress.com.  Thank you for stopping by.  Please leave a comment to show your support.  ❤

Missy Bell

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10 Quotes That Will Truly Inspire You

I have been writing inspirational status’ on Facebook for several years now.  These status’ are about what I am personally learning at any given time in my life and I word it in a non-specific way so that other people can benefit from what I am learning.  Often times I write them just for me, as a reminder of where I need to focus my attention, as if it is advice to myself.

The fascinating part of doing this, and another reason I have continued for so long is because I received such a great response from my friends who happened to be struggling with something and my quote put into words what they were feeling or exactly what they needed to hear that day.  I became addicted to helping others at a young age and so when I learned this was helping others, it was only natural for me to continue.

I went through some of them and gathered them together to share with you today.  I will not stick with one subject though because, chances are, if I vary the topics, you may have a better chance of finding something that resonates with you.

Please keep in mind, these are my quotes.  I did not take them from the internet or from someone famous.  I wrote these.  I would be flattered if you share them, but if you do, please be sure you put it in quotes and include my name at the end for credit.

  • FEAR:  “Identify one of your fears that is stopping you from doing something you want to do. Evaluate that fear and question whether or not it stems from your past and if it’s even a valid fear in your present. Your fear may be outdated and no longer serving its purpose in which case you need to eliminate it and move on to accomplish what you hope to accomplish.” ~ Missy Bell
  • WORRY:  “Worrying about something you have no control over and hasn’t happened yet is like trying to shovel the driveway before it snows!” ~ Missy Bell
  • FACING LIFE’S CHALLENGES:  “Challenges are placed before us so we may learn more about ourselves and to give us practice in learning how to overcome them in the future.” ~ Missy Bell
  • MAKING A CHANGE:  “It is so much more important to change how you think than to change how you look.”  ~ Missy Bell
  • TRUTH:  “Want to know the truth? You already do. Whatever you believe to be true is your truth but not necessarily everyone else’s.” ~ Missy Bell
  • PERCEPTION:  “We experience disappointment, sorrow and a heavy heart in order to be able to appreciate joy, bliss and enlightenment.  Without having felt the negative emotions, we would not be able to recognize or appreciate their opposites.” ~ Missy Bell
  • SELF-ESTEEM:  “You are awesome and amazing. Don’t ever listen to anyone who tries to contradict that statement, especially yourself!” ~ Missy Bell
  • RAISING CHILDREN:  “Teach your children well for someday you will need them to reteach you what you’ve forgotten.” ~ Missy Bell
  • AFFIRMATION:  “Today is a new day and I choose to be happy in it.  I will see by the light of love, not by the spotlight others are shining upon what they want me to see.  I will focus on what I can control and not stress over what I cannot.  I will dance to the beat of my own drum and make beautiful music in the process.  I will be who I am an only apologize when I am not.  I will not worry about what others think of me as long as I am happy with my own actions.  I will accept others for who they are.  I will live for now but plan for a brighter tomorrow.  I will not settle for by falling into false beliefs that this is as good as it gets.  I will start each day accepting the day before as it was and asking myself how I can improve myself today.
  • SUCCESS:  “Define your success not by the success of others but by your ability to achieve the goals you have set for yourself. If you feel unsuccessful, create new goals.” ~ Missy Bell

I hope some or all of these touch your heart in some way or inspire you.  Please let me know if you have a favorite!!

If you are looking for more inspiration or tips on how to add more inner peace and happiness to your life, choose something else from the categories to the right of this post.  Please share anything that resonates with you.