Soul Meets World

Being Neighborly

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 02:04:00 +0000

One of my favorite activities is walking and seeing my neighbors. It’s a simple activity that is pleasurable and beneficial.

Sometimes I will pass a person who is looking down at their cellphone, MP3 player or other device and when I say, “Hello,” they are taken aback. They have become so used to being insular that the simple gesture throws them.

Other neighbors respond favorably and are happy to hold real conversations with real people, not just a computer screen.

I find that for everyone who is glued to their technological devices, there are an equal amount of people who would prefer to engage in conversation.

My neighbors are from all over the world, Spain, Hungary, Russia, India, Scotland, Cyprus, England, Australia, France - just to name a few. It’s like having the United Nations in my own backyard with representatives each with unique stories to tell.

I spoke to one neighbor from Kiev, Ukraine by the name of Vasyl. He’s about 75 years old, he was an industrial engineer before he retired and a long distance runner, but now wears a pacemaker.

Vasyl speaks English very well with a slight accent. He also speaks Russian and his native tongue, Ukrainian.

One day he told me the story of when he was a refugee in Siberia during World War II. He was 3 years old and Germany had invaded Kiev. His father died shortly after he was born.

Everyday his mother would bake several loaves of bread. When the bombing started, she would grab the bread and took him, his brother and sister to the bomb shelter.

She read them stories from several books as bombs obliterated the city landscape. She didn’t stop until the bombs ceased.

She did this for three years before the war ended. Once she even risked her life and ventured to the train station to find her starving relatives.

Food was very scare in some parts of the country and her relatives looked like skeletons. She almost didn’t recognize them. She quickly took them and fed them fresh bread that she had stuffed in her coat pockets.

My neighbor is a bright raconteur who has lived all over the world in war and peace. He has a son who is a multimedia professor and a daughter-in-law who is a professor of neurology at top American universities.

They have given him a grandson and a granddaughter who he absolutely loves.

Every time I see him, he tells me about his grandchildren. Although his health is failing and he walks slowly, he always has a smile on his face and says, “Life is good.”

I find it intriguing that he reads BBC online, Russian and Ukrainian newspapers to find out what's going on in America. My neighbor is a treasure and we have only touched the surface.

We forget that people lead interesting lives. They are books in themselves with happy and tragic chapters.

We are all unique stories of God.

We would rather peer into our neighbor's window to see what they are doing instead of asking them how they are doing.

Talking to the neighbors is not only good exercise for your tongue, but a great way that you can spread love. Often times people want to know that someone else cares about them.

Talk to your neighbors and you will find hidden treasures. Try it.

Knowledge And Wisdom

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 07:29:00 +0000

“The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder.”
~Ralph W. Sockman

100 Happiness Hacks

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 00:12:00 +0000

No matter how happy you are, you can always do with more happiness, we all can.

Please enjoy these happiness hacks sent in by a generous reader. Thanks Susan.

Some of my favorites include:

Accept what you can’t change: There are some things that you just can’t do anything about-you’ve got to let them go.

Avoid self defeat: Banish self-defeating thoughts and attitudes from your mind.

Don’t focus on blame: Blame is an issue for the past-focus on what’s possible for the future.

Surround yourself with happy people: Happiness is infectious-do your best to be around people who are happy.

More happiness hacks.

Find something to be happy about and spread that happiness to others.

Happiness Is Now

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:09:00 +0000

Recently I was told a story about an unhappy farmer. Everyday on the farm while milking the cows and tending to other livestock, he would dream about being a barber.

He just wasn’t happy with the animals because they couldn’t hold real conversations, they would just make animal noises.

The farmer eventually moved to England to become a barber. He was very good at it and business was very good.

He spoke to people from all walks of life. They came to him with their problems seeking advice.

He offered his best advice and people would still complain. Soon he began to feel the weight of the world on his shoulders.

He wasn’t happy because they always sought his advice, but never asked how he felt.

He dreamed of retiring to become a farmer. When retirement finally came, he bought a farm. He was blissfully happy.

The sounds of the animals were music to his ears. He didn’t hear any complaints, they didn’t seek advice, they were content.

He learned from them and became content like them. He then knew that he had happiness all along and he didn’t have to seek it elsewhere.

When you can appreciate where you have been, you can appreciate where you are. Happiness is now in the moment.

What have been your revelations about happiness?

All Changes

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:22:00 +0000

“All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.”

~Anatole France

Inside Out

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 05:32:00 +0000

“You have to grow from

the inside out.

None can teach you,

none can make you spiritual.

There is no other teacher

but your own soul.”

~Swami Vivekananda

Be Victorious

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:50:00 +0000

If you are at a point in your life where you are not sure how you got there or how you will leave, stop and acknowledge the exit signs. There is a way out.

There are people around you who can help you if you surrender to this moment and open your heart to a new direction. Life will lead you to a new place, new perspective, new position.

Life is not a battleground. Yes, there are wars, but there are victories too. You may get scarred, but those scars don’t have to remain embedded in your heart. They are only on the surface.

The art of war is in surviving and remembering the victories. The time we choose to struggle is the time we can choose to be victorious.

“Life is a succession of moments. To live each one is to succeed.”
~Corita Kent

Without Blinking An Eye

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 00:27:00 +0000

During the civil wars in feudal Japan, an invading army would quickly sweep into a town and take control.

In one particular village, everyone fled just before the army arrived - everyone except the Zen master.

Curious about this old fellow, the general went to the temple to see for himself what kind of man this master was.

When he wasn't treated with the deference and submissiveness to which he was accustomed, the general burst into anger. "You fool," he shouted as he reached for his sword, "Don't you realize you are standing before a man who could run you through without blinking an eye!" But despite the threat, the master seemed unmoved.

"And do you realize," the master replied calmly, "that you are standing before a man who can be run through without blinking an eye?"

Compliments of Spiritual Stories

Art Of Living

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 01:59:00 +0000

“You desire to know the art of living, my friend? It is contained in one phrase: make use of suffering.”

~Henri Frederic Amiel

Written In Stone

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:31:00 +0000

Two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey, they had an argument and one friend slapped the other one in the face.

The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand:

"Today my best friend slapped me in the face."

They kept on walking, until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him.

After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone:

"Today my best friend saved my life."

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?"

The friend replied, “When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand, where the winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it."

~Written by Anonymous

Today, let everything that is good in your life be written in stone and you continue to live your highest self.

Unfoldment

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 16:00:00 +0000

“Life is an unfoldment, and the further we travel the more truth we can comprehend. To understand the things that are at our door is the best preparation for understanding those that lie beyond.”

~Hypatia

Afraid Of Number 13?

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 19:04:00 +0000

We have all heard that Friday the 13th is bad luck. We have heard that terrible things happen on that day and that if the world was coming to an end, it would probably happen on Friday the 13th.

I once lived in apartment 13. It was a big apartment, great area and a great price. Available apartments in the area were rare, but I got it because nobody wanted to rent it because of the number 13. It didn’t even have the number on the door.

The landlord was so happy that someone rented it that he bought a new oven and fridge for it. That place brought me a lot of unique and fun experiences.

People buy into the myth of 13 because the fear of disaster is greater than victory or success, but it’s just a myth.

Following are 13 facts about the number 13.

Fear of Friday the 13th — one of the most popular myths in science — is called paraskavedekatriaphobia as well as friggatriskaidekaphobia. Triskaidekaphobia is fear of the number 13.

Fear of Friday the 13th dates back to Nordic Mythology. Many of their thirteenth Gods met with violent deaths, such as Loki, the trickster. Ancient Romans regarded the number 13 as a symbol of death, destruction and misfortune.

According to Smithsonian Magazine, fear of the #13 costs Americans a billion dollars per year in absenteeism, train and plane cancellations, and reduced commerce on the 13th of the month.

Mark Twain once was the 13th guest at a dinner party. A friend warned him not to go. Twain later told the friend, "It was bad luck. They only had food for 12."

Superstitious diners in Paris can hire a quatorzieme, or professional 14th guest.

The number 13 suffers from its position after 12. According to numerologists who consider the latter to be a complete number — 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 apostles of Jesus, 12 days of Christmas and 12 eggs in a dozen.

The seals on the back of a dollar bill include 13 steps on the pyramid, 13 stars above the eagle's head, 13 war arrows in the eagle's claw and 13 leaves on the olive branch.

Many hospitals have no room 13, while some tall buildings skip the 13th floor altogether. Hotels rarely have a room number 13. Usually it is called 12A or 14. Same have elevators without a number 13 button. Highways sometimes will skip exit 13 too.

Certain ocean liners will be held in dock until after midnight to appease passenger's fears on Friday the 13th.

British study concluded that even though there were less cars on the road on Friday the 13th (as compared with other Fridays) more accidents were reported.

The Chinese, Pagans and others in ancient times marked time by the lunar cycle and calendar, thus 13 was considered a very lucky number.

In Jewish culture, a Bar or Bat Mitzvah is celebrated when a young adult turns 13 and is the onset of maturity.

How has number 13 affected you?

Boxing Fear

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 23:45:00 +0000

Working in property management for a number of years, I came across an assortment of tenants. One such tenant used to call me in the middle of the night for “emergencies,” such as the time he saw a termite in the corner of his living room.

He wanted me to come and pick up the termite. Another time a mosquito was flying around his apartment and he wanted me to bring a net to catch it.

Once he called me at 3:00 a.m. because as he reached in his closet, a box moved by itself. He quickly closed the closet and vowed never to open the door again.

As it turned out, two weeks later, utility workers accidentally hit a power line and the power to the building was completely shut off. After they repaired it, they left a note on everyone’s door telling them what had happened and where to locate the circuit breaker.

The tenant’s circuit breaker was in the same closet that he vowed to never open. He was left with no other choice but to open the closet door and find the circuit breaker.

Though he had to face his fear to get to the light, I never found out what was in the box. He still hasn’t opened it.

Fear is a learned behavior. It is said that we are born with only two fears; fear of falling, and a fear of loud noises, the rest we pick up along the way. Experts are still divided whether or not these are fears or reflexes for survival.

The intention is to keep us alive, by alerting us to potential dangers and creating an emotion within us that helps us avoid danger.

Whether the fear is external, internal, or subconscious, all fear causes stress, discomfort and restriction to your disposition which undercuts your full potential to live fully in the moment.

Fear is a chain reaction in the brain that begins with a stressful stimulus and ends with the release of chemicals that cause rapid breathing, an increased heart rate and invigorated muscles triggering fight-or-flight.

A whopping 100 billion nerve cells make up the headquarters for your brain. An intricate network of communications control everything you sense, think and do. Some of which lead to conscious thought and action, while others produce autonomic responses.

The fear response is almost entirely autonomic; you don't consciously trigger it or even know what's happening until it has run its course.

Brain cells continuously transfer information and trigger responses, there are dozens of areas of the brain at least peripherally involved in fear. But you can try to outthink your brain by telling yourself that you will not be afraid even if you have to repeat it to yourself, say, “I am not afraid.”

Fear restricts, love expands. The more you concentrate on love and it’s invincibility, the less likely you will give fear credence. This is not to say that people with love are less fearful, but if you realize that fear is holding you back you may realize too that the less you fear, the more you love.

If fear has had the upper hand in your life, it may be time to pack up all of your fears and throw them out. Don’t be afraid to live a full life.

How do you handle crippling fear?

The Absolute

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 02:16:00 +0000

No mind, no form, I only exist;
Now ceased all will and thought;
The final end of Nature's dance,
I am it whom I have sought.

A realm of Bliss bare, ultimate;
Beyond both knower and known;
A rest immense I enjoy at last;
I face the One alone.

I have crossed the secret ways of life,
I have become the Goal.
The Truth immutable is revealed;
I am the way, the God-Soul.
My spirit aware of all the heights,
I am mute in the core of the Sun.
I barter nothing with time and deeds;
My cosmic play is done.
~Sri Chinmoy

Illuminate Love

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 17:55:00 +0000

We are gathered here together to honor this life in which we were bestowed. Let’s not dwell in trivialities, backbiting, revenge, regret, jealousy, envy, or anything that goes against the grain of love.

We are affected by visible and invisible actions that work for us or against us.

There is something you can do to make this world a brighter place. Elevate your time here and discover pathways that illuminate love.

Burning And Rebuilding Bridges

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 22:33:00 +0000

If you could live one day over again, what would you do? If you could make that day the way you would have wanted it, how would you do it?

Each one of us is under construction. We are constantly building, inadvertently destroying good and bad parts of our lives from the options we make regarding the relationships with ourselves and others.

If we are not aware of what we are doing, then we will continue down the same path. Sometimes within the space of our existence, we hurt people, we make mistakes and we burn our bridges.

The phrase, “To burn one's bridges,” is an expression derived from the idea of burning down a bridge after crossing it during a military campaign. The point was to leaving no option but to win, and motivate those who might want to retreat.

It is also called, “To burn one’s boats.” Hernan Cortes was said to have burned and sank his boats, leaving no alternative but to advance into Aztec territory.

An ancient Chinese saying, "Break the woks and sink the boats,” referred to Xiang Yu's order at the Battle of Julu; who after crossing the river, destroyed all means of re-crossing it.

These phrases originated in times of war where they served their purpose at the time, but today we need bridges. A bridge is a structure built to span a valley, road, body of water, or other physical obstacle, for providing passage. Love is a bridge. It provides a passage to and from your heart.

Granted, burning bridges can be a positive act, many times it is a careless one. Making amends to all the people that we have hurt in the process of living is a good way to rebuild bridges.

It may take a lot of work to rebuild, but if the bridge is worth it, rebuild it. We are under construction to build the greatest life that we can. The greatest life is full of love, honor, dignity and care.

Although it has been said, that you can never go home again, sometimes you have to go and repair the damage.

You Are A Brand

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 18:05:00 +0000

These days celebrities are not only celebrities but they have created their brand including signature fragrances, clothing lines, liquor, and other companies, products and services.

You may not realize it, but you are a brand too. You may not have clever ad campaigns touting you, but you have you. The way you walk, talk, and conduct yourself.

You are a walking advertisement for whatever you think, say and do.

At any given time, your character, integrity, kindness, charity is on display. When people come in contact with you, they know what to expect, just like they would know what to expect from brands such as, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Apple, Nike, etc.

You buy a product because of your confidence in it’s reliability, quality, style, reputation, commitment and how it makes you feel.

Self-branding is the same; you have confidence in your reliability, quality, style, reputation and commitment to being the best that you can be - the ultimate brand.

People try and brand themselves after another and they lose the integrity and spark of themselves. People in which you interact are essentially your “customers.” They are purchasing your confidence, love, trust, etc. - your brand.

No one can take your brand away from you because it’s everything that you are. In essence, it’s your soul and it creates a lasting impression and value. What brand are you creating?

Fleeting

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 22:21:00 +0000

“Out of the dark we came,

into the dark we go.

Like a storm-driven bird

at night we fly

out of the Nowhere;

for a moment our wings

are seen in the light

of the fire, and, lo!

we are gone again

into the Nowhere.”

~H. Rider Haggard

Anger Or Love

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 20:24:00 +0000

A Hindu saint who was visiting river Ganges to take bath found a group of family members on the banks, shouting in anger at each other. He turned to his disciples smiled and asked.

"Why do people shout at each other in anger?"

Disciples thought for a while and one of them said, "Because we lose our calm, we shout."

"But, why should you shout when the other person is just next to you? You can just as well tell him what you have to say in a soft manner," answered the saint.

The saint explained, "When two people are angry at each other, their hearts distance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other.

The angrier they are, the stronger they will have to shout to hear each other to cover that great distance.

What happens when two people fall in love? They don't shout at each other but talk softly, because their hearts are very close. The distance between them is either nonexistent or very small."

The saint continued, "When they love each other even more, what happens? They do not speak, only whisper and they get even closer to each other in their love.

Finally they even need not whisper, they only look at each other and that's all. That is how close two people are when they love each other."

He looked at his disciples and said,

"So when you argue, do not let your hearts get distant. Do not say words that create distance, or else there will come a day when the distance is so great that you will not find the path to return."

You can also choose not to argue, but discuss calmly. We have a choice in chaos.

Compliments of Spiritual-Short-Stories.com

Gratitude For People In Your Life

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:46:00 +0000

Gratitude is an expression for which I am grateful. Today I would like to give gratitude for a significant friend who illuminates my life. We met over 20 years ago at a dream discussion class.

He had recently graduated from drama school in England and came to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of conquering Hollywood one role at a time. His Shakespearean parlance gave me goosebumps as he rehearsed his monologues.

After going back and forth to England, he decided to move here permanently 17 years ago. After a short stint at the YMCA, he found a new apartment. He packed his belongings into my car and we stopped to get a fast food meal.

When we came out of the restaurant, my car had been stolen. All of his possessions, including a large amount of cash he had to open a bank account that day were gone. I lost a lot less than he did, but I still felt bad for him - he lost everything.

This incidence delayed his acting dreams by years. He felt bad that I no longer had a car to get to work. Fortunately he had paid his landlord three months in advance. His new place was close to where I worked at the time and he offered it to me.

I refused, stating that I couldn’t impose on him. He kept offering, I kept refusing. Finally, I gave in and did it. He didn’t impose on me and I didn’t impose on him. We coexisted harmoniously together.

He worked two jobs, one day shift and one graveyard shift at a 24 hour florist to try and make up for his loss. After almost cutting his finger off on the stem cutter, he had finally had enough.

He began to question whether he should be in L.A. or in England. Though we had grown close, I couldn’t stand in his way or his happiness. I didn’t want him to go, but I didn’t want him to struggle.

I wanted him to be happy and he just wanted me to be happy. The pursuit of dreams has many twists, turns and disappointments and he sacrificed his dreams for mine. He knew that I found solace in writing and he didn’t want anything to get in the way of that.

He struggled for a while, trying to get back on track and there were times when he thought he wouldn’t make it, but through the miracle of God, we made it through those times.

A year later, for my birthday, he presented me with a brand new computer which were a fortune at that time. I am eternally grateful for him. He is an amazing person with a heart of gold who proves that God is among us, giving us love when we don’t expect it.

Obstacles are detours, not failures, they are only failures if you stop going. Be open and grateful to new experiences in your life, they can lead you to new places within your heart and spirit.

What or who are you grateful for?

What Are You Hauling

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 23:39:00 +0000

The summer is a busy time for moving trucks, especially orange and white U-Hauls. People packing, unpacking, moving in, moving out. Sometimes I see several trucks in a day moving throughout the city.

There is something else that catches my eye when I see a U-Haul. They are not only moving trucks, but a mobile billboard making a life statement. When I see a U-Haul, I think, “You haul.”

We haul a lot of baggage around with us wherever we go, from past relationships, painful childhood memories, regret, revenge, self-doubt, and whatever else we pack away in those internal boxes that eat away at us.

Often times I have seen people pack stuff and then throw it away after they move it to the new place because they no longer need it.

We don’t need a U-Haul to know that we are constantly moving. We traverse through experience after experience at slow, medium and fast speed.

Whenever we are ready for our next experience, the right elements are put into place and we go.

The odometer of your consciousness is limitless. If it takes one or several trips (lifetimes) to the same place to learn a lesson, then you get to start a new experience with a new cast of characters and scenery changes.

However exhausted moving makes you feel, you can rest assured that with each move, you are learning. Leaving baggage behind you will make your journey lighter. Making your journey lighter will make you lighter and more flexible.

Tomorrow you won’t be anywhere near where you are today so keep moving. Eventually we all move to infinity and beyond.

What have been your best moving experiences?

Echoes Of Living

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 07:05:00 +0000

"We are all of us more or less echoes, repeating involuntarily the virtues, the defects, the movements, and the characters of those among whom we live."

~Joseph Joubert

If I Could Change You, You’d Be Perfect

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 21:56:00 +0000

How many times have you thought, "If I could change you, you’d be perfect?" Once, twice, too many times to mention? Doesn’t it make you wonder how many times someone has thought that about you too?

Though we are not perfect, we still look for perfection - perfect body - perfect career - perfect relationship - perfect life. Perhaps it’s because we know deep down that we are not perfect and we want to find the ideal relationship - as close to perfect as possible.

Perhaps it’s because we’d like to defy the fact that there is no perfect. For whatever perfect reasoning, we get disappointed when we don’t find perfection.

If you have been in any relationship for a short period or long period of time, your frustration may make you direct the message, “If I could change you, you’d be perfect,” at your partner.

Frustration can cause all kinds of delusions and doubt in your ability of acceptance. Let’s examine that for a minute. Ask yourself what has happened to make you think that?

Does someone have an annoying habit that you overlooked when you first met them, but now find it grating?
Do they make you feel uncomfortable?
Do you want to change or exchange them for someone else?

Since you can’t change people, you can only change the way you react to them. If they are doing something that you can no longer tolerate, talk to them and tell them how you feel. Maybe they are unaware of what they are doing and that it bothers you.

You might find that when you talk to them they reveal something irritating about you. Relationships are a fertile learning ground and sometimes we take each other for granted. The only way to change your thinking is to communicate.

If you changed someone, you would be changing them into a version of themselves instead of letting them be themselves and working together on aspects neither one of you like.

Instead of thinking, “If I could change you, you’d be perfect,” ask yourself, “What can I do to change myself and make this situation better.”

Perfection is deceit and the only way to beat it is to be honest with yourself.

Don't Reject Yourself

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 22:48:00 +0000

As a writer, I know rejection and it’s rarely pleasant. I used to work at crafting pieces for weeks or months at a time. I gave them tantalizing spins and sent them off to editors like soldiers to war.

After several years, some are stilling missing in action and others were returned mangled accompanied with a “nice rejection letter.”

My first rejection letter was difficult to swallow. I had worked hard on a piece about homelessness. I researched, interviewed people in the field and observed those affected by the malady. It was among my best work.

The rejection letter was a form letter. It was like a “Dear John” letter. ‘How could an editor be so impersonal,’ I thought. Didn’t I deserve an explanation?

As I began to reflect on the actual letter, I understood that it wasn’t a personal rejection, but a rejection of timing. As I learned more about rejection letters, I understood how to not let them affect me.

Years later when I became an editor of a magazine, I still had to deal with rejection - this time I was doling it out. Rejection from an editor’s perspective is just as challenging.

I was inundated with articles, many of them the same theme, written in a similar style. I couldn’t choose them all, so I devised a way to whittle down the ones I didn’t want.

I put them all in a pile and read each one for 30 seconds. I called it my ‘30 second rule.’ If it didn’t grab me in that 30 seconds then I would pass on it.

I wanted to personally write each writer a note, telling them why they had been rejected, but there was too much work to do. I would have to send out the same “Dear John” letter that I had received. I hated that, but there was no other way to get around it.

If I didn’t send anything, the writer would be wondering what happened. At least in the letter, that would give them closure and a chance to submit it elsewhere.

Rejection makes you second guess yourself, makes you feel inadequate, unsure, etc. but don’t let it derail you from what you want to do. If you believe in something so strongly and you can’t see yourself doing anything else, then do it.

We all go through a series of rejection, whether it’s interviewing for a job, pursuing our dreams or unrequited love - everybody gets rejected by somebody. Just remember not to reject yourself and keep going.

Life will present the right situation, the right circumstances, the right timing and the right nowness. It’s about connecting when we are meant to connect; getting the job, hitting the home run, being accepted to the school of your choice, getting the girl/boy and finding the match with the universe.

Going from writer to editor, I viewed the situation from both sides and in changing that perspective I understood the value of rejection - it gives us more opportunity to accept ourselves and understand that no one one can reject us without our consent.

How have you learned from rejection?

Love-In-A-Mist

godsleuth@gmail.com (Alexys Fairfield) — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 21:16:00 +0000

Today I came across a flower, not just any flower - a flower of love called “Love-in-a-mist.”

I was intrigued by it’s name and pleased by it’s presence. It is an annual European plant (Nigella damascena) of the buttercup family, with finely cut leaves and blue or white flowers.

It blooms in spring and early summer. The genus name Nigella comes from the Latin niger (black), referring to the intense black seeds.

Now I am no flower expert, and I don’t profess to have a green thumb, but I found some appealing aspects to this flower that have similarities to love.

Love-in-a-mist self-seeds readily, and is likely to pop up in unexpected parts of the garden.

So does love. When it self-seeds, it is most likely to affect people from all walks of life. The seed spreads until it covers everything with love. Self-seeding is like self-loving.

Love-in-a-mist is very easy to grow.

Love is also easy to grow. Whenever and wherever it is planted, it grows and grow and grows. Even if you don’t have a green thumb, plant love daily and it will continue to cultivate in your garden and gardens of everyone you touch.

Love-in-a-mist is a beautiful part of nature.

Love is a beautiful part of nature.

There really is no difference between love-in-a-mist and us. We are both flowers of love.

Happy gardening.