Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort. Franklin Roosevelt

Too often we don’t make the effort to really push through on accomplishment. We think that if something isn’t easy, somehow it isn’t meant to be. In our instant gratification society, if we can’t look it up in fifteen seconds or buy it in a minute, we can become easily frustrated. Yet we are here to enjoy the creativity of our lives and the power of the creative force as it moves through us.

“Sustained effort” and “trying too hard” are two completely different things. Trying too hard causes you to stop being aware of what’s going on, and you end up feeling like you’re pushing the river. Sustained effort, however, is simply consistent, persistent attention to the issue, so that forward progress becomes unavoidable. It’s like the difference between racing up the mountain and arriving exhausted and spent, or climbing the mountain while enjoying the progress and arriving ready to take in the view and savor the accomplishment.

Spiritual Contemplation: Am I giving up too easily because it “feels hard”? The question is—is it worth doing and doing well?

Affirmation: I know that spirit supports every effort I make to express my creativity and purpose. I am not easily deterred from my goal. I press on in confidence and joy.

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Everything I buy is vintage and smells funny. Maybe that’s why I don’t have a boyfriend. Lucy Liu

One common cultural sign of our day is found on telephone poles with its arrow pointing down the street to the nearest rummage sale. What you’ll find there is a crapshoot; you might stumble onto a gold mine, or a bunch of nothing. Yard sales are actually a wonderful rotation that creates abundance and good feeling. One person’s junk can be another’s treasure. Sellers are happy for a few extra bucks and a good home for their items, and buyers are happy because they get a good deal on a new prize. Rather than ending up in the landfill, a piece finds new life and appreciation in a new environment. Everyone is blessed in this exchange. (Just be sure to get there early or the good stuff will already have been picked through and on its way to a new home.)

In addition, walking through the slew of stuff sprawled out for the picking can be a journey back in time, filled with recollections and smells triggering lost memories, each piece with its own mysterious history. Most important, circulating and repurposing what once had value in your life is a great way to create space for what is to be new in your world. Letting go and making room is an important spiritual practice. So stay healthy, take some deep breaths, drink lots of water, and clear the clutter.

Spiritual Contemplation: Circulate some of your old treasures that have lost their value in your world. Watch the joy you bring to others and notice how good it feels to be a blessing with that which blessed you.

Affirmation: It’s a joy to share my treasures with others.

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Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. Winston Churchill

This statement by Churchill was my favorite as a teenager. It continually reminded me that I don’t have to be perfect, it’s okay to make mistakes, and all I really ever need to do is give it my all. I also discovered that this meant I had a lot more opportunities, and many more cool things happened to me than most of my peers. I was simply willing to try! I learned that if I have the courage to try, somehow the universe will conspire to support me.

So now I say to you: You are more supported than you know. The entire universe is designed to assist you in becoming all you want to be, and to live a life of meaning and purpose. God’s dice are always loaded, and they’re loaded in favor of more life, love, peace, abundance, and joy. Let all that support lift you through the past and into your greater yet to be!

Spiritual Contemplation: Where are you holding back or not moving forward out of a fear of either success or failure?

Affirmation: I am here to be me, Spirit as ME. I have the courage to be me. I am no longer afraid.

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Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love

You are here to manifest the glory of life as you! Cultivating meaningful work gives you a place to give your gift and shine your light. Don’t just go to a job. No matter the tasks, find the purpose and the gift that your work is to others. Large or small, you can always make a contribution that matters.

Spiritual Contemplation: Are you manifesting the Glory of You?

Affirmation: I am here to make manifest the Glory of God—at work, at home, in my life.

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Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. Steve Jobs

Creativity is inherent in the Universe. It is in the Nature of Spirit to create—all of creation. It is in the nature of life to create—new life, new ideas, new forms. You are made in the image and likeness of Spirit; you are Life made conscious. Therefore, it is in your nature to be creative.

You may have come to believe that you are not creative. This is not true! You may not be artistic, but you are creative. Every time you imagine a new idea, think of a solution, or try something different, you are being creative. And that’s how things change. Exercise your creativity every day!

Spiritual Contemplation: What kinds of activities express your creativity? Art, new ideas, puzzles, solutions, decorating, baking . . . where do you express your new ideas?

Affirmation: I co-create my life with the Universal Principles through my new ideas. I am Creative.

You can have it all. Just not all at once.  Oprah Winfrey

“You can have anything you want. You just can’t have everything you want all at the same time!” I found a great deal of comfort in this revelation in the years I was raising a child, and working full-time at a job I loved, and volunteering at our national organization. But I also wanted to travel, get my PhD, and write a book. Whenever I found myself frustrated with all the things I wanted to do but couldn’t at the time, I remembered that I had decided to make raising my child a priority. My time was already maxed out, and if I was going to enjoy what I already had, I needed to keep myself from becoming exhausted and overcommitted.

Now that my son is grown I’ve written my third book and traveled, and I’m considering going back to school. It’s always just a matter of priorities. Although the universe is infinite, we manifest our lives in a finite space/time continuum. Everything here takes time to experience. So yes, we can have anything we want, right now! We just have to choose what to focus on and make our priority. Remember, this doesn’t limit you. It actually allows you to fully engage in your current reality while knowing you can choose something else in the future.

Spiritual Contemplation: What are you carrying around as a “want” that simply isn’t a priority right now? Are you trying to be and have and do too many things all at once? What are your priorities now, this year, this time, in your life?

Affirmation: I can have anything I want right now. I choose wisely and create a balanced healthy life.

When you play, play hard; when you work, don’t play at all.  Theodore Roosevelt

Work can be fun and enjoyable, and even have elements of play; however, we are at work to work—not to goof off, talk on the phone, read FB, chat with friends, or try to do as little as possible. So work hard, not as in struggle and suffering, but as an effort toward accomplishment.

On the other hand, and just as important—play hard! Take time to play, be silly, laugh out loud, and do frivolous things that are not sensible. Having fun is another way to rest. Do something completely different from your normal routine—break out, be free!

Spiritual Contemplation: How do you like to play? When do you take time to play?

Affirmation: I make time for play. This brings balance and joy into my life.

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i thank You God for most this amazing
day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite, which is yes
e. e. cummings

Take a soul spa day. Connect with the universe through the beauty of nature. Relax with quiet music and heart-opening conversation. Rejuvenate your soul, refresh your heart, and ease your mind through gentle, spiritually uplifting activities. Aaaaahhhh! You deserve it!

Spiritual Contemplation: What is your favorite kind of soul-nurturing day? Plan one today!

Affirmation: I take the time to nurture my soul. I take the time to rejuvenate my heart.

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The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.  Sydney J. Harris

It can be a busy, hectic world, yet in the midst of it all, it is so important to stay relaxed. Tensing up makes things only worse and causes us to miss opportunities. But mostly it means we don’t bring our best self to whatever is going on. Tension literally restricts the flow of blood and oxygen in our bodies, which is a perfect metaphor for what it does to us energetically and in consciousness. Everything becomes contracted and restricted.

Stop and breathe Step back for a moment. Unless someone will die or the world will come to an end, you actually have thirty seconds . . . one minute . . . possibly even five, to get centered and release some of the tension. This immediately opens you to the flow and brings you to be present. The perfect time to do this is when you don’t think you have the time. Because that’s when you need it the most!

Spiritual Contemplation: When do you most need to take a moment to relax? How will you remember?

Affirmation: in the midst of tension, I stop, I breathe. In that moment spirit is present in my awareness and I move forward easily.

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