Tag: innovation

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Life is short, love what you do…

Print, love, wins
Print, love, wins
Whiteman Park Print Shop.

One of my closest friends, lost her husband suddenly. It was the most terrible of times. The last letter he ever wrote to her finished with this profound prophetic statement;

Life is short, love what you do

To watch my friend walk bravely out her days without her amazing partner has been the most deeply moving journey. She has grieved, she has stamped her feet, she has waited, she has questioned, but at the same time she has moved into days where she is living out the legacy of his vision for her days.

She shifted from New Zealand to Cambodia alone in her fifties, starting again, to live a life sown. It has been a hard journey, as she was robbed near her new home, watched the people she has been serving loose their life. Sickness, tragedy and heart ache has filled her days. She has not allowed the depths of these stories to shrink her though, she has stepped forward, felt the fear and brought her broken hallelujah.

She is living bravely in her moment, using the depth of her grief to minister and help a generation of young people in another country to live the life of their dreams.

I know her man would be immensely proud of her.

I know he would be watching with a gentle, quiet smile, a raise of his quirky eyebrows that quietly said “Look at my girl go…”

A life of serenity is not necessarily a quiet, retiring one.

Serenity is a place of peace, found in the midst of living a life of purpose.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;

One day at a time, having the courage to live the life you have always dreamed of. When we stay stuck in holding patterns of the past, we are unable to live one day at a time, understanding that life is short.

It is short.

We just don’t know what tomorrow will bring.

What if we spent our today stuck in the pain of yesterday and missed out on the absolute sheer brilliance of living a life sown in our today?

What would you do, if you embraced the messy moments of fear, grief, disappointment and shifted forward into your unknown anyway?

My lovely friend Annie inspires me so much.

She hasn’t just moved on, she has dug deep into the very recesses of her soul and determined that she will live a life of purpose today.

Yes, living in her brave, courageous, today.

She is not sure about what the next five years will bring, but she knows in her today, that she needs to bring hope and courage to teenagers in Cambodia. A courage that despite the very hard parts of our story, that Love wins.

Loving People.

Loving Stories.

Loving Humanity.

Loving the hard parts.

Loving the mess of people and transition and change and living beyond ourselves.

What can you bravely do today, to live in this moment?

Take that step,

Make that phone call,

Book that appointment,

Write that piece,

Live surrendered in your today.

signature

 

 

 

After 6 months of being in Cambodia, Annie knows she can’t go home to New Zealand, her work is not done yet, so if you want to help her stay, you can transfer funds to:

With the name Annie Cambodia.

New Zealand Accounts:

 

ANZ: 06 0383

0164749 04

Australian Accounts:

ANZ: 016141

299685840

 

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Haters gonna hate

haters

Social media is a brilliant way to express yourself and to connect with others on a certain level.

It is no where near as good as a coffee and a good chat.

As a mum of a toddler, who lives a good hour and some from our main city, it creates a great outlet and community for me to journey with.

The only problem is the haters.

You know them.

Every time you post something, you can feel them roll their cyber eyes and you get ready for their tirade.

Haters gonna hate.

Doesn’t matter what you endeavour to do, there is always going to be someone who has something critical to say.

A good dose of honest feedback from a friend who has your interest at heart is very different but the people who criticise and hate on people to make themselves feel somewhat more superior are just plain mean.

Mean hearted people who need to get a life.

Theodore Roosavelt wrote this speech over a hundred years ago and it still brings wisdom to our today.

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Are you struggling to create because of criticism?

Do you have a arch enemy who is sole bent on bringing you down?

Get in the arena.

If you have left the arena because someone hated on you, get back in again.

In an amazing speech recently by Tim Minchin when he received a honorary doctorate at UWA recently. He said this about haters…

Define Yourself By What You Love
I’ve found myself doing this thing a bit recently, where, if someone asks me what sort of music I like, I say “well I don’t listen to the radio because pop lyrics annoy me”. Or if someone asks me what food I like, I say “I think truffle oil is overused and slightly obnoxious”. And I see it all the time online, people whose idea of being part of a subculture is to hate Coldplay or football or feminists or the Liberal Party. We have tendency to define ourselves in opposition to stuff; as a comedian, I make a living out of it. But try to also express your passion for things you love. Be demonstrative and generous in your praise of those you admire. Send thank-you cards and give standing ovations. Be pro-stuff, not just anti-stuff.

2010-10-28 20.29.11

Victory comes when we have a go, whether it is outstanding or not, the fact you have jumped in the arena is the main thing.

Just have a go.

Start that business you have longed for,

Start that blog you have had an inkling for,

Quit your job and do what you have thought about doing over and over again.

Step up

Step out

Live despite the haters and their gangs.

A

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Goodness

20131007-202650.jpg

whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about such things.

Our minds are so powerful. This scripture from Philippians in the bible implores us to fill our minds with thoughts that are good.

How often are we drawn to the negative though?

How often do we think about the worst case scenario rather than the best?

How often do we worry and think about all the things that could go wrong, rather than what could go right?

Positive thinking is not just a self help, new age trend, it has been around for thousands of years.

The differences between new age thinking and that of the bible however, is that new ageism implores us to empty our minds however scripture tells us to fill our minds with goodness.

Think on loveliness.

Think on what has gone right in your life rather than what is about to go wrong.

The reason why emptying our minds doesn’t work is because our minds are more powerful than any computer ever made.

To override the system operating our brains, we need to fight the original programming with new and more powerful content.

Ever tried to stop thinking about something?

Ever felt so overwhelmed at the strength of your mind?

It is impossible to think about nothing, if you are thinking about nothing you are still thinking about something.

So why not reprogram?

Reprogram with pure, noble, good, inspiring, commanding, helpful, loving, decent, brilliant, encouraging thoughts.

Replace
Meditate
Renew

20131007-200531.jpgEmpty your mind?

Impossible.

Reengineer?

Possible.

The stability and strength of your mind will always alter what you creatively produce from it.

Be mindful this spring.

Love

Me