Rough Road Ahead

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Studies have shown that the next few days in this New Year can be rough–January 8 through January 12.  It’s at this point that people abandon their New Year resolutions.

The New Year isn’t even two weeks old and people are giving up!

DON’T LET THIS BE YOU!

Perhaps you’re feeling dismayed because you had such high hopes on January 1st.  You thought that this year for sure you’d be able to carve out time to go after your dreams.  Maybe you’re finding, though, that responsibilities and obligations still require much more of your time than you’d like.  This results in not having the elbow room you thought you would so you haven’t had a chance to devote time and energy to your dreams.

Wisps of discouragement enter your thoughts.

Fight this by pressing the reset button and remind yourself of this week’s thought:  YES I CAN!

It’s quite okay to make adjustments such as more reasonable expectations of the time you have available to devote to making your dreams come true.  It’s much better to take smaller baby steps than to give up all together.  Small baby steps will still get you to your dreams while giving up will never get you there at all.

So remember:  YES I CAN!!!

You can do it, I believe in you!

Your Friend and Pep Pal,

Lauren

This Week’s Thought: Yes I Can!

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You made it through the first weekend of the New Year and you may be finding that your resolve to make 2020 different–better–than previous years might be getting wobbly.  This week keep reminding yourself that YES I CAN.

Put a sticky note with YES I CAN written on it on your alarm.  This will remind you to have YES I CAN be the first thought you think.

Put a sticky note with YES I CAN on your bathroom mirror.  Again, this will remind you to continue thinking YES I CAN as you shower and get ready for your day.

Put other YES I CAN notes in strategic places that you’ll see during the day.  It’s very important to keep your thoughts focused on YES I CAN–to flood your mind with YES I CAN so that discouraging thoughts don’ t have room to enter your mind.

YES I CAN!

I know you can do this–I believe in you!

Your Friend and Pep Pal,

Lauren

Happy New Year!

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Best wishes for a wonderful 2020–that it’s your best year yet!

 

Your Friend and Pep Pal,

Lauren

 

 

 

 

Blessed by You

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I wish that today and all days, everyone you meet is blessed by you. Just by your twinkling eyes, your bright smile, your gentle touch, and by your sparkling presence. Thank you for letting these gifts overflow to bless those all around you!  ~paraphrased from Brother David Steindl-Rast’s writings

 

You ARE a blessing! Never EVER forget that!!

Your Friend and Pep Pal,

Lauren

Trust Life

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When we find ourselves in the midst of difficulties, oftentimes we think it’s always going to be this way and nothing we do is going to change it.

We lose hope.

When we’re in this place of little to no hope, we don’t know how to help ourselves. We don’t know where to turn, what to do, who to reach out to.

This can be very painful. And scary.

But we can always turn to Mother Nature, who is always brimming with Life. Even in the most inhospitable of her environments, life is thriving. Not just one teeny organism hanging on by the skin of its teeth, but rather whole rich, diverse ecosystems thriving and flourishing in conditions that scientists thought nothing could survive.

Life wants to live. Life is built for success. Life is made for abundance.

Look around. We don’t see only one scrawny tree or one tiny bush. No. There are millions of trees and bushes and plants and flowers. All colors, shapes, sizes. Growing in cracks of rocks, on cliff edges, on wind-blown prairies. Animals, insects, raindrops, clouds, rivers…. You get the idea. Nature is all around us brimming with Life.

The next time you’re feeling stuck, unsure, and alone, turn to Mother Nature and Trust Life.

Your Friend and Pep Pal,

Lauren

You’re Fine Just the Way You Are

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I’m a week late in honoring Mr. Roger’s birthday—he would have been 91 on the 20^th of March. He is best known for his gentle ways and his homespun wisdom. Sometimes now, and especially when he was alive, he is/was ridiculed for this. My thought is that some people make fun of his loving goodwill not because they think it’s stupid but rather because they’re desperate for that gracious acceptance and are terrified that it’s a sham, like so much else in this world.

I assure you that loving kindness is alive and well in this world. There are many people who are welcoming, friendly, and reaching out a hand to others. They are right in your community. In fact, you may be sitting next to them in school or at work. Like Mr. Rogers, they, too, like you just the way you are. You can be yourself, and that’s enough!

I like you just the way you are!

Your Friend and Pep Pal,

Lauren (and Mr. Rogers!)

Just for Today….

 

Just for today, what if there is nothing wrong with you?

I challenge you this week, as I’m challenging myself, to live each day into the possibility that there is nothing wrong with you.

You are just right, exactly as you are.

What will you do that you haven’t allowed yourself to do because you thought there was something wrong with you? Now that you are just right exactly as you are, you can pursue that thing!

Good luck!

Have FUN!

Your Friend and Pep Pal,

Lauren