Nikki Rosen's Blog, page 2

Thankful Thursday - A Gift

"View your burden as a gift. It's the theme that has been given you to work with. Accept that and lean into it." Anne Tyler

We all have something in our lives that plague us, and weigh us down. 

Things we wish we didn't always have to deal with - like an addiction of some sort that keeps us stuck in its grip, or a negative family who holds us back from realizing our dreams, or money or body or self-esteem issues that keep us in a cycle of defeat.  

Whatever it is that holds us and keeps us mentally going around and around in a circle like a dog chasing it's tail - maybe is really a gift. 

A gift that shows our strength, our courage, our ability to overcome and step onto paths that we may never have if 'the gift' hadn't been such a huge part of our lives. 

For me, the things I hated, the issues I struggled with for so long have been the very things that have taught me compassion and helped me live more honest and more kind. 

Today, I'm actually thankful for those 'burdens' that came as 'gifts' in disguise. 

Happy Thursday, Guys.

Thankful Thursday - Yes!

"Who can turn the world on with her smile? Who can take a nothing day, and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile? Well it's you girl, and you should know it. You're gonna make it after all." Sonny Curtis.
Words so simple, yet they have incredible power. They can change us. Motivate us. Inspire us to be the best we can be. It's why I love words. They can alter my mood, and make me flip from sad to glad. 
Reading this quote from Curtis, makes something in me shout, YES!  No matter what happens, I'll make it. No doubts. No fears.  Just saying those words makes me feel strong, confident, like I can take on the world and do and be anything I want.  I've been interviewing people for my new book, and hearing their stories of overcoming challenges, finding love, hearts filled with gratitude and faith in a loving God, reminds me all of us have this incredible power to move forward and make it after all.   Happy Thursday, Guys!

Thankful Thursday - Purpose.

“If I survived, it must be for some reason. I must do something with my life. There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.”  Eli Wiesel. 

I have a need to live my life with a purpose. I've been that way since I got free - the need to reach back, the desire to help others make it - the ache inside to pass on hope. 

I feel that's what I'm doing writing this new book - interviewing people of all backgrounds, cultures, rich and poor. Their willingness to share with me the truth of their lives, humbles me and I want to honour them, to hold their truths, their lives sacredly because each one and each life story is sacred. 

I tell myself over and over, every life has purpose. I don't understand why some people do something or other, but I know they are guided by some principle or belief. Just like I am in the things I do. 

The greatest thing for me is showing kindness and dignity and love and always always holding my hand out to be a friend, to connect. 

Yesterday I interviewed two women through a translator because they didn't speak English. Our eyes talked to each other and afterward, we hugged and nodded. We got each other. We connected. That feeling will stay with me for a long time. 

If I survived, then I must do something with my life. 

Happy Thursday, Guys.

Thankful Thursday - Hope

"If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you going on in spite of it all. And so today I still have a dream."  Martin Luther King Jr.

It's hard to hold onto hope when time passes and nothing changes. When the tough stuff, the things that discourage, that difficult situation keeps playing out over and over. 

But without hope, you're stuck. At least it's that way for me. I can't move forward. Hope for me is the thing that keeps me in the game. It holds me together. It keeps me focused on what can be, and not what is at the moment. 

Hope gives me courage. 
Hope is what pushes me to reach for what I want. 
Hope whispers - don't give up. 
Hope - a flickering flame in the midst of darkness. 
Hope - an ingredient to realizing dreams. 

Happy Thursday, Guys. 

 

Thankful Thursday - Choices.

 “Our lives are fashioned by our choices. First we make our choices. Then our choices make us.” Anne Frank
There are point and click games in which all you  do is click on a key character and direct her to move in various directions. Every direction changes the outcome of the story. 
The constant choices for the character to go down a specific road, take a risk, explore a new area, creates a completely new adventure for her. You make the choices, your character lives the consequences of those choices - good or bad. 
It's the same in life - we make choices and those choices ultimately make us the person we become.  
Thinking back to choices I made in the past, some of them I wish I could have a do-over, a retake. 
Other choices changed me and reshaped my life for the better. The best was my decision to trust God. 
Choosing to trust God broke the darkness colouring my life. And it turned all my angst and pain and frustration into total awesome - awesome because once I did made that choice, peace replaced despair, and hope replaced all the sad. 
Happy Thursday Guys.
 

Thankful Thursday - Nature.

“As long as this exists, this sunshine and this cloudless sky, and as long as I can enjoy it, how can I be sad?” Anne Frank
I climbed up the steep stairs to the annex where Anne Frank hid from the Nazis. I felt chills run through me. 
It was haunting being there, knowing eight Jewish families had lived in hiding holding onto hope that they'd make it out alive. The area was small, tight, dark. 
I wandered into the tiny room where Anne slept and looked out the small window. Still there strong and proud - the chestnut tree she saw. The sight of that tree against the sky and the birds flying by gave Anne strength, courage and hope. 
In February 1944 Anne wrote, "The two of us looked out at the blue sky, the bare chestnut tree glistening with dew, the seagulls and other birds glinting with silver as they swooped through the air, and we were so moved and entranced that we couldn’t speak."
And in May 1944, “Our chestnut tree is in full bloom. It’s covered with leaves and is even more beautiful than last year.”
I get what Anne felt because in nature I feel strong, free and full of hope.  Nature gives me hope even in the worst situations.
I'm incredibly grateful for nature's sights, sounds and smells. I go to the woods nearly every day and always come home happy, and incredibly peaceful. 

Happy Thursday, Guys. 

Thankful Thursday - People

"History isn’t about dates and places and wars. It’s about the people who fill the spaces between them.”  Jodi Picoult
I had a history teacher in grade 5 who taught me to see the people behind the events.  

She asked me do a project on Thomas Edison. "Don't just write about what he invented," she said. "Get into his head, and  into his skin. Feel his passion. Get hold of his dreams. Know about what motivated him, and the people who cheered him on, and those who didn't."
That project helped me see beyond the surface to the human being - a man who refused to give up on his goal; a man who tried and failed and tried again. 

That learning stayed with me. Today, I love love love history because I know it's all about people's dreams, passions, greed, frustrations, losses and loves. The basic human experience!
We're heading out on a road trip to explore one of the most historical places in the states - Massachusetts.  It's a first for us. Never been before. Looks like it's gonna be another awesome adventure.
Happy Thursday, guys.

Thankful Thursday - Believe for the Impossible.

"The day will come when the man at the telephone will be able to see the distant person to whom he is speaking."Alexander Graham Bell. 
 
How did he do it? How did Graham Bell come up with an idea so neat that people could actually talk to each other from far away? 

No had ever imagined that before. Bell even believed people would one day actually see the person they were talking to.   

Bell was a dreamer. He saw what others didn't. He went beyond what was - to what could be. He invested in his dreams and then claimed them not only possible, but a definite reality.  

I love that. I love that Bell walked his own path. I love that he didn't allow anyone to change his mind on what he believed possible. 

I want Bell's drive to become my drive. I want his motto to become my motto - "with ever door that closes a new one opens."  I want his determination to keep trying, to never give up to become mine - to stay in the game no matter how many fails I experience. 

And like Bell, I want to believe in my dreams even when they seem absurd and impossible. 

Right now I am working on a new book. The government gave me a grant to do it. My vision is to bring my community together in kindness and appreciation for each other through sharing their life stories. I'm excited and love that so many people already are wanting to jump on-board and be part of this project.  

Grateful for all those past and present who teach me to believe in my dreams.  Happy Thursday, Guys.

Thankful Thursday - Moving Forward

“Don't go wasting all them bright tomorrows you ain't even seen by hanging on to what happened yesterday. Let go, child. Just breathe out and let go.”  Beth Hoffman

It's over, all the good times and bad. Especially the bad that cut deep and almost broke me. I survived. Made it through. Overcame. For too long I held onto it. I let it define me but now I know it's over. It's in the past. 

And all that good stuff - I never wanted it to end but it did. The project I poured my heart and soul into, the people who came alongside me, our working together came to an end. The doors on those chapters closed. And in me I knew it was time to move on. Time for something else. Something new. A different direction. 
  
And the roles I took on that shaped my life shifted, changed into something different. I'm no longer a mom of young children. I'm a mom of young adults and with that comes a different way of being. And other roles I had, work related also morphed into something new and different.

It's strange, even when I know it's time to let go, I always try to hold on just a little longer. But I know not letting go will hinder  new things from taking wings. 
 
So today, graceful for all that's past and looking with expectancy to what is ahead. 

Happy Thursday, Guys.  

Thankful Thursday - Applauded.

"I think there should be a rule that everyone in the world should get a standing ovation at least once in their lives." R. J. Palacio. 

Wouldn't it be incredible to have a day when everyone in the world gets cheered just for being them?

One day when everyone gets to breath in the exhilarating shouts and cheers from others routing for them, believing in them and amazed at their resilience and courage. One day to hear and feel tremendous gratitude because of who they are and how they're living their lives. 

I think it would be so cool because we all deserve to know our lives matter especially on days we feel insignificant and unimportant. 

A standing ovation would crush every doubt, every fear, every thought of inadequacy. And it would push us forward with confidence to live stronger, happier, and more brave.  

So here's to applauding everyone's life. We all matter and each of our lives as it unfolds is unique and special and beautiful. 

Happy Thursday, Guys.