Nikki Rosen's Blog, page 5

Thankful Thursday - Purpose

"Life is being on the wire. Everything else is just waiting." Karl Wallenda.

Being on the wire to me is all about living my passion, doing what I love, being active in the things that make my heart sing.

For me, it's living free, giving back, sharing hope, making a difference, hands on. 

And it's that hands on experience that drives me to set the bar higher, do more and live my life with purpose. There's nothing else that truly excites, that makes me feel incredibly alive and free. 

Purpose driven. Doing the thing I'm called to do. Stepping out, taking a risk and then another and another to make what plays in my heart real.  Sure there are scary moments and doubts that muck around in my head and some people happen by who don't see or feel what I do and question why I would even consider such a thing when it seems unlikely to happen, But passion and purpose drive me.  

And there are waiting times, the spaces that feel empty, lonely, when it feels like stepping onto the wire won't ever happen again. But waiting is part of the dance of life, part of incubating the dream. Eventually that dream will become reality and I will climb back onto the wire and GO. 

It's that time now - The wait has been long. I've been writing grants, connecting with people, leaders in the community, and taking steps to make the project in my heart a reality. 

Happy Thursday, Guys.  

Thankful Thursday - Kindness

"All I’m saying is that kindness don’t have no boundaries.” Karen Stockett.




It's that time again - the season of love, and kindness.
December - the time when hope is promoted and people everywhere reach out to help those in their communities who are struggling or are alone. 

The whole month, efforts are given to build toy mountain, fill food bank shelves, donate time and energy. Community meals are prepared, gifts are wrapped for nameless people with ages not names earmarked. People are excited. They want to give. They want to show kindness and hope and love. And something I've noticed, around this time of year, people are happier, friendlier, more loving. 

And me too, I'm love jumping into the spirit, doing my part, getting involved. I love giving back because so much has been given to me. There's no shortage of hurting people in need.

The thing is though, there are many people who don't outwardly show their loneliness or sadness or pain. They carry it alone, holding it to themselves, not wanting anyone to see what's really going on in their heart.

It's easy to see the homeless, or the single mom struggling on welfare, or refugees who are starting again from scratch. But what about the people who present well, who look like they have it altogether, yet they carry inside them a sadness, a loneliness, and fears for their future.  For that reason, I want to smile, and be kind to everyone I meet. Life can hurt and no one really knows what someone else is going through. Kindness don't have no boundaries! 

Happy Thursday, Guys. 

Thankful Thursday - Lessons

“And finally I twist my heart round again, so that the bad is on the outside and the good is on the inside, and keep on trying to find a way of becoming what I would so like to be.” Anne Frank
It's a fact of life - bad things happen. And they happen to everyone. Sometimes they hit early on in life, sometimes later. 
Things I learned about tough times - they really do happen to everyone at some point in life but thankfully, they don't last for ever. Maybe the most important thing - they leave their mark in a way that changes us, makes us see the world and our place in it differently. 
Bad things are life lessons, to teach, make strong, empower, create positive change. That's the way I look at it now. Before I kept questioning and asking why. Why me? 
I've listened to others, the stuff they've struggled through and overcame. Their difficult years, the tough, the lonely, their longing and sadness and pain. It seems part of the human journey although I wish it wasn't - I wish it was rainbows and sunshine all the time, no tough stuff, no unkindness, no hurt, or sickness, or broken relationships. 
Today, I'm grateful for coming through the hard things and standing stronger. And maybe the most important - learning compassion. 
Happy Thursday, Guys. 

Thankful Thursday - Courage

“It takes courage to believe the best is yet to come, especially when you're flat on your back and don’t know if you’re going to see tomorrow. I believe optimism is a choice - a muscle that gets stronger with use. Right foot, left foot…just keep moving.” Robin Roberts.

I meet them everyday, people who shine hope, pushing, striving, hopeful to overcome some physical or emotional limitation. 

Inwardly strong and incredibly courageous they refuse to stay down. Refuse to give up. Refuse to give in to the thing that wants to hold them back.

These people are my heros, the ones that motivate me to try when things don't go well, to hold on to hope, and mostly to never, ever give up. 

Life isn't always fair or kind or gracious, but the courage to stand up after being knocked down and put one shaky foot in front of another continues to inspire and amaze me. 

Happy Thursday, Guys.

 

Thankful Thursday - Fly

"Listen, everybody! There's no limit to how high we can fly! We can dive for fish and never have to live on garbage again!" Richard Bach, author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull   

He was a  bird...a seagull....a scavenger....He learned to soar....high above the garbage...He took a risk and he learned how to fly. 

Johathan Livingston Seagull - A kid's book for adults. The message is the best. It's about coming to the place of knowing who we really are....what we're really capable of.  It's about learning to do the impossible....the things dreamed of....wished for. It's about learning to live life as it's meant to be lived....unafraid...free....following our heart wherever it leads. I want to fly. I want to climb higher than I've ever gone. I want to overcome fears and let go of things that have keep me living less than my best. I want to face the lies..the myths...the things that hold me back from living completely free.  I feel it...a crazy hunger....a strong pull....a yearning to scale higher....to let go of long-held beliefs and fears.
 I can do it. I'm pumped. I've learned that nothing is impossible. One shaky step in front of another, letting go of things that hold me down, and moving forward and up.   Happy Thursday, Guys.
 

Thankful Thursday - Stories

“Stories...we are made up of stories. And even the one's that seem the most like lies can be our deepest hidden truths.”  Jane Yolen
I love stories.  Mostly, I love listening to people's life stories.  I'm always in awe of where someone's been, how they overcame, how they held tight to hope, and never gave up even when it seemed like nothing would change for the better. 
Sometimes,when someone is sharing their story with me, and they've forgotten how brave they were and courageous, but in retelling what they lived, a spark is rekindled. I see it in their eyes. 
Real people, real stories. Stories that sometimes sound incredulous, wild, unreal, but it is those very stories that people lived that inspire me to move forward, to hold fast to my dreams, and to know tough times never last and that everything is always possible. 

Happy Thursday, Guys.  

Thankful Thursday - Real!

"Real isn’t how you are made, it’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real. 
Once you are real, it lasts for always. You can't become unreal.
Does it happen all at once or bit by bit?  
It doesn't happen all at once. You become. " Margery Williams. 

My kids loved the book, The Velveteen Rabbit. So did I. It came with a little skinny stuffed rabbit that I pretended was 'real.' It was our favorite read when they were little. 

The story's true. I think we do become real when a child loves us, really loves us. 

Before I had kids, I was totally me focused. But after I had them, they became my focus, my reason for being. These little people depended on me. They trusted me and I wanted them to be happy, and safe in the world. They took up so much of my heart. 

Loving them, I became free, not so inhibited, and hesitant. We laughed, danced in the house, had pillow fights, tickle times, sang endless songs to each other. And the best, gave each other squishy tight hugs everyday. We still do.  

Today, over the moon grateful for my kids who little by little help me to live real.

Happy Thursday, Guys.

Thankful Thursday - L'Chaim. To Life.

"There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind." C.S. Lewis

Sometimes I get stuck dwelling on the past - all those people who were once such a huge part of my life - moved across the country, or died, or simply left. And situations that took up so much of my energy and time, now over, resolved, finished.

I used to long for them, wish they hadn't ended, that they were still a part of my world. But I've noticed something amazing - in their place, other people, other things, other situations......

Life never stops filling us up with new and good and amazing things. It makes me excited thinking about the future and what it holds.

Someone once told me that whatever happened good or bad from this moment backward is done, it's over. I can never get it back. So stop looking back, face forward, put one foot in front of the other and go. There are so many amazing people, experiences, adventures waiting.

In Jewish we have a saying - L'Chayim. (To life). And that's what it's all about for me. There's an expectancy in that. So today I say L'Chayim. To life. 

Happy Thursday, Guys.

Thankful Thursday - Mornings.

“Each day means a new twenty-four hours. Each day means everything's possible again."  Marie Lu. 
I love mornings. I love waking up and knowing it's another day....completely open...completely free to anything and everything. 
Mornings excite me. Even when I have nothing planned for the day, I feel this openness, an expectancy that anything can happen. Anything can be. 
Mornings are my best time to write, to create, to compose - especially very early mornings when everyone is still asleep. 
When I look out the window and see the darkness pulling back and the day beginning to unfold with light I think of all the possibilities this new day holds. 
No matter what good or bad happened the day before, in the everything starts fresh.  And maybe that's what I love about mornings the most - that they signify new beginnings. 
Happy Thursday, Guys.    

Thankful Thursday - Heart

"Heart is what drives us and determines our fate." Isabel Allende. 

Life is all about passion....the things that play on the inside of us that drive us, that pull us to chose the paths we walk down. 

For me, the driving force has been about giving back.....making a difference for someone else.....making them smile, showing hope. 

It's because of what He did. With one touch of His gentleness, He did what nothing else could. He pulled me from the darkness into light.  And I'm grateful. Incredibly grateful because I still remember how awful it was, how painful and lonely. 

We can't tell by looking at someone what they're carrying, what pain they're holding. I still remember in my toughest moments, those times I wanted to give up - and a stranger on the street smiled at me. Their smile gave me hope, hope to keep going. 

Maybe today my smile will give someone hope to going going, to not give up. 

Happy Thursday, Guy.