Nikki Rosen's Blog, page 6

Thankful Thursday - Survived

"I was amazed that what I needed to survive could be carried on my back. And, most surprising of all, that I could carry it." Cheryl Strayed

I meet them all the time, women who have incredible resilience, who've survived abusive homes, life threatening illnesses, cultural restraints, starting life over alone in new countries, raising children alone without support. Brave women who refuse to give in to fear and doubt. They hold onto hope, even when hope is slim and they make it one bit at a time. 

The weird thing is....these same women often see themselves as worthless, lacking in brilliance and strength and courage. In the workshops I run, I meet them, I hear their stories and I am in awe. 

Sometimes to survive we grit our teeth and hang on. We push ourselves to get through whatever overwhelms us but too often we forget to see the brave it took, and the persistence. 

It took me a longtime too, to admit the courage and strength and brave I had to hold on and overcome. Now I get to help these incredible women know they are survivors, amazing women, strong, powerful, who have more than showed they are capable of anything. 

Happy Thursday, Guys. 

Thankful Thursday - The Whole of Us

"Often we treat certain aspects of ourselves as junk, having no value. We try to throw parts of ourselves in the garbage. But a human being is an ecosystem, and everything in that system is of value to the whole." Stephen Schwartz. 

I'm not sure why but so many of us reject certain aspects of ourselves. We think we're not smart enough, good enough, right enough. But the biggest struggle we have is with our bodies. We criticize it for not being the right size, shape, colour, etc. We spend so much time trying to  hide parts of it or shape it to being what we think it should be.   

For too long I struggled with not feeling good enough. All I saw were my flaws. I focused on them to the exclusion of everything else.  Embracing all parts of me has been my biggest challenge.  

The thing is everyone's flawed. Everyone has imperfections, or weirdness. And the flaws are simply part of our whole makeup.

I love the woods and hiking the trails. In nature, I see misshaped trees, animals that have distinctive markings unlike others of their kind, roots that grow out where they're not supposed to, but I never think, yuck. Instead I marvel at the brilliance of how those 'flaws' fit perfectly into the whole of nature and enhance its beauty. 

So it is with us. Our flaws, those things we wish were not a part of us, really do add to our uniqueness and beauty. Today I choose to embrace all of who I am - mind, body, soul. 

Happy Thursday, Guys.

 

Thankful Thursday - Dream

“What’s important is that you make the leap. Jump high and hard with intention and heart. It’s up to you to make your life. Take what you have and stack it up like a tower of teetering blocks. Build your dream around that.” Cheryl Strayed. 
Dreams. It's easy to be talked out of them. People who love us mean well, especially if we've come through a hard time. They want us to be safe. They want us to have things that fit into their ideas of what we need, what would make us happy, - the norms, the life experiences everyone chooses. Things that are easier to achieve, easier to grasp onto.
But desires, and passions and hopes, and dreams are personal. No one can feel what we feel. No one can sense the tug inside our gut pulling us in the direction where few go - the uncommon, the path rarely used. 
It's often a struggle to say yes to that tug, to the dream, to the purposes we need to follow. But to not go after it is to live empty.
My friend's mother was a doctor. When she retired, she sold her house and all that she had and moved to El Salvador to provide medical care to the poor. At 65 she fulfilled a dream that had played in her heart most of her life. I was in awe of this woman and afraid for her but she is still there, happy, giving, and living her best life.
Today, I choose to build my life on the things that play in my heart and build my own dreams. I want to jump high and hard with intention. I want to live wild and free.
Have a great Thursday, Guys.  

Thankful Thursday - Miracles

"There can be miracles when you believe. Who knows what miracles you can achieve when you believe."Stephen Schwartz.

When my oldest was four, she contracted a common childhood illness caused by the virus enterovirus. 

She slept a lot and her body felt sore. We held hands and prayed for her to get better. Two days later, still feeling sick, she asked, "Why didn't God make me better?" 
We were in the car pulling into the driveway. I noticed two doves on our front lawn. I turned to my daughter. "Those are God's birds." The next morning when she woke up, amazingly she was completely better. "He did it, Ma. God made me better."
Sixteen years later, we still remember that 'miracle.' 
I believe in miracles - things that others might explain away but to us are divine interventions. 

There have been times in my life when I desperately needed a miracle but instead of things getting better, I spiraled further down until....somehow a 'miracle' happened and made all the difference. 

I believe in miracles! Happy Thursday, Guys.
   

Thankful Thursday - Fall.

"Such a feeling's coming over me. There's a wonder in everything I see. Not a cloud in the sky. Got the sun in my eyes and I won't be surprised if it's a dream." Karen Carpenter. 
It's over. Summer is done, finished. Two months of easy living, hanging with family and friends - lazing around - evening bike rides, hiking the wooded trails, swimming - bbq's - over.
September 1st signals the start of new adventures - new goals, buckling down, working hard towards achieving dreams, goals, purposes. 
Every season to me is exciting but one of my favorite is the Fall. I love the changes that begin to slowly happen in nature - changing of the leaves, -cooler temps, migration of birds, and with those changes - back to routines and being on the edge of new beginnings. Things that closed during the summer are up and running again, groups, committees, workshops, and kids back to school. People return ready, eager, fresh, excited.
Every season has it's beauty. Happy Thursday, Guys.
 

Thankful Thursday - Choices

"Life is a sum of all your choices, so, what are you doing today?" Albert Camus.

I always struggled with making choices. I agonized over what was the right thing to do and worried about what would happen if I made the wrong choice.

Choices in my head were classified only as right or wrong. Nothing in between. No grey area. But someone told me that choices are not right or wrong and if I make a choice that doesn't serve me, it's okay to backtrack and choose again.  

Looking back at some of the choices I've made over the last few years, I realize that those choices made me who I am. They shaped me, helped me move in the world better, especially the big ones like - choosing to keep an open heart, choosing to forgive all the people who hurt him, to, choosing to give back and help someone else make it. 

So what am I going to do today?  I'm choosing to live open, live kind, live with purpose, and forgive no matter what. 

Happy Thursday, Guys.

Thankful Thursday - Love.

"I can't think of anything I'd rather have more than somebody lovin' me." Sue Monk Kidd

Nothing feels as good as knowing somebody loves me.  Knowing I'm loved makes me strong, brave, confident.  

Love goes the extra mile. 
Love hangs in when no one else does. Love believes the best for me, wants the best for me. 

Love never holds a grudge. Love forgives. 

Love softens my heart - makes me move in the world softer, more gentle. 

Love empowers  - enables me to live my best life.  Being loved teaches me to be kind, giving, caring. 

I think love is the most powerful force in the world.

Happy Thursday, Guys.   


 

Thankful Thursday - Goals.

"To me, it`s about dreaming in the day and in the night. Dreams have always helped me visualize my goals and aspirations. When I was a child, I could see me on stage singing my heart out. I could see what I was wearing and where I was going. I would visit that dream every single day and as I look back, my dreams kept me focused on what I wanted to do and the person I wanted to be."  Dolly Parton. 
Summer for me is all about living life easy and free. But around mid-August with September a few weeks away, I always start to think about stuff I want to do - things I want to accomplish - ways to make a difference in my life and in the world. 
I already have confirmations of startup dates for running workshops and having writing projects due. More than that - this is a time I start to 'dream awake and asleep' - to see those things that are key for me to live with purpose - to reach for the passion to give back and set it on fire again. 
Summer - laid back, fun, family, friends. Fall - focused, purposeful, giving back, making a difference. 
Dreams delight me. They stretch me, make me reach higher. They give my life purpose, meaning. They enrich me. To give hope to someone in the dark, thrills me.
Maybe because in the Jewish faith, the new year begins in the Fall, for me, September means new beginnings - new projects, new adventures. 
Getting excited. It's gonna be one fab year!
Happy Thursday, Guys.

Thankful Thursday -Possiblities

The Wright brothers flew right through the smoke screen of impossibility. Charles Kettering
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"The Wright brothers flew right through the smoke screen of impossiblity." Charles Kettering. 

I can imagine the two brothers telling each other not to listen to all the people saying things like, 'are you both crazy? You can't fly like a bird. Do something more realistic. Do something with your lives that makes sense.'
But the brothers had passion in their guts, and an idea, a dream, and nothing anyone could say stopped them from pursuing what they believed to be possible. They listened to that small voice inside them that kept repeating over and over - GO FOR IT!!!!
I don't believe anymore in the word, impossible. I've heard it many times from people who don't 'see' or who can't imagine making possible what seems completely impossible. 
I've learned that sometimes I have to shut people out who try to sway me to drop the ideas that play in my heart....that sing chorus' on the inside, that pull me to move toward to something that others claim are impossibilities for me to achieve.
It's a risk, a gamble to move forward in trying to make impossibilities become a reality. But if the passion is there, and also, faith, I believe I can do those things I can't forget about, the things that play in my heart and which seem unlikely to ever becoming reality.
I believe - nothing is impossible. Have a dream? Have an idea that you can't let go of? I say, Go for it! 
Happy Thursday, Guys.

Thankful Thursday - Voice.

"I believe that God is in me as the sun is in the colour and fragrance of a flower - the Light in my darkness, the Voice in my silence." Helen Keller. 
We all want to be heard, to have our voice - to have a platform to speak, to say our point of view.....what we think, what we believe is right or wrong for us. We all need our voice to to be heard.
Me too. I want my voice to be heard. But there are days there is only one Voice I want and need to hear, - the Voice that instills courage in me, and confidence. The Voice that draws me to stand strong and brave and kind. 
That's the reason I go to the mountains, and into the woods, and into the brilliance of nature, the quiet, the calm, the peaceful - to listen, and hear the Voice that empowers me to be in the world and to be strong. 
Happy Thursday, Guys.