Nikki Rosen's Blog, page 8

Thankful Thursday - Beauty.

It was such a pleasure to sink one's hands into the warm earth, to feel at one's fingertips the possibilities of the new season.  Kate Morton. 

I love love love the smell of the earth and planting tiny little nothings and then waiting and watching them turn into brilliant colour and awesome beauty. 

I'm always amazed at how that actually happens.....how something so small and seemingly insignificant can become something that takes my breath away. 

Spring gardening  - all the hard work equals incredible joy - seeing everything slowly come back to life in all its brilliant beauty. Reminds me of life, especially healing from life's hurts - put in the hard work, then wait and watch and BABAM - beauty from the darkness. 

Happy Thursday, Guys.

Thankful Thursday - Legacy.

"What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments but what is woven into the lives of others." Pericles. 
My neighbour's daughter came over yesterday. She stood at the door crying. I knew right away - her 96 year old mom had died in the night. "She was my best friend. What am I going to do without her." 
Her words slipped inside me - Her mother was an amazing woman - kind, gentle, caring and always chatty. She had wanted to stay in her own home and her daughters accommodated her. They came everyday to take her out, have supper with her, laugh and chat, and ensure she was happy and content. Her grandkids came too. They mowed the grass, took out the garbage, shoveled snow. 

She left her family with an remarkable legacy - that of love and respect. And for me, knowing her and her family has been an honour. She unknowingly taught me some huge lessons - moms love, respect, appreciate and become best buds with their kids by simply being human and kind. 

I'll miss amazing lady but her legacy lives even in me - When I'm old and my kids are all grown up with families of their own, I hope they too will speak of me like my neighbour's daughters do of her. 

Happy Thursday, Guys. 

Thankful Thursday - Story

“Every human being has a fascinating existence, with a big cast of good and evil characters in each. And almost always, somewhere along the way, magic.”  Lucinda Riley. 
I love hearing people's life stories...where they've been, what they've done....things they hoped for, things they've lost, what they've overcome, the tough times and the scary. 

But the best is hearing about the amazing, the magical...long held dreams finally fulfilled, second chances given when everything seemed hopeless, new discoveries that infused them with purpose and passion.
Listening to others tell what life has been to them, is a huge reminder to me that all of us have a story make up of bits of darkness, and bits of glorious. Another reason to live kind.
Happy Thursday, Guys.

Thankful Thursday - Voice

“When I lost my voice, I lost myself. It’s as simple as that. My voice was the thing that had always defined me – it was who I was. 

Without my voice, I became the stark antithesis of the feisty, take-on-the-world, dauntless person I used to be, and morphed instead, into the kind of emotionally needy woman I’d never been. I felt like a ‘nothing’, a worthless individual of no value.”​ Connie Francis. 

I love this quotes because I know how much our voice impacts the way we move in the world. For a long time I didn't have a voice.....I never talked.....never said how I felt, never spoke up and asked for what I wanted, or needed. I was afraid of getting hurt. I had no voice.   But time went on and finally I found the courage to use my voice to tell, to speak, to share to give hope....to influence. And I'm still doing that.  Our voice is incredibly powerful. It's something that defines us. And the best is our voice can be a catalyst to help others find freedom.   
Just some thoughts on a rainy day....and something I'm grateful for.
Happy Thursday, Guys.  

Thankful Thursday - Light

“One man’s candle is light for many” Talmud
Someone emailed me, asked if I'd review her recently published book, and write a review. She's overcome an eating disorder and depression. She wants to give hope to others who are where she was. 

You bet I'll do it. Her heart wants to give back and give hope. There's nothing's better than that. 

Passing the torch to others struggling with darkness...showing that freedom is possible....It's what I've been doing since publishing my own book, In the Eye of Deception, in 2009. I remember how much struggled to write what I lived, but I knew it was time to tell, to give hope to others fighting their darkness. Many people over the years have told me or written me how much my story came to them as a message of hope. 

And every time I read about someone overcoming and giving back the hope they found, I'm in their corner, cheering them on because hope is the light turned on. 

Shannon will send me her book and after reading it I'll post a review. For now, if anyone wants to google her book it's Pound by Pound by Shannon Kopp. 

Happy Thursday, Guys. It's raining like crazy. Stay dry out there.      

Thankful Thursday - Today

“If I am not for myself who will be for me? 
Yet, if I am for myself only, what am I? 
And if not now, when?” Hillel
Growing up, I heard Hillel's quote so many times but never paid attention to the words. I finally get them. 
I get the importance of being there for others, encouraging and supporting them, cheering them on. I also get that I need to believe in me as well, to champion myself.  For too long I thought I didn't count, that what I wanted didn't matter. It's good to support others, but I also need to support myself. 

And there are dreams mucking around in my head, things I dream of doing but keep putting off, goals I long to realize but have made a ton of excuses for not doing. 

I have no idea what will happen tomorrow. A friend of mine was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor. It came out of left field. Her life now is a series of chemo and radiation and hopes for a better tomorrow. 

All any of us have is today. So all those dreams...all those goals and aspirations....No more waiting. I've decided, I'm moving on them.

Happy Thursday, Guys.  

Thankful Thursday - Faith & Determination

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world. Harriet Tubman
She was born a slave. She owned nothing, not even herself. But Harriet Tubman had two things no one could take away from her - a rock solid faith and a headstrong determination. 

So often I hear people say, they don't know anyone who could refer them for a job, or help them into some position they want. 

Tubman had no one. Worse, she was regarded as lower than low, less than human. Yet somehow Tubman became a powerhouse, a somebody, a woman who made a huge impact on the world.

Her faith and determination pushed her forward regardless of fear,  and humungo obstacles to become a conductor of the underground railroad, a scout and a humanitarian.
I want to be like Tubman. I want to live with intention and determination and faith. I want to make a difference in my small corner of the world, giving hope, helping others find freedom. 

If a slave woman alone can make such a huge impact, I and you can too. 

Here's to realizing dreams - Happy Thursday, Guys.  

Thankful Thursday Inch by Inch.

"We are formed by little scraps of wisdom." Umberto Eco

I used to visit this old Jamacian man every week when I worked in the inner city. Mr. Walters didn't know it then nor did I, but he taught me something that would stay with me even until today. A powerful little phrase, Inch by inch. That's it. Just a couple of words, that remind me nothing is impossible because Inch by Inch everything's a cinch. A simple phrase, but for me, a powerful one. Inch by inch I've learned I can do anything, overcome anything, become anything.

When I used to visit him, Mr. Walters always included those words in whatever he said to me. He said them so many times, they somehow slipped inside my heart and are still there today. I can still hear his raspy Jamaican drawl whispering inside me, Inch by Inch Girl, you do can do it. Inch by Inch, you can do anything. 

Packed into those simple words - Keep going. Keep moving forward. Never give up.

Inch by inch. We can do anything we want. 

Happy Thursday, Guys.
We are formed by little scraps of wisdom.
Umberto Eco
Read more at: http://www.azquotes.com/author/4342-Umberto_Eco

Thankful Thursday - The Difference.

“The painter constructs, the photographer discloses.” Susan Sontag.

I love photography. It helps quiet my mind and I get to see things I'd never notice without my camera. 

Last year I spotted this guy limping, and away from the group, alone, in obvious distress. It appeared as if the others were purposely shunning him because of his impediment. 

I took his picture and it was only then I noticed the heart on his beak. Can you see it? 

It made me think of people who have been broken, rejected and shamed. People who walk around with an emotional limp, on the outside, feeling alone and unloved. 

And then one touch of His gentleness changes everything.  His love - makes all the difference. 

Happy Thursday, Guys.  

Thankful Thurday. - Voice.

"Nothing haunts us like the things we don't say." Mitch Albom.
Finding my voice took me a long time. I never could own what I believed and knew to be true...to  speak up and say those things on my heart. I used to walk away playing over and over in my head those things I should have said but didn't. I didn't want to be laughed at or silenced by someone's disapproving tone or look or told I didn't know what I was talking about. 

But I've learned that finding and using my voice is key to walking free. It's powerful to speak up and say those things that play in my heart, in our soul, in my mind. It's not about others agreeing or disagreeing with me. It's about me being true to myself.

I've learned over the years in writing, it's important to find and write in my own voice but I think it's equally important to find and use our voice in life.

I think about all the women who come to my workshops who have told me they've never been able to speak up, to voice what they feel, or think or believe. It's left them doubting themselves, feeling unimportant and angry.

Writer Louise Penny says it perfectly  - To be silent, in hopes of not offending, in hopes of being accepted. But what happened to people who never spoke, never raised their voices? Kept everything inside? Everything they swallowed, every word, thought, feeling rattled around inside, hollowing the person out. And into that chasm they stuffed their words, their rage.  Louise Penny. 

Happy Thursday, Guys.