42

I must listen carefully to others.

Daily we are bombarded with the sounds of life: nature, the banter of people, television, stereos, cars, industry; these are to list but a few. We hear the hum of our thoughts and our blood as it courses through our veins. There is so much background noise that when silence finally arrives we hear a high-pitched whistle before we finally get used to the stillness.

Yet how many of us consciously listen? How often do we hear the sounds and the words purposely directed at us?

Just for today, let your mind be still and your ears open. Hear the words that are being said to you. Give those around your complete attention when they speak. Allow yourself the opportunity to listen carefully to the things that you need to hear.

45

I must stand firm and stand tall, but always with kindness and love.

Thoughts have many directions. They are what life is based upon. They are the foundation stones to character, hopes, fears, achievements and failings. The thoughts we have about ourselves determine whether we are shy or out going, passive or prominent. The way we view others has the same influencing effect because we feed the way they then view themselves.

How we think and then react will always have influence somewhere. In a peaceful state of mind we can influence with kindness and love but when we are rattled and stressed, we send anger and turmoil in every direction. We ruin a perfectly normal day in seconds with words too hastily conveyed.

Just for today, be aware of every word that you dish out. Notice the effect your words have both on others and your own peace of mind. It is important you speak your truth but do it without undue emphasis or innuendo. Try to be as innocent and as unattached to a particular outcome as possible.

47

I must go with the flow of the day as often as I can.

The day you are in is a new day, a blank page that as yet is unwritten. You will write upon it yourself with all that you say, do and intend.

Appointments, meetings, work and chores are all normal things of life, but sometimes we can make them too rigid. We become bound by them and by the hands of the clock, until we cannot move left or right without fear of failing to achieve their fulfilment. Yet this need not always be so. We have merely conditioned ourselves to this programming. Life itself is intended to flow.

Just for today, be like the willow and bend a little. When the day throws an unexpected twist, go with it instead of against it. The chances are that you still will achieve all you intend but in an altered order. You may even obtain a little unexpected fun!

51

I will not feel guilty today.

We have a talent for feeling bad about things we have no control over at all.

The Bible depicted the first sin in the Garden of Eden and since then we have carried the burden of the world upon our shoulders. We invite guilt when really we have nothing to feel bad about. Man is responsible for his own life and for his own actions. He is the only one to decide what to do with them. Mistakes he made in the past, even yesterday, must be laid aside. He is given a new chance everyday to set the record straight and become a better person. He alone must decide that he really wants this and the rest will follow just as surely as night follows day. He is the creator of his own destiny– at all times.

Just for today, ask that all negativity and unnecessary guilt be recycled. The choices you took yesterday were right for you at that time, or you would not have made them. Any guilt that you now feel, you placed there yourself after the said time of event. Send your thoughts upstairs and ask that you may be shown the most appropriate way to move forward from here. Stay in the light and the love of all you know to be true and correct until slowly you become the best version of the self you always wanted to be.

56

I must focus on the task at hand and on nothing el