"You Don't Have to Be a Star, Baby, To Be In My Show"

"Now I don't need no superstars, but I accept you as you are........"  So, just to be clear, I believe every human being has the potential to be a superstar, in each person's individual way.  But as the song says, "I accept you as you are", and that is a beautiful place to be in any relationship.

It's so nice to be around people that you are comfortable with and who are comfortable with you.  We all strive to be accepted.  It's difficult to live as an outsider and we know people can make bad choices if they feel like they don't belong.  We all need to be part of a group or multiple groups.  As they say, "to know me is to love me" or at least to know me is to accept me.

When I ponder someone reaching his or her full potential, part of the success story always includes being in an accepting and nurturing environment.  If you strive to have that as an adult, but didn't have that as a child, you may feel uncomfortable and try to push people away.  Having an awareness of being uncomfortable is a key factor to beginning to change.  It is possible to recover from feelings of inadequacy.  One step at a time.

Loving, supportive, nurturing people accept you unconditionally; well, as much as humans can do this.  Mistakes are forgiven, grudges are not held, and we all learn and grow together.  People become well-rounded superstars in a forgiving environment, as always, we are expected to take responsibility for our actions and make amends for our mistakes.

If you don't feel nurtured and accepted, start by nurturing and accepting yourself.  You deserve it.  Accept yourself exactly as you are, fully and completely, while striving to do better.  That is the key to success.    

Have a wonderful day!!

xo

Conni

Today's Mantra:  I accept myself and others exactly as we are.

Mantra for Every Day: I choose to send love to all; receiving love back multiplied in infinite proportions, creating and nurturing pathways of love.

Have You Heard of the Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman?

Our family has three books from the series:  The 5 Love Languages; The 5 Love Languages, Men's Edition; and The 5 Love Languages of Teenagers.  Full disclosure, the books haven't made our relationships perfect, but the information is really helpful to understand the frustration surrounding doing our best to show love to others without success.

The five love languages are:  Words of Affirmation; Quality Time; Receiving Gifts; Acts of Service; and Physical Touch.  There are profiles with questions that need to be answered to give you an indication of which love languages you and others need to feel loved.  An example question might be:  "I value the gifts my wife gives to me or I love to hear my wife say she loves me."  (Choose the best response for yourself between the two options.)  It's a great treasure map to the clues needed to give love the way someone is most able to feel it.

Have you ever made an extra effort for someone that went over like a lead balloon?  You could be using one of your dominant love languages to show love to someone that didn't have the same dominant love language.  It's worth considering educating yourself for better results of your efforts.

Knowing how busy everyone is, it makes sense to get a good "bang for your buck" when showing love to your family and friends.  There is a learning curve with every new skill, but once the bloom of a new love wears off, it's good to have a plan to keep love growing.

Have a wonderful day!

Xo

Conni

Today's Mantra:  I choose to understand the love language of myself and others whom I love.

Mantra for Every Day: I choose to send love to all; receiving love back multiplied in infinite proportions, creating and nurturing pathways of love.

"....Or Would You Like to Swing on a Star, Carry Moonbeams Home in aJar and Be Better Off Than You Are...."

Have y'all heard this old frank Sinatra song, part of it goes like this....

"A fish won't do anything but swim in a brook 

He can't write his name or read a book 
To fool all the people is his only thought 
Though he's slippery, he still gets caught 
But then if that sort of life is what you wish 
You may grow up to be a fish 

And all the monkeys aren't in a zoo 
Every day you meet quite a few 
So you see, it's all up to you 
You can be better than you are 

You could be swingin' on a star"

Do you covet??  The life of a fish does sound pretty good, better than some of our lives, worse than others.  To be "better off than you are" is all relative.  I love looking at the water but it's usually too cold for me to enjoy swimming.  Those darn fish don't have the responsibities that we do, but they don't have the freedom of choice that we have, either.  

Are you willing to give up your freedom to relieve yourself of resposibilty??  We call that a prison sentence where I come from.  And doesn't "swimming with the fishes" mean the mafia killed you and you aren't alive anymore?  

I know I wouldn't be a good fish, and I know that carrying moonbeams home in a jar would get old for me.  I think I'd rather be the best "me" that I can be, and let go of the need to covet someone else's life.  Because having the freedom of choice is an incredible gift.  Being responsible for my own actions can be a gift or a burden, but allowing myself to learn and grow comes with knowing I will make mistakes and hopefully learn from them.  

Have a wonderful day!

Xo

Conni

Today's Mantra:  I choose to be the best "me" I can be.

Mantra for Every Day: I choose to send love to all; receiving love back multiplied in infinite proportions, creating and nurturing pathways of love.