IMAGINE if TREES gave off wifi signals, we would be planting so many trees and we would probably save the planet too. Too bad they only produce the OXYGEN we breathe.
Go out today and give thanks for TREES, the shade they share, the gift they are to the world. I LOVE TREES. Peace Out.
My little family just went to see Dolphin Tale 2 last night & we were happy to see another sweet, true story. The thing we like about these movies is the real video footage you get to enjoy to truly understand and see the real story come to life. It is also a great, heart-warming family movie & you just want to swim with dolphins after seeing it! Who doesn’t love dolphins!
Here is the movie trailer incase you have not seen it
Here are some lessons learned from this sweet film:
“I don’t want to look back on this knowing we didn’t even try”
At this point in the movie Sawyer is fighting to pair the two dolphins because he knows what the outcome will be if they don’t even try.
This could be a slogan for life. There are definitely times where you have to ask yourself—am I going to look back and have regrets that I didn’t push through, I didn’t even try… Are you at a point where you are wondering should I take this path, or should I take that one?? Are you wondering if your talent is worth pursuing? Are you questioning what direction you are headed? We all have moments where we wonder if we should start a new business, go to a certain school, pursue a dream, take a spontaneous trip, etc. Don’t look back and wonder what could have been, go forward in your pursuit of anything great!
“It’s a big world. You have to shake it up now and then to get it moving forward.”
At this point in the movie Dr. Cameron (Morgan Freeman) is trying to help Sawyer understand that sometimes you need to step out of the box to find solutions to problems.
This is so true in any situation. Sometimes you need to step away from a project, a relationship, a hard situation & see it from a different angle, a new perspective, so you can have a new way of seeing it.
“Now, all we can do is Hope.” “That’s her name.” “Hello, Hope”
Hazel gave the new baby dolphin a very fitting name, Hope. This dolphin was also a gift & hope for Winter the dolphin.
HOPE is a beautiful word. Last night my daughter was stressing about 6th grade homework & the stress was building through the night. I laid in bed with her to say prayers & she started counting all the things she needed to do…mini poster, spelling, read 100 pages… I brushed her face with my fingers & told her to calm down & that everything would be okay. I told her to envision a lush, green field full of wild flowers & had her envision walking barefoot through the grass. I explained how she began to hear water nearby & came to a beautiful ocean outlet that had two channels. I had her see it in her mind. In one, I had her envision the beautiful dolphin Hope that we had just seen in the movie. I had her see it twirling and jumping in the water up one channel of the ocean. I asked her—Would you rather go and swim with HOPE or take the channel of HOPELESSNESS? I had her see herself jump in the water & able to swim with this sweet dolphin. Each of the waves began to take her worries away. It was a beautiful image. So, what will you choose, HOPE or HOPELESS? It truly is your choice.
Amazing People doing AMAZING things
In the movie you get to see Bethany Hamilton swim with Winter in the movie. It is always humbling and inspiring to see her attitude & what she has done with her life despite her struggles.
You also get to see real footage of the amazing marine facility in Florida that is changing not only the lives of wounded Sea Animals, but constantly bringing hope to veterans, children without limbs…it was beautiful to see the work this great place does. It truly is a place of HOPE.
Here is a link to the actual facility in Florida http://www.seewinter.com
Well, I hope this post makes you want to take your family to see a movie that truly inspires good things.
It is a family tradition at our house to watch America’s Got Talent, and last night was the incredible finale. It has been months of AMAZING, talented people, so I thought I would pass along some additional stories of people doing AMAZING things. Check out the following: my favorites of AGT, a funny stunt & highlights from the season.
MY Favorite AGT Acts
The winner of this year’s AGT competition and one of my favorite acts—a magician. Who doesn’t love magicians!! He was amazing every time, but this was one of my favorite acts..
One of my favorite acts of the AGT competition. I love his voice and all their talent. They make beautiful music together.
Another one of my favorites–a acrobat troop who were amazing. This is my favorite of their acts.
There were lots more talent acts—dreams came true watching Lenny Kravitz sing with AGT contestant Miguel Dakota (liked that guy–humble) & Emily West singing True Colors with Cyndi Lauper. The finale was a great show–check it out!! Youtube it. AGT is always full of fun.
Here are a couple other funny moments that were my favorite:
Heidi vs Mel B “Glam Off”
Enjoy your day!! -Heather
I had quite an adventurous weekend!! Almost my whole family of nine adults and ten kids headed to Garden City, Utah to go boating at Bear Lake. The weather was wonderful and everyone was having a great time on the beach, waiting for the boat.
Earlier in the day my husband was putting the boat in at the marina when large amounts of water started filling the boat. In a matter of minutes the boat was almost going to be sunk in the marina. Luckily, a nice fisherman was heading out on the lake & saw my husband and brothers-in-law struggling to figure out what could be done. The man quickly pulled his boat over & towed them out before the boat was completely under water. The culprit??? The boat had been in the shop & the mechanic had not replaced the plug in the boat. yikes!!
Lesson: whenever getting into a boat—have a life jacket and make sure there is a plug!!
Well, after hours of draining the boat, finding a plug, I honestly wasn’t sure if we should take the boat out. My husband was determined to show my family some…he literally started trying to quote Clark Griswold, “fun, old-fashioned family..fun. We’re gonna press on, and we’re gonna have the hap, hap, happiest time.” I laughed & let him carry on.
We took the boat out & after we loaded up eight kids, three adults, towels, & made sure everyone had life jackets, we were off! My brother-in-law jumped in to the freezing lake & strapped on a wakeboard, took a few spins & then we began to notice the boat was taking on some water. The adults all looked at each other, “What do we do? get the kids in closer to shore or risk getting to the marina?” We opted to get close to shore & get everyone overboard because water was coming in quick & the weight of everyone was definitely not helping. The kids all looked at the shore & we heard little voices say, “that is sure far.” We kept reassuring everyone we had life jackets & they would help us float in to safety. One by one everyone jumped off the boat. The rest of my family watched, wondering what was happening on board the boat. They knew something must be wrong when they saw me climb off the boat, fully clothed. smile. smile. We all began swimming to shore.
We gathered together as we watched my husband & brother-in-law slowly drive the boat toward the marina. The entire family stood there on the beach and said a prayer that the boat would not sink & the guys would be okay. We all watched until we could not see the boat any more. We then received a call from my husband & the boat had stalled in the middle of the lake. They needed the coastguard quick!! Luckily the boat drifted near a buoy & were able to hook the boat so it would not continue drifting further and further from shore.
This is when a stranger on a jet ski pulled over because he could tell they were in trouble & offered to pull them out with his tractor. The safety of grace, the beauty and kindness of a stranger. He jetted off to his nearby cabin & brought his tractor down to the lake & everyone worked together to get the boat out before going under. YAY!!!
There was another side of this story that these children learned this weekend at Bear Lake. They learned that faith and prayers can do many things. While my entire family was gathered together yesterday, I had my mother share a personal story from her youth about guardian angels & praying for safety… My mother when she was about seven-years-old had been at this very lake with her mother, father and two older brothers. They had been traveling & were on their way home when they arrived at the beautiful Bear Lake. It was a hot Sunday & being religious people they did not want their children swimming on Sunday. But, after many begs and pleas from the boys, their father allowed the children to take a quick dip in the lake to cool off before returning to the hot car & driving home.
My mother shared the story with beautiful detail & allowed the children listening to look out at the beautiful, blue lake & imagine the story. She continued on…one boy found a inner tube & the other found a log to float on. At first, everything was all fun, but then the boys began to get swept further and further out into the lake. The water began to get more choppy & one of the boys had his log shoot out from under him & he was left looking for safety. He swam over to his brothers tube & tried to hold on, but the tube then jetted out from under both of them & the two boys were left with nothing around them. They knew how to swim, but the waves were crashing & the water kept churning over them. The parents could barely see them & began to worry. Their father saw what was happening & began to swim out after them. Their mother looked at her young daughter (my mother) & had her point & watch where the boys were. She quickly obeyed & kept her arm pointing, watching the boys. Their mother ran up and down the beach yelling for help, praying they would be saved. Their father was a good swimmer, he swam hard, but the current was powerful & his body was tiring & he knew he would not have the strength to save both of them. He thought to himself & wondered what he could do. Out of nowhere there was a women, who yelled, “you grab him & I will take him.” They pulled them in & everyone was exhausted, throwing up water, but they were alive. Their mother grabbed this mysterious woman & hugged her, sobbing, thanked her & asked her everything she could possibly find out about her—where she lived, why she was here, where she came from…
My mom told the story and sobbed, reminiscing every moment. Every child in the room listened intently. She concluded the story about how her mother & father tried to locate this woman for years. She explained how her brother would travel back east for business & also tried to find her, but they never could. To them, she was a guardian angel that answered their prayers.
This weekend was many moments of memorable fun, but was also a humbling, learning experience of having faith.
The kids all worked together to bake a big plate of cookies that we took to an angel who helped us out this weekend. It was sooo fun to see the kids so proud to give them the notes and cookies they made & say thanks for helping save the boat. It was priceless.
I just wanted to share these two great stories to share further the importance of having faith. –Peace to you. Heather
Last week I was texting everyone I know asking them to pray for my husband, their brother, friend, family…I was worried because my husband never gets sick, let alone, takes 3 days off work in a two week period. Something was wrong!! We had two sets of full blood work, two different doctors visit and an ultra sound. I have been worried at different points, but I was deeply worried and found myself crying and praying like crazy that my world would not be shaken in such a way.
We found out it was a painful pancreatitis attack, but after a week he was feeling like himself again. We both sat down with our daughter and gave many prayers of thanks with an eternally grateful heart. I asked my husband if there was a point when he was really worried & he explained when he was walking into the hospital, he began to wonder if he would be walking through those doors on numerous occasions. It made me so grateful that the outcome was not worse.
Tough experiences, hard days, are those times when you really see things a little more clearly. You don’t take for granted the opportunity to talk on the phone with your best friend, to tell them things, to share everything. The experience definitely made me see how easy life could be taken & how quickly everything can change. It made me even more aware of how important he is in my life.
STOP right this minute and try to imagine someone you would miss whole heartedly if they were gone—a best friend, a spouse, a parent, a sibling, a child…imagine they were taken from you & you could not even pick up the phone to call them. How do you feel? I hope you felt something & wanted to say something to them. Call them right now. Write a note of love or thanks or gratitude to have them in your life. Give them a big hug & tell them how much they mean to you.
Ask yourself—what would I miss about…& express your feelings to those you love and appreciate. Will you miss the perfume they wear, their smile that warms the room, the way they bake your favorite cookies, your long talks, their laugh, the way you feel when they are around, their whistle, the shoes they wear, the way they wear their hair, the memories you share, the laughter you enjoy together, the favorite trips together, singing in the car, the stories they tell… Life is too short to not take the time to share how you feel. It will be a win for everyone!!
“Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.” -John Milton
Now, within your heart, give a prayer of eternal gratitude that you have these beautiful people you cherish in your life. People are taken or become ill every day. Those you hold dear are within your reach, so reach out and let them know you love and appreciate them.
Peace to you. Sending you blessed wishes for you and those you love.
I asked my daughter this morning, “why do you think we are here in this world?” and you know what she said, “To have the adventure of life!” That was very insightful especially after watching the movie, Finding Joe, which is a movie about the teachings of Joseph Campbell and the journey of life. The following are things I took away from the movie. It was a sprinkling of wisdom, inspired people, things to think about and good takeaways. The thoughts are sometimes direct quotes from the movie (but not all are stated who said them) Enjoy.
A CALL TO ADVENTURE—a divine call to action for your life. This may come in the depths of sorrow, a hard life situation, the very things we may need to catapult us in a better direction for our life, a better version of ourselves.
“I think that people tend to wake up the hero of their own life when they are tired of being the victim of their own life.” -Robert Walter, President of the Joseph Campbell Foundation
The hero of your own life means you are responsible for your own adventure. You have a choice to surrender to victimhood, you can give your responsibility to someone else & have them tell you what to do or you can understand you have a choice and are responsible.
Joseph Campbell always talked about a metaphorical death of some kind. The old lends itself to the new. “The snake who cannot shed its skin must parish.” -niche It is an indication that change has taken place. When we continue to let go of the old and let the new emerge, that is change…growth.
The Chinese letters for the word CRISIS are actually both DANGER and OPPORTUNITY.
The lessons often come from the hardest things in our lives. It is not necessarily what happens to us, as what we do with the outcome of the situation. Do we fall victim, or rise above it.
The Hero’s Journey—a life metaphor. This is the story in every story we tell, fairy tale we hear, journey that inspires…the hero’s journey.
Every story begins with a separation of some kind, an initiation and a return home. The movie Star Wars was a prime example of the Hero’s Journey throughout the story.
In many stories the forest often represent the unknowns, the edges within our lives. The moments where courage is needed. Joseph Campbell often talked of the story of the knights of the round table. They were in search of the Holy Grail, but it was decided that the best way to find it would be to have each knight start at a different location to begin their journey. The one caveat was to find a spot on the edge of the forest where there was no trail because if their was a trail it was sure not to be the knights true path. If there was a path, they would be following someone else’s path, not their own.
You must go out on your own to find your own TRUTH.
FOLLOW YOUR BLISS and the universe will open doors for you, where there were only walls. -Joseph Campbell
Robert Walter describes “Bliss” as “the one thing you can’t not do. Your Authentic Journey.”
It is trusting that deep impulse within us, to follow that specific path, the bliss, the one thing that makes us feel most alive.
Deepak Chopra says, “Follow your bliss does not mean get addicted to pleasure.”
It doesn’t mean selfishness. Don’t follow what other people think is your bliss. So how do you find your bliss?
Ask yourself—what do you enjoy doing, what are you passionate about, what can you do where hours seem to slip away while you are enjoying what you are doing??? What set you apart as a child? You know within. Ask yourself this…If money and time were no limitations, what would you do?? How would you express yourself??What would you do to benefit the world? What lights you up?? use words, use images, use music, art, find things around you that will help you identify what ignites your energy.
Talk to yourself in a journal and begin to see your dreams, hopes, what you feel good about, your lessons you have learned…begin to see yourself.
Rebecca Armstrong talked about how Joseph Campbell would give this advice to his students: “Don’t do what Daddy says because he only has one interest in mind for you—your security! If you bargain away your life for security now, you will never find your bliss.”
If you still feel like you don’t know what you are looking for—at least know this—you are looking and that you are on your way to bliss. Go looking—try things you have always wanted to try, do things that you are drawn to. Ask yourself why you haven’t tried something. Take different paths to work, shake up your routines. Put yourself out there. STRETCH yourself. Do something scary or uncomfortable.
Why do most people NOT FOLLOW their bliss? FEAR
“What will they think of me must be put aside for bliss.” -Joseph Campbell
Our first greatest demons we have to face are those critics right in front of us (ourselves and our friends and family). They all mean well, but you know what excites you. You ultimately are the one who holds yourself back from following your bliss because you begin to believe the others around you or you are afraid of what they think. If you can do that—you can achieve the impossible.
“I want to sing like birds sing, not worrying who listens or what they think.” -Rumi
“Opportunities to find deeper powers within ourselves come when life seems most challenging.” -Joseph Campbell
Joseph Campbell speaks of slaying a dragon in the hero’s journey. He describes the Dragon as the beast covered in scales that say ‘thou shalt’ and ‘thou shalt not’ The beast is a construction of all the rules, regulations, social obligations that have made you feel that you have to or have been made to do certain things. This is the moment where you take everything you’ve learned and use it to beat the dragon.
Robin Sharma said, “What is the one thing that keeps people small, that keeps them from their mountain tops?? their fears or as Joseph Campbell would say..their dragons.” Fears that are not faced begin to toxify, to creep to make you scared.
LOVE is what we are born with FEAR is what we learn.
Fear isn’t going anywhere, you just have to create the courage to move past the fears. Tony Hawk shared his experience creating the first loop ramp and facing the fear of actually doing it.
Courage takes practice. You just have to keep facing a fear and moving one step past it and it becomes easier. Do the things that scare you, whether it’s a tough conversation, leaving a job you don’t enjoy…the courage comes after. It’s okay to be scared, it’s a healthy warning, but that shouldn’t stop you from facing your fears.
Often the fears and dragons are the projections of ourselves–we create them, we create something that we have to defeat and it is often just something within ourselves. We can all be heroes if we are willing to look at ourselves more closely and understand and see the good and the bad and become better.
You begin to see the parts of yourself you struggle with on the inside. To fully see and understand the inner dragons, you must surrender. Some would say, loving your dragon is the more efficient way and feels better. There’s always a gift in battling inner demons and overcoming them because that is what a soul’s journey is about, facing fears and growing beyond it. As we overcome our fears we gain power. The best most rewarding moments often come after a struggle.
Struggles are like a minus symbol—it’s half of the plus symbol. + On one lovel it’s negative—sure the divorce was hard, the illness a challenge, you lost your job…we are not saying that wasn’t troublesome. Look at what awareness you can add to it that gives you a far bigger picture to master it.
“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” -Joseph Campbell
At a certain point in the heroes journey it’s going to come about you loving and accepting yourself as you are. That’s a powerful moment that aligns you directly with the universe. The real goal in the heroes journey is not to only slay the dragons but to bring back the essence of the journey you experienced to others. To share your story and allow others to learn from it.
The choice you make to not give up is a story you are telling yourself. Did you show up for this life? Did you have the courage you needed? What did you learn about YOU?
I truly hope you learned some key things from JOE (Joseph Campbell) & I will leave you with a few other key thoughts that he has shared with the world. Peace and love to you in all you do. -Heather
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