I Suddenly Have a Million Dollars: Should I Laugh or Should I Cry? (By Vyara Bridgeman)

If you had a billion dollars and your net worth was suddenly reduced to a million, you would be pretty pissed off. But if you had a hundred dollars and your net worth suddenly increased to a million, chances are you won't complain. So what exactly is the difference between a million dollars and a million dollars (no typo here!)?

In the last 4-5 months I had to learn how to use my left arm for things I used to do with my right arm. I also learned to ask for help. I still have my right arm. It just became a bit dysfunctional as a result of a shoulder injury that I initially didn't think much of. But as time passed by my arm got more and more stuck, the pain increased, and my frustration increased as well. I reached the point of tears, which was all good. When you hit the bottom, you know it's time to start climbing back up.

And that's when I had my epiphany. What if, I asked myself, I didn't have either arm, and then the technological advancement reached such levels that I could have one arm, fully functional? How would I feel being able to use one arm (after having no arms at all)? Of course I would be ecstatic. There is no doubt about that! Well, in that hypothetical state that I would be ecstatic about, I would in fact be worse off compared to the state I am already in and being miserable about. In reality I have two arms - one of them functions fully, and the other one functions somewhat (but will get better according to all of my therapists).

So then, I continue my reasoning, there is nothing about the situation I am in that is inherently frustrating. If the situation was frustrating in and of itself, I would be feeling the same level of frustration in the hypothetical situation where I end up with the use of one arm after having no arms at all. But I am not feeling frustrated in that scenario, so my frustration has nothing to do with the situation per se. It comes from my expectations. I expect to be able to use both arms but I can only use one. It frustrates me. If I didn't have arms and then got one, I am totally fine with using one arm.

My conclusions are inescapable: Firstly, my expectations shape my perceptions. And secondly, to change my perception and I need to change my perspective.

How accurate are your perceptions? And how much of them are shaped by your expectations and have little to do with reality? The bad news is, perceptions are never accurate, that's why we call them perceptions (otherwise we would be calling them facts). The good news is, you can change your perceptions by examining your expectations and changing your perspective. Expect the unexpected! Release all attachments to "successful" outcomes. You are here, that's already a success. Everything else is a bonus. Including the one million dollars.

http://ezinearticles.com/?I-Suddenly-Have-a-Million-Dollars:-Should-I-Laugh-or-Should-I-Cry?&id=9733539

The Gift of Presence - Be Apprised That You Are Advised to Enjoy Each Day As If It Were the Last

Time is not guaranteed! The only thing on earth that is guaranteed to happen is CHANGE. Whether you change your mind or have a change of heart, you are always changing something. How about changing your perspective, atfocused,  least a little, from time-to-time, it helps keep your mind sharp and your heart rhythm in sync with what you want to create and with your contribution to humanity can also be improved.

Speaking and congregating with friends, colleagues and family members is great for the mind to unwind and a great way to keep both feet on the ground. Sharing small conversations or having meals in the company of others is a nice way to be less focused on the mundane challenges of daily living. There are a varied amount of benefits that can be attained by having more presence of mind and engaging in more social connections. By connecting to others we allow our hearts and theirs to feel more uplifted, loving and to attain more peace of mind. It's a great feeling when we pay attention to the need of our hearts, as well as to show ourselves the beautiful gift of connecting to others/ humanity.

One can deny the need for a cohesive society, though studies show that the more people engage one another the less stress they experience. This is also shown to contribute to a happier life-style that only gets easier when socialization is pursued often, thus more bonding/ ties and it has a chemical effect on the mind/body connection. We can really relax when we are in the presence of like- minded people who are kind, loving and uplifting.

Acknowledge the attention gleaned while connecting to others, feel loved in your intentional conversations that bring about feelings of peace, joy and ease. Share in the amazement of your life activities or adventures when speaking with another/others. Watch awe-invoking, boundless, beauty be disclosed when sharing or engaging another. You will quickly see that your own life path has blessed you to live and surpass so many obstacles and to achieve so many things! When you engage others, you actually have a chance to replay fond events or memories, to live countless hours of entertaining conversation, comedy, or to experience belly-aching laughter... Come on, call a buddy, invite them over to hang-out, make plans to have friends or family to come visit you over the weekend! I dare you to have presence of mind, and to devise a plan to have more social engagements and fun!

Experience your life; eliminate strife- it aids nobody and is a waste of valuable time; stay focused on what's happening today! Invest in the PRESENT, for it is a gift that brings you information and experience to succeed or cultivate new missions and dreams. Invite unplanned accomplishments, rejoice in new discovery, adventures yet to be engaged, planned or imagined..

Time is not guaranteed, I write to you from experience. I had many plans to spend vacations and social time with friends and relatives that died within weeks of planning our trips and outing's. I have learned, by experience, live everyday as if it were the last. Tomorrow is guaranteed to nobody. Live life with zest, flair and show the world your way of sharing and caring, especially with anyone who's daring to share time and space with you. Since you enjoy reading, and I enjoy writing, thanks for sharing your time with me, by reading the thoughts, that I am sharing!

Have presence of mind, appreciate everyone, every place and every experience. Give life-affirming joy, love and abilities back to yourself. You were wonderfully and purposefully engineered, designed and crafted to be the unique one-of-a-kind person that you are. You were created to be readily fulfilled with copious joy, love and laughter! God above intended for you to have connections to others. He wants you to experience amazing love, special skills and talents while living; to strike a balance between work/fun; and to prepare you to live your living dreams in abundance. Be keenly aware that it is your responsibility to enjoy what life has to offer.

Be ready to invite great adventures, especially when you have presence of mind. Focus on what unfolds by the minute. Otherwise, your gifts will lie dormant. Recognize that if you ignore the precious beat of your own heart you will miss the beat or nucleus, the central control station, towards manifesting a happy life. The heart of mankind is leading, and guiding, the whole day, well into sleeping and dreaming. Most visions and dreams are first planted and take root in our daydreams, random thoughts and nightly dreams. Make your daydreams your reality! Watch your visions and dreams unfold as they manifest into fantastic artistic, dynamic mathematical, analytical, or creative skills, or abilities.

Think consciously; stay in harmony with the enlightening messages that your emotive-heart desires to teach you. The heart speaks to the rest of the body through our mind, judgments, decisions and trickles down to our senses and perceptions. Take the right steps to enjoy anything and everything that you experience. RIGHT NOW; BE PRESENT AND LIVE IN the current time. Live life in the current MOMENT, before the OPPORTUNITY has passed and GONE away. Abracadabra, POOF, GONE! Are you still here?

Never miss an opportunity that the Divine Creator has given you now, by putting off till tomorrow what is meant to be enjoyed, pursued, or adventured today. Tomorrow is not guaranteed to anybody...

***I enjoy learning from you and from others offering me knowledge continuously!~

http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Gift-of-Presence---Be-Apprised-That-You-Are-Advised-to-Enjoy-Each-Day-As-If-It-Were-the-Last&id=9635127

How To Choose Happiness No Matter What

Have you ever dwelled on unresolved conflicts for months, if not years, where all you can think about are the negative side of things?

Are you the kind of person who always sees a glass half empty instead of a glass half full?

Do you have a tendency to be overprotective, over-cautious, overstressed by little minutiae because you somehow find a way to interpret them as bad dangerous things?

If you are naturally inclined to be pessimistic about life, the chances are that you aren't happy most of the time. As sarcastic as it sounds, you are very good at finding reasons (or excuses) to be upset about everything that happens to you and this is negatively affecting your entire well-being.

Luckily, things don't have to be this way. You have a choice. You have latent personal power to change that.

While some people are hardwired to find the negatives in almost everything, others are the exact opposite who are able to find the good in everything.

If you tend to dwell on the negative, here's the big thing you can do now in order to change your perspective for the better.

It's called choosing happiness.

It sounds pretty simple although it's a difficult transformational process for some fellows.

The first thing you need to do is to remember what happens to you is not always within your control, but how you react to it is.

Once you realize this, you are immediately more powerful because you are now choosing how circumstances can affect you. You now understand that no one can make you sad, angry or depressed because your happiness does not depend on anyone or anything.

Your happiness depends on you.

This attitude can be a challenge for some, especially those who have years of ingrained habits, thinking patterns, and belief systems that shaped their worldview into a negativity-biased reality.

However, the idea of reframing is to push out the negative thoughts and try to see things with a different perspective.

For example, if your significant other recently left you, the negative reaction for most is to dwell on what you did wrong and to feel sorry for yourself. To reframe this thought, you must consider the other people you have in your life who still love you.

It is okay to note the mistakes you may have made in the past relationships, but recognize that most of us made mistakes as well. And what's more important right now is to stop living in fear, stop arguing over unimportant issues, stop figuring who's right and who's wrong, but start loving opening and generously while you still can.

Also, you must define what optimism means to you personally. Even the same words can sometime mean different things to different people.

Generally, optimistic people tend to believe that everything happens for a reason, but no matter what happens, everything will work out how it is supposed to and we will be fine.

While bad things are inevitably going to happen, it is important to learn from them and move on rather than dwell on them, letting the past things sucking your energy, time and spirit away.

If you're willing to stop and take some time to reframe situations in a new, fresh and positive way, you will be a conscious human being who can design a happier, more successful, more fulfilling life.

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-To-Choose-Happiness-No-Matter-What&id=9538948