Mind Yo' Damn Business!!!

Why is the traffic backed up for miles? Oh, I see. There's a police car with it's lights on and someone has been pulled over. I really do not understand why everyone has to slow down and rubber neck this situation.

Maybe it's a matter of principal for me, but I purposely keep my eyes focused forward when passing police activity on the highway. I can't do anything about what other people choose to do, but I have modicum of decorum in this particular area.

Eyes on the road! Let's get this traffic moving.

Needing Relief?

There will be times in our lives when we feel overwhelmed, exhausted and emotionally beaten. When we are experiencing these things and are wanting to feel some relief, we must remember that we have a choice.

We can focus our attention on something in nature, like the trees, the sky and clouds and feel appreciation for the attention that Universal Source continually has upon us.

We can focus our energy and feel appreciation for the divine support we have, divine guidance, divine love and this will ease our suffering.

Suffering is a result of living disconnectedness. Yes, it is true, we are disconnected from happiness and good feelings sometimes, but we are always connected to our Universal Source.

Focusing on the eternal connection will bring us ease.

Relearning Self Soothing

I am applying myself just a little bit more every day to the process of being happy and maintaining my own happiness. I am talking further and further about the good feeling feelings that I am having. When I slip into recognizing something that doesn't feel good I am going to go easy on myself and encourage myself to let it go. I am going to soothe myself into a better feeling place.

"I just decided to chill more. I just decided to focus on the best feeling things in my day. I decided to get a better nights sleep. I decided to get up in the morning and get off on a better foot. I decided to direct my thoughts towards things that feel good. I've discovered what a magnificent world this is and I love this world and all the people in it. I am finding so many things in every day to praise and appreciate and I think that's what's made the difference for me." paraphrased from an Abraham-Hicks video on YouTube.

This is the difference I want in my life. There is nothing I can do about what you choose to focus upon and how that choice makes you to feel. I love you very much, but time and time again I come to this realization that I can not want it bad enough for you. You have to want the difference in your life for it to work for you, but I have every reason to be conscientious about my focus. I am making a promise to myself to focus on the best feeling thing I can find in my right here right now

I make healthy choices. I am alive and well and I am just allowing myself to get weller.

Having the Time of My Life

A little while back I decided to take a vow each day to offer the best of myself today. Part of that process involves spending time each day setting the tone for the day by dedicating at least 15 minutes of focused energy on creating the day that I desire. I have been focusing on the positive things I see in my life and around me and I have noticed more and more like minded people are appearing in my life. More and more cooperation is flowing into my life and it seems that everything is always working out for me.

I am loving my life. I am not only content with where I am, I am quite pleased with where I am and not only eager for more, but feel a peaceful and anxious anticipation to see how the next big piece of this grand puzzle gently floats into place like a feather in the breeze.

Turning It Around

I was not able to stay at work on Tuesday of this last week. I wasn't tracking properly. I was having a difficult time understanding what people were saying and I felt my mental acuity was dulled. I felt I wasn't being of benefit to anyone because what one might have expected of me usually was not at all what I was able to deliver that day. It was weird. It was kinda like my brain,... was in a way telling me to take a rest.

So, I went home. I took another shower. It had only been 5 hours since my 1st shower of the day, but I said aloud to myself as I looked at myself in the mirror, "Let's try this again. Wash the first part of this day away."

I decided since I was going to be taking a day for myself I would take myself to the DMV and update my drivers licence to my new name. I am officially Angel Rene Zamudio. A tiny little secret about the author of Apozitude, my birth name was Angela Rene Zamudio. No offense to my mom and dad, but I just never felt like an Angela. I have ALWAYS gone by Angel and I just wanted it to be official. I want all my doctors to call me Angel. I want everyone in every situation to be clear on the fact that I am Angel not Angela and it is now legal and official. It feels so good.

Doing this on that day when I felt I wasn't a benefit to anyone totally turned my whole day around. I went to the social security office after the DMV and it took me maybe 5-7 minutes to apply for a replacement SS card. I was so happy at that point I couldn't decide what to do. I thought I'd go to a coffee shop and write but it didn't feel right. I was hesitant to go home because the house was empty, but I just didn't know what to do, so I headed in the direction of home. At a light I noticed Keri had sent me a text, "call me when you can". I pulled over and called.

Guess what!!! She called Judy, the breeder we got Waffles from 12 years ago and Judy has two mommy dogs that are expecting to deliver in October. That means we will have a puppy by Christmas time and that puppy will be a blood relative to Waffles. We are so excited and it feels so good to focus on something that brings us both so much joy. If it feels good focus on it more.

Inspired message? That's for you to decide for you.

If it is true that words don't teach and I believe it is, otherwise, there would never ever again be any burned fingers on hot stoves,...right? So, If it is true that words don't teach, then why do I spend so much of my time stringing words together into blogs and conversations about how we all have a choice? Honestly? I think the reason is because it is a form of practice. If you think I have it all together and I just know and live all this stuff I write about all the time, well I hate to burst your bubble, but I am just out here doing my best. My best varies from day-to-day depending on a myriad of variables, but I just keep practicing positive thoughts to create positive feelings to create positive results. I just keep on practicing.

I don't believe in practice makes perfect, because I believe perfection already exists in all of us. I believe we have been taught to focus on our faults, so that we may focus on how to make improvements in ourselves. When the real truth is that we are perfect just the way we are and if we would make a choice to focus on that aspect of ourselves we would live happy fulfilling lives and ignite desire in others to focus on the best of themselves as well. Imagine how wonderful the world would be if we all simultaneously decided to commit to focusing on the best of ourselves.

Well, the truth of the matter is we only have control over one person offering the best of themselves and that person looks at you in the mirror every time you check a mirror. I looked at myself in the mirror today and I said these words to myself, I vow to you (and I pointed to myself) to offer the best of myself to you (and I pointed to myself again) today.

Words don't teach. Feelings and experience teach. So, if you are feeling inspired to experience the best of yourself today, make a vow and practice living your vow to yourself. If you don't like it, you can stop, but if you do like the way you feel when you are offering your best, keep it up.

You're an amazing person and you deserve the best. Yes, I'm talking to you (I just pointed to myself again).

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="720"] You lookin' at me?[/caption]

It really can be that simple

Sitting in my writing chair today and trying to get to a place of still mind enough to begin writing. I've got my head phones on and I am so busy scanning my brain for a point of positive focus that I could not even hear the words streaming into my ears. It took me about 2 and a half minutes to slow my thoughts long enough to realize that Kool and the Gang was on and were singing directly into my ears these exact words: Cherish the love we have, We should cherish the life we live. Cherish the love. Cherish the life.

Search no more. Right?

It is all very simple. Cherish the love. Cherish the life. You get to decide what that means for you.

Did you know that I can be a bitch?

Have you ever found yourself resenting someone for the way they "made" you feel? I know the feeling. It kinda feels like, I can NOT believe you just said or did what you just said or did. Don't you know that when you say or do that, it hurts my feelings?

Well, guess what! When we do that we are giving others way too much power as we focus our attention on the way others choose to behave. We have ABSOLUTELY no control over the way others act/react or speak. What we do have control over is our own minds. Our own behavior. Our own words. I suggest slowing your breathing down and focus on breathing from your belly.

I am learning that I tend to shut down when I get in a situation of conflict. My heart starts racing and my blood flows quickly to my heart hindering words to form in my brain. I have been practicing this belly breathing when presented with a situation of conflict and have found that paying attention to my breath keeps my heart rate down and oxygen flowing to my brain. Oxygen in my brain helps me to clearly articulate my feelings. Yes, even feelings that could possible create conflict.

I have for YEARS been paralyzed in situations of conflict and I have gone to great lengths to avoid conflict because I have hated that feeling of not knowing what to say and not knowing how I felt. I have unconsciously shrugged my shoulders in doubt of knowing how I truly felt. This insecure doubt has created resentment and that resentment turns a passive people-pleasing person, such as myself, into an aggressive angry bitch. I do not like that reaction at all. It goes against everything I believe in.

I believe in clarity. I believe in communication. I believe in being fair. I believe in love and mutual respect. I believe in peace. An aggressive angry bitch, which most of you have never seen in me, goes against all of those beliefs.

I am very grateful to be learning methods for getting beyond feelings of insecurity. I am grateful to be leaving the end of the spectrum that is weighed heavy with passivity. Grateful to be moving towards assertiveness, rather than jumping right over it into aggression.

I am taking responsibility for my happiness and my sense of feeling fulfilled. I am a confident grown woman that can calmly use her words to get her needs met. I am happy to be open to growth. I am eager to go where ever I need to go emotionally, no matter how uncomfortable it may be, to continue on this path of growth and happiness. I believe it is much less scary that I ever thought it would be.

Happy to me and happy to be moving beyond feelings of resentment.