Category Archives: mind body and spirit connection

Youth and Philanthrophy

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Children are great imitators. So give them something great to imitate.– Barbara Bush

How do you teach young children to value what is inside of them selves rather than material objects?

colors of cakeSome parents are teaching their children the importance of giving to others by throwing “no gift birthday parties.” There is still cake and ice cream, balloons, games and other makings for a day of celebration, but the guests are asked to bring a donation, rather than a toy.

The birthday boy or girl gets to decide where the donations are sent. It is important that the child is in on the decision-making process so they understand where the money is going. The cause should be something the child is excited about, so they feel fulfillment in the giving.

How do you explain “no gift birthdays” to your children without them being resentful? Sometimes it is not very hard, children sometimes “get it” if they can relate to the cause.  Make a Wish Foundation is just one suggestion to partner with. There are many other worthy foundations also. http://wish.org/ways-to-help.

What are your thoughts? Do you think “no gift birthdays” would help instill values in your children – a sense of what really matters?

This Thoughtful Thursday’s blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com. See you on Friday on All Things Fulfilling.

 

A Welcome Greeting

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“Positive anything is better than negative nothing.” ~ Elbert Hubbard

This summer, when I was in Maryland, on the Eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay, I walked into a salon to get a haircut. There wasn’t an attendant in the reception area when I arrived, so I sat down and picked up a magazine. Some time passed, and I looked up at the counter, and there was still no attendant, but I noticed something on the counter that I hadn’t seen when I entered. There was an upright sign that had been posted in a clear glass frame that said, “Good Morning, this is God. I will be handling all your problems today. I will not need your help. So just relax and have a good day.” 

Hmmm….I thought, “Wouldn’t life be great if things were that easy? Having faith is a wonderful thing. It does help us  feel as if we can relax a little when we’re stressed because “someone’s got our back.”  But let’s not be too simplistic and unrealistic – we do have to take an active part in living up to our potential and making our own lives fulfilling.

faith welcome mat

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Fulfilling Potential

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“The choices you make now, the people you surround yourself with, they all have the potential to affect your life, even who you are, forever.”   ―     Sarah Dessen, The Truth About Forever  

Do you feel like this Weimaraner puppy – up a tree without a paddle? Knowing you are not living up to your full potential?

up a treeYou are not alone. There are many people feeling the same way you are in this economy. It may not be a good time to quit the full time job or change careers, but that does not mean you are stuck forever. Above all, maintain the faith that better things are in store for you, believe it and work toward it.

Next, recognize that change begins within ourselves There are always little things you can do to make your life more fulfilling. For instance -perhaps you’ve always wanted to be a hiking guide but are stuck in corporate America. It may not be a good time to let go of that full time job – but maybe you can get outside everyday to take a jog, a walk or a hike around the block before or after work. On weekends or on days off, take to the hills – no excuses!

Here is an article from Shake off the Grind about finding something positive in every situation. http://bit.ly/1cmCuq1. The tips might help you.

Remember, change begins with little things. What is it that makes your heart zing?  What ever that is find a way to do it!

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This blog is brought to you by  www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com. Come on back tomorrow, and we will see what else we can get into that leads to All Things Fulfilling.

Spirited Young Children

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Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven.” ~ Henry Ward Beecher

joyfulchildI love the spirit and innocence of young children. Few have reason to doubt the world until they reach emotional maturity, which according to Katherine Lee in this article, http://abt.cm/Hk0mge, is somewhere around  the age of nine.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful, as an adult, to have a child’s spirit and have the ability to let your joy shine through from the depths of your soul not caring about what others think of your most delightful thoughts and actions.

I love the book we shared yesterday on All Things Fulfilling, by Trevor Boehm, because I think there is wisdom in the words he shares with respect to living in the world feeling personally fulfilled. If you didn’t read yesterday’s blog, scroll down to it.

On Monday, we will be sharing some tips for people who feel they are not living up to their God given talents, and wish they could be doing something else in their lives or careers. Please join us!

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Minds, Metaphor and Imagination

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Have you ever wondered why we use metaphors in writing and speaking and the influence the imagination has on clearly understanding concepts?

children-quoteIn James Geary’s book, I is An Other: The Secret Life of Metaphor and How it Shapes the Way we See the World, Geary explores how children think differently than adults and thus their perceptions of the world are different. Intuition and pattern recognition also may play a part in children’s comprehension of concepts that are too big for them because they have not yet experienced certain ideas in life. Geary’s book is an interesting read for anyone who wants to know more about how children learn and think.

Metaphors are interesting. If you want to know more about the use of them in communication, http://www.brainpickings.org/  is a site that will stretch your mind and imagination. A summary of Geary’s book is posted on the site www.brainpickings.org, as well as other things for your brain to digest and to conjure about.

The beautiful child was the center of attention, with his golden curls and tuna fish complexion. – Author Unknown

See you tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling, the blog of www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com

Lessons Add Up to Nitty Gritty of Story

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tissueflower1There are always flowers for those who want to see them  ~ Henri Matisse

I love those words from Henri Matisse, and in them there is a lot of wisdom. We can almost always find the positive in any situation if we look deep enough. Sometimes it takes a retrospective perspective to find out what difficult moments in life are supposed to teach us. But there are morals to be learned in everything we do, even if it is nothing more than teaching us we are stronger than we think we are or that we have survival skills and have made it through what many thought we couldn’t.

Last night I shared Matisse’s words at my public speaking class as I slipped back into my childhood for a few moments and demonstrated how to make tissue paper flowers – an art project I learned at age eleven as a junior Girl Scout.

There is a personal anecdotal story with life lessons that go along with making the paper flowers. Things I learned at age 11 that helped me blossom and grow into the person I am today. If I shared more of the story with you now it would be a spoiler for my upcoming publication.

But, if you understand the essence of Matisse’s adage, you will comprehend a wee part of what my memoir is about. I’ll keep you posted on its progress. The lion’s share of the work is already done. Now we are getting down to the nitty gritty.

Reliving an art project from Junior Girl Scouts

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flower 3

Look forward to seeing you tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling. The blog of www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

Film Friday: Patching Up Families

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“Remember laughing? Laughter enhances the blood flow to the body’s extremities and improves cardiovascular function.” ~ Patch Adams

Happy Film Friday! Today’s featured movie is a throwback to 1998. Do you remember the film Patch Adams patch adams bookfeaturing Robin Williams?  The movie brought big smiles to a lot of faces, including sick children.

Did you know Patch Adams is not a fictional person? He is a doctor with a bigger than life personality – also a social activist, clown and an author. He also helped develop the Gesundheit! Institute in West Virginia. The Gesundheit! Institute is a “project in holistic medical care based on the belief that one cannot separate the health of the individual from the health of the family, the community, the world, and the health care system itself.” 

Patch adams house-callsThe Gesundheit! Institute does global outreach, and it is in the midst of planning a  Teaching Center that “will bring together artists, medical students, care practitioners, parents, and reformers to design positive ideas of health care systems, and ways to implement these ideas,” according to their website.

If your family hasn’t spent much time together lately due to the demands of life, mend things up by watching Patch Adams together, you’ll be in stitches. Robin Williams’ performance is wonderful – I highly recommend this film. Click here for info and ordering Patch Adams

Visit http://patchadams.org/campaign to read more about the concepts in holistic healing that are gaining in popularity all over the world, thanks to the Gesundheit! Institute.

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Have a good weekend. Return to http://www.allthingsfulfilling.com on Monday!

Reader Recognition on All Things Fulfilling

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Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.  
~Marcel Proust

Dear Blog Reader, 

Book-BloggerToday is READER RECOGNITION DAY ON ALL THINGS FULFILLING. Whether this is the first time you’ve stumbled upon this blog or if you are one of our regular subscribers who requests that the daily blog posts be delivered to your inbox, I’d like to say thank you for your interest. You are the people who make blogging worthwhile and fun.

Cornerstone Fulfillment Service, LLC has been empowering independent publishers since 1998. Since then, e-Commerce and e-Marketing has taken the publishing world out of the box!  A new generation of digitally published books, films and music has excited us about all kinds of things, including the future.

As you have probably noticed, there have been some changes to the visual appearance, and the services offered on this site. Hang tight… we are not finished yet! We like the new energy of the graphics but we have not yet rolled out all the changes.

Just as a baby does not suddenly become an adult overnight, that kind of change would be too drastic, we’ve decided to take a step by step approach, so our readers can gradually get used to seeing something new and different.

Our commitment and dedication to providing fulfilling content for our readers is as steadfast as ever. But, please pardon our appearance, as we blossom with change.  We are spiffing up our website, .

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com. The place where independent thoughts, words and views are all part of the business.  See  you on Thursday, this week is zooming by fast.

Filled with Essentials

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Every child born has innate goodness.” ~ Chinese proverb

President of Bucket Fillers, Inc. is a title that Carol McLoud proudly wears along with her designation of award-winning author of six publications that teach individuals how to fill themselves up with fulfilling things in life.

Bucketfillers, Inc. independently publishes children’s books  and they include:

  • Have you Filled a Bucket Today
  • Fill a Bucket
  • Growing Up with a Bucket Full of Happiness
  • My Bucketfilling Journal
  • Will You Fill My Bucket
  • Bucketfilling A to Z

Bucketfillers, Inc has won 58 awards. The author of these publications, Carol McCloud is also an energetic professional public speaker who uses creative storytelling in her presentations to all ages. Mccloud is a member of the National Speakers Association (NSA), the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), Talent SmartTalent Smart® Emotional Intelligence Certified Trainer, and the National Association of Professional Women, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).

bucket filler“For the past five years, Bucket Fillers, Inc. has been busy creating bucketfilling schools, families, workplaces, and communities” through presentations and workshops, books and through other downloadable resources available through their website.  http://www.bucketfillers101.com/about-us.php .

As former educator, McCloud understands that happy kids grow into well-adjusted adults, who deal well with challenges when their buckets full of happiness get knocked over and depleted due to the  stresses of life. Learning how to gather a bucket full of happiness as a young child has life-long advantages.

Parents, help fill your child’s bucket full of happiness by sharing these books with your family. They have won the prestigious Mom Choice Awards and they have gained a top 5 Star ranking on Amazon.com.

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See you tomorrow on All Things Fulfulling!

Do the Words Fit?

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“As names have power, words have power. Words can light fires in the minds of men. ~ Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of Wind

The other day I was doing some research on student’s involvement with National Novel Writing Month. I came across a good article. Unfortunately, I did not bookmark it and now I can’t find it. It shared some helpful information about involving children in the contest. But to my way of thinking, there was a concern with the title of the article. It read, “How to Make Your Child Write.”

“Hmmmm,” I thought, “there seems to be something not quite right about that approach.” Renaming the article to something like “Help your Child Find the Joy in Writing” sounds friendlier and more fun, doesn’t it?

My point is word choices matter! One of my biggest challenges as a blog writer is making sure I am using appropriate words  when I communicate my thoughts. I spend a lot of time working them over to make sure I state things just right.

I am taking a course in public speaking, and the professor has been communicating to the young college students that  language that might be appropriate among their peers may be inappropriate in other situations (such as in public or in a business or professional situation). She said to the young adults: “You want to make sure your words convey a true story about who you are as professionals.”

IMAG0778I say “Amen to that!” And as a person who uses social media extensively, these principles should apply to on-line communications as well. For some of the younger folk, learning to eliminate inappropriate language in their public speaking has been a challenge.

There is a book that ever so gently but effectively reinforces these and other viewpoints on professionalism and becoming the best person you are meant to be in life. I mentioned the publication a few weeks ago, but I want to repost the book because I highly recommend it.

For more information on this publication, please visit www.revrobertkirkley.com

This blog is brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com. See you tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling!