Have you made your New Year’s Resolution yet? I have and it was easy, too.
I’ll write it and it will consist of eight words.
“IT IS GOING TO BE A GREAT YEAR!”
Now, it is up to me to begin fulfilling it! I’ve got to get on with it. Time’s a wastin’!
Cheers! All the Best in 2012!
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“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” ~William Wordsworth
Dear Santa,
It has been many, many years since I have sent a letter to you in the North Pole. I want you to know I am grateful for the gifts that I have received throughout my life. I have much to be appreciative for and many of the gifts you have given me have been even grander than I could ever have dreamed. Sometimes, I don’t even realize how meaningful the gifts have been until long after they have been received.
This year, I have a special request for Christmas. I would appreciate it if you would do what you possibly can to fulfill my gift wish list. I do understand if there are things that you can not give me, perhaps the timing is not right. I recognize you often get requests from people who should work on getting the gifts themselves.
Several months ago, I embarked on telling my story. That’s right, I am writing a book. I have only just begun, so in order to complete my task, I need your elves to help me out. Hopefully, they will have the necessary tools and materials to help me construct what I am asking for. I will try to describe what I need, as best as I can.
P.S. Santa, if my requests are too great, please, no switches or coal. Just send my requests further north. Maybe we have the same boss and perhaps he can help us both out. Next year I will be back in touch. I promise I will work real hard with what you give me. When it is done, I want you to read my story and tell others what I did with the gifts. My requests, I hope, will be beneficial and fulfilling to you, too. Everyone needs a raise in life.
I’ll leave a carrot for the reindeer under the tree and something for you, too. Merry Christmas and have a Jolly New Year.
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“It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself. “
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Tis the season for illumination. Today, on All Things Fulfilling I am going to focus on all things that shine.
If you really want light up your own spirit this year, adopt a holiday family. Make some one else’s holiday shine by giving some gifts or fixing’s for a big holiday meal.Holiday buying this Christmas, was especially fulfilling for me. I bought a few items for a set of twins who otherwise may not have had Christmas at all. More fun than the gifts given inside of the box, I created wrapping that really showed that I cared. When all is said and done, I think the packaging will be as treasured as much as the gifts inside!
This year, buy one less gift for your own family, and give it to a family less fortunate and in need. Here is a website that lists the top five Christmas charity projects. http://bit.ly/8ZBCef.
Make your heart merry and illuminate the spirit of someone else this holiday season!
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“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” – William Arthur Ward
The holiday season is in full swing, the signs are there – decorations, holiday fairs, parties, an appointment book that has become ragged and torn. A sure sign it is time to ring out the old and bring in the new. Increased activity of UPS, Fed Ex and other delivery trucks on the highways and byways, indeed indicates Christmas is near.
On this blog site, we often recognize the work of artists and crafts persons working in a variety of mediums – writers, poets, painters, sculptors, filmmakers, potters, musicians and more. But there is another important form of art that we tend to forget – the art of serving others.
If you have ever worked in a service industry, or lived in a resort area, you become acutely aware of those who serve. These folks carry an extra burden at this time of year. In light of that fact, I would like to pause today to recognize people in all sectors of the service industry. They deserve our gratitude!
Don’t forget to give a token of thanks to those who serve. Let them know that you appreciate what they do, over the holidays and each and every day of the year, too!
Return tomorrow for more independent thoughts, words and views from www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.
“A man is a man in every part of the world. It has nothing to do with race. It has to do with the culture and education that each man has received since he was a child, in his home. It has to do with how he was raised.” ~ Alicia Machado
I try to walk almost every day. It takes real commitment in my busy life but, I find my most important work of the day often gets accomplished while I walk. I keep my heart healthy and my spirit well-fed with the beautiful scenery that surrounds me out of doors. Snow capped mountains of 10,000 feet or more, big beautiful vistas and the feel of the winter wind or sounds of the rushing water on the Yampa River fuels me along as I walk. I have to remind myself to look up and not down, otherwise I will miss what inspires me the most.
As challenging as it can be in mountain country, I most often walk uphill. My best blog writing in my head, and from my heart, often occurs as I walk to the crest of the peaks. I build my story, step by step, as I move along. After a while, I forget that I am traveling by foot. It is as if I am taking a ride on that great invention of an escalator. I move forward with little effort and eventually without noticing, from whence I came, I am at the top.
When winter sets in, leaving the warmth of a cozy shelter is hard. Before I set out, I often think – what is in this walk for me? Never do I have to find the answers, the answers find me. It is all in the design of nature. This occurrence, time and time again, proves to me there is indeed, someone out there guiding and watching over me. I truly can not imagine living on this Earth without that fulfilling thought. Can you?
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“Every moment of dark and light is a miracle.” ~ Walt Whitman
A Christmas tree gives rise to thoughts of darkness and light. Have you ever noticed how people’s interpretation of what makes a pretty tree is so opinionated and individual?
Many families argue while putting up a Christmas tree. Some like it simple, some more ornate. A modest nativity scene indicates to some that, indeed, Christmas is here. Others like their homes, properties and trees lit up like the night time neon lights of the Las Vegas strip. Some families like simple homemade strings of popcorn, and cranberries or perhaps pine cones sprayed with gold paint will do. An evergreen wreath hung on a door and lit by a single spot light is beauty at it’s best for some individuals. It is interesting how a certain holiday decorating style can be fulfilling to one, atrocious to another. It is all a matter of personal opinion. How about you? What is your idea of good taste?
As we all know, a good way to tell whether the lights and ornaments are well-placed on a tree is to step back and take a look. You can find the spaces that are empty and fill them with shimmery light.
It is like life. In order to move away from the darkness, we have to discover the light. In this upcoming holiday, find it – seek it! Stop and listen to the carolers, spend a day or evening walking Main Street. Join in the energy of the shoppers. Listen to beautiful holiday music. Bake a batch of Christmas cookies for an elderly person or a military veteran who has no family at all. It will lighten your spirit and brighten your day along with some one else’s, too.
Watch out! You might just get caught up in the spirit and feel the swish of a magic stick over your world. What a fulfilling thought that is!
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“If a poem is each time new, then it is necessarily an act of discovery, a chance taken, a chance that may lead to fulfillment or disaster.” ~ A.R. Ammons
I had a fabulous weekend! I had a chance to visit with artist Quang Ho at the opening of his exhibit at the Steamboat Art Museum on Friday evening. On Saturday, I was among an intimate audience of 40 or 50 people who sat mesmerized as Quang painted a portrait of another artist, Richard Galusha of Wildhorse Gallery http://bit.ly/rSVLei.
Quang spent a generous 2 ½ hours creating and teaching about the intricacies of a good painting composition. During that time, I gained a new understanding about the art of life, from a painter’s point of view, by a few key and valuable statements he made.
Paintings are stories of ‘”shadow and light”, Quang related. “One is the plot and the other the subplot. How much attention an artist gives to the spaces in between determines how rich the painting is.” The artist also went on to explain that there are variations of value in the light.
‘Painting is problem solving, and if you make a decision is it always correct.” He also advised fellow artists.
Last night I began to ponder on the artist’s statements and how we can relate it to our own lives. Our life structure is birth to death, and then there landmarks in between. During the spaces in between, we can focus our energy either negatively or positively. Depending on the choices we make and values we have, life can be rich and fulfilling or not.
There is truth to be learned in Quang’s statement about making decisions, too. “How can we even tell if a decision in life is right or wrong if we don’t make one at all?” I ask myself.
Quang Ho has some extraordinary insight and inspiration to share with artists not only about painting but also about the human condition. His life as an artist and his experiences as a human being have paved the way for a lot more to tell! To learn more about this artist, please visit my blog posting of November 29 entitled Historic Setting Filled with Jewels. http://bit.ly/v8zctP.
Quang is well worth following. He has promised he has a whole lot more to share with his fans! And from my interview with him, so will I! Stay tuned in upcoming weeks to www.AllThingsFulfilling.com.
Thank you for your generosity, Quang Ho. I enjoyed meeting you, in person, so much.
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“Gratitude can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. It makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” ~ Unknown
On this Thanksgiving Day, I am grateful for all readers who have visited this blog site All Things Fulfilling. I appreciate your encouraging comments and your interest in the independent thoughts, words and views that are posted on this site. This digital publishing format provides a way of learning about others in the world who also have faith in the growing independent publishing industry and see value and worth in providing a way for each voice to be heard.
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As a blog writer, when the inspiration hits, I am on the job no matter what day of the week it is. I am compelled to put it down on paper, when the mind and heart is awakened by a spark of creative thought. It’s all part of fulfilling my need to write.
Today is National Day of Chicken Soup for the Soul, did you know that? It’s Saturday, a good day to stay at home and create a soup full of thoughts that will warm me both inside and out. Intuition tells me the ingredients to build a healthy stock would be –
Create your own unique recipe for Chicken Soup for the Soul. Add ingredients that bring happiness, contentment and peace to your life. Stir the pot with a big strong spoon, so the harmony and balance of flavors will be just right.
Bountiful Living to You !
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“The exquisite order displayed by our scientific understanding of the physical world calls for the divine.”
~ Vera Kistiakowsky (MIT Physicist)
Happy Film Friday, everyone! There is an independent film that I am itching to see. It is called Another Earth. This film won the Alfred P. Sloan prize at the Sundance Film Festival, in the category of science and technology. It is a film about fragility and forgiveness, discovery, exploration and possibility all wrapped up unto a dramatic film.
The movie, directed by Mike Cahill and co-authored by Mike Cahill and Brit Marling, is sure to be a subject for discussion among those who study and discuss astro-physics. Blog writers pondering the field of science http://bit.ly/np0LKS are writing about this film.
If Another Earth does not appeal to your whims of wanting to see a movie this weekend, the IMDB (Independent Movie Database) has released it’s list of favorite independent films for the year 2011. Follow this link, http://bit.ly/im3unr and find another film of your choosing.
The independent film industry provides us with intelligent, thought-provoking entertainment, equally as fulfilling as the movies featured on the big screen. Don’t discount what the independent filmmakers have to offer!
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