#sayingiloveyou

[simmireenstory]

#2024 Previous // Next

[nolongersatisficer28]

I've been blinking slowly at my little niece...I forgot its only for cats

[withloveandswift-blog]

Our first Christmas tree!

Been together for 3 years, married for 2, but haven’t been able to have a Christmas tree since 2015 because of the death of my dad and my mom being sick. This year we can :)

Under the mistletoe (To you) Watching the fire glow And tellin' me, "I love you"

[anneskelton]

I attended my cousin's funeral today.... this got me thinking about how short life can be sometimes. People we love can be taken all so suddenly..... This led me on to thinking about whether we really make the most of the people we love whilst we still have them in our lives. Is there someone in your life right now that needs to hear that you love them? Make that time to do it because you never know if it's gonna be the last time! ❤❤ #love #relationshipissues #relationshipcoach #sayingiloveyou #treasuredmoments #happiness #lifeisshort (at Maidstone, Kent) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3pvIX9gXkI/?igshid=mzr70yp0le3z

[authorralph]

Restoring Faith in Humanity

Every day we are bombarded with news of gun violence, terrorism, scandals, murders, and controversies. Sometimes being exposed to all types of media makes you feel helpless. It makes you feel disconnected from and angry with the people around you. We need to find some sort of inspiration to help us stay positive, to help us find our humanity again, and to let us stay true to our values and principles. One way to do this is to recognize and look for acts of humanity that gives us moral elevation. Moral elevation is the warm feeling in your stomach when we see others doing acts of courage and kindness. Sarina Saturn, a researcher from the University of Portland, says, “Moral elevation not only boosts our positive emotions, but it also promotes our love for our fellow human and inspires us to be better people. Indeed, making an effort to experience more moral elevation will restore our faith in humanity and encourage us to help other people.” Seeing others do good acts also drives us to take care of ourselves better too. We get encouraged to do right by others and make us focus away from the negatives in our life and in our surroundings to shift a more positive outlook. We need to infuse inspiration in our lives so we can protect our mental health and others’ mental health around us and help make the world around us a better place to live in. There are several ways we can do that. First, be careful what you expose yourself and others to social media. Avoid pointless arguing in the comments or chat groups or sharing negative content. Instead, make it a habit to post or share positive news from the world. Always check if what you share or post will be more hopeful or harmful. Second, volunteer for a cause that you believe in. It does not have to be something big, just something doable and one that you’re passionate about. Hearing that “thank you” from people you help or from your fellow volunteers is enough to keep you inspired. Along the way, the one you helped can even pay it forward by also doing their share to help others in need. And lastly, try a little mindfulness. It may seem simple, but this packs a punch. Remember, someone is going through something and not everything you hear or read on the news or in social media is necessarily true. Stay open-minded, lessen the judgment, and be mindful of the world around you. Read the full article

[authorralph]

GRATITUDE IS AN ACTION WORD

Gratitude has the power to bestow unlimited blessings upon anyone. It works really simple. First, you acknowledge and give thanks for whatever it is that you received—maybe a salary raise, a promotion, a loan approval, a new gadget, good health, passing an exam, your family, a safe trip, or just being alive and doing okay.  Whatever it is that you are thankful for, give thanks. Many don’t enjoy what they have, so acknowledge those things and be truly thankful. But don’t stop there.   Be a blessing to others who aren’t as fortunate as you are. This doesn’t translate to giving money all the time. There are many things that you can share in order to help other people. You may volunteer your time at a shelter, read a book to sick kids, listen to the stories of the elderly, offer to carry someone’s grocery, babysit for a couple who can’t afford to pay, boost a friend’s confidence, play more with your kids, talk calmly with your spouse instead of bickering, call your parents, etc. The list can go on and on. There’s never a shortage of good deeds you can do for others. When you give of yourself to others, the universe will fill your cup to overflowing so you can be a blessing to even more people. And you will never lack because you will be well provided for. That’s why we say what goes around comes around, the law of karma. Why is sharing a part of gratitude? Sharing is a big part of gratitude because it moves blessings or good fortune or good vibration around. When you share, you actually honor the source of the goodness happening to you, and those people whom you share with will know of the ultimate source of all your blessings. They, in turn, will give thanks and hopefully also share to more people. You pay it forward to others. Hopefully, they too will do the same so that, in the end, everybody will know of the greatest source of blessings. Give thanks and pray, then do something to be a blessing to others today.   Read the full article

[authorralph]

Believe What You Ask For

The moment we open our eyes in the morning is the biggest gift of the day. Hence, starting the day with a prayer of thanks acknowledges the goodness of God in our life. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or long. A sincere prayer no matter how short is enough. Sometimes a mere “thank you for today” is enough when you truly mean it. There are people who complain that their day is boring and the same day in and day out. When you feel this way, it only means one thing: you have not appreciated your life, your day, or your situation to the fullest. Some people die in their sleep without having said goodbye and, more often than not, with a million things they wanted to say that remained unsaid or a million things they wanted to do but did not get to do anymore. Some people wake up but are without the means to get out of bed and move about. So if you woke up, got out of bed, and still have the chance to say what you want to say or do what you want to do, you are more blessed than you imagined. When we start our day in thanksgiving, we open up the gate for more blessings. Affirmation makes (God’s plan unfold.)  What seemed impossible will become more manageable the moment we acknowledge what we have and what we are willing to receive. Be thankful then and be willing to receive more. Be ready to receive what you ask for. There are those who keep on asking but feel that they do not seem to receive anything. Perhaps the Giver of hope, love, and blessings did not hear their supplication? That’s not possible at all. Even before we say our prayers, God already knows them, so why then are some prayers not answered? God’s ways are mysterious, and we should trust his plans for us. But make no mistake about it: he answers every prayer. Our human limitations do not allow us to see what God can see; hence, he is the only one who truly knows what’s best for us, and when he answers our prayers, he does so in the right time and at the right place. What we can do is simple: pray and believe. Believe that we are ready for his blessings. Believe that in that moment, God is working to make our prayers happen. I cannot remember where I stumbled upon this story, but one day, a grop of men, women, and children came together under one roof to pray for rain. It has been the hottest season they’ve experienced so far, and they were desperate for rain. One man noticed a boy bringing an umbrella. “What’s the umbrella for?” The boy replied, “The rain.” That’s what you do when you believe in your prayer and when you are ready to receive what you ask for. Read the full article

[letslivelady]

A Fool Will Lose Tomorrow Reaching Back for Yesterday!

Grief is such a strange emotion and can pop up when we least expect it. Have you ever lost someone through divorce or death?  Have you ever had a regret -- something you looked back on and wished you could change?

Yes, most of us can probably relate.  The voice of a good friend said:  "STOP.  You can't go back.  Dwelling on it is fruitless.  You need to look at today and tomorrow and what you can do now!"  

The older we get, the more loved ones we lose.  It is the way things are.

What if you are not ready to move on?  And how do you know if you are ready to date again?  Will you ever be able to find the loving relationship you had before?  I ask this, because I truly believe

Time spent in Grief is time well spent!

I don't mean to suggest that you wallow in self-pity indefinitely.  There are, however, people who are in a place where they are really not ready to start a new relationship. I found that out the hard way by jumping into online dating too soon.  Sometimes we need some space. But, there is the sense of loss that leaves a hole in our heart that we want to fill up right away.

I have lost two husbands.  I loved them both.  The first one I lost through divorce.  The second husband I lost through death.  But, each sense of loss was very real and remarkably similar in its own way.

During a session with a psychologist after my divorce, I felt compelled to sing Dionne Warwick's song "I Know I'll Never Love This Way Again".  It expressed how I felt.  It expressed the sorrow over a love that was lost.  And it expressed my determination to move on -- to look forward to a new tomorrow.

Then, 35 years later as I was losing my second husband to cancer, the song came back to me.  So we sat on the front porch sharing a glass of wine.  I sang the song to my dying husband as a way of expressing how I felt.  As a way of saying "I love you". As a way of saying "Goodbye".

Usually, I tried to be upbeat and not let my husband see the grief I was feeling.  I wanted to spare him that heart ache during his final days.  When I sang the song, I could not get through it without tears.  But I did get through it.

I wanted him to hear the lines  "A fool will lose tomorrow reaching back for yesterday!" -- so that he would not only know how much I cared, but also know that, although I experience grief, I would survive and I would move on.  So I could convince myself.  And so he would not worry about me.

Please listen to the music and the lyrics here and see if it does not speak to your heart, too.  It brings tears to my eyes whenever I hear it.  Then, decide for yourself if your grief is still very heavy or if you are ready to move on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtI-tKqDmqU