C'mon and THINK!

I am a little fired up this morning and I just might rant.
Bear with me and again, keep what resonates and leave the rest!
I mean no offense to anyone. These are just ramblings of my observations, thoughts and opinions.

I decided I am going to write the book. I have an outline, the note cards, and volumes of journals and all for a good while! I've just been hesitant. I don't have a degree in anything. Been an at home mom for years mixed in with some odd music jobs and the disastrous year I spent in retail. (Bath and Body Works-CRIPES! Spent more than I made!) I am now a practicing financial consultant and learning that as I go. Really...a book? Me?
Well let me tell you. Yes. Me. It's time and here's how I know. I went to see the comedian Gallagher last night. While most of his comedy is intelligent and cerebral, for example, seriously, why don't all of the _omb words rhyme? tomb, comb, bomb? And why DOES my teenager say something is "sick nasty" when indeed they mean it's good? Who knows? Ultimately, this guy Gallagher renders his opinion on things he thinks about, thinks up various ways to smash fruit, vegetables and all other manner of condiments, gooey stuff, and syrups ET CE TERA,
AND PEOPLE PAY TO SEE HIM TO DO IT!

REALLY???

His overall theme was about thinking. He encouraged his audience to think independently and creatively. This message has been presented to me in several ways in just the last 18-24 months. Sometimes the message came from books I picked up, sometimes from influential people I've met in Primerica, once from my life coach and last night from Gallagher. BTW, this is how the Universe usually communicates with me. The same message is sent again and again until finally I pick it up and act on it.

Some books I've picked up and highly recommend are THINK AND GROW RICH by Napoleon Hill. Dale Carnegie hired Mr. Hill to go out and interview all of the great millionaires of the day who built their empires from nothing. Hill was paid a life's wages by Carnegie to find out the common denominator among these men and their success. Thus the title of the book.
On two separate occasions I had the great fortune of participating in an intimately set Q & A with 2 of my company's pioneers, founders, and cash machines. [both women ;)] Both began their careers and base much of their success on the principles in this book. One of them, and pay attention here, this is big. One of them gave strong advice. She said, "Go buy this book. Put it on your nightstand. Even if you do nothing else, pick it up and read the cover once in the morning and once at night. At least get the message that you have to THINK!"

Another really good one is Dr. Wayne Dyer's CHANGE YOUR THOUGHTS---CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
This is a collection of 81 essays. Each expands upon each of the 81 verses of the ancient text, the Tao. I could write volumes about this after having read and re-read it a number of times.
Please don't misread here. This is not about religion or one certain philosophy. The Bible is a good one too. Crack that baby open and have a look and a think for yourself as to what God is saying.
I was inspired to do this while teaching Sunday School and after reading CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD 1,2,& 3 by Neal Donald Walsh.
The Koran. The Kaballah....these two I have only skimmed.
The Secret. The Law of Attraction. The Moses Code. My point here is that all of these have similar themes and slight variations on the same message. Though many consider it all New Age, ain't none of it new. Some is presented in shiny new packaging but there is nothing new under the sun. Especially thinking!

I hired a life coach early in 2009 for many reasons. I find life coaches to be more proactive and forthcoming with coping tools and skills rather than just talk therapists. I've tried both. This is just my preference. Anyway, in late fall of last year I was having a very tough time with what we call "the sads" in my house. I checked in with Mike and he reminded me that missing Caiti and being sad about it was only one part of the story. The other part of course, was her love, her light, the beautiful way she walked in the world and all of the happy memories we shared. Then he asked me which part of the story I'd rather focus on and THINK about!
HMPH!!
I gotta tell ya, at first I had a ton of trouble with this.
I was insulted and almost angry that he would suggest the depth of my grief could be changed by simply changing my mind about it. REALLY????
Later I found that this concept works. Change the focus. Choose a new thought. All manner of thoughts are available all the time. So pick something different to think about. It truly is that simple. Simple and easy are not, however, interchangeable. I do remind myself, sometimes out loud, "Change the thought please! I need a better one than that!!" All things with practice. The sads still come but I am now able to navigate my way through them much easier.

There is a point here. Last night Gallagher went on about independent, creative thought. It is what this country was founded and built on. Good stuff. He lamented that it is rarely seen in America today. We send our children to school to learn to conform. That's a whole 'nother blog though.

Back to the book. I'm going to write and share all these stories and all these thoughts. I do not have a degree, did not spend hours digesting text after text at an institution of higher learning, nor are there any letters after my name. I did finish 3 years of a Music Ed degree, but it hardly applies here.
However, I did get my learnin' on in the school of life. I do have stories to share and opinions to render that just might resonate with someone else. Some of these are just too much of a gift to hold onto. That is the thought I am sticking with.

What thoughts hold you back? What have you always thought about doing but haven't yet? Maybe it is as simple as choosing a new thought about it.

Even Aretha Franklin reminds us to, "C'mon and THINK."