Inside of our hearts lies a connection to all that is good and pure. It is where the divine, god, infinite source resides. It’s is where we are all connected. There is no worry, consideration, question about it because it simply is. It is abundant, kind, unlimited, passionate, joyous. It is both you and I.

See your inner light radiate through your heart space and fill your entire body shooting out through your fingertips, soles of your feet and head. Be the light. Breathe into it as it swirls around your body.

I AM THE LIGHT

WE ARE THE LIGHT TOGETHER.

be the light today.

Let it shine!

[The Graceful Living Challenge is an online group for inspiration, comfort and remembering who you are] Join us!

Today I hope that we begin our new year with finding and practicing serenity. My intention is that we, as a collective work on walking together-in peace. Everywhere we go and in every situation. Let us set a peaceful existence for ourselves and actively remind ourselves to radiate peace. It takes intention. It takes practice. And then it becomes effortless.

Where do you find yourself most filled with peace? Is it somewhere you have been fortunate enough to visit or is it a vision of somewhere luxurious? Wherever it is...today is your day to be there. Finding serenity and peace has the purpose of allowing us to tap into what keeps us calm, connected, and reassured amidst the contrast of the human experience.

Make the commitment to be in serenity today. Spend a few minutes finding a picture of something that brings you instant peace. Keep that close by. Sit with the photo and breathe in as you say Love and breathe out Peace. All you need is 2 minutes to recalibrate your system. Repeat often. Be intentional and commit to this personal gift of grace.

Remind yourself that today is your day for personal peace and serenity. For the next 24 hours it is all there for you. Say, "Wait. I'm in peace today. I don't need to engage. I am in serenity." Use your deep breathing to really be there. Let go and be filled with peace for yourself, your process and for the rest of us.

In the nonprofit sector there will always be something critical to deal with.

Things will always feel pressing and more important than the very last action you just took.

You will long for the day when you can casually sip coffee on a Wednesday morning and easily mull over your to do list with a sense of lightness. You may strive for this moment every day as you knock things off your to do list with the swish of your yellow highlighter. And while this will bring you one step closer to the possibility of serenity, you remain equally farther away.

It's really an impossible task.

At least it is for us as we diligently try to change the world with never enough funding and the challenge of those who govern us holding volunteer positions of extreme importance.

Living with less urgency is simply not possible. Until we achieve our missions, that is. So instead of nearing towards anxiety, depression and possible heart failure, I offer us a suggestion. As we continue the days with the same ferocious intensity to save the world and the community in which we all reside---let's alter our perspective. Instead of the impossible to win, never ending race in search of the days in which we are operating at maximum capacity with our in boxes filled to brim, try to dig deep and remember why you are here.

Greg's work speaks for itself. He emulates a special sense of kindness and caring while demonstrating the critical functions of acting as a leader. Read and follow Greg as he helps to make the world a better place. Greg is a #worldchanger.

Leaders Say What Needs to Be Said, By Greg Richardson

There are times when we want our leaders to speak for us. We expect leaders to be insightful and articulate, to know what to say and to say it well. There are leaders from history whose words still speak to us, and for us.

We hope our leaders will be able to put ideas and feelings into words even when we do not know what to say.

There are times when we want our leaders to listen, not to speak at all.

Some leaders speak nonfiction, giving us facts and figures, explaining and helping us make sense of things. Some leaders are poets or artists, taking us deeper, helping us see the far horizon.

The leaders who inspire me find the balance. They reach out, touching the edges of our hearts and minds. They combine the words and the silences that help us understand.

Some people tell me they think I am an extrovert practicing to become an introvert. My tendency is to put things into words I can share. I am learning to listen.

It is easy to throw in the towel on your dream.

Day after day we talk ourselves out of the possibilities of what should be. We take many actions, receive a few bites of confirmation and the cycle continues. We are impatient, we get tired, and it becomes much easier to give in to the way of non-believing. The incessant chatter that accompanies the journey is what taunts us to stop. It is mean spirited and says nasty things. It heckles us to keep living a small, comfortable life envious of anyone who has made it past the shallow water into the deep end of the pool. It is easier to give in to the internal sneering-- than to persevere.

I know, because I am there.

Good things do happen. Every day that we take action whether big or little, there is a result. It is may not be a huge outcome in which the whole world is clamoring to read and own a copy of your book. However, a small one might involve a single Twitter follower telling you that she wrote a letter on her sister’s 65th birthday sharing 65 things she adores about her. Or the letter from the 15-year-old girl who read your book and immediately felt her life change so she wrote you a letter to share her good news. These are small in number but so very substantial to the person who experiencing them. We remind ourselves that each and every comment keeps us focused on creating more world-changers. We read and re-read them knowing that we are here to let everyone know that they are supposed to do great things. We keep notebooks of these accomplishments that are small to humanity but enormous to the person experiencing them. It helps us overcome the glaring incongruity between the minuscule changes that are occurring and the dream of 150,000+ reading the book and remembering to shine brightly. While the disbeliever inside torments us to throw in the towel, we don’t.

Dear Everyone---Everywhere,

We are here to be amazing and do fabulous things.

Yes. There is such a thing as the Law of Attraction. It exists and is very real.

Yes. Your thoughts attract things. Good or bad, positive or negative. What you express comes to you.

Yes. Good thoughts (without any disbelief) attract good things.

Yes. Good thoughts (with some disbelief) attract good things with a touch of negative.

Yes. Bad thoughts attract negative things. It’s just part of the law.

Yes. Things that are meant for you to do, feel truly wonderful.

Yes. Things that are not meant for you to do, feel yucky.

Ways to enhance thinking and receiving GOOD things.

* Meditate daily to get closer to your natural state of being without your inner critic shouting what you can’t do.

* There is a BIG difference between your inner CRITIC and your inner VOICE. The critic comes from your mind, your voice comes from your heart.

* The more you silence your mind, the closer you become to YOUR GOODNESS.

* Use breathing to quiet your inner critic and amplify your inner voice. Inhale Love---Exhale Love.

* BELIEVE.

Please.

Help create a vibrant culture of kindness among our youth.

According to national trend data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention there has been continual, steady increase among adolescents considering and attempting suicide since 2009 (CDC, 2013).[i]

Why in the world is this happening to our beautiful children?

The same data shares that between 2009 and 2013, there has been a steady increase in the number of teens who reporting having missed school due to feeling unsafe either on the way to school or during the school day.[ii] Additionally, there has been essentially NO change in the 20% of U.S. high school students reporting that they were bullied on school property between 2009 and 2013.[iii]

Why doesn’t this alarm us? Really and truly alarm us?

Select pen. Choose who you will write to. Grab paper. Find quiet space. Think of that person. Connect with them. Write words that come from your heart. Place in envelope. Put address and stamp on outside. Place in mailbox for delivery. Make someone happy. Feel good.

The nightmare my mother experienced after my sister was killed in a tragic accident by a runaway car whose driver fell asleep at the wheel was harrowing. In less than a minute her first born daughter/best friend was gone. Living felt impossible, but she did it.

Immediately after Donna's funeral, my mother never returned home. She moved in with Donna's family to help them heal. For months she had the distraction of helping her grandsons but that was only temporary. Mom eventually had to return to her life and was again destroyed when she went home to the deafening silence.

Months later, my mother continued to crumble as my sister’s birthday grew near. She commanded, "You are spending Donna's birthday with me. Take the day off, clear your schedule. I don’t care what we do, but we have to be together".

I could hear the trepidation in her voice and it was in that precise moment that I realized what to do.

The next morning, I created Donna’s Annual Chocolate Cake Memorial Celebration to honor the life of my sister-- to commence on March 12, 2012. When we were kids, Donna loved chocolate cake. We would spend hours, tearing up the kitchen and baking cakes from scratch. She was the leader and I didn’t do much but ask for continual tastes. As tribute to Donna, I invited everyone I knew to devour a scrumptious piece of chocolate cake in honor of her birthday. I suggested the most important part being that when we indulge, we will completely revel in the happiness of what we are doing. We won’t be thinking that it’s fattening or too sweet…we will just be doing what Donna did for all those years of birthday cakes in our lives. EATING IT with glee.

If I asked you what matters to you, what might you say?

To have a good job, money in the bank, a decent home, kids are safe and happy, and everyone is healthy? Is that everything?

Now, go deeper than that.

How do all of those things that matter to you get manifested? How do you create the framework for achieving the end results that sincerely and earnestly matter to you? In my heart, when all is quiet---what matters to me?

Think. Go deeper. Keep asking the question. Be patient for the answer will come with time, because it lies submerged below the obvious.

How do I as the stranger in your world impact what matters to you?

There might seem to be no simple connection as I do not live in your community, share your grocery store or even travel the roads on which you commute. Yet, we share so much---and all of it matters.

We share the norms that our young children embrace as they use those lessons on their path through-out life. Together and in our own separate worlds, all of our children learn that being unkind is a part of growing up and at some point a great percentage of our children are tormented by other children who share those same norms.

Never let your word patterns stop you from revealing your beautiful self.

Words express everything. They are an introduction to you. Your words become a shield of sorts: publicly and privately. What you say in the company of others forms their opinion of you. What you murmur to yourself in the quiet of the night means something.

Our elders teach us, think before you speak. Yet it is merely beyond thinking.

Over the years we string words together cautiously or carelessly. We find ways to get through the day and sometimes adopt phrases to get through trying times. The expressions often get repeated enough so our brains use them without our permission. We do this as we drive, rush about the house, and while gazing at our beautiful souls in the mirror.

The moment that we curse someone for accidentally cutting us off on the road is not simply a matter of thought but of pattern. A pattern we have established over the years that comes naturally with a fight or flight response. When we have uttered, I’m so ugly, a thousand times our brains learn the phrase as if it is one we love and cherish. it then repeats it to us as an unconscious reminder at any relevant time. Flashing about the house in a flurry, pointing out all of the things that are not done on your way to work repeating over and over how busy you are will not reduce your heart rate and bring peace. It plainly establishes another string of words repeated during our daily routines that continues the feeling of living in chaos.

The majority of the adult nation teaches youth that the fundamentals of achieving a happy, successful adult life begins with getting a good education, going to college, acquiring a high-paying job, and thus having a secure future. While these are all extremely valid aspects leading towards success, there are a few significant contributions to include on the list.

Spend time early and often, teaching youth the keys to unlocking personal freedom which strengthen our resilient nature. Instead of utilizing academic achievement as the primary, significant indicator of future success, develop a wide range of strategies to uncover the talents of every child/teen and help them to use those gifts in their daily lives. Encourage greatness for everyone rather than allowing failure for some. Discover talents, new ways of learning, and incredible skills that are hidden underneath the canopy of trying to fit into the systematic methods of “the way we have always done things”.

The concept of failure helps no one and hurts those who fall in the category. Those who fail become scared and stuck, often having to climb over extreme obstacles in order to beat the systematic limitation that was developed FOR them.

After reading the article titled, Restaurant Manager Writes Touching Open Letter To Mother Of Autistic Child in the online edition of Business Insider, I found myself with an intense desire to want to drive to the establishment where you work and shake your hand.

What a BRILLIANT move on your part. Not only did you create a huge sense of relief for this mom as she probably finds herself in a constant fight with the world, but you provided an incredible lesson for all of the people around you. Everyone who was in ear shot got to see YOU taking a stand for humanity.

How brave and marvelous!!

WE get SO irritated when families are not managing their crying, difficult children so that WE can EAT our hamburgers and fries in quiet. Lest we clearly forget that we SHARE THE WORLD?

It reminded me of the time my youngest son was bellowing in the supermarket. At three years old he was being outwardly adamant about my purchasing an absurd object that he insisted he would die without. As we roamed through the soup aisle towards the pasta, I could feel eyes burning into my back. At a glance, I saw the hatred and disapproval shooting out of the other shopper’s eyes. My little guy was making a huge fuss. Face dripping with tears, nose in a constant flow down his face, and hiccupping to boot while screaming, “MOMMY PLEEEEASE!”