Keeping the peace

Sometimes to keep the peace you have to step in and bring some rationality to a situation.  I loved this picture below.  

At first glance it looks like the priest is trying to attack with the rioter who is getting ready to throw something.  Then you see the police in the background, who are the intended target of this projectile.  Finally, I realized he is trying to get in the middle of the conflict to help both parties.  I'm guessing he's begging the guy throwing the object to back down, because it's not worth it.  I can almost hear him imploring in my own ears.

This is a very bold image I won't soon forget.  Maybe I'll try to step in and help diffuse a situation instead of inciting it further.

When to give the little guy a shot

Everyone needs a hand sometimes.  It may come from a friend, or family, or maybe even a stranger.  Check out this feel good story about a stranger (an opponent on another team even), giving someone a hand..
here: 

lend a hand

I realize this may be stating the obvious to some people, but I'm going to go ahead and say it anyway:  if you can, help.  I know most of us are busier than we'd like to be, and that helping someone else may not be the easiest or most convenient thing, but try to.  Not all the time, but some of the time.  It matters.

Even the otters have figured out that it comes in "handy" to have a pal to hold hands with.  See below.  They do this so as not to drift away from one another when they sleep.  Adorable no?  Yet I couldn't help but think about how supportive and loving it feels to hold someone's hand.  It also feels calming and reassuring to have someone help you out even if you could have potentially handled a task on your own.

Push your fears aside

The access to information all around the country allows me to see and hear things that I wouldn't have the chance to otherwise.  Like the below Priest's messages which I read a few days a week, online.  It's just a snippet, but every single time I leave thinking, "Ah.  I needed to hear that."  I hope he leaves you with a few salient points to help you keep moving onward and upward.  

"Let me begin my message today by asking all of you a question. Did you know that 80% of all physical and emotional illnesses have their roots in fear and worry? Friends, let me ask you today, did you wake up worried, anxious about a challenge in your life? Have you not been able to sleep at night, tossing and turning, concerned about an obstacle in your life? Let me encourage you on this Monday to recognize that fears are part of life, but they don't have to be a WAY of life. You see, the devil is defined as the "father of lies." And too often, he will work in your thoughts telling you that this fear is so great, that it is impossible to overcome, that there is no way to get through this. Unfortunately, many times, we take the devil's bait...hook, line and sinker. We allow those fears to control our day. But let me remind you that in the Bible, one of the most often used statements by God is "don't be afraid." In fact, it is mentioned over 120 times. So don't put your faith in fear, put your faith in God. Tell yourself, I know that those fears can seem big, but my God is bigger. I know they can seem scary, but my God is greater. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, that my God can not overcome. So go out today, not believing in the devil's lies, but believing in God's truths. Go out putting your faith in God and not in fear. " 

Have a blessed Monday. 
Fr. Nicholas Louh
St. John the Divine Greek Orthodox Church, Jacksonville, FL

Lemons out of lemonade

A life lesson for anyone who has hit a road block.  Change your perspective.  Don't be a victim.  Life is about moving forward, not about dwelling on the past.

The best 15 minutes you will spend in a while- I couldn't help but shed a few tears:

Lessons for couples

Some tips for the future, for now, and something I should think a lot about.  

“The more connections you and your lover make, not just between your bodies, but between your minds, your hearts, and your souls, the more you will strengthen the fabric of your relationship, and the more real moments you will experience together.” Barbara De Angelis

What is the secret to healthy and long lasting relationships? What is LOVE, does it really exists? Can love last forever, and if so, why are there so many relationships that fail? Why are there so many unhappy and needy people that go from one “failed” relationship to another? Is there a shortage of love in the world? How many couples do you know that they are still in love by the time their hair turns gray?

The people who are in healthy couples who manage to keep their love flourishing have some lessons to teach us.

1. SEEK TO GIVE MORE THAN YOU SEEK TO GET

When they enter in a relationship, they do so because they want to share the best of them with the other person, and their main focus is to make the other person happy.

“Some of the biggest challenges in relationships come from the fact that most people enter a relationship in order to get something. They’re trying to find someone who’s going to make them feel good. In reality, the only way a relationship will last is if you see your relationship as a place that you go to give, and not a place that you go to take.” Anthony Robbins

2. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR PERSONAL HAPPINESS

These people are already happy on their own and because of that their love will last until the end of days. They don’t look for “salvation” when entering a new relationship, but rather they look for ways to make the other person happy, understanding that “Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to their own. “ Robert Heinlein

3. AWARENESS

Awareness of the fact that there will be ups and downs, good days and bad days, and that in order for their LOVE to last, they need to invest time and effort in it. You can’t take your hand off the steering wheel and expect to end up in paradise.

4. COMMITMENT

They are committed to: “have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part” and if something gets “broken”, they don’t throw it away (and a lot of times is the other person who you want to “throw” away), they fix it.

5. HOW TO LOVE WITHOUT BEING NEEDY

And even though it may sound quite frightening, it’s not, for you want to be in a relationship with somebody who is aware of the fact that they are already whole and complete and they don’t need another human being in order for them to feel this way. Can you imagine all the pressure you put on your partner the moment you say that it’s their job to make you happy, and it’s their job to complete you?

“It is only when we no longer compulsively need someone that we can have a real relationship with them.” Anthony Storr

6. RESPECT AND ACCEPTANCE

Respect and acceptance of the differences that exist between them, without trying to constantly change the other person, allowing them to be as they are.

“When men and women are able to respect and accept their differences then love has a chance to blossom.” John Gray

7. COMMUNICATION AND TRUST

Trust in the other person and in what they can achieve together as a couple and a very healthy way of communicating with one another.

“The fundamental glue that holds any relationship together is trust.” Brian Tracy

8. APPRECIATION

Appreciation of the differences and similarities that exist between them, appreciation of the work each and every one of them does and appreciation of who and what they are.

9. TEAMWORK

You know how a lot of couples, after their honeymoon stage they start to act like they are enemies? A lot of people do that, but not these people, for they understand that they are moving in the same direction and that they have the same goals and interests, and that they are part of the same team, and because of that, their love flourishes from one day to another.

“I’m here not because I am supposed to be here, or because I’m trapped here, but because I’d rather be with you than anywhere else in the world.” Richard Bach

10. SPACE

They understand the importance of having space in their relationship for they know that:“Space is a unifying field of awareness in which you meet the other person without the separative barriers created by conceptual thinking. And now the other person is no longer “other.” In that space, you are joined together as one awareness, one consciousness.” Echkart Tolle

11. SELF IMPROVEMENT AND SELF GROWTH

The people who are in strong, healthy and  long lasting relationships are aware of the fact that: “When you struggle with your partner, you are struggling with yourself. Every fault you see in them touches a denied weakness in yourself.” Deepak Chopra

They take time to work on their own person, they take time to better themselves because they know that by doing so,  by bettering themselves, their relationship will also improve.

12. FOCUS ON THE GOOD TRAITS OF THE OTHER PERSON INSTEAD OF THE BAD TRAITS

Focus on the good traits of the other person and not on the negative ones. They don’t focus on what the other person is not or on what they think might be missing from their relationship. These people are mature enough to understand that,“Problems in relationship occur because each person is concentrating on what is missing in the other person.” Wayne Dyer

13. NON-INTERFERENCE

They allow the other person to be as he/ she wants to be, without trying to control them, without trying to tell them what to think, what to believe and what to feel.

Little Blessings

We had a crazy week.  I've been living at home with my parents while I wait to move into my new house.  When I realized this would be part of the plan, I was worried I would be driven crazy.

Turns out, it's not so bad.  I'm enjoying the special time I have with the people I love.  My sisters agree with me.

After this week, we had to work together to make sure my grandparents were looked after.  If it hadn't have happened, we wouldn't have seen something as beautiful as the below, which is my grand father and his great grand daughter (my baby niece).

What makes me me?

If you had to ask me what one of the most important things that makes me..me... it would be, that I'm Greek!  I'm proud of it.  When I was a kid, all I wanted was to be "American" like everyone else.  I didn't want to be different.  I hated my name, as it was more unique.  All I wanted was to blend in.

Nothing about me really blends in.  That's not how I was made.  I'm Greek.  We are proud of our heritage.  It shows.  It stands out.

Watch this to understand why Greeks (even Greek Americans, or Greek Canadians or Greek Austrians) are so enthusiastic about our culture:

No regrets!

It's always easy to learn from other people's mistakes, I've learned.  Here's some tips from older folks:

Top 5 Regrets of the dying: (from AARP) 
1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I didn't work so hard.
3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

Happiness as a country

I'm really surprised that the US is considering taking an interest in our happiness as a group.  I mean, maybe it's just the cool thing to do now that Canada is doing it.  Check this out:  

I can't wait to hear what my dad has to say about it.  He'll probably scoff about the ridiculousness of liberals these days.

Working Mom's do all the work

I have some friends who are working moms, and I have some that are stay at home moms.  Both groups are busy all the time.  Tired- all the time.  Hard working- all the time.  Amazing- all the time.

Check out this working mama, who is a politician, and still amazingly caring for her 7 week old little girl, on the job.  I'm inspired.

Please please please don't ever judge a mama and how good a job she is doing, or how easy it seems.  You never know how challenging their baby is, or what they are going through or what kind of support they do or don't have.  I read this article about how uncaring and insensitive moms are to one another, and I also hear about it from friends.  Not cool, ladies.

Some moms can't easily breast feed.  Don't judge.  Some moms like to work outside the home.  Don't judge.  Some moms love to be stay at home mommies.  Don't judge.  Some moms use disposable diapers, and some go old school with cloth.  Don't judge.

Especially if you aren't in their shoes.....yet.  Just remember, all moms work incredibly hard, no matter what.  Respect!

Sibling Rivalry

My mom raised my sisters and I to be loyal to one another.  She taught us to protect each other, and more specifically, she instilled in my sisters the value of protecting their baby sister (me) when they could.  They did.

Now, we are pretty much on the same playing field.  A difference of 3 or 6 years in age doesn't carry the same weight as when you are in elementary school.  Nonetheless, I still look back at a few poignant memories I have of my big sisters standing up for me or protecting me somehow.  

When I saw this video of the Team Long Brothers, I thought about my big sisters.  They would have done this for me.  Any. Day. Of. The. Week.  We could all learn a lot by emulating the love and strength Conner and Cayden Long give to one another.  

Super Bawling

I saw the Super Bowl last night, and it was pretty inconsequential to me.  I'm a Redskins fan, so I was rooting for the Baltimore Ravens, simply because they are our neighbors.  But I didn't have a dog in the fight, so to speak.

Then I saw this commercial, and my night was complete.  Tears.  Loved it.  Those advertising folks know how to get us.

Put your money where your mouth is

I like it when I read about churches acting like they should.  Maybe that would inspire people to believe that church's are sincere when they say they care about people.  All people.  Not just those that give them money.

Here, check it out: