Daily Muse

“If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun.”~Katharine Hepburn

Imagine if you dare a world where everyone always colored inside the lines and used the colors they were “supposed” to. Where do you think we would be without our great thinkers, artists, inventors and those who used their imagination to create something new by “thinking outside of the box“?

“Hell, there are no rules here – we’re trying to accomplish something.”~Thomas A. Edison

Imagine if you dare a world that never changed because no one chose to question authority, stand up to the rules in place or challenge the status quo. Imagine if you followed EVERY rule, used the colors you were supposed to and never colored outside the lines that were pre-drawn for you. What would your life be like if you followed the same rules set out for you say when you were 10? The rules change as you grow older and as the rules change, so does your life!

“If I’d observed all the rules, I’d never have got anywhere.“~Marilyn Monroe

Each of us has a unique crayon box of colors just waiting to be splashed on our canvas of life. The challenge is when we get stuck on one rule or another that says we have a limited number of colors to work with and we can only use them a certain way. We all have the choice to use our favorite colors, color outside the lines or to erase those lines completely. Each time we choose to use our own colors, think for ourselves and go outside the lines we heal ourselves and add freedom, beauty and fun to our lives.

“I define nothing. Not beauty, not patriotism. I take each thing as it is, without prior rules about what it should be.”~Bob Dylan

What are your favorite colors? I’ll bet yours are a different hue, depth, or combination than anyone else’s. The colors you choose are unique and beautiful to you. If you don’t follow the rules of what things “should” be or look like you are free to create without limits. You are free to color your world the way YOU want it. Is there a place in your life you are coloring inside the lines, using the colors you are supposed to when you’d rather be using different ones? If so, why not try using a different color?

“You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.”~Richard Branson

Ok, so you try doing something or responding a different way or thinking outside of the box and it doesn’t work. The beauty of using your own colors is that if you don’t like what you used or it doesn’t work you have the ability to change colors. If you’re always following the rules set forth you’ll never know if you are the next Thomas Edison, Georgia O’Keeffe, Twyla Tharp, Steven Spielberg, Martin Luther-King, Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg! You’ll never know how much your life or how many other lives you can change.

“Imagination rules the world.“~Napoleon Bonaparte

Your are only limited by the rules which limit your imagination. Dream big! Use new colors! Open your personal crayon box and color your world the way YOU want to. You don’t have to color between the lines because any lines you see are limits placed there by someone else that you’ve taken on as your truth. Draw your own picture! Color it in or color the page with random color. The only rule is you have to use the colors that make you happy. What’s your coloring book look like? What are your favorite happy colors?~Shine Your Light Debbie

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Repeat after me “I’m too blessed to be stressed!” There, didn’t that feel good? If you rolled your eyes or your thoughts immediately went to all the things putting pressure on you, it’s time to start counting your blessings not your stressings!

In this world of information overload it’s easy to get overwhelmed and stuck in those things that cause stress in our lives. In our personal lives there are deadlines to meet, children to take care of, demanding bosses, relationship issues and for many money is tight to put it mildly. Add to that your interactions on social media like pets who need to be saved, prayer requests and social or political action that simply cannot just wait.

It seems that everything needs to be done right now and although we’ve been blessed with technology beyond what anyone could have imagined a few, short 10 years ago to help us we are even more stressed than ever. Stress and worry seem to consume even the best of us leaving our minds racing and our bodies with a sense of unease. There is a whole new meaning for the “rat race”. Stress is “equal opportunity” and no one is totally immune. That said, let’s break down what stress really is so you can start counting your blessings!

Stress plain and simple is your energy and focus outside of you. It is your thoughts and attention on the tasks you have to complete IN THE FUTURE, the fear of what MAY OR MAY NOT happen in the future or the fear a task will not be completed. Stress is your body’s way of reacting to challenges and one reacts to those challenges in a variety of ways. Stress and overwhelm are a part of everyone’s life and more than ever before we all have a lot on our plates (an understatement for me).

The biggest challenge tends not to be what is stressing you but getting “stuck” and working hard to “get rid of” the stress. When you are working hard or feel stuck you are in resistance; And what you resist you become. When you are in effort (and or resistance) you can be sure that energy is going to stick around for quite some time. Yes there is a lot to do, challenges to overcome and deadlines to be met but when you start focusing on your blessings and allowing everything to simply BE you move through the challenges faster and possibly even with grace and ease.

Shifting your focus can be as easy as looking around you and counting your blessings. You are blessed If you’re reading this to have a computer or device to read it. You are blessed if you have a place to stay and food on the table. If you have friends or even just one friend you are blessed. If you have clothing, you are blessed. Why not start a list of all the blessings in your life and pay particular attention to your immediate surroundings because there are blessings around you now!

Ask yourself if worrying about getting something done will get it done faster? Ask yourself if stressing over an outcome changes it? Ask yourself if anything in the past you worried about came to pass and if it did was it even half as bad as how stressed you were about it at the time? Ask yourself how effective and efficient you are when you let the stress get the best of you. Now find some amusement and give me a good belly laugh at what you just noticed!

Think of it this way, if you’re staring intently or have your eyes clamped shut worrying that the storm might sweep you away you will surely miss the rainbow showing you that light is still present behind the clouds. Yes, there are things to do, people to see and responsibilities to be met but everything WILL get done and you WILL get through whatever comes your way. Take comfort in your blessings for you are indeed blessed. In fact if you start counting those blessings you will find YOU’RE TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!~Shine Your Light Debbie

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