i need to stop raising my voice to my children. i need to stop yelling. i need to make a change once and for all and get a grip on my emotions – and not raise my voice. if i don’t get a grip and i keep raising my voice – it could have a lasting negative impact on my relationships with my children. i need to make the change – not them. i need to be the maturing adult and see what i have to do to make things better – and lowering my voice when speaking to them is one of those changes. it is difficult to make this change – but you must keep at it until you have mastered the art of lowering your voice. and if you do raise your voice, you need to apologize for doing so. 99% of your comments to others do not require you to raise your voice. start practicing lowering your voice – it can change a life.
Category: Family
thank you notes
i have an idea. think back across your life and think about all the people you have met – then think specifically about the people that made a difference in your life – that did something for you to make your life better – that did you a favor without expecting anything in return. you can narrow it down to the big events or milestones in your life. who helped you reached that milestone? who helped you do that event? who were the key people that helped shape who you are today. now sit down and write each of them a brief thank you note – just thanking them for the exact thing they did to help you. it doesn’t have to be a long letter – just a quick note. they will be pleasantly surprised and you will feel good that you let them know that you have not forgotten what they did and you never will. get those notes and do it now – before it is too late.
live near family
this is one of the keys to life. you must live near some family. make sacrifices to live near family. we are on this earth for a short period of time and as you go through life, you quickly realize that it is family that will stick by you through everything. yes you have friends and they are good to have – they provide another form of balance – but at the end of the day – you need that family – and you need that family nearby. why nearby? so you can experience life with them – so that you can have their support through the big things and the little things. family enhances life, family makes life better, family gives you a reason to keep pushing on. if all of your family is dead, then you shift this concept to friends. but if you have some close family members still alive – pack up and move close to them now. life is about living in the now while people are still alive – you need to live near them and you need to create memories – otherwise what is the point of living if not with your family nearby. you might not get along with your family – still not an excuse to not live near them. why- because if you have kids – it is good for them to live near your family – they need to grow up with some family around. what is the point of living far away from your family – making more money? not a good enough reason. you could be laid off or drop dead tomorrow – where did more money get you? nowhere – because you have no family nearby to help you through the hard times. get a grip and go live near family – otherwise you will regret it. way back when – you were young and you loved your family. because you are older now – does not change that one bit. don’t judge – just love. start packing.
keeping someone safe
one of the biggest fears in life is keeping your loved ones safe. it is different than keeping yourself safe. you do keep yourself safe by taking the necessary precautions, but you do not worry all the time about keeping yourself safe – as you have some control over that worry. the one area where you have less control is when you want to keep your loved ones safe. this is a big worry because you have little or no control, depending on the age of the loved one. if it is your own children, you can do a good job of keeping them safe when they are young, but you still need to make sure they make the right choices when you are not around – cars, strangers, water, etc. you have control, but obviously not complete control, so there is a hidden worry in your mind. as your children grow older, you have less control in keeping them safe – so the worry grows and grows. you can only rely on others keeping them safe when you are not around and you can only rely on your loved ones keeping themselves safe – like we all try to keep ourselves safe. so the only way to help keep them safe is to teach them how to be safe from a young age. don’t freak them out with too many scary scenarios that could happen, but help them understand the safe way to go about life. yes, they will take risks when they are young, like we all do, – and those we can’t prevent entirely, but perhaps we can guide them to be less risky when taking action that could affect their safety – these are bodily harm risks, not the type of risks you need to take to reach your goals. so teach them carefully and properly – and hope no harm will come – it is the only thing you can do
10 deaths, 10 divorces
such is life, such are the odds and such are the individual destinies of us all. in the past 7 years, i have known 10 couples to divorce and 10 people that have died (in middle age or earlier). we all know that these things happen in life – and early on in life, we see these things happening from afar. but as you get older, as you hit the 40’s, 50’s – it comes crashing closer and closer to home. on the death front, you wonder why they went so early in life and you hold your dear ones closer – praying that you are not next and being more grateful for what you have in life – so stop complaining – you are not dead yet. on the divorce front – it is an even bigger shock sometimes. you see that perfect couple and divorce never even crosses your mind. but then one day you see the wife shoveling the snow or the husband not showing up at social events – and the signals start to mount. it is a shock to think that they went through all those years together, having kids, raising kids, building careers together, going through tough times – and then one day they quit the relationship – they fall out of love almost as quick as when they fell into it. this cannot be explained easily – why did this person wake up one day and say “I’m done”. most likely things were boiling under the surface for years – unknown to other person in the relationship and certainly unknown to the rest of the world. it is a tragedy that will affect many people in their world – especially the kids. and such is one of the big mysteries of life – one day we are happy and one day we are not.
family memories
all we have is family memories in the early part of our lives. this is a comfortable time – just you and the family living life together – creating memories together. but like anything – time goes on and change from this tranquil state happens. you start to experience life with others outside of your family. this is a new time period in your life — and one that your family and you have to accept. it will be hard at first – mostly for your family. they will have to get used to the idea that you are creating memories without them – your original family. this is life – and is only the first step you will make – moving slowing away from your family nest to become independent — where one day most of your experiences are not with your original family. one can only accept this change, knowing that it is part of the natural process – even though it may hurt. if you are part of the original family – you need to cherish and enjoy the moments when you have them.
cherish them
it came to me last night when i pray each night for my loved ones. i go through the names of all my relatives. i then realized that there are only 3 immediate family members left that are in the golden age of life. we need to cherish them in these final years because when they are gone, there won’t be anyone left at that age – only you marching towards that time in your life. it will come quickly – like everything in life. you will one day soon be that older person. you will be the one your younger relatives pray for. keep praying for them while they are alive so you can know that you have a limited time with them – to enjoy now before it is too late. pray for them because you will be them soon. they need you as much as you need them. they were there for you when you were younger – and now you must be there for them. it is the right thing to do. you know it – you just have to do it. cherish them.
safety
you must always be safe. you must always be alert to your safety and the safety of your loved ones. take that extra step and watch out for your loved ones. when a loved one is not able to always be safe, you must keep an eye out for them. one lapse in your safety watch could mean life or death. death can happen at any moment and it is always a surprise. you will not be warned that death is near. you will not have time to think about life or death. you must not hesitate in the moment of life or death. you must let your instinct take over. you must act without thinking to save a life. to avoid more moments like this, raise your alert level to a higher point. make the conscious effort to look again – to watch out for your loved ones. this will help prevent life or death moments. without saying, safety is the key to living longer. be on the lookout for danger at all times and you will be safe most of the time.
show love and support
you need to show love and support to the ones you love. you need to do this often. you need to take advantage of the moment and show love. this is the only time you will be able to show this love and support for this particular need at this particular moment. if you miss the moment, then you need to tell that person that you are sorry you missed the moment to support them – and then show that love and support at that moment of reconciliation. so often, a person is looking for that love and support and so often, we do not give it. this leads to a lifetime of missed moments and only creates more space between the 2 people — which is not a good thing when you want the relationship to last a lifetime. if you can recognize at the moment that love and support is needed, you are ahead of the process. but, this is a hard process to conquer. the better move is to get in the habit of showing love and support on a regular basis. this will help you cover those critical moments when love and support is needed the most. don’t get down on yourself for missing that moment today – go back and correct it at the first possible next moment together. then get in the habit of doing this regularly – and you will not miss this moment again and your love for each other will grow – rather than wither away by not being conscious of these things. these moments are very important to your own stability and the stability of others.
the gift of love
when someone loves you, you need to be very aware of that fact when you are dealing with them on a daily basis. because they love you, they will allow you to be negative towards them without any consequences. this is a gift they have given you and you cannot abuse this gift of unconditional love. and because you have this gift -this freedom to say what you want without consequences –you must be very careful not to abuse it. to abuse this gift is very easy to do. you see no consequences, so you lash out without thinking –and this just causes you to create habits of not being nice –of putting all of your insecurities on this person –in the form of being mean. this person will always love you and will never leave you. this makes the gift of unconditional love even more fragile. handle this gift with care and do not abuse this gift. if you do, then your loved ones will suffer and in the end –so will you. your life will have less meaning and you will be ashamed of your actions over the years. stop abusing this gift now.