“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”
~Albert Schweitzer~

Each and everyone of us has people in our lives who lift us up when we are down. People who give us the energy to not only survive but to thrive in our lives. These people’s energy is infectious and just being around them serves to advance our own lives. Who are these people for you? Who are you grateful for? Who adds value to your life? When is the last time you told them?

One of the best things you can do for someone else is to appreciate them. A simple thank you can travel a long way. These same people who drive us toward our better selves sometime need some help themselves. Making them understand how important they are to us is often just what the doctor ordered! So get in the habit of giving these people a call. Shoot them a quick e-mail. If you want to go old school a hand written letter of a card is so memorable. The act of saying thank-you won’t just lift up the individual you sat it to. The act of saying thank-you also lifts you as well! Give it a try today!

PS: I know I miss days from time to time and for that you have my sincerest apologies and promise to do better! I’d like to express my gratitude to all of you who stick with me through my ups and downs, through my periods of consistency and lack-there-of. Sharing these messages with you all on a day to day basis and the favorable, supportive responses I receive combine to make up one of the parts of my life I enjoy the most. Thank-you so much for being a part of it!

A.R.I.S.E
All Reach in Search of Excellence

“For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.”
~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

Happy Monday Everyone! Hope you had a fantastic weekend and are ready for an even better week!

Where is the best place to start when you’re going through hard times in life? I’ve been asked this question many times and the best answer I know how to give is simply, Start with Gratitude! Being thankful for the things you do have in life is without a doubt the fastest way to bring more of those things into your life. And if you percieve things to be so bad that you can’t even see the good in your life, then make sure you get thankful for all the bad things in life that you don’t want and that you don’t have.

I know it doesn’t always feel like it but we are truly blessed beings. I can’t speak to your specific life circumstance but I bet you wouldn’t trade your life with the mother who watched her children go to sleep starving last night. I’m sure if you had a choice between you and the guy who woke up this morning in jail for a crime he didn’t even commit, you’d choose you. You see our circumstances are never as bleak as we sometimes make them out to be and Gratitude is the light that brings this level of clarity back into focus. When you begin to look at your life through the lens of Gratitude you start to see that life is filled with things to be Grateful for. Just be on the lookout and show your appreciation throughout the process!

Lets fill this week with things to be Grateful for! GO!!!!

A.R.I.S.E
All Reach In Search of Excellence