Slow down, Be nice, and open your fists!

How nice are you to people? How do you respond to a co-worker who speaks harshly? How do you respond to a rude receptionist? How about a friend who ignores you when you ask a question? These are good questions that remind me that everywhere we go people are hurting, in a rush, and might be discouraged. They may have made mistakes in life or are simply having a bad day. They don’t need anyone to criticize or judge them; they need someone who will take a moment to listen to their story and are probably looking for a friend who cares, but is in such a rare mood or in a rush that they are zoned into that moment. We can turn any situation around; it is all up to the way we look at the situations and how we react! Once we start letting God judge everyone and we start to work on our own flaws it will be much easier to see the good in others.

Today is a good day to open our fists and reach for the good in others. Our personal beliefs have much more impact on our lives than anyone else’s...

Are you traveling down the wrong road?

A man was traveling for work heading toward his destination. On his way to that place he realized he was heading in the wrong direction, he was on the wrong road! But, strange to say he didn’t worry about it and kept on going believing that even though he was on the wrong road, he would end up at his destination! He didn’t worry about turning back or getting back on the right road. The poor fellow must be crazy! Lots of us are that way in regards to our thinking, we keep making the same mistakes, doing the things that hurt us the most... maybe we are the crazy ones?

We know that we might not be on the right track and that we should lead a different life, pursue a different course if we wish to reach our destinations, and still we keep right on going in the wrong direction! We are searching for worldly riches and goals, being successful in business, and attaining happiness, yet we forget that happiness is actually one of the simplest forms of Love. You don’t need success to Love; just the ability to trust and have the strength to never give up on believing in others and yourself. A true leader is one who trusts in others and doesn't look to gain fame or fortune; just the trust of others. Every day offers us many chances to change the live's of our loved ones and if we take those chances we will be changing our lives and paths as-well! Now go make someone smile and have fun!! 

In Dead Eyes

In Dead Eyes

You live for a while

Most don't know what there is after death.

We all have every answer we need inside

Sometimes you see it

If you are lucky you will be it

before it's death.

If you have seen life through dead eyes

you will know that if you do everything you have to

then dead eyes aren't so bad...

Just know you have to show love, smiles and be true to everyone now

because Dead Eyes dont make appointments to see you.... 

Be yourself...Be Real

...Trust me on this!     

I wrote this when I was thirteen years old because I was depressed but, now I realize that I was looking for some answers... I realize now that even at that young age that I was trying to answer some of lifes biggest mysteries. This little poem reminds me that we will never have all the answers but we will have the questions! Keep asking them... Life is about learning, Loving, and being True to who we are, worry about tonight and let tomorrow be out of site because the futue is ...what we make of it.

  

Pray for the dead

A few years back my aunt passed away at a young age. A couple of years later I was talking with another aunt who, told me about a dream she had that her sister, my aunt appeared in her dream asking why she had not prayed for her. As she was telling me about her dream all I could think of was my dad telling me as I grew up to always remember to pray for the lost souls when praying. So, yes I believe that, we should pray for the dead. I don’t even mean just the dead that we may have known in life or even in this century, it doesn’t even matter if they were good natured or bad. I am not talking about religion or whether the dead were religious, spiritual, or nonbelievers.

Prayer can be defined as many things, some believe you must be in a house of worship to truly pray, I do not. I was raised as a Roman Catholic and have many pieces of my spiritual life invested in my faith. I do not attend church as often as I would like but, I love the connection that I feel when I am there. I believe that church is a wonderful asset for both believers and nonbelievers alike. They are places of worship, love, beauty, and a sense of community. This book is not a book about religion, but, these are my thoughts about finding ourselves and how I try to live a spiritual, loving, and happy life. I feel strongly that our walk with God, is a daily effort and that we should all strive to do better with those who, surround us.

Prayer in my opinion is sending positive messages to God, regarding the universe, or anything that we truly believe in on behalf of our loved ones, others in need, and to those who, have passed on before us. Prayer is passing on positive and meaningful thoughts with sincere conviction. We all have prayed without even knowing it, even atheists! A good example; is a guy who passes by a sick person or a homeless person and feels a sincere deep sorrow or pity for them. The thoughts going through this person’s mind may be “my God, how sad, I hope they are okay.” Through those simple thoughts a positive message was extended for that person, therefore, there was a prayer being sent out for the betterment of someone else’s life. We all have different belief systems and we live in a very diverse world, especially today!

Growing up I found praying repetitive and exhausting, I admit it took me a really long time to remember the prayers being taught in Sunday school. I now love to pray at night before I go to sleep, even if it is just a brief prayer. Most nights my prayers consist of a lot of thanking God, for the good in my life and asking for me to live with the Light of Love. When it comes to praying for the dead however, one thing is for sure they have lost the earthly ability to pray for themselves. “The Purgatorian Manual” says “one who, is infinitely holy, not yet worthy to take possession of my dwelling - a place in heaven, is the greatest sorrow of the suffering soul.” If we no longer have the ability to pray for ourselves after death, what was the “Purgatorian Manual” saying? We need to be sincere in our prayers and not just repeating words that, have no meaning to you, this would defeat the purpose of praying which, is to send positive energies into the universe and heaven. I truly believe, that our beliefs have a lot to do with where we are and where we are going. It doesn’t matter if you pray to God, Ala, or another higher power, or whatever name you have for your belief, what matters is that, you have a belief in something which, will make your life truly meaningful.

Bullies...

I have found that when people enjoy picking on others it's simply because they have low self esteem. They are picking constantly to feel better about themselves and their own shortcomings. When I was a kid my Dad would say "he or she does it because he or she is jeolous, don't let it bother you." We all know someone like this; they're usually the bullies. Someone who is confident and self loving will never have to raise his or her voice, let alone a fist. Knowing this makes it easier to forgive someone who has wronged us and helps us to understand why a person acts in such a negative way. Don't just walk away from the negativity, but run! My whole point here is that negativity is contagous, just as happiness is. When someone is acting mean spirited to you or being a bully it comes from within. Be there for your family and friends but don't feed the negative vibes, show your love by being happy from within and maybe that smile or hug will help the negative thinking persons outlook for the better!     (I posted this back in 2009 and it hit home to me today, so why not re-post it again!) 

We are made of Energy so enjoy TODAY!

The energy you exude is the energy you will attract. The vibes we put out from our thoughts and aura are what we are going to attract to us, if we are putting happy and positive vibes out there, we will attract those same kinds of vibes from the people around us. This is really important to remember as we go along through our days. If we put out insecure or negative vibes we will attract the same from those people around us, and we will end up having a lousy day. I actually get bad headaches when I am around negative situations and tense people. That negativity is what causes my tension headaches. If I walk away from the situation, the headache goes away within minutes! I always say happiness is contagious, so why not embrace everyone around who you love.

Signed copy of "Life in a Week - What is Spirituality?" book give-away contest!

I Love doing these contests! All you need to do to enter to win a signed copy of my second book is to "subscribe" to my weekly E-Zine! Look to your left and there it is! Put your first name and email address into the box and you are done. This is the eleventh book give-away contest this year and you are automatically entered into all of them when you subscribe! Have a really fun week everyone, Mike Keller

I am looking for your personal stories for book #3...

Hello everyone,
I am compiling stories for my next book about everyday issues, situations, problems, and how we were able to overcome these challenging times in life. The book will be geared toward teens and adults. I am not focusing on any particular forum, so send anything that you feel is important for others to read. The whole reason why I started writing was to be able to help people that I would have never been able to reach otherwise and from the emails I recieve I am sincerely happy that I have put my words out there; and so can you!
I am looking for (but not limited to by any means) stories about addictions (drugs, food, alcohol, sex, cutting, etc.), bullying, depression, suicide, peer pressure, and so on. I will be adding these stories to the book along with my input and/or research  to each of the situations and focus on the positives. Let me know if you would like your name added as a contributor in print as a Thank You for your input and stories since I will not be paying for your stories. My email is kellerslifeinaweek@gmail.com, please put "story for book #3" in the title so I know it is not spam! Thank You in advance and I look forward to hearing from you.   

Laugh at yourself...

What is really funny about life is that we forget how to live sometimes. We get caught up in the everyday drama, the mistakes, the rumors, and the stresses that we create for ourselves. We forget to laugh at the obvious laughable situations; I dropped my coffee as I was getting into the car this morning, it splashed up and hit me in the face. At first I was in shock then I laughed because I knew I should have made two trips instead of carrying a coffee by my teeth! Laughing at ourselves and situations we get ourselves into will have a positive effect on our daily lives, health, and our surroundings. Laughter causes our endorphins to be released instantly, which makes for a fun day!

Try to look at every situation that you may get yourself into in a way that a film maker would look at a situation who is making a comidy. Look at Sienfeld, that is exactly what Larry David did in every scene and show! Enjoy the uneasy moments of your day, the traffic, the rude co-worker, the radio that shuts off in the car when you go over a bump (Happy Days loved the broken juke box)! Laughing at these oddities and enjoying the beautiful day will be an instant anxiety reliever that will make for a funnier life! So get out there and laugh...      

Recognize faults and let go (excerpt from my 2nd book)

Have you ever gone into a beautiful church with beautiful antique artifacts, pristine walls, and perfect paintings and then you sat in a pew only to notice a crack in the stained glass window? You realize you keep looking at the crack and wonder why that ugly crack hasn’t been fixed; the church has plenty of money to fix it. All of the magnificent beauty of this church is suddenly reduced to almost an insult to you and your time. I use this analogy to make the point that we do the same with people; have you ever seen a friend after five or ten years and the first thought in your mind is “wow, they have gotten old and obese.” Our thoughts naturally go toward the negative. this is taught to us even as children, and it is a habit most of us have because of repetition of these thoughts. After a few moments of talking with your old friend, you realize the person had three grown children now working in fields such as nursing, social work, and teaching. It is exciting to know this person has brought up three children who all chose careers that now help society to be a better place.

No person is perfect, we all have flaws and when we point out other people’s flaws, we are just distracting ourselves from our own. I have found jealousy will always turn into hate and low self-esteem which, often causes us to notice flaws and we tend to gossip about others in order to boost our own feelings. When you are around someone who is gossiping, it is always best to remain silent and not even nod your head in agreement, because this will only encourage this type of behavior.

A wise man once told me there is good and bad in everyone and just always try to illuminate the good. This may not be easy at times and it may take practice but it is a habit worth reaching for. Most experts agree, it takes two weeks of daily activity to form a habit, good or bad. A good exercise would be to pick the person closest to you and write down on a sheet of paper, all the things annoying you about this person. On a second sheet of paper, write all of the positive things about the person. The second part of this exercise will be much harder but really dig down deep and free-write without even thinking. Remember sitting in the church and constantly looking at that crack in the stained glass window and dwelling on the broken piece. So often, we polarize the broken parts of people and ignore or simply don’t even take the time to notice the good attributes. Remember, we are not perfect but, we should work to improve our faults; a good way to do this is to let those imperfections of our loved ones and ourselves go! Once you have completed the exercise, draw a big box around the page about the annoyances of the other person and then crinkle it up into a ball and throw it away forever! Hang onto the second part of the exercise and read it once a day for two weeks; you will see a difference in the relationship becoming healthier and a change in the way you look at everything about that person.

Pride or Ignorance?

I often hear a lot about pride. I hear “well, I have my pride so I won’t back down” or “I know I heard that person say something two houses down and I won’t put up with it!” What. Really? Two houses down? Who cares, worry about your own house! A wise man told me that you should try to keep the peace because the more you worry about what others say about you, you are only giving them more power! The more you stress about what someone else is saying, the more you are strengthening their grips over you. Don’t worry about other peoples homes, look at what’s going on in your own. The anger that you hold inside of yourself is only creating a prison in your own life, let it go and you will live more freely. I believe we need to understand what pride means before we start throwing that word around and causing problems in our own lives. Here is the Webster definition of pride; “inordinate self esteem: conceit. A reasonable or justifiable SELF RESPECT.” It is key to understand pride is about oneself, the way you feel about yourself; not petty actions by others.

I was at a Hibachi a few months back with a few friends and sitting around the table was an older couple who were a few drinks deep and I over heard the husband say to his wife that my friend and I were “fags.” I almost threw my noodles at this man who knew nothing about me but, I took a deep breath and thought “ why should I loose my delicious noodles (which I crave 24/7) and ruin a fun time out with friends whom I care about! I would only be giving him power over my emotions and therefore letting him ‘win power’ while making me the foolish one who is kicked out of a really nice place that I love to frequent. I could have easily said “well, I have my pride” but, how would my pride have been if I created a problem over foolishness? I simply ignored his ignorance and he ended up leaving shortly thereafter because his wife was embarrassed by his foolish behavior. I had some more noodles, a lot of laughs, and ended up having a really fun night!

My point here is that if you worry too much about what others think about you then you are always going to be defensive and will never enjoy what surrounds you. If you are so sensitive about foolish words, then you are actually weaker than the one who is so ignorant and insecure about themselves that they are trying to tick you off in order to feel better about themselves. Ignorance is alive and well in our world and we are surrounded by it at most times of our lives but, do we want to stoop to the ignorant persons level or are we smarter than that? Once we realize that we are not perfect we can start to understand that neither is that other person two houses down or at the hibachi but, we will be giving them power by our own foolish prides if we let their actions create our reactions! As we get older and wiser, we begin to realize that we don’t have all the answers but we can make changes in this world by making changes in our own homes and not worrying about two houses down...

Happy Mom's Day!!

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/11993993/mothers-day-movie

The Pay it Forward Band! - Wow...

WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?

Some people value education for itself. They see in it a persons greatest achievement. They are mistaken. Knowledge is of no value unless it makes me a better person. It should broaden my view of life, bring me a deeper understanding of people and things. If education makes me judge others or I become self-centered and proud, then it is bad for me. True education should help me to live a good life by helping others. A common working man who tries to help others is a far better man than a learned man who learns the lines of scriptures; living the words is the key to true happiness!

I was talking to a really successful man the other day who told me that “ religion is for the weak who need something to look forward too.” I was amazed because I have such a firm belief and faith in God, I not only believe in God but I have conversations with him! His words not only sent shivers down my back, they made me realize that even the most successful of people might be seeking what seems to be good but, might be focused on earthly goods alone. We are on this earth for a while, some are here for ninety years, some for thirty years, and some for five minutes. We will never know when our time is up, but we are certain that our bodies will die. I firmly believe that our decisions today will guide us to where we end up tomorrow and this is why we need to keep our eyes on the bigger picture; our souls and our beliefs.

This Easter week I have learned a very valuable lesson on my daily living. I learned that I have been focusing to many of my efforts toward success, when I didn’t even have the true meaning of success in mind. I asked myself “what is success?” I now know that success is not having the fancy car, the bank account, or the big office but, it is having true friends and family whom know that I am there for them any time they need me! Success is about relationships, respect, and trust. We don’t need to agree on everything, know everything, or even want the same things but, we do need to believe in something; my greatest achievement is my belief in God and my knowledge that I will never be perfect...

This was the best show I've seen in years! These kids are TALENTED...

Only one night left to see these talented kids bring a classic show to a new level. I had more fun at this show than allowed by law (in the town of Bomont). If you are looking for a fun night out then check out this show but hurry because tonight is the last night! Just click on the title and get all the info...