HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY YOURSELF?

If you had to write a brief description of yourself, what would you say about yourself?  What are your greatest attributes?  What are the things you don’t enjoy about yourself?  Have you really ever thought about how others see you?  Do you even care?

I’m going to take a look at these questions and answer them as honestly as I can. 

What are my greatest attributes?

My loyalty, my passion, drive and desire to create positive change into the world, my empathy, my honesty and sincerity.

What are some things I don’t enjoy about myself? 

I like everything about myself.  I like the direction my life took.  I love that I advocate for the ethical treatment of animals.  I love that I have made the choice to become vegan.  I love that I think with my heart.  I love my strong convictions in creating positive change into the world.  I love being in love.  I love learning and growing.

Do I care about what others think of me?

The only person that matters in my life is ME.  Without trying to create the best possible me – I would not be able to motivate others into creating positive change in the world.  I do care about how other people view me – especially if they view me in a negative way.  I encourage feedback in order to ensure I become a better person.  What I don’t care for is when people make judgments about me.  I don’t care if you do not like what I am wearing, the colour of my eyes or hair, that I have gained a few pounds or that I raise my voice a bit when I am defending the earth, our environment, animals that have no voice or people who are oppressed because they were born with certain uniqueness. 

A brief description about myself:

To expand on what I have said above – my commitment in my life is being the best partner, husband and friend to my partner of 21 years.  I want to continue to advocate for the things I am passionate about (animals, environment and the LGBTQ community).  I want to become a beacon in creating positive change in the world – if I have influenced just one other person to be kind to animals, our planet or to each other – my job is done but I’m not going to stop.  I am comfortable and love living my life in the most authentic way possible.  I am not afraid to share my views about many of the injustices in this world.  I really believe that we should treat others in the same way that we want to be treated.  I am not afraid to be expressive and passionate in my convictions and have been known to get into heated discussions about those passions and beliefs.  I am avid believer that ‘one person can make a difference’ and get quite offended when people say that a problem is too big to solve.  I get annoyed when people also say, “you can’t change the habits or thoughts of so many people.” – I don’t think Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Rosa Parks, Jane Goodall, Ingrid Newkirk or so many other influential people thought this way.  Even Adolf Hitler didn’t think this way. 

I believe I am honest, caring, loving and passionate.  I am overly sensitive – which is an amazing attribute considering most people think that being overly sensitive is a negative trait and a sign of weakness.  Sensitivity is a sign of strength and empathy – people who are sensitive can really put themselves in any situation and act to ensure a positive outcome is not too far from reach.

Today, so many people are too concerned about how others see them and are afraid to live an authentic life.  Imagine the changes we can make in the world if people would just live authentic lives.  Imagine if more people cared about the environment, the poor, the ethical treatment of animals, child poverty, income inequality and other issues that are more deserving of our time and efforts.  More people care about Hollywood gossip than the possible extinction of certain animal species.  We can make huge strides in protecting our declining forests, lakes and oceans but we need to raise our voices and we need to raise them LOUD and STRONG!   The time is now.

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!

LET LOVE GUIDE YOU TODAY!

Today, only think in terms of LOVE.  Whenever you are faced with low-energy feelings, think of something that warms and fills your heart with LOVE.  Don’t let someone else’s bad day affect you instead, let your feelings of LOVE infect them to a more positive mood.  Be the beacon of change and your day, week, month, year and lifetime will be encompassed only with LOVE.

*located in the Distillery District, Toronto, Ontario CANADA.

* An original oil painting I completed in 2014. Renamed to “Love is Above All” – All my original art will be available in e-book and traditional book formats soon.

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!

WAKE UP TO KINDNESS and LOVE

We should never be too busy to say ‘thank-you’ whenever someone does something kind.  It is not difficult to acknowledge the kindness that others do.  We all appreciate being thanked for the good things we do.  Creating change and inspiring people to do random acts of kindness is not a hard thing to do.  Spreading kindness into the world can be as simple as opening the door for someone or saying ‘thanks’ when someone opens the door for you. 

Too many of us are so preoccupied with trivial things that we become desensitized to just being human and being kind.  It is good to be reminded that there are more important things in the world than celebrity gossip, negative local, national and international news stories and other meaningless junk that we really shouldn’t care about.

I challenge you to perform an act of kindness and love for the rest of the month.  Inspire others and set goals that make you feel good.

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!

AN AMAZING EXAMPLE OF KINDNESS…

An excerpt from the Dr. Wayne W. Dyer book “The Power of Intention” in relation to how kindness is shown:

In Brooklyn, New York, Chush is a school that caters to learning-disabled children.  Some children remain in Chush for their entire school career, while others can be mainstreamed into conventional schools.  At a Chush fundraiser dinner, the father of a Chush child delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended.  After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he cried out, “Where is the perfection in my son, Shaya?  Everything God does is done with perfection.  But my child cannot understand things as other children do.  Where is God’s perfection?”  The audience was shocked by the question, pained by the father’s anguish, and stilled by the piercing query.  “I believe,” the father answered, “that when God brings a child like this into the world, the perfection that he seeks is in the way people react to this child.”  He then told the following story about his son, Shaya.

One afternoon Shaya and his father walked past a park where some boys Shaya knew were playing baseball.  Shaya asked, “Do you think they’ll let me play?”  Shaya’s father knew that his son was not at all athletic and that most boys would not want him on their team.  But Shaya’s father understood that if his son was chosen to play, it would give him a sense of belonging.  Shaya’s father approached one of the boys on the field and asked if Shaya could play.  The boy looked around for guidance from his teammates.  Getting none, he took matters into his own hands and said, “We’re losing by six runs, and the game is in the eight inning.  I guess he can be on our team, and we’ll try to put him up to bat in the ninth inning.”

Shaya’s father was ecstatic as Shaya smiled broadly.  Shaya was told to put on a glove and go out to play in centre field.  In the bottom of the eight inning, Shaya’s team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.  In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shaya’s team scored again, and now had two outs and the bases loaded, with the potential winning run on base, Shaya was scheduled to be up.  Would the team actually let Shaya bat at this juncture and give away their chance to win the game?  Surprisingly, Shaya was given the bat.  Everyone knew that it was all but impossible because Shaya didn’t even know hot to hold the bat properly, let alone hit with it.  However, as Shaya stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shaya could at least be able to make contact.  The first pitch came in, and Shaya swung clumsily and missed.  One of Shaya’s teammates came up to Shaya, and together they held the bat and faced the pitcher waiting for the next pitch.  The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly toward Shaya.  As the pitch came in, Shaya and his teammate swung the bat, and together they hit a slow ground ball to the pitcher.  The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could easily have thrown the ball to the first baseman.  Shaya would have been out and that would have ended the game.  Instead, the pitcher took the ball and threw it on a high arc to right field far beyond the reach of the first baseman.  Everyone started yelling, “Shaya, run to first.  Run to first.”  Never in his life had Shaya run to first.  He scampered down the baseline wide-eyed and startled.  By the time he reached first base, the right-fielder had the ball.  He could have thrown the ball to the second baseman who would tag out Shaya, who was still running.  But the right-fielder understood what the pitcher’s intentions were, so he threw the ball high and far over the third baseman’s head.  Everyone yelled, “Run to second, run to second.”  Shaya ran toward second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the bases toward home.  As Shaya reached second base, the opposing shortstop ran to him, turned him in the direction of third base, and shouted, “Run to third.”  As Shaya rounded third, the boys from both teams ran behind him screaming, “Shaya run home.”  Shaya ran home, stepped on home plate, and all 18 boys lifted him on their shoulders and made him the hero, as he had just hit a “grand slam” and won the game for his team.

“That day,”  said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, “those 18 boys reached their level of God’s perfection.”

This story is an excellent example of pure kindness perpetuated by a group of young boys.  We could learn so much from this incident.  We are approaching ‘random acts of kindness’ week.  Let us create more wonderful stories of kindness, love and respect by being kind to one another – don’t expect anything in return, just be kind and let your kindness infect those around you thus infecting everyone in the universe.

***You can purchase Dr. Wayne W. Dyer’s book ‘The Power of Intention:  Learning to Co-create Your World Your Way’ via Hay House – http://www.hayhouse.com  You can also visit Dr. Wayne W. Dyers website for latest information, tours, etc at  http://www.drwaynedyer.com

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!

 

REVOLT FOR LOVE and POSITIVE CHANGE!

Many people are talking about starting revolutions – celebrities and regular people are asking for CHANGE in our world.  They are asking for peace, tolerance, compassion, but most of all, they are asking for LOVE.  Forget incompetent government ‘shut-downs’ – these governments are not really working for the people but for themselves and those who can further give them more power or money. 

How will you express your desire to revolt?

My revolution began when I acknowledged that I had to live my life as authentically as possible – if I couldn’t love myself, how could I be effective in creating positive change into the world?  I continue my revolution by blogging and expressing my concerns for those who may not be able to express themselves for whatever reason – I blog for the planet, the environment, animals that can’t express themselves except through the pain they face, the LGBT community – who continue to be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation and for all those other people who face the threat of violence for speaking out in the name of LOVE.  I also express my desire to create positive change in the world through my art pieces.  This also me to paint my thoughts and feelings onto canvas which allows me to release my creative and positive energy into the universe.  (Examples are included at the bottom of the post).

My role models are people who managed to spread the word of love, compassion and acceptance – some are still with us today and others are physically gone to the other side but continue to inspire many to continue the revolution of peace, love and acceptance.  Here are just some of those role models:

• Gandhi
• Louise L. Hay
• John Lennon
• Bob Marley
• Ingrid Newkirk
• Woody Harrelson
• Al Gore
• David Suzuki
• Bill McKibben
• Bill Maher
• Princess Diana
• Mother Teresa
• Dalai Lama
• Bishop Desmond Tutu
• Nelson Mandela
• The Freedom Riders
• Harriet Tubman
• Sinead O’Connor
• Roseanne Barr
• Governor Jesse Ventura
• Representative Alan Grayson
• MP Svend Robinson

There are so many more individuals and celebrities that have inspired me to continue to spread positive energy into the world….but my list would be too long.

As mentioned above – here are some of my original art prints (acrylic oil and digital photography) inspired by my desire to continue to spread positive energy into the universe:

Digital Print – I call ‘Let Love Glow’

Acrylic Painting entitled:  ‘Love In Turmoil’

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!

WE MUST UNDERSTAND CORRUPTION and DECEPTION TO MANIFEST CHANGE

In order for good things and positive change to happen we must know and understand corruption and deception before we can manifest positive change in the world.  It is wonderful to spread love, joy, compassion and laughter but we must remember that there are so many things that we need to be reminded of so that we can act for the greater good of humanity, the environment, human rights or whatever negative issue it is that we want to address.

We, supposedly live in a continent that prides itself on ‘freedom of expression’.  But do we really?  Governments are bullying us into creating legislation that allows them to take away some of our freedoms.  You want to see this in action – watch the amazing Naomi Wolf movie, The End of America or visit her website for other resourceful information.  http://naomiwolf.org/ You can find the movie on YouTube.

Remember the OCCUPY movement – people were arrested all over the globe in peaceful protest against the greedy banks and the increasing gap between those who have everything and those that have little.  There were protests against the invasion of Iraq – with the UN’s backing – but the USA went against the laws of war and attacked anyway.  Banks are corrupt and have cheated so many people out of their money yet, they are handing out bonuses that would take me a lifetime to make (if I was lucky).  Oil companies are destroying the beauty of the planet at an alarming rate and are given free rein to drill wherever they want.  Here is an example:

On September 18, the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise took peaceful action at Gazprom’s Prirazlomnaya platform to stop it from producing the world’s first oil from icy Arctic waters.

The Russian Coast Guard reacted strongly: after firing warning shots and detaining two activists under armed guard, they then seized the ship and have towed it to the port of Murmansk.

We should be outraged – does Russia own the Arctic?  Are there no laws in place to protect this very important area in the world?  Why were they allowed to use force in detaining peaceful protesters?  For more information about this, please visit:   http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/

It feels like those that have all the power have the upper hand and rely on our submissiveness to continue their deception and corruption.  They believe that the world community can be bullied into silence.  People need to voice their concerns if we want to start a peaceful revolution, a love revolution and a people’s revolution.  Please watch the following video – it is probably the most important 14 minutes that you can spare and share.  You may not believe what you are seeing but you have to ask the questions, you have to make the connections and you have to demand the answers.

This video makes you really think about those ‘shadow people’ that are controlling the world…..what is the cost of not finding out the truth?

There are so many celebrities who are very active in their opposition to those who want to bring the majority to their knees, here are some examples:

• Daryl Hannah and her passion to fight for the environment.
• Woody Harrelson and his crusade against the inhumane treatment of animals and the miracles of hemp.
• Roseanne Barr fighting for a new political party in the United States and her belief in true democracy and freedom.

There are so many people who are conduits for change – WE MUST LISTEN and WE MUST ACT!  Whether you dislike her or not, Madonna has recently made a brief video to start her LOVE REVOLUTION.  Madonna has always been political and has always included images and videos regarding current social and political issues happening around the world during her concerts.  I believe this to be very affective in creating awareness of what is happening and calling on people to act.  Her latest short film is a collaboration with Steven Klein – the message is powerful, the images are powerfuland the message is clear: humanity must begin the REVOLUTION OF LOVE, here is the 17 minute film:

I reiterate:  Do you want to be a conduit for change?  Do you want to start a LOVE REVOLUTION?  Do you want to fight for a better world where we can respect each other, our environment and our planet?  Then you must act – write a blog, join a peaceful protest, support companies that treat their employees well and give back to our environment, stand up to bullying, demand better of big business and governments but most importantly…..SPREAD THE WORD!  Join the revolution.

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!