Independence Day

July 4, 1776

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

The Declaration of Independence.  Can you imagine, Kelvin, how the founding fathers of our 13 original colonies must have felt, as they prepared that document to deliver to the King of England.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

These words are all we typically hear of the declaration of independence.  After this passage, the volume usually lowers on the voices, the music gets louder and we're left to "remember" (or imagine) what the rest of the document says.  I've included a link here so you can go read what the rest of it says:  http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/  Even if you're not American it's worth reading in it's entirety... at least once.

A lot has changed in the past 236 years.  We don't talk like that now. The written words have not changed, but I think some of the definitions of what was written have changed --  via usage or convention or interpretation.  So the words are pronounced the same, but they don't necessarily mean the same things they did then.  In some cases that's good, and in others... not so much. But I'm not going to debate that here.

What I do say is that this document launched our nation, and I think it's wise to reflect on who we were and what we stood for as a nation in the beginning, because all of our greatness -- and any of our shame -- is an outgrowth of this document and the way we have interpreted or re-interpreted it over the past 236 years.

In any case, I am an American, and am intensely positively proud to be an American and to celebrate our Independence Day, today. And nowhere better in the world can you master your mindset to master your life, than here.
 

Have an awesome day.

Kelvin

6 Days Before Christmas and...

Six days before Christmas and all through the house...LOL. Fooled you -- no poem.  Maybe next time. But a couple of days ago I published a Vitamin K (Daily Dose of Positive )-- and wished everyone a relaxed, stress-free weekend. One of my friends (you know who you are) wrote me back and said, "Relaxed? Stress-free? It's 7 days before Christmas; are you daft?"  Hmmm.  Well, first I had to look that up (sometimes it's the little words that get you).  Definitions were: senseless, stupid, or foolish, insane; crazy, merry; playful; frolicsome." And my answer is YES! All of the above :-), but NOT stressed!  And perhaps not stressed for the first time in my life, at the this time of the year; but for whatever reason, I'm not.  

Perhaps it's the retired status, or perhaps it's just my awareness that I can only do what I can do.  Then again, perhaps it's because this year I'm not so concerned about other people's expectations and more focused on my piece of mine (<-- that was for my friend Mitch. He likes to catch my mistakes. Make that "peace of mind.")

But, we're smack dab in the middle of THE season of peace, tranquility, love, appreciation, gratitude and good will for all mankind. Somehow, "stress" just seems so out of place.  Perhaps I am just fortunate not to be living a stressful life right now, or perhaps... I've just chosen to be stress free. Don't get me wrong... I KNOW there are people in the world who are deluged in stressful, painful situations right now and they can't be totally stress-free life at present, but for most of us... most of the people I know... the stress is optional... but for the "things" we're focusing on, and the meaning we are voluntarily assigning to those things. LOTS of people are giving gifts this season that are attached to so much stress they can hardly see.  But, I'd like to suggest that... no matter what you BUY this Christmas... that the gifts you GIVE are love.. warmth... appreciation... gratitude... and acceptance.  Those will go further than the material thing(s) you attach to them, and I guarantee you'll feel better about you.

Incidentally, you also need to give yourself the gifts of love, gratitude and acceptance; because despite what most marketers and some of your acquaintances might tell you... you're okay. Even precious diamonds have imperfections. Then again, it is we who define imperfect...  And if you're having some challenges with that... perhaps you might enroll in my Daily Dose of Vitamin K. We cover those points often. It was planned  to be on sale now, but it's not yet... so take advantage of it for now and we'll just call it my Christmas gift to you (and anyone you pass that link onto between now and when I finally get the sale page online.) You can check out a few comments here. And who knows, maybe by the time you get there...there will be a few more.

So that's it, my friends. I wish for you a stress-free holiday season; focused on the things that really matter, as you give the gifts of  love, gratitude and acceptance... regardless of what "physical" gifts you attach to them.

Have a beautiful week.  And incidentally... there's an excellent video on Mitch's blog that it would be good for everyone to see, this time of year especially. So if you didn't click it, go ahead and click on his name / link and watch it. Take a stress-free 16 minutes and check it out.


Love and Light to you ;-)
Kelvin

Who's Your Competiton?

I'm talking "personal" competition.

Are you competing with the person down the street or "over there", so you can have what they have?

Or are you competing with you, because you know you can better and are capable of more...

If it's the first, I bet you have headaches...

Kelvin