Today was gorgeous for a change! The sun came out, and the grass looked green, like a carpet, for the daffodils and tulips. Spring has finally sprung here in the northeast!!!
I have a tendency to keep things….stuff that I think I’ll use at a “later date.” In actual fact, this clutter takes up space, and I can see how having less of it could become more comfortable. As the wise say, if you haven’t used it in a year or so, are you ever going to?
The CFO
Many of the e-mails I get involve subjects pertaining to faith, empowerment, emotions, and how overall to continue to evolve in life. There are some things in our lifetime we may never truly understand, so that leaves us with that which we do have some control over. There are many who believe that by not owning one share of stock keeps them out of the stock market. Quite the contrary… if one works, has a mortgage, and pays down debt they are one of the main components of the stock market. On a basic level, we are the CFO (Chief Financial Officer) of our lives… the buck stops with us first.
The CFO of our own lives, you may ask? Yes indeed. We are a physical body that has emotions, and makes multiple choices daily. By not seeing this, and understanding the full range and scope, we are at a tremendous disadvantage over how many of our problems are created and handled. Let me give a few examples of how this scenario works: Each week we work at an occupation which hopefully at the end of a one or two week interval pays us a check for our services. That check is converted into money. Money is our primary financial asset of each week. So stick with me here… picture in your hands the money you have earned for the week. I know… in many cases it doesn’t stay in your hands for very long!… but it’s what we do with it that matters. So, in our hands is the money, and over the coming week we transfer that asset of cash into other assets. Some assets appreciate, while others depreciate. Have a guess…what do you think is the most depreciating asset that is in our lives on a daily basis? Food. Yes I know, we need it to live on… we can’t starve to death! but think for a minute. We go out… we take some of that cash from our hands, buy some food, bring it home, cook it and eat it… and guess what? It’s gone. The money is spent to pay for the food and then one trip to the bathroom and voila! To throw insult to injury, they tell us Americans that we have an obesity problem that is reaching epidemic proportions… well, that’s great to know… that means we are burning through more of our money then usual! It falls upon us to educate ourselves on where all of our money goes… it doesn’t just go away by itself.
Being the CFO of our lives, we know over time we have to balance the books. Yet so many of us get buried in debt. Most of the items we purchase deteriorate in value with age. Yet we still seek out the latest and greatest version with all the bells and whistles. I understand… the car is a more convenient form of transportation than a horse!…but are we aware that once driven out of the showroom, we can cross off half of it’s value? As we look back on our choices over the years, is it any wonder how we can so easily end up with half of the value of that money that was originally held in our hands? Wall Street holds each company to standards to set a fair market value for its stock… the earnings are supposed to increase or the stock gets punished. In our society, the same holds true for the CFO of the household. The more debt we accumulate, the more stress and emotional anxiety. Still, the rich are hated, yet why do so many play the lottery to become one of them? We may never be able to get all that we feel we are entitled to in life, but can we appreciate and enjoy what we already have? How can we enjoy the wonder of our lives if all we do is focus on what is missing?
The wise person on their deathbed listens to what their heart is saying… even though all through their life they may have only heard their own mind. As the Rolling Stones say, “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need.” There is a CFO within us… that knows, that feels, that understands what the right thing to do is. Choices are sometimes not easy, but it’s not impossible to run a tight ship that shines in the harbor.
Set sail,
love, Jennifer Avalon
© 2005 Jennifer Avalon
Time seems to be flying by right now….there doesn’t seem to be enough of it to get everything done. That is how Spring always seems…I think because once the sun begins to come out, and we try to include the great outdoors with our lives on the “inside,” it’s like doubling our activities!
Stairway to Heaven
Over the years many have written to me asking how I arrived at my belief system. I am a Christian, but I have on many occasions visited different Houses of Worship. There is something to be learned from all Faiths. Not surprisingly, there are common bonds running through many of them. The discovery of these bonds has only re-enforced my own belief system. So what do I believe? How does it work for me? Well, here goes:
What I have learned is that the Trinity exists. Unfortunately, many preachers, over time, have bent and twisted the Word of God, for their own control and satisfaction. Yet, there are also those who totally understand what it is that Jesus was trying to say. I believe that Faith is a very personal thing. Many of us have our own personal relationship with God. I have always believed that simplicity, most of the time, works best. So simply, the Trinity represents to me God (The Creator, Higher Force), Man (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit (Breath and Power of God). It’s as simple as that. What I have learned is that man or woman must embrace the Holy Spirit to form a union with God. The components of life do start to fall into place when these principles are practiced. When Jesus was asked,”Lord, where are you going?”, He answered,”You know the way to the place where I am going.”(John14:4) The Way that Jesus meant was to see His life as a blueprint on how to live. The role of Jesus is a coat we all can wear. Prophets before and after have re-enforced many of the teachings and convictions of Jesus.
As I have said, I am a Christian who prays daily, but I cannot begin to tell you what I have also learned from friends who believe in other Faiths. One of the most profound spiritual experiences I have ever felt was a visit to a Buddhist Monastery in upstate New York. Just walking into the temple, one could easily feel that they were in not only a House of Worship, but a very spiritual surrounding. Perhaps it is because the monks and nuns who pray there many times a day ask for forgiveness for their sins across the spectrum of their lives…in this life, and any past lives they may have had. I have also learned that I have much in common with my Jewish friends. God is all around us, and we all have much to learn. When I visited the Middle East I had much respect for the many calls to prayer of the Muslims… they kneel to God many times daily. Prayer is a wonderful observance to participate in, and observe. We are ALL God’s people… struggling to learn it is not THEM and US… it is WE.
True intelligence is the dance between Man and the Divine. Prayer is our dialogue with God. Faith is when the Ego of Man accepts a Higher Purpose… Peace of Mind is the Gift of Acceptance. One of the hardest obstacles to overcome in life is that death is NOT a punishment. It is a stage of life. Each one of us are called Home at different times. Human existence is one huge school to discover and understand the Stairway to Heaven.
May you discover yours,
love, Jennifer Avalon
© 2005 Jennifer Avalon
Well, it’s amazing that I was able to fall asleep last night, after reading an incredible article about stem-cell research and how some scientists are placing human neurons into monkey skulls…and their trepidations that we will eventually have monkeys with human emotions. Or sheep with human faces….or, human embryos starting to grow in little mice. Reminds me of this horrifying movie I once saw called “The Island of Dr. Moreaux”…I laughed at the time, but I’m not laughing anymore!!!! Are we about to see the end of mankind as we know it?
The Flavor of Life
The palette is a strange thing indeed…what once tastes fresh, over time can easily become bland. Regardless of the delicacy, the taste of what was once new can surely spiral into decay. So too does our palette for Life…repetition tends to let the air around us grow stale.
Have you ever noticed that after a mild illness or a touch of the flu, your senses, in some strange way, reset themselves? I know for myself after a few days of a bad cold, where I have no desire to eat, once the fever subsides the first spoonfuls of soup that touch my lips feel like a gift from Heaven. Perhaps it is the relief of knowing that I am getting better…but lo and behold all of my senses start to take in information as fresh and as sparkling as the day I was born. One has to wonder, without this realignment taking place periodically, Life can profoundly be taken for granted, for if the beauty lies in the beholder, the flavor rests on the palette.
So how about if we begin to look at ourselves as one walking computer that needs to be depleted of viruses, spam, and pop-up ads, on a regular basis. Our hard drives and memories need to be updated and our monitors wiped down once in a while. Hey if we can do that for our computers, why can’t we do it for ourselves? For if we are well taken care of, when things tend to lose their rhythm all we have to do is hit the reboot button. Automatically, all of the systems would restart and synchronize. Like I said, if it’s good for the computer, it is just as good for us. Eventually, like the PC, we will wear out. But with a little tender, loving care we may be surprised at how many more hours we can squeeze out of our lives.
Carpe Diem,
love, Jennifer Avalon
© 2005 Jennifer Avalon
Sometimes I wonder how I keep a smile in my heart….I figure it must be because even though the times seem dark at moments, overall I remember that God is always watching, always loving all of us….keeping track of everything that goes on in the Universe. Just knowing that, I keep in mind that it is He who will do the final judging of us all, and that all I really have to do “down here” is stay true to my convictions, and spread as much Love as I can.
The past 3 weeks have truly been difficult for people here and around the world…Terry Schiavo’s horrendous ordeal, and now the Pope has passed. Both are in the arms of God now, which is, of course, good. It is up to the rest of us to take the lessons from both of these passings…and may God have mercy on us all.
Pope John Paul II
This week the world lost one of the Champions of Peace…Pope John Paul II. A man of strength and conviction, who called it the way he saw it. This Pope did not withhold his shots…where he saw cruelty and injustice, he made his voice known. With his passing, we will all now be able to see the full scope of the man’s life. Prayers and Blessings to you Pope John Paul II, and may God keep you forever in the palm of His hand.
love, Jennifer Avalon
© 2005 Jennifer Avalon
Jennifer Avalon 