Growing up with Mr. Rogers!

"Won't you be my neighbor?" is the new documentary that chronicles the work of Mr. Rogers and is truly one of the best movies/documentaries that I have seen this year. If you grew up during the 60’s or the 70’s and had access to public television and the sensational programming that was available during that time (Sesame Street, Electric Company, etc…) then, you would have surely seen Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood and been privy to the song that uplifted a generation of kids with his prolific opening of, “Won’t you be my Neighbor?”

This song was a simple didley that Rogers performed at the opening of every episode. Hearing that song again, after all of these years, made me feel happy, made me feel joy. After all, it was just an expression of kindness. If there was one thing I learned from Mr. Rogers was that kindness is just a way of being. It’s not special. It’s not something that requires anything. There is just value in being kind, in being a good neighbor.

Thinking back on Rogers, I can now attest that he (as well as other factors) contributed to my state of disillusionment when I first moved out of state and on my own. I grew up on a city block, where all the neighbors knew each other, were invested in one another and helped one another. My block was my mini-community. It was not perfect and rainbows and unicorns but it was good. I came to think of the world that way; that when you lived around people, you knew your neighbors and you were close to them. Mooing to a new town and place taught me that was not always the case, I learned that people lived very separate and isolated lives and many times, they did not know their neighbors or feel a connection to them. This revelation was sad and disheartening, to say the least. 

The real world looked a bit different from Mr. Roger’s neighborhood and my childhood city block. I would have to learn a new way of being and connecting…..

Some things that I know for sure:

1) I like living in a world of neighbors, of knowing them and being a part of them.

2) I like living in a world where you know that there are people who have your back, where they are genuinely kind.

3) “Won’t you be my neighbor” is an invitation to be friendly and to be friends. I like the idea of living in a friendly and loving world.

Please, won't you be my neighbor?  

Want More? Need More? Allow Yourself to Receive More!

Are you saying yes to life?

Courtesy: DTS

Most of us are programmed to say, "No."

How can we experience more out of life?

By saying, "Yes!"

Do you have trouble accepting compliments? If so, start by saying two things, "Yes" and "Thank you."

Start accepting the good that is trying to come to you!

Stop repelling it! Don't ping-pong it back to the person without fully accepting and receiving it.
For example, when someone when someone says, "Thank you," do you immediately turn and say, "No, thank you." If you do this, you just pushed their compliment back to them, without accepting and acknowledging the good they were trying to shower onto you! 

Take a minute, stop and say fully, "You are welcome!" 

If you want more?

Start with a "yes."

Courtesy: DTS

Here's a Quickie:

Look at yourself in the mirror and instead of criticizing, give yourself a compliment.

Say, "Hello Beautiful" Or "Hey, Good-Looking."

Smile and let yourself receive it. For once, give yourself a break, let yourself off the hook!

When someone says, "You look nice."
Say, "Thank you." 
Allow yourself to receive it and own it.

If you want to experience more out of life, start allowing yourself to receive. It's really just that simple! 

Take it all in! Drink in what life has in store for you!

Courtesy: DTS

Take a baby step toward receiving the small things in life and be amazed how much better you feel and how much more shows up!

Wayne Dyer: The Seven Faces of Intention

 According to Wayne Dyer and his wonderful book, The Power of Intention, there are 7 faces of intention which includes:

1. Creativity: We were made by a Power, so infinite, so great and so creative that all things emanate from that Source. The creative spirit that made you is also IN you. 



Courtesy: Dan

You were born to create!

2. Kindness: "Kindness extended, received or observed" is beneficial to both the receiver and the giver.
3. Love: That which "encourages, enhances and support all of Life."
4. Beauty: "The face of beauty is always present, even where others see non-beauty."
5. Expansion: "Life continually expands toward more life."
6. Unlimited Abundance: We were created from a boundless, limitless being. There are no limits to our minds or our potential.
7. Receptivity: Say yes to your connection to the Universal Source that created you. Live in harmony knowing that as you are here to give, you can also live in a magnanimous state of receiving. 

   

   Ikpro*

If we focus our minds and hearts in this way, Dyer believed that we are able to not only live limitlessly but also co-create the life that we have always desired.....

What area of intention can you seek to dwell on today? 
I invite you to share your point of view in the comments.....

*Both photos are courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

Simple Kindness

Too often we underestimate the power of 

a touch,  a smile, a kind word, a listening 

ear, an honest compliment, or the 

smallest act of caring, all of which have 

the potential to turn a life around. 

~Leo Buscaglia