"Love Is Like A Garden"

                               
Tending to The Garden of Love. . .

Your love is like a garden and unless you tend to it, you'll never reap the full rewards that love can bring. The ground needs to be tilled with kindness, for if it too hard, love can't sprout.

The seeds have to be planted with care if they are to penetrate your sweetheart's heart. Love needs to be watered with kind words and compliments. Love must bask under the warm sun of your undivided attention. The weeds of pettiness and lies must be pulled from the field of love.

The fruits of love need time to grow and cannot be picked until they are ripe. If you don't put the required effort into your garden of love, you can be certain that the weeds will invade and your garden will yield little in the way of love.

But if you work at it, you'll find a bumper crop of love waiting for you to harvest each and every day. Remember compliments are verbal nourishments for your sweethearts soul.

~Carol East~

"You Are Wonderful"

 "See goodness in yourself "

                               
Allow your inner strength and joy to show and remember that every one has faults, but that doesn't mean you are stuck with yours. Do a self examination and be completely honest. Start by asking yourself a few questions like: Do you gossip? Do you have a quick temper or a short fuse ?  Do you procrastinate? Do you still blame others when something goes wrong in your life? You get the idea?
                    
 Before you begin your self examination, take a few minutes and praise yourself. After all you praise your friends, co-workers, children, and your sweetheart whenever they accomplish something praiseworthy. So when you accomplish something praiseworthy acknowledge it to yourself and tell yourself how wonderful you are. Then start cultivating even more goodness in yourself.

~ Carol East~
           

                                                                                                                                    

"When A Dream Break Into A Thousand Pieces"

"Pick Up One Piece And Begin Again"

If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces, never be afraid to pick up one of those pieces and begin again. Remember what defines us is how well we rise after falling.

Those who succeed in life and get what they want as well as those who are the happiest aren't people who never face difficulties. If anything, they probably deal with more challenges than most people. The thing that makes them different is how they respond and react to those obstacles.

Words can have powerful impact on your mindset, although we've heard the saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me," the fact is that words really do have an impact on how we feel. When things seem pointless, when you've just come face to face with yet another failure, it can seem as though no matter how hard you try, the life that you want will always be just out of reach.

During these times some positive words of encouragement can help you shift your focus. When it comes down to it how you feel is really just about what you focus on. Try focusing on what inspires you and what makes you feel encouraged again will help to put things in perspective and begin   dreaming again.

Carol~

"Wishes Can Come True"

"Let's Pretend It's Tea Time And We Are Queens"

 

How many times have you started a sentence with the words I wish I could or I wish I had?  Perhaps  what you wanted was something grand, like winning a medal for bravery or having tea with the Queen of England.

 

Maybe it was something modest, even mundane. .. a wish to change jobs or to climb a tree. Maybe you wished for something fantastic like becoming a famous singer, for example. Or something utterly practical, like making a budget and sticking to it. Your wish might have taken you to the other side of the world or as far away as the moon, or it might have meant just a walk around the corner. Maybe you wished to do something generous, or something just for you. What happened to all those wishes? Where did they go?

 

Wishing is good for us. Daydreams, fantasies, castles in the air, and aspirations al drive us forward, impel us to make things happen. They also tell us a lot about ourselves. Our wishes come straight from our core, and they are loaded with vital information about who we are and who we can become. Keeping track of our wishes helps us tap into the energy that propels us to go after our happiness.

 

Wishes can serve as a wellspring  of ideas for things to do, have, see, taste,  experience, achiever, give, be, learn, do for others, or try just once! In this lifetime. Complete this statement, "In my lifetime, I want to. . ." The collection can range from small, easily realizable goals to grandiose pipe dreams and everything in between. It works for all ages from 5 to 100 and your wish list will be filled with your own hopes and dreams.

 

When your creative daydreaming starts write them down and  you've achieved a wish, celebrate the fact by putting a big red "X" next to it. As the years go by and your wish list's pages become dog-eared and yellowed, you will have accumulated a profile of your changing view of happiness, your own evolving values, and your own fulfillments not a bad thing to have.

 

Wishes no matter how big or small can come true and it can happen to you. Are you are wishing to work with someone you've always admired ? Do  you want to write a love poem?  Maybe you want to volunteer at a local soup kitchen?  Start wishing, start living and take time to stop and smell the roses.

 

~Carol Medlock~

 

 

 



"Dreams Can Be Footpaths To Accomplishments"

"You've Got To Dream Big"

 

Dreams are the footpaths we take to accomplishments and experiences that we probably wouldn't have stumbled across without a trail. If we can envision something in our minds, chances are we can create it in reality. And even if we can't, just the experience of nurturing a dream even a dream that turns out to be unattainable can lift our spirits, expand our boundaries, broaden our thinking, and exercise our imaginations.

What are your dreams? I know lets make a list. Lets write down ten dreams. Ten things we've always wanted to do in life. Ten goals or aspirations. Some might seem crazy ( one my friends would like to take an art class's in Paris, France for a year) this seems crazy to her because she has three children under the age of six. I said, but someday they will all be grown up and Paris will still be there. She has decided to keep art classes in Paris on her dream list.

Here's what's on my friends dream lists:

•  See a play in London she lives in Texas.
• Become a wildlife photographer.
• Go White-Water Rafting.
• Learning To Water Ski.
• Living In A Rustic Cabin.
• Become A Naturalist. ( a person who studies plants)
• Owning A Resort.
• Going To Chef School
• Crossing The Ocean On An Old-Style Cruise Liner.
• Lean To Play The Violin.
• Learn To Ballroom Dance.
• Take a Woodworking Class.
• Making The Best Sellers List One Day.
• Creating A Whimsical, Rambling Garden In My Backyard.
• Having Your Own Radio Show.
• Renovating An Old Farmhouse.
• Having Your Own Cooking Show On HGTV.

Your turn. What does your list look like? Go ahead. Make a list. Ten Things. I'll wait. Yes, I mean now. Look, if this'll help, you can write your list in the comment box below. Now get going. If you don't want to use the comment box use paper and a pencil so you can erase it later if you want. Just get started. Now. Are there any items on your list that you're working toward right now? There might be items on your lists that are "works in progress." If so, give yourself a star. Literally put a star by your dreams in progress. Now review your list. My guess is there is another dream hiding there, something attainable, something you could begin to turn into reality. Don't forget to stop and smell the roses while you are on your path to making your dreams come true.

"Dance With Somebody Who Loves You"

"Dance With Somebody Who loves You"

"Oh, How I Love To Dance"

"I Want To Dance With Somebody Who Loves Me"

 

"I Will Wait For Him"

 

"Oh, I how I want to dance with somebody. . .

with somebody who loves me.

I will wait for Him if it takes forever.

I will wait for Him if it takes a thousand summers.

I will wait for him 'til he's back beside me.

Till I'm holding Him again.

Until I Hear Him Sign In Her Arms Again! 

 

 

 









"Love Is More Than Romantic Dinners"

"Love Is The Ultimate Connection"

 

Marveling at how blessed they were, it suddenly hit them: At that moment, their life felt just about perfect. It was the springtime of their marriage, they were just a couple of kids, young and in love, but with no idea about what life was really like.

During those years of babies and tight budgets they decided to open a flower shop and in a short time they became the customer service representatives, 24hours a day, seven days a week. He knew it was true love when his wife still managed to smile at him while cheerfully answering telephone calls from customers and feeding the baby at 3:00 a.m. in the morning.

Later in a different season of their life together like everyone else, they muddled through their share of troubles; job demands, teenagers, family issues, the passing of their parents. . . but somehow they managed. They figured out how to change their batteries when the times were good so that when the tough times rolled around, they had enough juice to make it through. They discovered that love, wasn't always fair. There were times when she needed his strength to get her through and a whole lot of times when he relied on her to share the weight of his burdens.  

They also learned that love was a lot more than romantic dinners and family get-together. In real, lasting love, there is a familiarity and depth of relationship created over time. Whether marriage or friendship, it's the feeling somebodies "got your back" the same somebody who know all your bad habits but loves you anyway, and who tells you what you don't want to hear even when you know it's the truth.

 All their yesterdays both good and bad had lead them to the moment of realizing what a gift it was to grow old together through the fall and winter seasons of their love. But they were surprised at how sweet it was to have the chance to observe their children as they passed through the seasons of love in their lives. 

 This is their love story, but you'll find that its underlying message is not so different from our love stories. That's because at the end of the day, we're all striving for the same thing. Like air, water, and food, one of most basic needs is having people we care about and who care about us. Love is the ultimate connection.