What Does Your Life Smell Like? Think About It.

What does your life smell like? At first it may seem like an unusual question. On the second thought, the question will probably reveal to you some things you may have overlooked. If you were to take a whiff of your life, which response mechanism would be activated? A gag reflex? The laugh button? A sigh of relief? Or unspeakable joy? If you were passing by your life, what would you smell? A bed of roses? Or a gym locker full of sweaty socks? Perhaps some... of grandmas' home cooking? 


Or is it more like popcorn that has been left in the microwave too long? If you were to throw open the front door of your life, what would hit you in the face? The scent of Carpet Fresh or the stench of a moldy basement? The aroma of a cake that's just about done? Or the smell of trash that needs to go out? Most of us are very familiar with the way our lives look. Few of us have ever taken the time to make sure that our lives smell as clean as they look. 


Quite often, what our ears, eyes and hands miss, our nose can detect. The sense of smell is also quite useful because it evokes memories. With a whiff of something, you can be thrown back into a memory of something that happened, how it happened and whether or not you liked what happened. From there, you are motivated to encourage or discourage the same thing from happening again in your life. 


Most important, the sense of smell evokes feelings. If something in your life doesn't smell right, you will not feel right. If you don't like what you feel, you know it is time to clean up! Until today, you may only have been concerned with the way your life looks. You may have ignored certain things you heard or saw, but you cannot ignore a smell. Just for today, be devoted to sniffing around your life. Be on the lookout for rotting things you need to discard and fragrant things you can put on display. Enjoy the day!














Excerpts taken from her book: 'Until Today' by Iyanla Vansant.

Thoughts For Living

Staying in an angry state of mind serves us no purpose and clouds our potential.  However anger can help us to become motivated.  It can help us make a move to resolve something that needs to be fixed now.  Its more beneficial for our mind, body and spirit to rid ourselves of anger and not dwell in that emotion.  Because even tho' it can be a motivator for us to make a move, it can also cause harm and destructive outcomes IF we don't check it at that door.  

The next time you're angry about something, be honest with yourself and ask yourself if you have brought the cause of the emotion on yourself.  By not doing what you should have done from the start.  You may also ask yourself what is it that I should be learning as to why I'm feeling this way?  After all life is a journey of learning for everyone.  Contrary to belief we should never permit ourselves to retreat from the lessons of life, no matter how insignificant or huge things may seem.  

No one ever learns to know everything.  Get passed the desensitizing of social indifference and the overkill drama the media is feeding you.  Get past the lies of what you're being told is really important but isn't.  Most importantly get over yourself.  We are designed from one base root system that allows for many characteristics, colors, shapes and sizes.  But we are of one divine consciousness.  Our purpose in life is not just to leave a path of good for others to follow, but to learn to think with a higher level of purpose.  To learn to live in peace, with love and harmony.  Even if you only find this within yourself.  Enjoy the day.

Copyright(c)2015.ThoughtsForLiving.Written by Sherrie Vitello. All Rights Reserved.

Planet Earth - We are here to take care of her. But we forget.

If not us.... who will?

Its as though the eagle is saying: "Please help keep our planet beautiful!" Afterall thats why we're really here. I think people just get so wrapped up in surviving that they forget that. Sit back for a moment and get inspired. Feel the beauty we are responsible for. Our planet is our home. We as "the human race", no matter what color, creed, religion, or beliefs, WE are responsible for the place we live. Our beautiful planet. If you were to look into history and see all of the dwindling of wilderness, wildlife species, habitat and trees, you'd either be very angry, upset or heartbroken. Some would be all 3. Mankind can have ALL the money in the world, but what good is it if you can't exist in harmony with your planet?

Some would say that the people that are "in charge" or "in control" of what happens to our planet are the wrong people. I tend to agree. Remember all of us humble masses, we have more power together than any group of government. We have to stick together in the effort to keep our world a safe, secure and harmonious planet. Every little bit helps. Please do your part to help to preserve our planet for our children and their children for generations to come. I still get goosebumps when I watch this. Enjoy!

Beating Your Addiction - How Do You Make Changes for the Better?

These steps really work. If you've been to NA or AA meetings then you know the do's & don'ts that are meant to help you stay clean & sober. Sure it takes commitment & hard work BUT you can be successful at depleting your addiction & staying clean. Plus the benefits of participating in these activities goes above & beyond just staying clean & sober. The health benefits both mentally & physically are phenomenal. Putting this into your daily lifestyle will make it become habit. A good habit too. As you progress with your routines if you start to feel like you're getting bored with the samething day after day...well, change it up alittle. But don't give up on it. Never give up on yourself. You are totally worth the effort. You deserve to live a happy life. You only get one, so make it count. Let go of the past mess ups, absurdities, addictions & guilt. Start a new life for yourself & loved ones Now! You'll find that as you go along with your changes, it does get easier to overcome the triggers & cravings. At times you may feel as though you're getting no where, but know this, with every effort you put into changing your lifestyle the stronger you get & more results you'll see as you go.  Learning to love yourself can seem difficult but given a chance you will learn to live & let go. And you'll be so much happier, you'll be able to deal with situations as they come along. Whether good or bad. You will have faith in yourself even more so. Its a matter of YOU taking the steps to MAKE the changes. It's your choice, you can't place blame on anyone or anything else. If you truly want to live a addiction free life...then make the choice to do so.

You Deserve To Be Good To Yourself.

Why do so many people forget to be good to themselves? Do they think they don't have time to be good to themselves? Do they think they don't deserve it or maybe they just don't know how to be good to themselves? Being good to yourself, although thought by many, to mean obtaining something material, is having acceptance about who you are as an individual. Letting go of stereotyping by others. The true art of being good to yourself is acceptance. You know all about the responsibilities you have everyday. You work hard towards a better life for you and your family. You are aware of what you have to do to survive, and that can be difficult sometimes. You wake up everyday and take care of all of the things that keeps your lifestyle in check. You may have struggles, you may worry, you may have absurdities arise on occasion. Alot of people have to run a household, with children and partners. You have bills to pay, shopping for home supplies. Budgeting your money is like trying to cover a 10 foot space with an 6 foot peice of material. You stretch it as far as it will go. When you're driving alone or you're at home alone, you sometimes take a breath and exhale. You wonder how everything seems to work out and how you do all of this without losing your mind. At that moment, when you feel like that, say to your self  

"Wow..I've made it through another week. Things aren't as bad as they seem. I've done a good job."

Patting yourself on the back when you've done so much is good. Its alright to acknowledge that you have done a good job! For some people treating themselves to something they've wanted for a long time is another way they like to be good to themselves. If its affordable taking that trip to that beautiful place you've always wanted to go to is a wonderful idea. Going somewhere you've always wanted to go can refresh and replenish your soul and spirit. Just getting away from the usual routine is of benefit to all of us. Buying that pretty dress you've had your eye on or purchasing that beautiful painting you saw can give a person a sense of gratification and fullfillment. Even something as simple as a nice warm moisturizing bath, your favorite music and a moment of private peace is so rewarding. But beyond these material things we have to be able to be accepting of who we are individually. How we feel about ourselves, inside, is what truly gives us peace and happiness. How we are and how we feel when we are alone is really the measurement of our character. How do we feel when we are by ourselves, where no one can see us. A person of genuine character or personality can recognize within themselves an inner peace or calmness. Learning to settle the anxious mind is key to having an even tempered mind set. There are so many variables for ways of having a calm and zen like state of mind. This topic will only cover a few. By reading and putting into action affirmations and lifestyle changes anyone can learn to be good to themselves and have inner peace.

Having and applying a positive outlook, not only is a way for us to be good to ourselves, it will help us to achieve more in our lives just by sheer will of thought. Although we can't control all things, most of the time, we can control what takes place in our minds. Like the captain of your own ship, you choose to sail calm waters or you choose to sail into stormy seas. If we keep allowing undesireable situations to be apart of our lives, then undesireable circumstances is what you will find yourself in. It is that simple. Being good to yourself is a 'learning in progress' scenario. We never really stop learning in our lifetime. When we learn how to love and except ourselves we are open to love and excepting others. We also learn not to allow others to tear us down due to their own inadequacies. Creating a world how you want it to be for yourself is a lifestyle. This doesn't mean you don't have people in your life, of course you do. It means that you live your life in a manner that is good and positive and inturn that which you have created will resignate to others in and around your life in that same positive manner. Although negatives will always rear their ugly heads, its how we react to negative situations that will make the difference in our own lives. No one likes negative situations and we do our best not to have them happen. Unfortunately negative things will occur when we least expect it. Whatever you do, don't fly off the handle. Be good to yourself and stop, think, then speak. The best way to handle most negative situations is to defuse it. Look for ways to resolve things with a positive outcome. Once you do this, not only will you feel good about the outcome, you'll feel good about yourself and your life because you've created something positive out of something negative. That in itself is rewarding.

We see it all of the time, people in situations that make themselves so unhappy. Which can cause them to lead unhealthy and negative lifestyles. The key to happiness in not just having abunch of material things, its much more than that. Each of us are only given so much time on this planet. No one knows when their time will be up. What matters is what we do with the time we are given. No one really knows what happens after we die. If there is a 'heaven' and a 'hell' we sure don't want to live a life that will cause us to go to hell. So it stands to reason to live as good and positive as possible and share that with others, as much as we can. When we are good to ourselves, we shine, we feel positive, we have a essence of calmness, inner strength and peace that permeates to others around us. In a world with so much negativity its difficult to always hold on to a positive mind set. But so long as we choose not to allow the negatives to take hold, we can be good to ourselves and carry on with a happy way of living. You deserve to live a happy life, you deserve to be good to yourself. Enjoy the day.

Copyright(c)2012. You Deserve To Be Good To Yourself. By Sherrie Vitello. All Rights Reserved.