Day: May 10, 2012

My niece Olivia posted this quote today and it made me smile.

Life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats. Voltaire

I began to wonder about my shipwreck and my song. I know my song is more of a song and less of a whine if I fill my mind with positive thoughts. And so I went back through my journal and found some of my favorite quotes.

To laugh often and love much… to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to give one’s self… this is to have succeeded.~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.- Aristotle

You must be the change you want to see in the world. – Mahatma Gandhi

A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.- Hugh Downs

Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm. – Sir Winston Churchill

Success consists of doing the common things of life uncommonly well.- Unknown

I wonder what thoughts fill your mind each day…

I find that if my mind is thinking neutral to negative thoughts, it is time to pull out my journal and read some lyrics to favorite songs or focus in on some favorite quotes.

I don’t believe positive thinking erases the struggles we have, for in every life there is a shipwreck and a life boat. It is my hope that I will move through my struggles with more ease if I remember that my life is not all about struggle. I am thankful that even in the ache, there are seeds of joy being nurtured!

May you find your song today in your shipwreck and your life boat!

 

 

 

Today I packed up my car and along with my Mom and my niece Anneliese, we headed to Detroit to catch a Middle School Track Meet and a High School Soccer game. I don’t quickly decide to spend 4.5 hours on the road for sporting events, but if my nieces or nephews are participating, it makes my decision pretty easy.

There are things I want to share about tonight, in a blog tomorrow. Because tonight I kept thinking about a post my friend wrote and wanted to share that with you. I think that youth sports today requires the parents to keep life in perspective. I am thrilled to say that my brother and sister-in-law do just that. My friend Laurie also talks about the balance needed….

I feel for parents and kids today as they navigate where sports fits into one’s day-to-day and how these experiences shape them. There are wonderful opportunities and there are some significant risks….

I am thankful that my siblings continue to nurture and love their children regardless of the outcome on the field. And I am proud to say, that through my eyes, every one of the kids I know, and their friends, are incredible athletes. Click on the link below to the Guikema Gang Post and marvel at the parenting of my friend Laurie……

Guikema Gang Post