Looking For The Balcony People

Beautiful photo isn't it?  Sometimes it is easy to look out across a beautiful view and inhale in all the positive "vibes" it provides.

Sometimes it is harder.  Many years ago when I was going through some really difficult times, Someone recommended a little book to me called,  "Balcony People" by Joyce Landorf Heatherly.  It was very enlightening and uplifting.  I still highly recommend it

We need to learn how to "disengage" from those people who are constantly pulling us down..down from the heights and into the basement.  "Balcony people" are the cheerleaders in your daily life.  They are the ones who are there, no matter what the circumstances, lifting us up and cheering us on and encouraging.

The recent suicide of Robins Williams hit me, and I am sure a lot of others, particularly hard.  It seemed he was a man who literally had "everything."  At least it seemed that way.  But all the time he was haunted by his own "demons."  He had money, fame, power and family.  He had an amazing way of bringing laughter and smiles to the whole world, and yet - inside where no one could see - he had great sorrow...unfathomable sorrow.  Why?  No one really knows.  Perhaps we are actually inhabited at times by "demons" - sneaky little devils who rob us of pleasure and joy.  No amount of pills or counseling seems to help some people.

But I think what distresses me even more, are those crappy (for lack of a better word) "Basement People" who are constantly trying to put others down and steal their joy.  What is it with some of these? Some are just bound and determined to inflict misery wherever they go.  Sometimes it is because they are absolutely miserable within their own skins and want the rest of the world to join them there.  In some cases, it seems these people actually enjoy trying to create "drama" and make others suffer from the wake!

Beware the Basement People! Run for your life!  Dump the "Negative Nellies" now!  Scratch them out of you address book and delete them from your Social Media.  Life is short people, and can be a joyous, tumultuous roller coaster ride.  There should be times of great joy and there will be times of great sorrow.    Look for those people who will accompany you on the ride! Looks for those who will stand by your side when time are fun and when times are rough.  No one needs someone else to drag them even lower when things are on the tough side.  No one needs this kind of "friend" or even "family."  Disengage from them...forget them and move on...family or not!  I truly do believe that unless you have experienced some sadness in your life, it will not be possible to experience the extreme joy that living can bring.  Sometimes it is through the tough times that we learn and grow the most.  Learn to embrace those times and move on.

If you are suffering from depression, then please please see a counselor or physician.  Sometimes there are true chemical causes for depression that can be ameliorated by medication.  But, sometimes it is just a matter of "refocusing" on life.  Sometimes it is a matter of getting rid of those "Basement People" and finding more "Balcony People."

Learn to look at life through the eyes of your "inner child" again.  Splash in the puddles on a rainy day (not when it is thundering however!), float around a pool, lake or ocean on a small inner tube,  look up at the clouds and see "people" and "animals."  Really take the time to look at the beauty around you.  Enjoy the laughter of babies and children.  Live, really live while you have the time!

PEACE, LOVE & JOY

Life Is Hard?

Here is a quote I ran across today which made me do a bit of thinking...
"When I hear somebody say life is hard, I am always tempted to ask 'Compared to What'?
Sidney J. Harris

I pondered that statement for quite some time and remembered the most difficult times in my life. There have been some really difficult times in my life, and I am sure each and every one of you can identify some in yours.

Divorce, loss of a job, death of a child, bankruptcies, just plain tight times. So many people are talking about times being so terrible right now. Now don't get me wrong, I understand there are some really hard times for people in this country right now, but I can tell you there have already been worse times in this old USA.

My friend, Lucy, is almost 95 years old and remembers quite well the Great Depression here in the US. She says frequently that people nowadays just don't realize how tough things were back then. Most of those alive today are too young to understand that statement.

But it isn't just then. We have been such a blessed Country that we don't understand at all how difficult things are in many other places in the world. I remember my first trip to the Dominican Republic in the late seventies. I was crushed when I saw the poverty there, and things haven't changed much since then.
Look at Haiti and all the grief and despair in that country. It has been that way for so long, and things don't look too bright for the future.

Africa is another sad, sad story. So much famine and war. Can you even imagine how it would feel to hold your two year old child in your arms, a child who should weigh 30 pounds or more and it only weighs 12 pounds, is limp and sick and starving, and there is no one there to help? I can't even imagine that kind of hopelessness and despair.

I am saying all of this to remind you to be thankful every day for the many blessings you do have. If you can feed your children. If you and your children are healthy. If you have a job. If you are fortunate enough to have a roof over your head, even if it isn't your "dream home". We have become so spoiled we think we should all have two or three cars, a home with five plus bedrooms and five or more baths. We have closets FULL of clothes and shoes.

I myself can remember having one pair of school shoes...and we went barefoot in summer. If you were lucky you had a pair of school shoes and a pair of dress shoes. You had ONE Sunday outfit, and you had better not wear it to play in!

It is nice to have plenty, but we ALL need to remember those who have less and do less complaining about "hard times" and what we don't have or can't buy.

We ALL need to remember the rough spots in our lives and how we got through them. We will probably have more, life isn't easy at times. But then again, nothing worth having is.

God Bless!