Day 358 ~ "Pride"

What I Learned About Me... from A to Z

What have I learned about myself this past year {blogging}..?  hmmmm... First off... I would like to make sure you know up front... I never had blogged before until I started this blog 349 days ago.  Secondly... I never intended on learning anything.  HAHA! LOL!  No but seriously... It wasn't my intention...   Check out what my intention(s) were/are here.

So here goes... What I Learned About Me... from A to Z

"P" is for...  Pride.  ... You know... I thought about it long and hard... and I am going to call it as it is.  Not going to try to pick some fancy-nancy word or whatever... so I chose... pride.

Oh... we all have a little in us.  Don't try to deny it either.  ;)  wink, wink.  {and} I'll be honest with you.. I know I've been full of it at one time or another in my life.  

Pride is not pretty either.. it can definitely cloud your judgement.

I don't know about you ... but with me, it's like I'm all hesitant about what seems to be "giving-in" to what obviously is a disagreement of some sort or admitting I was wrong [which ain't going to happen... lol ... see that's pride talking!].. yet... what reels me in {slowly but surely} is that this pride is not healthy - it's no good!

Then there's the pride one feels for an accomplishment or for one's family... {and} when it comes to my family... well then pride is the number one feeling to have.  I am very proud... I have tremendous pride for my family.

I know that I can be proud of my family and all... but when it comes to having or displaying the bad pride... well ... I have learned that I have to take a step back, look at the situation from the outside in and try to handle it from a different perspective...

I learned that there's no room for pride  in this lifetime... I have a limited time on this earth and can not afford to waste time by associating with pride and allowing it to cloud my mind or my heart.

I am so proud to have the family I have today.

Tomorrow...  What I Learned About Me... from A to Z ... the letter(s) "Q" & "R" 

[here's to you finding your... ]

Peace...

7 days to go... {speechless...}

read about this count down in my "About my Blog" page

... for a, l & c.  you are my sunshine(s).

Images are courtesy of either google or Bing images.  Some images maybe labeled property of Carla Barilá Karam and of this blog- Taking Back My Life ~ Making it My Own.  US Copyright law apply  ©

Day 315 ~ "P" for the Power of Forgiveness

As I continue my A to Z Challenge I am now presented with the letter "P" and have decided to have the the letter represented by the phrase the "Power of Forgiveness."


Sure I could have chosen forgiveness for my "F" word, deserveingly so.  However if I may  add, the act of forgiveness is a brave and powerful act at that deserves [the larger text and] the foreword of power, hence the phrase "Power of Forgiveness."  


Thanks to Oprah's Lifeclass: The Tour (wow... two days in a row Oprah gets a plug on my blog. lol  wink, wink) I have been listening and learning from the likes of Tony Robbins, Iyanla Vanzant, Deepak Chopra and Bishop TD Jakes.  They all spoke about letting go of the pas, accepting it and the "Power of Forgiveness."


I have decided that I truly need to forgive myself to remove this power unforgiving has had in who I am and what I do.  I feel my chest tightening up with anxiety at the thought... BUT... I remembered what was reaffirmed to me...

• Holding onto resentment is like holding your breath; you soon stat to suffocate.  ~Deepak Chopra
• Forgiveness takes courage.  ~ by all
• What people think of you is none of your business.  If you start to make it your business you will be offended for the rest of your life.  ~Deepak Chora
• Until you heal the wounds of your past, you will continue to bleed into your future.  ~Iyanla Vanzant
• Forgiveness is giving up the hope that the past could be any different.  ~Oprah quote unknown

I know first hand that Power of Forgiveness exists.  What first seemed to feel like I was just going through the motions, turned out to be the most rewarding feeling.  A sense of euphoria per say.  It was as if a tremendous amount of weight had literally been lifted off of me.  What first seemed to be a mere metaphor turned out to be such a Powerful feeling...  


So... when you catch yourself thinking there's no such thing as the Power of Forgiveness; that if you forgive you are doing the offender a favor, letting them off if you will... bottomline... 

1. YES there is such thing as the Power of Forgiveness
2. Forgiveness is about YOU not the offender; it's about accepting the past for what it is;
3. Not allowing what the offender did affect the way you live now or in the future

All I know is what Deepak Chopra keep repeating (towards the end of his segment) was that  "We want to be defined by the best our my life, not the very worse."  Doesn't that say it all?  It certainly does for me.


This was a very enlightening moment.  I am grateful for all that I have survived.  I am a stronger person for it.  I am who I am because of it.  Above all...


I am going to be "brave", and TRULY begin to forgive myself.  For as much as I have said in the past that I have "forgiven" myself, honestly something new always causes feelings to resurface.   


I MUST begin to take the Power of Forgiveness and forgive myself once and for all.. allowing for future feelings too.  Meaning in forgiving myself and others who may come into play, I have to truly let go of the past, accept the past for what it is and move one.  


After all one constant has always been true... the fact that I want to live a happy successful life with my family by my side! 

True forgiveness is unconditional, it has no red tape; it has no strings attached.  ~unknown 

Blogging A to Z Challenge April 2012... What will "Q" have for us tomorrow?

50 days to go...  (OMG! No way!)

... for a, l & c.  You are my sunshine(s).  

Images are courtesy of google or Bing images.  Some images maybe labeled property of Carla Barila Karam and of this blog, Taking Back My Life ~ Making It My Own.  U.S Copyright laws apply.  ©